Homecoming - Christie Golden [86]
She turned to her console and said, “Computer, open a channel to Captain Jean-Luc Picard on the Enterprise.”
When Picard’s distinguished mien appeared, Jane-way saw at once that he was troubled. She wondered if he had been informed about the Borg outbreak, but since she wasn’t sure, she said nothing. His somber face lightened only a little when he saw her.
[256] “Admiral Janeway,” he said. “An unexpected pleasure. What can I do for you?”
“I need to ask a favor, Captain,” said Janeway. “I’m in an awkward situation. I have a friend who’s in trouble. You have a crew member whose help would be invaluable. Would you be willing to lend him to us for a while?”
“Of whom are we speaking?”
Janeway told him.
It was a long few days for Jarem Kaz, with over a hundred and fifty patients to see. His exasperation with the situation grew with each patient that he examined and declared fit to be released. Why were they wasting his time? There was no evidence that any of Voyager’s crew had been even partially assimilated. No dormant nanoprobes, no unusual temperature changes, no erratic behavior, nothing.
Even Seven of Nine and Icheb, the most logical suspects, showed no signs of suddenly speaking in the plural or threatening people by declaring resistance was futile. He was troubled by the buzzing both former Borg reported experiencing in their implants, but it was obvious to anyone with first-year medical training that neither of them was in danger of losing her or his identity.
He had agreed wholeheartedly with bringing Seven and Icheb in for examination when the virus first reared its ugly head, but he saw no reason to keep them imprisoned any longer, except perhaps for their own safety. His’ heart broke for young Icheb, who was clearly devastated by the attack. As well he ought to be.
[257] Kaz knew he was wasting his time here. He should be working with the other teams, helping to develop some kind of cure for this virus. He had access to the knowledge of nine different people, thanks to the Kaz symbiont, and the medical knowledge of the unjoined man he had once been.
And the Doctor! Why they didn’t bring him in for consultation was beyond Kaz. Certainly he was a suspect in the HoloStrike and more serious recent set of attacks, but Kaz felt in his heart that the Doctor was involved only in the most peripheral sense, if indeed he was involved at all. He’d viewed many of the Doctor’s logs and witnessed the evolution from an arrogant yet complex computer program into a compassionate ... well ... person. There was nothing in the Doctor’s past history to make anyone believe he’d condone violence. And even if he was wrapped up in the issue of holographic rights, a planet full of Borg wouldn’t serve the movement any at all. The Doctor had personal experience with the Borg. He could have helped. Hell, he could have helped a lot.
When Seven of Nine came in for her daily examination, he couldn’t even summon up a reassuring smile for her, so deeply was he buried in his own black thoughts.
She looked awful, even worse than Icheb. She was pale and losing weight. She trembled slightly, and accepted his assistance when he reached to steady her as she climbed atop the diagnostic bed.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I wish they’d let you two regenerate. I’ll keep asking them, I assure you.”
She gave him a fleeting smile. “Persistence is futile,” she said, and despite the grim situation he chuckled. [258] More seriously, she said, “If I were indeed linked to the collective, my contact with them would only be strengthened during my regeneration period. Starfleet has documentation that it is during such times that the queen has been able to enter my thoughts. They would be foolish indeed not to take precautions.”
“Don’t get me started on this,” he said. “You’re not involved and I can prove it to them. These ridiculous ‘precautions’ are starting to hurt you. I can minimize the effects, but I can’t stave them off forever.” He looked at her with worried blue eyes.