Unworthy - Kirsten Beyer [132]
“We won’t be meeting up with Esquiline for a few more days. In the meantime, I want you to give it some more thought. I don’t want you to go, Harry.”
“I understand, sir, but I …” Harry began. Under Chakotay’s hard stare, however, he backtracked and finished, “Thank you, sir.”
“Thank you,” Chakotay replied, then turned and made a beeline toward Counselor Cambridge, who was chatting amiably with Captain Eden.
Seven and the Doctor were enjoying a fascinating conversation with Doctor Sharak. Perhaps it was his relative newness to Starfleet service, but the novelty of exploration, and the discovery of the Indign in particular, had whetted the Tamarian’s appetite for more. His golden eyes were lively as the Doctor shared Seven’s most recent developments and he turned them on her regularly with penetrating intensity.
The Doctor had conferred with Sharak about Seven’s catoms, in hopes that together they would be able to test the limits of one another’s thought processes and push each other toward new developments. Seven decided that working in conference with other experts was a skill the Doctor had not mastered until he had worked with the Federation Institute.
Sharak had taken to the research readily and was amazed at how far Seven had come. She understood his curiosity and had answered his rapid-fired questions as patiently as she could.
“Then you have resolved not to change your designation to Annika, though you do reject your Borg identity of Seven of Nine as insufficient?” Sharak asked.
“I do,” Seven replied. “The truth is, neither ‘Annika’ nor ‘Seven’ is an appropriate designation, but both are equally insufficient. I am a human, who was once Borg, and now also am part Caeliar. Only time will tell which, if any, of these pieces of my heritage will prove dominant. It is my intention, however, to focus my continued efforts on exploring the area which I have always found most challenging.”
“Which is that?” the Doctor asked.
“My humanity,” Seven replied.
After a moment, Sharak asked, “Do you believe the Indign will be able to abandon their admiration for the Borg?”
“Initially I was horrified at the thought of any sentient beings admiring the Borg. But the Indign were not malicious. They were simply naïve. In some ways, their fascination with the Borg was more like my inappropriate adulation of the Caeliar.”
“That’s news to me, Seven,” the Doctor noted.
“I have discussed it at some length with Counselor Cambridge, and I’m sure our future discussions will add to my insight. The Caeliar are a powerful race. However, the perfection I once attributed to them does not exist and would be, I believe, a rather boring way to spend eternity.”
“Alra and Hevra and the well of Irin,” Sharak said, nodding as if he understood completely.
“I beg your pardon,” the Doctor said.
“Apologies,” Sharak said, realizing he had lapsed into his native tongue.
As he began to explain the Tamarian reference, Seven glanced toward Counselor Cambridge, who was staring appraisingly at her. There was something so intent in the look, she was momentarily disarmed. The feeling passed quickly, however, as he returned his attention to Chakotay and Eden.
Seven felt her heart flutter in her chest. Chiding herself internally, she wondered why a simple look had the ability to elicit such a visceral response. She set the question aside. It was irrelevant to their continued working relationship and might, in fact, hinder her ongoing psychological exploration.
Peeking toward him again, however, Seven found his eyes searching for hers. Returning her full attention to Doctor Sharak, she found herself smiling faintly.
The following morning, Tom was the first to arrive on the holodeck. Captain Chakotay—he smiled every time he thought about it—had given him the next three days off. Ostensibly it was to devise a schedule to accommodate the requirements of B’Elanna’s new position and Miral’s needs.
B’Elanna had surprised him when they awoke by insisting that he give