"Annika still lives within you," said Troi. She and Seven of Nine were meeting for a therapy session in Troi's office. "Annika is a liability", said Seven. "Annika is a weakness that I cannot afford." "You're no longer on the battlefield," said Troi. "You're safe. You can relax now." "I can't," said Seven. "I can't pretend that those twenty years never happened." "Think about all the people you've helped since you left the Collective," said Troi. "Do you think that you would've been able to do what you've done had you not gone through what you did?" Seven shook her head. "No," she replied quietly. "Probably not." She then added, "I was a ground soldier. How many people in Starfleet have seen MY kind of war?" Starfleet seems to have this notion that wars are fought by people sitting in comfortable chairs who order other people to Fire this and Fire that, Seven thought bitterly. "Little Annika needs Big Seven's help," said Troi. __________________________ At a nearby gym, Seven sat in the weight machine, doing a 180-pound bench press; she dared not try it with a barbell, lest she become under-balanced on her right (human) side. Images of war flooded Seven's mind with every rep on the machine. __________________________ Vast armies of drones swarmed all around Seven amidst the fiery heat and noise of the battle all around her. Running ... Running. Constant running. Always advancing, never retreating. Columns of dirt and rocks rose up from the ground as artillery shells exploded all around Seven and the swarm of drones around her. "COVER THE LEFT FLANK!" Seven yelled out to the drones under her command as laser fire and explosions rang out all around her. _____________________________ Seven blinked as she found herself back in the gym, trying to center herself in the moment at the weight machine. Fifteen ... Sixteen ... Seventeen. Seven mentally counted off the reps. Anything to take her mind off ... the past. ________________________________ "We are the Borg," the voice of the Hive issued forth from Seven's lips as her assimilation syringe found its home in the neck of a nearby victim. The victim - a middle-aged man - screamed as Seven intoned, "You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile." _________________________________ The scene began as it had for so many years in Seven's nightmares: little Annika Hansen was aboard the Raven, hiding under the desk as the Borg loomed large over her. "We are the Borg," the hulking drone intoned in a mechanical monotone. "You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile." All at once, the massive drone disappeared. Little Annika crawled out from under the desk long enough to see a towering Seven of Nine looming over her. Seven was wielding a katana and dressed in sneakers, a long-sleeved shirt, and sweat pants. Seven turned around on one heel just in time to see two more Borg drones charging through the doorway. "GET BACK UNDER THE DESK!" she called out to Annika. Annika crawled back under the desk. As the first drone lunged forward, Seven cut off the drone's left arm - its assimilation arm. With another stroke, she cut off the drone's head, causing the drone to disappear. As the second drone approached from behind, Seven performed the same maneuver that she did with the drone in front - she first cut off its assimilation arm and then its head, causing the drone to disappear. Seven looked back towards the doorway - all clear. She then turned back towards the desk, knelt down in front of the desk, and lay the katana down on the floor. "You can come out now," she said to Annika, gasping for breath. "They're gone." Little Annika crawled out from underneath the desk. She then reached forward and hugged Seven around her neck. Seven picked up Annika, stood up, and returned the hug. ____________________ "Simulation ended", said the voice of the Holo-chamber computer. The Raven, the katana, and Annika disappeared. leaving only a bare room. Seven's chest heaved as she gasped for breath and took in the scene around her. THE END