2386: Icheb, a former Borg removed from the collective and raised aboard the U.S.S. Voyager, now a lieutenant in Starfleet, has been captured by someone who is trying to remove any Borg implants or technology left in his body – even if it kills him. Seven of Nine, a fellow survivor of Borg assimilation from Voyager, comes to his aid, but only too late. Icheb begs to be put out of his misery; Seven obliges and vows to avenge him, the closest she ever came to having a child of her own.
2399: Rescued by La Sirena after sacrificing her own spacecraft in the battle against a Romulan warlord over Vashti, Seven reluctantly listens to Picard as he tells her of his mission to find Maddox, and then find Dahj’s sister. As the leader of a well-meaning vigilante ground called the Fenris Rangers, which sprang up after the Federation gave up any kind of rescue or law-enforcement efforts on newly Romulan-colonized worlds and nearby space, Seven is accustomed to stories about those in need of help. When she learns that Maddox is being held for the Tal Shiar by someone named Bjayzl on Freecloud, Seven offers herself up as a “hostage” – her Borg implants will prove irresistible to Bjayzl, as Icheb’s did thirteen years earlier. With each member of La Sirena‘s crew given a part to play, the effort to extract Maddox is expected to play out like a heist – until Seven, given the opportunity, turns it into a hostage crisis, ready to exact revenge on Bjayzl. She buys time for Picard, Rios, and Elnor to save Maddox, and only reluctantly beams back to La Sirena herself without killing Bjayzl…for the moment. But there is another killer aboard the ship, waiting for an opportunity to eliminate a very specific target.
written by Kirsten Beyer
directed by Jonathan Frakes
music by Jeff Russo
Cast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Isa Briones (Dr. Soji Asha), Evan Evagora (Elnor), Michelle Hurd (Rafi Musiker), Santiago Cabrera (Captain Cristobal Rios), Harry Treadaway (Narek), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Dominic Burgess (Mr. Vup), Necar Zadegan (Bjayzl), John Ales (Bruce Maddox), Mason Gooding (Gabriel Hwang), Landry Allbright (Chop Doc), Kay Bess (La Sirena Computer), Ayushi Chhabra (Pel), Nightbox Piano Player (Casey Childs), Casey King (Icheb), Sam Marra (Bartender)
Notes: Though characters from past episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager play major parts in this episode, they have both been recast. Originally played by Brian Brophy in 1989‘s The Measure Of A Man, Maddox is portrayed by John Ales in this episode; while Maddox was mentioned by name in Data’s Day (1991), this is only the character’s second on-screen appearance. Icheb, a recurring character introduced in Voyager’s sixth season in the episode Collective, was previously played by Manu Intiraymi in a total of eleven episodes of that series; the part is played (very briefly) here by
Casey King. (The cortical node that Bjayzl’s underling can’t find was donated to Seven of Nine in 2000‘s Imperfection). Signs in Stardust City suggest that either Quark left Deep Space Nine to set up his bar on Freecloud, or that Quark’s Bar has become a franchised entity (the Grand Nagus would be proud); also seen is a sign for Mr. Mot’s Hair Emporium, presumably operated by the Bolian hairstylist who once ran the Enterprise-D’s barbershop (Ensign Ro, 1991; Schisms, 1992).
LogBook entry by Earl Green