“The Gift” is episode two of season four of Star Trek: Voyager.
Voyager still has the Borg technology affixed to it from the previous episode, “Scorpion, Part II”. The cargo bay that was converted by the Borg still has Borg technology within, but is empty. Almost. One Borg, Seven of Nine, is in a regeneration pod.
The Doctor, Captain Janeway and Tuvok are also there. According to the Doctor, Seven of Nine is stable but the prognosis is not clear. Her human physiology has started to assert itself but her systems are swarming with Borg implants. A battle between biology and technology and the Doctor isn’t sure which will win. The captain asks him to wake Seven of Nine and bring her up to date.
Seven of Nine starts asking a question but trails off and says she can’t hear the others. The voices are gone. She’s told that they neutralised her neurotransceiver and severed her link to the Collective. Seven of Nine wants this drone – her – returning to the Borg. Janeway isn’t willing to put her crew at risk by going backwards into Borg territory. Seven of Nine has to stay on board. Seven if Nine demands to be put on the nearest planet with a subspace transmitter to get the Borg to come for her. It’s too late; she needs medical care. Seven of Nine starts insisting she doesn’t, then suffers pain. Her implants are being rejected and need to be removed. Seven of Nine has to be tranqued because she doesn’t want that doing.
The Doctor is finding Tuvok to be cramping his style in sickbay. Seven of Nine is a security risk, according to Tuvok. The Doctor tells him she isn’t going anywhere and Tuvok backs away. Slightly. The Doctor asks Kes to inject Seven of Nine and a hypospray flies across the sickbay to land in Kes’s hand. She just thought about it and it moved. No, she hasn’t been experimenting with her psychokinetic abilities. The Doctor says the levels are similar to when Species 8472 contacted her, but she doesn’t feel them. Tuvok suggests and aftereffect. A reasonable diagnosis. For a security officer.
Chakotay enters the captain’s ready room and updates her. They are still having problems with the Borg technology and warp drive is offline. B’Elanna wants the help of anyone qualified. There are residual transwarp signatures from Borg vessels in the area. Removing the Borg technology is not easy. The captain says Seven of Nine could help. Chakotay agrees – if she’s willing. Janeway has found Seven of Nine’s real identity, Annika Hansen. Her parents fancied themselves explorers but wanted nothing to do with Starfleet or the Federation. They were last seen heading for the Delta Quadrant and may well have been the first humans assimilated. Seven of Nine was raised by the Borg.
Then the Doctor contacts the captain. They are having problems. That might be a euphemism. The Doctor is removing Borg technology and makes a slightly sarcastic comment to Tuvok about putting a containment field around it. Tuvok agrees that is a prudent measure. For a doctor. The Doctor wanted to speak to the captain because a decision needs to be made. He has to remove the Borg technology, but Seven of Nine wouldn’t want that. In a normal situation, he would be obligated not to do it. This isn’t a normal situation. Janeway says she will make decisions for Seven of Nine until she can make them herself as a human. After Janeway leaves, another implant starts causing problems. Kes identifies it and disintegrates it with her mind.
The Doctor has made a new eye to replace Seven of Nine’s eyepiece and is proud of it. They can wake her now if they like. Kes is feeling exhilarated and Tuvok suggests some guided meditations. She agrees. Seven of Nine is unhappy when awoken and would have preferred to be let die. A drone cannot survive outside the Collective. The Doctor disagrees, and starts doing so at length until a look from Janeway makes him decide it would be a good idea to shut up. The captain says Seven of Nine isn’t alone. She’s part of a human collective, and one that needs her help with the warp drive.
Seven of Nine is taken to engineering. She explains what they are doing wrong. She remembers the engineering specs of Voyager. B’Elanna asks if Seven of Nine recalls how it looked before it was turned into a Borg circus. Because that’s the way it needs to be.
Harry tries to make small talk with Seven of Nine and this gets exactly the sort of response from her that even Harry thought it should. Seven of Nine still isn’t happy about being away from the Borg. Kes’s powers are growing ever more significant and are starting to put the ship in danger. Voyager is still in Borg space, with no warp drive and no temporary alliance with the Borg. Not a great place to be.