The Raven (episode)
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(written from a Production point of view)
| "The Raven" | ||
|---|---|---|
| VOY, Episode 4x06 Production number: 174 First aired: 8 October 1997 | ||
| ← | 73rd of 168 produced in VOY | → |
| ← | 73rd of 168 released in VOY | → |
| ← | 483rd of 727 released in all | → |
 | ||
| Teleplay By Bryan Fuller and Harry Doc Kloor Story By Bryan Fuller Directed By LeVar Burton | ||
| Unknown (2374) | ||
Seven of Nine experiences hallucinations, and believes that she is being called back to the Borg Collective.
Contents |
[edit] Summary
[edit] Teaser
On Voyager's holodeck, Captain Janeway is trying to teach Seven of Nine about the benefits of relaxation and having a hobby. She is doing so using her Leonardo Da Vinci simulation, showing her how to sculpt with clay.
Seven finds the whole idea of relaxation inefficient; as a drone, she was assigned a task; when she was done, she was given another; that was efficient. But Janeway tries to get her to see that relaxation is important to life as a Human, which, like it or not, she is now returning to. In the process, she talks about Da Vinci's prolific career as a scientist, and shows her one of his prototype gliders, hanging from the ceiling.
The sight of it causes Seven to suddenly stand stock still, as if she were a statue herself. She has a vision of herself, running in terror aboard a Borg vessel. Drones relentlessly stride after her in pursuit, as the cold voice of the Borg Collective informs her of her fate: assimilation.
She also sees a large, black, screeching bird flying through the corridors. And she hears a high-pitched voice, desperately calling her by her Human name: Annika.
She snaps back to reality after being shaken by a very concerned Janeway, who asks her what is wrong. She does not know, she responds, voice tremulous.
[edit] Act One
The Doctor examines Seven in the sickbay. Janeway is present. Seven describes her hallucinations. They have now occurred three times. Each time is the same: a terrifying pursuit by the Borg. But this confuses her: why would she fear the Borg? Janeway and the Doctor suggest that she is reliving the trauma of her assimilation. But she rejects this; they did not traumatize her, she insists; they raised her. Having only been recently freed from them, after being one of them from since childhood, she has not yet realized just what they took from her and still sees them as her "people".
Janeway and the Doctor do not press the issue. Instead, the Doctor turns his attention to another part of her returning Humanity: her need to eat. Seven, as expected, finds "oral consumption" inefficient. But, like it or not, she has to do it; her digestive system has recovered enough to make it necessary. He gives her a PADD containing recommended nutrition for her, and instructs her to take it to Neelix in the mess hall, for her first meal since being de-assimilated.
Then Lieutenant Commander Chakotay calls Janeway from the bridge; USS Voyager is approaching a region of space that is controlled by a species known as the B'omar. Janeway wants Voyager to be allowed to cross it; going around would take far too long. But they need the B'omars' permission, and the B'omar are being difficult, to say the least. After assuring Seven that they will get her through whatever is happening to her, Janeway heads for the bridge.
In the briefing room, Janeway and Chakotay meet with two members of the B'omar government, called the B'omar Sovereignty. The two representatives, Councilor Dumah and Gaumen, insist with an air of arrogant superiority on a very long, round-about path that Voyager will have to follow, which avoids any "populated areas, industrial centers and military complexes". The path appears even longer than the detour.
Further, they insist that "While in our space, your vessel will not exceed warp three, and your weapons systems will remain off-line. You will avoid unnecessary scans and you will not conduct surveys of any kind. You will make no attempt to explore our space and you will avoid all communications with nonmilitary craft." Janeway will also have to submit Voyager to seventeen inspection points along the way. The captain puts her most diplomatic face on to cover her stunned feelings, and asks politely if they will consider a more direct route. Their response is merely a look of palpable disdain.
In the mess hall, Neelix greets Seven happily and takes the PADD from her. He reads the Doctor's recommendations. But it is merely a list of nutrients in the prescribed amounts; hardly appetizing, he opines. He figures a meal of chadre'kab would meet the requirements and taste good too, but Seven could not care less. Nor does she care about how he prepares it; when he asks her, she responds that preparation is "irrelevant". So he makes the decision, deciding that steamed would be easiest for her still-fragile digestive system to handle.
He prepares it and has her sit at a table. This is another act she is uncomfortable with but has to get accustomed to; Borg do not sit. Ever. He places the plate before her, then trains her in the act of eating: dip spoon in, lift to mouth, put food in mouth, close mouth, chew and swallow. It seems amusing, but it is necessary; she has no idea whatsoever how to do it.
But as she takes a second mouthful, she suddenly sees the bird again, from her visions. She stares, seemingly to Neelix at nothing. Then, as he watches in shock, a star-shaped Borg implant emerges from the skin on her right hand and spreads out on it. "You will be assimilated," she murmurs.
She looks at Neelix. Her manner becomes cold, drone-like. "Resistance is futile," she intones, then rises and shoves Neelix backward so hard he lands on the floor, dazed. She exists the room, striding in the implacable, relentless manner of a drone with a task to perform, as shocked crewmembers rush to the Talaxian's aid.
[edit] Act Two
Janeway, and Chakotay try their best to negotiate a shorter route with the B'omar. Lieutenant Paris has joined the meeting; as flight controller; his input is valuable. But the B'omar do not budge, arrogantly rejecting every suggestion. Then Lieutenant Commander Tuvok calls from the bridge and informs them that Seven has gone on a rampage; she attacked three crewmen after leaving the mess hall. Janeway tries to call her, but gets no answer. Chakotay orders Tuvok to get a security team to her location to stop her.
Seven strides through the corridors, heading toward the armory. Security officers attempt to stop her with phaser stun blasts. But they fail utterly; her Borg shielding is again online. Since she is fully aware of the phasers' power and frequencies, the officers do not even get the usual "a few shots in, then they adapt"; her shields are already fully adapted, and take every shot. She does not even stagger.
On the bridge, the B'omar are shocked and angry, confronting Janeway: "You have Borg on your ship?!" Janeway assures them that Seven is not Borg anymore, but is at a loss to explain why, then, she has Borg shielding. Meanwhile, Seven gets a phaser rifle from the armory and continues on, this time heading for the shuttle bay. She boards a turbolift.
When she exits the lift, a team led by Tuvok greats her. Tuvok warns her to stand down, but she ignores him. They fire, but, as with with the security officers before, they hit nothing but shield. She fires back, downing two of them. Tuvok reports the failure to Janeway, as Seven heads for the door to the bay. At Janeway's order, Ensign Kim puts up a force field to prevent her from getting to the door. But she uses a computer wall console to initiate a site-to-site transport through the force field, beaming aboard a shuttlecraft. Janeway orders the bay's outer door sealed. But this does not stop her; she actually crashes the shuttle through the doors, using its shields, which she has enhanced, to prevent damage to it. She flies off.
In the briefing room, Janeway asks the B'omar for permission to pursue her into their space, but they sneeringly refuse, questioning her competence. Janeway keeps her cool, requesting that they work together. The B'omar make it clear: there will be no cooperation. Voyager will remain at least 5 light years from B'omar space. The B'omar will track Seven's shuttle and destroy it and her on catching it. Janeway coldly orders Chakotay to take them to the transporter room.
Later, Janeway is in Cargo Bay 2, essentially Seven's quarters, supervising crewmembers as they check Seven's regeneration alcove and all other Borg equipment there for any clue as to the cause of her behavior. Chakotay arrives and informs her that the B'omar have doubled their border patrol and increased the sensitivity of their border's perimeter security grid.
He then muses that perhaps attempts to rehabilitate Seven into Humanity were doomed to failure; even if she wanted to stay on Voyager, it may be that her Borg nature simply won out. But Janeway stoutly refuses to accept this. "She was responding to us; interacting with people outside of the Collective for the first time. She was adapting to this environment and to this crew," she insists.
But the bigger question now is: where is she going? It cannot be Borg space; that is thousands of light years away; it would take thousands of temporal years in a shuttle. Long range scans show no Borg vessels anywhere.
Janeway and Chakotay then go to the Sickbay. The Doctor has something to show them. He has looked at the matter conversion data from Seven's site-to-site transport. The data shows that previously dormant nanoprobes in her cells have become active; they have, as is usual with nanoprobes assimilating tissue, taken over blood cell production and are creating new implants, including the ones that he took out when he de-assimilated her.
Though he cannot guess as to why the nanoprobes activated, he does have a way to stop them. He shows them a hypospray whose contents he has designed to shut them down again. But someone, then, will have to get close enough to use it. This will not be easy, not to mention dangerous. Janeway takes the hypospray to the bridge, where Tuvok and Paris are working on a plan to get into B'omar space and retrieve Seven.
The plan involves using a shuttle whose shields have been suitably modified to mask the craft from the B'omar security grid. But it will not be able to communicate with Voyager once inside. Janeway approves and gives Tuvok the hypospray.
She also orders Tuvok to use "any force necessary" to stop Seven, should the hypo's contents not work. No matter what, the Borg are not getting her back.
In B'omar space, Seven's shuttle heads toward and unrevealed destination. Seven suffers another vision, this time cowering under a desk as she sees two drones reach for her. Then the sound of an alarm on the shuttle's control console snaps her out of it. B'omar patrol ships surround her.
[edit] Act Three
The B'omar warn her to proceed no further. Her face merely registers cold contempt as she effortlessly user her phasers to disarm and incapacitate every one of the patrol ships. That done, she continues on.
Tuvok and Paris, pursuing her, detect the battle and the results: no B'omar casualties, but their ships are no longer capable of doing a thing. Paris locates the shuttle and Tuvok orders an intercept.
They catch up to it, but Seven's re-emerged Borg implants prevent her from being beamed off. Tuvok decides that he will beam to her and administer the hypo's contents. Paris reminds him of how dangerous that is: strong as Tuvok is, Vulcan strength is not a match for Borg strength. Tuvok responds that this is the only chance they have; he will try to surprise her. Paris beams him to the back of Seven's shuttle.
She is waiting for him. She engages him as soon as he fully materializes. Tuvok goes for a Vulcan nerve pinch. She deflects and, to Tuvok's great surprise, succeeds in applying the very same move on him, knocking him out.
On waking, he finds that Seven, at the pilot's controls, has put up a level-3 force field between him and her. He asks her why she left Voyager. "I am Borg," she replies. No, Tuvok insists. She was Borg, but is now Human again, and is part of Voyager's crew. Seven insists not, with sadness in her voice: she will always be Borg.
Tuvok asks her what prompted her to realize this. She responds that she is following a Borg resonance frequency from a Borg ship that is waiting for her. Then, before she can stop herself, she rises, advances on him and coldly states the Borg species designation for Vulcans and the abilities of the species that make Vulcans "worthy" of assimilation. But before she can do what a drone faced with such a target would do, she catches hold of herself and returns to her seat. She tells Tuvok to return to Voyager and thank Janeway for the kindness she has shown her.
Tuvok notes her demonstrated affection and sentiment. This proves, he presses, that she is not Borg. He then asks her if hallucinations are normal for a drone responding to a Borg resonance signal. Her answer: no. But, she continues, frightened, she can hear them. Tuvok, in a calm, reassuring tone, suggest that she drop the force field; they can return to Voyager together and find out what is happening to her.
For a moment, she is on the verge of agreeing. But then she hears the Collective again and bluntly insists that she must rejoin it, and returns to piloting.
Aboard Voyager, Janeway and Kim are reviewing Seven's personal log entries. But they show no clue as to the cause of what has happened to her. It seems like another dead end.
That is, until they come to the parts where she describes her hallucinations. Janeway reads one of the entries. In it Seven speaks of a large, black bird. In her precise, Borg-like manner, she describes its features: black feathers, wingspan approximately one and a half meters, yellow eyes, powerful beak. She then describes her feelings of fear on seeing it as it watches her.
Janeway, a scientist herself by training, recalls that the ornithological description matches that of a crow or a raven.
Epiphany hits her. She now knows exactly where Seven is going and what has triggered her behavior. She and Kim rush to the bridge, where she orders the officer at the helm to set a course for B'omar space.
[edit] Act Four
Seven's shuttle approaches a small moon. She informs Tuvok that the signal is coming from the surface; the Borg await her there. But her fear of meeting them troubles her, as it did before. Tuvok offers to go with her. This puzzles and concerns her; he would be assimilated. But Tuvok does not think so; the situation is not what it seems. Seven considers, agrees, drops the force field, and he joins her.
Meanwhile, Voyager contacts Paris' shuttle. He informs Janeway of the situation: he lost contact with Tuvok when he beamed over to Seven's shuttle, but he tracked her shuttle to the moon it was seen going to. He has also detected the Borg signal, but, of course, cannot identify it. Janeway orders him to try to locate Seven and Tuvok on the moon. But he must act quickly; B'omar ships are closing in on him.
The moon's terrain is rugged, full of mountain ranges and deep canyons. Seven and Tuvok beam down and follow the signal.
They round a corner and find, perched precariously on the edge of a cliff, the long-abandoned remains of a vessel. Tuvok scans it; it is of the Federation, partially assimilated by the Borg. No life signs. Tritanium decay places it as being there for almost the last 20 years.
It is the USS Raven, Starfleet registry NAR-32450.
They enter through an opening in the hull and make their way carefully to the bridge, where Seven finds a device emitting a pulsing green light. This is the source of the Borg resonance frequency. She turns it off.
Then she experiences a hallucination more terrifying than any of the previous ones. She is a child. She sees a man and a woman, her parents, being dragged away by Borg drones. They scream at her to run and hide. She tries to do so, hiding behind a console. But she is found. She cringes and cries out in terror as two drones reach for her.
A look of terror suffuses Seven's face. She quickly hides under a console, cowering and crying. Tuvok goes to her, reassures her and brings her back out.
She looks around. And in the manner of a child, she tells Tuvok about that day 18 years ago when she and her parents were assimilated. For the first time, she is beginning to see just what the Borg did to her and her life. Tuvok surmises that the signal must have been active all that time, and Voyager passed within range of it, causing her behavior.
Then the ship shakes violently. The B'omar have found them. They make their way quickly to the opening through which they entered.
Voyager arrives at the moon. Three B'omar vessels are seen firing at the surface. On the bridge, Kim informs Janeway that their hails are being ignored. Janeway orders Chakotay to target their weapons. She orders a status report from Paris; he informs her that he has found Seven and Tuvok, but interference is making beaming them out difficult.
Seven and Tuvok find the opening they entered through is now blocked. They begin clearing it.
Chakotay reports to Janeway that two of the B'omar ships are disabled. The third one hails. It is Gaumen. He angrily warns Janeway that she is committing an act of war. Reinforcements are coming. Janeway responds that he left her no choice, and has Kim cut the communication.
Seven and Tuvok manage to get out of the remains of the Raven. They get far enough in time to turn and watch as the remains shear away and crash into the gorge below. Then Paris' transporter beam takes them.
Paris informs Janeway that he has them. Kim informs her a fleet of 68 B'omar ships is approaching. Janeway orders the officer at the helm to remove Voyager from B'omar space at warp eight as soon as the shuttle is aboard.
Later, Janeway finds Seven on the holodeck, running the Da Vinci simulation. She informs her that the Doctor has found a way to adjust her implants so that she no longer receives any Borg homing signals.
Seven thanks her, then goes quiet. She then recalls to Janeway that Janeway had told her that this was a place to encourage imagination. She wonders aloud that she now find herself imagining what her life would had been like had she and her parents never been assimilated. They, not the Borg, would have influenced what she would have become.
Janeway suggests that, if she would like to know more about her parents, she can read about them in the ship's database. Seven thanks her, bids her goodnight, and leaves.
Janeway watches her go, her face clearly displaying concern as she considers the long journey the former drone has before her. A journey fraught with uncertainty and possible peril for them all.
[edit] Memorable quotes
"You are... Talaxian."
"Guilty as charged."
"Species Two One Eight."
"I suppose so."
"Your biological and technological distinctiveness was added to our own."
"I hadn't realized that."
"A small freighter... containing a crew of thirty-nine. Taken in the Dalmine Sector. They were easily assimilated. Their dense musculature made them excellent Drones."
"Lucky for you, I guess. Your nutrients."
- - Seven of Nine and Neelix, in the mess hall, preparing Seven's first meal on Voyager.
[edit] Background Information
- This episode shares some commonalities with TNG: "Brothers", where Commander Data, as the result of being summoned by his creator, Dr. Noonien Soong, takes over the USS Enterprise-D.
- Neelix's cooking skills in this episode are questionable. He asks Seven how she would like her Chadre'kab – including the option of stir-frying – but then decides steamed would be easiest on her stomach. He then immediately proceeds to stir-fry it.
- Seven of Nine's silver bodysuit is replaced by a more understated brown one. Besides the color, this bodysuit is also different from the previous one in that its neckline is much lower. The lower neckline is by far the most common style over the course of the series for her bodysuits. Jeri Ryan commented that the silver costume was so tight it was often difficult for her to breathe while wearing it, especially when sitting down. (citation needed • edit)
[edit] Video and DVD releases
- UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 4.3, 6 April 1998
- As part of the VOY Season 4 DVD collection
[edit] Links and references
[edit] Guest stars
[edit] Co-stars
- David Anthony Marshall as Father
- Nikki Tyler as Mother
- Erica Lynne Bryan as Little Girl
- Majel Barrett as Computer voice
[edit] Uncredited co-stars
- Tarik Ergin as Ayala
- Sue Henley as Brooks
[edit] References
Agrat-mot Nebula; airplane; B'omar; B'omar patrol ship; B'omar Sovereignty; Borg; clay; chadre'kab; class 2 shuttle; corvidae; crow; Dalmine sector; hippocampus; hypnagogic regression; glycoproteins; Maestro; Nassordin; phaser rifle; post-traumatic stress disorder; raven; Raven-type; Raven, USS; sculpting; Talaxian; type-6 shuttlecraft; type-8 shuttlecraft; Vulcan nerve pinch
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