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As soon as Seven of Nine began her regeneration cycle, the Queen allowed her unease to show in a small frown. Something was very slightly wrong; the octahedron was not the efficient and perfect vessel that it normally was. This was not to be tolerated. A raised hand was all that was needed to for a maintenance drone to begin a thorough and full diagnostic.
1.1 seconds later, the result was strangely confused. Although it showed that the vessel was working to an optimal standard, the shield status was not quite right. Frowning, the Queen addressed the maintenance drone.
“6 of 12, perform detailed analysis of shield status indicator.”
The drone inclined her head and began, only to lean forward with a perplexed expression to study the results on her console as she finished. After a few moments of processing, the drone reported:
“The shield indicator has been tampered with. It has been changed to always show an optimal status, even when this is not the case.”
The Queen’s perplexity turned to anger. Not one of her drones would have tampered with the shield indicator, the only possible person with the free will and the means to have done so was Seven of Nine.
She had allowed Seven of Nine to have her free will and individuality intact, allowed her a chance to practice her skills, but had been repaid in sabotage. The Queen’s eyes narrowed as her anger grew. Seven of Nine would not escape the consequences for this deception. However, she was somewhat at a loss on how to punish her rogue drone. She was not able to turn her into a full Borg drone, as she needed her skills to be unimpeded by the Many. However, she had to provide some form of consequences, otherwise Seven of Nine would easily be tempted to do so again.
The Queen mused that it was not entirely her drone’s fault, the crew of Voyager, and especially Janeway, had convinced her that she was an individual now, that she was human. Naturally, she would do everything she could to return to her supposed ‘home’. However, Seven of Nine’s insistence on being an individual human might work in the Queen’s favour. She would likely respond the most to a human punishment.
Her eyes grew slightly distant as she consulted all the information the Borg had assimilated on humans. It did not take her long to find what she had been seeking. A slow smirk spread across the Queen’s face as she found the answer. Seven of Nine would be in for a surprise when her regeneration cycle ended.
The perfect solution! Now to ensure she will be unable to escape her punishment protocol….