THE DISEASE : Episode 111 : Part B

Voyager's Astrometrics Lab. Kim: "Seven, you've been around humans for a while now. What do you thinking about 'love'?" Seven: "We're scanning for microfractures. I don't see the relevance." Kim: "Just curious." Seven: "Parental love, romantic love, affection between friends - specify." Kim: "Romantic love." Seven: "An attraction based on sexual desire, one that facilitates procreation." Kim: "I guess I'm asking the wrong person." Seven: "Not at all. The Borg have referenced this condition in over 6,000 assimilated species." Kim: "Condition? You make it sound like a disease." Seven: "Physiologically it bears a striking similarity to disease: a series of emotional responses that trigger an emotional cascade, impairing normal functioning." Kim: "Forget it." Seven: "Are you in love, Ensign?" Kim: "I guess that's what I've been asking myself." Seven: "You're glowing." Kim: "Beg your pardon?" Seven: "Your epidermis luminesced." Kim: "Huh, must be the lighting in here." Seven: "No, it was you. You should report to Sickbay." Kim: "It's nothing." Seven: "You must comply."

The Doctor notes that Kim's beta-endorphins are abnormally elevated while Seven detects unusual synaptic activity in his cerebral cortex. The Doctor says it could be an alien virus and calls for the Captain to be called and a full viral alert requested. To prevent this, Kim asks Seven to leave and then admits to the Doctor: Kim: "Last night I had an encounter with one of the Varro. ... A personal encounter. ... Sex, we had sex." Doctor: "You had intimate contact with an alien species without medical clearance?" Kim: "It was in the heat of the moment. I didn't think anything like this would happen." Doctor: "Correction: if you'd been thinking you would've considered the risks and exercised restraint. Sit down. You need a full bio-medical work out, and your friend will have to come in as well." Kim: "Do we have to drag her into this?" Doctor: "It's my medical responsibility which I'm sorry to say also requires me to report this to the Captain."

Janeway: "I expected more from you." Kim: "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking." Janeway: "Don't you? I've seen Tal. She's an impressive young woman, beautiful. But that's no excuse to ignore your obligations as a Starfleet officer." Kim: "Yes ma'am." Janeway: "There's a reason you took a semester of interspecies protocol, there's also a reason why the handbook on personal relationships three centimetres thick." Kim: "'All Starfleet personnel must obtain authorisation from their CO as well as clearance from their medical officer before initiating an intimate relationship with an alien species.'" Janeway: "Bravo. Unfortunately your recitation comes a little late. According to the Doctor, your condition isn't life-threatening. There's no reason to confine you to Sickbay. But I do agree with his recommendation to run full bio-scans on both you and Tal, and her people need to be told so that we can evaluate any bio-threat you might have introduced into their population. We're trying to help these people, Ensign, earn their trust. I was even hoping they might return the favour, share their technology, their insights into long-term space travel, but your little escapade put that in jeopardy." Kim: "Permission to speak freely. With all due respect, this wasn't a fling. I've really gotten to know Tal and I've developed true feelings for her." Janeway: "Noted. But there are regulations and you've broken them. I'm entering a formal reprimand into your record, and I'm ordering you to break off this relationship. Do you understand?" Kim: "Yes, ma'am." Janeway: "Dismissed."

Tal: "What if I had the chance to see this pulsar field, go there, instead of just squinting at it through long-range sensors?" Kim: "Too far off your course, huh."