Icheb, Seven, Janeway and Tuvok beam down to the planet. |  |
 | They enter the settlement where Icheb's parents are waiting.
Janeway: "Hello. I'm Captain Janeway." |  |
 | Icheb's mother: "Icheb."
Icheb's father: "You've grown." Seven: "He spent several months in a Borg maturation chamber." |  |
Icheb's mother: "That's a Borg designation, isn't it?"
Seven: "Like your son, I was liberated from the Collective."
Janeway: "Seven has been instrumental in helping Icheb make his transition."
Icheb's father: "Then we're very grateful. I'm Leucon, Icheb's father. This is his mother, Yifay."
| Yifay: "How are you?"
Icheb: "Fine." Yifay: "Do these hurt you?" She reaches out to touch them but Icheb moves away, startled. Icheb: "No. |  |
| Leucon: "We're very happy to have you back with us." He indicates some of Icheb's friends: "Mala, Remi, Yivel."
One of the friends calls out: "Welcome home, Icheb." Icheb, feeling uncomfortable, tells Janeway and Seven: "I would like to return to Voyager now." The meeting has not gone well. |  |
| A security guard escorts Yifay and Leucon into Voyager's Briefing Room.
Janeway: "Thank you for coming." Leucon: "Where's Icheb?" Janeway: "I thought it might be better if we talked ourselves first." Leucon: "What exactly is there to discuss?" Janeway: "How to make this transition easier for your son. Please, sit down." |  |
| Yifay: "It won't be easy for him, to give up the luxuries of your ship."
Seven: "It's more than a question of luxuries. Icheb has special medical needs." Leucon: "We have a physician in our settlement." Janeway: "We should arrange for him to consult with our doctor." Seven: "He also requires daily regeneration." Janeway: "I'm sure you could adapt some of our technology to make that possible." Seven: "What about his educational needs?" Yifay: "Our children go to school." Janeway: "Will he be able to continue his studies in Astrometrics and spatial harmonics?" Leucon: "If Icheb has an aptitude for science, I'm sure he'll find that we have a great deal to teach him." Seven: "For example." Leucon: "We developed sophisticated techniques in agricultural genetics which allow us to grow crops in an inhospitable environment." Seven: "Icheb has expressed no interest in agriculture." Janeway: "I've sure once he's been exposed to the subject he'll find it quite challenging." Seven: "There's still the issue of his safety." Yifay: "We're perfectly capable of protecting our son." Seven: "Your proximity to a Borg conduit makes you extremely vulnerable. I'm curious if you've ever considered relocating." Janeway, warningly: "Seven." Leucon: "No, it's alright, Captain. This planet is our home. We will never leave it. We will defend it against the Borg or anyone else who threatens us." Seven: "Your courage is admirable but unrealistic." Janeway: "Wait for me in my Ready Room." Seven: "Captain-" Janeway: "NOW." Seven leaves for the Captain's Ready Room via the Bridge. Janeway addresses Yifay and Leucon once Seven has gone. "I apologise for her behaviour. She and Icheb have grown very close but that's no excuse for rudeness." Leucon: "We'd like to see our son now." Janeway: "Please be patient. If we rush things, your next encounter with him may not go any better than the last. Stay aboard Voyager for a while. It'll give Icheb a chance to get to know you in an environment that's familiar to him. I'll have Neelix do everything he can to make you comfortable while you're here." |
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| After her meeting with Yifay and Leucon, Janeway enters her Ready Room to talk to Seven.
Janeway: "Your attitude is making a difficult situation worse." Seven: "I was simply to ensure Icheb's well-being." Janeway: "By insulting his parents?" Seven: "Those issues needed to be discussed." Janeway: "You could've done it with a little more tact." Seven: "Perhaps. But it doesn't alter the fact that those individuals may not be suitable guardians." Janeway: "Those 'individuals' are his mother and father." Seven: "Which is no guarantee that they'll be able to care for him. He's far more likely to flourish if he remains on Voyager." Janeway: "That's not an option, Seven." Seven: "Are you ordering him off the ship?" Janeway: "That's not what I said." Seven: "So that he can be assimilated again?" Janeway: "What makes you so sure that's going to happen?" Seven: "They shouldn't remain on the planet." Janeway: "It's their home." Seven: "It's not worth protecting." Janeway: "Who are you to decide that." Seven: "Anyone who values their own goals over the safety of their children is irresponsible." Janeway: "Are we talking about Icheb's parents or yours?" Seven: "Both." Janeway: "It's not like you to admit to something like that." Seven: "It would be naive for me to claim objectivity in this case. But I'm not prepared to return Icheb to parents who may be as careless as my own." Janeway: "I know what it's like to feel protective towards someone you've helped through a difficult period. But Icheb is an individual now. You have to give him a chance to form his own opinions." Seven: "If I do, and he decides to remain on Voyager?" Janeway: "Then it'll be my problem." | 
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| The children are in Cargo Bay 2. Naomi, Azan and Rebi are seated round the kadiskot game-board while Mezoti has a bicycle. Icheb is working on astrophysics on the computer console.
Mezoti to Icheb: "Is your mother pretty? What are they like?" |  |
| Icheb: "I'm busy." |  |
| Naomi: "I never met my father."
The twins: "I don't remember ours." "Neither do I." Naomi to Icheb: "Are you going to stay with them?" Mezoti to Icheb: "If you leave, who is going to help us with our science projects?" Icheb: "If you don't stop asking questions, I'm going to put all of you in a cargo container and transport you back to the Borg." |  |
Seven enters.  cargo bay doors
Seven to Icheb: "Come with me." Icheb: "Where?" Seven: "To dinner with your parents." Icheb: "I'm working." Seven: "You can continue your work after the meal." Icheb: "I don't have anything to talk about with them." Seven: "Then it will be a very quiet evening." Icheb: "I'm not going." Seven: "Your attendance is not optional." She leaves and waits for him in the corridor. After a moment he follows. |  |
| Yifay and Neelix exit the Galley carrying plates of food which they take over to a table by the window where Leucon is sitting. Seven escorts Icheb into the Messhall where he sees his parents waiting for him.
Seven tells Icheb, "Enjoy your meal." before leaving him to stand out of the way near the serving counter where she observes him. |  |
| Yifay: "Come, sit down."
Icheb: "I prefer to stand." Yifay: "Mr Neelix let me use his galley to prepare some poma." Icheb: "I'm not hungry." Yifay: "It was your favourite food when you were little." Icheb: "I'm not little any more." Yifay: "No, no, you're not." |  |
| Leucon: "Your mother worked hard on that meal. Couldn't you at least try it?"
Reluctantly Icheb sits, at first stiff and uncomfortable, but he tries some of the food and gradually relaxes. |  |
| Leucon tucks into his meal. He says to Icheb: "Good, isn't it." |  |
 | The family begin to relax and smile. |  |
 | As they watch them, Neelix says to Seven: "Nice to see the family together again, isn't it?" |  |
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