The Mandalorian Meets SG-1: "The Finale Nobody Expected"

Episode 10:

Mission Report: P2X-957

We found it. An Ancient device that might send them home.

Of course, it was guarded by Jaffa, booby-trapped, and built into the side of a mountain. Because Ancient technology is never just sitting there ready to use.

The mission was supposed to be simple:

Get to the device
Carter figures out how to activate it
Mando and Grogu go home
We all feel bittersweet about it

What actually happened:

10:00 hours: Land on planet 10:03 hours: Jaffa ambush 10:04 hours: Teal'c and Mando clear the Jaffa in that weird synchronized way they do 10:15 hours: Carter finds the device 10:16 hours: Device activates a hologram of an Ancient who delivers a cryptic warning 10:18 hours: O'Neill shoots the hologram. "Sorry, he was getting annoying." 10:30 hours: More Jaffa arrive 10:31 hours: Grogu uses the Force to lift fifteen Jaffa off the ground simultaneously 10:32 hours: We all stop and stare 10:33 hours: Grogu passes out from the effort 10:34 hours: Mando picks him up. Looks at the device. Looks at us.

And then he said something I didn't expect.

"We'll stay. Until he wakes up."

"Stay as in... on the planet?" O'Neill asked.

"Stay as in... with you."

Turns out the kid likes it here. He likes Teal'c's eyebrow raises. He likes stealing Carter's equipment. He likes the frogs in Daniel's office terrarium (yes, Daniel has a terrarium, don't ask). He even likes O'Neill, though O'Neill pretends to be annoyed.

And Mando? He respects us. He told Teal'c that any warrior who would give up a false god for freedom understands what it means to walk the Way.

So now we have a Mandalorian and a Force-sensitive toddler on SG-1.

General Hammond approved it with one condition: "Keep the child away from my office."

End Report

The Mandalorian Meets SG-1: "The Beskar and the Briefing"

Episode 9:

Security Recording - Level 27

General Hammond, Teal'c, Carter, O'Neill, Daniel, and the Mandalorian

Hammond: "So let me get this straight. You're from another galaxy."

Mando: "Yes."

Hammond: "You traveled here through unknown means."

Mando: "Yes."

Hammond: "You're hunting a bounty that doesn't exist in this reality."

Mando: "...Yes."

Hammond: "And you have a fifty-year-old infant who can move objects with his mind."

Mando: "He's not an infant. He's fifty."

O'Neill: "He ate a frog out of my hand yesterday. That's pretty infant-like."

Hammond: "Gentlemen, please. The question is: what do we do now?"

Carter: "Sir, if I could study their technology, we might learn how they crossed realities. It could revolutionize our understanding of—"

Mando: "No."

Carter: "I didn't even finish—"

Mando: "This is the way."

O'Neill: "That's not actually an answer."

Teal'c: "It is an answer, O'Neill. You simply do not wish to accept it."

Daniel: "Actually, I think we should help him find a way home. We've been displaced before. We know what it's like."

Grogu coos and floats Hammond's nameplate off the desk

Hammond: "Son, could you put that back?"

Grogu giggles and makes it spin

Hammond: deep sigh "We'll work on getting you home. In the meantime, you're under SGC protection. Consider yourself part of SG-1."

O'Neill: "Sir, we don't really have room for—"

Teal'c: "I welcome our new teammate."

Mando: nods at Teal'c

Teal'c: nods back

O'Neill: "Oh good, now there's two of them."

The Mandalorian Meets SG-1: "The Constantly Kidnapped Support Group"

Episode 8:

Meeting Minutes by Dr. Jackson

Attendees: Me, Grogu (represented by cooing)

Location: My office, because I've been kidnapped too many times to bother with an official meeting room

Agenda: Coping strategies for repeated abduction

Minutes:

Me: "Okay, so rule number one—and I can't stress this enough—always check if your kidnapper has a monologue prepared. If they do, they're not going to kill you immediately. You have time."

Grogu: attentive coo

Me: "Rule two: Make friends with your fellow captives. I've met some of my best contacts while imprisoned by various System Lords, rogue NID agents, and that one time with the energy beings."

Grogu: sad coo

Me: "Yeah, it happens a lot. You get used to it. Sort of."

Door opens. Vala Mal Doran walks in

Vala: "Oh good, a support group! Can I join? I've been kidnapped seventeen times this year."

Me: "It's only March."

Vala: "Your point?"

Grogu: excited coo, floats a pen

Vala: "Oh he's adorable! Can he steal things for me?"

Me: "That's... not what his powers are for."

Vala: "Shame."

Action items:

Develop universal escape signal
Create comfort items care package for kidnapping victims
Teach Grogu that just because you CAN Force-choke your kidnapper doesn't mean you SHOULD (this one's important)

Next meeting: Probably in a Goa'uld cell somewhere. Bring snacks.

The Mandalorian Meets SG-1: "The Code of Honor"

Episode 7:

Recorded Conversation - Briefing Room

Teal'c and the Mandalorian, alone

Teal'c: "Your devotion to the child is most honorable."

Mando: nods

Teal'c: "I too have worn the helmet of servitude. The mark of Apophis upon my forehead was both burden and identity."

Mando: "You removed it."

Teal'c: "I chose freedom. I chose to define myself beyond the symbol I wore. The helmet does not make the warrior—the warrior's actions do."

Mando: long pause "This is the way."

Teal'c: "Indeed. And your way is honorable."

Another long pause

Teal'c: "The child has stolen my staff weapon again."

Mando: "He does that."

Teal'c: "Indeed."

They both look over to where Grogu is using the Force to make the staff weapon spin in the air like a baton

Mando: "I should stop him."

Teal'c: "Perhaps... in a moment."

End recording

The Mandalorian Meets SG-1: "Indeed vs. This Is the Way"

Episode 6:

Observational Notes by Dr. Daniel Jackson

I've been documenting the verbal interactions between Teal'c and the Mandalorian. As a linguist and anthropologist, I find their communication style fascinating.

Here's what I've learned:

"Indeed" (Teal'c) can mean:

Yes
I agree
That is correct
I acknowledge your statement
I respect your warrior prowess
That explosion was satisfactory
This weapon is adequate
Your child has stolen my staff weapon again

"This is the way" (The Mandalorian) can mean:

This is our tradition
I cannot remove my helmet
I must protect the child
This is the correct course of action
I acknowledge your warrior prowess
That explosion was satisfactory
Your culture is acceptable
Your Jaffa friend understands honor

The overlap is remarkable.

Yesterday, I watched them have an entire conversation:

Teal'c: "Indeed." Mando: "This is the way." Teal'c: single nod Mando: helmet tilt

And somehow they both walked away with a complete understanding of the mission parameters, extraction timeline, and backup plans.

O'Neill asked me to translate. I told him I'd need another PhD and possibly psychic powers.

Meanwhile, Grogu has learned to say "Indeed" in his little baby voice. It's the cutest thing I've ever heard and also somehow terrifying.

The Mandalorian Meets SG-1:"The Helmet Incident"

Episode 5:

Personal Log: Colonel Jack O'Neill

I have made it my personal mission to see what this guy looks like under that bucket. Not because I care, but because it's become a thing now.

Attempts so far:

Attempt #1: Invited him to the commissary. Laid out a full spread. Pizza, burgers, cake. He just stared at it. Result: Failure. He took food "to go" and presumably ate it alone somewhere.

Attempt #2: Suggested a team photo. "For the records," I said. Very official. He stood in the back and the helmet stayed on. Result: We now have a team photo with a Mandalorian in it. Not helpful.

Attempt #3: Told him the base had a strict "no helmet" policy in secure areas. Teal'c said "There is no such policy, O'Neill." Thanks, Teal'c. Very helpful. Result: Embarrassing failure.

Attempt #4: Asked Grogu to use his weird baby magic to remove the helmet. Grogu looked at me, looked at the Mandalorian, looked back at me, and made a noise that I'm pretty sure was the toddler equivalent of "Are you insane?" Result: Even the baby knows this is a bad idea.

Carter pointed out that respecting other cultures' traditions is kind of our whole thing.

Fine. He can keep the helmet.

But I'm still curious.

The Mandalorian Meets SG-1: "The Beskar Mystery"

Episode 4:

Lab Notes by Major Carter

I've been trying to analyze the Mandalorian's armor for three days. Every test I run comes back with impossible results.

It's not on the periodic table. It's not any known alloy. When I tried a molecular scan, my equipment literally sparked and died.

"What is this made of?" I asked him.

"Beskar."

"Yes, but what is Beskar?"

"Mandalorian iron."

"But what's its composition? Its atomic structure?"

Helmet tilt.

"This is the way."

I'm going to lose my mind.

Colonel O'Neill thinks it's hilarious. "Welcome to my world, Carter. Sometimes people just say things and that's all you get."

Teal'c examined the armor with interest. "It is most impressive. The Goa'uld possess no weapon that could penetrate such protection."

The Mandalorian gave a small nod. Apparently that was a whole conversation in Stoic Warrior Language.

Meanwhile, Grogu has been floating random objects around the base. Today's highlights:

O'Neill's coffee mug (he was not amused)
Three staplers from the briefing room
General Hammond's glasses (he was significantly less amused)
Daniel's tablet while he was using it

Daniel has started a support group for victims of telekinesis. Current membership: him and anyone within 50 feet of Grogu.

The Serenity-Voyager Borg Heist

Act One: The Impossible Meeting

Voyager's Cargo Bay - First Contact

Serenity has somehow materialized in Voyager's cargo bay through an inexplicable dimensional rift. The crews face each other.

JANEWAY: Captain Malcolm Reynolds, I presume?

MAL: (hand on pistol) That's a mighty fine guess, but I prefer just "Mal." And you are?

JANEWAY: Captain Kathryn Janeway, USS Voyager. Stand down, Captain. We're not your enemy.

MAL: (to Zoe, quietly) You notice how people who say that are usually about to become your enemy?

ZOE: Sir, yes sir.

CHAKOTAY: (stepping forward) Your ship came through what we believe is a quantum fissure. We're trying to determine—

WASH: (interrupting) Quick question—why does everything sound like you're making it up? Quantum fissure? Is that like a regular fissure but MORE science-y?

TUVOK: Your pilot's irreverence is... inefficient.

WASH: I get that a lot from people with pointed ears.

The Problem Emerges

JANEWAY: We detected a Borg cube heading toward this sector. It will arrive in approximately six hours.

MAL: The Borg. Right. And those are...?

SEVEN: Cybernetic organisms. They assimilate entire civilizations, stripping them of individuality and adding their biological and technological distinctiveness to the Collective.

Kaylee looks horrified. Jayne looks interested.

JAYNE: So they got good tech?

SEVEN: Superior to anything in your vessel by several orders of magnitude.

JAYNE: (grinning) Sounds profitable.

MAL: Jayne, no.

JAYNE: Jayne, yes! Cap'n, think about it—

MAL: I am thinking. About NOT getting assimilated by cyborg zombies.

RIVER: (staring at Seven) She used to be one. She still hears them. Whispers in the dark. "You will be assimilated." But she said no. (tilts head) How do you say no to billions?

Seven stares at River, genuinely unnerved.

SEVEN: How did you—

RIVER: I hear things too. They made me hear. Made me see. Cut into my brain and made me perfect. (to Seven) You understand.

SEVEN: (quietly) Yes. I do.

Act Two: The Plan Forms

Voyager's Astrometrics Lab

Janeway has called a joint planning session. The crews awkwardly mix.

JANEWAY: The Borg cube is damaged. Long-range sensors indicate it's running on partial power after an encounter with Species 8472.

MAL: You people name species by number? That's just lazy.

JANEWAY: (ignoring him) This presents an opportunity. There's technology on that cube that could help us get both our ships home.

MAL: Or we could just... not go toward the murder-cyborgs.

SIMON: For once, I agree with Mal.

SEVEN: The cube's transwarp coil is accessible from their damaged engineering section. With it, Voyager could return to the Alpha Quadrant. Your vessel could return to... wherever you came from.

WASH: The part of space that's NOT full of Borg would be nice.

BOOK: Captain, might I suggest that stealing from beings who literally share a collective consciousness is... unwise?

JANEWAY: It's not stealing. It's tactical acquisition.

MAL: (grins) Oh, I like her.

ZOE: Sir, this is a terrible idea.

MAL: Zoe, all the best ideas are terrible. (to Janeway) Alright, Captain. We're in. But we do this OUR way.

JANEWAY: Absolutely not. This is a Starfleet operation with strict protocols—

MAL: Protocols don't mean much when you're dodging assimilation nanoprobes. You want that coil? You need people who know how to steal things and not die.

JANEWAY: (pause) Fine. Joint operation. But I'm in command.

MAL: We'll see how that goes.

The Unlikely Plan

SEVEN: The Borg's regeneration cycle occurs every 4.3 hours. During this time, drones are vulnerable.

KAYLEE: (studying scans) Wait, their whole ship is... alive? Kinda? With the technology all grown together with the... ew.

SEVEN: Correct. Borg vessels are a hybrid of biological and technological—

KAYLEE: Like Serenity! 'Cept, you know, evil.

B'ELANNA: Your ship is biological?

KAYLEE: No, but she's got a soul. I can feel her when something's wrong.

B'ELANNA: (skeptical) That's... not how engineering works.

KAYLEE: You ever try asking your ship what's wrong 'fore you start ripping out parts?

B'ELANNA: (pause) ...No.

KAYLEE: Might could try that sometime.

Across the room:

JAYNE: (to Kim) So what kinda weapons you got?

KIM: Phasers, photon torpedoes, defensive shields rated for—

JAYNE: You got grenades?

KIM: ...Why would we need grenades?

JAYNE: (disgusted) What kinda military don't have grenades?

PARIS: We're not military. We're explorers.

JAYNE: You explore by shootin' torpedoes at folks?

PARIS: Well... when necessary...

JAYNE: Then you're military. Just too embarrassed to admit it.

Act Three: The Heist

Aboard the Borg Cube

Two away teams beam/shuttle onto the cube: Janeway, Seven, Tuvok, Paris | Mal, Zoe, Jayne, River

MAL: (looking around) This is... deeply unpleasant.

JANEWAY: Stay focused. The transwarp coil is three sections forward.

RIVER: (whispering) They're sleeping. Dreaming electric dreams. But some are waking...

SEVEN: She's right. We have approximately eight minutes before the nearest drones complete their regeneration cycle.

ZOE: How does your crazy girl know that?

SEVEN: Because she and I are not so different.

They move through the cube. Drones stand in alcoves, inactive.

JAYNE: (raising Vera) Can I just shoot one? Just to see what happens?

MAL, JANEWAY, TUVOK, SEVEN: (in unison) NO.

JAYNE: Gorramit.

The Transwarp Chamber

They reach the massive transwarp coil. Kaylee and B'Elanna are working together via comm.

KAYLEE: (over comm) Okay, you should see three power couplings—the glowy green things.

B'ELANNA: They're plasma conduits, not "glowy green things."

KAYLEE: Same difference. Disconnect 'em gentle-like. Ship's gonna feel that.

B'ELANNA: The ship doesn't feel—

The cube shudders.

KAYLEE: Told ya.

Drones begin activating around them.

TUVOK: We have been detected.

BORG COLLECTIVE: (speaking through nearest drone) Species 5618. Species unknown. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

MAL: (firing pistol) That's where you're wrong, you mechanical nightmare—resistance is ALL I got!

JANEWAY: Cover Seven! She's the only one who can extract the coil!

Combat erupts. Phasers fire. Bullets fly. River moves like water, somehow knowing where drones will be before they move.

JAYNE: (shooting) Your girl's creepier than the Borg!

MAL: She's a special kind of psychic! Just keep shooting!

PARIS: (firing phaser) They're adapting to our weapons!

JAYNE: (tossing a grenade) Adapt to THIS!

Explosion. Drones scatter.

KIM: Did you just—grenades work!

JAYNE: TOLD you!

The Extraction

SEVEN: (working frantically) The coil is secured to the ship's infrastructure. I need two more minutes.

BORG COLLECTIVE: You will be assimilated. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own.

RIVER: (stepping toward the nearest drone, unafraid) You're wrong. You can't assimilate everything. Some things break your pattern. I broke the Academy. She broke the Collective. (points at Seven) We're the chaos in your order.

The Borg pause, processing.

MAL: (pulling River back) River, stop talking to the murder-robots!

SEVEN: (triumphant) I have it! GO!

JANEWAY: All teams, emergency transport NOW!

They beam/rush out just as more drones converge.

Act Four: The Aftermath

Voyager Cargo Bay

Both crews reconvene. The transwarp coil sits between them.

JANEWAY: Well. That was... unconventional.

MAL: That's Serenity's specialty.

B'ELANNA: I have to admit, the grenade thing was effective.

JAYNE: Thank you! FINALLY someone with sense!

KAYLEE: (to Janeway) Ma'am, if you want, I could take a look at this coil 'fore we go. Make sure it's installed right.

JANEWAY: Your expertise would be... appreciated.

SEVEN: (to River) What you said to the Borg. About breaking patterns. How did you know it would confuse them?

RIVER: Because I know what it's like to be made into a weapon. To have your thoughts stolen. They took my brain. You took yours back.

SEVEN: Yes. With help.

RIVER: Everyone needs help. Even perfect people.

Simon approaches.

SIMON: River, we should—

DOCTOR: (materializing) Fascinating! A holographic program! Your projection matrix is remarkably stable considering your apparent technological limitations—

SIMON: Did that man just appear out of thin air?

DOCTOR: I'm a hologram. And a doctor. The Emergency Medical Hologram, to be precise.

SIMON: (intrigued despite himself) A sentient hologram? The programming required...

DOCTOR: Would you like to see my neural pathways? I've been developing my own subroutines—

SIMON: (completely engaged) Yes, actually—

MAL: Simon, no. We're not staying to talk to the computer-generated doctor.

SIMON: But Mal—

MAL: NOPE.

The Farewell

The dimensional rift is stabilizing. Serenity must leave.

JANEWAY: Captain Reynolds. Thank you. You and your crew are... surprisingly effective.

MAL: We're good at being underestimated. (offers hand) You ever find yourself in less... science-fiction parts of space, look us up.

JANEWAY: (shaking it) Likewise. Though I suspect our definitions of "less science-fiction" differ considerably.

WASH: (to Paris) Your ship has a holodeck? Like a whole room that makes fake stuff real?

PARIS: Yeah. Why?

WASH: I would NEVER leave. They'd have to pry me out.

PARIS: That... actually happens sometimes.

ZOE: (to Chakotay) Your captain's got steel. Respect.

CHAKOTAY: Yours too. Different style, same core.

INARA: (to Janeway) Captain. A word of advice from someone who's negotiated with many powerful people: trust your instincts. Command suits you.

JANEWAY: (smiling) Thank you. And you—you're not what you appear to be.

INARA: Few of us are.

River approaches Seven one last time.

RIVER: You're going to be okay. The voices get quieter. Eventually. You'll find people who understand. Who see you, not what you were.

SEVEN: (something softening in her expression) Thank you, River Tam. I hope you find peace as well.

RIVER: I found Serenity. That's close enough.

Departure

Serenity lifts off, heading toward the rift.

BOOK: (to Mal) We just stole from the Borg alongside Starfleet.

MAL: Yep.

BOOK: This is among the strangest days I've experienced.

MAL: Book, we had a girl who's psychic, a ship that's half-alive, and a Companion who might be able to negotiate peace treaties. Strange is kinda our baseline.

JAYNE: (counting equipment) I got three Borg power cells. Think we can sell 'em?

MAL: Jayne, we are NOT selling Borg technology.

JAYNE: But Cap'n—

MAL: We got out alive. We got a story no one will believe. And Kaylee got to talk shop with future-engineers. That's enough.

Wash pilots through the rift.

WASH: Going home! To the 'Verse where physics makes sense!

As Serenity vanishes:

KAYLEE: (wistful) I'm gonna miss that place. Did you see their engine room? And that coil thing? And—

MAL: Kaylee.

KAYLEE: Yeah?

MAL: Next time we meet impossibly advanced people from the future...

KAYLEE: Yeah?

MAL: Try not to ask if we can keep their stuff.

KAYLEE: (grinning) No promises, Cap'n.

Epilogue: Voyager Bridge

JANEWAY: Captain's log, supplemental. Today we encountered a vessel from... I'm honestly not certain where. Or when. They helped us acquire a transwarp coil from the Borg using what can only be described as "organized chaos."

CHAKOTAY: Still processing what happened?

JANEWAY: They stole from the Borg, Chakotay. Successfully. Using grenades and instinct.

CHAKOTAY: And it worked.

JANEWAY: (reluctant smile) It worked. Don't tell Starfleet Command.

TUVOK: Captain, regulations require full disclosure of all First Contact scenarios—

JANEWAY: Tuvok. We just stole from the Borg with a crew of space cowboys. I don't think regulations cover this.

SEVEN: (at her station) Captain. The girl, River. She understood the Borg's weakness. Chaos disrupts order. Individuality confuses the Collective.

JANEWAY: Are you saying we should be more chaotic?

SEVEN: No. But perhaps... occasionally... a less rigid approach has merit.

JANEWAY: (smiling) Coming from you, Seven, that's practically revolutionary.

Voyager engages the transwarp coil. In the distance, Serenity flies toward home.

Two captains, two crews, one impossible day. And a shared understanding: sometimes the best plans are barely plans at all.

THE END

The Mandalorian Meets SG-1: "The Rescue: A Study in Minimalist Communication"

Episode 3:

Mission Report by Major Samantha Carter

Infiltration team: Teal'c and the Mandalorian (who still hasn't told us his actual name).

Verbal communication during the entire mission:

Teal'c: "Indeed." (once)
The Mandalorian: "This is the way." (once)
Total words: 5

Doors breached: 12 Guards neutralized: 47 Staff weapon blasts fired in perfect synchronization: 23 Coordinated head tilts: 8

I don't know how they did it. They didn't use hand signals. They didn't use comms. They just... knew. It was like watching a ballet performed by two heavily armed warrior monks who'd taken a vow of near-total silence.

At one point, they cleared a room back-to-back without looking at each other. Mando's blaster went left, Teal'c's staff weapon went right. Perfect coverage, zero overlap, maximum efficiency.

Colonel O'Neill watched the whole thing on our UAV feed and just kept muttering "show-offs" under his breath.

When they extracted Daniel and Grogu, the kid immediately reached for Teal'c's staff weapon again. This time, Teal'c just handed it to him.

Grogu bonked a Jaffa on the head with it.

Teal'c's mouth twitched. That's a Jaffa smile, for the record.

The Mandalorian Meets SG-1: "The Kidnapping Begins (Again)"

Filed by: Dr. Daniel Jackson, from a Goa'uld prison cell

You'd think after being kidnapped 47 times (yes, I'm counting), I'd develop some kind of resistance to it. A Spidey-sense for impending abduction. But no.

This time, they also grabbed the kid. Grogu, the Mandalorian calls him.

The Goa'uld—some minor System Lord named Ba'lek who was clearly overcompensating for not being Ra—thinks Grogu is a Harcesis child. You know, one of those forbidden Goa'uld offspring who inherits all their parents' genetic knowledge?

I tried explaining that he's actually a completely different species from an entirely different reality, but Ba'lek's eyes glowed and he did the booming voice thing: "SILENCE! The child will reveal the secrets of the Ancients!"

Grogu ate a frog.

Not metaphorically. There was literally a frog in the cell and he caught it with his tongue and ate it.

Ba'lek seemed disturbed by this.

"So," I said to Grogu, "first time being kidnapped?"

He cooed at me.

"Yeah, me neither. You get used to it."

The Mandalorian Meets SG-1: "Through the Gate, This is the Way"

Stardate: Who Cares, We're Using Stargates

So there I was, standing on P3X-887 (because apparently the Air Force ran out of creative planet names), watching Colonel O'Neill try to convince a Mandalorian bounty hunter that yes, we really did just travel through a magic ring to get here.

"It's not magic," Carter corrected for the fifteenth time. "It's a wormhole that creates a stable subspace connection between—"

The Mandalorian said nothing. Just that helmet tilt thing. You know the one.

Teal'c did his own head tilt. They were having a full conversation and nobody else understood a word of it.

"Are they... communicating?" I asked.

"I believe they are," O'Neill said, squinting at them. "It's like watching two mime artists argue about parking."

Then the little green kid in the Mandalorian's floating pram lifted Teal'c's staff weapon using nothing but his tiny three-fingered hand. While sitting eight feet away.

The weapon flew across the camp and bonked Teal'c gently on the forehead.

Teal'c raised one eyebrow.

The child giggled.

"Okay," O'Neill said. "That's new."

Seven of Nine Meets Moya and Pilot

Scene: Pilot's Den

Seven of Nine enters Pilot's chamber for the first time. She stops, scanning the space with clinical precision. Pilot observes her with multiple eyes, intrigued by this unusual visitor.

SEVEN: I am Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One. I have been assigned to analyze this vessel's propulsion systems.

PILOT: (shifting uncomfortably) Moya is not a "vessel." She is a Leviathan. A living being.

SEVEN: Incorrect. This structure exhibits characteristics of both biological and technological systems. The proper classification is biomechanoid. Your emotional attachment to the ship is... understandable but inefficient.

PILOT: (bristling) It is not attachment. It is symbiosis. Moya and I are bonded.

SEVEN: I am familiar with cybernetic interfaces between organic and technological components. The Borg achieved perfect integration of—

PILOT: (firmly) This is not the Borg. We chose this bond. We are not drones.

Seven pauses. Something in Pilot's tone registers.

SEVEN: Elaborate.

The Conversation Deepens

PILOT: Moya has thoughts. Feelings. Fears. Right now, she is... curious about you. And somewhat wary.

SEVEN: The ship is sentient?

PILOT: (exasperated) Stop calling her "the ship." Her name is Moya. And yes, she is as conscious as you or I.

SEVEN: (processing) The Borg encountered biomechanoid technology. Species 472. Species 8901. All were assimilated. Their collective consciousness was added to our own, but individual sentience was irrelevant.

PILOT: (quietly) I imagine Moya finds that concept terrifying.

Seven's ocular implant whirs as she tilts her head.

SEVEN: You said she is curious about me. Why?

PILOT: Because you were part of something vast. Connected to millions of minds. She wonders... what that felt like. To never be alone.

Seven's Reflection

Seven is silent for a long moment.

SEVEN: The Collective is not companionship. It is uniformity. Every thought monitored. Every action directed. I was never alone, but I was never... myself.

PILOT: Moya understands loneliness. She was captured young. Bonded to me against her will, through pain. For cycles, she carried prisoners in her belly, forced to serve those who hurt her.

SEVEN: (something shifts in her expression) She was a prisoner.

PILOT: Yes. As were you.

Seven looks at Pilot directly.

SEVEN: You understand this bond was forced. Yet you remain connected.

PILOT: We chose to heal it. To make it real. The Peacekeepers rushed our bonding—our neural connections were misaligned, causing us both agony. The crew helped us... regrow it properly. Now we are truly one.

SEVEN: You rebuilt your connection by choice.

PILOT: Yes.

Seven's hand unconsciously moves to her cortical node.

SEVEN: I was Borg for eighteen years. The Doctor removed my implants, but the connections remain. I am still partly... integrated. I hear echoes of the Collective even now.

PILOT: (gently) Do you wish them gone?

SEVEN: (hesitates) I do not know. They are part of my efficiency. My perfection.

PILOT: Moya says... perfection is a lonely goal.

Understanding

SEVEN: Moya communicates with you constantly?

PILOT: Always. Every moment. Her joy is my joy. Her pain is mine. When she Starbursts, I feel the rush of energy through her body as if it were my own.

SEVEN: This is not efficiency. This is vulnerability.

PILOT: Perhaps. But it is also trust. She trusts me to guide her. I trust her to carry me. We are stronger together than either of us could be alone.

Seven studies Pilot, truly seeing him for the first time.

SEVEN: The Borg taught me that individuality is weakness. That connection requires uniformity.

PILOT: Then the Borg were wrong. Moya and I are completely different beings. I breathe air; she breathes starlight. I am small; she is vast. But we understand each other. That is true connection.

Seven sits down slowly on the edge of Pilot's console.

SEVEN: On Voyager, Captain Janeway tells me I must rediscover my humanity. Learn to connect with others as an individual. I find the process... inefficient. Frustrating.

PILOT: (with a hint of humor) Moya says that sounds very human.

SEVEN: (the ghost of a smile) Indeed.

Moya's Message

PILOT: (listening to something Seven cannot hear) Moya wants me to tell you something.

SEVEN: Proceed.

PILOT: She says... you are not broken. You are healing. Like we did. And healing is not efficient—it is necessary.

Seven is quiet. Her fingers trace the pattern of remaining Borg technology on her hand.

SEVEN: Thank you, Pilot. And... Moya.

PILOT: You're welcome, Seven of Nine.

Seven stands to leave, then pauses at the entrance.

SEVEN: Pilot. When Moya Starbursts... what does it feel like?

PILOT: (eyes gleaming) Like being afraid and exhilarated at the same time. Like letting go of control and trusting completely. Like flying through chaos and coming out whole on the other side.

SEVEN: (considering) Perhaps that is what Janeway wants me to learn.

PILOT: Perhaps it is what we all must learn.

Epilogue

Seven returns to Pilot's den three times over the next week. She claims she is studying Moya's propulsion systems. Pilot knows better. So does Moya.

On the fourth visit, Seven brings Pilot nutritional supplements she's synthesized specifically for his physiology. She does not explain why.

Moya hums contentedly. Pilot understands: Seven of Nine is learning what it means to choose connection.

And for a former Borg drone and a forcibly-bonded Pilot, that understanding matters more than efficiency ever could.