The BLTS Archive- Punishment and Consquences
by Riss (usc_mam@yahoo.com)

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Disclaimer - Voyager is owned by Paramount/Viacom. What, you didn't
know that?  I'm just having some fun with the characters, no copyright
infringement is intended.ð

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Once again I contemplate the judgment of the Captain as I regenerate.
This time I am not engaging in what the databases identify as 'feeling
sorry for myself.' I am not involved in the incident except in my
disapproval of her actions.

The entire incident started when I identified an unusual phenomena
with the Astrometric sensors. After alerting the Bridge I investigated
further. With assistance from Ensigns Megan and Jenny Delany, I
attempted to find the origins of the Monean ocean. However, before our
analysis was complete, Lieut... Ensign Paris found the information in
the database of the computer at the center of the ocean.

It was the events which followed that have created problems with my
reasoning. If the Captain were to maintain consistency in her
punishment, there should not have been a punishment for Ensign Paris'
failure to obtain permission to use the Delta Flyer.

After the regrowth of many of my Borg components due to the proximity
to the Borg transponder on the Raven, when I stole a shuttle from
Voyager, I was not reprimanded for that action. Despite disabling
another shuttle and my attempts to injure Lieutenant Commander Tuvok,
I was simply given additional assignments to improve my social
interactions. While they may have felt like punishment, the Captain
meant them as a means for me to better adjust to the Voyager
collective.

However, the actions taken against Ensign Paris can not be construed
as even a harsh reprimand. The thirty days of solitary confinement
well exceed the normal amount dictated by Starfleet rules. While a
court marshal adjudicated by three admirals was impossible, exceeding
the normal punishment was not consistent.

Solitary confinement is cruel for anyone. My severance from the
Collective was a very painful event. Even now I can feel and remember
the terror I felt as my connection to others was ripped away. While
Ensign Paris was never connected to the Collective, his importance to
the Voyager collective is very high.

In my time on Voyager I have observed that he is a very social
creature. He is dependent on others around him to provide comfort and
companionship. Denial of these social interactions for thirty days
will lead to extreme mental stress and possibly permanent emotional
damage according to the medical texts I have examined on the subject.

The opposite is true as well, with the crew of Voyager depending on
Ensign Paris for irrelevant social interactions. While he was confined
to the brig the social interactions on Voyager declined to even lower
levels than that displayed during our travel through the void.
Additionally I was 'hurt' because of his confinement. He was one of
the few members of this crew who did not treat me any different
because I was Borg. In addition to my observations of the crew, I felt
alone during his confinement.

Even more troubling to me is the manner in which this punishment was
handed out. When I was reprimanded for my actions, including my
temporary confinement to the Cargo Bay, it was similar to what I
remember my mother doing to me as a child. A reprimand meant to
encourage compliance which was not what Ensign Paris received. His
punishment was handed out in anger and enforced with impudence.

The Captain does not look upon Ensign Paris as a son. I believe she
sees him as her equal and is in love with him. I have spent much time
contemplating this issue and I am certain there is a mutual attraction
between these two people. While it is not quite as obvious with Ensign
Paris, his smile gives him away.

I have observed that only two people have the power to illicit his
twenty-first smile. Most often it is directed at Lieutenant Torres,
especially as the two of them leave the holodeck late in the evening.
However, when Lieutenant Torres is working in Engineering and the
Captain comes down to the helm and places her hand on his shoulder, I
have seen it there as well. It is an extremely open and inviting smile
that begs the observer, even if it is not directed at them, to join
them in whatever the giver is doing.

With the Captain, one only has to count how much time she spends
looking at him, whether at the helm, while on the holodeck or even in
the Mess Hall to discover her feelings. She is clearly in love with
him despite his continued involvement in a monogamous relationship
with Lieutenant Torres. Even the attention of the Commander, which at
first appeared to me to be of a romantic nature has not cured her of
the attraction.

Perhaps this influenced her harsh punishment of him. I have read in
the database of horrible offenses committed by the 'woman scorned.' If
the Captain interpreted his actions as directed against her, rather
than the mission he was attempting, this might explain her irrational
actions.

This might also explain her recent behavior. It has been almost three
months since I presented myself at her Ready Room to object to her
treatment of Ensign Paris. Since that time she has defied the Prime
Directive, attempted to wipe the Doctor's memory, sought out the Borg,
engaged in a romantic relationship with a member of a hostile species
and placed a reprimand for Ensign Kim's own romantic entanglement.
When I first joined Voyager I was told that I was part of a family.
Over time I began to believe that to be true. Now the benign dictator
has stopped looking at us as her children. We are no longer the family
that we once were, working together to find a way home.

Now she is obsessed with finding the way home. I believe it is her way
out. She feels she has ruined her chance at love and must now do
everything to obtain her other obsession.

I once thought as she did. I had secretly desired to return to the
Collective. I wanted to be a part of them, whole again. Yet my
ill-fated return did not appease that appetite. We all desire things
we can not have. I thought my return to the Borg would allow Voyager
to obtain the transwarp coil and return to their home. Instead it
endangered the ship and the lives of my friends. The Captain seems to
believe that the only thing left for her is to return the ship home.
This has overwhelmed her sense of judgment, causing her to inflict
discipline upon everyone. I fear she too will endanger the ship, her
crew and most definitely the one she loves.

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The End