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I know that some of you are thinking that pairing Seven of Nine with anyone but Captain Kathryn Janeway verges on sacrilege.  But I'd like to make a case for considering Seven with the ever volatile Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres.  My friend calls people who favor this pairing as being on the Dark Side but I happen to like writing the stuff and though there is very little subtext to support my preference it wouldn't be the first, nor the last time, TPTB overlooked potential character development.

Let's start with the obvious, opposites attract.  This has been a major theme in literature, theater, movies and anything else with a romantic plot in it.  Harlequin Romances Publishing Company has been making a fortune based on this formula for decades!  Two people meet and instantly hate one another, constantly arguing and butting heads over anything and everything. Emotions run high, we're not talking indifference here.  They just can't stand the sight of one another.

And then one day something happens, a crisis of some kind, maybe even life threatening, and suddenly these two adversaries are allies.  In that moment they realize they'd been fighting a powerful, mutual attraction all along.  Sounds like a good Voyager episode to me!  Isn't that pretty much what happened to B'Elanna and Tom?  So why not Seven instead?

Why does B'Elanna dislike Seven so much?  For being to weak to resist the Borg and getting herself assimilated?  Torres abhors weakness yet she knows that Seven was only a child when she was assimilated.  Or is it because of what Seven did as a Borg?  Seven was a victim, any one can see that.  And no one blames Seven for what she did as a Borg more than Seven herself.  Maybe it's because Seven is so unemotional, yet if that were true why doesn't Tuvok deserve the same contempt?  Most likely it's Seven's arrogance, the way she circumvents protocol and procedure, and her insensitivity to other people's feelings..... I'm sorry, were we talking about Seven or B'Elanna just now?  Not so opposite at all, are they?  There really is no basis for all the animosity between them.

The one clear contrast between these two is Seven's lack of emotion and B'Elanna's highly emotional nature.  This essential difference should actually work for them, with Seven's ability to retain control tempering Torres' excessive emotions and Seven learning to express her feelings and not bottling them up all the time.  Together they could find the balance they so desperately need.

And here's my greatest argument for a T/7 pairing, these are two people caught between two cultures, fitting into neither, and often feeling like outsiders on Voyager.

B'Elanna Torres, half Human and half Klingon, has fought her Klingon side her entire life.  In "Faces" she learns that both are essential to her being but even that is not enough as we continue to watch her struggle with Klingon rites and rituals as recently as "Barge of the Dead."  And while she may prefer her Human side, her Klingon nature, strength, and physical features leave her on the outside when it comes to other Humans.

Seven of Nine, born Human, spent her formative years, and then some, as a Borg.  No longer Borg and in her own words, "I don't know how to be Human," she is equally lost between cultures.  Having no desire to be Borg any more, her only choice is to move towards her lost Humanity, a process that will take years to complete.  And just as any child whose childhood is stolen in a brutal manner, she may always be damaged and incomplete.

Certainly B'Elanna and Seven could start by recognizing and appreciating their mutual dilemma, accepting each other's cultural dichotomy that is so similar to their own.  Creating a safe haven together where they can be themselves, they could then, if they so desired, begin the work of merging their individual, divergent natures into a cohesive whole and find true peace within.

Both women are feared and misunderstood by most of the Voyager crew, B'Elanna for the Klingon in her and Seven for being Borg.  Accepted by very few, these two should at least be friends.  Good friends.  Why not lovers?

And ending on a purely practical note, as well as a physical one, there is their physical compatibility.  Each possessing superior strength to most Humanoids, together they can let go without fear of permanently damaging one another.  Having to constantly contain oneself while in the throes of passion doesn't exactly sound like a good time to me!  It should be a moment of releasing all their inhibitions and together they could.  This is especially important when you consider that their very strength is what many of the others fear most about them.

As much as I appreciate the idea of a J/7 pairing, let's be honest and accept that Janeway is never going to make the first move and if Seven does, Janeway would cry 'duty' and turn her away.  Seven needs to realize that and move on in her development as an individual, forming closer, more intimate bonds with others and finding true happiness.  B'Elanna Torres is the solution so take a moment to consider what I've said and join me on the Dark Side.  Give T/7 a chance, as many of us already have. You might be surprised at what you find.