Star Trek: Picard has brought another Voyager character back in the shape of Icheb, here's what the former Borg's brief return means for the new series. Star Trek: Picard has featured appearances from an array of legacy characters thus far, and there's still plenty more to come. Aside from Patrick Stewart's long-awaited reprisal of Jean-Luc Picard, the audience has been reintroduced to Brent Spiner's Data, Hugh Borg and Bruce Maddox from The Next Generation, while Jeri Ryan once again plays Seven of Nine from Voyager. Scenes featuring Riker and Troi are yet to come, and the remaining 5 episodes could hold further character surprises.

In this week's "Stardust City Rag," Picard's makeshift new crew happen across Seven of Nine, and their paths to the planet of Freecloud converge for a time. While Picard wants to visit the Las Vegas of the Alpha Doradus system in order to track down Bruce Maddox, the man who made Dahj and Soji, Seven of Nine's has nothing other than revenge on her mind. In an earlier flashback scene, it's revealed that Seven attempted and failed to rescue another ex-Borg character called Icheb from being brutally dissected. The duo clearly shared a strong mother-and-son-esque bond and now Seven is desperately hunting down the figure behind Icheb's capture and death - a harvester of Borg components by the name Bjayzl.

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Introduced in Voyager season 6's "Collective," Icheb was originally a Brunali living in the Delta Quadrant, whose planet was a frequently attacked by the Borg. Icheb's parents genetically engineered their son to be a weapon against the Collective and, sure enough, his assimilation killed off many Borg on board his cube. After maturing, he assumed control of the ship and attacked the Voyager, only to lose and be captured along with a select number of other young drones. As they had done previously with Seven of Nine, the Voyager crew attempted to remove their prisoners' Borg implants, and it was Icheb who showed the most progress.

Icheb in Star Trek Voyager

Seven acted as a mentor to Icheb, aiding him in his transition back to humanity. The duo's relationship was frosty at first, largely due to Seven's overly-strict leadership style, but her maternal instincts began to kick in when the Voyager returned Icheb to his Brunali family. Seven rightly suspected that Icheb's parents weren't what they appeared to be, and she helped rescue him from being used against as a Borg battering ram for a second time. From here, Icheb grew into a valued member of the Voyager crew; not always understanding human intricacies but vastly intelligent and deeply interested in bettering himself, particularly via the teachings of one James Tiberius Kirk.

After the events of Voyager, it appears Icheb continued his goal of becoming a Starfleet officer, but remained loyal to Seven of Nine when she joined the Fenris Rangers, and this is no surprise given the pair's close ties. After initially clashing, Icheb and Seven developed a student and mentor relationship that eventually evolved into a more parent and child dynamic. This closeness was solidified when Icheb risked his life to save Seven's by donating his cortical node as a replacement for Seven's malfunctioning one. Although Icheb's tenure on Star Trek: Picard was shockingly short, Seven of Nine did tutor other reclaimed Borg youngsters on the Voyager, and although she wasn't as close to the others, it wouldn't be surprising to see them also make a modern-day return.

These events cast the latest episode of Star Trek: Picard in a brand new light. Icheb put his life on the line in order to ensure Seven lived, and thanks to his scientific brilliance, he succeeded. Seven would attempt the same when she recklessly attacked Bjayzl's lab to rescue her adopted son but, unlike Icheb's organ transplant, Seven was unsuccessful, and she was forced into choosing between watching her child suffer or shooting him herself. Seven's familial connection to Icheb, despite not being his birth mother, is an extremely apt storyline for Star Trek: Picard to revisit, given that the central story revolves around Data and his off not-entirely-biological offspring, and therefore continues to humanize the synthetic characters of the Star Trek universe.

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Star Trek: Picard continues with "The Impossible Box" February 27th on CBS All Access and Amazon Prime Video the following day.