Part 4 - A place to die

The Devore prison ship

Kathryn lay huddled on the hard bench, her back against one of Nithqref's bodies. It seemed like an eternity since she had left Voyager; in reality it was less than four weeks. As she stirred she felt Nithqref in her mind and sighed; sharing a cell with a telepath was more intrusive than she had guessed. She regretted the thought immediately, feeling Nithqref's hurt.

"I am sorry. The inactivity is making me jumpy. I just wish we could arrive wherever we are going and have a change of routine."

'We may look back on these days as halcyon. It is certain that our future will not be comfortable' the telepath replied sternly.

"Is it necessary for you always to be quite so gloomy?" said the former Starfleet Captain rather snippily. "Sorry! Sorry! I am not at my best first thing; must be the coffee deprivation." She deeply missed coffee at all times but it seemed worse when she had just woken up.

Nithqref looked at her closely and was concerned. The food and drink shared between them was insufficient to maintain three bodies and Kathryn was insistent that Nithqref received a two thirds share once she had realised that both the Halquine bodies had an equal requirement for nourishment. She looked thin and weak.

'This coffee may have been a very fine beverage Kathryn but it is equally likely that dehydration, starvation and apprehension also playing a part in your feelings. You are ill.'

The need for more fluid was especially acute. The Halquine resolved to make sure that today Kathryn had a larger share of the water, yet knowing how stubborn the small woman could be, it would not be easy. Yet again Nithqref reflected on the good fortune in being transferred to this cell. Kathryn Janeway was a born survivor and a leader and cared for those she led. Unfortunately it was also true that another few days would see them both too weak to survive regardless of how they rationed the food and water.

The sounds of the cleaning units began and Kathryn shrank against the Halquine. It was strange the creature reflected that the good Captain found this daily occurrence to be more painful than anything else but as on every other day the Halquine attempted to divert the Captain by telling her stories, explaining local politics, showing her images of the Halquine home world before the Devore had invaded and many of the other places which Nithqref had seen in eighty years travelling in this sector.

After the ordeal was over Kathryn relaxed and began to ask questions. She found it hard to speak now because her tongue was swollen - lack of water she supposed. At least Nithqref made it easy for her. She only had to think about what she wanted to know and the beautiful alien would reply. Mainly she asked about the resistance to the Devore; how it was organised; who were the main players; what were the weaknesses and strengths. Nithqref was careful to tell her things in such a manner that Kathryn would not be able to reveal real names and places were she to be interrogated. The Halquine had no doubts about the Starfleet officer's sincerity but also knew that very few people could survive a Devore interrogation.

With a telepath in the cell, Kathryn now found the whole experience of the prison to be much less lonely. She had an open channel to the huge number of other telepaths on the prison ship and through them access to rumours and information about the outside world. The Devore inspectorate were well trained at hiding their thoughts from the Brenari but many of the other Devore aboard the vessel were not as well trained or as naturally resistant. The Brenari Resistance were adept at identifying such weak personnel and watching their minds for relevant information.

A rumour had begun to spread about some terrible new enemy that the Devore had encountered. Finally Nithqref produced an image of the invaders stolen from the mind of a high ranking Devore official. Kathryn groaned as she recognised the invader. "The Borg".

Nithqref had heard a little about the Borg from travels outside the Devore Imperium and from the widespread network of Halquine listening posts that stretched throughout much of the Delta Quadrant surrounding the Devore Imperium. The few thousand Halquine, who had survived and remained free after the Devore had invaded the peaceful and non-military Halquine home world, had made it their business to become the intelligence network of the Free Alliance Resistance. The Devore despised the Halquine as telepaths and had little understanding of the powerful telepathic abilities of the race. The Halquine lack of a verbal language and lack of resistance was enough to convince the Devore that the species were stupid and no threat. The Halquine and their allies did nothing to dispel this belief.

Unwillingly Kathryn revealed the nature of the Borg to the Halquine and the Brenari. The feeling of rejoicing that had started to fill the prison was abruptly replaced by despair and concern for those planets in the immediate vicinity of the invasion. Kathryn could hear the non-Brenari shouting the news to each other and it seemed to echo in her skull as it was passed from cell to cell and wing to wing.

Later that day Kathryn felt ship shudder slightly and surmised that they had dropped out of warp. "Perhaps we have arrived?" She sounded hopeful and Nithqref smiled and shrugged, The Halquine was not optimistic about what they would find at their destination, however Kathryn's guess seemed to be correct. The cells were now emptying rapidly as the air hummed with transporter noise.

A feeling of panic gripped Kathryn and she said hurriedly "Nithqref, in case we are separated I cannot tell you how much I will miss you." She then realised her own foolishness, Nithqref knew exactly how much she would miss the strange alien. She threw her arms around the Halquine's bodies. At that moment the transporter beam latched onto them and they shimmered out of existence in their cell, to be recreated elsewhere a moment later. The instant after they re-materialised, Kathryn leapt back from Nithqref and tripped over, landing awkwardly on her knees.

The first thing she heard was a familiar, smooth dark voice. It seemed pleased.

"Well! Well! Well! The mighty Captain Janeway on her knees, and she seems to have brought some unfortunate friends."

The voice was speaking in its native Devorean which she could understand but some instinct in Kathryn prevented her responding. Her command training came back to her - when captured, hide anything that may be an advantage. She looked blankly towards the source of the voice, already knowing that she would see her former opponent, Inspector Kashyk of the Devore Imperium.

"Of course" said Kashyk pityingly, "without your formidable technology you cannot understand me." He gestured to one of the guards who walked over to Kathryn, hauled her up by the collar of her prison clothes and slapped a communicator on her sleeve.

"That's better isn't it Kathryn?" He smiled at her with that mixture of menace, dishonesty and openness which she had come to know so well. It occurred to her that perhaps sometimes Kashyk did not know when he was telling the truth either.

Trying not to let her dry mouth get the better of her, Janeway answered politely. "Inspector Kashyk. I did not expect to meet you again."

She felt Nithqref in her mind. 'This man is afraid of you Kathryn and he hates you. Be careful.'

She saw Kashyk's eyes jerk round to look at the Halquine. "Did you just attempt to read my mind you telepathic scum?" he inquired. His voice didn't even rise and Janeway shivered. This was his turf; he did not need to shout. Nithqref looked at him without expression or even apparently understanding. Kashyk raised an eyebrow and one of the guards stepped forward to club Nithqref's nearest body on the back of the head. It collapsed, to the total distress of the other body which fell also. Kathryn felt the cries of pain and separation in her mind. She steeled herself to show nothing.

"Get it out of here." Kashyk snapped and the two bodies - one completely limp and the other writhing in pain - were dragged from the room. He smirked. "It is very amusing to separate the Halquine - almost like cutting out the eyes and ears of a normal humanoid, but sadly those two are required for research. They are not an intelligent species but their unique physiology is apparently of interest to our scientists."

Turning his attention fully to Kathryn, his face twisted in a bitter attempt at a smile.

"Kathryn," he said softly, his voice dripping hate and falling on her ears like acid, "our happy reunion in this... facility... is entirely the consequence of your actions. The High Command feel that my encounter with you and your ship demonstrated that I am no longer fit for the challenge of commanding a ship in the field and that my talents are better suited to a desk job, overseeing this stinking death camp."

For a second Janeway felt sorry for him. She knew exactly how she would feel - denied command of a fleet vessel - she feared a similar fate were she ever to return to the Alpha quadrant. Her sympathy was short lived as she remembered Nithqref's pain. She shrugged and looked the Devore in the eye. "It was unfortunate that Prax was not more loyal. Perhaps he felt unloved."

"Unfortunate for you also." Kashyk moved closer and back handed her across the face. She staggered, tasting blood from a cut on her lip. "My job does have its compensations" he said candidly. "I am to interrogate you. The High Command wishes to know more about the Federation and it is believed you have some knowledge of the Borg also. A species we recently encountered who are proving somewhat troublesome." Kathryn almost laughed. Kashyk's arrogance was still cast-iron. He saw the amusement before she could disguise it. He hit her across the face again. She sprawled on the floor and was swiftly picked up by two guards. They held her upright to face the inspector.

"It is not wise to laugh at your captors Kathryn and consider this Captain - you have no hope - no-one is coming to rescue you; I can do exactly as I wish with you, for as long as I wish, and thanks to modern medicine, I can probably keep you alive indefinitely or at least until I get bored. I would like you to ponder your helplessness Captain Janeway so I will not commence the interrogation until tomorrow. Take her away."

The two guards twised her arms behind her, while a third chained her legs and then passed the chain up to shackle her wrists also. They shoved her forwards and she fell and was dragged along the floor and thrown bodily out of the inspector's office. They proceeded in that manner, dragging, shoving and pushing her, along corridors and down flights of stairs until they arrived at a dimly lit, filthy corridor full of unpleasant smells. They stopped outside a barred door and removed the communicator from her arm and the chains, unlocked the door and threw her inside. The door banged shut and was noisily barred behind her.

Kathryn lay there on her side, on what felt like a rough brick floor, bruised and winded. She wondered whether it was worth opening her eyes, or whether it would be better just to let the dizziness and exhaustion have sway. After all, she was likely to see nothing good. Overly pessimistic as it turned out when after a few minutes, she eventually did open her eyes. She felt a certain sort of crazy relief. The cell was filthy. No sonic shower had been by here in a long while. She rolled over and looked about with more interest. Some light was seeping in through a tiny barred window high on the wall. "Well" she said aloud. "This is more like it - a proper dungeon."

Then she heard what was unmistakeably a growl from the darkest part of the cell. She got to her feet a little shakily. "Who's there?"

A deep animal voice said in the main lingua franca of the region, "I see that dinner is moving tonight. My complaint to the chef must have been heard."

Kathryn backed towards the door and tried to see into the gloom. She could just discern a bulky shadow crouching in the corner. She tried not to flinch as the thing unfolded and rose up to tower over her. It was nearly twice her height. She still could not see its face but two gigantic hairy arms were just visible folded across the thing's enormous chest.

Taking a defensive position and trying to control her voice Kathryn replied "I am sorry but dinner will be delayed."

"Ah. Food with attitude," the thing snorted and took a step forward into the weak light.

The creature was extremely unattractive with a long broad snout and on each side of its mouth, a long and yellowing tusk-like tooth jutted along its face and forward of its snout like exaggerated sideburns. A pair of small reddish eyes glared at her from a face covered in short, coarse red hair.

To her dismay Kathryn felt herself swaying; lack of food and water and the rough handling had taken their toll. Blackness rose up and covered her. The last thing she heard was the deep sneering voice saying "I don't know why it is, but the ladies always fall for me."

*~~~*

Kathryn woke up gagging. She opened her eyes and looked up into the ugly face of her cell mate. He was holding her up by the shoulders and trying to pour some liquid into her mouth. Without thinking Kathryn forced her arm, with all her remaining strength, up into his jaw. His head snapped back and he dropped her.

Rolling away from him, coughing, she snapped "Dammit I thought you were going to eat me not poison me."

"I was" he replied furiously rubbing his jaw "but you are skinny, dirty and unappetising. And this arrived"; he indicated two plates of thin grey paste on the floor; "It looked so good that I lost my appetite for small frightened humanoids."

As the threat of becoming kibble had apparently diminished, she sat up.

"What happened?"

"You fainted with terror when you saw me." he made a face that Kathryn decided was a smirk and she immediately lost her temper.

"I did not. I am a Starfleet captain and I am not frightened of an overgrown hog like you." Shocked at herself her inner voice said Get a grip Janeway. You are not in a school playground.

The beast seemed unperturbed and even amused. "Say what you will, I stepped into the light and you lost consciousness. Then the guards arrived with this fine repast and indicated to me that it would be unwise to eat Inspector Kashyk's prize prisoner."

"Oh God Kashyk. I had forgotten."

"How pleasant for you. I find it very difficult to forget the bastard."

"I can understand that," she croaked. Kathryn's two day old thirst became paramount and she looked around for the container of liquid that the thing had been trying to force down her throat. It was sitting on a bench behind her cell mate. The latter saw her looking longingly at the container and the ugly face twisted into some sort of expression, possibly a grin; he reached over to offer her the container.

"It's alright," he encouraged, "it is only water."

Kathryn took it quickly and drank deeply. It looked a bit murky but tasted wonderful. With an effort of will, Kathryn stopped herself draining the cup and proffered it back to the thing.

"Drink as much as you like. There is plenty more running off the walls" her companion said casually. "How long were you on the prison ship?" he asked while fetching another container of water from the dark recess in which he had been sitting.

"Nineteen or twenty days. I am not entirely sure."

He snorted derisively. "I am surprised that a feeble little creature such as you lasted that long however since we are likely to be sharing this abode for at least this evening I will introduce myself. I am Kraal, Captain in the Parath Guard. And you are?"

"Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager."

"Well that means nothing to me. You are far from home?"

Kraal's tiny eyes bulged slightly when Kathryn told him that home was about forty thousand light years distant in another quadrant of the galaxy.

The beast grimaced slightly in what may have been a smile. "Captain shall we eat first and then you may tell me your story? I am particularly interested in how you have offended Inspector Kashyk. The guards seemed all a twitter with anticipation of your coming interrogation."

Kathryn laughed despite herself. They settled down to eat the plate of grey paste which tasted like porridge oats flavoured with quinine. It was at least plentiful and after eating Kathryn felt in better shape than she had for several days. She then told Kraal her story, how Voyager had come to the Delta quadrant and some of the highlights since that day. When she reached the part about her deception of Kashyk she knew Kraal was impressed. He was less impressed that Vooyager had left her behind but Kathryn did not linger over the details of her capture or the journey here.

The ugly creature was now lying on the floor snoring. Appearance aside, it seemed she had been fortunate in her cell mate once more. She felt pain as she realised that she missed Nithqref and the constant presence in her mind. It was worrying that she still felt nothing from the telepath. The Halquine had said that contact would be maintained regardless of the physical distance. Must still be unconscious, she reasoned, or dead. She pushed this last thought away; Kashyk had been clear that the Devore wanted the Halquine alive. Feeling unreasonably cheerful she at last allowed herself to think for the first time in weeks about her ship and crew. Recounting their exploits to Kraal had made Kathryn extremely homesick. She hoped they had left Devore space and were safely on their way. She tried to imagine the daily routine of the ship operating without her and wondered how Chakotay had managed the transition.

She then thought of Seven of Nine and the ache inside grew worse. The Borg had lost another friend and she didn't have many to lose. Kathryn suddenly felt worried about her protege. Without Kathryn's protection the ex-Borg might be exposed to a great deal of hostility on Voyager; Chakotay had never trusted Seven of Nine and his expectation was still that she would betray them.

She remembered the last occasion she had seen Seven. The beautiful blond had come to Janeway's quarters at 0100, the night before her arrest, to quiz the Captain on some decision Kathryn had made that day which the Borg could not agree with. It wasn't unusual behaviour. Seven of Nine had some difficulty with the concept of off duty hours.

Kathryn sometimes affected annoyance at being disturbed, but as Seven pointed out, the Captain was never in bed anyway, and if she were honest, Janeway had enjoyed the discussions and even the arguments. Seven made the Captain feel a little less lonely and isolated.

Kathryn fell asleep on the cold prison floor thinking of her astrometrics officer.

Part 5 - The Search Begins

The same star date - Ninety light years away

Seven of Nine looked at the view screen with concern. A wide scan revealed very large numbers of ships of different sizes travelling at high warp away from the immediate area mostly heading further into Devore territory. The cause of this exodus was not apparent however she reasoned, it might make it easier to travel unnoticed as part of the multitude.

Seven noticed one small ship seemed to be at a standstill. It was only half a light year distant and appeared to be Brenari. She set a course for the ship although she was not exactly sure of her purpose other than a need to start her search in earnest; the occupants might offer some information.

As she approached, a scan revealed the ship was damaged and the engines were non functional but the damage did not seem to be the result of phaser fire or torpedoes. The most likely scenario was a genuine malfunction. She could detect two humanoid life forms which the ship sensors did not recognise.

Seven hailed the stricken vessel. "This is the Federation shuttle Faraday - damaged Brenari vessel please state your condition. Do you require assistance?"

A shaky female voice replied "We are fine, no problem. There is nothing to worry about. Please continue on your way."

Puzzled Seven answered. "Pilot of Brenari vessel, your ship is obviously badly damaged, are you certain you do not need any help?"

"We are perfectly alright and can defend ourselves if necessary," the shaky voice insisted. "Please just go."

"As you wish. But may be you can assist me. I require information. I am looking for a female humanoid taken prisoner by the Devore Imperium: Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship Voyager. Do you possess any information which may facilitate location of the captain or of Devore prisoners in general."

There was a momentary silence and then the voice returned a little stronger. "Listen I know nothing about Devore prisoners or your captain. I'm sorry. Goodbye." The comm connection was broken. Seven decided to waste no further time wondering about the strange little ship, laid in her original setting and altered course.

She had just moved the Faraday back on course when the occupant of the damaged ship reopened the hailing frequency.

"Hello? Are you still there? Please we do need help. We did not mean to offend you."

Seven felt impatient. The pilot of the Brenari vessel did not seem to know her own mind and was therefore unlikely to be of much assistance.

A sudden phaser shot across the bows of the Faraday from another larger ship which dropped out of warp 200,000 kilometres away did not improve Seven's temper. The attacking ship hailed her. "Be gone. The Brenari ship is ours. We claim it. Leave before we are forced to destroy you."

Seven scanned the attacker. The ship was large and well armed but the technology was inferior and presented no danger to the Borg enhanced shuttle. She realised now why the Brenari ship had suddenly decided that they did need her help. Seven decided that a strong reply would save time and fired the shuttle phasers. The Borg weapons sliced through the opposing ship's shields and impacted on the hull causing a lot of damage.

Seven then hailed her attacker. "Desist from your attack and you will be permitted to leave..." before she could finish the ship had already turned tail. The ex-drone was pleased with the efficient outcome.

Seven of Nine then returned her attention to the damaged vessel still lying motionless in space. "Brenari vessel is any further assistance required."

After a short time the occupant replied. "Our vessel is too badly damaged to repair. Could you tractor us to Halten space port at the following coordinates?"

Seven performed some brief calculations and responded "My ship is insufficiently powerful to tractor your ship. I cannot comply with your request. I will take your crew to the space port as it does not involve a substantial deviation from my route. Do you wish to proceed?"

"That would be better than nothing I suppose."

The woman's voice sounded a little ungrateful but Seven was not concerned.

"Please prepare for transport to my ship on my mark."

Two small humanoid figures appeared on the tiny shuttle transporter pad. The female was standing and the other, a male, was lying prone. The female looked at Seven and her features contorted in terror. She screamed "Borg" and then fainted. The man pushed himself upright against the back of the shuttle and covered his face, cowering.

Seven of Nine had elicited many similar reactions in the past: victims of the Borg collective; races encountered by Voyager over the last twelve months; but she could not remember feeling quite so irritated before.

She compared the behaviour of these two sorry specimens to Captain Janeway when the latter was negotiating an alliance with the collective and realised yet again that her Captain was not as others.

The male was an unremarkable looking bony specimen having grey slightly scaly skin. His head had a light covering of thin ginger coloured hair through which the grey skin on his skull was clearly visible. Two round pale grey eyes peered nervously from under deep set brows. His other facial features seemed even less conspicuous. Small thin grey nostrils atop a thin white lipped mouth. He had no chin to speak of and his face appeared to recede straight into his neck. The woman was similar in colouring and appearance but slightly larger and bulkier. They were both clothed in orange one piece uniforms.

Seven addressed the cowering man.

"Calm yourself. I am not a member of the Borg collective. You are in no danger." She retrieved a medical tricorder and ran a scan over the man. "You are in need of medical attention. You have a fever." The man took his hands away from his face and stared at her. She offered him two tablets from a medi-pac, saying "Take these. They should reduce the fever and combat the infection."

He shrank back from her borg hand still obviously terrified. Seven offered a formal introduction.

"I am Seven of Nine Tertiary adjunct of unimatrix 01, formerly of the Borg Collective and before that I was a human designated Annika Hansen. You may call me Seven of Nine."

The man was still gaping stupidly at Seven and two rows of small jagged teeth could be seen set well inside his mouth. Seven felt her irritation and sense of repulsion increase.

"Your designation?"

The creature did not reply.

Exasperated she dropped the tablets on the floor beside him and turned back to the shuttle controls. She set course for Halten space port at a speed of warp five, anxious to be rid of the annoying hitch hikers.

She became aware of whispering behind her back and turned to look. The woman had recovered from her faint and was huddled against her crew mate. They both still looked very fearful but the woman finally spoke in a thin quavering voice. "Are you going to assimilate us?".

"As I have said I am not with the Borg collective now. I will transport you to Halten space port now. We will arrive in three hours and twenty three minutes." Seven turned her back on them again and rather hoped that they would remain quiet.

An inconsistency occurred to Seven.

"I am curious as to where you have acquired your knowledge of the Borg. I was not aware that the Borg were known in this sector."

The two beings looked at her as though she were mad. The male whispered fearfully as though he might be overheard.

"We did not know of the Borg until they invaded our sector eight days ago. Fourteen systems have been taken already. We escaped from Gill IV with only minutes to spare and we had been trying to reach Halten for three days when our engines failed. We are told that the Imperium will defend that space."

Seven considered the new information. The presence of the Borg explained the mass movement of ships in the area. It also created an added urgency. Seven had reasoned to herself that if the Devore did not immediately execute the Captain then they would keep her alive and imprisoned and Seven would have time in which to complete her search. Now she had to find the Captain before the Borg completed their assimilation of the Devore. This might not be a very rapid process depending on the strength of the Devore defences, but it would happen and even her most optimistic estimate only gave the Devore between two and three months before all five hundred systems in the Imperium were assimilated.

She addressed the two shivering grey rat like creatures in a sharp voice. "What do you know about the non-Devore Detention and Resettlement Zone?" (This was the place mentioned by Prax as the likely destination for the Captain.)

The aliens jumped nervously and the male replied almost whimpering "We know nothing beyond this dear borg lady. It is a terrible place, a prison planet. No one ever comes back. I have heard that there are great mines of some importance and all the miners are slaves drawn from the prison population. Even those with short sentences don't survive long enough to return."

"What are the co-ordinates?"

"We cannot say kind borg lady, the resettlement planets are very closely guarded by the Imperium and their locations kept secret to prevent their discovery by insurgent forces."

Seven of Nine controlled the fear that ran through her at the thought of Captain Janeway dying in a place like that. She told herself that the Captain would survive longer than most and certainly long enough for Seven to find her.

Seven ignored her passengers after that. They sat huddled together whispering quietly. The journey proceeded without further incident. Seven concentrated on giving any potentially threatening vessels a wide berth.

Fifteen minutes out of Halten space port she activated the fore view screen to reveal a very large and impressive space station about 50 kilometers across. What she supposed was the region adjacent to the docking ring was thronged by ships and looked chaotic.

Turning to the two aliens Seven requested their assistance. "What is the procedure for contacting the space dock controllers and arranging docking?"

The sight of the space port seemed to put some backbone into her guests who both crowded a bit nearer. "It depends who you know and what you have to offer....." The female almost smirked. This reply meant nothing to Seven and the little rat elaborated. "You see there are strict commercial rules for obtaining clearance, highest bidder wins. But we know some people who may be able to cut you a better deal. If you were interested." The creature sounded wheedling.

"I do not have time for this. I will beam you directly to the space port. Please step on the transporter..." before Seven could finish speaking she felt pain explode all over her body. The grey aliens had each produced some sort of weapon from the pockets of their orange coveralls and she was caught and held in two red-orange beams of energy.

She could hear the male speaking.

"That should be enough my dear but we must keep alert, we don't want our Borg escaping now do we." The energy beams were cut off and Seven collapsed on the floor. She tried to move but was completely paralysed. "I am very sorry Miss but this ship and your good self will be worth a great deal to the Devore authorities or the Free Alliance. Best offer gets the prize. Now my dear wife it is time to call in some favours."

The male moved to the communications console and began to key in commands. His spouse kept her weapon trained on Seven.

After nearly fifteen minutes of intense activity the male left the console and sat down. "Now we wait my dear." He looked closely at Seven "I think I see our friend here twitching sweetcakes, give her another dose of medicine. To keep her quiet you understand." Seven felt intense pain as the paralysing energy beam enveloped her body. But she couldn't move or cry out. After a minute it stopped. "That's better. Much quieter." her tormentor muttered.

And so it continued. Hours passed. The two ratty humanoids sat cuddling and murmuring sweet nothings to each other only occasionally getting up to ensure that Seven was completely immobile. Seven wasn't sure which was worse, the pain of the paralyser or the nauseating sight of the canoodling rats.

A chirrup from the communication console brought them to their feet, the male rat whined with excitement as he read the incoming transmission. "Well me dear it seems our contact has come through with a deal. We are to leave the goods at the following coordinates. Payment has been made fifty percent in advance and the rest on delivery." His wife giggled with nervous delight.

A few minutes later the ship shuddered and started to move.

Addressing his wife, the male rat explained, "Our contact has arranged a ship to tow the merchandise to the appointed place." He looked at Seven and grinned maliciously, showing his jagged teeth.

"Well we must be leaving you now young Borg lady" he said. "I am sure you will be safe and if you are not then I hope the end is painless." The rodentine beings turned their weapons on her for a final paralyzing blast and then on a pre-arranged signal they transported off the vessel leaving Seven alone and immobilised.

Part 6 - A life worth living

Kathryn lay on the floor of the cell and tried not to move. The intense pain in her chest suggested broken ribs and possibly a punctured lung. Third of the week. She could hear Kraal, her cell mate, cursing.

"Don't touch me" she managed to say. "I don't think I could bear it."

"Hell and damnation" muttered the hairy biped. "Where are those accursed medics?"

Kathryn felt a cool wet cloth lightly stroking her forehead and felt a little water dripped on to her lips. As she lay there she rather hoped that the medics would let her die. Then she shrugged that thought off angrily. I am not going to die here.

From outside the high prison window a dreadful crying and screaming began. Janeway heard Kraal get up and move to the window. The huge beast could just see out of the window although it was nearly three metres off the ground. She knew what he was watching and as usual he began swearing, a low continuous and rhythmical stream of obscenity. After an hour had passed the noises outside had subsided and Kraal left his post.

Kathryn had still not moved. Steeling herself she asked the same question that she had asked every day for the last two weeks. "Did you see them?"

"No."

A noise at the cell door announced the arrival of the Devore prison doctor with two guards. "Well how is my most beautiful patient today? More little accidents I see. Well don't worry I'll have you fixed up in no time so you will be fit and well for your meeting with the Inspector tomorrow."

Examining her he frowned slightly. "I think Inspector Kashyk was very enthusiastic today. I really think you should be more cooperative Captain Janeway."

She heard Kraal growl and prayed he wouldn't act foolishly. The guards would gun him down and he would not get any treatment. No one cared if he lived or died.

The Doctor injected her and the pain subsided. He then proceeded to run a variety of instruments over her, repairing broken bone and damaged tissue. The treatment continued longer than usual.

"Some of these injuries cannot be immediately repaired. You will need surgery tomorrow. Inspector Kashyk may have to defer your next tete-a-tete until it is finished."

Breathing against the pain Kathryn said as brightly as she could "Well I hope that you are the one to tell him Doctor. You know how he hates to be disappointed."

Kraal snorted his approval.

The Doctor thought about her words and looked nervous. He gathered his tools before leaving with a parting shot. "You may think you are smart Captain Janeway but from what I have heard, come tomorrow you will be only too glad to cooperate with anything he asks."

Janeway kept her face impassive. But when the Devore had left she sank down. "What now? Kraal I do not understand. Kashyk is enjoying himself but he is not actually asking me any questions of importance. Not since the first day. They are waiting for something. This is just the warm up."

Concern wormed into her mind and then a musical voice in her head said. 'You are still in pain Kathryn.'

"Nithqref" she said with pleasure. "You are back from the research centre. Are you OK? Where are you?"

'The current experiments are not too distressing and I have been returned to my holding cell. Kathryn I have obtained some information about Kraal's wife. She is part of a mining detail in a camp four days distance from here. She is reported to be holding up well.' A pause. 'There is no news yet of the children.'

"Kraal", Kathryn repeated aloud, "Nithqref has found out where your wife is. She is ok and working in a mining camp four days walk from here. Nithqref has not yet found your children, but is still looking." She added the last bit to counter the expression of sadness that had entered Kraal's eyes.

"I knew the old harridan would survive!" the redoubtable warthog grunted.

Kathryn laughed despite her pain. Deadman's humour she thought and then returned her attention to the telepath she could still feel in her mind. "Nithqref how is the war with the Borg progressing?"

'The Devore are losing. Another forty systems have been assimilated. The Devore had some success initially and managed to hold the Borg for a period due to some new weapon. But that advantage seems to have been lost now.'

"The Borg have adapted." A small part of her was pleased. Kathryn could not deny how she felt. She tried to squash the thought and told herself that millions of innocent bystanders were being destroyed or assimilated in this conflict yet she hated the Devore. She wasn't sure she had ever hated anyone like this before even the Cardassians. The anger and hatred were growing inside her.

She could still feel the agony of the Brenari woman who had given her mind and knowledge to Kathryn. She felt the pain as that gentle woman had watched her husband and children tortured to death. Not because they knew anything or had done anything but just because they were Brenari.

She had felt some of the despair Nithqref had suffered at the loss of his world and his culture. She could feel the pain of the beautiful Halquine at this moment, in this prison, being subjected to endless physical and psychological experiments.

She watched Kraal everyday, looking through that prison window, waiting for his wife and children to appear in the daily purge of the sick and the weak prisoners. Pushed into a large walled holding area and then methodically vapourised by phaser blasts from the gun turrets. Kraal was left to rot here knowing that all he could expect, for the short remainder of his life, was to see his family walk one by one for the last time into the ugly grey holding area.

She hated the memory of the arrogant black suited bureaucrats stalking about on her beloved ship, persecuting and bullying her crew, hunting down helpless children and terrified adults.

And she pushed her anger into a tight ball inside her. Everyday as she was beaten and humiliated she used that fury like a wall concentrating on it so hard that she could hardly feel the blows. Nithqref had noticed the change in her but when he had tried to place her feelings in perspective Kathryn had cut him off. She needed that anger to survive.

*~~~*

Kashyk smiled as his prisoner was dragged through the door and pushed to her knees on the floor in front of him. "Good morning Captain Janeway. The Doctor tells me you are not fit to continue our little discussion but I disagree and here you are."

He walked towards her and lifted her chin. "I have a nice surprise for you. An old friend. I think our meeting will be very fruitful." A man that Janeway did not recognise stepped into the room.

"Captain Janeway, I would like to introduce one of our foremost exobiologists, Professor Derrish."

"I am afraid I don't remember meeting you Professor." replied Janeway.

Kashyk sneered slightly. "My dear Captain, it is not Professor Derrish that you know but the subject of his latest investigation." He gestured at a guard standing by the door. "Bring it in."

Janeway knew almost before the figure was led through the door and could not disguise her anguish. Kashyk looked at her in delight.

"Why Captain that is more emotion than I have seen in the last two weeks."

Seven of Nine swayed uncertainly. She had been drugged and paralysed for most of the previous two weeks and had not been allowed to regenerate. Her face showed a distinctly Borg like pallor and she was painfully thin. Her eyes, even the Borg eye, focussed with difficulty on the small woman kneeling on the floor.

"Captain I have found you."

Seven of Nine pitched forward and passed out.

"What have you done to her?" said Janeway in a voice so icy that Kashyk involuntarily stepped back. He caught an amused expression on the face of the Professor and promptly kicked Janeway in the stomach to relieve his irritation. She fell back and screamed in pain as his boot impacted on her injuries from the previous day. As she lay gasping on the floor, Kashyk prepared to kick her again.

"Inspector" interrupted Professor Derrish "I am sure this is all very entertaining but we need to get to work. Bring Janeway and the Borg to the research facility."

Kashyk shrugged his shoulders and gestured to the guards who picked both women up by the arms and dragged them unceremoniously out of the Inspector's office.

*~~~*

Through force of will, Kathryn Janeway watched impassively as two Devore soldiers chained a still unconscious Seven of Nine to a bench. Professor Derrish was introducing himself to several Devore scientists and technicians who worked in the research centre. From their attitude of deference it was obvious that the Professor was an important man.

The Professor disengaged himself from the fawning scientists and came over to stand in front of Janeway. She didn't look at him but kept her gaze on Seven of Nine who had started to move a little. The Professor followed her eyes and started to speak.

"The Borg is a remarkable piece of engineering. Force fields, paralysers, tranquillizers. It has adapted to them all. We have had great difficulty controlling your Borg. Preventing it from regenerating has been the most successful strategy."

Carefully controlling her voice to sound casual Janeway enquired, "Fascinating Professor Derrish but where do I come in?"

"You are aware of the Borg invasion. Do not bother to deny it. The telepaths always know everything. You are probably also aware that we are losing this conflict."

Janeway kept silent. She did not want to admit the extent of Brenari intelligence gathering even if the Devore were truly aware of it. The scientist looked at her and seemed slightly amused in a grim way.

"Captain Janeway I see that cooperation is not going to be your preferred working method. Alright let me get to the point. We know that you and your ship survived a conflict with the Borg collective and that you captured and have somehow gained control of this particular specimen. We need any possible advantage that can be obtained from this knowledge. Therefore you are required to disclose whatever information you have. Promptly."

When she did not respond he continued. "When we captured it, this Borg was looking for you. It was travelling in a specially adapted Federation shuttle equipped with much technology of Borg in origin. We believe that your Borg has been sent by your crew to rescue you. Our fleet are now looking for Voyager as it must be somewhere near Devore space, waiting for you and the Borg to return."

Janeway felt annoyed at the idea that Chakotay might have disobeyed her orders. She suppressed her reaction. She needed to know more.

"How do you know Seven of Nine was looking for me? Perhaps she was rejoining her collective."

"The Borg asked for help in locating you from the creatures who then betrayed it to us." Derrish answered honestly, seeing no advantage in withholding information. He needed her help anyway he could get it. He returned to the point of his visit. "We are particularly interested in how you control this Borg and your knowledge of their assimilation technology. How did you avoid assimilation?"

Janeway's tone was sardonic as she replied. "I'm afraid my dear Professor that I cannot help you. We did not beat the Borg by fighting with them. The separation of Seven of Nine from the Borg collective was forcible but our success in 'controlling' her depended on persuading Seven that the future lay with us and in allowing her to develop her individuality. I do not think this method could be applied to the many thousands of drones in a Borg cube." She allowed herself to smile a little. "Believe me, it was hard enough with just one."

Derrish looked at her face trying to gauge the truth of her words. His shoulders drooped slightly and she could see the unwilling acceptance.

Kashyk entered the room, having overheard the last part of the exchange between Derrish and Janeway. He took a position facing Janeway.

"Do not believe her Professor Derrish," he said. "Deceit is second nature to the woman. I'll get the truth out of her." So saying he slapped Janeway across the face. The Captain's head snapped back and she grunted in pain.

"Do not touch her!" Seven shouted furiously. She strained desperately in her bonds and with an effort the ex-drone could not afford, snapped the chains that held her to the bench. She lurched towards Kashyk but in her weakened state, she stumbled, giving him time to retreat behind Janeway. He grabbed the Captain from behind and held his disruptor to her head. His voice shook as he shouted "Stay where you are Borg monster or your Captain dies." The Devore commander was obviously very frightened.

Seven of Nine stared unsteadily and stopped. "Do not hurt her," she half-ordered, half-pleaded.

Janeway completely ignored the nervous and highly dangerous Devore commander as he held her hostage, clutching her with sweaty trembling hands. She felt no fear. All her attention was focused on Seven of Nine.

"Seven are you alright?"

If she had not been restrained Kathryn Janeway would have hit herself for asking such a stupid question. Seven was clearly far from alright. But the she answered with her usual accuracy. "I am partially functional Captain, I am operating at approximately 53.2% efficiency."

Janeway visually examined her former astrometrics officer. She noted the many bruises and cuts. She noted the exhausted trembling of her hands, the white face that spoke of days of torment and deprivation. She added Seven's suffering to the long list of grievances to be avenged.

Professor Derrish watched the exchange curiously. For two weeks the Borg had behaved like an emotionless automaton ignoring any questions, trying to escape at every opportunity but entirely without disclosing any feelings. Within five seconds of meeting Janeway, the Borg had started to display emotion. Her fear for the Captain's safety was visible in her cold blue eyes, and so was the rage directed at the shivering Kashyk as the Borg stood clenching her fists, rocking as though barely able to contain herself. A surprising hypothesis suggested itself. Derrish decided to test his idea.

"Seven of Nine."

Seven looked at him with slight surprise - none of the Devore had used her designation previously.

"Captain Janeway will not be harmed if you cooperate with me."

"You have already damaged her." Seven stated flatly.

"If you will not help us I will be forced to ask Inspector Kashyk to damage her further. But if you decide to assist me in my investigations the Captain's injuries will be attended to and no further damage done."

Janeway could see what the Professor was attempting and her hatred boiled over. "Seven you are not to help this man. That is an order." she commanded.

Seven looked at Janeway with a trace of her old arrogance. "I am not under your command now Captain Janeway. I am no longer a member of the Voyager collective."

Before she could stop herself Janeway asked in a furious voice "Then why are you here?"

Seven looked a little bewildered and realised why Naomi Wildman found adult humans somewhat stupid sometimes. They seemed to miss the obvious. "To rescue you. Silly."

Janeway opened her mouth and then did not know what to say. She was returned to the present when Kashyk roughly twisted her arm and she gasped in pain.

He snarled at the ex-drone. "Borg. It is clear your rescue attempt has failed. You will obey the Professor or I will take great pleasure in making your Captain beg for mercy. And even greater pleasure in denying her request."

Derrish interrupted quickly as Seven stiffened and took another shaky step towards the arrogant fool holding Captain Janeway.

"Thank you Inspector but I am quite capable of negotiating with my prisoners. And they are now my prisoners Inspector. The Imperium have transferred full authority to me since you were deemed to be ineffective in this matter." The contempt in the scientist's thin toneless voice was apparent. Kashyk did not release Janeway but his hold relaxed. Janeway heard him swear under his breath.

Professor Derrish then addressed Captain Janeway. "Captain Janeway why are you opposed to helping us defend ourselves against the Borg invasion? I understand that you may not have formed the best impression of the Devore Imperium but surely even you can see that the Borg must be stopped."

Janeway stared back unblinking and answered in a low frozen voice "Ask the Inspector why. Perhaps you have not noticed the purpose of this camp, this slave world. Perhaps you have not noticed the murder, suffering and torture meted out daily to your unfortunate subject peoples. Perhaps, like the Inspector here, you enjoy this power and believe in your right to inflict such pain. The Borg are a terrible foe but as someone once said to me they are like a force of nature. You cannot blame them. But I am unable to extend that understanding to the Devore Imperium."

There was a silence.

Seven of Nine broke it unexpectedly, saying evenly "I will assist you Professor."

Janeway almost screamed at her "Seven do not help them. They will not keep their word."

Seven looked into the anguished blue eyes and spoke gently but implacably. "Captain, if I do not help them then there will be one of two outcomes. Either they will eliminate you or the Borg will assimilate you. Neither option is acceptable." Ignoring the confusion in her captain's face, Seven turned her attention to Derrish. " Professor Derrish, I must regenerate for approximately sixteen hours if I am to be restored to 100 percent functionality. You will take me to the Borg alcove aboard the shuttle Faraday."

Professor Derrish nodded his assent with relief and instructed his assistant to accompany Seven of Nine.

"Remember Seven of Nine", he called after her, as she was led away under guard, "do not deceive me or your Captain Janeway will pay with her life."

"Hmm. How very touching." said a smooth voice in Janeway's ear, "The Borg would appear to be emotionally attached to you Kathryn." Now that Seven had gone Kashyk had recovered his nerve and was holding her painfully tight and grinning. "This could be very amusing. I wonder if you have feelings for that creature? Surely not after all we have shared." He pushed her back against the wall.

The memory of kissing the Devore Inspector on Voyager made Kathryn feel sick now, although at the time it had not seemed so bad and a necessary part of the game she had played with Kashyk. Seven was not the only one who would do almost anything to get what she wanted. she reflected.

"That's quite enough Inspector Kashyk" said Professor Derrish impatiently. "We need the Borg's help. Captain Janeway will remain in good health and you will keep away from her. Is that understood? When the Borg has regenerated, she will be very hard to control without the help of the good captain. Return Janeway to the cells but I want her back here in sixteen hours fed, rested and healed."

Kashyk scowled and then released Janeway, forcing a half-smile to his lips. "A temporary respite dear Kathryn. Temporary."

*~~~*

Kathryn sat on the floor of her cell refusing to speak. Kraal had roared, argued and sneered for the last thirty minutes but without penetrating her fully armoured indifference. Internally she raged against Seven of Nine for agreeing to help the accursed Devore, the act had became a betrayal of everything that she had believed the Borg had learned in her time on Voyager. That Seven was doing this to save Kathryn Janeway made it worse, made the Captain responsible. The small part of her mind that asked why the ex-drone would want to rescue her was shouted down.

It was in this mental state of incoherent fury and turmoil that Nithqref found Janeway. Gently, trying not to intrude too brutally on her disturbed psyche, the Halquine probed her thoughts trying to understand the ex-Federation Captain's distress.

"God! Nithqref, you have no sense of privacy," she exclaimed angrily.

'That is a difficult concept for a Halquine' Nithqref agreed equably. 'Why are you so adamant about helping the Devore?'

"How can you, of all people, ask such a question? After what those bastards have done to your people." She banged her hand on the ground in frustration, ignoring the pain in two broken fingers, a parting gift from the Inspector.

'Kathryn I have no love for the Devore Imperium but assimilation by the Borg is not an acceptable alternative. My home world has been enslaved and my people hunted and persecuted for more than one hundred Halquine cycles but at least we can resist the Devore. There is hope that one day we will prevail. Once assimilated by the Borg that hope has gone.'

The small redheaded captain shifted uncomfortably but was not ready to surrender her hatred. "If we help the Devore then we hand them even more power over their enemies. I cannot allow that, I made that mistake once before."

Janeway's imagination presented her with the image of two pairs of gentle violet eyes, studying her and she felt the Halquine's compassion as Nithqref postulated 'When you helped the Borg defeat species 8472? The Halquine winced at the guilt oozing poisonously in the human's mind.

Kathryn, there are always choices between lesser or greater evils. Your decision then may have had appalling consequences but to have done otherwise may have had worse consequences. You will never know. You made the best decision you could under the circumstances.'

Her voice was anguished as she confessed, "But I did not defeat species 8472 to save the galaxy. I did it to save my ship, to help Voyager get home a little quicker. And now I am expected to help the Devore to save myself." Janeway wrapped her arms tightly around her knees and tried not to shiver.

Nithqref was relentless. 'Your guilt is unproductive and selfish. Kathryn, another two subject systems were assimilated today. The H'ronor home world and the Kirrin. The H'ronor were an ancient and civilised race. They were unique and now they are gone. The Kirrin were home to one of strongest resistance cells in the Imperium. All lost. If you can help to stop the Borg then you must. Feel the truth of what I say.'

"This is not my fight. I have no right to interfere. I am a Starfleet Captain and I pledged to uphold the Federation's prime directive."

Nithqref cut her off abruptly. 'Please do not quote your prime directive to me Kathryn, this fight is yours as much as mine. Your quadrant is far away but if we defeat the Borg here then perhaps your people will not have to fight them again. Not to mention the thousands of peaceful worlds in between.'

Nithqref had kept Kraal up-to-date with the argument so far and now the Parath spoke up, quite gently in his terms.

"Kathryn, stop whingeing! You are one of us now. Your ship has gone and your old life with it. You are no longer a Federation captain but a prisoner of the Devore Imperium. It is time to accept that and move on. Your life is here and your friends are here." He added with complete certainty in his gruff voice "We will defeat these Borg and then we will overthrow the Imperium."

Kathryn exploded to her feet and shouted "I will not assist that murdering monster Kashyk, even if the future of the Galaxy is at stake." As she said it the smallness and unimportance of her feelings overcame her and she sank back to her knees sobbing and put her head in her hands. Kraal walked slowly to the small, crumpled human, lifted her up with ease and held her weeping face against his warm furry chest. After ten minutes, the helpless crying gradually subsided and her red rimmed eyes looked up at the Parath guardsman's face. There was a suspicion of a smirk curling his hoglike features.

"How very feminine Captain Janeway. Your Federation must be an unusually gentle part of the galaxy."

"Let me go." She was angry and unbelievably embarrassed. The Parath set her down on the floor gently and she straightened her back and glared at him with a full force ten Janeway special.

Nithqref, sensing the impending storm, intervened hurriedly and clumsily tried to divert Kathryn's attention with the first thought in mind 'You are surprised that Seven of Nine tried to rescue you. Perhaps she is not as indifferent to you as you feared.'

"What!" Janeway's inner wall of denial and suppressed emotions shook and crumbled as though impacted by a cannon ball.

Nithqref mentally cringed at the inadvertent disclosure of such intimate knowledge. I am sorry Kathryn but your feelings for her are very strong and hard for a telepath to miss. I did not mean to intrude.

Kraal was now looking very interested.

"What's all this?" he asked, a grin rippling his features, "Do not tell me that our fearless Captain has the hots for another woman." He roared with laughter, the folds on his face shaking violently.

Kathryn gritted her teeth. "Nithqref I may have to kill you but only after I have disembowelled this pig with a dinner plate."

"Fine words, my weeping lover of women." Kraal collapsed laughing again, leaning his huge, quivering, bulk against the sodden wall.

"I am not a lover of women," she blustered and then realised that denial to a Halquine (and by extension Kraal) meant nothing. "I mean I have never loved a woman before, and anyway even if I did have feelings for her, nothing ever happened. It wasn't appropriate. How could I act? I was her commander, goddammit, not a potential lover." Aware that she was babbling, and babbling loudly at that, Janeway shut up. Kraal continued to guffaw uncontrollably.

'Do you care for the Borg?' In her mind she had sensed Nithqref smiling before feeling the question and she couldn't understand why the telepath bothered asking, her inner feelings were plainly known to the strange being. She answered anyway.

"Yes. I love her." And was shocked to hear the words from her own lips. She tried to ignore Kraal who was busy stuffing half his jerkin in his mouth while apparently having convulsions.

"Always - from the very beginning." She looked around her at the dark, damp, grimy cell. "This is a fine place to admit aloud what I had barely acknowledged to myself."

'Seven of Nine is here and you are here. You may have a better future than you realised.' suggested the gentle Halquine.

"But only if the Borg are defeated and we escape the Devore, not a very promising scenario for future bliss," she murmured cynically. She felt Nithqref's disappointment like a whiplash and was ashamed. Kathryn Janeway squared her shoulders, shaking off the fear and doubt. Nithqref experienced a surge of total determination, powered by a duranium will, being focused on one end only, the defeat of the Borg. Suddenly the telepath had a moments pity for the unfortunate Collective.