"What do you know about the Yinzin, Mr. Neelix?" Janeway gazed at him across the briefing table. Her new senior staff consisted of Chakotay, Tom Paris, Belanna Torres, Tuvok, and young Harry Kim. Neelix had been invited to the meeting as their new ambassador to the Delta Quadrant. Voyager had recently been stranded here along with a rebel ship containing members of the Maquis, a group that Janeway had been tasked with capturing back in the Alpha Quadrant. The Maquis had sacrificed their ship to protect Voyager and she had invited the crew to join her as they began their long journey home.
She was still finding her balance with Chakotay who had replaced her first officer after he was killed. Chakotay challenged her. She could handle that. Chakotay was also loyal to a fault. She appreciated that, especially now that the comfort of Starfleet at her beck and call was no longer available to her. She hoped their professional relationship would find its own comfortable pace in time.
Neelix cleared his throat. "The Yinzin, Captain? I am afraid I know very little about them. They are not very well known yet. They have just recently achieved interplanetary travel."
"Then we are dealing with new spacefarers," Chakotay said.
"Yes," Neelix said. "They have not made many friends or enemies."
"Good," Janeway said.
"Or bad," Belanna countered. "They probably have no customary protocols."
"Then maybe we should forgo this stop," Tom said. "I don't want to be experimented on before my time."
"Unfortunately, Mr. Paris," Janeway said. "We need supplies. The Yinzin have them. I think they can handle a standard trade without too much difficulty. What do you think, Mr. Neelix?"
He nodded. "All they can say is no. I have some ideas about where you could get what you need but it would be out of the way for you."
"We'll try the Yinzin first." Janeway rose and dismissed the group. Only Chakotay remained behind. "Is there something else, Commander?"
"We should treat this as a first contact situation. It could be dangerous just as Belanna said."
Janeway nodded. "Agreed. We'll handle this together, get what we need, and get back on our way home."