Punishment for Punishment's sake.

Chapter 2.

"Report" snapped a very angry Chakotay as he marched into sickbay.

The doctor looked up from where he was stood at the main bio bed and said with a cheery smile, "she's awake, She'll be fine, a little tired for a few days but fine."

Chakotay let out a breath he hadn't even known he was holding in, "Kathryn." He whispered as he moved quickly towards where she lay on the bio bed watching him with her watery blue eyes. "How are you?" he asked as he took her hand in his.

"Better than I was." Kathryn mumbled, "I am so sorry Chakotay."

"What for?" he asked as he looked down at where she lay, "it's the Kenwill ambassador who will be sorry" he growled.

"No commander!" Kathryn snapped with all her strength, "no more of us will break the rules."

"Kathryn what happened down there?" Chakotay asked as he admired her strength and resolve.

"Commander I heard what was going on down there, I know you have the Kenwill ambassador on board to negotiate my release, I wish to see you and Commander Tuvok and the ambassador together." Kathryn told him as she forced herself to stand from her bed and look her first officer in the eye with her best command face.

"Captain please." The doctor said chipping in and trying to get her to at least sit down on the bed.

"Kathryn you never have to see that sick animal again!" Yelled Chakotay as his words rung out through Voyagers sickbay.

"Commander please!" Kathryn shouted back at him giving him one of her famous 'Janeway Death Glares' as he stared at her and their eyes met she placed her hand gently on his chest, "Chakotay I know you are angry, I would be, but this is not the way, I knowingly broke their laws and I knew at the time what their punishment system involved." She took a deep breath and withdrew her hand from his chest saying "this is not over Chakotay, they were punishing me according to their laws, nothing more nothing less."

"But Kathryn they maimed you! I even feared they, well I feared –" Chakotay could not bring himself to say the words 'rape you' but Kathryn knew what he was saying.

"Chakotay they didn't OK?"

"No! Kathryn it is not OK," Hissed a very angry Chakotay at her.

Kathryn stared wide eyed at him for a second and then said with a slight smile "I am going to take it that you did not mean that the way it sounded Chakotay."

"Kathryn, I want him off your ship. Why do you want to see him?" Chakotay asked her in horror.

"Trust me please, and do as I say." She said looking deep into his eyes and grabbing on to his upper arm.

"Kathryn what are you going to do?" He asked her, he wasn't sure he liked where this was going.

"Promise me Chakotay." She asked almost begging him.

"Promise you what Kathryn?" he asked her cautiously.

"That you will carry out the terms I am about to negotiate with the Kenwill ambassador." She said simply as she begged his eyes with her own gaze.

"Kathryn-" Chakotay began shacking his head.

"Chakotay if you wont I know Tuvok will." She told him "but I much rather it be you." She said with a smile.

"What be me?" he asked but she merely stood and walked out of the sickbay doors with him closely following her. Chakotay knew when the captain of Voyager got something into her head there was no going back sometimes it was a good thing and other times it was a bad thing but something in him right then knew this was not good right then.

Kathryn stumbled towards the turbo lift as both Chakotay and the doctor stormed out of sickbay after her.

"Please captain you need to be under observation and bed rest." Insisted a very frustrated doctor.

"Kathryn stop for one minute and think, listen to the doctor." Instead Chakotay as he stepped in front of her blocking her from entering the trubolift.

"Thank you, at least somebody cares about my opinion." Said the doctor as he looked from one member of his command team to the other.

"Chakotay I need you with me on this one, please, I need you to do as I say." She said as tears began to pour down her face.

Chakotay moved forward and took the frail and delicate frame of his tiny captain in his arms "Kathryn I need to know, I want to know, what are you going to ask me to do?" he said as he held her and didn't want to let her go.

"Just do as I ask Chakotay, please, it's the only way." She said as she trembled into the strong arms of her first officer and she cried.

"Kathryn, your safe now. Take a few days off, I'll look after your ship, and please talk to me if you're not ok." Chakotay said pulling her away from his chest and wiping away her tears lovingly with his thumbs.

"I can't do that Chakotay, I can't let you do that, I would never do that for another member of this crew." She told him turning from him and entering the turbo lift, she held it open for a second and looked at him wide eyed where he stood staring at her in slight confusion, "Join me commander?" She asked.

Stepping inside the turbo lift Chakotay looked to the doctor for support who followed them inside, Kathryn did not protest.

"Kathryn just tell me you know what you are doing." Chakotay said as he glanced to where she stood at his left.

"Sort of" she said with a shrug. Chakotay noticed she wasn't so steady on her feet and she looked paler than usual.

"Kathryn…" he warned and then glanced at the doctor for support but the doctor merely looked at the commander with an exasperated expression on his face.

As the doors of the turbo lift swooshed open Kathryn grabbed Chakotay's hand and squeezed hard, "please Chakotay, go with it, do it for me. Please don't let me go back there." She whispered in fear and fright.

"Never Kathryn." He whispered back as they stepped into the briefing room together followed closely by Voyagers EMH.

Commander Tuvok looked up at them as they entered and the menacing ambassador turned to face them, as he saw Kathryn he took a step towards her and within a second Chakotay leaped between them.

"She is my prisoner, she belongs to me." The Kenwill ambassador insisted as he stared deep into Chakotay's angry eyes.

"If I may, I have a suggestion that might please everyone." Said Kathryn timidly as she looked from face to face of the four men who occupied the room with her.

"It speaks." Hissed the angry ambassador, "you would let your prisoners speak?" he asked looking from Tuvok to Chakotay.

"She is not my prisoner." Hissed Chakotay.

"So you admit she is mine?" Asked the sly cold voice of the Kenwill ambassador.

Tuvok looked from the ambassador to Chakotay and then at Kathryn and raised his eyebrow at her to which she nodded. With a slow glace at the doctor who had taken his stance behind the captain Tuvok then looked back at the captain and nodded, the two now had an understanding, a silent understanding but they both understood what needed to be done.

"If I could ambassador, I would like to negotiate for the custody of this woman not for her release." Said the steady voice of Tuvok.

"What?" Spat Chakotay as he looked at the Vulcan security chief and then back at the Captain who was now stood to attention just behind him, she was refusing to look at him or meet his gaze.

"Negotiate, for her custody?" asked the ambassador slightly puzzled as he tried to understand what was going on.

"Yes, the evidence is such that there can be no doubt this woman is guilty of the crimes." Tuvok began which angered Chakotay. "Janeway, how do you plead to the charges?" Asked Tuvok as he stepped in front of where she stood to attention.

Chakotay watched to two interact and nearly wanted to pull her from where she stood and demand to know what she was doing but then he heard that fateful word come from her mouth, "guilty" she said clearly so all in the room could hear.

"There!" shouted the ambassador, "by her own admittance she is guilty of braking one of your own most sacred laws as well as others."

"I would put it to you that by our laws your punishment system is not acceptable, allow us the custody of our own crew member and we shall punish her the way a federation citizen would be punished for these crimes." said Tuvok stiffly.

Chakotay looked from him to Kathryn and saw she was still stood to attention and not protesting, this was clearly what she had planned all along. Chakotay felt his anger rising but now not for the ambassador but for this woman who stood before him, had she really committed these crimes? Had she really knowingly broken the prime directive knowing the punishment system on this planet, had she really knowingly put herself in the danger he had found her in. He looked at this beautiful woman he loved and his anger boiled, he had to turn away.

"What is the punishment for such a crime in the federation?" the ambassador asked of Chakotay.

Chakotay felt dizzy and felt so angry he could not bring himself to say what the punishment would be.

Tuvok stepped in and explained, "she would be stripped of rank and uniform, she would be forced to wear a prisoners jump suite and would be incarcerated for a specified duration of time."

"Incarcerated?" asked the ambassador.

"Imprisoned, loss of freedom and right as a citizen." Said Chakotay as he stared angrily at Kathryn who knew his anger was there and was refusing to look at him.

"If I was to hand over custody of her to you this is what you would do, even to your own ships captain?" asked the ambassador.

"By her own admission she is guilty." Said Chakotay as he paced around the woman he loved feeling like he was going to be sick with anger, "nobody, no matter of the rank is above the prime directive." He explained as he breathed heavily into her neck where he stood behind her, he felt love and compassion but he also felt deep anger and he couldn't decide if it were for the ambassador or his captain.

"She would be forced to complete tasks of any kind with out question, tasks her senior officers see fit for her to complete." Said Chakotay, "if we were on earth she would be sent to a separate colony to complete these task but on Voyager she would be made to carry them out here among her crew where humiliation is high."

The ambassador grimaced at Kathryn and laughed, he then turned to Chakotay and said "her body is not made to withstand our punishments, you are better equipped to punish your own. I need you word she will be punished in this manner."

"Chakotay looked at Kathryn and though his anger raged he could not bring himself to say it, she turned her begging eyes to her first officer but he turned from her unable to meet her gaze.

Tuvok stepped forward and said sincerely "you have our word, Janeway will be treated and punished as any crew member who brakes the laws and more importantly the prime directive, for her Voyager will become a penal colony for her to carry out her sentence."

The ambassador merely laughed as he stepped up to Kathryn and said "you are a strong willed one, but your own people will brake you more than I ever could, your senior officer is the man you love, the humiliation of submission to him will be enough to inflict pain on you far grater than I could ever inflict on you." He then turned to Chakotay and said coolly "I love it commander Chakotay, perhaps we shall try some of this humiliation and incarceration on Kenwill."

"Mr Tuvok please show out guest to the transporter room and then we shall be on our way." Said Chakotay as he turned his back to Kathryn who was still stood to attention before him. When the ambassador and Tuvok had left the room Chakotay merely looked at the doctor, "dismissed doctor" he said sadly.

The doctor who sensed the anger of the first officer did not waist any time in leaving but did say just before he left the room, "I would like to see her for observation over tonight commander."

"Very well, Give me a few minutes." Said a very weary Chakotay. When he was sure the doctor had left the room he did not turn to face the woman who stood silently and stiffly before him, "Tell me Kathryn, and please tell me the truth, are you guilty?"

"Yes sir I am." She said without hesitation.

"Why?" he asked as he turned to look at her, "I want to know why I had to go down there and rescue a member of this crew because she what? Couldn't be bothered to follow the rules any more?" he asked her in confusion.

"he insulted Voyager, sir." Said Kathryn as she looked at him and met his eyes.

"What?" Snapped a very angry Chakotay "Kathryn you are lucky to be alive, I thought there must have been a mistake." He told her as he sunk into her chair at the head of the table.

"No sir" she replied.

"Kathryn, tell me you didn't know they way the Kenwill punish their law breakers." He said as he looked at her with watery eyes.

"I can't" she told him sadly with deep regret.

Chakotay buried his face deep in his hands and shook his head. "Kathryn, tell me you did not willingly break the prime directive, damage alien property and racially insult the Kenwill knowing that under our law that would allow them to convict and punish you under their laws when you knew what their punishment involved." He sad in a strained voice.

"I am sorry sir." She said stiffly.

Chakotay raised his head feeling the anger boil in him, how could she have done this, did she not think of her crew, of him? Slowly he stood and walked up to her and looked down at her beauty that he love but it was because he loved her that he felt more anger towards her for her reckless behaviour. "Give me something Kathryn, give me something that would not shatter every ounce of respect I have for you and would not make me feel like a fool for defending you this last few hours."

Kathryn stood to attention not looking at him and refusing to reply. Chakotay then knew she was guilty and he was so angry with her he didn't even want to look at her, he couldn't even bare to be in the same room as her. She was safe and alive no thanks to her own stupid actions. Chakotay was so angry he was past the point of wanting to explode.

"I suggest you get yourself out of my sight." He told her stiffly through gritted teeth as he turned from her. "Get yourself to sickbay and have the doctor check you over. I shall send a security officer down there to escort you to the brig while I decide what your punishment should be. Now get out of here." He spat.

Kathryn slowly turned from him, she knew he was angry with her, the ambassador was right, Chakotay could inflict more pain on her in his punishment than any pain she had felt at the hands of the Kenwill. Before she left the room she looked back at the man she loved and wanted to say sorry to him but he talked first, "Please just go Kathryn, You have disgusted me and let me down, right now I can not bear to be near you."

Chakotay's words chilled Kathryn to the bone and she knew he meant what he was saying.

Chapter 3 now up….