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'We've cleared the Transwarp Corridor,' Paris said and Janeway nodded.

'Acknowledged, Mr Paris. Mr Kim, status report.'

'All systems seem to be functional, Captain. I'm also detecting around 30 Borg vessels...Captain, we're being hailed...'

'On screen,' Janeway said, an image of a bald, pale skinned woman dressed in black appearing on the viewscreen.

'We speak for the Collective,' she said, a faint echoing cadence in her voice. 'You are Captain Janeway of USS Voyager, NCC-74656.'

'I am,' Janeway said. 'May I ask who you are?'

'We speak for the Collective,' she repeated. 'You will be allowed to proceed, on the condition that a Borg observer accompanies you...'

'Transporter signal detected,' Harry reported as a woman with short brown hair and a Borg implant around her eye materialised on the bridge.

'Captain,' Tuvok snapped, drawing his phaser and aiming it at her in one smooth movement.

'Hold your fire, Mr Tuvok,' Janeway said, turning to the woman. 'Identify yourself.'

'I am Seven of Nine. I will accompany you for the duration of your mission in the Delta Quadrant...'

'This was not part of our agreement,' Janeway said, turning back to the woman on the screen, who regarded her impassively.

'Your emotions are irrelevant,' she said. 'Seven of Nine will accompany you...'

'...very well,' Janeway said. 'Mr Paris, lay in Course Alpha and engage. Commander, you have the conn,' she said, turning to Seven of Nine, who had not moved.

'Follow me...'

################

'I want to make one thing clear,' Janeway said, as soon as the door to her ready room hissed shut. 'While you're on my ship, you're a member of my crew and I expect you to obey my orders...'

'I will comply,' Seven of Nine said, just as Commander Chakotay's voice came over the intercom.

'Captain to the Bridge...'

################

'Report,' Janeway said as she stepped onto the Bridge, Seven of Nine following behind her.

'We've detected an M-Class planet on long-range sensors,' Chakotay said, from where he was standing next to Harry at the Operations Station. 'It's not one that our long-range probes have catalogued...'

'Mr Paris...'

'Course already laid in, Captain,' Paris said and Janeway grinned.

'Engage...'

################

'Report, Mr Kim,' Janeway said as they dropped out of warp into the system.

'Definately M-Class, Captain,' he said. 'I'm detecting several cities on the surface and numerous satellites in orbit...Captain, we're being hailed...'

'Onscreen,' Janeway said and an image of a dark-haired male with pointed ears appeared on the screen.

'I am Toscat,' he said. 'Identify yourself...'

'My name is Captain Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager...'

'I am not familiar with the Federation...'

'We are...not from around here,' Janeway said. 'We have come on a mission of peaceful exploration on behalf of the United Federation of Planets. With your permission, we would like to meet to discuss this in person...'

'Very well,We are transmitting co-ordinates to you, now,' Toscat said, shutting down the link and Janeway turned to Chakotay.

'You have the conn, Commander...' she said and Chakotay frowned.

'...aye, Captain.'

'Mr Tuvok, Mr Kim. You're with me...'

################

As the transporter effect faded, Janeway found herself standing on what she assumed was the Ocampan version of a transporter pad. In front of them was a petite, dark-haired Ocampa with a blank, almost empty expression, dressed in a white tunic.

'I am sent to escort you,' she said, without meeting their eyes. 'Please follow me.'

'Of course,' Janeway said, stepping down from the pad as the girl turned on her heel and began walking swiftly. They followed her across the atrium, past small groves of trees that were in contrast to the stark white walls and down a long corridor into a high-domed chamber with white walls. At the end of the room was a curved table where Toscat was seated, with his hands folded in front of him.

'Captain Janeway,' Toscat said, rising from his seat as the girl left, the door hissing shut behind her. 'Welcome to Ocampa...'

'Thank you,' Janeway said. 'May I introduce Lieutenant Tuvok, my Chief of Security and Ensign Kim, my Operations Officer...'

'Welcome,' Toscat said, taking his seat again. 'How may I be of assistance...?'

'As I said,' Janeway replied, 'we are on a mission of peaceful exploration. As part of that mission, we seek for contact with new species and civilisations...'

'Ours is...an ordered civilisation,' Toscat said. 'And we are wary of anything that may disturb that balance. I will need to discuss your request with our Council...'

'Of course,' Janeway said and Toscat stood up, pressing a button on his desk and the door hissed open, admitting the girl again.

'This one will return you to the transmat station. We will contact you, shortly...'

################

As they followed their guide back to the Transmat pad, Janeway's eye was caught by a blonde-haired Ocampa who was standing in the shadow of one of the pillars around the edge of the atrium. She meet Janeway's gaze for a second before her head whipped round towards three Ocampa in black tunics that were making there way through the crowd. Her eyes widened and she stepped away from the pillar, walking quickly. However, she only got a few feet before the black-clad Ocampa caught up with her, two of them grabbing her arms.

'What's going on?' Janeway asked, turning towards her guide.

'Her caste is not allowed in this area,' she said, simply. 'She will be taken to a correction facility. I am sorry that you had to witness such disharmony...'

Janeway glanced over her shoulder to where the girl was being escorted from the atrium and she looked up, eyes wide and pleading.

Please. Help me...

The words were like a whisper in her mind. With an effort, she kept the shock from her face as she lead the others onto the transmat pad, tapping her commbadge.

'Janeway to Voyager. Three to beam up...'

################

'You're back quickly, Captain,' Chakotay said as they returned to the bridge, Harry and Tuvok returning to their stations. 'Is everything alright...?'

'I'm not sure, Commander,' Janeway said. 'They seem reticent about outsiders, but that's not my biggest concern. When we were returning, I saw an Ocampa being arrested and I'd swear that I heard he voice in my head asking for help...'

'Telepathy, while uncommon, is not unheard of,' Tuvok said, from his station. 'However, to project from a distance into an unfamiliar mind would seem...improbable...'

'Granted,' Janeway said. 'However, my gut tells me that I did hear her...'

'If that's true, then we have a duty to respond,' Chakotay said and Tuvok frowned.

'May I remind the Captain that the Prime Directive forbids interfering in the development of other cultures...'

'Thank you, Tuvok,' Janeway said. 'And, you're right, of course. However, we do have a responsibility to check on her welfare. Mr Kim, hail Ocampa...'

'...aye, Captain,' Harry said. 'They're responding...'

'Captain Jameway,' Toscat said, veiled impatience in his voice. 'I said that I would contact you when I had spoken to the Council...'

'That's not why I'm calling,' Janeway replied. 'When we were returning, we saw your security forces arresting a young female...'

'What you saw was an internal matter, Captain,' Toscat said. 'It does not concern you...'

'Nevertheless, I would like to see her...'

'Captain...'

'It is a simple request, Toscat. There is not need to make it anymore...complicated...'

'...very well. I am transmitting co-ordinates of the correction facility to you, now...'

'Thank you. I and Lieutenant Tuvok will be beaming down shortly...'

################

Janeway and Tuvok were lead through the corridors of the Correction Facility by another black-suited Ocampa, a disruptor pistol strapped to his waist towards one of the dozens of numerous plain grey doors that they had walked past. Wordlessly, he pressed the button next to it and the door hissed open, revealing a small room with a single bunk against one wall. It was on this bunk that the Ocampa girl was sitting, looking down at the floor.

'There,' the guard said. 'You have seen her...'

'I wish to speak to her alone,' Janeway said and the guard hesitated.

'...very well,' he said, Janeway and Tuvok stepping into the cell, the door closing behind them.

'Are you alright?' Janeway asked and the girl looked up at her.

'...yes.'

'What's your name...?'

'Kes...'

'Why did they arrest you, Kes?'

'The serving classes are not allowed in the Atrium...'

'And...what were you doing there?'

'I...was looking for a way to leave the city...'

'What will happen to you, now...?'

'I...will be sent to the Correction Centre. My...disobedience...will be removed...'

'Removed? How...'

'It...will be taken away. Cleansed from my mind...'

Like a mental lobotomy... Janeway thought, but she kept that to herself. Out loud, she said

'Do you still want to leave...'

'Yes...'

'Alright. As a Starfleet Captain, I can offer you asylum. We will speak to Toscat and...'

There is no need, a voice said, although it came straight into their heads. We already know what you intend...

The door hissed open and Toscat stood outside, flanked by two guards, their hands resting on their pistols.

'You cannot be permitted to leave,' Toscat said. 'You are rebellious and dangerous, just as she is. You will all be taken to the Correction Centre where all disruptive tendencies will be removed...'

'The hell we will,' Janeway said, drawing her phaser and levelling it at him, tapping her combadge with the other hand. 'Janeway to Voyager, three to beam up...'

'Stop them!' Toscat shouted, the guards drawing their disruptors just as the transporter effect took hold.

################

'Report,' Janeway said, as she lead Tuvok and Kes onto the bridge.

'Two Ocampan warships are on an intercept course,' Chakotay said, as Tuvok returned to his station.

'Interception in three minutes.'

'Red Alert,' Janeway said as she took her seat next to Chakotay, looking over at Kes. 'You might want to sit down,' she said. 'Things might get a little...bumpy...'

Kes hesitated for a second before sitting in the chair next to Janeway, just as Harry spoke up from the Ops station.

'Ocampan vessels are coming into range. They're firing...' he said, just as a blast rocked the hull.

'Shields are holding at 87%,' Tuvok said.

'Evasive manuevers,' Janeway said.

'Aye, Captain,' Paris said, his hands flying over the controls as he took Voyager into a step climb.

'How long until we clear the system, Mr Paris?'

'90 seconds, Captain...'

'Take us to Warp as soon as we're clear,' Janeway said as another blast struck their shields.

'Shields down to 77%,' Tuvok reported. 'Recommend we return fire.'

'Defensive fire, Mr Tuvok,' Janeway said.

'Acknowledged,' Tuvok said, tapping a sequence into his console. 'One of the vessels has been crippled and the other is falling back...'

'We're clear for warp,' Paris said and Janeway sat back.

'Engage...'

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any reviews, comments or constructive criticisms are very welcome.