Punishment for Punishment's sake.
Chapter 4.
Kathryn Janeway sat alone in Voyagers sick bay waiting for the doctor to come out of his office with her results, a verdict that would either way leave her in a not so pleasant situation. As he sat and thought over her predicament she realised she was very frightened. She new Chakotay loved her and she knew it was because of his love for her he was acting this way. She didn't think she could have coped the way he did if it had been him who had been punished the way the Kenwill had punished her. She had known Chakotay had thought she was an innocent party, not to blame in all of this, how wrong he had been which of course had left him feeling foolish and used when he realised she had been responsible. It was that shame and anger that was surfacing now in her handsome first officer. Kathryn sat and pondered on what she would do to punish a crewmember that had broken the prime I directive and damaged alien property and she knew her punishment for the offending officer would not be light. She though back to a time when she had been forced to punish Tom Paris for exactly that, her own anger had raged in her when he had left her ship without permission, she had very nearly fired on his shuttlecraft. She remembered clearly the fear on young Harry's face and how she had justified her actions by announcing that as far as she was concerned Tom Paris lost the right to be a protected member of this crew the second he disobeyed her orders and stole a shuttle craft but something in her knew she had been trying to justify her actions to herself and not to Harry. She thought of the time many years ago when Chakotay himself had done a similar thing and stole a shuttlecraft to take matters with Seska into his own hands.
As Kathryn sat in sickbay waiting for what felt like an eternity with a security officer silently watching her she allowed herself to cry. The look of contempt Chakotay was shooting at her was punishment enough. How had she been so foolish, how had she been so stupid and loose her cool, she had only been down there for three hours and only because Chakotay had insisted she be the one to go, 'Kathryn please, you need rest just as much as the rest of us.' He had said and when she protested her had stepped behind her massaging her strained muscles the way he always did to support her and planting kiss's on the top of her head he had pleaded with her, 'Somebody needs to go and round up the last of the stragglers, Tom Paris and his gang of merry men. Please darling, what harm can it do to you? The Kenwill are good people, just for a few hours will Captain Janeway not let Kathryn Janeway relax just a little? There is a lovely bar on the left of the main street, please go and get yourself a drink, talk to the locals. I will be here waiting for you I want you to do it, please for me Kathryn.' He had begged and she had agreed, it was in that very bar she managed to get herself in the thick of a brawl. How here was at the mercy of the man who showed her such love and concern that anyone would think they were actually an item, which of course they were not, captains could not do such a thing! Everyone thought it anyway, and let 'em think had been Chakotay's response and so he continued to give her outward signs of affection and love, and especially when they were alone there could be no mistaking the fact that he loved her.
But that was until now. She had let him down, he had believed she was innocent and he had defended her only to find her to be guilty, that shame he would have felt for that would have been great and so now she disgusted him, he had told her so.
It was then the doctor came from his office and thrust a rather disgusting looking jumpsuit in her face "Commander Chakotay say's you are to put this on" said the doctor with a sympathetic look on his face.
"Where am I going doctor?" she hissed, she knew Chakotay was not allowed to inform her personally of his report, the doctor was to tell Chakotay and he would inform Kathryn of anything he felt she needed to know. Kathryn was passed being annoyed about patient doctor confidentiality, there was nothing she would not tell Chakotay any way and she knew he was only doing that to her because it would get to her so much, she knew he would respect her private medical file.
The doctor glanced back and her as he pretended to busy himself with tidying up his equipment around her, as he knew he wasn't allowed to talk to her and the security officer was watching intently. "The bridge" he told her which let her know she was medically ok but was about to face hard humiliation in front of her crew.
After she had climbed into the disgusting and unflattering looking jumpsuit and stepped towards the security officer to show them she was ready she found herself having her wrists clapped in metal chins in front of her and being led through the corridors of her own ship in this way, even Lon Suder who had murdered a fellow crew member in cold blood didn't get treated this was and many of her crew said she was a slave driver when it came to punishment. Kathryn had prized herself on keeping a tight ship and at time handed out punishments that some would say were unnecessary but this was taking unnecessary to a whole different level. As she was dragged like a cattle to the turbo lift she did contemplate a prisoners rebellion but she knew in the anger Chakotay was in right now she would only make it harder on herself and shame and disappoint Chakotay more which for her was the worst part of the punishment, that and the look of disgust and contempt he had for her when he looked at her.
Then the turbo lift stopped on deck one and she was led in this embarrassing way on the bridge she held her had high and walked proudly to stand before Chakotay who rose from her chair to meet her cold set eyes. Taking the chains from the security officer he silently led her in a circle and round the bridge for all to see before he led her into her ready room. As the doors swished shut he ordered the seal to be placed on the lock so nobody could disturb them and Kathryn began to worry about what was coming next.
Chakotay led her to stand against the bulkhead then he pushed on her shoulders to force her to kneel on the floor. He pulled the chains up forcing her to raise her hands above her head where he then silently pinned then to the bulkhead so she was knelt with her back to the bulk head with her hands chained above her head and unable to move.
Silently Chakotay turned and took his seat at her desk on which he put his feet up and began reading a PADD. Kathryn was watching him silently with her wide blue eyes as he refused to even look at her. Kathryn knew he was going to do or say something otherwise he wouldn't have put the seal lock on the door, she new the mood he was in if this was all he wanted to do to her he would have welcomed any crew member to come in and see her this way. Kathryn also knew that Chakotay knew the silent waiting and suspense was killing her.
More to come….