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Chakotay was currently out in the fields, slaving away. He'd been swapped out for Mitch, who was taking his turn as personal slave for Lady Cassandra. He hoped things would be okay for Mitch, but it was unlikely. He'd seen the hungry look she'd given him.

The day was hot under the twin suns. He was currently hacking at the tough ground to prepare a new field for planting, and kept having to stop and wipe the sweat from his face. That seemed to be the only break allowed, as the women would look over at him with a glare if he stopped too long. Again and again, Chakotay dug his shovel in, turning up the rich earth and shaking out the clumps. It was hard and dirty work, and he glanced around to see the progress of the rest of the group. They seemed to be making good time, but growing tired.

At last, Rachel, the lead guard, called a halt, and as one, the group dropped to the ground, not caring where they lay. It was mid-day lunch. Chakotay always shook his head when he heard that terminology. Lunch indeed. Lunch for the women. Break for the men, for they were only fed twice a day, at first sunrising, and when they got back at first sunset. Nevertheless, it would be a water break for them, and that the slaves looked forward to.

A small lad appeared with a heavy bucket, and Chakotay eyed the sloshing water before looking at the boy. He studied the sturdy lad with blonde hair and blue eyes. When it was his turn to take the ladle of water, Chakotay smiled at the boy. "What's your name?"

The boy looked up startled. He glanced at the guard, but whispered, "I'm Yara." He gave a quick smile and pulled the ladle back to the bucket, even though Chakotay wasn't finished. Quickly refilling it, with another look at Rachel, and offered it again with a shhh motion on his lips.

Chakotay took the extra water gratefully and gulped it down as quick as he could. The slaves would rest for a half hour before starting again. Yara went from slave to slave offering water, trying to sneak extra to them if he could. Most of the time, the guards were watching though, and there was no opportunity.

When the women were busy eating, Yara sat down near the men. Chakotay motioned to him to come nearer, asking, "How old are you? You are a… slave?"

Flashing a smile, Yara proudly told him, "I'm eight." Going more serious, he said, "Um, yeah? All boys are slaves. Why would you ask such a thing?"

"Not all boys are slaves, Yara," Chakotay tried to explain. He sighed, "You were born here, I presume. I don't come from here. I came from…. the stars."

Yara looked puzzled. "The stars? What… how…" A flash of understanding came, "Oh, you came from the alien ships! Which one?" He asked excitedly, still keeping his voice low, knowing the women didn't like hearing the slaves talk loudly. They didn't mind low conversation though, on breaks.

Giving a soft smile, Chakotay immediately liked the lad. "Yeah, I came from a ship. The Delta Flyer is around here somewhere. But that's a shuttlecraft. My vessel is Voyager."

"Vo-ya-ger", the boy pronounced carefully. "I like that! It's a nice name. You were captured, I guess. That happens. Who was your mistress?"

Frowning, Chakotay corrected him, "I don't have a mistress. I have a Captain. She happens to be female, but they can be male too. She is very nice. The best Captain I've had the pleasure to serve under." He thought fondly of Kathryn, and hoped that she was dealing with everything well.

"Captain? The last Captain to come here died," Yara informed him. "Mitch's captain. He was a bad man. Bad slave."

Giving a sigh, Chakotay was about to respond when another slave poked him, "Careful, man. He really doesn't know much about life outside of Voldaria Prime."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Chakotay looked at Yara. What did they teach these babies here? Yara was… innocent. And yet he was condemned to a slave life since he was born. It seemed… unconscionable. "From what Mitch told me, that captain was… passionate. I can't pretend to understand everything, Yara, but I can tell you, on my ship, there are no slaves. Earth used to have them once upon a time, but we outlawed them."

Screwing up his face in an attempt to understand, Yara asked instead, "Did… Earth, you said? Did Earth kill them all?" He was uncertain of how to think about a planet razing the entire population of slaves.

"What? No!" Chakotay exclaimed a bit too loudly, but snapped his head around at Rachel's reprimand, "Keep it down, boy! Or I'll do it for you!" He sighed, rubbing his eyes, and lowered his voice, "No, we didn't kill them, Yara. We freed them all. We…"

The same slave that had given the warning, now spoke up again, "That is dangerous talk. We aren't to speak of freedom. For us, there is no such thing. I would stop talking of that now."

"Freedom?" Yara tried to understand, interrupting. "Be like the women?" But he shook his head, and agreed, "I don't think we're supposed to think like that. We aren't women. We are slaves." He paused though, and smiled, "I would like to see your ship, though. See what freedom looks like."

"Oh you would, would you?" a sharp voice snapped, and made all the men jump. Rachel had come up to them to tell them break was over. She had overheard Yara's last sentence and glared at the boy, who shrank down away from her in alarm. She narrowed her eyes at him and yanked him up. "I am going to speak to your den mother about this."

Yara's eyes rounded in fear and he pitifully cried out, "I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking of running away! I promise! I wou-" he was cut off off with a yelp as Rachel hit him. "I'm sorry, ma'am!"

Chakotay stood up with righteous fury, and snapped, "Hey! You will not hit a child!" He started to storm after Rachel when a hand caught his own. It was the slave who had warned him, and gave him a shake of his head.

Rachel looked from boy to man, trying to decide who to discipline first. At last she grabbed Yara by the wrist and glared at Chakotay, "Sit down, slave. You will not, ever, give a female orders." Her voice was level and deadly. "You both will be punished. I'll let the Phantom deal with you. Yara… you know what will happen to you?"

Looking shame-faced, the boy nodded, "I'll be spanked. If you think necessary, I c-could… be… c-...caned."

It broke Chakotay's heart to see the frightened look on Yara's face. The other slave… he didn't even know his name… whispered, "Don't react. Don't make it worse for yourself." Chakotay turned and looked into surprisingly green eyes, but shook his head. The boy was not going to pay for something that was his own fault. "Ma'am, Mistress Rachel, please do not punish him. It was my fault." He knew he'd landed himself in deep shit for this, but his principles were raging at him. He had to take the blame for this. "Punish me instead."

There was a hiss of frustration from the other slave, and a wild look from Yara. Rachel turned around to look at Chakotay with a deadly look, and snarled, "Shut up, slave. The boy will be punished." With that she whipped around and swung her fist, knocking the boy down to the ground with a punch. He grabbed at his face with a pained cry, and another sound was heard. A great bellow of anger erupted from Chakotay's throat as he ran over to the pair of them.

The next moment he was down on the ground, writhing from the collar. Chakotay tried to force himself up from the ground, wanting to protect Yara from Rachel. He saw from his place on the ground the young lad trying to shield himself, unsuccessfully. He was trying to crawl to Yara, despite the painful shocks running through him, his ears echoing from the blows on Yara's skin. At last both the shocks and the beating stopped and Chakotay scurried over to the sobbing Yara and cradled the boy in his arms. Rachel glared, but for once, did not say anything, only watched with arms crossed.

"Yara… I'm sorry, son…" Chakotay tried to say, running hands over the boy's abused body. Instinctively, Yara curled into him, still crying. "Shhh" Chakotay murmured to him. He waited until the sobbing died down before pushing Yara away to inspect him. He could already see Yara's face swelling from the initial hit and sighed. He'd get a black eye for sure. Guilt ripped through him. This wasn't right. Not right at all.

He looked up at the shadow that fell over them both, which belonged to Rachel. She had a steely expression as she commanded, "Give me the boy." Immediately Chakotay held Yara closer as he matched her glare. He wasn't going to give up the lad to further atrocities. Not trusting his voice, he shook his head at her.

She pursed her lips until it was a thin line of anger. "That was not negotiable. He will go back to his nursery. They will deal with him as they see fit. You, on the other hand…" She laid a hand on his collar with a threatening movement.

"I'll take his punishment. Give them both to me, ma'am," Chakotay insisted quietly. "It was my fault. He is not the guilty one here."

Rachel took in the fire in Chakotay's eyes. She knew this man was still new. Had been whipped. Had been taken by Lady Cassandra in her bed. He was still hindered by shackles. Beatings or rape had done nothing yet to dim that fire… for here he was, still standing up to her. "Get up," was all she said, authority lacing her words.

Chakotay would have resisted further but a soft whimper in his arms reached his ears, "It's okay. Honest. I'm fine." Yara stirred, pulled away reluctantly, and stood up for the woman, looking at his feet fearfully. Rachel stared at him but told the boy harshly, "Clearly you cannot be trusted out here by yourself. I'll take you in myself."

Yara wiped away his tears and took a brave breath. He glanced at Chakotay and gave him a watery smile before following Rachel. He'd take his punishment, like a good slave should.

The commander found himself pulled up roughly and told by another guard, "You're gonna get it bad, boy, for causing trouble. And talking about freedom. Come." He was forced to follow her, and glanced back to see the other slaves kicked up to get back to work. Clearly they were cutting the break short. He followed his guard to the whipping post and sighed. Lady Cassandra was already there, having been told of her wayward slave. Chakotay said nothing as he was tied to the post with arms spread. He tried to keep his eyes locked on hers even as the fiery pain scored his back. He was still locked on those grey eyes when he finally passed out from the whipping.

Neelix was walking through the town when he heard marching feet and automatically jumped out of the way. He blinked at the woman and child passing by and took another look. He knew this kid. That was Yara, wasn't it? And the deep scowl on the guard's face and the way her fingers gripped the boy's arm told him that something was amiss. Yara looked frightened but accepting. Quickly, Neelix was on their trail.

Arriving at the boys' slave quarters, Neelix asked and was granted permission to enter. He saw Silky right away, and noted that she looked grim. She noticed him and asked, "You've come about Yara, haven't you?"

Nodding, Neelix replied, "Yeah, I saw someone drag him in here. What's going on with that?"

"He was… apparently, very naughty. I put him in a private room. I have to go deal with him. I hate doing this, but it must be done."

"What happened, Silky?"

The woman turned to look at the Talaxian. In a level tone, she informed him, "Yara was caught speaking about freedom. This we cannot allow at any time. It is a greater offence if an eight year old is in question, because he might grow up with the wrong ideas. This must be nipped in the bud, immediately." She spun on her heel and marched off to what Neelix guessed was the room where Yara was being held. Instantly he followed, for he was curious.

What met his eyes when he slipped into the room with Silky was a tear-stained face that held fear for them both. Upon closer inspection, Neelix could see the bruises forming on the lad. Yara looked at Silky and saw what she held in her hand. Sighing and without being told, he turned around, stripped, and lay down on the table that seemed to be made for this purpose.

Neelix spoke up right away, "You can't cane him. He's not old enough for that." He had been about to say that he shouldn't be caned at all, but knew these women would never go for that.

"He's old enough to know what he's speaking about. Don't worry, Neelix. I'm gonna give him a good spanking first. Then just five lines of the cane. That's all. He can handle that." Silky reassured him before saying, "Perhaps you'd better leave." She paused and added, "If you want to see him later, you can. He'll be here for a good while. Yara needs to be taught the correct way again. He'll need to be supervised closely before we trust him again."

The Talaxian decided to take her advice and left. Shutting the door behind him, he walked to the other side of the hallway, peering into one of the slave rooms, taking in the young boys playing with each other. They looked so innocent, but Neelix knew now what kind of life lay ahead of them. He had another long look, and made a decision.

He could do nothing to save Yara right now. That meant doing something else. He was going to march to the Matriarch and tell her he wanted a slave after all. She might be surprised after all his adamant refusals of every offer of a slave, but his mind was made up.

He wanted Yara. If only to show him people could be kind. That life was not made up of collars, beatings, harsh words, and horror.

And if Voyager came, Yara would be free.

"Shields down to 82 percent," Tuvok intoned as the ship was shaken by another hit. He curled his fingers around his station to brace against the shock. As a Vulcan, he was not rattled but kept his focus on his task of returning fire even as Captain Janeway ordered it aloud.

Twin beams of light appeared on the screen as Voyager tried to shoot at the group of small ships. There was only one hit, and the shield held. The rest twisted out of the way and kept firing. Janeway sighed and asked no one, "Where in the hell do they come from? This is the third time they've slammed us!" She thought a moment then nodded firmly. "Whey they leave, as they will invariably do from the last two encounters. Kim, Stadi, tail them as quick as you can. They have to go somewhere."

"You got it, Captain," Harry replied. He looked tired, for he had been working overtime. He wanted his best friend Tom back… and he was pushing himself to the limits. He had poured over star charts with Seven, and had tried to get as many Bridge shifts as he could. Looking at the screen, he shook his head, "The buggers are fast."

The small ships slammed Voyager again with their weapons, searching her hull for a weak point. Voyager exchanged fire for a few more volleys before the ships finally broke off the attack and once again prepared to leave.

"I'm on them, Captain!" Harry cried as Lieutenant Stadi jumped Voyager forward to follow. He saw the first signs of the first ship going to warp and instantly he made Voyager follow suit. "Warp 6, Captain."

"Fast, for such small ships." Janeway commented with a frown. Normally the ones they'd seen around here had a top speed of warp four or five. She watched carefully as the ships gathered together into a group, speeding away. Suddenly, it happened. The first ship shimmered, then vanished from sight. The others followed one right after the other.

Harry was madly pushing buttons and looking back and forth from his console and the screen. "I"m looking for warp trails, or evidence of cloaking devices… they're gone, Captain. There's… nothing to follow."

"Flare." She snapped. Realizing she wasn't understood, she quickly explained, "A flare torpedo might show something."

Tuvok nodded and fired the torpedo. He watched to see if the Captain's...hunch… might be right. Humans and their hunches. He raised an eyebrow when one ship shimmered into view before leaping forward once again into invisibility. What happened next surprised them all. The ship suddenly lost its cloaking field and was skewed off track.

"Harry?" Janeway asked Ensign Kim, who looked down at his console, and reported immediately, "Their warp core is overloading! There's already damage and…" he looked up as the ship started to shatter. "Transporter is locked on four humanoids, Captain!"

The next second, the small ship exploded into a ball of fire. Kathryn sucked in a breath and immediately watched the Ensign for any report of saving someone. Maybe they'd get answers finally of who these people were.

There was a pregnant pause, and Harry smiled at the captain, "We got 'em! They're in Sick Bay." He looked again, and added, "Three are alive."

Kathryn jumped up from her chair and nodded, "I'm on my way. Tuvok, you have the Bridge." With that, she marched out quickly. Maybe now she could ask the burning questions she'd been wanting to ask: Who are they? What did they want? Where were her crewmates?