Janeway stopped dead in her tracks and stared at Paris before finally averting her eyes. He was naked as Chakotay had said. What she'd seen of him looked terrible. His frame was gaunt. His body had been covered in wounds and bruises. "Tom…"

"Captain? Tuvok? What… what are you doing here? I thought you were leaving the system?" Paris was embarrassed that he'd been caught in such a compromised position - both with how he looked and what must have been obvious that he was doing.

Chakotay answered for them, saying, "She wouldn't leave without us. Supposed to have some sort of meeting with the Phantom later after lunch."

Raising an eyebrow, Paris stepped back behind a station so that at the very least, his bottom half was not exposed. "You should have gone. But too late now. I've got an awful lot of work to do, Captain. Did you just come to check proof of life on me?"

"Something like that," she said as she turned to him at last. "I am so sorry that it took me so long to figure out where you were. I'm sorry life is terrible for you all. I'm going to try and fix it and get you out. You're part of the Voyager family. Of course I wasn't about to leave you all without trying. And now that I'm here, I'm not leaving without a fight."

Shaking his head, Tom looked at her. "You shouldn't be here to see me like this. These women… are not good people. They use us and abuse us. You should not see that."

"Tom Paris, I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. This isn't going to scare me away. Don't even try that. I've already seen a good bit of what they do."

Sighing, Tom motioned to the cockpit. "I sent him in there. Didn't want him near her. Heaven knows he doesn't need to know about this now, but then again, with what they teach their children…"

Chakotay shot him a look and bit his lip. Without a word he retrieved the trembling Yara and brought him to the Captain. "You okay?"

The lad nodded and said, "I'm fine. Honest. I've heard it before. I just don't like hearing them hitting people, that's all. That scares me. But she's gone and I'm okay." He gave a small smile to the kindly Captain, pairing it with a shrug.

Janeway's heart broke. She wished she could just snap her fingers and everything would be fine. "It's not right is what it is, Yara." Turning to Tom she quietly asked, "She hit you?"

"Captain…" Tom said helplessly. He sucked in a breath before saying calmly, "We get hit a lot. It's rather normal around here. She didn't hit me much. Just once or twice. It's okay." He knew it really wasn't okay but he had to let her know how things were. Glancing at Chakotay he asked, "You here to take over?"

Shaking his head, the Commander replied, "Sorry, no. The Phantom gave me to the Captain for the day. You look beat; someone should relieve you. When that'll happen, I don't know. Mitch is in the Miranda."

Tom shrugged and only said, "It's fine. Just wish I wasn't here with just me and the lad. Don't like being the only target here."

"That's understandable," Janeway said, glancing at Tuvok. She wondered if it was possible to him to request Tom as a… personal slave for now, like Chakotay was for her. She hated thinking along those lines but this planet made her do it like that. She'd have to mention it. "Are there other Miranda men around? Or they all in the ship, what left of it I saw?"

A grunt escaped Paris' lips. "Yeah, they're in the house and they still have their Doctor. He's in the slave hospital. Devon is nice; you should go meet him. Trouble is he's the only one right now - he has help, but not a whole lot. And there's always work for him. You know." His voice turned into a soft growl. He felt safe with the Captain and Tuvok here, safe enough to say, "That woman is a bitch. She's cruel to any man she happens to find. She beat Chakotay almost to death once. I don't think she has a single kind bone in her body. I'd sure like her to get her comeuppance - some strong man to get the advantage of her!"

Chakotay was about to try to shut Paris up before anyone heard him saying such dangerous things but an all too familiar voice rang out from behind him. "You would, would you? Is that right?"

The group spun to face Cassandra whose grey eyes were trained on Paris. She spared a glance to Chakotay and Yara before she snapped, "This is the kind of talk you do when there are no guards around? I realize the change over was late because of Captain Janeway's visit, but really? And this is how you talk in front of our guests? The boy? I am disappointed in you, Tom Paris."

The blood had drained from his face as Tom dropped to his knees. He tried to say something - anything - to apologize, to make this right, to… but he knew. There was nothing he could say, except: "My Lady Cassandra. Punish me as you will." What was there left to do to him? He'd been whipped severely. She had taken him forcefully before he was ready to handle it. They'd stripped him naked. They'd chained him. They'd cut down his food. What was left?

Cassandra looked at the slave and smirked at him. "I think Hannah will be able to handle you well enough." She gestured at the guard who was hurrying up the pathway.

"Wait a minute!" Janeway stepped in front of Paris. "Just wait. What are you doing with him? I think he's gone through enough from you, Cassandra. Just leave him alone. And give him some clothes for decency's sake! He nee-"

The Matriarch cut her guest off and snapped, "He's gone through enough? He's a renegade! He refuses to shape up, so yes, I need to be strong handed with him. I am quite certain he was the same hothead with you as he is with me, am I correct?"

Tom answered that one, "I was, my Lady."

With a nod, Cassandra got the guard to come and take him away. Once the slave had gone she turned to Yara, "Get back to Neelix. No need for you to be here anymore, boy." She watched the lad scurry off then said to Janeway, "You have your rules on your ship. I have my rules here. They will not be changed just because I have visitors."

"I understand that, but you also must understand that I am here for my crewmen and I will not stand by and watch them be abused," Janeway said shortly.

"Abused is it?" Cassandra asked curiously. She looked at Tuvok carefully before focusing on Janeway once again. "I suppose it looks like abuse in your world. Your men are equal to you. You coddle them. They respect you, I know, but I would much rather be feared." She turned away before they could say a word and left, but not without saying, "Don't forget to come to lunch."

When she had gone, the three stood in silence for a minute. At last Tuvok broke it and asked, "Commander, do you know the female's residence where Paris has been taken?"

Chakotay shrugged and said, "Miss Hannah? I don't know where she lives. It's weird; I have history with her even if I've never… well anyways. Paris knows. He's been at her place before. But this doesn't bode well…"

The Captain inhaled sharply and questioned, "What history, Chakotay? Do I dare ask? Is it just as terrible as everything else seems to be?"

There was a moment of silence as the Commander looked down at the floor and sucked in a breath. He appreciated the fact that the Captain didn't seem to be rushing him to speak. Should he tell her? She should know, right? His voice was soft as he finally answered her, "Once Lady Cassandra whipped me so bad I nearly died. Slaves aren't allowed painkillers. Devon isn't allowed much in the way of medicine. Paris, uh, he made an agreement with Miss Hannah for a dermal regenerator. Only thing he could offer was sex. She… took full advantage. Um, and she is a Miranda woman too. Mitch told me that."

"Wait…" Janeway said in surprise. "She's a… come again? I'm not going to touch that deal… but she's from Miranda? What…"

A man's grunt sounded near them, making the group turn to face Mitch who was walking up to them. "A few of the women are. They're drugged too, before you ask." He glanced around and shrugged. "Came to get Paris but I guess he done got in trouble again? Damn him." Mitch seemed to make light of it, though the worry lines crossed his forehead. "Right, guess I'll just go be on Cassandra duty."

Tuvok's deep voice caught Mitch's attention. "The females are under the influence of what drug? We have discovered the uses of this "serum" that the Matriarch uses on the male slave population. Perhaps you can explain this further."

Mitch cocked his head at the Vulcan and checked out the door to make sure the guards weren't too close. Stepping nearer to them, he said in a low voice, "There's two drugs. One is the serum, yes, and they use that as sexual torture for us. That's been around for centuries. The other is a… potion, we say. It's not talked about much at all. Us men know it. The women don't. Because they… changed. They were like anyone else, but now they're brutal sex-driven demons." He paused to check outside once more then his voice was even softer. "The first time I was taken by a Miranda woman was very hard indeed. I've tried talking to them, seeing what they remember. So far, it's nothing. I only thank the stars above my Lucy never suffered that. I don't know if I could have handled it. As much as it hurts, I'm glad for that reason she's gone."

Janeway listened in horror and considered what to do next. "We need to find Paris."

"Where's he gone?" Mitch asked after one more check."

Chakotay answered this, "Miss Hannah has taken him. But I don't know where she lives. I'm afraid for him."

Wincing, Mitch agreed. "Yeah, I'd be too. She's known for her…" he trailed off after a glance at the Captain. "Sorry. I'd better get going."

A hand clasped on his shoulder, making Mitch flinch automatically. Janeway quickly dropped her hand, a memory of Trevor's flinches flashing through her head. Now she understood why he did that. "Mitch, tell me straight. I've gotten a lot of hard truths in the last day or so. What is she known for?"

A breath gusted out of him and he could not meet those piercing eyes of hers. Once upon a time he might have, but not today. "She throws parties. I know. I've been." He was silent for a minute, remembering. He didn't flinch at the soft hand on his arm this time, knowing the Captain was only trying to comfort him. He was grateful for this kindness from a woman and gathered his courage. "It's a gang bang."

The Captain fought not to recoil once again and gave him a comforting squeeze on the arm. Looking over at Tuvok and Chakotay, she said, "We have to find them. Fast."

"Ask around in town," Mitch suggested. "Pretend you want to go to her party but you're new and forgot where her house is. You'll get far less questions that way. It's shitty but that's how it is. And now if you'll excuse me, I do need to go."

"Of course," Janeway said, shooing the man away. She'd learned her lesson with Chakotay this morning. She didn't want to get this one in trouble too. When Mitch had gone, the three betook themselves to the town to see if they could find this woman - Janeway nearly said "bitch" but thought better of it. Well, at least she could say it mentally.

Interestingly enough, the first few women they asked didn't seem to know where Hannah's house was. Chakotay even asked a slave or two, but they seemed too nervous to answer with the visitors that close by. At last one slave said, "She lives on the next street over, but I don't know what house." This was helpful and the group were quick to be on the correct street. Janeway was concerned. It'd been nearly an hour since Paris had been taken away and she didn't need to say that a lot of damage could be done in an hour. Chakotay's grim face was enough for her.

Finally, finally, Hannah's house was identified and they stood at the door. No one answered the knocks but there were quite a few slaves harnessed to carts at the hitching post. That meant there were women inside. After knocking loudly, Janeway discovered the door was open. There was no time to make a plan and the group quickly entered. There were noises coming from somewhere.

When Janeway darted around the corner towards the sounds, she bumped full on into someone else. "Oh!" said the woman in surprise. Hannah peered at the visitors then asked with a smirk, "Come to play at my party? I heard you lot were here but I didn't know you liked this. Or you just curious?"

"We came to take my slave away from here," Janeway snapped. No way in hell was he staying in this person's hands. Hannah was dressed in a very skimpy outfit on and she was already shiny from sweat.

"Your slave? I don't think he's yours, Captain Janeway. The Matriarch let me have him for a boy toy to play with. And he's very entertaining. The girls love him too."

A voice called out from further in the house. "Hannah! We're just going to the kitchen for food."

Hannah answered back, "That's fine, I'll be there soon!" Then she turned to the Captain and said, "Sounds like he's getting a break. You're more than welcome to make use of him if you wish. The Vulcan too."

Deciding not to answer back, Janeway followed Hannah into a room and what met her eyes horrified her. There was Paris, spread eagled on a bed, chained hand and foot at all four corners. He shifted uncomfortably and groaned in pain. His wrists and ankles were raw and he was sweating profusely, his ribs heaving in and out. After that good look, the Captain snapped, "You let him go immediately."

Snorting, Hannah shook her head. "You have no say in this. Come on, let's have some fun!" She walked over to the trembling man and gripped his cock firmly. That elicited a sharp yelp from Tom and he panted hard, staring at her with wide eyes. "He's had a shot of the serum; I was just checking to see when he needs more."

Janeway saw red. Tom was terrified and these horrible bitches had shot him up with that stupid drug that Chakotay had told her about! She didn't want to look closely but she could see his genitals were red - presumably from a cane from the stripes that covered his entire frontal area. "You damn well let go of him!" She stepped forward threateningly.

A loud scream ripped from Tom's throat with the rough handling. He knew not to beg, but he did whimper helplessly, "Please… please."

That did it. Janeway stormed over and would have shoved Hannah aside but Tuvok somehow reached her first. His hand went up and grasped her shoulder. He pinched and caught the woman as she slumped down unconscious. The next moment he was quickly undoing the straps and chains on Tom, who could only stare in surprise.

"Thank you, Tuvok," Janeway said in relief. She helped Tom up into a sitting position, frowning at the man's grunts of pain and the fact that he couldn't stand on his own. She hushed him when he tried to apologize - he had nothing to be sorry for! She and Chakotay had just gotten him up swayingly to his feet when a soft mutter from the floor caught their attention.

The Vulcan was about to move Hannah again when she blinked her eyes open. The expression on her face was confusion. "What… what happened? Who are you guys?"

That made everyone freeze for a moment. When Janeway made sure Chakotay had Paris, she bent down to the woman, sensing something had happened. "Are you alright?"

Hannah's eyes took in Janeway's uniform and she gasped, "Starfleet. I remember…"

"What do you remember?" Janeway asked carefully. A sound attracted her attention and she saw Mitch coming through the doorway into the room. He stopped, surprised at the scene before him and unsure of what to do.

The woman glanced over at the newcomer and gasped, "Mitch? Commander Mitch!"

He was floored - it had been forever ago since he'd heard that name. He instantly was at her side on the floor. "Miss Hannah? What's happened?"

"Mitch… what? Why aren't you in uniform? What's that you have around your neck? This isn't the Miranda… where am I?"