The sight of Icheb sitting on the floor with Gretchen in his lap made Janeway smile the moment she stepped into her quarters. With Neelix on the away team Seven's self-adopted little brother had been the first to offer his time to baby sit. The young Brunali had become very attached to Gretchen and it had touched Janeway's heart to no end the day she heard the young man explain to Seven that to him she was a sister which made her child his niece.

"The dilithum crystals are housed here." Icheb explained as he pointed to a part of the soft squishy model of the warp core that he was holding. Gretchen smiled and cooed as she tried desperately to pull the toy into her mouth. "The crystals are then broken down and mixed into..."

Janeway couldn't help but laugh.

Icheb looked up with a rather startled look on his face. "Captain." He said as he attempted to get to his feet with Gretchen in his arms.

Janeway waved her hand at him as she shook her head. "Don't get up, Icheb. I didn't mean to startle you." She walked over and crouched down near the edge of the large pink blanket that the children were sitting on, and then she laughed again. As soon as Icheb's attention had been diverted Gretchen was finally able to get the toy into her mouth and was now chewing happily on the miniature warp core. "Don't you think she's a little young for warp field mechanics?"

Icheb looked down at Gretchen and then up at Janeway. "She can not understand the concept yet, however, Seven says that even a child as young as Gretchen can learn. We completed the Delta quadrant alien flash cards before lunch so I designed and replicated this model of Voyager's warp core. I hope that was alright, Captain."

Gretchen looked up at her mother and stretched out her arms as she squeaked out, "mo-mo"

Janeway was more then happy to take the child and quickly placed a soft kiss on the crown of her auburn haired head. "It's fine, Icheb. She seemed to be enjoying the lecture." She said with a smile.

A small smile tugged at Icheb's young face before he replied in a manor that reminded Janeway a lot of Seven. "I believe it was the sound of my voice she liked not the words I was saying."

Janeway laughed again. "That's what Seven says when I catch her reading Geejay the astrometrics reports out loud."

"Has Seven returned yet?" Icheb asked as he watched the Captain playing with Gretchen.

"Not yet, Icheb, but we have found the shuttle's warp trial. We'll find them." Janeway told him as she gave him a reassuring smile.

After having a quick lunch where she talked with Icheb about his studies the Captain kissed her daughter's pudgy cheeks and then headed back to the bridge. The knot in her stomach that normally told her that there was trouble coming seemed to be getting tighter.

"Captain, I'm picking up a hail from one of the near by planets." Ensign Willows announced as the Captain stepped off the turbo lift.

The Captain walked down to her chair and lowered herself into it as she called out. "On screen Ensign."

The young woman cleared up the signal and then placed the call through to the main viewer. There was a rush of relief that passed over the whole bridge when Harry's face appeared on the screen. "Captain, am I glad to see you."

Janeway smiled. "Where are you Harry? What happened?"

"We're on a planet called Nunus III. We were caught in a really bad patch of spaceal pockets and ended up having to dump the proto-mater, which exploded. Our shields were weakened and we lost engines. Seven managed to land us here and the locals have offered us help."

The Captain listen to Harry explain everything carefully but couldn't shake the feeling that he was trying to work his way up to something. "What is it Harry?"

Harry took a deep breath. "They've arrested Seven. They want to put her on trial."

Janeway felt her heart sink to her toes and her stomach lurch into her throat. "For what?"

All the color drained from Harry's face before it turned a bright angry red. "For being a Borg."

An unsettling hush feel over the bridge. Finally Janeway spoke up. "Send us the coordinates, Harry. We'll be there as soon as we can."

Harry nodded and then transmitted the coordinates. Once Tom gave the word that he had them Janeway had him engage engines. She was really starting to get tired of people treating Seven unfairly because of what she use to be and Janeway knew that Seven was tired of it as well.

As Voyager made it's way to the planet, Janeway sat in her chair and quietly fumed as she tried to weed though the thoughts in her head. Harry hadn't given them anything to go on other then these people wanted to use Seven as an escape goat. Her Starfleet training kept pushing into her thoughts reminding her about the rules that said they couldn't interfere with other races' laws, but somehow she didn't think this counted. She would go down and talk to them but she would not let them punish Seven for something the Borg did.

"Tuvok as soon as we're in range scan the planet and see if you can tell how advanced their technology is. Ensign Willows, scan for and lock onto each one of our crew and prepare to beam them up on my orders."

After getting her officers' confirmations Janeway stood, "You have the bridge Commander. I'm going to see what I can find out about their hosts. Let me know when we've arrived."

Chakotay nodded and then watched as Janeway descended into her ready room. For a moment he felt sorry for whoever made the choice to pick on Seven. His friend had always been protective of the younger woman, but since they'd become involved and now that they were raising a child that protectiveness grew ten fold.

The ship's computer had been updated with information on the Delta quadrant by both Neelix and Seven, but there was very little on the Zokinians. The crew would be going into this situation blind, but what else was new. After learning what she could about the aliens she was about to face, Janeway looked up Star Fleet records. She found an account in the archives regarding an incident with the Enterprise where Picard had retrieved the son of his chief medical officer after he'd broken a law on another planet. She would use this if she had to, because if she had to, she'd bring Seven home by any means necessary.

The bridge was quiet and unsettling to the people who were sitting at their stations. The ship had arrived at the planet where their away team was, but their hails had still not been answered. This was starting to make Janeway feel more and more uneasy and more and more angry.

"Hail them again." She ordered as she shifted in her chair. The young woman standing behind her acknowledged the order and put the hail through. Janeway was expecting to hear that there was no reply so it came as a surprise when Willows announced she was putting the call on screen.

A kind looking older gentlemen appeared on the screen and smiled down at Janeway. "Ahh you must be Voyager. I am Brandeis. Sorry for the delay in replying. Your people have been waiting for you. I will send word to them that you are here and you may retrieve them, Captain."

"I was told by one of my officers that you were holding a member of my crew. Have you released her?" Janeway ask as she sat on the edge of her chair.

The man's smile quickly turned into a frown. "Your officer was mistaken. We are not holding a member of your crew. We are holding a Borg."

Although her emotions could not been seen on her face, they could be seen flashing in her eyes. The ice blue fire was unmistakable and it caused the man on the screen to swallow. "Seven is no longer a Borg and very much a member of my crew. I expect her to be returned to us with the others."

"I am afraid I can not give you the Borg, Captain, she is to answer for all she did to us."

Janeway got up from her chair and took a step closer to the screen. She stood at her full height and squared her shoulders, looking every bit the commanding woman she was. "She hasn't done anything to you. Seven is no longer a Borg."

The man on the screen was becoming angry. "Once a Borg, Captain, always a Borg."

"We will not be leaving without her." Janeway warned. "You can not charge her with a crime she didn't commit."

"You will have to take this up with the Elders. For now you may reclaim your crewmen." The man replied and then cut the call.

Janeway was quietly fuming. She had to think about what she was going to do. There had to be a diplomatic way of handling this.

"Captain, we've been sent a message from the planet. It's from Ensign Kim. He's sent a set of transport coordinates." Willows reported suddenly.

The Captain didn't waste anytime heading for the turbo lift. "Send them to transporter room one. Tuvok your with me."

The tall Vulcan officer fell right into step with Janeway. The two of them made their way to the transporter room as quickly as they could. Janeway wasn't sure what she was going to do or say all she was sure of was that she wasn't returning to Voyager without every single member of her crew being with her.

When the haze of the transporter lifted Janeway and Tuvok found themselves in the hallway of a simple looking building. The Captain looked around quickly and spotted Harry and Neelix standing outside a set of closed double doors.

"What's going on?" She asked as they approached them.

Harry and Neelix turned to look at her and Harry sighed in relief. "Captain, you guys got here just in time. They're holding Seven's trial in there." He pointed to the door.

"Is Seven in there?" Janeway asked.

Neelix shook his head. "No and we haven't been able to see her."

"Where is the Doctor?" Tuvok asked.

Both Harry and Neelix looked at the doors but Neelix was the one to answer. "They made him her advocate."

"Well at least they're giving her a chance." Janeway said though she had a feeling she was wrong.

Harry suddenly looked angry. "They haven't allowed him to speak in her behalf at all. He said all morning all they've done is whine about the Borg."

She'd figured this was one sided and Janeway was about to put a stop to that. Without a word to the others she walked over to the doors and opened them. The proceedings inside stopped as the doors opened. Everyone looked up and all eyes were on her. The Doctor looked relieved but the others looked quite upset.

"What is the meaning of this?" The man in the center asked as he stood.

Janeway walked closer to the table of Elders and then brought herself to her full height. "I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager. I'm here for my crewmen. All of them."

The man who sat in the center looked at her harshly. "You may take the others. The Borg will remain until we have decided her fate."

The emotion was starting to bubble in her belly, but Janeway kept it pushed down. "She had nothing to do with what your planet went through."

"She was Borg she is guilty by association." The man told her. "Now sit down Captain. Your rank and position give you no rights here. According to our laws only two people may speak for the guilty."

Janeway gave him her best deathly look. "And who might those two people be?"

The Elder was not impressed. "The appointed advocate and the guilty's spouse."

For the first time since Janeway had come into the room, the Doctor finally spoke up. He knew as the words were coming out of his mouth that he would pay for them later, but he knew that the Captain was the better person to handle this. "In that case the Captain has the right to speak on Seven's behalf. They are mates."

The Elders all looked at the Doctor, but it was the man in the center who spoke. "Even if we did believe you, and Doctor we do not, Borgs do not take mates. Mates are not the same as spouses. In order to have the right to speak on the Borg's behalf she and the Captain would have to be married. Are they?"

The Doctor sighed. "No."

"Then the Captain has no rights." The man told them. He then turned to Janeway. "You will sit and be still or you will leave."

The emotion that had been bubbling in her belly was now starting to make it's way up. She could nearly feel the steam coming from her ears. Slowly she sat next to the Doctor.