The strange aliens escorted Tom, B'Elanna, and Harry to the bridge of their ship. The leader of their group- obviously the one called "First Commander"- came crossed over the bridge to where the three Starfleet officers were being forced to stand.
Tom stood in the center of the three. Harry stood to his right and B'Elanna to his left. The First Commander looked from Harry, to Tom, to B'Elanna, and then back to Tom, and back to Harry. Finally, he called "Grolt!"
The man who had ordered for Harry, B'Elanna, and Tom to be brought to the bridge came to his leader's side. "Yes, sir?"
"Why are these people being restrained?" the First Commander inquired. "I told you to bring them up as you would bring up guests, not prisoners!"
"I'm sorry, sir." said Grolt, recoiling. "A skirmish emerged in the shuttlebay. We were forced to use restraints on them."
The First Commander slapped Grolt sharply across the face. Grolt dropped to the ground and held his face behind his hands. The First Commander towered over his subordinate and yelled "You incompetent idiot! They must think we are savages now because of your actions!"
Tom then stated out "It's not his fault."
The First Commander turned to the Starfleet officers. He stepped forward and asked "What do you mean?"
"We… started the fight." Tom explained. "I apologize for our actions, but we don't take kindly to being boarded against our will."
"That is understandable." said the First Commander. "Now if I may ask, who are you?"
"I am Lieutenant Tom Paris of the Federation Starship Voyager." Tom introduced himself. Gesturing to his left, and then his right, he introduced his two friends "This is Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres and Ensign Harry Kim."
"I am First Commander Ekelith of the Beitruu Deep Space Vessel Nocalna." the First Commander introduced himself. Gesturing to the man he had slapped, who had gotten back on his feet, he said "This is my next-in-command, Second Commander Grolt."
"Pleasure." said Harry, giving a nod in Grolt's general direction.
Ekelith looked at the men holding Tom, B'Elanna, and Harry back and sternly ordered them "Release them."
The men let go of the three Starfleet officers' arms. Then Tom, Harry, and B'Elanna each heard an electronic *click* behind their backs. That indicated that the restraints had been deactivated. They were removed from their wrists and they were given control of their arms once again.
"Join me in my office?" Ekelith offered them. They respectfully accepted his offer. They walked into the next room and he sat down at his desk. There were three chairs in front of the desk, all of which were occupied by Tom, B'Elanna, and Harry.
Ekelith offered them something to drink, but they declined. He helped himself to a viscous dark green liquid known as violga. While it may have looked revolting and unappetizing to Tom, B'Elanna, and Harry, Ekelith told them that violga was one of the most habitually consumed drinks amongst his species.
After getting settled in, Ekelith said to them "I'm curious; which species are you?"
"Tom and I are both Human." Harry answered. "B'Elanna here is half-Human, half-Klingon."
"I would like to know more about your race." Ekelith requested. "I have never seen or heard of either of your races before."
"That's probably because our homeworld is 30,000 light years away in the Alpha Quadrant." Tom enlightened him. "It would take over thirty years to get there."
"Then what are you doing out here in the Delta Quadrant so far from your home?" asked Ekelith.
"We're trying to get home, actually." B'Elanna explained. "Almost six years ago, we were stranded here against our will by a very powerful being. That was actually seventy-thousand light years away. But now we are more than halfway home due to some scientific accomplishments."
"Fascinating." said the First Commander. "How many others are there on your ship?"
"About 150." Tom responded. "They are currently with the Voyager in orbit around the planet Jiopia on shore leave. Most of them are also Humans. But we have a few members of other species indigenous to the Alpha Quadrant in our company too."
"What is the central purpose of your vessel's missions?" queried the First Commander.
"We are explorers." said Harry. "We seek out and make peaceful contact with new species. We also search for any strange or interesting phenomena, such as a regional space anomaly."
"And what do you do once you have located these 'anomalies' and other 'strange or interesting phenomena?'" asked the Ekelith.
"We study them." Tom replied simply. "We put a lot of time into studying natural space phenomena. In fact, the three of us just finished conducting a survey on a binary pulsar cluster. We were returning back to our ship when you intercepted."
"Oh, I wish to convey my apologies for causing you alarm." Ekelith said sincerely. "I hope you will accept my request for forgiveness."
"Of course." said Tom. "We just weren't content with being taken aboard an unfamiliar alien ship against our will."
"I wasn't expecting you to be." said Ekelith. "But what we did was necessary."
"Necessary?" said Harry. "I was unaware that abduction in this manner is every necessary."
"You were about to enter a region of space occupied by a particularly brutal race known as the Riscadi." Ekelith explained. "We couldn't have contacted you; if we did, we would have risked having our signal picked up from one of their relay stations."
"We entered that same region a week ago when first started our survey of that binary pulsar cluster." B'Elanna informed the alien leader. "There were no stations or ships besides ours in the vicinity."
"That area is right on the edge of their territory." the First Commander explained. "The Riscadi vessels' patrolling intervals of that region are erratic and even somewhat unpredictable. And their stations are long-distance monitors of subspace traffic."
"Oh, I see." said B'Elanna. "But why did you fire an energy-draining weapon at us?"
"It was the only way to prevent you from entering Riscadi territory." Ekelith answered her. "We only use it as a last resort on people who will not allow us to board them until they almost reach an unsafe destination."
Tom stood up and said "We thank you for being concerned for our safety and our well-being, but we must be leaving now."
"Tom?" said Harry.
"Harry, the Captain said no first contacts without her, remember?" Tom helped his friend recall the Captain's orders. "We have to get back to Jiopia as soon as possible anyway."
"'First contact?'" said Ekelith, confused by the term.
"That's what we call the event when we meet with new species face-to-face for the first time." Tom explained. "It is one of the most important tasks done by Starfleet officers."
"I see." said Ekelith. "I take it this 'Starfleet' is your central exploration corporation?"
"You are correct, sir." Harry confirmed. "Millions of people seek out new things in Starfleet.
"You are not the prisoners of the Beitruu Autonomy." Ekelith told the three officers. "You are under our protection, and you are our guests."
"We can take care of ourselves." said Tom.
"Many people have said that before they encountered the Riscadi." Ekelith told them. "Very few lived shortly after crossing through their territory."
"So what are you suggested we do?" asked B'Elanna.
"My vessel can return you to your ship." Ekelith proposed. "Our current flight plan requires us to move through the edge of the Riscadi territory. Our current path also goes right by Jiopia."
"We appreciate that, but I'm afraid we cannot stay here." said Tom. "We have to return to our people on our own."
"Lieutenant Paris," said the First Commander, "do you know what will happen if the Riscadi find your ship in their territory?"
"What will happen?" asked Tom, curious about the answer.
Ekelith answered "They will pursue you, they will attack you, they will board you, they will torture you, and finally, they will kill you."
Tom was rather unsettled by the First Commander's analysis of the Riscadi reactions to violation of their territory. In the end, he decided that they would stay on board.
"You are very wise, Lieutenant." said Ekelith. "I can assign you three living quarters for the next few days while we proceed to Jiopia."
"That is very congenial of you." Tom thanked the Beitruu Captain. "But I have a request first."
"Name it."
"Could we contact our ship and let our people know that we will be arriving on your ship?"
"I'm afraid I cannot allow that." Ekelith answered back. "The Riscadi would intercept the transmission and be able to track it to its source."
"I could send an encrypted message using our vessel's deflector array." Harry suggested.
"I'm sorry." Ekelith apologized. "But the risk is too great. However, I can promise you that your people will see you soon enough."
"Thank you, First Commander." said Tom.
Ekelith pressed a button on his desk and said into a small microphone "Send in Quartermaster Wilvob." Another man came into his office about a minute later and said "What may I do for you, sir?"
"Please assign living quarters to these three guests of ours for the next few days." the First Commander ordered the quartermaster.
The quartermaster nodded and said "Follow me, please." to Harry, B'Elanna, and Tom. The three of them stood up and followed him out the door. He led them down three decks to the living quarters. Then he showed them to three vacant rooms and had them officially designated as theirs for however long they would be there.
After the three officers got some supplies and equipment from the Delta Flyer, they got settled in. They decided to have dinner together in Tom's quarters. They had replicated their dinner on the Delta Flyer and brought it back to Tom's room. They talked with each other while they ate.
"What do you think the Captain will think of this?" Harry asked their opinion.
"She'll probably give me a two-hour lecture on avoiding first contact when told to." Tom theorized.
"Seeing as how you physically tried avoiding it," said B'Elanna, "I don't think she'll do that. Besides, these people seem rather benevolent."
"I didn't think I would hear you giving that sort of inference about them any time soon." said Tom. "I mean, even though the Beitruu may not seem as hostile as we thought they were at first, that doesn't suggest they are a peaceful people."
"Tom's right." Harry agreed. "We should not make any hasty judgments about these people, whether they are good or bad."
"Then what should we do?" inquired B'Elanna.
"We'll learn what we can about their culture." Tom explained his plan. "We'll decide where to go from there. If these people really are benign, we will stay onboard and make friends with them. But if there is anything we find that suggests they are dishonest and belligerent, we'll get back to the Delta Flyer and send a distress call to Voyager. Riscadi or no Riscadi, I'd rather risk a confrontation between ships than be trapped on another ship that belongs to an aggressive people."
Harry and B'Elanna agreed with Tom's plan.