Star Trek Voyager Characters are the property of Paramount Pictures

II

FOUR YEARS EARLIER

Sitting on a hard bench in a windowless silver cell, only a white robe between her and indecency, Kathryn rubbed her weary eyes.

"I can't take much more of this," she said to Chakotay who was sitting on the bench opposite. "We're not lab-rats for them to prod and poke!"

"Let's hope we don't have to take much more of it," Chakotay answered. "The crew will have realized we're missing by now and it's only a matter of time before they find us."

"This ship is cloaked, Chakotay. How the hell are they going to find us?"

"I'm sure B'Elanna will find a way." He got up and went to sit beside her. "And it's not like you to be negative."

"I know," Kathryn admitted. "But how can we compete with a species who managed to intercept our shuttle without us even knowing it? They're too advanced for us, Chakotay. The crew will never find us."

Chakotay was just about to reply when the door opened and two aliens stepped in. They were one of the most hideous species Kathryn had ever seen, with black scaly skin and red eyes, and were completely genderless.

"I demand that you release us," Kathryn said, getting to her feet. "You have no right to keep us captive."

"Calm yourself," the tallest alien said. "We will release you once we have completed biometric evaluation."

"That is unacceptable," Kathryn cried. "Release us immediately!"

The aliens made no reply.

Kathryn stepped forward defiantly. "I said release us immediately!"

Again no reply. Kathryn swallowed. She was rarely intimidated, but these aliens were sinister and cold. "Look," she said, trying a softer approach. "Any information you want on our species, we will gladly send to you once we are back on our ship."

"Unacceptable," the alien replied. "And the less trouble you make, the sooner we will be finished, and the sooner you can leave."

"But what more can you possibly want with us?" Kathryn asked. "You've poked us and scanned us and stimulated us all day!"

"We wish to see how your species procreates."

Kathryn's jaw dropped and it was a moment before she could find her voice. "Excuse me?"

"We conclude, from our examinations, that in your species reproduction is achieved by physical union of reproductive organs. We wish to observe."

"Then you will have to wish away," Kathryn retorted. "It's out of the question!"

"If you wish to see your ship again," the alien threatened. "You will oblige us."

"Never!" Kathryn cried.

"So far we have been most accommodating," the alien continued, "but in return we expect accommodation. Until you co-operate, we will keep you in here without any sustenance."

"Flawed logic," Kathryn stated. "We'll be no use to you dead."

The alien smirked. "We have found even the most stubborn of captives yields in the face of death."

"You can't do this," Kathryn replied. "It's blackmail..."

The alien and his companion turned to leave. "Call it what you wish, it is most effective."

With that, they stepped out of the room and locked the door.

THREE DAYS LATER

Starving, and suffering from dehydration, Kathryn and Chakotay lay side by side on the floor of their cell. Chakotay was unconscious and Kathryn was struggling herself to stay awake. Every part of her body was dying, and it was getting harder and harder not to sleep.

Suddenly, the door to the cell opened, and the two aliens who checked on them every few hours, appeared.

"Alright," Kathryn said as they entered the room. "We'll do it..."

The alien smiled. "We knew you'd be reasonable." He hit a gold badge on his right arm. "Our guests are now co-operating. Beam them to the infirmary and restore them to health."

Before Kathryn knew it, a red light engulfed her and she felt the familiar tingle of transportation.

"No way," Chakotay said when they were alone in their cell after treatment. "I'm not doing it."

"We have no choice," Kathryn argued. "If we don't, we'll die."

"They're just trying to bully us. Like you said, we're no use to them dead."

"And if we don't give them what they want, we're no use to them alive. We have to do this, Chakotay. It's our only hope of escape."

Chakotay stepped closer. "And how do we know they'll keep their word? How do we know they'll release us and not kill us?"

"We don't know," Kathryn conceded. "We have to take a chance."

Chakotay turned to the wall in frustration and leant his palms against it. "I can't, Kathryn. I can't do it."

Kathryn closed the gap between them and put her hand on his shoulder. "You can. We can. All they want is to see how our species mates. Basic biology, that's all we have to give them."

Chakotay turned to her slowly, tears in his eyes. "But to...I can't, Kathryn...not like that. There's got to be another way."

"There isn't," she answered. "Please, don't make me order this..."

Chakotay turned away again, a tortured soul. "I'd rather die than do that to you...but..." a tear ran down his cheek, "but if to do it means you'll live, how can I not?

"That's the way to look at it," Kathryn said reassuringly. She then put her hand on his back, a small gesture of comfort. "I know how you feel about me, Chakotay, and I know you know I feel the same. Let's just be grateful that it's you and me in this situation...that we're not here with someone else."

Another tear ran down Chakotay's cheek. "I love you so much, Kathryn."

"I love you," she whispered. "And this won't change anything between us, I promise."

The door behind them opened, and the two familiar aliens appeared.

"Our physician says you are sufficiently recovered to demonstrate reproduction. We will thus transport you to the laboratory."

When Kathryn and Chakotay arrived at the laboratory, three aliens in blue robes were standing by a bed waiting for them.

"We conclude," the leader alien said, "that the act of reproduction is performed horizontally. We have thus equipped the bed with scanning devices which will provide us with images of internal action. All that remains is for us to attach several devices to your bodies, which will record various data."

"This is sick," Chakotay cried. "In our world it's a crime to force people to do what you're asking!"

"It is simple biology," the alien replied. "All we require is biological data."

Chakotay was about to argue, but Kathryn spoke instead. "There's no use arguing, Chakotay. They have no comprehension of what intimacy means in our culture. Let's just get this over with."

The two subordinate aliens each picked up a box of devices and the dominant alien spoke.

"Please remove your robes."

Kathryn did as she was asked, but Chakotay didn't move.

"Chakotay..." she urged.

At Kathryn's prompt, Chakotay reluctantly took off his robe.

As soon as they were both naked, the two subordinate aliens stepped forward and attached a thin device to their chest, their forehead, and their abdomens. Then they stepped aside.

"We will now begin," the dominant alien said. "Take your places on the bed and begin demonstration."

Kathryn walked over to the bed and Chakotay reluctantly followed. He was trembling, as was she, and Kathryn took his hand in hers. "We can do this...for each other."

Chakotay looked at her, his eyes brimming with tears, and nodded.

Back on Voyager, Kathryn and Chakotay made their way from the shuttle-bay to sickbay in silence. Once the biological studies were complete, the aliens had kept their word and had returned both their uniform and their shuttle. As soon as their shuttle was released from the ship, Tuvok had contacted them, and in less than an hour they were back on Voyager. The return ride, however, had been a stark contrast to the departing one. Then they had talked and laughed and just generally enjoyed each others company, but they had made the trip home in silence, only communicating when necessary.

"Captain, Commander," the Doctor smiled when they arrived at sickbay. "I'm glad to see you have returned safe and sound. We were beginning to think we'd lost you forever."

"No doubt Tuvok has informed you," Kathryn said, her tone sharer than usual, "that we were taken captive by advanced aliens and subjected to intense biometric examination."

"Yes," the Doctor replied. "Were the examinations made against your will?"

"No, Doctor," Kathryn replied sarcastically, "we gladly volunteered to be prodded and poked like lab-rats. And the last thing we want is another examination, so make this as brief as possible."

"Yes, Captain," the Doctor said again. He picked up his medical tricorder and gestured to a bed. "Please, lie down."

"I am fine standing," Kathryn answered. "Just get on with it." At that, the Doctor began to scan her, and Kathryn spoke again. "You will see indication of copulation, but that is not to be put in our files, understood?"

The Doctor's eyes widened. "You mean...they made you..."

Kathryn cut him short. "I said, understood?"

The Doctor nodded in sad submission. "Understood."

In the privacy of her ready-room, Kathryn sat by her desk and gazed absently into a cup of coffee in her hands. It had been late morning when they arrived back on Voyager, and while the Doctor had recommended she take the day off to recuperate, the last thing she wanted was to sit in her quarters going over what had happened. She needed to keep busy, needed something to take her mind off what had happened. Suddenly, her door chime sounded and she looked up from her coffee. "Come in."

The doors slid open and Chakotay came in. He held a pad in his hand and took it over to her. "The report you requested."

Kathryn took the pad and put it down on her desk. "Thank you."

The atmosphere was so tense between them that it was suffocating.

Without another word, Chakotay turned around to leave. As he did so, Kathryn got to her feet.

"Chakotay..."

At the sound of his name, Chakotay turned to face her.

Kathryn left her desk and closed the gap between them. "We need to talk about this."

"I can't," Chakotay said, tears filling his eyes. "I don't even want to think about it."

Gently, Kathryn put her hand on his arm. "We have to, Chakotay. We have to deal with what happened and move on."

"How can we deal with it?" he asked. "I don't know, Kathryn. All I know is that I don't want to think about it."

"We have to get passed it," she insisted. "We have too..."

Chakotay stepped away. "I've got to get back to the bridge."

As he turned to leave, Kathryn seized his arm. "Don't run away from this, Chakotay...or from me. We did what we had to to live..."

Chakotay turned back to her and a tear ran down his cheek. "And I'd rather be dead than feel what I do right now..."

Tears flooded Kathryn's eyes at that, and through blurred vision, she saw Chakotay leave the room.

All was quiet on the bridge when Kathryn ventured there that evening. Chakotay was sitting in his seat, a hunched and tortured figure, and was staring at the console before him as though it wasn't there. Slowly, Kathryn walked over to him and stood beside him.

"Our dinner's getting cold."

At the sound of her voice, Chakotay flinched.

Kathryn spoke again. "Are you joining me?"

Chakotay looked up at her, infinite pain in his eyes. "For what?"

"Dinner..."

Chakotay looked away and said nothing.

"We always have dinner on a Wednesday. I've made your favorite dish."

Silence.

"We won't talk about what happened," she said. "We don't ever have to mention it again if you don't want too."

At that, Chakotay's eyes met hers again. "Then I'll come as soon as I've finished here."

Kathryn gave a wan smile and put her hand on his shoulder. "Be sure that you do."