Chapter Four

"Captain to the bridge."

Chakotay's voice made Kathryn jump. There hadn't been many details available to her in the four hours since her first officer had returned to the bridge, and she'd asked Harry to initiate a number of scans to check for cloaking technologies, chronoton fluctuations…anything that might indicate that the star system had somehow been hidden or that Voyager's sensors had been blinded. But fatigue had gotten the better of her, and again she had been dozing, her chin ungracefully dropping from her hand when Chakotay woke her. She sat up like a shot, annoyed at not being able to stay alert. No caffeine and many nights of worry-fuelled insomnia had been an awful combination, and it was getting to her. Grateful for the distraction, she straightened her hair and her uniform before heading out onto the bridge.

"We're being approached by a pair of ships," Chakotay reported as she stepped up into the command centre.

"Weapons?"

"Comparable armaments," Tuvok replied from his station, "but not powered at this time."

Her lips pressed into a thin line. Comparable armaments meant they could have problems getting out if things went south, but the fact that they were unpowered meant they were willing to be friendly – or at least non-malevolent. "On screen."

The promised ships appeared on the viewer, dark green and dart-like, each approximately the size of Voyager. They slowed as they approached, and it only took a few seconds before her security chief announced, "We are being hailed."

The captain nodded, then turned to face their welcome party. The screen lit up with the image of a male and female pair, remarkably human-looking, though their hair was a bright shade of lavender and their noses flat and inverted, nostrils flaring up over their eyes. His hair was long and flowing over his shoulders, while hers had been closely cropped, and was slicked back from her forehead. Her head was adorned with a simple wire crown, which dipped down to her nose and appeared to hold a small, dangling object there. "Greetings," the woman announced. "We are the Frela. I am Kitra Sal."

"I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager."

"What travels bring you to our territory?" the alien woman asked. "We do not regularly receive visitors in this area."

"We are travelling back to our home on the other side of the galaxy," Janeway said, giving her standard explanation. "We were unaware of your territory, and apologize if we have trespassed into your space."

"No trespass has occurred," Sal confirmed.

Feeling hopeful, Janeway smiled. "Would your government be open to negotiating with us?" she asked. "We are in need of supplies, and would like to discuss trade for them."

"You will be welcome to meet with myself and the president," she told them. "Then we may determine whether you are supplementary to the cause. Follow us and do not deviate from our heading."

"Understood." The screen winked off, replaced by the view of the ships as they turned around and headed back in the direction they came from.

"Friendly sort," Paris commented.

"It's better than the alternative." Janeway glanced at her first officer, who was holding his tongue, then made her decision. "Follow them home, Mister Paris."

"Aye, Captain."

She returned to her seat, crossing her legs as she picked up a padd to start making notes. "Tuvok, Harry, I want your preliminary reports in fifteen minutes." To Chakotay, she asked, "When can you have the updated manifest ready?"

He was already at work, going back and opening up the latest reports from the department heads. "Half an hour," he told her. "I've been updating it as we go along, so I just need to include the numbers from this past week."

"Good."