Ch.13

Staring into the closet, Kathryn still couldn't quite believe it. She was to be sold tomorrow, and as if that wasn't bad enough, Milo had revealed to her what it was she was expected to wear. He'd told her to think of it as lingerie; she preferred to think of it as scraps of cloth covered by gauze. The whispery, emerald material shimmered in certain lights and flowed freely from the lower edge of the brassiere portion all the way down to the floor. Spidery strings cinched the lower back, and two highly stylized clusters held the front loosely together. She didn't even want to think about the thong they expected her to wear. If less really was more, she certainly would have that aspect taken care of.

And the damnable misery of it all was that she looked good in it. Milo had insisted on checking the fitting earlier, so like a doll, she'd been trussed up in it. Only at Maddie's innocent observation of how beautiful she looked had Kathryn given in to temptation and inspected her own reflection. She'd almost gasped even as heat rose in her cheeks. Sheila and her minions had done their job well. Her skin was a flawless ivory, accented beautifully by the dark green of the material that flowed over her, revealing everything and nothing at the same time. The natural auburn color of her hair had been augmented, but not overly much, leaving her with a smooth mane that framed her face while resting softly atop her shoulders. Even her eyes appeared to be a brighter shade of blue and not their usual grayish. A factor which she could only attribute to the drops they had continually administered. If only Chakotay could see her like this, instead of being treated like some slave girl from Planet Ten.

The thought of being forced to parade in front of strangers wearing nothing but this had Kathryn's stomach twisting in knots. Command school hadn't exactly prepared her for this scenario. She'd turned away from her reflection quickly but not before catching a glimpse of Sheila's amused smirk in the mirror. That had been several hours ago, and still, Kathryn kept finding herself drawn back into the bedroom to look at the costume. It was like a warp core cascading into a breach; as much as you feared it, your eyes were drawn to the catastrophe like a moth to a flame.

"Mama, come look."

Kathryn jumped at her daughter's voice and quickly closed the closet once again. Schooling her features, she left the bedroom, chiding herself as she went. "What is it…Maddie…what–"

"I disassembled the locking mechanism for the door. It wasn't that much different than taking apart your replicator," she said with a flourish, indicating the parts she had strewn across the floor near the door. "Watch."

Maddie waved her hand in front of the door's sensor, causing it to slide open, and Kathryn immediately caught a glimpse of Skor. His quick reflex from relaxed posture to alert assured her he wasn't simply passing by; he was standing guard in the corridor. Horrified at the repercussions this could mean, Kathryn quickly moved her daughter away from the sensor but not before seeing a knowing smile appear on Skor's features.

"Why did you do this, Maddie?" she asked, picking up the pieces, knowing it was already futile to bother putting them back together.

"You said you couldn't do it–"

"I said I couldn't risk doing it. There's a difference."

"But you see, I took care of that for you."

"Yes, honey," Kathryn knelt down so she was eye level with her daughter. "I need you to listen to me now. Go in the bedroom and stay there. Don't come back out. I don't care what you hear. I will come in and get you when it's safe."

Maddie's eyes grew big. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Go. Now, Maddie," she said, pointing towards the bedroom but continually glancing at the door. Any minute now…

"But Mama, I don't want you to get hurt again."

"Oh, she won't," Milo announced as the door slid open, allowing him entrance and revealing his usual entourage behind him in the corridor. "But I can't say the same for you." He glared at the lock components in Kathryn's hand and shook his head at her even as she stood, pushing Maddie behind her. "I warned you what would happen, Janeway."

"It's not what you think," Kathryn tried explaining even as Stefan entered the parlor from the far door. "She didn't know."

"Do you really expect me to believe that the child did this?" Milo asked incredulously, his face flushed.

"I did! Mama had nothing to do with it," Maddie yelled, coming out from behind Kathryn.

"Maddie, be quiet."

"Let the child speak. It may be her last opportunity."

"You will not touch her!" Kathryn shoved Maddie back behind her at the same time that Stefan drew a disrupter. He stepped closer, letting the muzzle of the weapon brush against her temple threateningly.

"Stefan, don't hurt her," Maddie pleaded, pulling against her mother's grip. "I'm the one that should be punished; she didn't do anything wrong."

Ignoring the disrupter, Kathryn stared hard at Milo. "She…didn't…know."

Milo's beady eyes never left Kathryn's. "Fine. If the girl is telling the truth, then she should be able to put it back together."

"She can," Kathryn stated confidently. Then she actually allowed a small smile to cross her face. "And it'll probably work better than it did." Disregarding Stefan, she squeezed Maddie's hand. "Go ahead, honey. Make Aunt 'Lanna proud."

Maddie sniffed loudly, moving out from behind her mother, and began arranging the components into neat rows on the floor. Within moments, she was so absorbed in her project that she wasn't even sniffling anymore. After a minute passed, Sheila huffed in disgust and walked back out of the room, Stefan's aim relaxed, and the disruptor was now aimed at Kathryn's chest instead of her head. Milo slouched onto a barstool, still looking agitated, leaving Kathryn to hope the demonstration would be enough to convince him. After several tense minutes, Maddie had the entire mechanism reconstructed.

"Put it back into the wall and restore the panel, Maddie, just like you found it," Kathryn instructed.

"If she's this good with all mechanical stuff, maybe I should keep her on as an engineer," Milo drawled.

Kathryn bristled. "That wasn't the deal, Milo."

"I am going to be an engineer one day," Maddie said obstinately. "In Starfleet."

"Is that so?" Milo asked snidely and Kathryn did not miss the danger inherent in his tone.

Maddie replaced the panel, and the lights flashed through a sequence, indicating they were in working order. She turned towards Milo and put her hands on her hips. "Yes, Mister Milo, that's so."

Kathryn's hand snapped out in the direction of her daughter. "Maddie, come stand by me. Now."

The mood of the room had shifted. Kathryn knew that Milo may not want to hurt a child, but he also didn't care for getting shown up. It didn't matter that he and Stefan were the only ones left in the parlor as everyone else had left once it was apparent there wasn't going to be any violence. Milo had shown a weakness in front of his crew, and he did not like that.

"What makes you think, little girl," he stood up from the stool and moved closer to Kathryn and Madelyn, "that you are ever going to see Starfleet again?"

"Because they're coming for us!"

Kathryn tightened her hold on her daughter. "That's enough, Madelyn."

Milo chuckled darkly and hit Stefan on the arm. "She thinks she's going to be rescued. She thinks…the almighty Starfleet is going to board my ship."

Stefan nodded, his eyes never wavering from Kathryn. "No one from Starfleet boards this ship."

Kathryn frowned. The way he quietly offered that statement as though it was a fact made her internal alarms go off.

"Well my Aunt 'Lanna will! And she's going to kick your–"

"Madelyn!"

"Your Aunt 'Lanna thinks you're dead!" Milo said loudly, cutting her off. He smiled cruelly at the little girl's shocked expression. "Just like the rest of Starfleet."

Kathryn's heart plummeted, and she was glad her skin was paler than usual as she felt all of her blood rush downwards away from her head. "What?"

"Oh, that's right," Milo said, exaggerating his speech. "I forgot to tell you! It seems Starfleet found a downed shuttle. It was badly destroyed, but they were able to find some remains among the wreckage. Nothing that could be easily identified but DNA markers indicate that it was you and your daughter."

"How…"

"I told you, Janeway. I have drugs for everything," Milo said, enjoying himself. "Including masking DNA."

"That won't be enough," Kathryn argued. "They'll never use a single source to determine–"

"I believe your rank bar was also found," Milo interrupted. "Your husband was able to identify it by the small symbol scratched onto the back. Some sort of native looking art." He looked down at Madelyn. "Your Daddy didn't take the news too well, I'm afraid."

"Chakotay." It was only a whisper. Ice swept through Kathryn's veins even as bile rose in her throat. If Chakotay thought she was dead, thought Madelyn was dead…Kathryn glared at the man across from her, a rage building like the one she'd once felt towards Rudy Ransom. Milo's triumphant smile would've been enough to send her over the edge if it hadn't been for Maddie's choked hiccup. Immediately, Kathryn switched gears and tucked her daughter's head into her waist, knowing she was trying not to cry. Maddie's hands clenched tightly at the fabric of Kathryn's robe, burying her face in the cloth. Kathryn looked back to Milo, her voice a strained whisper. "Get out."

He jerked his head at Stefan, indicating the door. "You play a dangerous game, Janeway. I'll be glad to be rid of you."

"I assure you, the feeling is mutual."

"You may say that now, Admiral," he said, punching in a code on the lock as Stefan exited the room, "but after tomorrow, you'll look fondly on the time you spent here."

"The hell I will."

Milo stepped into the corridor. "We'll see."