summary:

TITLE: Janeway Redux
AUTHOR: halfofone
RATING: R
CODE: J/7
FEEDBACK: Constructive feedback welcome.
SUMMARY: Set after five years after the events of Counterpoint in season 5. Janeway gets remade and returns to find her old ship. She needs Voyager and the crew but can they trust her?
SPOLIERS: Some Season 4 and Season 5 spoilers.
ARCHIVING: If you want ... I would quite like to know where.
DISCLAIMER: TPTB are Paramount/Viacom. In a perfect world I would own Star Trek but it's not and I don't.

disclaimer:

TPTB are many. In a perfect world I would be one of them but it's not and I'm not. No infringement of copyright/trade marks or other intellectual property is intended. This story was written for fun and not profit.

warnings:

Warning: This story includes same sex relationships between women. If you are offended by this or it is illegal where you live or you are underage then please read no further.

Full warnings, credits and disclaimers can be found in the contents page and chapter 1.

text:

Part 2 - A Captain lost

When her audience were seated Katherine Janeway, Marshal of the Allianceof Free Worlds, and commander of the warship Fearless, stood up and walked over to the transparent aluminium window of the briefing room on Voyager and looked out at the stars. She was nervous. No more so than her guests she reasoned. Glancing over her shoulder she smiled reassuringly at the B'Elanna who had been uncharacteristically quiet. By contrast Neelix had been unable to stop crying or talking up until a few seconds before. He was wiping his eyes, still overcome with emotion at meeting his Captain again. She extended her smile to him and he responded with a teary grin. Slowly, she began to speak.

"It is strange to stand here looking out from this room. I had not expected to ever see Voyager, or any of you again and, if I am honest, I did not intend to try even when I finally acquired the means to do so." Janeway glanced around the room, to see the reaction of her audience range from dismay to sorrow. "Many things have happened to me in the last five years, some terrible and some wonderful. I hope that when you hear my story you will not judge too harshly and you will not feel that I should have left you alone. Whatever you may think, I can tell you now that I would not change the decisions I have made, because for me there has been one outcome of that fiasco five years ago, which makes any of the subsequent suffering worthwhile and bearable. My family. To be exact my wife and children. If I had stayed on Voyager, Seven of Nine and I would never have formed any relationship because I would not have permitted it."

There was a stir in the room at these words. B'Elanna swore gently and wonderingly, Neelix began to cry again but this time he was smiling. The Doctor was about to form words when Janeway caught his eye; he rapidly closed his mouth. Janeway continued.

"I suppose it is something of a surprise to those of you that never really knew Seven. And that probably means all of you." She could not prevent the note of recrimination that entered her tone; she gave herself a mental kick and a reminder that she was here to get their help. Needing a distraction, she walked to the replicator. "Coffee, black." When the mug appeared she picked it up and without stopping took a swig. She promptly spat it out, gasping "It's boiling!"

"I'm sorry Captain." said B'Elanna through laughter. "I should have warned you but I finally got around to repairing the damned thing."

The laughter broke the tension. Janeway grumbled "My first cup of coffee for five years and you try to kill me."

Still smirking at Kathryn's expression, it occurred to Chakotay to wonder how the Devore had survived Kathryn's withdrawal from coffee. She anticipated his question.

"Before any of you ask how I survived even a week without coffee let me tell you that I have found a wonderful Delta Quadrant substitute. Not as healthy as coffee I'll admit but it serves the same purpose." The Doctor groaned aloud.

"Sorry Doctor" Janeway said with a wicked grin. Nursing her cup of coffee, Captain Janeway slouched elegantly down into a chair at the head of the table. There was nothing of the Borg in the way she moved, the innate gracefulness and barely contained energy were exactly as her crew remembered.

"Back to my story. I'll start at the very beginning. Some of you may remember my arrest by the Devore, but Kraal and Nithqref do not. Chakotay has offered to fill in some details of things that happened after I left the ship."

=The Delta Quadrant five years earlier=

Voyager slid through the darkness, creeping away from the malaise of the Devore Imperium. Captain Janeway gazed out of her ready room window. Three weeks earlier the Captain had tricked the Devore inspectorate and helped a group of telepathic refugees to escape. She still felt the satisfaction of seeing the chief inspector's face when he realised that she had deceived him completely. Kashyk was a clever and devious man and he had not expected the forthright and open captain of the Alpha quadrant vessel to display a level of cunning of which he himself would have been proud.

Yet she knew they had been lucky. Kashyk had let them go rather than have to admit to his superiors that he had been fooled. A less arrogant or more dutiful man than Kashyk would have arrested them and faced the ridicule of his peers. She was anxious to be out of Devore space as soon as possible.

Her comm badge beeped - Harry Kim's voice - "A Devore inspection vessel has been detected at 110,000 kilometers off the starboard side Captain.

The captain walked quickly to the ready room door and entered the bridge.

"Report Mr Kim".

"The inspectorate are hailing us Captain."

"On screen Mr Kim."

The Devore Inspector Prax filled the view screen. He had been Kashyk's side kick but not half as charming as his boss.

"I have a warrant to inspect Voyager" he intoned in a dull monotone. "Prepare to be boarded."

"Where is Inspector Kashyk?" Chakotay asked.

Prax almost cracked a smile. "He is on extended leave of absence while he is investigated. Prepare for boarding."

Sighing Janeway addressed the crew. "We are to be boarded by the Devore; please co-operate......in the usual manner."

"What about Voyager's telepaths Captain?" asked Tuvok, himself a telepath.

"Somehow I don't think that the Devore are that interested this time." she replied. "However tell them all to lie low just in case."

She walked back to her ready room with Chakotay and waited for the Devore to make known their demands.

"Devore inspectors have materialised on deck one only Captain" reported Harry Kim. As he spoke four heavily armed soldiers came through the door of the ready room followed by Prax.

The inspector peered at her and smirked "Captain Janeway. I have a warrant for your arrest and detention. You will accompany us back to our vessel."

Janeway stood up. "On what grounds are you arresting me?" she asked calmly.

"Deviation from the prescribed route through Devore space" came the terse reply. "As this is a first offence, your ship may continue on its way but you, Captain Janeway, will be sent to a secure detention centre in the non-Devore Detention and Resettlement Zone"

"Wait a moment" interrupted Chakotay angrily. "What about an investigation and trial. Aren't you running away with yourself?"

"You are unfamiliar with the Devore Justice system as it is applied to gaharay. The procedure has one stage only: detention. Sentences are mandatory."

The cold grey man smirked a little more. "You are lucky that Inspector Kashyk has some very good friends or the charges would have been more serious. As it is the Inspector will have his wrist slapped for a minor omission and you will only lose your captain. Of course, were you to resist arrest then a much more interesting situation would arise, your vessel would be impounded, the crew imprisoned and the senior officers executed."

Looking out the window at the vast bulk of the Devore vessel and realising that others would have arrived in support or would be joining very soon Kathryn Janeway made the only decision she felt to be correct in the circumstances.

"Chakotay much as it pains me to agree with Inspector Prax, we have got off lightly. You are in command now and it is your responsibility to get this ship home."

"Kathryn you cannot be serious. These charges are entirely spurious...."

"They are the local law Chakotay and we knew that when we entered Devore space. Under no circumstances are you to further endanger Voyager by attempting a rescue. That is my final order. Inspector Prax if you would like to lead the way." So saying Kathryn Janeway walked out of her ready room for the last time onto the bridge. One of the Devore thugs moved up behind her and cuffed her hands behind her back. Harry Kim took a step forward.

Captain Janeway put on a brave face. "Don't worry Harry. I have been in worse situations than this. Safe journey everyone."

The Devore transporters removed the captain and her guards from the bridge and the Devore vessels moved off at high speed going to warp almost immediately.

"Pursuit course Commander?" asked Tom Paris who had already started to lay in the coordinates.

"Yes! No! Belay that order! Set course for the Alpha quadrant, impulse speed only. I'll be in the Captain's ready room. Please ask Commander Tuvok to join me as soon as possible." Chakotay left the bridge but still caught Tom Paris' parting comment.

"Yes Commander. I hope the Captain's seat is still warm."

*~~~*

Kathryn Janeway was pushed roughly off the transporter pad by the Devore thug who had been holding her. As she hit the ground her head collided with a well aimed boot and she sagged into unconsciousness. Her last thought was that today she should have been playing velocity with Seven of Nine. She hoped Seven would not be too disappointed.

*~~~*

When she came to, she groaned, her head was pounding. Disorientated, she wondered why she was apparently lying on a hard floor; then the events of her arrest came back also and she groaned again. She opened her eyes slowly, squinting at the bright light and found herself looking up at a pale-pink ceiling. Carefully she lifted herself on one elbow and looked around. She was alone though she could hear voices and shouting. She sat up. Her Federation clothes had been removed and she was now dressed in rough cloth pajamas. There was no blanket but it wasn't cold.

She was in a small cell roughly three metres long by two metres wide. A narrow bench stretched the length of one wall. The three solid walls were of some polymer which she didn't recognise. The ceiling and floor and bench were of the same material. Smooth and flawless. Nothing or no-one held in this cell had ever made a dent or a scratch on those walls. The fourth wall was a double force field and double rows of emergency power supply cells could be seen clearly on the outside. Not much hope of a power cut helping here. A single, bright, light, positioned on the other side of the force field illuminated the cell.

She stood up carefully, walked to the edge of her cell and looked out into what appeared to be a narrow unlit chasm. She could clearly see across to the far side of the chasm about 20 metres away. It was a wall of brightly illuminated prison cells just like her own. Cells were stacked on top of each other as high as she could see and when she looked down she could only see more cells. Three or four faces peered out each one. So far she had this cell to herself which, as it was barely big enough for one person, was some comfort. She also realised that her side of the chasm was probably also a wall of prison cells although she could not get near enough to the edge to see for herself.

There was a lot of shouting between the cells but without her universal translator Kathryn had no idea what any of it was about. Two guards walked up and down a narrow walkway that was suspended in the gap between the two walls of cells but not actually touching either side. The walkway could move up and down and along the chasm like an elevator.

She wondered if she was still on a ship or whether she had already arrived at the detention centre. She dismissed the latter idea. It would take three weeks for the Devore ship to return to the main centres of population and she had not been unconscious for that long. The wound on her head was still relatively new and she certainly had not been without food for three weeks. The pain in her head had subsided a bit but she could feel the dried blood at the base of her skull.

Discussions with the Brenari that she had saved from Kashyk, suggested that the detention centres were actually work camps of some sort although even the Brenari knew very little about them. Just that no one ever came back.

A loud and discordant clanging noise did not help the pain in her head. The noise continued for a few seconds; Kathryn suspected that it was a warning of some sort and probably presaged some daily event. The other prisoners seemed excited; their shouts and screams increased in volume and quantity.

She was swiftly proved correct as a small hollowed out cube,10 centimetres square, materialised on the floor at the front of the cell. The cube was filled with some clear liquid. She picked it up and sniffed. Well it didn't smell offensive. And then tasted it. Water. Realising she was quite thirsty Kathryn drank the water. She then looked more carefully at the container. It seemed quite soft especially where it had been wet. A piece broke off in her hand and she tasted it. It was food. There was insufficient taste to even concern the Starfleet geniuses who designed emergency ration bars but it was definitely food. Disciplining herself to eat the stuff she forced it down. As she did, she slowly became aware of the despairing keening noises coming from the cells around her. Looking out towards the cells opposite she quickly understood why. She could see the food cubes materialising at the front of the cells opposite, short sharp brutal fights determined who would eat and drink that day. It appeared that only one food cube was beamed to each cell regardless of the occupancy. The losers could only sit and mourn and grow weaker, further diminishing their chance of eating or drinking when the next cube arrived.

As she looked more closely she could see the desperate condition of many of the cell occupants. Many just lay motionless on the floors of their cells. Occupancy of the sole bench in each cell was again decided by the relative strength of the occupants; although this seemed to the lost Starfleet captain to be of academic concern as the floor and bench were of identical hardness.

Some hours passed without event. Kathryn wondered how the prisoners were expected to wash or answer the other calls of nature. It occurred to her that perhaps the fight for the bench was not academic after all, perhaps some receptacle would be made available but she rather suspected not. Further observation confirmed this to be the truth. All of which rather puzzled her as the cells had appeared, at least earlier in the day, to be scrupulously clean, in fact you could, and did, eat your dinner off the floor. The occupants also appeared to be clean.

After the passage of yet more time the prison lights dimmed. The cells became quieter although not much. Quarrelling and crying could still be heard. Kathryn tried to sleep but could not get comfortable on the hard bench. She had not been able to bring herself to pee or defecate on the floor but knew it was only a matter of time before it became routine.

Sleep was made harder by the noise of the moving walk ways that appeared outside the cells periodically. The guards shone strong lights into the cells as they passed and shouted at prisoners who they thought were transgressing some rule or other. Occasionally they shouted at her but she could not understand what was being said.

When the lights went up hours later it was almost a relief.

Another loud clanging noise announced the start of one of the most god awful noises Kathryn had ever heard. It set her teeth on edge.

It wasn't for some time that she was able to identify the source of the noise; until she saw a large machine traversing the wall of cells opposite, pausing at the entrance to each cell; she realised that gigantic sonic showers were moving up and down the rows of prison cells blasting everything inside the cells clean. There were several of the beasts moving over the fronts of the cells and it still seemed to take hours.

As the cleaner passed in front of her cell the force fields went down but there was no where to go as the cleaner completely covered the opening of the cell. The sonic settings were much higher than would be found on a domestic shower and the noise actually physically hurt. For several minutes the torture continued and Kathryn's head felt as if it would explode. Then the force fields went back up and the cleaner moved to the next cell.

A short while later the loud clanging noise announced the arrival of the food cube and the start of another daily cycle.

*~~~*

After 9 or 10 days Kathryn was half mad through boredom and sleep deprivation. The daily cycle revealed little more about the operation of the prison than she already knew. Careful observation had shown that prisoner transfers were accomplished by transporting directly to and from cells but she had guessed as much. Apart from that there was little to do other than watch her fellow prisoners fight, starve, go mad and die. It occurred to her that she could do with a little forced labour just to alleviate the boredom. Her inability to understand any of the languages she heard was also driving her insane.

Shortly after the daily food ration had been delivered a guard appeared outside her cell on the walkway and started gesturing to her to get on the bench. With a mixture of hope and fear she realised this was done before a prisoner was transferred to a cell to avoid nasty transporter mix ups.

Seconds later a transporter beam appeared and two forms shimmered into existence. Kathryn felt dismay. One additional prisoner might have avoided any major fights but there was definitely insufficient food for three. Two tall and impossibly slender, impossibly beautiful creatures stared into her face. Their flawless, smooth dark skins shone in the unforgiving cell lighting though their eyes were seemingly lit from within by a dark golden fire. They were apparently identical in appearance, dress and movement. They gazed at her for a moment and then blinked in perfect unison. A noise outside startled them and they looked towards it, their movements perfectly synchronised.

Kathryn was fascinated despite her fear. 'A starship captain can do better than this Janeway' she scolded herself. Smiling in what she hoped was not an offensive gesture for these people she offered the remainder of the food cube that she had been keeping for later. Miming eating the cube she offered it again and wondered which of the two beings would take the offering. To her delight they each smiled, reached out a right hand and taking one half of the bar snapped it in two. They then proceeded to eat the food exactly together. Even when the creature with the slightly smaller bar of food had finished first he (or perhaps she) continued to chew in the same rhythm as its still feeding partner. They finished chewing together and swallowed at exactly the same moment.

At that moment Kathryn heard a strange sound which seemed to be inside her head. It was a voice. She felt panic as the voice continued. At first she could not understand what it said but after a while the words became meaningful.

'I am Nithqref' it said, echoing slightly.

Oh god! I have gone mad thought Kathryn.

'No kind fellow prisoner you are not mad. I am Nithqref of the Halquine.'

Kathryn looked up quickly at her two fellow prisoners. "Which one of you is Nithqref?" she said out loud.

They both smiled and the voice in her head repeated 'I am Nithqref.' Watching her confusion, the beings took pity and added 'One mind, two bodies.'

Kathryn was astonished. In all her years as a Starfleet officer she had never encountered such a being. "Greetings Nithqref of the Halquine," she said, getting a grip on her self as she welcomed them or (was it, it!) to her cell such as it was. "I am Captain Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager."

'I think you will find it easier Captain Janeway if you think of me as Nithqref rather than attempting to classify me with your rather primitive language structures.'

Kathryn laughed aloud. "I wouldn't presume to ever classify you Nithqref. How do you understand my language, primitive as it is."

'I do not understand your language, I understand your thoughts.'

"You are reading my mind as I am speaking?"

'Yes. Does that bother you?'

"Not at the moment. I am just really grateful to be able to converse with anyone." She felt concern from the strange being.

'You must learn the prison lingua franca if you are to survive Captain Janeway.'

"Call me Kathryn. Can you teach me?"

'Not directly as I have no direct access to any language but I can help you. Give me a moment to speak to some of our fellow inmates.'

Disconcerted, Kathryn could understood why telepaths might frighten the Devore. Such abilities were outside her understanding and it was clear that the telepathic species she knew in the Alpha quadrant were not typical of those in the Delta quadrant. However she pushed the fears aside as unworthy narrow mindedness and found the smiling voice of Nithqref inside her head.

'You are a very unusual person Kathryn. Are you typical of your species?' She did not know how to answer that question. Her embarrassment communicated directly with Nithqref. The two elegant faces laughed in perfect synchronicity.

'Do not answer if it embarrasses you Kathryn. To get back to the matter of learning the local languages, I think I have found a suitable teacher for you.'

A woman's face appeared in her mind. With utter clarity, Janeway understood that the woman was dying but she did not know how she knew. "Is it true? Is she dying?" she asked Nithqref. Janeway could sense the sorrow in the Halquine's reply.

'She is dying, and will die regardless, but she wishes that her last act will be to transfer her knowledge to you. She has given her consent. She is Brenari and does not fear me, or this act. I will try and shield you from the worst of her pain but it may not be entirely possible. Do you wish to continue?'

"Are you sure that this will not hurt her?"

'It will do her no further damage Kathryn.'

Kathryn drew a deep breath "I wish you to thank her and to wish her a better life in the next world." Kathryn knew the Brenari were firm believers in an afterlife. After a few moments the face of the woman in her mind smiled.

Nithqref stood on either side of her and placed a hand on each of the captain's shoulders.

'Now I wish you to relax Kathryn and think of as little as possible'

Kathryn tried to think of nothing, staring at the vague marbled patterns in the pink surface of the synthetic cell wall. As she did so, thousands of images and words and emotions seem to play across the surface of her mind. Then she felt enormous sadness and fear and despair. Unable to prevent herself she started to cry. She felt Nithqref enfold her and the sadness seemed to be pushed away. After a few minutes the emotions faded but she knew she would never forget that despair and suffering as long as she lived.

'It is over Kathryn. Do you understand the voices around you?'

She listened to the babble of shouts and screams from the surrounding cells, and gradually came awareness what they were saying.

"Yes. More than one language I think." Her elation was swiftly snuffed out as with deepening horror she realised that not only had she acquired the languages of the dying woman but her knowledge, beliefs and memories also. She could remember the woman's suffering, the fear of her own death, then watching members of her family dying and since they were Brenari, sharing their suffering and fear also. She could feel the hope they shared that the torment would cease and the strength of their belief in better world to come. And all this was just the surface skin of the woman's mind, her immediate past, beneath were layers and layers of memories, feelings and knowledge. Janeway felt sick. It was an act of total voyeurism and she could not close the door.

'It is impossible to separate knowledge of a person's language from their wider knowledge and memories.' Nithqref interjected, trying to calm the swirl of fear and disgust in the small red-head's psyche.

"But these are not my feelings" she protested with angry desperation, writhing physically within the Halquine's grasp as though to escape from the memories she now shared.

'They will fade as you forget them just as they would have faded for her.' The Halquine hugged her and stroked her. Gradually Kathryn stopped struggling.

Still very shaken, her voice quivered as she said "It's like the Borg, I feel as though I have just assimilated someone."

Nithqref's reply was not comforting.

'The process is not dissimilar although the mechanics are different. Indeed there is some speculation that the Borg were once a telepathic race.'

Janeway shuddered with uncontrolled sobs. Nithqref continued to hold her as for the first time in many years, tears rolled down her cheeks.