Chapter Text
PRAX: The shuttles have disappeared from sensors. We've scanned for a wormhole. If there was one, it's gone. I'll order Janeway and her crew removed. We'll confiscate the vessel, deliver them to the nearest detention centre.
“Indeed. Gather the women in Cargo Bay 1 – I’ll come and select the ones that will serve as comfort women for our officers. You can put the men in Cargo Bay 2 – no need to encumber our ships – and check again for telepaths.”
Kashyk stood up and turned towards Janeway, smirking. “Well, Captain – how does it feel when the music stops and you lose the game?”
“There’s an old Earth saying, Inspector – it’s not over till the fat lady sings.”
He laughed and ordered two of his men to point their weapons at her. Janeway tilted her head upwards and followed him out of her bridge. She was trying for arrogance, but her heart was breaking. She had, until a few minutes before, let part of herself believe in Kashyk’s lies. His betrayal cut deep, and her powerlessness was unbearable. At least the Brenari were safe. But in saving them, had she doomed her crew?
When she arrived in the cargo bay, she saw that the Devore had indeed separated the men from the women, and aligned the latter against the wall. They all stood proudly at attention, and Janeway knew they would do their duty to the end, but she ground her teeth as she saw the younger, cuter members of her crew being shoved forward and huddled in a circle. Kashyk stared at Seven for a minute.
“Shall we take her, Sir?”
“No – not with that piece of machinery on her. The others like their pleasure slaves perfect.”
Janeway released the breath she hadn’t known she had been holding. She had never been so glad the Doctor hadn’t removed all of Seven’s implants. As she was pushed into the circle and handcuffed, however, she felt the fear of the members of her crew. As Voyager’s mission had originally been a short one, it had been chosen for several crewmen and women for their first away mission, like for Harry Kim or Tal Celes. Although they all tried to put up a brave face, she remembered how she had felt when as an Ensign, she and Admiral Paris had been captured by the Cardassians. She didn’t know whether the Devore were more or less cruel than the Cardassians, but considering how Kashyk had played her and their hunting of telepaths, she feared the worst. B’Elanna, handcuffed like the rest of them, was glowering at the Devore – Janeway hoped she wouldn’t try anything that would get her shot on the spot. She took Samantha Wildman’s hand in hers and pressed it, trying to infuse a little comfort as she knew the woman would be frantic about Naomi, who wasn’t with them.
“Let them go,” she tried to plead with Kashyk. “I’ll go with you, but let them go.”
“Oh, you’re coming all right, “Captain” – but I have several officers who need company too. Your Federation really shouldn’t have women on its ships. Devore women know their place.”
Then, addressing Prax, he said: “Draw up a roster – the officers not on duty can have first pick.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Turning back to Janeway, he smiled: “You’re coming with me, “Captain”.
She wanted to kick and scream and spit at him. Instead, she followed him with her head held high and her back ramrod straight despite the handcuffs pulling her wrists in front of her at an awkward ankle. In silence. Her mind was working frantically to find a solution to their predicament, but so far, she drew a blank. Kashyk led her to her quarters and freed her hands.
“Get out of that uniform, Kathryn – the ship is mine now. You’re not the captain anymore. You’re going to do your duty as a woman. From the way you kissed me in the shuttle bay, I assume you know what that means.”
Janeway felt her cheeks heat up and cursed her pale complexion.
“If you thought for a second I had any feelings for you, Inspector, you’re even more deluded than I thought”, she spat. And yet… That’s what she wanted him to believe, but she would never have kissed him if she hadn’t trusted him, at least a little. She was the deluded one, the stupid one. And now her ship and her crew were in danger. What about Tuvok and Vorik? Would they get caught? What about the other women?
Kashyk grabbed his weapon, pointing it at her. She stared at him – if he was going to kill her, she would die proudly, with her eyes open. Instead, his gun neatly cut her uniform in several parts, which fell to the floor, leaving her naked, with burning sensations on her chest, arms and legs.
“I told you to get naked – I am sorry I had to help you. I hate to see a beautiful woman marked. Art should remain intact.”
Instinctively, she raised her hands to protect her private parts and her breasts from his eyes, but he grabbed her wrists and forced her to kneel, her hands behind her back. She tried to get up but the weapon was once more pointed at her.
“I wouldn’t, Kathryn. The sooner you accept you’re not in charge anymore, the better.”
“Don’t call me Kathryn! You’ve lost that right, Inspector.”
“I’ll call you whatever I want, and you’ll do whatever I want. I know you, Kathryn – you wouldn’t want to hurt any of your crew, would you? I have a Cargo bay full of them – at my mercy. I would not hesitate…”
He was right. Even if she was willing sacrificed herself, she would do anything to protect her crew. She was the one who had decided to transport the Brenari in the first place. She was responsible. She sank back down on her heels. He stopped aiming at her to take off his armour, laying his weapon negligently on the couch, and she lunged, not really thinking straight, taking a desperate chance. He was on her in a second, backhanding her to the floor, snarling. “I said I didn’t want to hurt you, woman, not that I wouldn’t!”
Grabbing her by the wrists once more, he administered a series of blow to her behind and her legs before grabbing her chin and dragging her lips into a dry, painful kiss. He then threw her once more on the floor and unzipped his trousers. Janeway whimpered from the pain, hating herself for this show of weakness. He pushed her face between his leg and entered her mouth. She gagged at the deep assault and her eyes watered. Never a favourite act of hers, this intrusion turned into a nightmare under the circumstances. When he was satisfied, he hoisted her up on the sofa and took her, thrusting and pumping as she lay still, gritting her teeth against the pain.
She observed the blood on the sofa detachedly – scientifically, even. She hadn’t bled like that since her first period and she saw that her aggressor looked faintly disgusted. Maybe Devore women didn’t bleed? It had been so long for her that she didn’t wonder at that outcome – she was just glad it was over. He was zipping his trousers back on – he hadn’t even bothered getting naked to rape her. She remained laying down, eyes closed, and fought of the other women – she prayed she would be the only victim, and knew it was unlikely. It was all her fault – from the beginning. When he told her to go and get cleaned up, she got up, avoiding his eyes and went straight to the sonic shower, wishing she could take a bath. She would never feel clean again anyway.
He left her there – in her quarters, a prisoner. He had de-activated the replicator and her access codes to the door. Janeway curled up into a ball on the floor and wept.