Punishment for Punishment's sake.

Chapter 1.

Chakotay looked at the view screen and met his jet-black and angry eyes with the alien ambassador on the screen before him.

"Commander this is an offence." Hissed the brutal looking ambassador before him.

"Ambassador, please can we try to talk about this in a civilised manner." Chakotay asked for what felt like the sixth time in a row.

"Commander we asked only that to obeyed our laws while we so graciously permitted your crew to have you shore leave on our planet." The smug ambassador told Voyagers first officer.

"I assure you every effort was made to ensure all of Voyagers crew adhered to those rules." An exhausted Chakotay tried to calmly explain.

"Your best effort was not good enough." The ambassador told the Native American warrior.

"Please accept my sincere apologies on behalf of this offending crew member, I assure you relevant punishments will be put in place for he who has offended you culture but if you continue to detain any member of my crew I will see it as an act of aggression and shall be forced to open fire." Said a very calm Chakotay as he stood from his chair on Voyagers bridge to try to show more authority.

"Your crew member has been tired and punished according to our laws." Smiled the ambassador, if you could call it a smile the wolf like being was more like grimacing it's fangs at Voyagers first officer.

"Punished according to your laws?" asked Chakotay, he had no idea what those words meant but from what little he knew of this planet he knew this was not at all a good.

The wolf like being rose from his chair and almost barked into the view screen before he howled with laughter which sickened Chakotay as he thought what this race was capable of, "Do you speak as captain now?" the ambassador asked as he licked his lips as though about to enjoy a lovely meal.

"I am in command of this ship for now, yes." A very worried Chakotay replied as he forced his worry down deep inside of himself.

"You look frightened." Sneered the ambassador.

A worried looking Chakotay sank into his command chair and glanced to his right where Voyagers captain, Kathryn Janeway usually sat. Kathryn was still down on the planet rounding up the last of the late night shore leave party. Chakotay had let her go because he knew she had not taken any shore leave in the six days they had been at this planet known as Kenwill because she had been involved in trade negations which had proven fruitful but had left her very tired and so Chakotay had encouraged her to go down for a few hours before the end of shore leave. About ten minutes ago communication with Kathryn and the rest of the remaining crew on shore leave had been lost and the Kenwill ambassador had hailed to tell Chakotay that one of the remaining crew was to be detained indefinitely on their planet and punished for crimes against the Kenwill people, The remaining crew members would be returned to Voyager by a Kenwill shuttle craft within the hour at which time Voyager was to leave orbit straight away. Chakotay knew Kathryn would be doing everything she could on the planet to get things straightened out but as he had no communication with her he was trying his best to be diplomatic form Voyager. When the Kenwill shuttlecraft returned Kathryn to her ship soon Chakotay knew she would do all she could to have her crewmember returned, diplomatically.

"What exactly are the crimes our crew member has been punished for?" asked a calm and steady Tuvok as he stepped forward to stand beside Chakotay's chair.

"Damage of public property is the main crime." The ambassador informed them.

"What does Captain Janeway say on this matter?" asked Tuvok.

The wolf like Kenwill ambassador howled once more and then turned his grimacing eyes to Chakotay saying, "that slut you call captain is in no fit state to have anything to say."

With the ambassadors words Chakotay's anger erupted as he leapt to his feet and demanded to talk with his captain.

"Very well." Came to cold voice of the ambassador before an unusual red transporter beam took Chakotay directly from the bridge.

When he rematerialized Chakotay found himself in a dull looking complex of some kind. A Kenwill security guard leapt forward and removed his phaser and tricorder. "Just in case" came the familiar voice of the ambassador from behind.

"I am a peaceful man from a peaceful people, I only attack when attacked." Chakotay said calmly as he eyed the wolf man from head to claw.

"That too is what your captain told us but that was before." The ambassador told him slyly. Chakotay had not noticed before just how menacing a people the Kenwill were as a race. The ambassador was covered in skin and yet furs as well. His teeth looked ready to rip human flesh from human bone and his claws looked ready to mane whatever stood in his path.

"You said all crew were be released, returned to Voyager by shuttle craft within the hour" Chakotay exclaimed.

"I said no such thing commander." The ambassador told him "I said all innocent members of your crew were to be returned to Voyager by shuttle craft but the one guilty member remains our prisoner and she is punished as such." He was almost howling with laughter as a look of comprehension appeared across Chakotay's face.

"What is she convicted of?" spat Chakotay with his anger rising.

Even Chakotay's anger caused the evil eyed ambassador to back off a little.

"I told you, she did not observe our laws while on shore leave on our planet." The ambassador told Chakotay wearily as though Chakotay asking too many questions was becoming tiresome to him.

"I want to see her! NOW!" screamed Chakotay as he clenched his fists and towered above the grimacing ambassador.

"Are you blind or something commander?" asked the ambassador. Chakotay glared at him for a moment and then let his eyes dart around the large darkened room until they fell on a tiny whimpering, blood stained and naked figure huddled on the floor. Chakotay had not seen this figure before but now the sight of it drew his eyes he could not bring himself to look away. It was human, a human female. Slim and short Chakotay could not see the face for her cropped red hair cover her face but Chakotay knew who it was that he was looking at. Chakotay felt he was going to be sick and he felt the colour drain from his cheeks and his breathing quicken as his mind raced. What should he do? Run to her? Arrange for her release the diplomatic Starfleet way or kill the clawed man before him.

The ambassador watched Chakotay and then laughed loudly, he turned and hauled the naked figure off the ground using his sharp claws to dig into her delicately soft and pale flesh bringing her disgusting and distorted limp form into the light like a prize trophy for Chakotay to examine.

As the light hit the body Chakotay saw nearly every bone was shattered, her limbs stuck out in wrong angles. Her entire naked body was bruised and covered in blood, Chakotay saw no part of his beautiful captain where her skin was it's natural colour. Blood poured from her open flesh wounds where the ambassador's claws were digging deep in her flesh where he held her up for Chakotay to see.

Chakotay had always dreamed of seeing his captain and best friend naked but never like this. This was a memory he was determined to wipe from his mind, after he freed the woman he loved from this torture.

"There, now you have seen you must take the rest of your crew and be on your way." The ambassador said as he flung the limp form of Kathryn Janeway to the floor behind him like discarding the garbage.

Chakotay winced as her body hit the ground with a thud but something in him left him ridged to the floor where he stood, his mind was racing, Kathryn would hate him for all eternity if he broke one of Starfleet's precious protocols to rescue her. This was evidently the judicial system of the Kenwill people and Kathryn Janeway was always one for following the rules and traditions of the planets they visited. Chakotay knew Kathryn would never forgive him for busting her out in anyway that involved breaking the rules but he would NEVER leave her to be treated this way, hell he would NEVER leave her even if they had her in a golden palace.

Taking a deep breath Chakotay said the only thing he could think of to say right then "I would like to negotiate for Captain Janeway's release."

The ambassador wiped his stupid grin from his face and narrowed his eyes at Chakotay who stood firm staring at him and not at the love of his life who lay battered and bruised at his feet. The ambassador had expected Chakotay to fight him, he had seen the way the two had interacted and he was sure they were a mating pair. "Is she your mate?" the ambassador asked Chakotay was he looked at him sceptically.

"She is my captain, my commanding officer." Said Chakotay truthfully and cautiously.

"Can you not command your ship in her stead?" asked the menacing ambassador as he looked from the captain's crumpled form to Chakotay.

"I am in command now and I am negotiating with you for her release." Chakotay told him sternly.

"She is vermin, she is a slut, and she screams too much and begs my men to stop." The ambassador told Chakotay calmly.

Chakotay narrowed his eyes at the ambassador and then slowly lowered his gaze to look upon Kathryn, he had never looked at her naked body before and though he dreamed that one day he could it had never been like this. In his dreams she stood before him and allowed him to remove every item of clothing from her beautifully smooth and creamy skin one by one until there was nothing to remove and then he would gaze upon her true beauty, in his dream it was an act of love, a mutual consenting act but this was wrong. This made Chakotay ashamed of what he must do and disgusted by what he saw though he hated himself for being disgusted by her but seeing her body in that sate was disgusting.

Chakotay felt his heart pounding as he lowered his gaze; he noticed then the places the claw marks penetrated her skin. Those mixed with the last words of the ambassador meant he feared only thing now, his gaze lowered to her most private and personal part of her body. Chakotay felt great shame to be looking at what only she should allow who she will to look at. even though he had dreamed many times of looking at it and grasping his fingers inside of it all he wanted to know now was if any of those animal claws had been inside of her without her consent. Chakotay looked upon his captains privates as she lay naked before him but could not keep his gaze for he felt it was too indecent of him, when he got her back to Voyager the doctor could look for signs of forced entry and hopefully, he prayed, would find none.

"What did she do to warrant this kind of punishment?" Asked Chakotay and he raised his gaze to the man who stood before him.

"What is wrong with the punishment?" Asked the ambassador in horror and confusion at Chakotay's question.

"It is wrong and it is sick!" Spat Chakotay as his anger boiled.

"To who you or to me?" asked the ambassador.

"To Kathryn!" exclaimed Chakotay. "Look I am sorry for whatever she did that was a breach of your laws but to treat her like this is a breach of our laws and I will not and can not stand for this."

"This is how prisoners our punished on Kenwill." The ambassador told Chakotay sincerely.

'To hell with diplomacy' Chakotay thought as he realised that he now just wanted Kathryn to get to the doctor so he could be sure she was all right. "On Voyager to do this to a person would warrant punishment." Said Chakotay as he removed his uniform jacket and bent down to wrap it around Kathryn's tiny body. He brushed the blood stained and matted hair from her face and kissed her forehead. "I am sorry she broke one of your laws but I will not allow you to do this to her, she and the rest of my crew are returning to Voyager with me right now weather you like it or not." he said sternly and he bent down and scooped Kathryn's limp body into his arms.

"-ko-tay." he heard her whisper. As he looked down to see her beautiful blue eyes flitter open and fill with tears and her mouth cough up blood he filled with anger for the ambassador who had done that to her.

"I am here Kathryn, I am so sorry, I have you now Kathryn." He told her as tears welled up in his own eyes but he softened a little when she smiled at him. Her smiles always softened his resolve.

"but what of her punishment Commander?" asked the ambassador seriously.

"Has she not been punished enough?" snapped a very angry Chakotay.

"Commander, punishment is not served. I will only allow you to return her to your ship if you allow me to come with you and discuss the terms for the rest of her punishment." The ambassador told Chakotay seriously.

Chakotay saw the Kenwill people had the upper hand and would stop him from taking Kathryn if he did not comply with these terms, "Fine your with me." Chakotay said knowing this was the only way he was going to get some medical treatment for Kathryn any time soon, at least on Voyager he had the upper hand.

Later that day Chakotay was pacing the floor of the briefing room in negotiations with the Kenwill ambassador.

"She should serve a sentence." The ambassador insisted as he glared across the table at Chakotay.

"It would appear commander that the captain has broken the prime directive." Said Tuvok in an honest and logical voice

"Yes, and is that not one of your most sacred laws?" asked the ambassador smugly.

"the most sacred." Replied Tuvok to which Chakotay merely stared in anger at Voyagers chief of security.

"Captain Janeway is lying in sickbay being operated on, she will be lucky if she makes it out alive." Yelled Chakotay as he glared an evil glare at the ambassador with a look of pure hatred.

"What, commander, would be a federation punishment for a crew member who has broken the prime directive, damaged the property of an alien planet and racially insulted another race?" Asked the sly ambassador.

"Captain Janeway would never do such a thing!" Yelled Chakotay as he looked from Tuvok to the ambassador.

"Actually" began Tuvok to which Chakotay turned and gave him a menacing look. "She did, the evidence has been presented, and captain Janeway is guilty of these crimes."

"Well there you have it, so how would a federation commander punish his guilty crew member for these crimes?" Asked the grimacing ambassador as all eyes turned to Chakotay.

"Get him off this ship." Growled a VERY angry Chakotay as he turned away to look out of the view screen much the same way as Kathryn often did.

"very well" said the ambassador as he stood from the briefing table and moved towards the door, "have my prisoner ready to be transported with me." with his last words the ambassador stopped and waited for Chakotay's response.

"Over my dead body!" Yelled the commander, which caused the ambassador to turn and to look the angry Native American warrior in the eye.

"Commander, if I may." Asked Tuvok as he realised the situation was getting slightly out of control.

"who are you in the command hierarchy of this ships?" asked the ambassador as he addressed Tuvok.

"I am Commander Tuvok, Chief Security officer and Bridge Tactical Officer, I am the ships Second Officer." Tuvok told him truthfully.

"Which means you now work under Commander Chakotay was second in command?" asked the ambassador.

"Correct" replied Tuvok.

"You do not appear to be as angry as Commander Chakotay, do you not care for your captain as much as he does or is it that you understand our right to punish her." Asked the ambassador calmly.

Tuvok glanced at Chakotay where he stood very thence and still looking out of the view screen. "I am a Vulcan, my race does not agree with violence, especially not as a form of punishment. By my standards and the standards of the Federation the way you have punished our captain is not acceptable and is in it's self a punishable crime, a very serious one."

"as serious as breaking the prime directive?" asked the ambassador who generally did not understand what was wrong with the way he had punished the captain.

Tuvok nodded and said "as serious, yes."

"The point is you will never get your disgusting hands on her again." Snapped Chakotay as he whirled around to look at the two, "Tuvok, please try to negotiate with our guest the terms for Captain Janeway's release, I shall be in sick bay."

"Aye sir." Said Tuvok stiffly as Chakotay stormed from the briefing room leaving a very stunned and confused Kenwill ambassador with Tuvok who was stood with one eyebrow raised in the direction of the now closed door out of which Voyagers first officer and now acting Captain had just left.

Chapter 2 now up….