The Cardassian nodded, satisfied, then stepped over to Chakotay.
“Dr. Kaz?”
Kaz looked at him. “Yes?”
“This is the tricky part. We’ll need to pull them out quickly if something goes wrong.”
“I understand.”
Moset looked down at Chakotay’s face almost hungrily. He pressed a hypo to the captain’s neck.
“Here we go,” said Moset.
Chapter 21
CHAKOTAY OPENED HIS EYES, unsure as to what to expect. He found himself not in his usually imagined place—the Central American rain forest—but in a forest of a more northernly sort. The sweet, powerful scent of pine filled his nostrils, and the cool moisture in the air felt good on his skin.
He sensed that he was not alone, and turned to regard his sister.
Here, in her purest aspect of spirit, she was even more beautiful than she was in her physical form. Tall, slim, her long black hair loose about her shoulders, her eyes sparkling like stars—
“Your spirit is so beautiful, my brother,” she said quietly, in tones of awe. Evidently, she saw in him what he saw in her.
They went to each other and clasped hands. “This is your place, isn’t it?” Chakotay asked.
“Yes,” she said. She looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Can you see Him?”
Chakotay turned and beheld a magnificent white-tailed buck regarding him with more than human intelligence. He felt a shiver. One never spoke the name of one’s animal totem; that would anger it. But here, joined with his sister in a way that his people had never before attempted, he was being granted the privilege of sharing her visions.
Slowly he nodded to the great beast, Who inclined His own head in acknowledgment.
“Daughter of the Forest,” said Stag in a musical voice, “you must be in great need to have brought Stone Keeper with you.”
Sekaya’s eyebrows rose as, for the first time, she heard her brother’s spirit name.
“Yes,” she replied. “Many are in danger. This was the only way we felt we could save them.”
Stag nodded His comprehension. He turned His large, soft eyes on Chakotay.
“Then you must begin your journey. Each being that you encounter will give you strength to manage the burden you bear. Do not worry that it is taking too long; you must leave your impatience behind with your body. When you return, you will have been in this world for only a few moments, no matter how long it seems that you have been away. Do you understand, Stone Keeper?”
“I do,” Chakotay replied solemnly. “How do I begin?”
“Daughter of the Forest, you must release him.”
Chakotay realized that his spirit-sister had been clutching his hands hard. She swallowed, then deliberately stepped back and loosened her grip. They both gasped to see a golden cord of light connecting them still.
“This is Sekaya’s will,” Stag said. “She will hold you and keep you safe on your journeying.”
It was no small thing, and Chakotay worried about the toll it would take on her. He opened his mouth to voice his concerns, but Stag had read his thoughts.
“I and others will lend her our own energy to keep her safe. Have no fear, Stone Keeper. You must journey boldly, secure in the knowledge that all will be well. One bit of doubt, and you will falter. And if you falter, you will fail.”
Stag walked on delicate legs to where Sekaya had settled herself against the trunk of a pine tree. Gracefully He knelt beside her and put His head in her lap. She reached to stroke His neck. There was an ease about the gesture that told Chakotay they had done this before.
“Go, my brother. I will keep you safe.”
She closed her eyes and began to chant. Assured that she would be taken care of, Chakotay turned around.
“Heart rate dangerously low,” said Kaz. “Blood pressure dropping. Abrupt cessation of activity in the medulla.” He looked at Moset. “I’m worried she might be going into shock.”
“The readings you gave me are all perfectly normal for humans at this stage,” said Moset. “Keep me notified, but I don’t think we need to be concerned. Everything seems to be going fine.” He leaned closer and stroked Sekaya’s cheek. “Perfectly fine.”
“Took you long enough,” Kolopak said, a twinkle in his eye and a slight smile belying the chastisement of the words.
“We’ve met before in this place, Father,” Chakotay said.
“Not like this.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Look at you!” Kolopak said. He wore the battered old expedition hat that Chakotay remembered. A lump rose in his throat. If only he could be sure that this was real, that he really was speaking with his father, and not just imagining it, fantasizing about a forgiveness that could never truly come—
“Stop it!” Kolopak cried, seizing Chakotay by the arms and shaking him. “No fear! No doubt, or you will fail!”
“Looks like Sekaya inherited your confidence and optimism, Father,” Chakotay said.
“My contrary son,” Kolopak said affectionately. “Perhaps it took someone so willing to question things to embark on so important a journey.”
“You know, then?”
“I do. You are accepting the burden of Sky Spirit DNA,” Kolopak said. “I see its powers beginning to settle in your mind. How does it feel?”
Chakotay considered the question. “I don’t know yet. I don’t feel any different.”
“Here, all souls are equal in power and beauty,” Kolopak said. “But when you return, then you will see what kind of an inheritance you have been given.”
“The best possible one,” said Chakotay, “with you as my father.”
Kolopak softened and reached to embrace his son. Chakotay hugged him tightly. I love you, Father. I’m sorry I couldn’t be what you wanted me to be.
Like a gentle breeze, he sensed Kolopak’s thoughts: You were always, ever what you were destined to be, Chakotay, even as you rebelled at the thought. I am proud of you, my son.
He took the gift his father was giving him: reconciliation and love, a complete acceptance he had been denied while his father lived.
Tears leaked from Chakotay’s closed lids. Sekaya’s lips were curved in a half smile. Kaz regarded them with concern, then returned his attention to monitoring their vital signs. Whatever they were doing, it was intense.
“No sign of rejection. Preparing second infusion,” Moset said.
Kolopak’s image faded, then disappeared. Chakotay found himself on his back, staring up at a sky crowded with stars. He sat up and discovered that he was lying on hard-baked earth, the only light and warmth emanating from a crackling, smoky fire.
Across from the fire sat Wolf. Her expression was kind and loving. Of all the companions he had had on his spirit walks, She was the gentlest. Her love was pure and demanded nothing in return, only that he accept it. His heart swelled with affection for Her.
Wolf was joined by Snake, who lay basking in the warmth from the fire. Her tongue flickered out lazily. And even Coyote was here, gazing mischievously at Chakotay.
“Only now can we all be together,” Snake said. “Only now can your spirit hold us all. You have expanded since last we met, Stone Keeper.”
“Is it the Sky Spirit DNA in me?” he asked.
“Possibly. Or maybe you’ve just evolved.” Snake’s tongue flickered in and out. Suddenly Wolf’s ears pricked up and her tongue lolled.
“Welcome, Sister,” Wolf said. Chakotay felt a prickling at the back of his neck and knew who he would see when he turned around.
She was not lolling on a sun-warmed rock, as She had been the last time he had beheld Her. This time Black Jaguar was all business. She stood, Her muscles tense beneath Her thick black pelt, the firelight glittering in Her golden eyes.
“Wolf gives you love,” Black Jaguar said. “Snake makes you think. Coyote shakes things up when life becomes stale. I bring you the challenges that will make or break you. Are you afraid?”
He wasn’t sure what answer She wanted. He was afraid, but he knew he wasn’t supposed to be. He licked lips suddenly gone dry and said, “Yes, I am. But I will go forward despite my fear.”
Her body relaxed slightly. As he rose, She stepped toward him on silent feet and rubbed the warm, long length of Her body against him.
“Only a fool is not afraid. And I have no time for fools. But you must trust in your heart that you are up to the task.”
“I have that trust. Sekaya anchors me. Kaz makes sure my body is safe. Black Jaguar has come to challenge me. Such beings would not waste time on one who would not be worthy of such grace.”
“A man is known by the company he keeps,” Black Jaguar agreed. “Will you undertake this challenge?”
“I will walk with Black Jaguar,” Chakotay said.
He rose and followed Her, walking away from the spirit animals by the warm fireside, walking into the darkness. Walking into the night sky as the ground beneath him disappeared and both he and the gigantic black cat trod on starlight.
“Quite remarkable,” said Moset. “Not even a hint of rejection. This whole spirit angle is one definitely worth pursuing further. Preparing third infusion.”
The golden cord spun into the distance. With every step that Chakotay took on his spirit walk, Sekaya felt him pulling a little bit of her essence with him. At first she could handle it easily. But now it was as if she were being forced to hold a rock that seemed light at first, but now was growing increasingly heavy. She saw that the cord had dulled slightly, from its rich golden tone to a pale, sickly yellow.
“Dear One, you are tiring,” Stag said.
More pulling, tugging on her soul. Sekaya felt as if her very center was unraveling.
“Yes,” she admitted. “Wherever he is going, it is becoming harder for me to follow him.”
And suddenly it was as if Chakotay had yanked on her heart. She gasped in pain. “Stag…I don’t know if I can keep this up much longer….”
Agony blossomed and she screamed.
“Her heart is slowing even further,” Kaz said, starting to become alarmed despite Moset’s dismissal. “Brain activity—damn it, she’s flatlining!”
Sekaya couldn’t feel the earth beneath her feet. She was drifting; she, the anchor, suddenly had no anchor of her own. Misery flooded her. She and her brother would be lost, wandering aimlessly, mindlessly, in the world of spirit. They would become like the colonists, mad things who had one foot in each world and a soul in neither.
A soft sound penetrated her haze of terror. She knew that sound; sweet, haunting, clear. A flute. She gasped and drew breath into her lungs even as a gentle touch on her hand guided her back into herself.
She opened her eyes. Stag was gone. Instead, a man regarded her with a dark, intent gaze. As she blinked, reorienting herself, he smiled.
“Hello, Sky,” said Blue Water Dreamer.
“What did you do?” Moset cried.
“Nothing,” said Kaz, as baffled by the sudden development as Moset. They had lost Sekaya for a moment. She had died. But she’d been gone for only an instant. There hadn’t been any time to perform any emergency revival procedures before her heart had begun to beat again. It was a stronger heartbeat now, too—slow, yes, but steady. Her brain activity had stabilized as well.
“Well,” said Moset, “I guess we just count our blessings, then.”
Sekaya dragged her eyes away from Blue Water Dreamer’s and saw the cord stretching off into the distance. It was a vibrant gold again, not the pale, almost translucent yellow it had become.
“Thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome.”
She drank in the sight of him. In a thick voice she said, “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
He smiled his sweet, soft smile. “I have been in love with you all my life, Sky. Of course I would come when you needed me.”
She wanted to ask him so many things. What had really happened to him? Was he real? Could she see him every time she spirit-walked if she wanted to?
Her heart lifted at that last. There was so much between them that was unfinished. A whole life, she thought, with a stab of pain. A whole life together, taken from us by Crell Moset.
He frowned a little. “I wouldn’t do that, Sekaya. Look at the cord.”
She obeyed and saw that the cord was turning a dull bronze shade.
“Its purity is fading because of your hatred,” he said. “You have to keep your spirit pure, or else you’ll taint the cord that binds you to your brother.”
“I can’t help it,” she said. “I do hate Moset for what he did to us—to you. I miss you so much. I would give anything to be with you.”
He had been sitting across from her, his legs crossed in the so-called “Indian style.” Now he rose and settled down beside her.
“Then be with me,” he said. He opened his arms and she leaned into him, feeling the cord brighten and strengthen as their lips met.
Pure.
There had been a moment of terror, but it had faded quickly, and now Chakotay soared in delight. He raced through the cosmos, no longer a fragile physical being but a mighty thing of spirit, like Black Jaguar who flew beside him. He had always loved the colors of space; now it was as if he saw them with fresh eyes, and their beauty was almost too much to bear.
“This is what it means to be like us,” said a voice beside him. After what had happened to him thus far, Chakotay was not surprised to see that Black Jaguar had disappeared. Soaring beside him now was a Sky Spirit alien, a sweet smile on his chalky white face.
“The colonists were like you,” Chakotay said, “but they didn’t know how to be like you.”
“Well said,” the Sky Spirit replied. “And even now you are not able to grasp all of what it means. We possess tremendous mental powers, developed and honed through millennia. We have telekinesis, telepathy. We can control the weather, change matter at will, and we have an awareness of everything that’s happening over vast distances.”
The alien flipped around and placed his hand on Chakotay’s chest. “The genetic code is the pathway to accessing these powers. Your sister understands. The mutated colonists have some of these powers, but they have no idea how to control them. They see themselves as monsters, and so monsters they have become. They are lost in this spirit world, as you would be without your sister.”
Chakotay looked behind him and saw the golden cord, strong and radiant, trailing behind him.
When he turned around, his companion had changed again. This time it was a young man who seemed vaguely familiar. He had light brown hair and large eyes.
“My name,” said the young man, “is Wesley Crusher.”
“Report,” snapped Moset. Barely two minutes had elapsed since Chakotay and Sekaya had been sedated. Kaz felt as if it had been hours.
“No change in Sekaya,” Kaz said. “Chakotay’s condition is actually improving.” He touched a pad. “His immune system is .87 percent stronger than before. Seems like this Sky Spirit stuff is suiting him.”
“Any sign of…of rejection of the DNA?”
Kaz knew what he meant. “None,” the Trill replied. “He’s still a man, not a monster.”
“Then I’m going to increase the dosage. We need him as powerful as he can possibly be.”
“Crusher,” said Chakotay, reaching for the name. “That sounds familiar.”
The young man smiled. “I’m Jack and Beverly Crusher’s son. But what’s important now is that I’m studying with a being called the Traveler. My first school, as it were, was your planet.”
Now Chakotay knew where he had heard the name. “You probably know my sister, then. Were—were you there when the Cardassians began their experiments?”
Wesley shook his head. “The Traveler and I had gone on to…other things by that point. But I learned about the Sky Spirits from your people. The Traveler is similar to them in many ways, so he thought that was a good place for me to start my education. This was a world in
which humans had been given a genetic bonding as a gift, and could embrace that gift and become something more. I did it. You are doing it right now.”
“Can anyone do this?”
Wesley smiled. “I’m afraid I’m not allowed to tell.”
Chakotay returned the smile. “I guess some things just have to remain mysteries.”
“I’m curious,” Wesley continued. “You’ve been…well…I don’t mean to be rude, but…you’ve been awfully passive. You’ve followed where you were led willingly enough, and that’s important. But why haven’t you tried to test your powers?”
“I didn’t know I was supposed to. I thought someone would come and tell me when it was time to…”
Wesley looked meaningfully at him.
Chakotay laughed. “So, what do I do?”
“What do you most want to do?”
And Chakotay knew what he wanted to do. There was someone who, he knew, was worried about him. Someone he cared deeply for, someone he wanted to reassure that he was all right, more than all right.
And just that quickly, he was there.
The warmth, deep affection, and worry he experienced flowing from the mind of Admiral Kathryn Janeway was almost overwhelming and humbling in its power. He sensed everything: her concern for him and the colonists, her desire to keep the Federation together, her irritability that she was stuck in a conference and couldn’t go do something about the problem herself.
Chakotay chuckled. That was Kathryn, all right. He opened his mind further and there was another presence, physically closer, also deeply concerned. To his surprise, Chakotay realized he was sensing Tom Paris’s mind.
Paris had taken the Flyer to Voyager and had apparently kicked out the actual pilot and taken the helm himself. Because Moset was currently in charge of the colonists—Chakotay was starting to think of them that way, rather than as “creatures” or “monsters,” now that he understood the poignancy of their ordeal—the storms were not as bad as the Changeling wanted them to be. Paris was having a tough time getting Voyager onto the planet, but he was doing it.
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