Dark Matters_ Shadow of Heaven (Book 3) - Christie Golden [13]
Chakotay sat on the edge of the bed-an actual bed!-and tugged on boots that had been replicated to fit his feet exactly. Rising, Chakotay surveyed himself hi the mirror. He ran a hand along his clean-shaven jaw; shaving had not been possible among the Culilann. That, even more than the clean clothes and the shower and the meal, made him feel like he had finally come out of the jungle for good.
There came a soft chiming sound. "Come," called Chakotay. When the door didn't open, he belatedly recalled mat chimes meant verbal communication. "Chakotay here," he said.
"Commander Chakotay." It was Shamraa Ezbai Remilkansuur's voice. It was his Recovery team which had taken Chakotay from the village. "I apologize for interrupting you. I realize you are exhausted and were probably looking forward to retiring, but..."
"If you need me, Ezbai, bedtime can wait," Chakotay said with a little smile. "And actually, I was just about to take a stroll, get a little better acquainted with your command center. What's going on?"
"We were going to do all this in the morning," Ezbai lamented. "Your medical examination, your debriefing, everything, but the Implementer insists."
"Ezbai, it's all right, I really don't mind," Chakotay repeated, mildly amused at Ezbai's profuse apologies.
"You are gracious, Chakotay, and it is important. I will escort you to the meeting room," said Ezbai. Chakotay knew that it wasn't because Ezbai didn't trust him. It was because the Alilann command center was so vast that Chakotay couldn't hope to find his way there alone.
In a few moments, another sound came, an unpleasant buzz. Chakotay stepped forward and the door opened. Ezbai looked awful. His pale blue skin was paler than ever and his eyes darted this way and that.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Chakotay asked.
Ezbai opened his mouth to reply, then obviously thought better of it and shook his head. "Come on," he said. "You'll see. Oh, Chakotay, it's just awful."
And that was all Chakotay was going to get out of the distraught Interceptor. Ezbai led him through a labyrinth of gray metal. Chakotay had not been impressed with the design or d6cor of the place from the minute he had transported into its dry coolness from the hot, humid jungle. There was nothing here that was not simply functional. Even his room, which Ezbai assured him was the finest of the available guest quarters and usually reserved for the highest-ranking diplomats, was devoid of personality. The bed had felt comfortable when he sat on it, but there had been no decorations, no art on the walls, nothing to really set it apart.
The corridors down which Ezbai led him were utilitarian, nothing more. At first he'd thought this was a military compound, in which case the lack of decoration would make more sense. But Ezbai had assured him that while the place was a command center, it was also a place where people lived and children were raised. An Alilann city, domed and completely shut off from the natural environment of the planet's surface. It did not feel or look like a place where children's laughter was a welcome sound.
Chakotay was glad of Ezbai's presence. He'd have gotten lost within a few moments on his own. Left, right, left, left, down, into a turbolift, left again-it was dizzying. Finally they reached a mammoth door, which hissed open for them.
There was a large, round, metal table in the center of the room. Approximately twenty people sat at the table, all clad in clothing identical to Chakotay's. There were glasses, pitchers, and several bowls filled with small gray-brown nuggets of some sort. The room was octagonal and the walls were covered with eight floor-to-ceiling viewscreens. Seven of these were activated, displaying various planets, star systems, or what Chakotay presumed to be key sites on this or other