Ghost of a Chance - Mark Garland [41]
"His people helped carry you back to their village after the earthquake," Kim said, sounding quite cheerful. "What's left of their village, that is. The quakes have knocked at least a third of it down, and a few sections have fallen straight into the ground. This section is relatively untouched, so far."
"But it may not be for long," Tuvok added.
Janeway looked up. "Explain."
"Since the last quake, according to Loteth, volcanic activity to the south has actually decreased somewhat, but every aspect of this planet's behavior seems to be in flux," Tuvok reported. "At present the prevailing winds are from the northwest, which is why the rain of dust and ash in this area has ended locally, but if they should shift sufficiently it would be cause for concern."
"We've been waiting for you to come around," Kim said, something he apparently just had to get out. "Everyone has."
"They seem a most amiable people, Captain," Tuvok said, "and they have treated us with kindness. I have taken the liberty of explaining that we are here to help them."
"I'll bet they're impressed so far," Janeway replied, still reeling a bit, getting her sea legs.
Nan Loteth moved past them and went to the corner, where he poured something from an earthenware pitcher into a metal cup.
"Drink," he said, his voice breathy but even. He handed the cup to Janeway.
"There isn't any lead in this, is there?" she asked, hesitating.
Tuvok produced his tricorder and passed it over the cup, then shook his head. Janeway nodded. The water tasted awful. She drank it all.
"You aren't afraid of us?" Janeway asked the old man, recalling what she had seen in her first vision--if that scene had been real.
The Drenarian took the cup from her. "Of you, no."
"They claim they knew we were coming," Tuvok explained.
"They say they were told by the spirits in the hills, the spirits of their ancestors," Kim said.
"The ghosts," Janeway said.
"Apparently, Captain," Tuvok replied.
"I think I've met some of your ancestors myself," Janeway told Nan Loteth. "Twice, as a matter of fact. I'd like you to tell me more about them, if you don't mind."
The Drenarian nodded. "My people have always turned to the wisdom of those who have gone before, those we call the Jun-Tath.
They protect us, comfort us, counsel us. Are you not guided in this world by those in the next?"
"Many of my people believe they are, though I have never personally known anyone to describe an encounter quite like the one I had," Janeway said. She described the ghostly entity she had seen in her ready room, and the dreams Chakotay had told her about, but stopped short of relating the dream--if it had been a dream--of her visit to the smoky cavern.
Nan Loteth seemed to understand completely. "We have been shown to you, and you have been shown to us," he said, wearing a gentle smile Janeway had thought his features incapable of. She decided there was a great deal to learn about these people, and despite the pain in her skull, she found herself eager to do so. Her unease had all but vanished.
She thought to say so, but hesitated as the earth began to shake perceptibly beneath her feet. A minor aftershock, only a fraction the intensity of the earlier quake. Still, it was more than enough to remind her that these people, whoever they were, were in danger of being lost to the universe forever. She looked in the Drenarian's eyes, and she was all but certain she could see this same thought reflected there.
"The Jun-Tath told us of the others, too," Nan Loteth continued less easily, raising his voice somewhat. "Of a time when demons would descend from the skies, of the suffering of many, of the coming of the end of the world. When the others came in their great sky-boat, we knew in our hearts they were the demons we had seen in our visions.
But some were not convinced. They had to be sure. They went to the clearing where the sky-boat rested, near the temple of Jaalett, and they watched. Nothing happened