Marooned - Christie Golden [44]
Murmurs hummed through the crowd. The captain continued. "While following Yashar and our kidnapped friend, the route led through a graveyard of vessels. It looked like a terrible war had taken place long ago. What we saw could have been the remains of the Sshoush-shin defense line."
"Then it is true," said Hrrrl, his big, shaggy head drooping in despair. "The Thatli won, and Hann as we knew it is no more. We few, here on Mishkara, the many-great-past children of prisoners, are all that is left of our race."
"It is far from certain," Tuvok reminded him. "We do not know the location of your planet, or-"
"But it is likely," said Hrrri.
"It is possible, " corrected Tuvok.
Hrrrl was silent for a moment, then he threw back his head. His mouth, crammed with those sharp teeth, opened, and a dreadful howl issued forth. Immediately, the rest of the Sshoush-shin assembled joined in, and for several long moments the thin air of Mishkara echoed with the raw sound of a devastated keening. Neelix clapped his hands to his ears, as did Bokk. Tuvok, who had extremely sensitive hearing, made no movement to shield his ears. Neither did Janeway. This ear-shattering sound of grief was meant to be heard-heard, acknowledged, and respected. Though Janeway half feared that at any moment a thin trickle of blood would start from her pained ears, she listened, and mourned along with them.
Finally, the sound faded and died. Hrrrl lowered his head, and gazed again at his honored guest. "Let me see if I can piece together the rest," he said, with more calmness than he had displayed hitherto. "After-after our planet fell, the supply ships of course stopped coming, which then led to the revolt.
Other ships we have seen have been pirates, probably under command of the man you seek. They have taken charge of the underground control center, and they probably killed the Sshoush-shin guards who remained, which explains why they have not been seen recently."
"This is what we believe has transpired," Tuvok confirmed quietly.
"These star-robbers"-not for the first time, Janeway smiled at the translator's laborious attempts at accurate communication; it was a poetic term, far more poetic than space pirates-"have made Mishkara their base of operations. They are probably mining for the wealth, as once we did. They permit no one but their allies to land."
And suddenly, though she should have seen it before, the full depth of the urgency of their situation broke upon Janeway like a thunderclap. Horror stricken with the sudden realization, she turned at once to Tuvok. Though she knew he couldn't read minds without invoking the traditional Vulcan mindmeld ritual, comprehension dawned in his eyes as if he had read hers. Perhaps he did, after a fashion; she was certain her thoughts were plain enough on her face.
"We've got to get out of here before Chakotay sends another shuttlecraft after us," she breathed.
"Agreed," said Tuvok. "Any attempt to penetrate the ion field without giving the proper code to deacti vate it would cause another of the disabling pulses-"
-which would ignite the plasma that's already vented from our shuttlecraft," finished Janeway.
"There wouldn't be anything left of us for Voyager to rescue."
There seemed to be only one solution, and Janeway didn't like it one bit. Before she uttered the sure-tobe-disliked plan, she tried one more thing. "Hrrrl, you mention that you have some technology left of your own. I don't suppose you have anything that could send a message to our ship, tell them we're alive and warn them not to attempt to send down a second vessel?"
Hrrrl shook his head. "We have nothing that advanced. We never did. Nothing can get past the ion storm unless it is sent from the control center."
A crunching of booted and padded feet on earth came from beyond the circle of the firelight. Janeway