Mosaic - Jeri Taylor [102]
They made plans to play tennis on the next day, and finally stood to rise, Kathryn snapping on Petunia's leash so there wouldn't be another runaway attempt on the walk home. Suddenly awkward, Kathryn extended her hand to Hobbes. "I'm so glad we found each other again, Hobbes."
He took her hand and smiled, comfortable always. "Me, too. But you should know-hardly anybody calls me Hobbes anymore. That's actually my middle name, and I decided to switch to my first name." He chuckled slightly at himself. "Maybe if I'd done that when I was younger, I'd have avoided some unnecessary ribbing about my name."
"I think it's a wonderful name. But I'll call you anything you like. What's your first name?"
"Mark. Mark Hobbes William Johnson-all of that is on my birth record. My folks, for whatever reason, chose "Hobbes" from those myriad choices, but I like the simplicity of Mark. I think it suits me these days. I'm pretty much a simple guy."
"Then Mark it is." And she smiled at him.
CHAPTER 21
HARRY AND KES STARED AS TUVOK, NEELIX, AND THE REST OF THE bedraggled away team poured through the space which used to be the chamber wall. It had shimmered away before their eyes, as it had when they themselves entered, and now their comrades were streaming in, all looking harried and shaken.
"Sir, I'm not sure it's wise for you to come in here-the opening might disappear. Maybe we should all take this opportunity to leave," suggested Harry as Neelix headed for Kes.
Tuvok looked uncharacteristically perturbed. "I think not, Ensign," he intoned. "We can only hope this chamber is some kind of sanctuary."
"Have the Kazon found us?"
"No. But it appears we have awakened another nemesis."
At that point LeFevre, the last of the group, plunged through the opening and stumbled to the ground, his face and arms a mass of scratches and lacerations. "They're right behind us," he stammered, and the group turned in apprehension to the opening, only to see it shimmer closed once more. They were all contained within the doorless chamber.
"Sir, what do you mean, "awakened'?" Kes, after a warm embrace from Neelix, came forward.
"I cannot think what else to call it. As we moved through the passageways, the walls began to metamorphose, revealing the presence of alien beings who had been somehow embedded within."
Harry and Kes exchanged a look. "The reawakening," she breathed, and as if in response, the hologram of the winged humanoid glimmered into view. There was a collective murmur from the members of the away team, who had not seen this apparition before, and Tuvok instinctively reached for his phaser, but Harry gestured for him to withdraw it. Kes moved directly in front of the creature, concentrating on receiving his telepathic message. There was a hushed silence as she stood looking up at the magnificent hologram, whose great wings, as before, beat gently, stirring the close air of the chamber. Finally, the hologram disappeared once more. "Apparently the hologram is triggered when someone enters the chamber. It happened when we came in, too," said Harry, turning to Kes. "Was the message the same this time?"
She nodded. "He said he assumes the time has come, he's gratified for the help of whoever has come into the chamber, and hopes that some of his kind is left to witness the reawakening of the Tokath."
"I detected energy readings emanating from this chamber," added Harry. "It's possible that when we entered, we triggered a mechanism which set some kind of program in motion. It got really hot in here about half an hour agothat might have been evidence of the metamorphosis you mentioned."
"It was as if the walls were melting," said Neelix, in support of this theory.
"The Tokath," said Tuvok solemnly. "That must be the name of the alien species contained within the walls."
"In some kind of stasis?" wondered Harry.