Pathways - Jeri Taylor [137]
He chewed pensively, slowly, enjoying the taste of the fibrous root, wishing the chunk he had saved were just a little larger. He thought about the Voyager crew on the other side of the camp and wondered how they were faring. He disliked having the group split up like this and would have far preferred they all be together. But he recognized the necessity of the choice.
Thoughts of absent comrades drew him inevitably to thoughts of Kes. Dangerous territory. The beautiful Ocampan had been gone from Voyager for almost a year now, but she still haunted Neelix’s mind. Her going had been so sudden—in a mysterious transformation that caused her to vanish—that it left everyone unprepared and sorrowful, even if she herself believed she was going to something better, greater, higher. None of that helped Neelix. To him, she was just gone.
His pain lay in him like a heavy stone, not severe but constant. Her absence was a palpable thing, the opposite of a vacuum, a dark but invisible actuality that shrouded him like a cloak.
Neelix rose abruptly, shaking off those thoughts, which, if allowed to gain momentum, would take him to a gloomy place that was difficult to leave. He drew a breath of the damp morning air and then adopted as jovial a manner as he could. He strolled over to the Rai’ complex, where one of the tall aliens was stirring whatever was cooking in his pot.
“Good morning, my friend,” Neelix called out. “I trust you slept well?”
The coal-colored man towered over Neelix, shocking white hair ringing his head like a halo. He gazed down at the Talaxian in mild curiosity.
“Well enough. And you?”
“As well as one can in a place like this.”
That seemed to exhaust the small talk. They stood in silence for a moment, the Rai’ stirring assiduously, Neelix savoring the aroma that wafted from the pot. “May I ask, friend, what it is you’re cooking there?”
“Beans,” said the Rai’ tersely, no doubt thinking Neelix was there to beg some.
“And where does one get beans in such a wretched place?”
“There’s a mining detail which leaves the compound every day. If you draw a pass to work, it’s possible to gather edibles from the forest.”
“I see. Very interesting.” Neelix watched the stirring for a moment more. “What does the mining work involve?”
“The usual. Scanning for underground mineral deposits. Drilling ore from the veins. Loading it onto antigravity carts.”
Neelix’s mind was racing with the possibilities. A scanning device might be of value to B’Elanna and Harry. And if the miners used matter-displacement drills for deep digging, they might have phase-transition coils. Things were beginning to look up.
“Just how does one get such a job?”
The huge man scrutinized Neelix for a full moment before answering, as though trying to ascertain his motive in asking the question. When he spoke, it was straightforward, as though Neelix had passed some kind of muster.
“The Rai’ receive work passes. In the event we are exchanged for Subu prisoners, they want us to report that we were treated fairly.”
“And do you ever include others in this fortunate situation?”
There was another slight pause before the huge man answered. “It has been known to happen.”
“Perhaps we could arrange a trade. There are a number of ways in which I could be valuable to you.”
“I would be willing to consider such a proposal.”
Neelix was feeling quite encouraged by this conversation, and was ready to begin offering his services, when a commotion rumbled through the camp, distracting them both.
One of the doors in the far wall was opening, and several figures had emerged. Neelix moved back to his group, and saw Tuvok staring into the distance, tensed and alert. “Vorik,” he said