Pathways - Jeri Taylor [138]
“What is it? What do you see?” asked Neelix, who didn’t possess the superior eyesight of the Vulcans.
Tuvok turned to him and said something that so stunned Neelix that he thought he must have misheard. For what Tuvok said was “I believe Captain Janeway has entered the camp.”
Chakotay had become aware of the shift in attitude among the prisoners which always heralded the arrival of guards, and like the others, he and his group busied themselves with mindless activity in order to stay anonymous. He caught in the corner of his eye a brief flash of color, and realized someone was with the Subu guards, but it wasn’t until the contingent was almost on top of them that he realized who it was. He heard a woman’s voice saying, “With all these laborers, I’m surprised the price for your psilminite is so high.”
Reigning in his shock, Chakotay allowed his eyes to flicker upward, and when they did, his heart suddenly constricted.
Kathryn was walking next to the commandant, old whalehead himself, who strutted officiously in his three-legged gait. She was dressed in a kind of robe of blue and purple, with heavy earrings dangling from her lobes and ornate rings on several fingers. She looked, to Chakotay, like a goddess.
“Not all may work,” whalehead growled. “Only the trusted ones.”
Suddenly Kathryn came to a stop, looked directly at Chakotay, and pointed. “Who are those people?” she demanded.
“I don’t know what they call themselves. They were discovered invading one of our small planets. Undoubtedly they’re mercenaries working for the Rai’.”
Kathryn’s eyes narrowed and she walked closer to Chakotay. “They’re human,” she said angrily, “or at least some of them are. I’ve run into them before. They’re mercenaries, all right. They attacked my holdings on Grivus and killed members of my family.”
She was right in front of Chakotay now, staring at him with furious eyes. He had no idea just what was happening, but he trusted her enough to go with her game.
“Sorry I missed them all,” he said casually.
Her hand exploded across his cheek, backhand, and he recoiled at the blow. Kathryn had a mean punch. He touched his cheek and felt dampness, and saw that his fingers were red with blood. One of her rings had ripped the skin of his cheek.
“Commandant, I would hate to think these wicked beings could escape to kill others.”
“No danger. Many security measures.”
“I certainly hope so.” She gave Chakotay one last angry glance, then walked on. “Let’s finalize the price, shall we? I’ve lost interest in this filthy place.”
The small entourage moved back toward the wall from which they had emerged, the prisoners still occupied with busywork. Chakotay and the others stared after them.
“What was that all about?” wondered Harry.
Chakotay, still putting pressure on the cut in his cheek, let his mind consider all the possibilities. “She’s in disguise for a reason. Probably to see if we’re here, and what our situation is. Trying to figure out some way to get us out.”
“But what could that be? And why did she hit you?”
“I guess to put on a good show.” He looked around at the others. His cheek had stopped bleeding. “Let’s get moving. We have work to do.” And once again they spread out to see if they could find what they needed.
Neelix spent the day on a work detail with the Rai’, and returned from the experience exhausted but ebullient. “The guards pay no attention to the workers at all. They don’t seem to be worried about anyone trying to escape, and they don’t seem to care much about the mining operation. Mostly they sit around eating some kind of cane plant and yammering at each other.”
The group was gathered round him, eager to hear about this new development in their lives. Neelix, who enjoyed being the center of attention, was orchestrating this tale with an idea toward saving the best for last. “And so,” he said provocatively, “that allowed me the opportunity to liberate any number of items from the equipment there.”
He reached into his abundant jacket