Spirit Walk_ Enemy of My Enemy (Book 2) - Christie Golden [33]
“Captain,” said Fortier, a little edgily, “this is fascinating and I am certain quite meaningful to you. But I don’t understand what it has to do with your DNA being found in that of an ape-like creature on a world far from Earth.”
His dark gaze wandered back to one of the images displayed on the viewscreen, that of the charging creature who had attacked Patel, who bared an open mouth crammed full of teeth and extended clawed forepaws.
Who was Marius Fortier’s brother.
“I know you’re angry and confused, Mr. Fortier,” said the Changeling, as he knew Chakotay would have. “But it’s important that you understand the background, or else what I’m going to say isn’t going to make sense.”
Fortier choked back his anger, and “Chakotay” continued.
“This much is fact. But as facts often do, over time, it became legend. I grew up on tales of the Sky Spirits, and I gave those stories about as much credence as we give Greek myths today. But then, when I was fifteen, my father and I went to Central America on Earth, the place where my genetically enhanced ancestors eventually settled. We went there looking for the descendents of these ancient ones, known as the Rubber Tree People. And to my shock, we found them.”
He touched his forehead, his temple and the space between his eyes. “I first saw this tattoo that I now wear on their faces. Their faces, which had a strange cleft here, between their eyes. I didn’t think anything of it at the time.” He smiled sadly. “I was too eager to be gone, to get back home. To go to Starfleet Academy. But I was to recall that strange cleft several years later, in the Delta Quadrant.
“You can imagine my shock when, while Voyager was visiting a moon in search of polyferrinide, I stumbled across an ancient symbol of my people called a chamozi.” He rose and went to the screen, tapping in a command, and the image appeared.
“We followed up on it, and that was how I learned that the legends of my people were real after all, in a sense.” He manipulated the controls and another image of the chamozi appeared. “Harry, you never asked specifically why Sekaya and I went to the planet’s surface.”
Kim frowned. “You said that Ellis had found something of archeological interest.”
“Chakotay” nodded. “Yes,” he said. He pointed at the image. It was the one he’d had Moset write. “He found this.”
Kim stared. “You’re kidding,” he said.
“No, I’m not. I wish I were. If I hadn’t seen that symbol and felt compelled to investigate…well.” He decided not to push the oh-my-poor-sister’s-dead angle too much and contented himself with blinking quickly and swallowing hard. He saw the faces around the table soften with compassion.
He cleared his throat and continued. “Anyway, we saw evidence that the Sky Spirits had been here as well. Kaz is fairly certain that the creatures that attacked the away team were once the colonists who chose to stay behind. I think that they, like my own ancestors, genetically bonded with the Sky Spirits.”
He’d hoped there would be nods and this would placate them. But he didn’t get that lucky.
Kaz was the first to voice his concerns. “That would explain the combination of Fortier DNA and the close match with yours, Captain. But there are a lot of questions that this theory doesn’t answer.”
“I thought you said that the alien told you his people hadn’t been back to the Alpha Quadrant for thousands of years,” said Campbell.
“And the aliens have successfully and harmoniously bonded with humans before, as you just said,” said Astall. “Why would such a bonding now have so disastrous an effect on the colonists?”
“Yes,” said Fortier, a hint of amusement in his voice. “There is not that great a difference between a Frenchman and a Central