Spirit Walk_ Enemy of My Enemy (Book 2) - Christie Golden [47]
But in that moment of hesitation, of disbelief that a Vorta, a Vorta, was planning on doing this to him, she lifted the weapon (clumsily, it was heavy and awkward, and she had tears in her lovely eyes) and fired.
The sheer agony was unexpected.
He dropped to the floor and writhed, too much in pain to even scream. He felt as if he were being turned inside out. It burned through him, twisted him…
…Solidified him…
And then she was bending over him, sobbing aloud, touching his Solid face and apologizing.
“They told me to do this to you,” she cried, “they told me! They said, one of the Founders has fallen from grace, and he must be punished or he will bring destruction upon all, he will obliterate the Great Link….Oh, please tell me you forgive me…I must obey them!”
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The other Founders had sent her to do this thing? To distort him, cell by cell, molecule by molecule, to turn him into a Solid? He’d recognized the technology, but the last he knew of it, it could only generate a forcefield that would hold him in Solid form as long as the field was active. But this Elani had brought hell upon him. They had somehow managed to change the Changeling, to distort him from a fluid entity into a Solid one.
“Never!” he cried. “I will never forgive you! I will hunt you down and…” The words dissolved into gibberish as the pain increased.
She froze, her hand on his forehead, and her eyes widened in pain. “You will not forgive me? Even though I have no choice but to obey the Founders?”
Even in the depths of his torment, the Changeling remembered a human insult. He summoned saliva and spat in her pretty Vorta face.
Slowly Elani sank back on her heels. She looked stunned, stricken. “I cannot live with this,” she said. “I have destroyed one of my gods. You are right, Great One. There can be no forgiveness for me.” And as he watched, she placed a long, lovely index finger behind her ear and pressed her thumb under her chin—activating her termination implant.
When she collapsed upon him, lifeless, his satisfaction slightly eased the pain.
Chapter 14
“I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M DOING THIS,” muttered Kim as he and Kaz entered sickbay and he sat down at the computer. “It goes against everything I believe.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more,” said Kaz, “but that fellow in the cadaver drawer and poor Sekaya deserve the truth. What that will end up being, I haven’t the slightest idea.”
“I should warn you, Campbell’s pretty damn good at her job,” Kim said as his fingers flew over the controls. “She’s going to spot this when she comes on duty.”
“You had her job for seven years, Harry,” Kaz reminded him. “You know the communication system of this vessel better than anybody. All you need to do is be better than she is. Besides, didn’t you say she was having some problems earlier?”
“Yeah, we call those ghosts,” said Kim, brightening a little at the reminder. “I’ll do what I can to make this look like one.” He shook his dark head. “Damn it, Kaz, I hope we’re doing the right thing.”
“So do I, Harry,” said Kaz, “so do I.”
They were silent for a few moments, then Kim stiffened. “What time is it on Vaan?”
Kaz did the math. “Fifteen hundred hours,” he said.
“Well, at least we’re not getting her out of bed.”
“No, just calling her away from a key negotiation situation that could affect the future of the Federation.”
“You’re not making me feel any better, Doctor.” Kim paused, then said, “There. The request was put through, top priority.”
After a few nail-biting moments, the attractive features of Admiral Kathryn Janeway appeared on the screen. “Dr. Kaz. Lieutenant Kim. This had better be important.”
“Good afternoon, Admiral,” said Kaz. “Believe me, I wouldn’t have put Harry up to this if it weren’t.” Quickly, knowing that every second that the conversation lasted could lead to someone detecting this unauthorized transmission,