Spirit Walk_ Enemy of My Enemy (Book 2) - Christie Golden [62]
He strode to the turbolift. Once the doors were securely closed, he gave vent to his fury. His form shifted, then rearranged itself into Chakotay.
The clever bastards were on to him. Through his rage, he smiled, his lips twisting.
At least now he ought to be able to finally kill someone.
Chapter 18
TOM RAN HIS HANDS over her sleek curves, deeply content. “I’ve missed you, sweetheart.”
He truly had missed the Delta Flyer.
It was fortunate that Vaan was in fairly close proximity to Loran II, or else Tom knew that even with the sweet ship that was his beloved Flyer, he wouldn’t be able to make it in time.
Sighing, he turned his thoughts away from admiring the Delta Flyer to the more sobering thoughts of Chakotay’s strange behavior.
Lying to Janeway. Failing to notify Starfleet when his first officer had been killed. Leaving the planet at high speed. Janeway had been right—whoever it was who’d been sitting in the captain’s chair, it wasn’t Chakotay. Or at least, it wasn’t the Chakotay they knew.
There were all kinds of scenarios: possession by an alien, an impostor who could be an alien, a malicious clone, or simply a human with his features surgically altered.
Tom had never met Sekaya, but he grieved for her death. Chakotay had always spoken with such fondness, such wistfulness of his sister. It was inconceivable that he’d just abandon her remains on the planet.
Whether Chakotay was held hostage in the literal sense, or whether it was merely his mind that had been hijacked, Paris burned with determination to rescue and free his friend.
“Janeway to Paris.”
Tom glanced at the small viewscreen to see Janeway’s face. She looked more serious than he thought he’d ever seen her.
“Aye, Admiral, go ahead.”
“We’ve got some new information about the being who’s impersonating Captain Chakotay.” A pause, then, “Tom, it’s a shape-shifter. Maybe even a Changeling.”
Tom’s blue eyes widened. “A shape-shifter? But how—when—”
Janeway held up a hand, forestalling his barrage of questions. “There’s a lot we don’t know, and even this is nothing more than our best guess. But it’s a guess that fits all the known facts. I’ve been talking with Seven and the Doctor, and the think tank’s theory is that Andrew Ellis has actually been impersonated by a being able to assume his form for years. It kept Ellis’s body in stasis, so it could produce a just-killed corpse when being Ellis was no longer convenient. There was no trace of DNA on the body other than Ellis’s own—one reason why we believe it’s a Changeling rather than another species. This, plus the fact that it’s obviously not Chakotay. We think he switched places on the planet.”
Tom’s mouth opened and closed. He was dying to ask questions: Who else do you think he was? How could he slip past security as the same person for so long? What does he want with Chakotay? Instead, he chose the wiser option of silence.
“The shape-shifter poses an extremely high risk to everyone on board that ship. I’ll be talking with Starfleet Command here shortly. We’ll be getting you backup, but not yet. We have to do it as surreptitiously as possible. No matter what, do nothing to alert the shape-shifter that we are on to him. But you are to apprehend him if it’s at all possible. Is that understood?”
“Aye, ma’am. Understood.”
Her serious expression softened. “You’re going to be on your own for a while yet, Tom. Be careful. But your duty is to prevent any more lives lost.”
He nodded. “I know. I’ll keep things as quiet as I can.”
“Above all else, you can’t let him leave the ship. If he’s not contained, he’ll disappear, and there’s a chance we’ll never find Chakotay.” Her eyes revealed her pain. “Except perhaps the way we found Ellis.”
Pain stabbed Tom, too. Righteous anger surged to replace it. “I’m not going to let that happen, Admiral.”
“I know I can count on you, Tom. Janeway out.”
Paris looked out at the stars racing past. The damn shape-shifter better watch out.
“How’s it coming?