Spirit Walk_ Enemy of My Enemy (Book 2) - Christie Golden [73]
“Exactly. I’m not letting my brother go on such a dangerous spirit walk all by himself. Chakotay, I’ve been training. Deeply. This is something I know a great deal about. I’ve been the anchor for dozens of spirit walks. Let me do this for you.”
“It could help,” Moset said. “You’ll need to keep your wits about you if you’re going to be able to do this. If she really can perform this duty, then I say let’s take her up on her offer.”
“But she’s my sister!” Chakotay protested.
“And Guillaume is Marius’s brother,” Sekaya responded. “He deserves to have his brother back.”
As Chakotay hesitated, Moset added, “Time is running out, Chakotay. If we’re to have any hope of success, we need to begin immediately. Ellis’s business—”
“Quit calling him that,” Chakotay snapped. “I know that’s how you knew him first, but the real Andrew Ellis was a fine Starfleet officer who didn’t deserve to be kidnapped, put in stasis, and cut to pieces with a scalpel.”
Moset appeared to be slightly taken aback by Chakotay’s outburst, but Kaz understood exactly where the harsh words had originated.
“How shall I refer to him, then? It’s awkward to just keep saying ‘the Changeling.’ ”
Chakotay’s eyes met Kaz’s. “Katal,” he said coldly. “We’ll call our enemy Arak Katal.”
Kaz smiled, slightly. A good choice. The face of a traitor who was responsible for the slaughter of thousands was a better one to hate than that of a Starfleet officer.
“We’re arguing over semantics, but fine, we’ll call him Katal. But by all means, gentlemen and lady, let’s get on with it.”
Quickly Sekaya threw her arms around her brother and murmured something. Kaz didn’t catch it and didn’t want to; it was for Chakotay’s ears alone. The captain nodded and held his sister tightly before releasing her. They returned to the beds and lay down.
Even though he knew that both Chakotay and Sekaya were willing participants, Kaz cringed inwardly as Moset bent over them and physically manipulated the inserts in their skulls. Sekaya hissed and tensed slightly as the Cardassian touched her with curiously gentle fingers, but forced herself to submit to his ministrations.
Satisfied, Moset looked up. “You’ll be responsible for monitoring them, Doctor.”
The Butcher of Bajor calmly giving him instructions, like they were colleagues. Kaz swallowed and nodded. Sekaya and Chakotay, and who knew how many others, were depending on the Trill to keep a cool head. He would not let them down.
Moset took a deep breath. “I know the situation is dire, but…this is so exciting! Now. We’ll begin with Sekaya.” He touched some controls and Sekaya’s eyes closed. Quickly she sank to deep levels of unconsciousness, but Kaz could see that the right side of her cerebrum was highly active.
“Then Chakotay.” He repeated the procedure, and the captain of the U.S.S. Voyager was soon as deeply unconscious as his sister. Kaz tensed; even now he suspected a trap. But Moset was engrossed in what he was doing.
The Cardassian nodded, satisfied, then stepped over to Chakotay.
“Dr. Kaz?”
Kaz looked at him. “Yes?”
“This is the tricky part. We’ll need to pull them out quickly if something goes wrong.”
“I understand.”
Moset looked down at Chakotay’s face almost hungrily. He pressed a hypo to the captain’s neck.
“Here we go,” said Moset.
Chapter 21
CHAKOTAY OPENED HIS EYES, unsure as to what to expect. He found himself not in his usually imagined place—the Central American rain forest—but in a forest of a more northernly sort. The sweet, powerful scent of pine filled his nostrils, and the cool moisture in the air felt good on his skin.
He sensed that he was not alone, and turned to regard his sister.
Here, in her purest aspect of spirit, she was even more beautiful than she was in her physical form. Tall, slim, her long black hair loose about her shoulders, her eyes sparkling like stars—
“Your spirit is so beautiful, my brother,” she said quietly, in tones of awe. Evidently, she saw in him what he saw in her.
They went to each other and clasped hands. “This is your place, isn’t it?” Chakotay asked.