Spirit Walk_ Enemy of My Enemy (Book 2) - Christie Golden [8]
Tom felt himself blushing.
“So,” she continued, “do I envy Captain Chakotay? You bet your pips I do. I love that ship, and I loved being its captain. But you don’t necessarily want to trade places with someone just because you envy them.”
“I think I’m beginning to understand, Admiral.”
“You will. It’s one of those maturity things.” She winked. “You know a tremendous amount about a great many things, Tom. And what you’ve undergone over the last seven years has catapulted you forward in the experience department. But a lot changed while we were gone, and we all need to make sure we’re up on it.”
Tom stared at the padd and sighed. “You’re telling me.”
Janeway continued to watch him intently. “How are you and B’Elanna doing?”
The question caught him by surprise. “We’re doing great,” he said, wondering where this was leading.
“How’s life on Boreth?”
“It’s…interesting. Cultural immersion.”
Her lips curved in a grin. “That’s one way of putting it, yes.”
“It’s been difficult, but if it’s what B’Elanna wants, then I’m all for it. Recently we’ve been spending a lot of time trying to dig up some information on the scrolls that Kohlar referenced.”
“About your little Kuvah’Magh?”
Tom grinned, slightly embarrassed. “I know it seems egotistical, but if you had a daughter who had possibly featured in another culture’s savior prophecies, wouldn’t you be curious?”
“Naturally. Find out anything?”
“I found out that I might want to become a vegetarian,” Tom replied. “There’s a little creature on Boreth called a paagrat that they eat and they use as parchment. It’s pathetically adorable.”
“Chakotay could give you some pointers. But honestly I can’t see you settling for risotto while your pal Harry’s devouring a steak.”
“You’re probably right.”
She hesitated, then said, “You realize that if I can get you a first officer position, you’re going to be away from your wife and child for long periods at a time?”
He nodded. “Of course. That’s part of the job.”
“And B’Elanna is all right with this?”
“Yes,” said Tom firmly. “She’s been very supportive.”
Janeway smiled, gently. “Maybe because you’ve been so supportive of her and her needs. It’s not every human male who could tolerate living on Boreth for six days, let alone six months.”
Tom shrugged, a little uncomfortable with the intimate direction this conversation was taking. “She’s my wife. I love her and I love Miral. Why wouldn’t I do whatever she needed to make her happy?”
“That attitude is why she’s willing to do the same for you,” Janeway said. “Fortunately, with a little luck, you won’t be gone for seven years if you are assigned to another starship.”
“And thank God for that,” Tom said, and meant every word.
The Changeling materialized on the surface of Loran II. Meticulous as ever, he had checked belowground, with equipment untroubled by the technology that so disturbed Starfleet’s, to make sure there would be no troublesome Starfleet officers in the area to witness his appearance. He’d deal with them soon enough, but for now he needed solitude in order to complete his plans.
Lying on the ground beside him, eyes closed, pale face turned up to the sky, was the real Commander Andrew Ellis. The Starfleet officer was one of several humanoids that the Changeling kept in stasis, ready to be produced when needed at moments like this. His breathing was starting to deepen as he worked his way back to consciousness. Ellis had been in stasis for many years now; it would take him at least several seconds to revive.
Which would give the Changeling more than enough time to put his plan into action.
He hesitated as he looked down at the face that was so familiar to him. He had been impersonating Ellis for seven years now. It had been in this body that he had been—
The recollection of the lost years, of the agony of what he had been forced to endure, sent a shudder of rage and loathing through him. A second ago he had been thinking of Ellis with compassion, almost as a companion on a long, bitter journey. Now suddenly the Solid represented everything against which the Changeling