Spirit Walk_ Old Wounds (Book 1) - Christie Golden [55]
Kaz thought about it. He appreciated Astall’s frankness, but what she was proposing didn’t sound dangerous. He was familiar with the techniques she mentioned. While their efficacy could not be proved conclusively in a lab, he knew that sometimes it was very helpful and had never heard of any ill effects.
He thought of the recurring nightmare, of the screams and the blood and the fire, of Gradak’s pain and rage, and couldn’t suppress a shudder. If this helped quash the nightmares, it was more than worth the minimal risk.
“Let’s do it.”
At her gesture, he moved to the sofa and stretched out. She put a blanket over him and he smiled wryly. “Do you provide teddy bears too?”
Her eyes danced. “Indeed I do, would you like one?”
He chuckled. “I’m not taking a nap.”
“No, but body temperature often drops during times of deep relaxation,” Astall said. “I just want to make sure you are completely comfortable. Now, close your eyes.”
Feeling a little self-conscious, Kaz did so.
“Comfy?”
“Very.”
“Good. Now, take a long, slow, deep breath through your nose and let it out through your mouth.”
He inhaled the fresh scent of lavender with each breath and felt himself relaxing.
“Again.” Kaz repeated the breathing exercise several more times. After a while, he noticed that he felt very calm, but not sleepy.
Astall’s voice drifted to him. “Jarem, I want you to imagine yourself in a place that makes you feel very peaceful. Take your time and make all the details vivid. When you can see it in your mind’s eye, let me know.”
It was easier than he expected to visualize himself back on his homeworld, walking by the ocean and gazing out into its purple depths. The rhythm of the waves was soothing.
“I’m there,” he said. It was hard to move his lips to speak.
“Good. Now, I want you to imagine Gradak standing right beside you. And I want you to visualize him being calm and at peace as well.”
Jarem felt himself tense a little. In the deep place of imagination, he turned his head and saw Gradak.
He was not calm and at peace.
He wore torn, burned, bloodstained clothing, and the wounds that would eventually bring his death cried out to Jarem as silently and as forcefully as Gradak’s unheard words.
Sitting in the captain’s chair where he had spent so many night shifts during the past seven years, Kim gazed absently at the viewscreen. The stars streaked past as Voyager continued its uneventful journey.
He checked the chronometer to discover that Chakotay had exceeded his time in the holodeck with Ellis by about two minutes. Kim debated notifying his commanding officer, as it was time to drop down to warp two for the rest of the journey. Sekaya had suggested that they extend the trip, as she wanted to have more time to talk with the colonists. Traveling at warp two would take them about three more days to reach Loran II; if they continued at the present speed, they’d arrive in a few hours.
He decided to execute the order himself. It wasn’t as if it was a particularly demanding one, and if Chakotay was actually having a good time with his prickly first officer, Kim didn’t want to interrupt.
“Lieutenant Tare,” Kim said, “drop to warp two.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Lieutenant Campbell, engage long-range scanners. Report anything unusual.”
Campbell, standing at his old station, frowned. “Sir, I’m picking up signs of debris on the long-range scanners.”
“Lieutenant Tare, drop out of warp,” Kim ordered, instantly alert.
“Aye, sir.” The new pilot executed the order every bit as smoothly as Tom Paris could have done. Kim stared now at open space.
“The debris is approximately eighteen million kilometers ahead,” Campbell said.
“Magnify,” Kim said.
His eyes widened, ever so slightly, at what he saw.
Ka-thok. Chakotay grunted as he returned the shot, doing his utmost to put spin on the