Spirit Walk_ Old Wounds (Book 1) - Christie Golden [81]
“And therefore have more control over the relationship between you and Gradak,” Astall said as she nodded her comprehension.
“Correct. I didn’t do anything to adjust the isoboromine levels earlier because we weren’t trying to avoid my connection with Gradak. We were trying to increase it; trying to bring him to the forefront.”
“But we can’t complete that right now,” Astall said. “So the best thing to do is minimize his influence over you. Do you think this treatment will be successful?”
“In theory, yes. But if it doesn’t work, I’m planning on pulling out the big guns.”
She cocked her head curiously. “And that would be?” He told her.
Chakotay set the shuttle down gently at the coordinates that Ellis had given them. Though the continent was in the northern hemisphere, the colony was located far enough south that there was a hint of the tropics. He breathed deeply of the rain-cleansed earth as he and Sekaya stepped out. His first officer was waiting there to greet them.
“Mmmm,” said Sekaya, breathing deeply as Chakotay had done. “This is a beautiful place. The holographic program didn’t quite capture it.”
“The markings are a short walk to the northwest, right over this hill,” said Ellis. He was clearly not in the mood to make polite comments about the environment. “It sounded like you knew what these symbols meant, sir. Did you recognize them? You mentioned something about…Sky Spirits?”
Chakotay looked up at the cloudless blue sky. Moisture still hung thickly in the air, glistened on the leaves of the plants. But the Sky Spirits had stopped their rainstorms. They must have wanted Ellis to find this symbol, wanted him to contact Chakotay. How they knew about him, Chakotay didn’t know, but with the Sky Spirit aliens, anything was a possibility.
“It looks exactly like an ancient symbol our people have used for thousands of years,” Sekaya explained as they strode over a grassy hill together. “It’s a blessing on the land. We call it a chamozi.”
“A few years ago, while we were lost in the Delta Quadrant,” Chakotay said, continuing the explanation Sekaya had begun, “Voyager came across the exact same symbol on a small moon. We discovered that there was an alien race who had visited Earth forty-five thousand years ago and who had genetically bonded with our ancestors. My tribe’s term for them was the Sky Spirits. Until that point, I had always thought it just a legend, a myth.”
“Our tribe has lots of legends,” Sekaya said.
“The Sky Spirits—the aliens—were afraid of us because they had visited Earth a few hundred years ago and seen what had become of humanity.”
“I hope you corrected their misconceptions about us,” said Ellis, almost primly.
“I did indeed. I was in a position to tell the aliens we’d evolved quite a bit. But I have to tell you, Ellis, I’m very curious to find a fresh marking here.”
“Perhaps some of the Sky Spirits have decided to come back to this quadrant and pay us another visit,” Sekaya suggested.
“Who knows?” Chakotay said, grinning at her. To Ellis, he said, “Changing the subject, where is the rest of the away team?”
“I had them fan out in pattern Beta Four Three Four,” said Ellis. “They’ll be meeting us at the colony site in a few minutes.”
They cleared the hill, and Chakotay got a good look at the stone bearing the chamozi. The stone itself was roughly circular, about three meters in circumference. On its red surface could clearly be seen the spiral and two dissecting lines. Despite his determination to be calm and detached, his heart sped up.
“This is amazing,” breathed Sekaya reverently. “What a blessing, not just for the land, but for us.”
“Truer words were never spoken,” said Chakotay. “I’m glad you’re here to see this, Sekaya.”
In silence, they descended the hill and stood regarding the stone. After a