Spirit Walk_ Old Wounds (Book 1) - Christie Golden [82]
“I took some readings, Captain,” he said, “but I found nothing. Do you two want to examine the symbol while I try again?”
Ellis’s words sounded like so much prattle to Chakotay’s ears. All he wanted—all his sister wanted—was to get close to the chamozi. Both siblings were already stepping onto the stone’s surface as Ellis spoke.
“That sounds fine, Commander,” said Chakotay, hoping he didn’t sound as annoyed as he felt. He and Sekaya now stood before the symbol etched in chalk. Chakotay knelt, as did his sister.
“Oh, Chakotay. How I wish our father could see this,” said Sekaya, her hand pressed to her heart. Chakotay nodded. As one, as if they had planned it, the two children of Kolopak reached to touch the white chalk.
Light exploded around them. Chakotay cried out and arched his back in pain, then knew no more.
Chakotay awoke slowly. His head throbbed, and there was a strange dimness about his vision. His body ached and tingled. He blinked several times in an attempt to clear his gaze, slowly turning a head that felt as if it weighed a thousand kilos.
And stared at the body of Commander Andrew Ellis.
He tried to bolt upright, but slammed hard against the restraints he hadn’t even noticed were fastened securely around his body at wrists, chest, and ankles. His heart racing, he looked around wildly, trying to comprehend what he was seeing in his still fuzzy state.
The room was dark and it was difficult to see clearly, but Chakotay finally realized what he was looking at. A stasis chamber. Ellis was in a stasis chamber. Craning his neck, Chakotay looked around the small room.
He was strapped to a bed. Beside him, still unconscious and also strapped down, lay his sister. Neither of them appeared to be injured. Ellis had company; there appeared to be at least five stasis chambers that Chakotay could see. The clear material set into the almost coffinlike pods revealed the ghostly, unmoving faces of humanoid males. One was an alien; Chakotay groped for the name of the species but couldn’t come up with it. The others, including Ellis, were human Starfleet officers.
Memory floated back to him: standing on the stone, regarding the chamozi. Then the bright light, the pain, and then…nothing. He looked back over at Ellis. Clearly, whatever had stunned Chakotay and Sekaya had also stunned his first officer. He wondered fuzzily why Ellis was in the chamber and he and Sekaya were strapped down on the beds.
But this was not how the Sky Spirits operated. They were peaceful, friendly. They wouldn’t stun strangers and put them in…
Federation stasis chambers.
He was becoming more alert. Shapes he could not put names to a moment ago now had identities. The dim light glinted off glass, metal, and other materials, and Chakotay realized that they were in some sort of hospital…or laboratory. There was a great deal of equipment that glowed and hummed softly. Looking directly up, he saw the rough surface of a cave wall instead of the smooth walls of a building or a ship.
Underground, then. And probably still on Loran II. He heard a soft moan beside him.
“Sekky,” he hissed, keeping his voice quiet. “Are you all right?”
Chakotay turned to look at his sister. She appeared to be uninjured, but she was obviously as groggy as he had been when he had first awakened. She blinked and tugged dazedly against her restraints.
“What happened?” Sekaya asked in a slurred voice.
“An excellent question,” came a crisp, assured voice. “And one we’ll be happy to answer.”
Both Chakotay and Sekaya turned their heads toward the sound. Sekaya uttered a brief, strangled cry and began to struggle in earnest. Chakotay’s own eyes went wide with the shock of recognition.
Standing in the doorway, a look of superior confidence on his gray, scaly face, was the infamous Cardassian scientist Crell Moset.
But he was dead, had been killed in a prisoner transfer accident several years ago, after the battle for Betazed. How could he—
“You!” shrieked Sekaya. She struggled futilely against her