The Murdered Sun - Christie Golden [37]
Viha Nata seemed puzzled. "All are parents to the child. Every child is wanted. No child will lack for a loving family. Does it matter whose body lays the egg?"
The adrenaline that had been surging through Paris's body abated, leaving him feeling slightly weakened. He breathed deeply to steady himself, trying not to gag at the stench. Kaavi's serpentine head drooped slightly, and she looked unhappy. Duty rather than real concern prodded Paris to ask, "Is something wrong?"
The top Verunan pilot shook her head. "No. Not really. I--I have refused to take a mate, to have a child, until we have banished the Akerians from our skies, until we have somehow managed to wrest a future for ourselves on this dying planet."
She smiled, a hard smile that even Chakotay would have called a grimace. "And that day seems to be longer and longer in coming."
"That's why we're here," said Chakotay, reaching to touch Kaavi's arm.
She did not jerk away from the touch but fixed him with an appraising stare. "You are here to learn what you can about Sun-Eater, not to help us win this battle."
"Kaavi!" snapped Viha Nata, her normally pleasant voice harsh with rebuke.
The younger female raised her head, tossed her white locks defiantly.
The beads braided in them clattered at the motion.
"I have listened to everything they have told us, Viha. I have no doubt but that they mean well, but let us not fool ourselves into thinking that they are here as our saviors."
Paris kept his face neutral, but his mind went over what he had seen thus far of Verunan culture. They'd need saviors indeed to fight the Akerians on any kind of level other than verbal.
Nothing he saw indicated an advanced civilization. But there had to be something. They'd managed to communicate with the Voyager via viewscreen, and Paris himself had observed the complex satellite system in place above the planet's surface. What was going on?
"Kaavi is right. We'll do what we can, but I'm not sure how much help we'll be. But I think, Kaavi, that that is how you would wish it. For your victory to be a true one, you must be the ones to fight the battle," said Chakotay.
Kaavi's hard face softened a little. "Then... you do understand us, how we think."
Laughing, Chakotay held up a warning hand. "I have some ideas, Kaavi, but I must learn much as well before I can presume that I know how your people think."
"Then let us go and show you the implements with which we plan to win this difficult victory." Viha Nata gestured, and they followed.
Out of the corner of his eye, Paris watched Kaavi walk. Her legs were long, humanoid in shape and bone structure, but with powerfully muscled thighs and buttocks. Her stride was smooth and even, almost feline in its contained grace. The long, clawed feet--the Verunans had five toes and five fingers with opposable thumbs, Paris noted--would be formidable weapons in a one-on-one attack, as would the strong white teeth he'd glimpsed. There was no doubt in Paris's mind that if Kaavi took it into her head to attack one of the Voyager crew, she'd be able to rip out the throat and lay open the belly before the hapless crew member could even reach for a phaser.
It was not a pleasant thought, and he forced it aside. He was annoyed with himself. The Verunans had displayed nothing but benign intentions toward the Voyager crew. And if they wanted to "banish the Akerians from the skies," well, after what he'd seen of the Akerians, he couldn't blame them. This prejudice he bore them simply because of their appearances was offensive, inappropriate, and stupid, and he knew it.
He only wished he could overcome it by sheer willpower alone.
The walk was not a short one, as Viha Nata led them through the jungle of rotting foliage up and down small hills. The heat began to get to Paris, and he saw that his fellow shipmates were also reacting to the harsh environment as they followed the leader of the Verunans. The air seemed inadequate, and no matter how deeply he breathed, he couldn't