INJASUTI
CHAPTER EIGHT
Seven of Nine had given him the coordinates of the point of the force field closest to where the waterfall of Injasuti was located. From there it would be a distance of fifty five metres of uneven slopes to the river's banks. Fifty five metres but a lot more than that in actual navigating because of the rough terrain. While the force field covered the size of almost three cities, Chakotay thought it strange that the point where he was standing was closest to the actual waterfall. Already he could see people congregating wherever they could find even footholds. More were moving closer. On the far side, they looked to him like statues, living monoliths waiting for something to happen.
"Be warned that the force field generates a charge more lethal than any we have encountered before, or than we expected," Seven of Nine had informed him. "I've located the area closest to the waterfall, and from there it is a distance of fifty five metres to the ceremonial platform in front of the fall."
"Thank you, Seven. Anything else I should know?"
"No more than what Lieutenants Torres and Kiridis have already told you." There was a pause. Then,
"Commander…"
"Yes, what is it, Seven?"
"On your command, Harry Kim and I will transport those you wish to get out of harm's way."
"That will be Captain Janeway."
"I do not mean the captain, Commander."
"Understood. There will be a baby and its mother to transport. Get them away first, but only on my signal, okay? We don't know the extent of the Supreme Commander's power. He might be trying something. Torres, Kiridis and a unit of warriors with their centurion are with me and will deal with any immediate danger. Chakotay out."
If they transported the baby and her mother to safety and left Kathryn, the madman could then hold her hostage. Similarly, if they transported Kathryn first, the baby would still be in grave danger. He'd have to cut it very fine, risk it to the very edge. With his cohorts in close pursuit, the baby's safety was paramount. He had no idea what state he'd find Kathryn in. Knowing instinctively that she'd try to fight the sacrifice every inch of the way, there'd be no knowing what the Supreme Commander would do to her, or had done already to get her to comply.
Kathryn remained his responsibility. Seven and Tuvok had been unable to hail Kathryn or to lock on to her commbadge. Not only did the force field scramble the frequency, it was quite possible that Kathryn's commbadge had either been destroyed or recalibrated to frequencies of the Almazin system. Seven had confirmed that disabling the force field from Voyager's computers would take more than the five hours to accomplish successfully.
For now his way was going to be the only way.
Torres, Kiridis and the warriors of the Injasuti High Command stood about five metres away from him, ready to infiltrate once he had succeeded in performing a miracle. It was going to be a miracle, he thought sombrely. He had been primed by B'Elanna and Marcus as to exactly what the nature of his role was to be.
"Faith and fealty, Chakotay. It's that or we lose the captain…"
Kathryn was in danger, not of her life right at the moment but of being swept into the ways of the Injasuti forever. One wrong move from him or his away team could endanger her life. She might never return to them, but could be lost to them forever.
He knew the hazards of the force field. A stick thrown against it had created several sparks after which the stick burst into flames. On the ground were signs that there had been attempts made to either get in or out. A faint layer of ash seeped into the soil just in front of him. He dared not touch it with his bare hands, yet, according to the ancient writings, it was what he had to do.
Chakotay glanced back to see the contingent of Voyager officers and Injasuti soldiers. Kiridis raised a hand; Torres followed his example. Chakotay nodded, then turned to face the unseen wall. He had not been given much time to mull over how to start breaching the wall. He took a deep breath, then closed his eyes and stretched out his hands, palms up.
O Spirit of my People, guide me now…
Thoughts of Kathryn assailed him, of a baby who was facing death, of a young mother who would mourn the passing of a child, thoughts of his life aboard Voyager, a life in which he saw himself as the other half of Kathryn. He saw Kathryn holding a child with eyes like his own. Kathryn sitting close to him on his couch, her head resting against his shoulder. Kathryn busy with a PADD, then smiling as she glanced up to see him looking at her. Kathryn who once said she'd like to visit Dorvan…
He thought of his own people on Dorvan. He thought of the destruction of his homeworld and of all who died there in the name of freedom. He thought how he had never wanted to walk the ways of his father, of being a contrary, of the regret that ate constantly at him that he had never been able to say goodbye to them all, especially his mother.
He remembered the last time he had seen his mother. Once again he had refused to see or speak with his father and she had mediated between them. The old sting of tears as he recalled her words to him that day when she had traveled with his sister all the way to the Andracin System where his ship had rendezvoused for three weeks, exhausted her. She had looked suddenly much older than he had remembered her. She was so small that he could pass his arm comfortably over her head without touching her. His mother, who had been so strong, so incredibly strong.
Chakotay remembered her tears. He could even feel the strangely soft coarseness of her sun dried cheeks, see the trembling hands that trembled not because of her age but, he knew, anxiety that he not be angry at her for traveling from Dorvan to speak with him.
"You are like him, my son. So much like him that my heart aches because you do not acknowledge your ties."
"I left those ways, Mama. A long time ago."
"Those ways have not left you, my son. They have never left you. They will be a part of you wherever you lie down to rest your weary head."
He had relented a little.
"What does he want?"
"That you love him, Chakotay. He believes that he has transgressed, that the spirits punish him, that you do not love him enough to forgive him for forcing his ways on you..."
He had closed his eyes then and pulled his mother into his embrace. Later his sister had joined in hugging him. When he held them away from him, the sting in his eyes had sharpened, his resolve suddenly strong. He realised in those moments how he had missed Kolopak.
"I will have leave in six months' time, Mama. Tell Father that I shall come to Dorvan and we can worship in the Habak together…"
Chakotay could see the delight that transformed his mother's face, the tears in his sister's eyes. His heart had been hard, as hard as a rock, but that day the blood seeped from that rock and turned into tears of joy. His mother and sister had left in great spirits, happy that he was to return home and reclaim his place as a son of Dorvan. He had been relieved beyond measure that the anger he once held against his father was gone.
He never saw his mother and his sister again, nor his father. He never saw any of his family or those people whom he once knew. He never had the opportunity to beg his father's forgiveness, to come home to Dorvan as a prodigal son and prostrate himself before Kolopak. He never said hello and he never said goodbye.
Dorvan died two months later, and with her, everything he had ever held dear.
Un'aura amorosa
A loving breath…A loving breath…
Chakotay raised his face to the heavens and cried out.
That was when the words came to him, words that wrung old and new melodies, painful chords and joyous celebration from him. A deep, aching sadness of things past, and the present which contained Kathryn, Kathryn who carried the burden of guilt and regret, Kathryn who turned to him for comfort in the deep of night. The old song came to him again, as old as the ages and as new, as thrilling as the realisation that Kathryn resided in every breath he took.
It had been after the first time he met his spirit guide when he poured out his heart in a stirring ode… Now he murmured the ode, woven into it his present urgency to save Kathryn, the feelings that suddenly, remarkably, exploded into the open.
O living spirit, I call upon you now in my hour of need
Fleet of foot across the icy plains I see you pause and turn
Your eyes are glowing coals that blaze and breathe like embers and light the dark
They give me hope; they lead me on righteous paths and caution me not to stray
My ways were wicked once
Did I not once hate him who gave me life and name?
Did I not hate all who destroyed my kin?
Did I not seek to avenge those who killed without mercy?
All I have lost, is lost forever,
that which I have lost has left my heart in darkness
Left a restless, angry warrior in its wake that none could ever tame
Until one of purest heart touched my own
She is my living breath
that fills my waking and my sleeping moments for all time.
My angry warrior's heart overflows with joy
it pleases me that I can see her, touch her cheek, feel her always near me
O living spirit! Soft your coat that conceals your quivering power
yet as you stand, poised to spring forward across the plains
and sometimes turn to look at me
Spirit! See me now, conceal not yourself from me!
My love, my all is caught within these walls where none shall touch
Show me the way and let me show my everlasting fealty
for love…love…love…transcends the impossible,
moves mountains as if they never existed,
breaks down walls, eradicates barriers
Let not this barrier annihilate me!
For my love is pure and my heart made whole by her
See my hands as they move to touch the untouchable…
They stood watching Chakotay - Torres, Kiridis, the warriors and their centurion. The Injasuti centurion gazed in awe at the red-uniformed star traveler who was going to breach the wall of Injasuti. Throughout the ages, not a single man or woman or visitor from other worlds had succeeded in breaking through for always, those inside were under the protection of the Procurator. Where was that being now? Would he counter what the warrior was going to attempt? Gaius Aurelius Scaevola prayed to Diana and Jupiter that Commander Chakotay would succeed where thousands of others before him had failed.
Chakotay's face was raised to the sky. B'Elanna thought he was communicating with the sky spirits he’d once told her about. He stood perfectly still, although for one moment his upper body swayed. His hands were raised above his head as if he beseeched the very spirits to descend and touch him. She could sense from those standing next to her that they were holding their breaths. Someone gasped. A glance sideways revealed it was Marcus Kiridis. He looked pinched, nervous. It was on the tip of her tongue to say something snide such as, was his faith deserting him if he was doubtful of Chakotay succeeding. Then she saw the beads of perspiration on his brow and realised that he too, seemed to be silently praying. B'Elanna jabbed him gently in the ribs and gave him a reassuring nod. His relief as he acknowledged her comfort was short-lived, however, when Chakotay emitted an anguished cry.
'He's going to touch it," Marcus whispered. "God, I can't bear to watch…"
"You're Starfleet, Kiridis. Dig deep into yourself for discipline."
"Trying."
She realised that he was not used to away missions to strange planets and even stranger events. She had to admit that her heart was thumping like mad. They had no idea what Chakotay was murmuring, but his lips were moving as if in deep meditation.
Now his arms, at first raised heavenwards, lowered in front of him, reaching towards the unseen wall, his palms up.
Chakotay took one step forward to touch the force field.
"Now we shall know," whispered Senator Mendakhan.
"My life, my all…for her," cried Chakotay as he saw in his mind's eye the fleet-of-foot she-wolf pause and spear him with her blazing eyes.
There was a message in those blazing embers that seemed to resonate from deep inside her, that told him it was time to pass through the fire, that urged him to press on. Those eyes told him that the greatest test of his life was at hand. Those eyes spoke to him:
"Fear not, Great Warrior, of mighty heart and fealty. Cast out all dread when your blood-soaked hands shall pass through the unseen wall. For that which cannot be seen will sure destroy that which cannot be touched…"
A sharp, sharp pain lanced Chakotay as his heart swelled and hammered against his ribcage.
Now…
White as lightning came the explosion inside his head, Kathryn's laughing image left in the wake of the brightness. He couldn't breathe.
She waited on the other side.
O living spirit! Kathryn…!"
A slight tingle against his palms told him he was millimetres away. The tingling turned to a sting, painful, yet bearable.
Only then did Chakotay finally open his eyes, the sunlight almost intrusive.
He murmured one word: "Kathryn."
Just a slight tingling in his body as he walked through. Like an animal dying, the force field lost all life.
There was no wall.
There was no force field.
Yet Chakotay's palms bled as if they had been pricked by slivers of electrical energy. Now there was no time to think, no time to reflect. He had to get to Kathryn fast. Already the humming chorus had started. His heart was racing, the bleeding palms pushed to the back of his mind.
Chakotay turned to look at the others. He nodded. Only then did they follow as he moved swiftly through the verdant forest, sliding down the embankment. He hit his commbadge.
"Chakotay to Janeway. Chakotay to Janeway."
There was no response, only static. He scurried over rocks, mossy underfoot surfaces, slid down a sharp incline, past people who stood still, unmoving. He could hear the river, had heard it as a distant echo earlier, the sound merging with the humming of the people.
Now all he wanted to do was reach Kathryn.
"Kathryn!" he shouted as he saw the water for the first time. A strong stream, he realised as he dashed along the bank upstream to the source of the waterfall. The rushing was thunderous, deafening.
"Kathryn!" he shouted again. "Kathryn!!"
Even above the din of the plunging water, Chakotay could hear the others behind him. His heart was pounding, his chest tight and wheezing from the exertion of scrambling downwards. He hardly noticed the blood on his hands, had forgotten the stinging impact of touching the force field. An overhanging branch whipped him across the face. He cried out, more from impatience than any pain. Another whipping across the face as he kept forgetting to use his hands to move branches out of the way. Once he slid down into a shallow gully. He swore under his breath as he twisted his ankle.
Then Chakotay heard a man's voice, loud and strident as it echoed in the valley, above the sound of the water.
"It has been so decreed by our Venerable Goddess Tanith, the mirror of Etbaal and Eshmoun. Therefore, people of Injasuti, we praise them by honouring them with a girl child, our generous gift of worship."
"O spirits!" Chakotay cried out as he suddenly, quite unexpectedly stumbled into a very large clearing. Blinking, he saw a small lake formed by the waterfall, and in the centre, in front of the magnificent long drop of pure foaming force was a large square platform. A statue in the foreground with arms supporting a bowl with fire in it was that of the Goddess Tanith. Behind it was a small platform with the baby. Then his heart stopped, squeezed painfully as he recognised Kathryn standing behind this small stand, about to reach for something.
He felt someone bump into him from behind.
"I can order a transport, Commander," he heard Torres's voice.
"Too late, Torres."
He wasted no time as he plunged into the cold water. He was only about ten metres away as he started swimming in long, strong strokes until he reached the edge of the platform.
Then he heard again the man's voice.
"Now, Queen Khaira!"
"No! Kathryn!" Chakotay shouted as he hoisted himself up and onto the platform.
He noted absently that his palms were bleeding again as he took two giant strides in Kathryn's direction stopping in front of her.
"Kathryn! Kathryn! Kathryn!"
Time and space merged as Chakotay cried out Kathryn's name.
One moment in time that stretched and expanded, in which the drapes of a curtain were drawn slowly, all else fading into the background. He had time to see Kathryn standing with a ceremonial dagger clasped with both hands above her head. He could see how the dagger was lowering very slowly. He knew other actions occurring at exactly the same instant he stood before Kathryn, reaching to clasp her shoulders. Actions like the mother reaching for her baby. He saw the demon Supreme Commander going down, the snarling dogs running he knew not where. All in the same few terrifying seconds his eyes were on Kathryn.
Forever afterwards, Chakotay would wonder how he could stand there facing the terrifying killing of a baby, of seeing the dagger slowly lowering and still notice Kathryn Janeway's beauty. Her bejewelled head dress was so intricately balanced on her head, yet it seemed to blend as an inseparable part of her face. Down the edge of the band streamed strings of beads of almost white gold. Her dress was gold and long, caught at the waist, the neckline a royal blue pattern that reminded him of the dress of Ancient Greece. Her hands were painted with intricate designs from ages past, further adorned by jewel encrusted bangles.
But it was Kathryn's face.
Unutterably beautiful, her own natural beauty enhanced a thousand times by the facial paints. Around him other things were happening and when the sound of it finally penetrated his consciousness, it brought him back with great force to the present. The expanded moment returned to real time.
Kathryn he could see, was in a trance.
"Kathryn! Kathryn!"
Did she hear his voice? he wondered in agonizing terror, for the point of the dagger stopped just above the baby's chest. He gave a huge sigh of relief as he released the dagger from her and flung it down. Whoever picked it up hurled it away immediately. Whoever took the baby was probably its mother. He had no recollection of hitting his commbadge and ordering Seven of Nine to transport mother and child off the platform. The next moment the baby and mother disappeared. He heard dogs barking fiercely, but not at him.
Chakotay grabbed Kathryn's arms and pulled her closer. He suppressed his shock at the glazed look in her eyes. She remained unfocused. His hands left her arms and cupped her cheeks. His palms were wet and he realised dazedly that blood had begun to seep from them again. He ignored it because there was no pain.
"Kathryn," he cried out desperately, "listen to me, please. Hear my voice as I call your name. Listen to my voice."
Her gaze on him remained unfocused. He wanted to die because she couldn't recognise him.
He shook her hard. "Look at me! Look at me!" There was still no recognition. "Kathryn, listen to me, please! I cannot breathe without you, you understand that? I'm here with you. You’re my queen. Your name is Kathryn…Kathryn…Kathryn…"
Chakotay stilled, praying that his voice punctured her trance. Slowly her eyes began to focus. As she looked at him, recognition began to dawn. He waited.
"O spirits, Kathryn…"
"Chakotay…?"
"Yes, it's me…" he replied, almost sobbing with relief.
Tears pooled in her eyes. Kathryn turned to look at the stand where the child had been lying. There was no baby. Then she saw Chakotay's hands, the blood on them. She turned up her own palms and saw blood on her hands.
Her eyes widened alarmingly.
"Chakotay…? O my God, Chakotay! What have I done!?"
"Kathryn, no, it's…"
But Kathryn's eyes rolled in their sockets. When she collapsed, he caught her up in his arms, the head dress falling to the ground. She felt feverish, but his heart sang, for she was safe.
He looked around him.
He could make out the rest of the events that were playing out on the platform. Someone, a young man with polished upper torso had picked up the dagger and hurled it, its flight creating a whistling sound as it traveled through the air and hit the man standing at the edge of the platform - the owner of the voice that urged Kathryn to stab the child. It hit the Supreme Commander in the chest, the force of it causing him to sag to his knees and topple over.
The dogs went for the fallen man. The crowds Chakotay had seen only as blurry figures in passing, began their chanting again as the dogs tore the man apart. Centurion Gaius Aurelius Scaevola and his unit were busy creating order among the crowds. Only when the young Injasuti guard whistled did the dogs rear up and back away reluctantly, until they stood again behind Chakotay who held the unconscious Kathryn in his arms.
"Commander, everything okay?" asked Torres who hit her commbadge at the same time. She was also dripping wet.
"Yes. Prepare to have us transported to sickbay. Can't reach for my commbadge. You and Kiridis stay here and find out what you can.."
"Acknowledged."
Seconds later, Kathryn was lying on the biobed in sickbay, the mother and her baby on the adjacent bed. The EMH's cortical scanner was whirring as he examined Kathryn. Her eyelashes appeared extra long, creating shadowy verandas on her upper cheeks. Even asleep, he was awed at her beauty.
"Her trance was painful," declared the doctor. "The captain sustained several intensive electrical charges. She must have fought it very hard, Commander."
"I know, Doctor. Kathryn would never agree to killing anyone, let alone an innocent baby. She believes she has killed the child…"
The EMH paused. "Commander, you require treatment."
"I'm the least of your concerns right now, Doctor. See to them," he hissed as pain began to settle in his twisted ankle.
Chakotay ambled slowly to the other bed. He tried to smile but his face felt stiff. The baby, he realised, must have been sedated too. The young woman nodded, her eyes warm with gratitude as she hugged her sleeping baby closer to her. He tried to touch the child's hair but his arms felt stiff. His chest was tight and he was having trouble breathing.
"Our doctor here will get your little one better."
"Thank you…thank you…" She paused, then spoke again. "Your…queen…she is innocent…"
"I know," he replied slowly, for his tongue felt thick. He was slurring his words. With a nod, Chakotay returned to the biobed where Kathryn lay.
She looked exhausted, he thought.
The EMH was quick with his examination.
"Total exhaustion from the pain-induced trance, Commander. I've sedated her so she will sleep until she wakes up naturally. Commander, I must commend what you've done for the Captain, for Injasuti. I - "
Chakotay stared at the doctor and wondered if they would ever know how much it cost him to walk through the force field. Reaction was setting in; he was still wet from the swim through the river.
"Well, I believe she would have done the same for me, Doctor. Right now, I have to get into dry clothes."
Chakotay knew his answer sounded boorish, impatient, but he had to get away. A shivering which he couldn't shake off had begun to take hold of him. He had to get out of sickbay before the doctor noticed his gait, the slurring, his breathlessness. As long as the EMH focused all his attention on Kathryn, he wouldn't notice anyway.
Heading for his quarters, at length he found himself in front of his cabin. Reaction was setting in as his trembling fingers keyed in his codes.
When Chakotay stepped inside, he gave a single cry, then clutched at his chest before he sank to the floor.
******
END CHAPTER EIGHT