Marooned (Star Trek: Voyager Book 14) by Christie Golden

Author:Christie Golden [Golden, Christie]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Pocket Books/Star Trek
Published: 2002-07-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

THE SUN WAS HOT ON HER BODY, SOOTHING AWAY ALL worries, all cares.

The sun-stroked stone beneath her belly was warm, too, and she soaked up its heat with a quiet sense of joy.

The little lizard looked at her with its swiveling eyes. She sensed amusement.

“Dream while you may, and soak strength into your bones for the journey.”

“Janeway!”

The voice was rough, growling, almost. Janeway blinked awake, reaching for a phaser that wasn’t there. The darkness was blinding. She could see nothing, but, recalling where she was and who that rough voice belonged to, she relaxed.

“What is it, Hrrrl?” She maneuvered herself into a sitting position on the soft pelts, grimacing a little as she remembered just what kind of pelts they were.

Janeway was lying on the remains of Hrrrl’s father.

In this harsh environment, nothing was wasted. When a Sshoush-shin died, after the proper ritual of the ttk ttk had been observed, he was skinned, that his pelt might serve to keep the living warm. A great feast was prepared from the flesh, if the deceased had not been dead overlong; another way that the dead cared for the living. While ritual cannibalism still unsettled Janeway, she had to recognize the brutal necessity of it in this case.

She smelled the not unpleasant, musky odor of the Sshoush-shin leader as he approached and reached to touch her, rubbing her back in that strange circular movement.

“One of your crew is gone. I am sorry.”

“Gone? What do you mean?”

“He left. He stayed up last night talking with Grrua, asking her all kinds of questions about the meals she prepared.”

Janeway closed her eyes. Who among her crewmen would want to leave on his own, after having inquired about food preparation? “That would have to be Neelix.”

“The little one, yes. I am very sorry. We will hold a tkk ttk in his memory if you like.”

Janeway knew the suggestion was meant kindly, but she bristled nonetheless. “Thank you for your concern, Hrrrl, but I wouldn’t count Mr. Neelix dead just yet. He had many years of traveling on his own through unfriendly territory before he came to us. If anyone knows how to take care of himself, it’s he.”

“But—we treated him with all respect.” Hrrrl’s voice held hurt and puzzlement. “I do not understand why he would choose the wilds of Mishkara to our hospitality.”

“It’s not that, Hrrrl,” Janeway hastened to soothe him, putting out a groping hand and touching his furry shoulder. “I told you about our friend, Kes, the girl who was kidnapped by Aren Yashar. Kes is very special to Neelix, and when he learned that we weren’t going directly after her, I suspect he decided to do so himself.”

“That is foolish, if you will forgive my saying so.”

In the cool darkness of the cavern, Janeway smiled. “I didn’t say it wasn’t.” She got to her feet, extending a hand above her head. She was disoriented in the blinding darkness, and didn’t want to crack her skull against a forgotten overhang. “We’ll have to go after him immediately.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.