DISCLAIMER:
The Star Trek characters are the property of Paramount Studios, Inc and
Viacom. The story contents are the creation and property of Djinn and are
copyright (c) 2002 by Djinn. This story is Rated PG.
Day of the
Dead
by Djinn
Kathryn Janeway roamed the
tree-lined main streets of
She needed this
vacation. Needed it badly. But she was finding it difficult to relax,
much less enjoy herself.
When had she become so
tired? When had she lost interest in
life? Janeway passed an ornately
decorated door and barely glanced at it.
The muted colors of the building and the lively sounds of the people
filling the area were lost on her.
When had she gotten
lost? She took a deep breath, found the
heavy air oppressive. The back of her
shirt stuck to her skin and she pushed her wilting hair out of her eyes, forcing
herself to keep walking.
"It is hot,
no?" A young woman sitting on one
of the two-person benches that filled the city was studying her curiously. Her clothing was modern, but her long
straight hair, high cheekbones, and the intricate gold jewelry she wore made
her look more Mayan than anything else.
Janeway nodded as she wiped
her forehead.
"You get used to it if
you live here long enough. I certainly
have by now. But I think that you are
far from home."
"I don't have a
home." The words were out before
Janeway could call them back.
"That must be
strange." The woman stretched lithe
tan legs out in front of her and leaned back.
"This is my home. It feels
like I've lived in Ichcaanziho forever."
Janeway's translator struggled with the Mayan name for the town.
"You could always leave,
see the world, see other worlds."
"Oh, I travel to other
towns. Xaman-Ha, Cuzaluumil," again
she used the Mayan names, the words rolling effortlessly off her tongue. "But leave this area? Go offworld?
I could never leave my jungles and my sea. This is where I belong." The woman smiled strangely, as if privy to a
secret known only to her. She stared at
Janeway again.
Janeway was uncomfortable
under the odd scrutiny. She felt as if
the young woman was taking her measure in some way. A fanciful notion. She was probably just trying to determine the
best way to fleece the silly tourist.
"It was nice talking to you," she said, as she moved on.
"My name is
Ixchel." The woman stood. "I will walk with you."
Janeway wasn't sure what to
say.
"You need a guide,"
Ixchel said. "Have you been to the
ruins?"
Janeway shook her head.
"They are studying them
even now. I find that amazing. That after so many centuries, people still
wonder about the culture that made the pyramids."
"Your culture, if I'm
not mistaken?"
Ixchel nodded. "It is important to remember the old
ways," she said with a smile, as she pointed at the lavish decorations on
the altars that ringed the central plaza.
"It is the Day of the Dead.
One of our oldest ceremonies."
"It's not Mayan, is
it?" Janeway said, as she stared at the garish skeletons that seemed to be
everywhere.
"Parts of it date back
that far. But all cultures seem to recognize the need to remember
those that have gone before. And
this is the time of year when the barriers drop. When the dead can walk among us."
"Do you really believe
that?"
Ixchel shrugged. "It's what Halloween is about too, if
you bother to read the history of the holiday.
Halloween opens the door to All Souls."
Janeway smiled. "I had a first officer that would have
loved this discussion. Ancient
religions, sacred observances...they were one of his passions."
"Did he have other
passions?"
Janeway looked away. "He enjoyed many things. He had an open and questing nature."
"Unlike you." At Janeway's glare, Ixchel laughed loudly,
startling an old woman who was carefully setting up fruit and other offerings
on her altar. "Oh, come now, you
would much rather that I go away, wouldn't you?
Leave you to suffer the heat in peace than continue to go on about the
old ways."
"I didn't say
that."
"You also didn't tell me
your name." Ixchel walked over to
the old woman's altar and helped her place a photograph on the highest level of
the intricate structure. "Your
husband?" she asked gently.
The old woman nodded, as she
placed a portrait of the Virgin right next to an intricately carved
jaguar. Ixchel smiled, stroking the
carving gently. She turned to Janeway. "All through this region, the faiths
coexist peacefully. The Maya take what
they can use from the new ways and integrate it into their rituals, their
lives. Some people think that makes us
weak, but I think it gives us immeasurable resilience."
As Janeway stepped closer to
the altar, the old woman studied her, then smiled and patted her hand. "They come back," she said to
Janeway, obviously trying to offer comfort.
Janeway considered her
dead. Her father. And Justin.
Those friends she'd left behind in the Delta Quadrant. Another version of herself she'd left in that
Borg cube. She shuddered.
Ixchel touched her arm. "Would you like to see how it was for
the Maya? Uxmal is not far from
here."
Janeway shook her head. Venture into the jungle? Into more of this sticky heat when the beach
beckoned? Not on her life. Besides, what did she know of Ixchel? This could be a very lucrative scam the young
woman was running, gaining the confidence of unsuspecting tourists and then
taking advantage of them once they were at her mercy in the jungle. Janeway hadn't gotten her crew home from the
Delta Quadrant by being that stupid.
"No, thanks."
"They believe that they
have found a cave that the Maya thought guarded the entrance to Xibalba, the
realm of the ghosts."
Janeway started to walk
away. "That's nice."
"The discovery will make
Chakotay famous."
The name stopped Janeway dead
in her tracks. She turned around
slowly. "What did you say?"
"The man who found
it. He will be famous."
"His name, what did you
call him?"
Ixcchel frowned. "Chakotay. Why?"
Janeway tried to ignore the
way her heart had started to beat too fast.
There must be more than one man with that name. "This Chakotay doesn't happen to have a
tattoo, does he? Here." She outlined the design on her own forehead.
"Yes. Do you know him? But that is amazing. Then you have to come. To say hello and help celebrate his good
fortune."
Janeway turned away. "I'm sure he's doing fine without
me. Doesn't he have a woman with
him?"
"A woman? Well, he might someday, if a crew becomes
necessary."
"No, I mean a..."
Janeway couldn't think of how to refer to Seven.
"Oh, you mean a
lover?" Ixchel's laughter rang
out. "No. He is alone.
Although I like to talk to him sometimes." She shot Janeway a coy look. "He is appealing."
Janeway caught herself before
she rolled her eyes. "It sounds
like he's doing fine without me."
"But--"
"--No. I'm going to the beach." Janeway turned resolutely away.
"If you change your
mind--"
Janeway cut her off with a
wave of her hand. She was not going to
change her mind. Chakotay was in her
past. The surf and the sand was all that
she wanted to contemplate of her future.
-----------------------
The water was refreshing, the
sun caressing her as the breeze brought both coolness from the sea and the
scent of the flowers that bloomed along the walkway to the beach. The moment could not be more perfect. So why, Janeway asked herself as she stepped
out of the surf and threw herself onto her towel, couldn't she relax?
Why wasn't she happy?
She would not think about
Chakotay.
She would not think about how
he was less than an hour away by land transport.
She would not think about how
he was here alone.
Alone. She wondered what had happened to finally
cause a breakup between Seven and him. They
had lasted much longer than she would have thought. She'd have bet that the relationship would be
short-lived once they arrived back in the Alpha Quadrant. But they had stayed together, he and
Seven--Annika, Janeway corrected herself, even though she knew that the name
would never be how she thought of Seven-of-Nine. Through the years, since they'd arrived back
in the Alpha Quadrant, Janeway had expected to hear that Chakotay and the
former Borg had broken up. But they had
not.
Janeway had seen them
occasionally during her first tour at Starfleet Command, when they were all
first back and Command had made her an Admiral and stuck her safely behind a
desk. She had run into Seven once on
Deep Space Nine during a temporary posting there while they waited for the new
commander to report from another assignment.
Seven had seemed subdued, even pensive, as she talked to Janeway. Things had not been going well for her at the
time, problems adjusting to life off the ship, Janeway assumed. But what if there had been problems starting
for her and Chakotay?
But how could that be? Years later, when she had first cajoled the
command of the Zoroaster out of Starfleet, Chakotay and Seven had moved
together to San Francisco--he to teach at the Academy, she to work at a physics
laboratory near the city. Janeway didn't
want to admit how much their coming back to the area had influenced her desire
to go back to space, to get her command back.
Once they were in the same city, she had run into them too many times
for comfort. For her comfort. They didn't seem to be the least affected by
seeing her.
So she had run. Run to the Zoroaster. A new ship, pretty and fast and on a mission
that had begun to bore her beyond words.
A survey ship in the Alpha Quadrant had nothing to do, at least not when
compared to what Janeway had seen in the Delta Quadrant.
What they had seen. She and the crew. She and Chakotay.
She turned over and closed
her eyes, trying to force herself to settle, to relax. To stop thinking about him.
He had moved on. So had she.
End of story.
He's just down the road, a
traitorous voice whispered.
Suddenly the sun felt too
hot, and the scent of tropical flowers was overpowering. Janeway pushed herself off the towel and
packed her things hurriedly into the small tote she had bought in the market
after leaving Ixchel. She grabbed the
towel, and walked back to the hotel. As
she neared the entrance, she saw Ixchel sitting in the driver's seat of a jeep
bearing the logo of the tour company that operated from the lobby. Her long legs were up on the dashboard and
she had her hat pushed over her face.
She sat up, pushing her hat
back, as Janeway approached. They stared
at each other.
"It's about a fifty
minute trip." Ixchel said, her voice carrying easily across the parking
terrace. "If we leave now, we could
be there before he breaks for dinner.
You could see him at work."
"I said no." Janeway started to turn away and as she did
she thought she heard the cry of a jaguar.
She looked slowly back at
Ixchel. The woman tossed her a
pendant. Janeway held it up, letting it
dangle as she studied it. A golden
snake, intricately carved, dangled from a black cord of smoothed and dyed
sisal. The eyes, two small dots of onxy,
seemed to gleam at her.
"What am I supposed to
do with this?"
Ixchel smiled. "Wear it. For protection."
Janeway walked over to the
jeep. "I can't take
this." She set it down on the seat.
"You are very
stubborn." Ixchel sighed, turning a
look of exquisite patience on her.
"He won't be here forever, you know. Will you spend the rest of your life
wondering what might have happened if only you had followed your heart? If only you hadn't been so afraid to reach
out to him?" She picked up the
pendant, handed it back to Janeway.
"Go pack some things and get changed, Kathryn. Chakotay is waiting."
"I never told you my
name." Janeway fingered the snake,
finally slipping it over her head.
"I already knew
it." Ixchel gestured to the
hotel. "Now, go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll be
there."
Janeway sighed. "I don't trust you," she said,
unsure why she was being so honest.
"I know that. And it is immaterial. I am your way to him. Now hurry."
Janeway touched the
pendant. It was warm in her grasp. In her memory, she was suddenly transported
back to New Earth, to the feel of Chakotay's hands on her neck. His hands had been so warm. She wondered if they still were.
Mind made up, she turned on
her heel and hurried into the hotel to change.
--------------------------
The ride seemed to take
forever. Janeway barely took in the
gorgeous scenery all around her, as Ixchel expertly drove the jeep along what
passed for a road in the Yucatan jungle.
Then suddenly, Janeway saw the ruins rising above the trees. "Is that it?"
Ixchel nodded. "Welcome to Uxmal. This site has the least Toltec influence of
any of the ruins, probably a reason that so many come here to dig. It is the closest thing to pure Maya that is
left."
Janeway sighed in
appreciation. "It's so
beautiful."
"Yes, it is. The largest structure is the Pyramid of the
Magician. Chakotay is exploring a cave
just beyond that."
"You said it was the
entrance to the Mayan underworld?"
Ixchel nodded again. "Xibalba. The realm of shadows...of ghosts." She pulled the jeep up behind another one and
turned off the vehicle. "This is as
far as we go in this. The rest of the way is by foot. Bring your gear."
Janeway was glad she had
packed light as she followed Ixchel through the jungle. Her breath caught as she saw a familiar
figure sitting on the steps of a large structure. He stood up slowly, a huge grin covering his
face.
"I've brought you
something, Chakotay," Ixchel said with a laugh.
"So I see." He walked over to them. "Kathryn Janeway, you're the last person
I expected to see here."
"I think she can say the
same of you," Ixchel said, as she turned and headed back to the jeep.
"Wait," Janeway
said with a sense of panic.
"You've got a lot of
catching up to do. You don't need me
around for that." Ixchel shot
Chakotay an odd look. "I've done
all that I can."
He nodded. "And I appreciate that." He gave her a strange little bow.
She turned and disappeared
into the trees, leaving Janeway standing awkwardly holding her bag. "She told me to pack, but she didn't say
for what."
He nodded and took her
carryall. "Doesn't feel like you
put much in here."
She shrugged, as she followed
him past the structure and into the cave.
"Wasn't sure what I needed."
"Hope you don't mind
sharing?" he asked, as he set her bag next to some blankets at the side of
the cave. "There's plenty of
room. You won't even know I'm there."
She seriously doubted
that. But she didn't say anything, was too
busy marveling at how good it felt to be near him again after all these
years. He had changed little during
their time apart. He looked so young, so
much like the Chakotay she had known in the Delta Quadrant, that it made her
heart skip.
She realized she was staring
at him when he grinned. "It's good
to see you too, Kathryn."
For a moment, they just stood
there smiling at each other like fools.
Then he held out his hand.
"Come on. I'll show you my
great discovery."
She took his hand, relishing
the warmth that filled her as their hands touched, their fingers entwined.
He led her deeper into the
cave. Flickering torches lit the way to
the spot where he was working. He
pointed to the piece of an intricate drawing that he had uncovered on the cave
floor. Whatever ink the ancients had
used resembled the tattoo on his face.
"These would be carvings
if they were on the outside. But here
they chose to draw their pictographs.
I'm trying to find the reason why.
But I think it has to do with this being the gateway to Xibalba. They didn't want to irritate the dead by
being too noisy with hammer and chisel.
The rulers of the realm are easily annoyed by too much noise. There are several myths that detail what
happened to those who got a little too boisterous."
She looked around. "Why did they put them on the
floor?"
He showed her another piece
of design, a bit farther off than the first.
"I think it lays out a ritual.
Something you are supposed to do before you rest."
"You're doing all this
yourself?"
He nodded.
"So we're alone
here."
He shot her a teasing
look. "Surely you're not
nervous? Not after having spent all that
time alone with me on New Earth?"
She smiled, unable to resist
his good spirits. Already she felt better,
more alive, than she had in a long time.
"I guess if we made it through that, we can get through
anything."
"Other than the
unpredictable weather on New Earth, I can't really count anything that happened
there as a hardship." He sat down
on the cave floor, began to brush off a small part of the second design. "I enjoyed our time there. Although you probably would rather I didn't
say that."
"You can say whatever
you like, Chakotay." She walked
around the cave, careful not to disturb his work.
"Good to
know." He fell silent as he watched
her.
"You're here
alone?" She wanted to kick herself
as soon as the words were out of her mouth.
"I mean no Seven."
"Annika is still in San
Francisco. She is living her life
without me."
"I'm sorry."
He nodded. "It was abrupt. But sometimes you have no choice. You just have to leave."
She nodded. "I guess so." Then she looked over at him. "I wondered. When Ixchel said you were here alone."
He nodded. "You are alone too, I think." He studied her. "But not just alone. Isolated.
Kathryn, when did you stop living your life?"
"I live my life,"
she protested.
He held out his hand. "Come, sit."
She walked over to him and
sat down across from him on the stone floor. "I do. I live my life. The Zoroaster is a fine ship."
"We weren't talking
about your ship." He gave her the
gentle smile that had always calmed her, made her feel safe, comforted. "Do you remember what I told you on New
Earth?"
She smiled. "You told me a lot of things on New
Earth. Including how to grow tomatoes,
catch bugs, tame monkeys--"
"--About the angry
warrior," he clarified.
"I vaguely remember
that."
"Just
vaguely?" He held up his hand.
She brought her own up to
meet it. "Why don't you refresh my
memory?"
"It was a story? About an angry warrior and the woman
warrior."
"Oh, that angry
warrior." She smiled, felt his
fingers tighten on hers. "As I
remember, he was going to stay by her side?"
He nodded. "That was the plan. He would make her burden lighter. Her needs would come first." He looked down. "But she didn't want him there by her
side."
"How did he know?"
He smiled sadly. "He just did."
She pulled her hand
away. "Maybe he gave up too
easily?"
"Maybe." Chakotay rose, moved around to the back of
her. "Maybe instead of that stupid
story, he should never have stopped doing this?" He began to rub her neck.
She tried to pull away but he
held her firmly against him. "Maybe
he should have said, 'To hell, with your parameters'?"
She felt a moment's panic,
and, as if sensing it, he let her go. He
got up quickly and looked down at her.
"Well, now you've seen the cave." He turned and walked back down the
passageway.
She followed him. As he headed for the entrance, she
asked, "What do you think would
have happened? If you had said
that? Would we have made it?"
"I think we would
have." He turned to look at
her. "I think we would have been
very happy. If you'd allowed us to be. If you'd quit shutting me out."
"I shut you out? What about you?"
"What about me,
Kathryn? I waited for you. At the beginning. I did wait.
And I kept hoping that you'd let me in." He smiled sadly. "Later?
I was lonely. So sue me."
"Lonely? Is that what you call it?" Janeway started to pace. "You never seemed to lack female
companionship."
"Never? There were a handful of women in seven
years. That's hardly never."
"Seven..."
"Seven was
different. She meant something else to
me."
"True love?" Janeway hated the mocking tone in her voice.
"Capitulation. To the inevitable. That I was never going to have you. I think maybe she was doing the same thing. We both gave up on you." He shook his head. "And now, I feel as though I've let you
down. When I told you that story on New
Earth, I was making a promise that I would make your burden lighter. But I haven't. I gave up and let you go on alone. And now look at you. You aren't happy. You're alone and you're lonely."
She looked away.
"I should never have let
you push me away. Because you need me,
Kathryn."
She shook her head.
"Yes, you do." He moved to her, stepped behind her and began
to rub her neck again. "You need
this. Maybe we both do."
She felt his lips on her
neck, then his hands running down her arms.
She groaned.
"Come back to life,
Kathryn. Let me love you. It's been so long. Love me before we're out of time. Before we've lost the chance."
She turned, saw his gentle
smile as she looked at him. Reaching up,
she traced the outline of his tattoo.
Then she kissed him, felt him respond eagerly, pulling her closer, his
hands running up and down her body with more vigor.
"I've missed you so
much," she said as they separated.
"I've thought about you
every day since we parted all those years ago.
I've never stopped loving you, Kathryn."
Before she could answer back,
he pulled her toward the blankets.
She resisted slightly, still
not sure if this was the right thing to do.
He kissed her again. Pulled away and said, "We've wasted so
much time already, Kathryn. Do we waste
this too?"
She shook her head.
Lying down on the blankets, she reached up to pull him down to join
her. They spent the rest of the day
demonstrating just how much they had missed each other.
It was better than she had
imagined. And she had a very vivid
imagination.
As they were just falling
asleep, she whispered to him, "I love you too, Chakotay."
------------------------
"Stay," Chakotay
said, refusing to let her leave his arms.
Outside the cave, in the jungle, a jaguar cried. "You said it yourself, you don't have to
report for duty until tomorrow morning.
It's still just afternoon."
Janeway stretched
luxuriously. She watched a pair of
dragonflies flit around the cave for a moment before flying back out the way
they had come. "But you know I like
to be on the ship the night before."
"Why? You don't sleep when you're there, do
you?"
She looked away.
"Nothing's
changed." He nuzzled her neck. "You realize that you sleep better on
this hard stone floor with me than you do in your nice soft Starfleet-issue
mattress."
She couldn't argue with him
there. She'd been so exhausted the last
three nights from exploring the ruins with him, helping him clear the cave
drawings, and from their frequent breaks to make love, that she had slept
better than she could remember. For the
first time in a long time, she felt human again. Felt hopeful.
And it wasn't just because of
the sleep. She looked up at him. "You do ease my burdens, you know."
He kissed her gently. "I would never leave your side, if I had
my way."
She smiled in
understanding. "But I have my ship,
and I have to go back."
He nodded. "I know.
At least you will go back energized.
Happy to be there again?"
She nodded. "And I owe that to you." She leaned
back in his arms. "I wish I could
stay here forever."
He laughed, the sound more a
small explosion of air that she heard from where her head rested on his chest,
than a true laugh. "But you
can't. You go back to space, as you
should. Because on the bridge of a
starship is where you belong."
"And you?"
He moved over her, kissed her
gently. "I continue my journey to
find the underworld."
"Well, don't find it too
soon," she said as she pulled him down to her.
He grinned. "Oh, there's a lot of life in me
yet."
Later, Janeway whispered,
"Maybe I can stay one more night.
But I'll have to rush back in the morning."
He nodded. "I'm sure Ixchel will be here bright and
early."
"You two are in
cahoots," she said, as she reached over for the snake pendant. "Look at this. I think it's real gold."
He nodded. "It is.
Very old too."
"I don't know why she
gave it to me."
He shrugged. "I'm sure she had her
reasons." He studied it for a
moment, then reached across her to set it back down near her clothes. He whispered in her ear. "It's beautiful. But not as beautiful as you are."
"You're biased,"
she said with a laugh.
"Most definitely,"
he agreed as he kissed her again.
-----------------
Ixchel showed up very early,
just as Chakotay predicted. She smiled
as she watched Janeway say goodbye to him.
He accompanied them to the edge of the jungle, then, with a last kiss,
watched as they walked to the jeep.
"Well, you set us
up. I hope you're happy?" Janeway
asked her, once they were underway.
"I'm not the one that
needs to answer that question," Ixchel replied, not falling for Janeway's
feigned annoyance. "How are you
feeling?"
Janeway smiled. "Like the weight of the world's been
lifted off my shoulders."
Ixchel nodded soberly. "Then this was a good thing."
Janeway nodded, turning to
look behind her for a last glimpse of Chakotay.
He was no longer there, must have gone back to the cave. She sighed happily. She'd be back soon. The next time the Zoroaster was scheduled for
repairs, which was only four months away.
Not so long to wait compared to the lifetime they'd already wasted.
It wasn't until she was at
the main transporter station that Janeway realized she hadn't asked Chakotay
why he had quit the academy and taken up archaeology. But the question could wait, she decided,
until she saw him again.
Janeway's quarters seemed
particularly sterile after the sultry vibrancy of the Mexican jungles. She grabbed a quick shower then headed up to
the bridge, trying not to rush too obviously.
She'd had no business delaying a day.
She should have been onboard last night, should not be running now to
make it to the bridge on time.
She remembered waking up with
Chakotay and smiled. So she was
late. It was one time in how many years? And Captain's prerogative, she figured.
As the lift arrived, Janeway
smiled at her first officer and said, "I'll be in my ready room,
Commander."
Binzel nodded. "Aye-aye, sir. Welcome back." She seemed a bit subdued.
Janeway turned to look at the
viewscreen, let her gaze wander fondly over her bridge crew. She felt the energy of command rush over
her. She was home. And it felt good. It felt very good.
Chakotay had given her that.
She had to hide a smile as
she anticipated some of the other things he might give her the next time they
got together.
"Captain?" Lieutenant Moreno looked up from the
communications console. "There's a
message for you. It came in a few days ago. It's marked urgent. I thought you'd want to know."
Janeway nodded in
appreciation. "I'll read it right
way. Thank you." With a last look at the bridge, she walked
into her ready room and sat down at her desk, calling up the messages that had
piled up in her absence. There were a
lot of them. The one flagged as urgent
was at the top of the list.
It was from Seven of Nine.
Janeway frowned, opening it
and leaning back as the former Borg's image filled the screen.
"Admiral Janeway, I
regret to inform you that I have bad news." There was a long moment as Seven seemed to
struggle for composure, and Janeway wondered if the woman had really thought it
necessary to tell her that she and Chakotay had parted ways. She checked the date on the
transmission. It had arrived the day she
met Ixchel in the plaza. On the Day of
the Dead. Or one of them, she laughed,
remembering how the people in Merida had still been celebrating when she had
rushed back from her time with Chakotay.
Four days to spend with the dead, then back to the routine of life. Not a bad custom.
Seven's voice broke into her
thoughts. "I'm afraid that I have
no experience delivering this kind of news, Admiral. So I will be blunt, as we both know is my
way. Chakotay is dead."
Janeway frowned. Was this some kind of joke?
"He died yesterday. A shuttle crashed with him and some of his
students aboard. He--" Seven's voice broke. "He rescued all but one of the
wounded. The ship exploded as he tried
to get the last student out." Seven
looked down. "I thought you should
hear it from me. Not from an
announcement on the comms. We are
holding a small ceremony in two days.
You are, of course, most welcome."
Seven looked up. "He always
held a special place in his heart for you, Admiral. He would have wanted me to tell you
that." Seven blinked hard. "I wish you well. Seven out."
Janeway frowned. There must be some mistake. She needed to tell Seven that this was all
wrong. That Chakotay had gotten out,
that he was all right.
That he wasn't dead.
Then she took a good look at
the senders on the messages that had queued up in her absence. Tom and B'Elanna. Harry.
Tuvok. The Doctor.
She quickly searched the
comms, found the reports that confirmed what Seven had said.
Chakotay was dead.
As she leaned back, Janeway
felt the snake pendant shift under her uniform.
Of course. Ixchel would
know. She commed the hotel, asked to be
transferred to the tour company.
A young man answered,
"May I help you?"
"I'm looking for
Ixchel?"
He nodded. "Of course. We have a lovely day trip to Kabah. There are some stelae there that depict her
marriage to the sun."
"I'm sorry, perhaps this
connection isn't good. I need to speak
with Ixchel. She's a guide there."
The man looked very
confused. "I'm sorry, ma'am. We don't have anyone here by that name."
"Then who did you think
I was talking about?"
"Ix Chel. She was the Mayan snake goddess. Patroness of
birth and rebirth. The goddess of the
moon." It was clear the man had gone
through this speech many times. Then he
grinned. "We don't, as a rule, hire
on Mayan deities as guides."
"But the Cave of
Xibalba? I was there."
"Which one? Every cave around here is claimed by someone
or other as being the entrance to the Mayan underworld. It's a great marketing ploy to lure in
tourists. But we don't feature any of
them on our tours."
"But the one at
Uxmal. That cave..." She trailed off as he shook his head. "There's no cave there?"
"No, ma'am." He looked at her expectantly. "If
there's nothing else?"
"No," she said
slowly. "Nothing else."
She drew the pendant out from
under her uniform shirt, pulled it over her head and studied it. The gold gleamed at her, just as it had when
Ixchel had first given it to her. The onyx
eyes glowed soft black.
She could still hear
Chakotay's voice as he whispered, "It's beautiful. But not as beautiful as you are."
She could still feel his lips
on hers, his hands on her body.
Somewhere in her mind she
heard the call of a jaguar, felt the gentle whir of a dragonfly's wings in the
night. And as she held the pendant back
up to the light, she noticed that something new had been added--carefully
etched over the snake's left eye was Chakotay's tattoo.
FIN