INJASUTI
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Shore Leave - Chakotay
He loved to observe her. The last two weeks he had seen a different Kathryn, more woman, more allure, more mystique, with an openness about her that made his heart soar. Many times he felt like pinching himself for his good fortune, unable to believe that she returned his feelings. His hopeless longing was now gone, and in its place was a renewed vigour, a freedom to look at her with unabashed admiration, to touch her often and see her smile, her acceptance, the promise of togetherness.
Chakotay breathed in deeply as he rode the white stallion across the Great Plains of Injasuti. His mount had been loaned to him by Kephtah, who swore that Oberon was trained and bred only for Chakotay of Voyager. Chakotay rode Oberon for a few hours whenever he was on the planet. It gave him time to think, to reflect on his life that changed beyond what he had ever expected, knowing how much Kathryn loved him. The ride across the plains left him energised, making him realise how much he missed riding, the thrill of a beast beneath him, pure moving muscle. He imagined then how the Romans, the Arabs, the Carthaginians must have looked on horseback. He was happy.
They now had a son.
The thought of how they'd found the little boy still evoked fury in him. Fury and at the same time a wonder unsurpassed at what had happened that day Kathryn declared her love for him and they had gone to meet Aidan, son of the late Queen Toreth.
They had walked together until they reached the small terminus of flitters and boarded one. After Kathryn had given the coordinates, it was only minutes before they disembarked in a remote part of the city.
He had smiled grimly when they noticed the neglected buildings, houses and apartments, knowing that the boy they were looking for had to be in one of them. Kathryn had given him a distressed look, frowning as they walked towards a street with its dilapidated houses. He remembered how on most worlds they’d visited, they had never seen squalor.
"They should be doing something," Kathryn had said softly. He had told her then that they'd mention it to the emperor.
His hand had touched her arm lightly, guiding her forward more than following her, his gesture one of assurance, of comfort. Kathryn's eyes were on her tricorder.
"It's closer than I thought," came her words. "B'Elanna matched Queen Toreth's DNA with children aged three and under across the entire city…"
"Then she must have twisted the arm of the birth registry office," he replied. He knew that whatever B'Elanna had done had reaped results. A sweep of the city would have been one of her methods used to trace the child.
"I told her not to kill anyone," Kathryn said. "I hope we've reached the right place."
"We'll know soon," he comforted.
She gave him a joyous smile as they reached a door. Kathryn hesitated briefly. He knocked loudly. They waited a few minutes. The door opened and a woman peeped suspiciously at them.
"We have come to see the boy, Aidan."
"There is no Aidan," the woman replied as Chakotay gently pushed the door further open and crossed the threshold.
"But there is a boy, and we wish to see him," he told the woman. "Now."
They noticed how suspicion made way for fear.
"The Supreme Commander gave him to me," she said stonily.
"The Supreme Commander is dead, and I'm sure you know that Queen Toreth, the boy's mother, is also dead. Now, take us to him," Kathryn had said peremptorily.
The woman had hesitated before nodding. Chakotay thought she probably knew it was futile to refuse them. With Afzhal Serinius dead, there was no reason to keep the child. Still, the woman's hesitation, her reluctance to let them into her home seemed to spring from another source.
"Follow me…"
In a small room at the back of the house, they saw the child, a little boy with doe-like eyes who looked scared. He had been sitting on a mattress but when they entered, he shifted back, his movement stopped by the wall behind him. With Chakotay following, Kathryn had moved forward to kneel in front of the child.’
"Hello…"
When the child lifted a hand to stick his thumb in his mouth, they saw the dark bruises on his arm. Chakotay closed his eyes as he remembered Kathryn's soft cry.
"Don't be afraid, little one," he had heard Kathryn say.
She had looked at him, her eyes telling him to alert their EMH. Chakotay had risen quickly to his feet, moving outside the room again and hailed the EMH, telling him to beam the three of them directly to sick bay on his mark. He had given the woman a threatening look, warning her to keep out of his way.
"What name have you given the child?" he hissed.
"Halim."
"The least you could have done for him was to love him…" Chakotay said softly before he entered the room again.
He had been surprised to see Aidan in Kathryn's arms, his head resting against her shoulder, the thumb still in his mouth.
"This is Aidan," Kathryn told him. "There is absolutely no way we can leave him here, Chakotay."
He had looked at Kathryn and Aidan. With the light on them, he saw how Aidan looked, not so much like Kathryn, but more resembling him. While the medical tricorder Kathryn was carrying confirmed the identity and match with Kathryn and Aidan's mother, the doctor still had to perform more specialised tests on the child. B'Elanna had seen to it that blood samples from Queen Toreth had been transported to sick bay. Now, with Aidan, they would be able to confirm for certain.
Raven hair in a pale face, dark eyes with long lashes. But the child had been neglected, hurt. Chakotay's heart burned fiercely at the way Kathryn held Aidan, at the way they looked like they belonged together, at the protectiveness Kathryn exuded. He hit his commbadge. They were ready to beam up to Voyager.
Half an hour later, they had listened to the doctor's report. A fracture that had healed, ribs that had been cracked and healed. The EMH had reset some of the bones again, the child appearing to trust him completely. Kathryn was never far from Aidan, making reassuring soft sounds that set him at ease.
After they pinned a commbadge on him, it was easier to follow Aidan's dialect of Phoenician. Later in her quarters, Kathryn had sat him on the couch, seating herself next to him. Chakotay had knelt in front of them, his hand on Kathryn's knee.
"I know you do not remember your Mommy, Aidan, but she asked me to tell you how much she loved you. She loved you from the moment you were born and she never ever stopped. She loved you very, very much, okay?"
Aidan had looked wide-eyed at her. "I don't have a mama…" he said shyly.
"I know, honey. Your real mama is no longer with us, but she loved you."
"Amra hurt me…"
"Amra will never hurt you again, okay? Never ever."
"Are you my mama?" Aidan asked. Chakotay felt overwhelmed by the emotion, by the weight of the child's question.
"No, Aidan. I'm not your Mama…"
"Do you look like her?"
Kathryn had given Chakotay a pained look then, but when she turned to face little Aidan again, she nodded.
"Yes, Aidan. I look like her…"
"I don't want to go to Amra," Aidan said, throwing himself against Kathryn.
They had beamed down to Injasuti again, leaving Aidan in the capable care of Samantha Wildman and Naomi, who immediately fawned over him. After their consultation with the Emperor, they had formally asked to adopt Aidan and take him with them on their journey home…
Shore leave - the memorial services
The area formerly covered by the unseen wall was filled again with a great multitude. It was the memorial for the men, women and children of the Osiris who had been murdered by Supreme Commander Afzhal Serinius, and the burial of Queen Toreth. Once again the wailing swept up, of great sadness that mingled with the sound of the water that rushed downstream, with the great rumbling sound of the waterfall that plunged into the river.
No one was on the platform, but the bier of Queen Toreth stood in the middle on a large, ornate stand surrounded by burning candles. Those who couldn't see her body directly were able to cast their eyes on hundreds of screens situated all over the Place of the Weeping Water.
Livia Gaiden and Hanim, once the palace housekeeper and handmaiden of Queen Toreth and, very briefly, Captain Janeway, stood close to the platform where only days ago, Kephtah had killed the evil, monstrous Afzhal Serinius. While there was no Queen to serve, they both knew that there would soon be a succession, one that would herald a new era in the life, culture and history of Injasuti, one in which not a single human soul need die without just cause.
Dressed in flowing purple garments, Emperor Scipio walked onto the platform and stood in front of the bier containing the body of Queen Toreth.
"She should have been alive today," whispered Livia to Hanim. "It is a sad day indeed. But I am comforted that Queen Toreth is to be laid to rest, and that my cousin Laurana is at peace."
"Did you know, Livia, that the boy Aidan is now with Queen Khaira and her husband, the Great Warrior Chakotay?"
Livia nodded sombrely. Her eyes were soft with the memory of visiting the ship Voyager with Marcus Kiridis and seeing how, only days after being in the care of the captain, the little boy was flourishing. He already knew a few words of his new language, English, and called the Great Warrior who saved Queen Khaira, Injasuti and its people 'papa'. There was a light in Aidan's eyes, a light that told her he was content in his new home, with his new parents.
"Yes, I have seen how happy Aidan is. I cannot say that I will miss him, Hanim, as I never had the privilege of knowing him. But if he is to be taken away from this, his home… I am sad."
"Do not be. Remember what Kephtah told you? That Queen Khaira has assured young Aidan of his mother's last words, of how much she loved him even as she never had the honour of seeing, knowing him? That is our solace, Livia Gaiden. Be of great joy…"
Livia looked at Hanim and smiled.
"Things will change, Hanim, but I believe change is good. Yes, I am filled with joy."
"Not least now that I have seen you with Lieutenant Marcus Kiridis. There is a new light in your eyes…"
Before Livia could respond to Hanim's words, the emperor appeared on the platform.
When Emperor Scipio raised his hands, a hush fell over Injasuti.
"O people of Injasuti, we mourn the passing of our great Queen Toreth! Her death shall be remembered by all who revere her name. For was she not the last to endure the tyranny of him who was slain, by him who has held hostage all who lived within these walls! Today we shall consecrate her and make holy, elevate her to the highest of all great warriors before her, who have championed the cause of freedom, justice and the right to life! O needless those who have died!
"I tell you, today of all days, this tyranny has ended, that Injasuti shall prosper as her homeworld has prospered. We revere and respect life before all else and while we are deeply saddened by the death of Queen Toreth, it shall be seen as a victory for Injasuti, that however we may look upon it, she has sacrificed her life to save others.
"I charge you now, people of this great world, brought here by our ancient fathers, to embark on a period of reconstruction of the cities, that those most vulnerable to indignities be raised and be respected.
Our Procurator, since ancient times our Caretaker, has undertaken to depart from her duty to Injasuti, as we have given our most fervent assurance that Injasuti can and will survive without her help."
All who listened that day listened with their hearts, and took to heart the words of Emperor Scipio. For them a new era beckoned as the bier of Queen Toreth was removed from the pyre and carried by six young men towards the Tophet. Even though only children had been buried there since ancient times, it was the Queen's wish that she make her final resting place among the very children she had raised to the arms of the Venerable Goddess Tanith.
"It is over, Livia Gaiden," whispered Hanim reverently.
"Yes, it is. Listen… Can you hear the sad songs of mourning in the air?"
Startled, Hanim listened, hearing only the sound of water, from the waterfall and the river as the water gently washed over white pebbles. She turned to Livia and smiled.
"No," she replied.
Shore leave - Kathryn Janeway
Chakotay lay spooned behind her. Sometime during the last hour he had shifted so that his arm slid in under hers, his hand cupping her breast. She gave a delicious moan of contentment as she covered his hand, feeling the extra grip as her fingers laced through his. Even in his sleep, he was aware of her closeness.
Only a week ago, they were joined in marriage in a ceremony presided over by both Lieutenant- Commander Tuvok and Emperor Scipio. Witnessed by some of the senior officers, a host of Voyager crew as well as the Emperor's Guard, they exchanged their vows in the Temple of Antiquity of Injasuti's first city.
The light from Injasuti's twin suns was already streaming into the room. She was fully awake but she was enjoying the time until Chakotay woke up fully. It was the last day of their shore leave on Injasuti; they had spent the week visiting the museums, watching the russet sunsets, lazing on sandy beaches, eating the fresh fruits she knew so well from Earth.
Chakotay had again been riding on Oberon the previous day and was saddle sore, hence his tiredness. Also, during the week he had helped Kephtah break in two young stallions and one mare. Kephtah dressed more like a Roman soldier these days, no longer showing off his bare bronzed torso. The dogs Bligh and Nemo followed him everywhere.
It was something wondrous, Kathryn realised, how well the Voyager crew adapted to life on Injasuti. Their discovery of the derelict with its dead crew seemed far away now. But the people of the planet were humans like them, although it startled her still, walking in the streets or piazzas, when people smiled, greeted, or stopped to talk to them. Chakotay especially was the one they sought, for all on Injasuti knew that their saviour was the warrior from the vessel Voyager.
Smiling to herself, she remembered how she prayed he would rescue her, come riding on a white stallion. Like in a fairy tale, that part of her dream had come true. He looked in his element, so completely one with nature and his surroundings, as if he and Oberon were not two, but a single unit. Her heart had raced, beating wildly with immense pride as he had brought Oberon to a halt in front of her. He looked rugged in his Maquis gear with riding boots that fitted snugly around his calves.
Chakotay had held out his hand to her.
"Come with me…"
And together they rode the plains, Oberon's flanks glistening and when Chakotay finally stopped, he turned to look at her. She saw the question even before he asked it.
"We can't take him with us, Chakotay," she had whispered into his back. "Unfortunately."
"I know, but I can dream, can't I?" he had replied with a smile before he dug in his heels and let Oberon canter back to the stables.
She loved Chakotay, and the thrill of showing it still filled her with wonder. The shadows were gone from his eyes. Since the day she had declared her love for him, he had been so attentive, so ruggedly handsome, so high in spirits that she was herself almost afraid of being too happy. It was a new Chakotay she had come to know in the last ten days, being with him, living with him, sharing a bed, just…sharing. It was private, precious, intimate, an intimacy that welcomed their vulnerabilities, their pain, their joy.
They had a son who, strangely enough, resembled Chakotay more in appearance and nature, although Aidan was her genetic match. When she had first laid eyes on the little boy, it was all she could do not to kill Amra, the woman who cared for him and who had damaged him so. What was Afzhal Serinius thinking when he left the child, still with its umbilical cord attached, in the care of a person who had no love to give?
Aidan had grown up loveless, his short life punctuated by fear, loneliness and lack of intimacy. He was diffident, fearing that she and Chakotay would leave him behind on Injasuti. But with so many crew showing him how they loved him, he was beginning to warm slowly, to trust them.
Chakotay - the people of Injasuti called him the Great Warrior - had been magnificent in handling Aidan, who at times flew into a rage, calming the frightened child until Aidan would lie against him, sobbing until he became tranquil again.
She didn't want to get up. Aidan was sleeping in a small room next to theirs and Chakotay had gotten up during the night to comfort him. The first night he slept in a bed on Voyager, he had fallen out during the night. They had realised with alarm that the child had always just slept on the floor. There were so many things wrong, so much Aidan had to catch up to be a normal, well balanced three year old. Kathryn smiled inwardly. She had herself traced the date of his birth, matching it with Earth dates to discover that Aidan had been born on New Year's day.
A soft knock on their door alerted her that it was time she and Chakotay got up. When she opened the door, Aidan stood there. He looked so small, forlorn, yet his eyes were focused trustingly on her. It was the first time he had ventured out of his room by himself, in itself progress. She and Chakotay took turns looking in on him during the night, and both of them tucked him in when it was bed time. Chakotay had Marcus Kiridis access the city library for Injasuti children's stories. The way the boy reacted with awe, wide-eyed fascination, made them want to dismember Amra.
"Aidan, honey, is something the matter?" she asked him, noting that he had pinned his commbadge to his pyjamas.
Aidan just stood there, his thumb firmly in his mouth. Giving a soft sigh, Kathryn took his free hand and led him to their bed.
"Papa is still sleeping," he whispered.
"That's okay," she whispered too, as she slid in next to Chakotay. "Come, you can lie here next to me. We can afford another hour in bed."
Aidan smiled as he wormed himself against her. Kathryn's heart soared. It was his first smile, progress indeed as she smoothed his dark hair.
"When will we go on your big ship again, Mama?" he asked, wide awake now that he felt safe again.
Aidan had no family, those on his late father's side too distant to care for a little boy lost. They had gained permission from Emperor Scipio to adopt Toreth's son and take him with them on their journey back to Injasuti's Ancient World, Earth. Aidan had latched on to her and Chakotay naturally, although it was a challenge to manage his mood swings, brought on by the abuse he had suffered.
"You have a lot of work, Captain, Commander. But I know nothing is beyond you to achieve the rehabilitation of Aidan." The EMH had appeared non-committal, but they knew he was as angry as they had been when they met Aidan the first time. "He already senses your love," the doctor continued. "Here on Voyager he will be surrounded by love…"
"Mama?"
"Not long, honey. We must say goodbye to Emperor Scipio and Livia and Hanim and Kephtah and the dogs first. It won't be long, okay?"
"Then we go on Voyager?"
"Yes, sweetie. We go on Voyager."
"And Mama is - is the captain?"
"And Papa is my first officer."
Aidan moved so that he could look at her. Then he plucked off his commbadge and it fell to the floor.
"Mama's name is Kathryn and Papa is Chakotay," Aidan said in English.
"Did Papa teach you English words, Aidan?"
"No. Uncle Marcus did."
An hour later they sat at the breakfast table enjoying cereal, orange juice, toast, eggs. Kathryn looked at Chakotay and Aidan in turn and thought that she had never been happier in her life.
Shore leave - Marcus Kiridis
For the first time in more than six years, Marcus Kiridis enjoyed shore leave. It was his first sojourn on a planet that was longer than twenty four hours. Sitting atop Mount Mehmet southwest of the first city of Injasuti, he could see the shiny snake slithering down below. The Bridgton River flowed south, a tributary of the great Kartago River, the longest river on the continent.
He sniffed in the clean air, threw his head back and let the warmth from the suns' rays bathe his face. Today he was alone, and for the first time in his entire life, he didn't look forward to being lonely. It was something he had sought with craven greed, always too mindful of being teased. School had never been good for him and he had withdrawn from most contact, never allowing himself to get close to anyone. He had always thought himself a normal person, an average looking human, but children especially could be disarmingly hurtful in their innocence.
Marcus touched his ears. Lieutenant Torres had told him that the doctor could 'fix' it for him. Funny, he thought, how he never had the urge to make cosmetic transformations to his appearance. As a child, with the unkind teasing of other children ringing in his ears, it had never occurred to him to make himself look more attractive. By the time he had considered anything, it was too late. He had become the recluse, the crewman who hid himself from fellow crew, who'd rather study than walk about a strange new world.
He had never made friends on Voyager, merely looking upon his colleagues as just that: colleagues. Now he had come to know B'Elanna Torres better, and knew a lot more about Neelix and Chell who had pestered him the last two weeks to translate all their produce names from Phoenician to English, and to teach them a little Phoenician.
"Because, you see, Lieutenant," Neelix had stated effusively with a hand-wringing, smiling Chell nodding as if his head would drop off, "we would like to tell the good ladies at the produce market in their own language how much we appreciate their helping us…" He had spent many hours daily in the libraries of Injasuti, studying the planet's history, the history of the settlers, the great legends that were born from the Great Ship that brought the first peoples to this world. He had learned from those earliest texts that the Protectors visited worlds and nations where there was military strife, where people were in danger of being exterminated, and brought them to settle elsewhere. For the people of Carthage they chose this world, Injasuti, because it resembled Earth, their homeworld.
There was much to learn and much the people of Injasuti could learn from him, from Voyager. In one of his consultations with Captain Janeway, it had led to her placing him in charge of downloading all the historical records of ancient Rome, ancient Carthage, ancient Greece, Egypt, indeed, all of Europe before the common era to the libraries of the cities of Injasuti.
He had come to know Seven of Nine much better and even liked her, for like him, she was also something of an outsider, not fitting in and yet ably doing her duty on Voyager. Now he understood her, where before he’d thought her too high-handed, too aloof and self-assured. She was still those things, he admitted to himself, but he could handle her self-assurance better, even argue with her. And she had been willing to learn from him too!
Yes, for the first time he looked properly at his colleagues and realised that they were normal men and women who also needed comfort, needed friendship, just as he needed theirs.
Here on Injasuti he had come to discover himself. He fell in love with its people, seduced by the planet's culture. At last he felt that he fitted in, that he belonged somewhere. He could converse with them in their own language and his heart soared with pride when he could understand them.
Marcus stood up and stretched to relieve the stiffness in his legs. It was time to go down again. Just a thousand metre downward walk and within an hour, he would again stand on even ground. So he began his hike down, returning to the river's edge. From about two hundred metres up the slope he had seen her, her back to him. She appeared quite small in the distance. He paused, gave a great big sigh before continuing. Ten minutes later he stood in front of her.
"I thought I would find you here, Marcus Kiridis."
Livia was beautiful, he thought. Beautiful, and almost as tall as he. She had the colouring of Commander Chakotay, with light brown eyes. But it was Livia's hair that was her pride. Flaxen, her hair was parted in the middle, caught in a long braid that trailed past her buttocks. Livia looked at him with expectant eyes.
"I have made my decision, Livia…" he said, letting his words trail. After much pondering, it hadn't been difficult after all. It was Voyager's last day in orbit around Injasuti and one by one, or in small groups, the crew were beaming up to the ship where Captain Janeway, Commander Chakotay and the senior officers were waiting for them.
"I leave it to you, Lieutenant," Captain Janeway had told him the day before. "Whatever you decide, I want you to know that I will respect your decision."
Now he looked at Livia Gaiden and thought how beautiful she looked, how she loved him without reserve, how she looked past his unattractive appearance and told him he looked normal. From the first day he met her, he’d felt the attraction. He had never in his life really been in love. He had been in one or two very brief relationships; women generally avoided him as a possible partner.
His heart was heavy.
"You cannot stay?" she asked, reading his thoughts.
"I am sorry, Livia."
"You love Injasuti." There was a note of desperation in her voice. "You told me you could never fit in on Voyager…"
Marcus closed his eyes briefly, cursing himself for having told her that two weeks ago. He opened his eyes, closing the distance between them, for he was standing about two metres away from her, and took her hands in his.
"I have learned so much about this world, Livia. Its culture, its language, its history, its people, its traditions, its legends. I could not have been happier had I been anywhere else. Here I found who I am. Here I discovered depths I never knew were in me.
"I thought I would be the happiest person in the universe if I remained and made my home here, on Injasuti. I speak the language of the people; I feel at home here. There are so many things that, when I look upon them, feel familiar to me, as if I had never been away, or had been born here. On Voyager, I rarely mixed with colleagues, never took shore leave. I spent my free time studying ancient languages and cultures. It was what I loved doing and why coming to Injasuti felt to me as if I belonged…"
"But you will leave, Marcus. Why?"
"When Commander Chakotay ordered me on the away team to the derelict ship, I had no idea that my life would change so much. Because of my abilities, he asked me to be on the away teams to Injasuti. I got to work closely with senior officers I had never actually seen on a day to day basis, let alone worked with. For the first time in my life, I got to know them, and my old fears of being and working with other crewmembers slowly dissipated. I became relaxed in their company, but most importantly, Livia, I came to realise that I'm not lonely, that loneliness was something which I created within myself.
"Voyager is not just a ship on its way to Earth. It is, I realise now, my home, and its crew - the captain, first officer, senior officers, the crew - they're the family I never had. They're the family I need."
"But Injasuti…you love this world…"
"I do. But do you know what? Being here, among its people, its culture and tradition, has made me more aware of my own roots, my own homeland. I am almost Carthaginian, but the Carthage of Earth, the Ancient World your historical records speak of. I was born in what used to be called Macedonia. I am of my earth, of Macedonia, of Carthage, of Greece. I long now to see my Earth again, to feel its soil beneath my feet and know: this is my land. I long for my sunrises and sunsets, for days of thunder and days of clear blue skies, for the Grand Canyon where I always felt close to God…"
Livia smiled sadly. She reached to touch his cheek, roughened by beard stubble.
"I can see that I had no chance against your love for Voyager and for your land. I wish you well, Marcus of Macedonia, Carthage and Greece…"
His heart felt light, the excitement rippling through him. Livia had arrived here in a flitter and would return to the Place of the Weeping Water where she would again oversee the housekeeping of the palace, the new reforms that had already begun on Injasuti. He kissed the palm of her hand.
Voyager, his family, and Earth, his home, was too great an inducement to remain in this wonderful place.
He stood back, suddenly formal as he hit his commbadge.
"Kiridis to Voyager. One to beam up…"
*****************
THE END