Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek Voyager all rights belong to Paramount/CBS, I just play with them sometimes. Nor do I make any money from this storytelling, I enjoy sharing what I write.
Rainbows
Chapter One – Rain!
August 2012
The verdant forest around him smelt fresh and earthy, having just endured a gentle downpour of rain; drops still clung to the broadleaf foliage, whilst a fitful sun shone above the lush canopy as he walked. How he'd come to this place he did not know or even where he was, as the trees were of an unfamiliar species to him and yet he felt safe and at ease with his current surroundings. Taking stock of his location he also noticed that he was clad only in the attire of his youth, when he'd dwelt with his tribe and roamed the forests around his home village with his mates; his current locale was not his home and yet he felt that it was and he was safe here. Just why he needed to be safe he did not know only that he needed to be and to stay safe.
He again breathed deeply of the rain washed air, filling his lungs with the natural woody scents. A stream gurgled near-by thus he went towards the watery sound; yet as he approached it something about it felt wrong. He stood there on its earthy banks and watched the water and how it flowed or rather how it didn't, thus he knew it wasn't safe. He moved away from the stream and found a puddle in the rain washed rocks and drank his fill from that, tasting the elements within its coolness, staking some of his thirst. Silently he moved through the forest on bare feet noting what creatures inhabited this world with him; although he did not always see or hear them he knew they were there protecting him keeping him safe.
He again tried to understand and solve this puzzle, yet it didn't hold his attention for long as he emerged into a small wild meadow. His dark eyes scanned the area and caught sight of a group of hinds grazing in the watery sunshine. All lifted their heads and seemed to look at him, but he realised it wasn't him that interested them, but the majestic Stag who'd stepped out of the forest shadows a little down wind of him, that they watched with keen brown eyes. The animal was in his prime and beautiful to behold; deep liquid brown eyes surveyed the small group of hinds, some with young at their sides. His muscles rippled as he moved cautiously forward beneath his white hide, his antlers glinting in the sun.
/The Hart!/ his mind whispered, awed by the creature, who then stopped in his contemplation of the hinds and turned his head to look at him.
/You are safe here/ the Hart said softly. /Do not question; just stay/ was the soft warning effectively halting his unasked questions.
/I understand/ he acknowledged quietly and made a move to join the creature, but the Hart snorted and stamped a foreleg, causing the hinds to scatter back into the depths of the forest. Saddened by this abrupt turn of events he too left the wild meadow and returned to the coolness of the forest. The Hart watched standing stock still and then vanished.
Dark clouds gathered making it darker still beneath the lush forest canopy; a chill wind blew causing him to shiver and then the rain came. Strangely he welcomed it feeling it sting his exposed flesh as he walked between the trees, his feet silent on the forest floor. Where he was going he did not know only that he was safe here; sensing the closeness of the creatures that inhabited this forest with him.
=/\=
"What do you, mean that you can't find him?" the woman Captain demanded.
=/\=We've searched the entire area where we discovered his shuttle, but there is no sign of him or his passenger=/\= the male lieutenant reported over the com-link.
"Return to Voyager with the shuttle."
=/\=Acknowledged, Ayala out=/\=
Janeway sighed mentally and wondered why she'd gone against the expressed advice of her security chief and her own better judgement and let him take their alien guest back to his home planet alone.
"Where are you, Chakotay?" she asked quietly looking worriedly at the main viewscreen on Voyager's bridge, as they circled round the semi-arid world. A world that was home to an alien culture that had appeared friendly at first and their guest hadn't given them any reason to be suspicious of his intent. He'd only refused to be transported down to the planet surface, asking to be flown by shuttle instead; in fact he'd insisted on it as a mode of transportation, which should have given her cause for concern, yet she'd ignored the nagging doubts and now they'd lost her Executive Officer.
=/\=
Although he knew his own name, he did not use it here. Why he wasn't sure, until he recalled the boy – Jal-Karden. He smiled at the bittersweet memory wondering if the lad had reached his goal of dying in battle. The rain had eased and it was getting dark, thus he looked for a resting place to wait out the dark-time. A rocky outcrop loomed out of the darkness, but like the stream earlier something about it didn't feel right, so he moved in a different direction and found a wide spreading tree, its thick girth reminding him of an oak tree. He climbed into its lower thick branches and settled to await the moonrise.
The rustling sound of shaken wings reached his alert ears, thus he tried to pinpoint the sound; it was then that he saw it hanging upside down on a branch a few meters above him. Each watched the other until hunger forced the bat to fly away to hunt in the gathering dusk. He watched the stars above him, glimpsed one minute and lost the next. A full moon also appeared to scurry across the sky, backlighting the wind blown clouds or obscuring its shiny disc completely. He didn't feel tired just content to watch and listen to the moonrise sounds around him. One star in the wind tossed sky seemed to call to him yet he could not say why as it too scurried between the clouds. Soon the moon set allowing the sun to poke its nose over the distant horizon, colouring the dawn sky a soft pink.
Not long after the bat returned to her roost. The fact that she was alone didn't seem to bother the bat or him. Stretching his stiff limbs and letting the newly risen sun's warmth energise his body, he climbed down from his woody perch. Silently he thanked the bat for his resting place and returned to his walk in this lush forest, the sun lighting his chosen path.
An enticing smell caught his nose causing his stomach to rumble in sympathy reminding him that he needed to eat, yet he knew he was alone here in this forest with only the creatures of the wilds for company, thus he ignored the smell of cooking meat and brewing coffee, mingled with wood smoke. He came across a tangle of brambles loaded with fresh ripe berries. In among the sharp thorns he also saw a Blackbird, it assisted him in selecting the ripest berries thus assuring his hunger and staking his thirst. He also discovered the male's mate sitting on a nest; her brown eyes watched him pressing herself down into the tightly woven bowl. He smiled softly and only reached for the fruits her mate indicated.
/Thank you/ he said licking his fingers of the purple juices that stained them. The Blackbird flew to a higher branch and sang. At first it sang his song as territorial claimant, but then the tune changed speaking to his heart; no words like with the Hart yet he understood feeling the cloak of safety settle around him. He breathed deeply and returned to his walking; the sun climbing in the sky changed the angle that it lit the forest floor lighting his path. Other birds stirred in the rain soaked trees, a flurry of hidden wings sounded above him in the lush canopy, thus in a patch of sunlight he saw something. A branch shaken caused leafs to shed their rain water making a brief rainbow appear against the dark tree trunks. He smiled feeling pleased to see the seven coloured arch however briefly; sighing contentedly he moved onward.
=/\=
All sensors were working hard trained directly onto the semi-arid brown planet around which they orbited, searching for one human life sign. Janeway paced the command deck whilst her crew worked silently around her. Paris had thought to joke that at least he hadn't crashed the shuttle this time, but one look at her concerned face had let it die on his lips unuttered.
"Captain," spoke the quiet tones of the Vulcan.
"Something to report, Lieutenant Commander?"
"No," he responded firmly to her snapped challenge. "I suggest you get some rest, as the Doctor advised. Now Captain," his tone brooking no argument as he stood close to her.
Suddenly her whole body seem to visibly slump as if she'd been holding herself forcibly upright; she smiled tiredly at him.
"You're right," she said softly, adding that he had the bridge and left for her quarters. The collective sigh that echoed round the bridge at her departure, didn't go unheard as the turbo-lift doors closed behind her. She felt tears threaten at their unspoken concern for her and their missing First Officer – her friend, Chakotay.
=/\=
The chilled breeze alerted him to the fact that he was getting close to a large body of open water and sure enough through the widening trunks he could see the still lake ahead. Soon he stood on its shore gazing out across the wide sunlit expanse. A soft smile spread across his expressive face recognising the configuration of the further shore.
/Lake George/ he whispered, wondering if he'd see their boat sailing before the stiff breeze, but the watery expanse appeared empty with only the wind ruffling the sunny surface. Finding a large dry flat rock jutting out close to the water's edge, warmed by the early sun, but now shaded from the sun's midday heat, he sat down cross legged and soaked up the scene around him; Hearing the creatures busy in their daily activities within the forest behind him. These animals became visible when they came down to the water's edge to drink; one was a mother bear and her two boisterous cubs that came to fish. He smiled as he watched the cubs' antics, climbing trees that couldn't really bear their combined weight, thus they tumbled out of the young saplings; generally having fun in the sun dappled ground close to the lake shore. Mother bear ate her fill of any fish she caught before calling the cubs to have their share. She sniffed the wind as if scenting him, but the wind was towards him brushing past his cheeks and body as he sat watching feeling content and safe.
The bears moved away following the shoreline away from him. Other animals came, the hinds without the Hart appeared to drink their fill; having sniffed the air for danger; that was still pungent with the smell of bear and eaten fish. They gracefully stepped out, the older lead female cautiously testing the wind for any other hidden dangers, until she reached the waters edge and then staked her thirst. Soon the younger hinds joined her, delicate heads reflected in the semi-still waters as they drank.
The sharp call of an eagle had the hinds scurrying back into the depths of the cool forest, leaving behind an empty beach. He looked up to see the powerful bird riding the wind and air currents above the lake, white head glinting in the sunlight, as it soared on effortless wings in the pale blue sky. Over the further hills above the lake rain clouds gathered as he watched diverting his attention away from the eagle. He heard its cry again as the rain clouds obscured the hills making them misty as they disgorged their watery contents.
=/\=
Janeway woke with a start, wondering what had disturbed her fitful slumber.
"Kathryn," a voice called softly.
"Chakotay?" she asked puzzled, thus she left her bed and walked into the main area, which was dark, but then suddenly soft colours shone around her. Slowly they consolidated into a vibrant rainbow, that glowed for a moment before it vanished as suddenly as it had arrived and yet she still sensed his warm smile.
Again she woke; feeling confused for a moment sitting up in bed. Breathing deeply and closing her eyes she recalled the brief vivid dream. The warmth of his smile filled her, strangely leaving her at peace with herself. She left her bed and walked into the main area, calling for a quarter percent illumination and making for the replicator, intending to order her usual beverage but said instead:
"Computer one cup of tea, hot, single sweet," The mug appeared and she took a sip, deep in thought. It wasn't until she'd drunk most of it that she stopped.
"Computer why do I have tea instead of coffee?"
#You requested tea, hot, single sweet# it responded patiently.
"Isn't that usually Cmdr. Chakotay's choice?"
#Affirmative#
"Why would I order his choice?"
#Please clarify the request#
"Never mind," she said and continued to drink the tea, thinking deeply on all that had happened since arriving at this planet if not before, starting with the picking up their alien guest. Then she had a sudden thought and tapped her com-badge.
"Janeway to Astrometrics."
=/\=Kim here, Captain=/\=
"Have you tried any deeper scans of the planet surface?" she asked carefully.
"Not as yet, Captain," he said, sounding puzzled.
"Then I suggest you do," about to sign off when something occurred to her. "Start outside the normal search area around where we found the shuttle."
=/\=Aye, Captain=/\= he responded picking up on where her thoughts were going.
In Astrometrics, Kim, Seven and Icheb worked quietly within the area checking the original search area and then moved beyond it in ever increasing circles outwards. It was on the second circle out – about two days steady walking pace – from the shuttle that they found an underground settlement. All indications at first said it was abandoned, but some instinct kept them probing. Even on the Bridge at the main science console they also kept running through every type of scan analysis they could think of. Janeway returned to the area at this point and suggested doing some different scans. Although all were working none were really co-ordinating their efforts which each other or with other departments.
Down in engineering Torres found herself staring at the main warp core having just been somewhere else.
"Lieutenant; are you well?" asked the young Vulcan officer.
"What? Yes, Vorik; I'm fine, I think," she responded still feeling dazed.
"Would you like to describe where you have been?" he asked picking up on her confused facial expression and dazed eye movements.
"Rainbows," she whispered, again staring at the core that pulsed with its usual blue colours.
"Rainbows, Lieutenant?"
"What?" she snapped. Vorik watched as her dark eyes cleared of their confusion and she softly smiled, before tapping her com-badge.
"Torres to Doctor; what spectrum would you use to scan for someone walking the wheel?" she asked her tone excited.
=/\=Walking the Wheel?=/\= sounding puzzled. "Oh! A spirit walk you mean. Oh, I see! Heightened brain activity would be the most obvious coupled with lowered physical functions," the EMH said, working his own medical console. He closed the channel and called up stored medical data of the last time the Commander had taken a vision quest and cross referenced it to all the scans from the various departments across the ship.
=/\=
The rain once more stung his exposed flesh as it drove across the lake towards him and again he welcomed it, sitting on the exposed rock above the high water line. The wind blew stronger whipping up the surface of the lake and yet he still sat calm and unworried by the raging elements around him. He smiled softly to himself knowing he'd endured worse storms than the one that battered him at that moment. He also knew his continued safety and very existence depended on him staying part of the world he now inhabited and meeting the creatures that shared it with him. Why and for how long he'd ceased to question at this point in time or even why he was there and not in his usual place; wherever that was.
Closing his eyes against the stinging wind blown rain, he lifted his face, feeling the storm water wash his body; the cold did not appear to bother or affect him. The trees behind him strained against the growing wind storm, the lush branches thrashing wildly above his head, strewing the ground with broken twigs and leaves. Two otter heads popped up through the troubled surface of the lake close to his rocky perch, the wind whipped waves obscuring them from full view at times; carefully they swam ashore and joined him.
/You need to keep warm. Come/ the male otter said nudging his thigh. He felt the smaller female climb onto his lap and mew at him, her voice urgent, thus he stirred himself and slipped into their watery world, whilst the storm continued to rage above the lake surface.
He felt no fear as he followed their lead swimming with the same graceful ease and skill as the otters themselves. The three of them emerged near a river mouth and followed it inland for a while on the surface, the wind beginning to abate as they swam further up-river. On reaching a quiet side pool he hauled himself out of the water, eating the raw fish the otters gave him and then he trotted off into the forest again, the storm having blown itself out; the only wind blowing now just stirred the topmost branches. His body dried as he jogged, his muscles eagerly responding to the exercise, his gentle stride eating up the ground, warming his body with the energy he expended.
Soon another runner joined him, her silver white/grey pelt and musky scent a welcome and familiar sight and smell. They loped easily together their stride matched, but gently she slowed and he stayed with her. A wide spreading oak tree stood out within the canopy of trees, thus when they reached it, they curled up together at its base, her brindled fur keeping him warm as this time he slept.
=/\=
Paris joined the EMH in the medical labs to run a full analysis on the stored scans of Chakotay's vision quests, paying particular attention to the time when the sleeping aliens tried to takeover the ship. Although for the most part they worked in silence, only speaking when necessary to each other, cross referencing all their data with the new incoming data from the many random scans; Tom decided to ask one question that had been bothering him since the commander had disappeared.
"Why, Chakotay? I would have thought Janeway would have been the obvious choice."
"Indeed, Mr. Paris," the EMH acknowledged thoughtfully. "Did the Commander go willingly?" he asked after a moments thought on the matter.
"Yes, I think so," he confirmed puzzled.
"Mr. Paris, please run some internal scans of the ship, pay particular attention to those areas of the ship, that the Commander had been in during our journey here," he ordered, moving to the main scanner console in the centre of the labs. Tom frowned concerned, but did as he was asked; electronically asking his wife for the same information.
It was Vorik who picked up the pilot's message and ran the required scans. At first nothing unusual came up until they ran it through the same medical spectrum they were using to scan the planet.
"Doctor to Captain. Stop the scans now," the EMH ordered commandingly.
=/\=Doctor?=/\= she questioned.
"Now, Captain," he repeated firmly as he and Paris exchanged worried looks. Janeway gave the order ship wide; although puzzled everyone readily complied, noting the silent words on their console screens.
=/\=
Continued in Forty-five Degrees.