Chapter 10

"From that point on her needs would come first..."

Once more Chakotay woke her from sleep – not that sleep had come easy in the cold. Without a word she handed him the lantern.

"Thank you. You know," he softly said, "I'm starting to feel like a ghost wandering this planet."

She had been lying down when he spoke, but now she was instantly alert and sitting up at his words.

"I know what your father meant," she said. Sleep was forgotten in the sudden rush of excitement. She looked over at Chakotay, also sitting up – well, sort of. He was leaning on his right arm, his body tilted in her direction. He smiled weakly – neither a real smile nor the half-smile reserved for her.

"When we came down the plateau that first day I thought something about this entire valley seemed familiar,' she continued, the cold and her weariness forgotten. "Kolopak was correct: we have dug ourselves in too deep to see the whole picture."

He finally graced her with his half-smile; and something in her flip-flopped. She pushed it aside.

"So," he slowly asked. "Are you going to share?"

She thought about it for a moment. Then she smiled. "No, I'll show you in the morning." And she flopped down and instantly went to sleep.

***

She felt like an explorer of old as she led them up the incline. She was taking them up to the top of the cliff into which their hut was built. The path was one they had found a few days ago, but had not explored.

It took them nearly an hour to reach the top, but once there she knew she had been right: there was an overhanging rock at the edge of the cliff with an ancient safety-rail still attached. She went as far as she dared to the edge.

"Last night you said you felt like a ghost and I thought about the time you had been a ghost." He came to stand next to her and she heard him suck in his breath through his teeth. She smiled that secret feminine smile every woman held in store for times like these. "That day you led us out of the nebula by using the medicine-wheel B'Elanna – I think – had put up behind you in sick-bay." She held out her arms; motioning at the valley. "And that was what I saw that first day."

"The whole village is laid out like a giant medicine-wheel," Chakotay said in awe. "I've never heard of anything like this."

"Never?"

"No. The medicine-wheel is a tool used in healing, but it is not considered magical or significant in itself."

She frowned. "But isn't it just a visual representation of the spirit world?"

He considered this for a moment. Then he finally answered a bit hesitantly: "Not exactly." He frowned. "If this village was built to represent the spirit world, then this is the site of a terrible tragedy."

She looked at the village in the valley, wondering what he saw that she didn't. It seemed as if her part in the mystery was over: Chakotay could now take over again.

"Explain," she nearly barked.

"The whole idea of the medicine-wheel is to encompass the complete spirit world: both the good and the evil. This wheel if built to lead the spirit into itself and to enlightenment. But the only way out after enlightenment is found here, is through evil." He lightly braced his hands on the rail. "And in this case the evil is that which comes from inside oneself."

He looked at her and she saw a deep sadness in his eyes. "These people were angry and their anger destroyed them."

She reached for his hand. "Oh, Chakotay, is this what you have been dreaming about?"

He looked back at the ruined village. "I believe so."

"When we last encountered this people, they had technology that interfered with our sensors. Could something like that be happening here as well?" Perhaps they had been going about this the wrong way: perhaps they should have been looking for the source of the interference they had been experiencing, instead of a way to break through it on their own.

But then he burst her fragile bubble of hope. "No, there is no technology here. I think what we've been thinking of as technology is the combined power of spirits trapped here, on this planet."

"Ghosts?" she incredulously asked. "You're talking about ghosts?"

"Consider it, Kathryn," he said as he turned to her, holding both her hands. "We have seen that the body can die if the mind – the spirit – thinks it is dying. But have we ever considered what happens to a spirit that has become separate of its body, but could not find its way back? What happens to that spirit if the body dies?"

A cold dread washed over her, but she refused to acknowledge it and she never gave in to fear. "Especially if those spirits are enraged," she added. She had experienced enough in her lifetime not to scoff at his explanation. She had seen the power of a spirit without a body. In fact, she had seen how strong Chakotay had been when he had been separate from his body. "If I were that angry I, too, would want to take it out on others."

"Exactly. These spirits are trapped here in their anger. They can't find their way home anymore."

She frowned as she considered this. This was unfamiliar territory; and yet it was not. They now found themselves in a conflict situation. And she had always found the best way to end conflict was to engage in dialogue. Only then one might reach a resolution.

"Why would these people build a medicine wheel that leads them through the evil? Were they angry, or did could it be that they made a mistake?"

Chakotay looked at the village. "I don't know," he replied.

"Can we perhaps change the wheel to help them find their way home?"

He became still – that stillness when he had found a solution. "No. But perhaps we can lead them through the maze."

She felt a slow dread join the fear in her belly. Suspiciously she asked: "How?"

He applied a slight pressure to the one hand he still held. "We have to go on a spirit quest."

"Both of us?"

"Both of us," he confirmed. She wanted to sigh.

"I was afraid of that."