Chapter 29
When Tom returned to check on Sifa, both she and Chakotay were asleep. His Commander had climbed into the bed beside her and was curled up at her side, one arm stretched across her chest.
Tom tried not to disturb them. He could tell Chakotay had given her another dose of medicine, which explained why she was sleeping. He was sleeping from pure exhaustion. Tom ran the tricorder over her body and checked the readings. Satisfied, he left the two alone in the room.
Morwen had a full meal laid out on the table. T'Lea had woken and joined them. Tom sat in the empty chair next to B'Elanna at the table.
The group sat quietly while Morwen said a prayer, and then they began to pass the dishes around.
"She's doing fine," Tom told the teen. "I just had a look at her. The incisions are healing nicely."
"Thank you for allowing me to rest," he said quietly. "I will tend to her after we've eaten. She will need new bandages."
"I can help you with that, if you'd like."
T'Lea shook his head. He wanted to help his mother preserve her privacy.
"Morwen, how did the Council go? Did your people come to a resolution?" Janeway asked.
Morwen took a deep breath before he spoke. "The Imati have decided to remain… Imati."
B'Elanna, without her universal translator, could only understand the Starfleet side of the conversation. She looked to Tom, who ignored her, listening intently to Morwen.
He told the story about the buck with the broken neck. He explained that the people agreed that they had gained much of value through their connection with Garen. The primary thing that they had because of this relationship with nature was harmony. Harmony with all things, and with each other. After a long discussion, the group came to a consensus that this was more important than the short term benefits of embracing technology.
Somehow, the way Morwen explained it, neither Janeway nor Paris took offense. B'Elanna poked Tom in the ribs. "Ow!" he said, turning to give her a warning glance.
"What did he say?" she asked.
Tom did his best to translate.
"They unanimously agreed to reject life with technology?" she said, astonished. "I mean, not even one person wants to…" Both Tom and the Captain stared at her until she was quiet.
"My mother does not yet know," T'Lea said. "Nor does Chakotay."
In the early evening, Chakotay awoke. After a few minutes ministering to his wife, he stood and walked through the house. T'Lea was in the kitchen, brewing a new batch of the potion that was helping Sifa to sleep through her pain.
"Your friends are in the garden," T'Lea told him. "My mother?"
"She is still sleeping," Chakotay said.
"I will sit with her. I think your friends wish to speak to you." He took the pot off the hot stove and set it on a cloth to cool.
Chakotay served himself leftovers from lunch and went outside with his bowl and cup.
"Chakotay," the Captain said, genuinely happy to see him.
"Kathryn," he said, settling down on the bench to eat his meal. "Tom, B'Elanna."
"How is she?" Kathryn asked.
He nodded. "She seems better," he said. Chakotay swallowed and his eyes drifted to the river.
"Have you heard the news?" Janeway said. "The outcome of the Council?"
Chakotay shook his head. Honestly, he'd completely forgotten about it.
She paraphrased what Morwen had said. Chakotay looked down at the communicator on his chest. Given the decision, even this would have to go, and permanently this time. He would have to learn to speak Imati.
"Kathryn," Chakotay said, "There are some things on the ship… things I will need…"
"There's no rush, Chakotay. Voyager will stay here as long as it takes," she said. "Did you want to go, or would you like one of us to?"
Chakotay was thoughtful a moment. "If someone could just get my prayer bundle." He thought for a moment about a pad with his personal log, but that was technology beyond what the Imati had accepted. "That's really all I need," he said.
"I'll do it," B'Elanna offered. "I'll get it for you, Chakotay."
"Tom, you go with her, come back in the morning." the Captain said. "I'll stay here tonight."
"Yes, Ma'am," Paris replied. He put an arm around B'Elanna and called the ship to beam them up.
After they dissolved into the air, Janeway looked at her friend. "Chakotay, is there anything I can do?"
His face filled with pain. "N-no…" he pushed the anguish back as far as he could, and then got up, walking with purpose towards the woods. Janeway looked on with concern.
Chakotay hiked briskly through the woods until he was breathing hard from the exertion. He traversed over to the riverbank, following a rarely used trail. Once at the river's edge, he dipped his hands in and splashed water on his face. He glanced around and saw a sandbar a little farther upriver. Chakotay walked up the bank, closer to the bar, and then waded the short distance to it.
He sat in the middle of the sand and drew his sacred symbols with his finger. Surrounded by the power of his ancestors, he raised up his voice in prayer.
"Acuchimoya. I am far from the sacred places of our grandfathers and from the bones of my people. But perhaps there is one powerful being who will embrace me and give me the answers I seek."
Janeway waited for an hour before deciding to track him down. She didn't like the way he was carrying himself. He seemed to be filled to the brim with sorrow and pain, but he seemed to be trying to hide it from the very people who could comfort him. She saw that the sun was beginning to set, and she decided to find him before his distracted mind got him into some kind of trouble.
She followed his trail to the river and saw him sitting in the middle of the sandbar in meditation. He didn't seem to have noticed that the water had risen around him.
Kathryn found a good place to cross and waded over to the break. She kneeled just outside of his circle. "Chakotay," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
He shook off the daze he was in and glanced her way. Then he said his closing prayer and carefully wiped the pictures from the sand with the flat of his hand.
"It's getting late," she said. "If the water rises any more, you'll find yourself in a mess."
"Oh," he said. "Uh… I lost track of time."
"C'mon, let's get you home," she said. She held out her hand and he got to his feet.
As they walked through the woods, he finally started to speak. Janeway had no words that would truly ease his pain, but she did listen. She stayed at his side and she gave him her full attention.
By the time they arrived back at the house, their clothes were almost dry and the sun was sinking on the horizon. Janeway sat by the fire and Chakotay was surprised to see Sifa walking slowly from the kitchen back toward the bedroom.
He took her in his arms.
