Part Four: Holma Tura
Author: Turtlewoman
Rating: PG-13
January, 2001

Kathryn and her escorts walked down the long and winding pathway at the end of the garden. Flowering plants gave way to tall, clipped hedges bordering the path. The night caressed them in a warm, moist embrace, wisps of fog curling around their ankles, muting even the sound of their feet padding against the ground. The liquid of the last ceremonial toast still floated on the edges of her tongue and she swore she could almost taste it in the fog. The softness of the evening and the walk in the fog left her dreamily reviewing the last few hours.

Dinner at the Prime Couselor's residence had certainly been interesting. She hadn't been flirted with that blatently since she'd been in her twenties. There seemed to be some kind of a cultural subtext to all of it, but she hadn't quite figured out what it was. Neither had Chakotay. The more informal and flirtatious Counselor Nareeb became, the more sullen and formal Chakotay acted. If she didn't know better, she would swear he was jealous. That thought alone, and the attention lavished upon her, pleased her far more than it ought to. She had almost forgotten what it felt like to be treated like a desirable woman. It had been a grand evening. There was this little twinge of guilt about leading on Nareeb a wee bit, just to see Chakotay glower at her from across the room. She'd have to keep a tight rein on such childish behavior during future meetings. Still, it had been fun to loosen up just a little, for once.

Her small entourage continued along the garden path. Eventually, it narrowed into a dirt trail, the neat, clipped hedges fading into forest. Trees loomed above her, branches intertwined over her head. Below, the forest floor was carpeted with a bluish moss, a fern-like growth, the occassional fungi and fallen leaves. The whole place had a secret, forgotten feel to it.

They walked on. She slid a surreptious glance at these newest escorts. They looked vaguely like Chakotay, but that was true of all the men of this planet. One Chakotay was dizzying enough, a planet full of them had her hormones on overdrive. There were some noticable differences with these two men, however. They hadn't smiled yet, nor had they made eye contact with her. Both were taller than Chakotay, much taller.

It occurred to her that she had wandering quite far from the Residence with these two silent, stern men. Neither the trail, or their silence, seemed anywhere near ending. If nothing else, she should inform Chakotay of her whereabouts.

She halted and turned to them, using her best no nonsense Captain's voice, "I wish to contact my first officer."

Without a word, the men stopped, stepping back to allow her privacy.

"Janeway to Chakotay."

"Where are you?"

She was startled at the vehemence of his reply. Obviously, he was still annoyed for having been taunted all evening.

"Commander," she said brusquely. She would pull him back into line right away and apologize later. "My escorts and I have traveled some distance from the Prime Counselor's residence. We left on a small path off the southeastern corner of the garden. There does not appear to be anyone remotely near us and ...well, I thought you might want me to check in."

"How very kind of you to remember standard protocol." His acid tone hadn't softened at all. "Where are you going?"

"I don't know. They haven't told me." That came out a bit more petulant than she planned.

"Have you tried asking?"

She bristled. Actually, she hadn't thought to ask. The fact that he was acting more professionally than she was, irritated her as much as his tone.

"Stand by, Commander." Her hand still against her com badge, she beckoned one of her waiting escorts. "Where are we going?"

"This path goes to the Font of the Holma Tura, Lady," replied the guard, with cool deference.

"That's Captain."

"Pardon, Lady?"

"If you have to call me by a title, you may call me Captain."

"Yes, Lady Captain."

She gave a sigh of resignation, then relayed to Chakotay, "Commander, we are proceeding to a place called the Font of the Holma Tura."

"Which would be where…..Lady Captain?"

That man was insufferably sarcastic. Her irritation increased a notch more, as he pointed out that she'd forgotten to get another important piece of information. It wasn't like her to miss the obvious. Why did it have to be in front of him?

"It lays two fenabes ahead," the escort prompted. He seemed to be enjoying her discomfort, but offered no further information.

"Its tw.."

"I heard. And you wo.. be ..ing there fo… ...at rea..."

"Commander. There appears to be some interference. I'll contact you later."

"Damn!" The only part of the message he'd understood was the 'contact later' part. What was wrong with Kathryn? She normally wouldn't go waltzing into the unknown without at least three backup plans. Chakotay extricated himself from the bevy of people that had all seemed to descend upon him as soon as the Captain had risen from dinner.

"Chakotay to Voyager."

"Paris here, Commander. How goes the vacation? What can we do for you?"

"I've lost the Captain's com signal. She said she was going to someplace called the 'Font of the Holma Tura'. Scan that area for her lifesigns. And pull up any information you might have on this Font."

"Will do. Is there a problem, Commander?"

"No...not that I know of. Just see if you can trace her, will you?"

"Harry's trying, but he's running into a lot of interference. He can't pick up anything. As for the Font, there isn't too much information in the data chip the Narati Cultural Commision sent. It is an ancient religious site, one of the oldest on the planet. The only thing of note is that, at one time, women often invited men they intended to.... well, it was considered an auspicious beginning."

"I.. see."

There was a long stretch of dead silence.

"Commander, was there something else?" Paris prompted.

"No. No, that's all for now. Work on that interference problem, Harry. Chakotay out."

Chakotay scanned the dining chamber, looking for Kathryn's ever so attentive dinner companion. There, on the far side of the room, Prime Counselor Nareeb was deep in discussion with Salaari, the woman from the House of Preparation. Chakotay threaded his way over to the pair, hearing Nareeb say, "Prepare the lady well for the Choosing." Salaari nodded and, giving Chakotay a smile, slipped past him.

"Prepare who for what, Counselor?" Chakotay demanded.

"Please, call me Nareeb."

This guy was aggrevatingly smooth, thought Chakotay, "Who,... Nareeb?"

"Why your beautiful Lady Captain, Commander. She has actually exchanged the ritual roti with me. I must say, I am pleased beyond words with her willingness to follow our customs. I never hoped she would favor me so. She has even drunk of the Holma Pavi.

"Holma Pavi?"

"Yes, during the last toast, she chose the Holma Pavi, life's elixir. You must excuse me, Commander. The elixir is strongest for only a few measures of the tafi."

"You've drugged her? Where is she?" Chakotay stepped threateningly close to Nareeb. Before he could act Vasik, the holy man Chakotay had studied with earlier in the day, stepped between them.

"Good evening, Chakotay. I trust you enjoyed the dinner," Vasik chatted amiably. "Nareeb, if I may intrude, allow me to answer our guest." He addressed Chakotay, "There is no need for alarm. It would be sacrilege to mute her response at this time. It is the last thing we would wish. She must be free to choose. The Holma Pavi is not a drug. It simply allows one to accept the path of the Holma with contentment." During this explanation, Vasik moved so that Chakotay turned to listen to him. Nareeb slipped quietly away.

"Vasik, my La…my Captain has no idea what she has agreed to. We must stop this! Whatever she drank, it's clouded her judgment. I'm sure of it. Nareeb…" Chakotay turned to where the First Counselor had been standing, only to see the last of him disappear down a path at the end of the garden.

As Chakotay leapt to follow, Vasik restrained him saying, "Your Lady Captain must walk her chosen path without coercion. She has taken the Pavi. You cannot interfere. It would be an insult all that we are."

Chakotay struggled to free himself. "She doesn't understand what is being asked of her. Let me go. At least let me tell her what is Nareeb is expecting!"

"Commander, contain yourself before you create an incident. I shall allow you to go only when I am sure you understand. Listen to me."

"You will allow me to go to her?"

"I will take you to her myself."

"I'm listening."

The mouth of the cave loomed black and dark before her. When Kathryn turned to protest to her escorts, she found that it was Salaari who now stood watching her.

"What is the meaning of this Salaari? I have no intention of walking in there."

Salaari laughed softly and took her hand and led her to bench at the edge of the clearing. "Then let us sit here and gaze upon the opening instead."

Kathryn sat. Kathryn was not very good at sitting. What was in there? Her curiosity grew even as Salaari calmly answered all the questions Kathryn peppered at her. Salaari told her that there was a whole pool of Holma Pavi, the liquid with which she had toasted Nareeb, in the farthest chamber. The chamber could be reached by the tunnel in front of them. There was no other way to approach the Font, although there had been one once. The pool had been there as long as history. Kathryn stood. She walked to the entrance. All she could see was a long corridor fading into blackness. In spite of herself, she felt drawn to enter. She walked back to Salaari and sat beside her, staring intently at the cave. "Are we going to sit here all night, Salaari?"

"If you wish to sit, Lady, then we will sit."

"And if I don't wish to sit?"

"Then we will not, Lady"

"What is it with this Lady business all of a sudden?"

"One must honor those who have chosen to walk the Holma."

"I haven't chosen anything. Those guards led me here."

"Did they? Who walked first? They were merely escorts."

Kathryn stood again, "Do you mean I chose to come here? I knew nothing about this place. Why would I come here?" She strode over to the entrance of the cave once again and stood there, hands on hips.

Salaari followed her. "Only you will know that, Lady."

Kathryn thought about turning around and marching right back to Nareeb's residence, but then she would never know what was inside that cave. She stared. Prudence required that she turn back, she knew that. Yet she felt the strongest compulsion to enter that cave. She stared a while longer. Somewhere, in the inner core of her being, she knew she'd regret it forever if she didn't go into that cave. Decision made, she marched in. Salaari followed.

The corridor proceeded straight and symmetrically for a distance of fifty meters. The matte walls swallowed what little moonlight had filtered into the tunnel. Without thinking, she kicked off her sandals and proceeded barefoot. The floor had that same cool softness she had noticed in the House of Preparation . Kathryn continued to ease forward until her foot hit against a step. As she placed her palm against the wall for support, her hand brushed against an unlit torch.

"Is there some way to light this?" she asked Salaari.

"Yes. Allow me, Lady." Salaari gave a twist to the base of the torch, shaking loose a tinderbox hidden within and handed the lit torch back to Kathryn.

"Salaari, this corridor is obviously man-made. It's far too symmetrical to be otherwise. Why didn't you install an artificial lighting system when you were making the corridor?"

"This corridor is artificial, yes. But it more or less follows a tunnel that caved in a long time ago. As for the torch, it's of an ancient design that has always been used in this place."

They continued up the steps. The corridor became more serpentine, sweeping first to the right, then to the left. Both women pulled their rias tighter, shivering in the cave-cooled air. Finally, they came to a door laced with delicately interwoven vines, the flowers and leaves almost quivering, so beautifully were they carved. Kathryn pushed open the door. The women were enveloped in a cloud of warm and scented air. She could come to love these people. There it was, up on a pedestal, another huge, marble bathtub just filled to the brim with warm and scented water. "Let me guess. We need to take another ritual bath before proceeding into a sanctified area."

Salaari chuckled.

"Far be it from me to miss a chance at a nice soak in the tub." Kathryn shed her rias and climbed into the tub, sinking back into the fragrant waters with a sigh of contentment.

"One moment, Lady. There should be towels and fresh rias on this shelf." Salaari lit a second torch in a stand next to the tub and took the first to search the whole of the bathing chamber. She found nothing. "Lady, are you secure enough to allow me to leave you for a few moments. There is a supply hut not far from the entrance of the cave. With your permission…?"

"Um?" Kathryn replied lazily, "Oh, take your time, I'm just fine here." Salaari picked up the discarded rias and exited. Kathryn lay content for a few more moments before looking around the chamber. The dome above her shone softly in the light of the torch. Golden stars set in the ceiling twinkled in the flickering of the torch light. The walls were smooth with occasional shelf-like indentations. But for a bench next to the bathtub, there was no other furniture in the chamber. The chamber itself had an odd ovoid shape, tapering at the far wall. As she looked through the steam of the bath, she could see another carved door against that wall. This one had a pattern far different from the flowing, intertwined vines of the first door. From her vantage point in the tub, the door appeared to be incised with a pattern that looked remarkably like intertwined IDIC badges framing a central emblem.

Curiosity overcoming comfort, she climbed out of the bath, grabbed the torch and walked dripping to the door. It appeared much older than the bathing chamber door, and had none of its delicate, fragile tracery. Instead, it was the IDIC pattern, repeated again and again. While she was willing to believe that two societies could independently develop a modified triangular pattern, there was absolutely no way that emblem design could be put down to coincidence. She traced her fingers around it. She'd seen this design, this whole design, only once before. There was nothing in the preparatory reports that mentioned this design or its symbolic significance. Her fingers lingered on the emblem. Her excitement grew. She felt the strongest compulsion to search further for an explanation. Either someone was playing an elaborate hoax, or she was a door away from discovering something quite extraordinary. Wait until Chakotay saw this.

"Salaari!" No answer. She mustn't have returned yet. Kathryn wanted to go through that door. Should she wait? Salaari seemed to expect her to do something. Maybe it wasn't necessary that she wait. Kathryn straightened to command posture, pushed the door open and strode through. The corridor continued smooth and finished for a few meters before gradually melting into what had to be the original natural tunnel. There was a faint noise ahead, but she couldn't yet identify it; the echoes overlapped each other to garble the sound. She continued, stumbling a bit as her bare feet hit the odd stone on the path. The noise coalesced into a steady plonk, plonk. On she went, stumbling and crawling over rocks and boulders. She was cold and dripping from the bath and had already scrapped and bruised her feet on the rough tunnel floor. Still, she had to continue forward, felt compelled to continue forward. With each step, she felt she closer to solving the mystery of that door. She was beyond curious. She had to know. That carving was a deliberate guidepost meant for her. She was sure of it. Behind her, behind her felt ominous, wrong, maybe even dangerous. She had to go forward.

Her sense of urgency grew. She found herself running through the tunnel. This was ridiculous. There was no reason she should be feeling this way, yet she did. She didn't know whether to call it a premonition or a delusion, but she knew something quite extraordinary lay in front of her, if she could just reach it. She burst into a cathedral-like chamber, the walls rising up, up, to a ceiling invisible beyond the feeble light of the torch. Plonk! Plonk! There, on the far side of the chamber, was a spring. It had to be the Font of the Holma Tura. It was rather lovely, but Kathryn certainly wouldn't class it as unique or special in any way she could discern. Was this what she was meant to see? The pool extended into the darkness before her. Liquid, falling off the tip of a stalactite overhanging the center of the pool, cast concentric ripples against the shore. On one side, stalagmites bordered the water, a frozen forest of crystal growing in stone. On the other, a narrow ledge overhung the spring and swung toward the rear of the cavern. She still had an overwhelming urge to go forward, but to where? Her run had left her thirsty. Leaning over the side of the pool she dipped her cupped hand into the water. This was the liquid she'd taken at dinner. Still, she sipped cautiously. It slid down her throat with the same silky coolness, subtle and sweet. As she lifted her hand for another sip, a muffled rumbling rolled up the corridor and suddenly the ground beneath her began to ripple and buck, throwing her down. Water sloshed over her and doused the torch. She clung to the ground in darkness, washed again and again by the icy waters of the spring, and assaulted by the sound of falling rocks.

Salaari exited the cave to see three men arguing heatedly. They ignored her as she fetched the towels and fresh rias. She listened.

"You can't stop me!" Chakotay said in quiet, contained fury, "If my Captain is in that cave, there is no way you are keeping me out."

"Consider well before you forbid him entrance, Nareeb." Vasik said, trying to calm his agitated Prime Counselor.

"She did not give him the roti. She did not share the Holma Pavi with him. She shared with me, only with me! He should be forbidden entrance. Who is he that he can dictate how I follow the dictates of my own faith?"

Salaari stepped forward, "He can dictate nothing, nor can you, but I can. This is a woman's place, a woman's issue and a woman will decide. The sharing of roti and pavi does not institute a choice. It is merely an invitation. I watched you tonight, Nareeb. You deliberately kept her apart from any other. Who else could she give the roti to? One man is no choice at all. He will go with you. I have spoken." With that she shoved the towels at one man and the torch at the other. "Vasik, escort me back please. We will leave these two to find their own paths, which I trust, gentlemen, will be a good deal harmonious than it has been so far.

With a nod of annoyed acquiescence Nareeb started toward the cave. Chakotay whispered a relieved thank you and followed him.

"He seems a good man, genuinely open to our teachings. His devotion," Vasik laughed, "and attention to his Captain seem a tad beyond simple loyalty, though. And the lady? How is she responding?"

"The holma runs strong within her, but she fights it. She is piercingly curious, though. I think that will move her along her path. We can only hope her curiosity is greater than her stubbornness." Salaari continued pensively, "It seems odd that she has picked this place, that she has picked this place with the men still behind her. I have not known this to be so before."

"Um....but her Holma knows, and it's the stubborn ones who hold fastest to their holma, once they accept it," Vasik countered slipping his arm around Salaari.

Salaari snuggled into his embrace, said, "Yes, I guess we do."

The men walked along the corridor in uneasy silence. Chakotay finally asked, "Nareeb, not that I'm unhappy with the outcome, but why did you give in so easily? Vasik is your leading religious leader, yet you argued with him all the way to the cave."

"We are equal in power. As secular head, I do not have to accept what he says."

"Yet you didn't say a word to Salaari. What is her rank?"

"Rank? She has none." Nareeb stopped and looked at Chakotay sheepishly. "I don't know about the women where you are from, but here, when a woman like Salaari gives you 'that' look and uses 'that' tone, one might just as well do what she says the first time. There isn't a man on the whole planet powerful enough to stand against a really determined woman."

Chakotay laughed. "I understand completely."

Nareeb grinned in return, "I guess you would." He kicked off his sandals next to Kathryn's discarded ones. Chakotay placed his shoes with the others and followed Nareeb up the steps and through the door to the bathing chamber.

"Kathryn must have loved this bathtub," he said as he saw a damp trail leading toward an opened door at the far side of the chamber."

Nareeb set the towels Salaari had thrown at him onto the bench, removed his luangati and climbed into the huge marble tub. "Chakotay, you cannot proceed further until you cleanse yourself."

Chakotay turned back, stuck the torch in the holder, shucked his clothing and climbed into the large tub. Each man surreptitiously checked the other's attributes. It was amazing how closely they resembled each other….in all ways. Then the tremors started, sloshing the water from the tub.

"Kathryn!"

They looked at each other in horror and scrambled over the side of the tub, stumbling and crawling toward the far passageway. Nareeb grabbed the torch and a towel. The chamber rippled and waved like a sail catching the wind. The floor beneath their feet became rough and broken. What had seemed like an open door now appeared a black and forbidding passage to hell. The men ran as best they could, the ripples throwing them against the rocks and rubble. Behind them, they could hear the tunnel begin to collapse. Ignoring the pain as their feet were slashed by the rubble, they redoubled their efforts almost running into a boulder as it fell in front of them. Smaller rocks followed the first, falling down upon their naked shoulders. One glanced against the side of Nareeb's head. He dropped like the stones around him. Chakotay threw himself over Nareeb, wedging them both under a hollow created by the boulder falling against the side of the tunnel. Behind him an even larger boulder fell. The torch, sputtering and burning, rolled against the opposite wall, casting crazed shadows as the ground rippled.

Finally, the movement stopped. Nareeb lay still but Chakotay could feel the steady, strong beat of his heart. He lifted the Counselor's eyelids. Both pupils contracted in the wavering light. Relieved, Chakotay pulled him out from their cubbyhole and gently placed the towel under his head. Then he turned to survey what might become their tomb. The tunnel behind them was blocked completely, a large boulder plugging the way out. In front of them, a series of smaller boulders, balanced upon the one that had sheltered them from the worst of the cave-in, loosely rose toward the ceiling. He grabbed the torch and started to climb over the rocks. There was a small gap near the ceiling. He held the torch in front of him, tying to determine how far it extended. The torch in front of him flickered then grew, waving in a gentle breeze. Air! There was air in front of them! He thanked the spirits. If Kathryn had survived this, she would have air to breath. He jammed the torch into a crevasse, and started to pull the rubble away from the rocks.

Nareeb moaned as he awoke to a shower of dirt and stones. "Chakotay! Chakotay! Where are you?"

Chakotay stopped his frantic digging. "Up here Nareeb. Are you all right?"

"Oh I'm grand, just grand," Nareeb replied taking the towel and tying it around his naked torso and rubbing the rather large lump on his head. "A most refreshing little nap. And yourself. Have you survived this intact?"

"I've just got a few bruises. Help me with this rock, will you?" The two men heaved, clawed, pulled and pushed, extending the small passage bit by bit . Muscles shaking with fatigue, they slid down to the bottom of the pile for a moments rest.

"Chakotay, perhaps, instead of trying to dig out, we should conserve our air and wait for the rescue teams to dig in to us."

"There's no need to conserve air. There is a breeze coming from somewhere. Look at the torch. Besides, we aren't digging out. We are digging in."

"In? Why? You can't possibly think she's survived."

"We did." Chakotay climbed back up and resumed wrestling rocks away from the opening.

"Even if we manage to dig to the inner chamber, I'm told it goes nowhere."

"It goes to her." Chakotay spat. "Help me with this, will you?" He'd been trying to shift a large rock toward the edge. "What do you mean you've been told? Haven't you been here before?"

Nareeb climbed up to help him. "No, this is a woman's place. No man enters unless it is for the Choosing, even then, its used only rarely. I've never even been as far as the bath chamber before."

Chakotay gave him an incredulous look, "You mean to tell me that this is your first time?"

Nareeb laughed, "It is the first time I've been invited here, to this place, Chakotay, the first time that protocols have been followed so rigorously."

'Figures,' Chakotay thought to himself.

The men lapsed into silence, all their energy concentrated on enlarging that hole. Each time they thought they had gotten the rock in a position to move, it would fall back, more securely lodged than before. Finally, they were able to use a shard of rock as a wedge and pry it back from the hole.

"Give me the torch," said Chakotay, sticking his arm through the opening, trying to see how much further they had to go. "Nareeb, the light is shinning on water! We're through! Kathryn! Kathryn!"

Nothing.

He frantically tore at the rubble until he could squeeze along the narrow passage and push himself through.

"Kathryn!"

Nareeb followed. They found her torch by the side of the spring almost at once but could find no other trace of her.

"Chakotay, if she is buried under this rubble, she couldn't have survived. Give it up man. These are her burial stones."

"I can't," he said in a barely suppressed sob. He frantically threw himself back into moving piles of rocks.

Nareeb watched him, letting Chakotay burn his grief out in mindless action. Then maybe they could crawl back the way they had come and wait to be rescued. Pity though. She had seemed such a superior woman. Nareeb pulled the torch from where it was wedged in the rocks and walked back to examine the Font of the Holma Tura. Drops of water fell from a small protrusion centered above the pool. The steady dripping punctuated the muffled rumble that they had been hearing since they broke into the chamber. The sound seemed to issue from across the pool. Climbing onto to a ledge rising over the edge of the pool, Nareeb inched his way along. It wouldn't do to fall into the Font. He wasn't sure he believed the legend, but he saw no reason to test it. The shaking had cracked part of the ledge. He leapt over it, stumbling into what should have been an alcove at far end of the cavern. The alcove became a tunnel, a tunnel that shouldn't be there. And, shining in the torch light, little puddles of water marched away into the blackness.

"Chakotay!"

"You found her!"

"No, but if she survived this, I think I've found where she's gone," said Nareeb, turning back toward the tunnel. "There is a tunnel here where none should be."

Chakotay had already started toward Nareeb and was running along the ledge when Nareeb turned back and shouted too late, "Watch out!" Chakotay hit the crack hard. It broke beneath him, dumping him into the Font. "Keep your eyes closed!"

Nareeb grabbed for Chakotay. "Whatever you do, don't open your eyes yet!" Pulling him out of the spring, Nareeb jammed the towel against the shivering man's eyes, drying them furiously. "There, you should be okay now."

Chakotay grabbed the torch, "Explain Nareeb, but keep moving! Kathryn!"

"Legend has it, that if one bathes in the Font, one is so overcome with the path of the Holma that one becomes blind to the world for some time."

"Kathryn!" Still nothing. "The legend is probably a metaphor, Nareeb."

"It seemed best to avoid testing the...metaphor and, seeing the second part of the legend has been verified, I'm glad we didn't."

"Second part?"

"Yes….the part where it states that one will emerge from the pool as naked as a new born babe."

"Nareeb, I was naked going in."

"Not this naked. You have no hair…..anywhere."

Chakotay touched his hairless head and kept running.

"Well, you accept this far better than I would have," Nareeb shouted, the muffled rumble having steadily grown to a roaring that vibrated through them.

Chakotay shouted back, "It's happened before. One gets used to it. Look! Light ahead! Kathryn! Kathryn! Answer me!"

Kathryn stood, engulfed in the thunderous roaring, trying to remember every detail, trying to make some sense out of this latest passage along the path she was supposedly following. There must have been something she'd missed, something that would help her decide what she was to do now.

She remembered being thrown off her feet. Forever had passed as Kathryn huddled on the ground, completely disoriented. Echoes of falling rock reverberated throughout the blackened chamber. Pushing down her mounting panic, she listened with all of her senses. The echoes made it difficult to determine direction but vibrations from the floor, each time a rock hit, led her to think that the majority of the crashing came from behind her. In front of her was the pool, nestled up against the end of the cavern. She faced the waters and concentrated. There! She turned her head back and forth. There, in front of her, across the water, there was another sound, a different sound! Was it just a gathering of the echoes or was the low roaring something else? She felt it! A breeze! Not just air disturbed from the falling rocks behind her, it was a breeze from outside! Nothing in a cave would carry the scent of flowers. She dipped her hand into the frigid water thinking longingly of that lovely warm bath Salaari and she had come upon and hoping that dear woman hadn't reentered the cavern. Rocks continued to drop behind her. There was nothing else to do then, but go forward. Kathryn slipped into the pool, submerging herself completely. As she came to the surface, she could feel the breeze strongly against her wet body. She swam. She listened. She felt the breeze. Slowly, slowly, she moved forward until, finally, her hand hit the far edge of the pool. The roaring sound issued from somewhere in front of her. She pulled herself out of the water and focused on the scent and sound. One step, then another, Kathryn began her long trek through the darkness.

With each turn of the tunnel, the roaring grew stronger until finally she seemed enveloped in sound. She continued forward, her hand loosing touch with the side of the tunnel. The sound seemed to come from everywhere. Slowly she inched forward, drawn now more by scent than sound, the smell of the flowers almost overwhelming. Beneath the flowers were odors of earth, smoke, fish and water. Mist coated her and the breeze whipped all around her. Still she moved forward, feeling the rocks beneath her feet, wet and slippery, until her foot touched only air. She carefully put her foot over the side, trying to feel for a step. Nothing. She knelt down and reached over the side, her hand tracing a path down slickened rock. She couldn't feel the end of it. The shifting wind patterns and varied scents led her to deduce that she had exited the caverns, but the night was so black that she couldn't see even a shadow of a shadow. Climbing back to her feet, she stood there uncertain, unable to go forward or back. She tried to review this last short journey for any clues as to what she should do next.

That is all there seemed to be to remember and it didn't seem useful. All she had to guide her, was the feeling that she should still be going forward. The constant roaring lulled her and she soon she stood there, in non-thought, listening to it. After some time, she became aware of a faint under sound, calling her. So faintly, "Kaaaaathrynnnnnn." Again, "Kathryn. "Answer me!"

That was his voice! Spinning toward the sound, she called back, "Chakotay! Here! Chakotay!"

He burst from the cave and saw her turning and groping at the very edge of a cliff, bald as a borg and naked besides. "Kathryn! Don't move!" He ran to her, pulling her away from the precipice and into his arms. They alternately hugged, scolded, explained and comforted each other, he needing more comforting than she.

Nareeb held back, observing as they held onto each other, alternating between exchanging information and soothing each other. So, he thought, this is how it is with them.

"Sh, sh. I'm all right. Really. I've just got a few cuts and bruises. You'll see when the dawn comes," she said.

Chakotay loosened his hold on her slightly. "What did you say, Kathryn?"

"We can check each other for injuries when the dawn comes. It shouldn't be much longer. Have you ever experienced such darkness? I'm sure we've exited the cave, but it's as black out here as inside. I can barely see you." Once her relief ebbed she became aware of just how much skin against skin she was sharing with her first officer. "You're as naked as I am," she gasped.

"I noticed." Chakotay looked at Nareeb in despair as Kathryn continued.

She gently unplastered herself from his body. "They are going to have a field day with this on Voyager," she said with an embarrassed laugh. Then, taking command again, "We should rest until it gets light. I'd hate to try to traverse these rocks in the dark."

"Kathryn," Chakotay took her hands in his. Thinking her title might give her strength, he said, "Captain. It's already dawn. Nareeb, how long will she be blind?"

"Blind? Nareeb is here? Who else is here? Salaari?"

"You see only the path, Lady. We are the only ones. Salaari did not enter the cave."

She slumped in relief, "She's safe then. Nareeb, the only thing I see is Chakotay, and barely him. I have no clue how to find this path everyone keeps telling me I'm on." She tried to cover herself whispering, "Chakotay, shield me. I don't know where he is."

"Then Chakotay must be part of your Holma, Lady."

"Give me the towel, Nareeb." Chakotay wrapped the filthy rag around her, "If Holma means your path through life, you might be able to see anything connected with Voyager."

"I do not know if that is so, Chakotay. But you are a part of her Choosing. Whether you are a... metaphor for your ship and her life there, I don't know. Naratis usually experience the path of the Holma with more clarity."

"Regardless, we need to get out of here. I don't know about you two, but I'm freezing. Commander. Describe our surroundings."

It was only then that Chakotay noticed where they had emerged. Gasping, he pulled her closer. They were standing upon a small precipice imbedded high in the center of a mammoth waterfall. Above them jutted a huge rock. It was roughly rounded, with a center portion rising and tapering, stabbing at the sky. It cut the waterfall like a knife, sending the cascade to either side of their narrow perch. Below their ledge, jagged rocks tumbled and fell into a churning cauldron of water.

"Nareeb, where is this place?"

Nareeb was dumb struck, staring at the spire above them.

"Nareeb!"

"Chakotay. Look carefully at the rock above us. What does it remind you of?"

He looked and thought and then remembered, "It looks like the temple Vasik took me to. Is this significant?"

"It could be. You asked me where we were. I know where we should be, and what this place must be, but it is not as I have seen it." He turned toward them, "There is an ancient legend of my people…" he started. They both turned toward his voice, giving him undivided attention. "…..that a temple appeared high in the Gulabi Grahniyam, the Cataract of the Flowers, and from this temple issued the Danoushi." He stopped.

"Danoushi?" Kathryn prompted.

"Danoushi, um…People of the Rainbow…uh…Gift from the Gods…there are many translations. They came, the two that saved my people, they came, along with the Gurugyana, the..uh.. Teacher of Songs.. He Who Remembers.. and the people received them and honored them."

"As fascinating as I find ancient legends," she continued, "could we go back to figuring out where we are?"

"Lady, that is what I am trying to determine. Tens of millennia ago my people built temples to replicate the shape of the temple rock in this very cataract, but I have never seen this rock before! The falls eroded behind it and the temple collapsed thousands of turns before my birth. This is the River of Flowers, I am sure of it, and its cataract. There is no other like it on the whole planet. But it does not look like this. The falls should be further back. And there should be a hill of fallen stone in the middle of the river, near the base of the falls, where the temple used to be."

"Chakotay, I'm getting a headache."

"I was afraid of that."

"Lady, are you injured? Perhaps you should sit and rest."

"No, it's not that Nareeb," she paused, unsure of how to say it, "Nareeb, from what you have said, it may be… that we have somehow… been thrown back into the past. The question becomes, not so much 'where' we are, but 'when' we are."

"Is this possible?"

Chakotay chimed in, "With her? Very possible. She's a 'fatal attractor'. Ow!" She had jabbed him with an elbow.

"I must think…..Lady, what do you see?"

"I see Chakotay, but indistinctly. Initially everything was dark, now I see more of a cloudy glow. It's like standing within a thick fog. You are mostly a voice. Once in awhile, I think I see your outline, but I sense it more than see it."

"Chakotay, lead her to the precipice. Again, I ask you, what do you see?"

Her toes hung over the side of the foremost rock and she leaned back against Chakotay, pulling his arms around her for support. She stared into the whiteness, " I sense the rocks below us, and the flowers growing in the gorge, but the only thing I think I see are those children below us."

Both Nareeb and Chakotay had to strain their eyes. Far, far along into the gorge, almost obscured by the mist, a group of people stood along the narrow shore and stared back at them. Behind them was a small camp, with racks of fish drying over smoking fires. In front of them, on the shore, four hide boats had been pulled up onto the rocks. Nets were spread over the boats to dry and spears were placed beside them. Further along the narrow shore, two children ran toward the encampment.

"That's all I can see. Chakotay asked you how long I would be blind. You never answered. Answer now. If this place is as precarious as he describes, I'd just as soon be able to see where I'm going."

"You will get your normal vision back. I can not tell you when. But Lady, you are now seeing more clearly while the Holma Pavi runs in your veins than you will ever see again. That which you can see now is the key……."

"Nareeb, don't tell us anything more! Kathryn, if Nareeb knows anything about this, then this is supposed to be. This was already a part of his history before we met. We can't have prior knowledge of what is going to happen here without risking the destruction of the whole time line."

"If what you say is possible, then it is also possible that I am here in order to give you that knowledge, Chakotay. What if it is imperative that I impart what little I do know? How can you be sure I shouldn't. She has hasn't said anything and she is the one that has drunk the Pavi," Nareeb countered.

"I did too, gobs of it when I fell into the spring. Does it do anything to men beside making them bald?"

Kathryn had followed the discussion up to this point, "Bald? You're bald again?"

"Yes…only this time it's more a 'we' are bald."

"Oh please tell me 'we' means you and Nareeb." She ran her hand over her own bald head. Then she started to giggle, "So…you are telling me…that the first time I get naked with a man in years…and I can't see him? Not only that, but he can see me…and I'm bald?" The giggles got stronger. Chakotay joined her. A bewildered Nareeb watched as the two of them stood at the edge of a precipice, surrounded by thundering waters, in a time not their own, battered, bruised, cut and dirty, holding onto each other and laughing hysterically.

Finally, the tension of the last few hours dissipated in laughter, she said, "Chakotay point is well taken. You had better not tell us anything, Nareeb. It doesn't feel right to me either." She looked, as well as she was able, at Chakotay, "Well, my friend, shall we go down and meet the future?…the past?…whatever?"

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