SYMBOLS

CHAPTER 21

It was just on six hundred hours when Chakotay entered sickbay, data in hand. He glanced over at the biobed where Neelix lay, still unconscious. Rubbing away the itchy tiredness in his eyes, he rechecked his calculations, as he and the rest of the away team stood and waited for Harry Kim to join them.

Chakotay had spent most of the night pinpointing the outer circumference of the previous plasma pulse, to determine how close they could take Voyager to the space station, before re-entering the range of Zeron's plasma weapon.

"It looks like we're all here now," he said, as Harry walked in and joined the little group gathered around the Doctor's chosen biobed.

"Then let's get started, shall we?" the Doctor said and simultaneously punched a few keys on a nearby terminal. "As I'm sure you're all aware, the Anawin people have four distinct features that appear to separate them from every other race we've encountered so far. That includes a strong similarity in their appearance, distinct forehead markings, various shades of red hair and this." The Doctor enlarged the image on his computer terminal and Chakotay recognized immediately that the symbol was the same as the one that had been branded onto Kylani's shoulder.

"What is it?" Paris asked and pointed to the symbol. "From this angle it looks a bit like a bird with its wings spread."

"It's an Alum bird," Chakotay assured them with a confidence that suggested he knew what he was talking about. "It's a mark that gets branded onto a child's shoulder blade, after they pass some kind of genetic test. It's supposed to be symbolic of the individual inheriting Anawin purity."

Having told them what it was, Chakotay found everyone staring at him with an intensity he hadn't expected.

"How do you know all this?" Harry asked, crossing his arms defensively.

"Kylani told me about the branding ceremony on Anawa - her homeworld. She wanted to know if my tattoo was created under the same premise."

"And she showed you the mark on her shoulder?" Harry checked.

Chakotay sensed the undercurrent in Harry's question.

"She simply showed me the mark and told me all adult Anawins have it as a symbol of their supposed likeness to the one they call the Supreme Creator. Genetic homogeneity seems to go hand in hand with gaining the symbol. Kylani said that's the reason Tayna was cast into the disposal unit, she didn't have the correct genes needed to pass the test and be branded with the symbol."

"Kylani told me the same thing when I asked her about the origin of her cauterized shoulder," the Doctor said and dissipated Harry's adrenalin surge. "I believe the mark should be fairly easy to recreate, but what I think is going to be more difficult to reproduce is the uncanny similarity in the Anawins' appearance. The Anawin people believe they're all the descendants of one Supreme Creator. Part of this belief leads them to strive to look like their mystical Creator. Over several generations, this selection, based solely on appearance, has resulted in a race of almost phenotypic clones."

"When I viewed the Anawin City from above it was a little difficult to tell the people apart," Janeway mentioned.

"So we're going to need some form of disguise, or enhancement, for those of you who are going to have some trouble blending in with the Anawin population." The Doctor directed his comment at Torres and Kim. "With so many alterations this could take a while, so I'd like to get started now, if that's agreeable Captain?"

The Doctor downloaded the Alum bird pattern into his medical tricorder. "Everyone will need the branded mark. So we'll do that first. I'm going to use a laser engraver to create the effect."