Remnants

Posted on Sun May 22nd, 2011 @ 8:41pm by Captain Li Hawke & Commander Sakkath
Edited on on Tue May 24th, 2011 @ 9:34am

Mission: The Ties That Bind
Location: Hawke-Sakkath Quarters

* * Starbase 900, Deck 13 * *

Li entered the override code in the panel by a set of doors and they slid open. For a moment, she found it hard to breathe and her feet refused to step forward. It was only vacant quarters now. Then again, she thought the cargo bay on the Berkeley was empty as well, and had been proven wrong. Mind over matter, Li. The rooms are empty. Get moving. Steeling herself, she stepped forward, into the living room that had belonged to Rhys not so long ago.

Like her own, the room felt crowded with the man, echoing with emanations of their time together here and so many thoughts passed between them. Nothing a non-telepath would pick up but for Li it was oppressive, crowding her in on all sides. Too vivid. They should have faded by now.

She reached back blindly, her hand brushing against the closed door. It should have opened at her touch. I have to get out.

"Computer, open the door!"

=^= The door is open =^=

No. Just a malfunction is all. Easy. Her code on the locking panel had no effect. With a frustrated growl, she slammed her fist against it and the doors opened just enough to fit her shoulder into the space. She slipped into the gap and pushed with a low grunt. The panels parted a bit more, enough for her to squeeze through. Once she was clear, they snapped back shut immediately.

Now, she wanted to be anywhere but here, and preferably in her own quarters where everything was in perfect order, where there was nothing weird. Unpacking suddenly sounded like a great idea.

With a tap to her comm badge she spoke. "Engineering, this is Lt. Commander Hawke. It's not urgent but when you have time, can you have someone check the doors to officer's quarters 13F? It's vacant and under investigation, but the doors seem to have an issue with locking from the inside and not unlocking."

"Acknowledged," came the reply.

With a sigh of relief, she stepped into the turbolift. "Deck 12." As the lift began to ascend, she reached out to Sakkath.

On my way home. It was obviously not idle chatter but a request.

* * Sakkath/Hawke Quarters * *

Sakkath pulled himself out from under a bulkhead and wiped the sweat from his brow. He was going to need to install a few new relays in order to make the terminals in his quarters as functional as those in Ops, something that would facilitate the actual rerouting of data - a substantially less labor-intensive task that involved only commands from the station's primary terminal.

Closing his eyes, he opened his mind, something he had not done since they arrived. Unlike Li, he was a touch telepath. There was nothing to fear from expanding his senses, but he had to imagine that Li's mind was quite crowded enough with the vastly larger number of persons aboard 900 as compared to the Berkeley.

Is something troubling you, Imzadi? he asked, sensing the underlying urgency.

There was no reply, but a few minutes later, Li stepped through the doors. Once they were closed, she looked Sakkath over and smiled at what was, for him, a disheveled state. These quarters didn't feel quite like home yet, but they were getting there and it was a relief to be anywhere except Rhys' old place.

"That's a very good question." She answered his initial question as if no time at all had passed. Dropping onto the sofa, she leaned her head back. "Two things have come up."

Sakkath looked up at the sound of the doors and set down the decoupler he was working with, managing to sit up from being on his back. "I was beginning to wonder if my thoughts were lost amid this more populous scene," he said, regarding Li as she took a seat. He lifted his brow slightly as she spoke.

"Two things of what nature?" he asked.

"Regarding the recent past." She rubbed her forehead. "And no, your thoughts never get lost, i was just in a bit of a hurry to get here. The first is an investigation. Starfleet Intel began an investigation upon Rhys' death. Given my position on the Berkeley, I was not involved. Dad was, but he's shipping out to the far reaches of the Quadrant. However, now that I am here, and the resident CIO, it's landed on my desk."

Sakkath nodded. "I suppose that was inevitable." The idea of a change of scenery might have chased away Rhys' memory, had that new scene - 900 - not been where everything began.

"All part of the job I suppose but it's beginning to feel like I'll never be rid of him. Aia left a note saying that there's someone here I need to speak with regarding it, so that is on my list. The other thing is...Rhys' quarters. His and mine are sealed pending investigation but I stopped in to take a look today. His are....crowded, to me anyway. Like his thoughts are still there and active, which I have no explanation for. Then I'd swear the doors tried to lock me in. Here's where you tell me that isn't possible and I am imagining things." Li fell silent and waited.

Sakkath similarly paused, taking a deep breath. "You had a similar experience on the Berkeley, which we hypothesized was a result of Commander Leroy's crystal. The effect could be lingering." He turned to regard his mate. "I would be remiss if I did not also suggest that it could be your imagination. You may be too close to this, Imzadi. Perhaps you should allow your staff to handle Rhys. Or perhaps the door simply ... malfunctioned."

Li leaned forward, resting her head on her knees and groaned in frustration. "It's possible. I've alerted Engineering to check it, and Nick will be doing the scans of the quarters and checking whatever is left. About the only thing in mine is that Haliian crystal I picked up a couple of years ago on a mission there. Rhys' are empty. He was nothing if not thorough." She sighed aloud and finally raised her head. "How's your new department shaping up?"

"Another crystal?" Sakkath asked, pondering. "Let us hope, then, that the rubies I gave you harbor no secrets. But Haliian... that could explain something. Whereas we can only guess at the telepathic interactions that a Tholian crystal might generate, Haliian ones are known to create such. You might ask Commander Leroy to have a look."

Sakkath stood. "As for my Department, it is what it is. The station is immense, in more than its class designation. It will take time to fully comprehend its workings, it eccentricities, and to have it running as I would choose."

"All in good time, my love." She turned and reached for him over the back of the sofa. "Had dinner yet? I've not unpacked a thing, so we may want to go out. And if you'd like a drink, I know where there's half a bottle of brandy hidden and waiting for us."

"That would be agreeable," the Vulcan decided, brushing his hand to hers. His thoughts were full of that first night they spent together on this starbase: of dinner, of skulking through abandoned sections, and of an endless array of starlight. "I shall need to shower first," he added, thinking on his current state as compared to the well-groomed appearance of that evening not long ago.

"That so?" She quirked a brow at him. "I'll get changed then. But that reminds me, Norval was asking me about what sort of honey I favored. Any idea why?" Her smile was sly now.

I'm sure I don't. The reply he had given the Trill, asking after something similar, entered Sakkath's mind for a moment before he simply shook his head. "That man is incorrigible," he decided aloud as he made his way back towards the bedroom and the sonic shower.

Almost as incorrigible as you, my darling. She began to laugh, finally relaxing after the oddities of the day.

*************

Lt. Commander Sakkath
Chief Operations Officer

Lt. Commander Li Hawke
Chief Intelligence Officer

Buzzing along...