A Snake In The Garden - Conclusion

Posted on Fri May 22nd, 2015 @ 11:52am by Captain Li Hawke & Suresh & Commander Oralia Zeferino & Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin
Edited on on Fri May 22nd, 2015 @ 1:08pm

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: Eden - Romulan Space

* * * Eden - Romulan Space * * *

Li stopped walking in a stand of trees, growing silent and still. She touched Darwin’s arm to halt him, then closed her eyes. Reaching out, she began to scan the area and immediately sucked in a breath.

“Oh!”

"Captain? What is it?" Darwin caught her by the elbow and looked ahead at the cave they were stalking.

“Oz is here. And…him. Our Suresh too, and there’s one other.”

"Two against two, then." He started toward the cave again, moving carefully and quietly. He wanted to ask what shape Oz was in, if Li could tell, but decided not to, lest the answer was bad news.

Li fell in step beside him as they crept forward. The ground beneath them was spongy and soft, muffling their steps. Soon they came within sight of the cave and Li stopped Darwin with a touch on his arm.

If we expect to keep Oz alive, he needs to see me first. I’m hoping that seeing me will overcome his good sense, especially if he thinks I am here for him. Play along Dar. I want you to take out whoever’s in there with them so we can even the odds.

He nodded. Play along, right. He didn’t mention that that’s how he usually died in hologram training programs. Still, he let her step around him and take point. He was hoping the other person in here was an easy dispatch. As they moved deeper, though, he caught sight of the Orion and those hopes were dashed.

Once they came into view, old-Suresh was immediately on his feet and through the cave entrance in a flash. He stopped, watching them approach, wary eyes on Darwin. His attention returned to Li however, and his expression softened.

“You came!”

Li glanced to Darwin a moment. Well...duh! flashed through her mind, sent to Darwin, then she spoke.

“I did. Did you think I could refuse you?”

He considered that for a moment and then gave her a bright smile. Closing the distance between then, he scooped her up, twirling her around, then set her back on the ground before him.

Li rested her hands against his chest, moving him back. “First I want to see that Oz is alright.”

“Sure,” old-Suresh readily agreed.

“Darwin? If you would?” Li motioned to the cave.

He moved around old-Suresh, watching him and his Orion lackey for any signs that one or the other might move for a weapon. “Oz?” He winced, seeing the blood on her nightclothes, then reached her and quickly removed the bindings from her wrists. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Fine,” and used his pocketknife to cut the bindings on her ankles. “I’m going to kill him, Dar.”

“You’ll have to beat me to him,” he whispered back.

“Hmph,” was new-Suresh’s only comment.

Naral’s attention was on Darwin, suddenly not liking that he and old-Suresh were outnumbered. “Nobody’s killing him unless they go through me first,” he warned.

Looking up at the big Orion from where he was crouched by Oralia, Darwin nodded and said, “Right. Of course.” He had his phaser in hand before the big guy realized it, but when he hit the trigger, nothing happened. “What the…?”

The Orion got the first punch in. Oz got the first kick, giving Darwin the time to shake off the blow and get to his feet. Then the fight was all about Darwin and Naral, and, for a brief moment, new-Suresh as they tripped over him and the three rolled to a lower level of the cave floor.

Outside, old-Suresh had his hands buried in Li’s hair as they talked. He leaned in, brushing a kiss to her forehead, but his attention was drawn by the noise from the cave. He turned and re-entered the cave at a run with Li on his heels. It took him only a moment to assess the situation and he dove in, pulling Oz from the melee. He backed away, one arm around her waist, the other now holding his knife to her throat.

“Stop or she dies!” he bellowed.

New-Suresh immediately froze, his attention shifting to Li, who held a finger to her lips.

Oz didn’t obey orders well, a trait her old CO Quentin Harrison was familiar with. She didn’t stop fighting. Instead, she used Darwin’s knife to slice at old-Suresh’s thigh. If she managed to unman him, she’d settle for that and just take him back to prison.

Old-Suresh yelled out a string of curses as the knife slashed his thigh. “I warned you --”

“Suresh, NO!” Li yelled. She reached out to him mentally but before she could stop him, he buried his knife in Oz’s left side. Naral took advantage of the uproar to pound his fist into Darwin’s jaw.

For the moment before Naral’s fist connected, Darwin had the same thought Li was yelling. How the hell would he explain this to Jackson? Or Chance? Or, oh gods, Iggy? The blow addled him and he barely felt the Orion readying for another hard punch to his face. He knew he was vulnerable, knew he needed to take action. His choice of action, a good fistful of Orion nuts, had the Orion squealing in pain and backing off quickly.

Not realizing that she was also screaming, Oralia jerked her elbow back and connected with Suresh’s skull. Then she was free of his hold and on the ground, tasting blood. “Li,” she said, “He’s all yours.”

Li took hold of old-Suresh, turning him to face her. She buried herself in his thoughts, despite her promise to the new one, and let the rage coursing through her hit him full blast. He stopped, motionless, as he felt her within but the anger was new. He had no idea how to fight it as his brain gave in to ‘his’ Li. New-Suresh took advantage of the moment, lunging for him.

“Never again!” he yelled.

Darwin also lunged for old-Suresh, intent on doing what Oz wanted all along: kill him. Put him down like the dog he was. He felt the Orion moving in the same direction and, in a moment, all four males were tangled and tussling.

Li focused and beneath them, old-Suresh smiled ear to ear and grew still. The silence in the cave was deafening, and then new-Suresh moved, rising from the tangle of bodies. Blood was smeared across his shirt and without a word, he raised his hand to display the knife. Green blood covered it and flowed down over his hand.

“Ow!!” Darwin shouted, and backhanded the Orion. “Stop fighting! You lost.”

Naral stopped and saw that new-Suresh wasn’t the Suresh he was serving. “Shit.” Darwin put a taser to his neck and put him out.

“Good job, Suresh,” Oz uttered a phrase she never thought she’d say without sarcasm. Breathing hard, she lay where Suresh had dropped her. “Hey, medic?”

“Right here, Oz,” Darwin hurried over, though a quick glance told him Oz needed more than a medic. “Li, we need to hurry.”

Li, however, wasn’t moving yet. She had tried frantically to disengage from old-Suresh when she felt the knife enter his body. New-Suresh’s aim had been true, however, and the blade had pierced the heart. Death had come too swift for Li to miss the psychic trauma. The mental scream seemed to echo through her, round and round and blocking out all else.

“Li?” Darwin looked over at her, wondering what would keep her from…she wasn’t looking good, either. “Hey, Suresh! Shake Li, or something! Come on!” He had a medkit out.

“What’s… she doin’?” Oz breathed at him.

“She’s okay,” he lied, knowing better than to tell Oz not to worry about Li.

“Can you stop Oz’s bleeding here?” Suresh asked. He moved over to Li and rested a hand on her cheek. Her eyes were blank as he looked into them. “I’ll help, then let’s get these two back to the inn. We can get a doc there.”

“Not sure that’s a good idea. Two humans, a Betazoid and… an escapee from Elba II? Oh, and an Orion prisoner. I can patch Oz up, enough to get back to the ship.” He was already working on stopping the bleeding and it was working. “How’s Li?”

“I don’t suppose either of you has a telepathic bone in your body do you?” Suresh shook his head. “Never mind. She’s light. I can carry her back. She should snap out of it. I hope.” He looked back at Darwin. “This is why I told her not to….”

“I think we all did. I can’t vouch for Oz,” he caught her eye and grinned, “but I’ve never had a telepathic bone in me. Had a bone in a few telepaths in my time….” He’d made Oz laugh which seemed like a good sign to him. Till she winced and stopped. “I’m going to wake the Orion. He can carry Oz back. Hell, if they weren’t hurt, he could carry ‘em both back.” He stripped the backing off of a cauterizing patch and laid it on Oralia’s main wound. She didn’t laugh about that. “We’re good for now. Let’s get moving.”

* * * The cha’Do’ * * *

An hour later they were back on the ship and Oz was settled in her cabin. Suresh regarded the Orion, then looked to Darwin. “He riding back in the targ pit?”

“Oh, hell yes. He can roar and grumble and bang about all he likes but he won’t get out.” For the moment, the Orion was out again, thanks to Darwin’s new favorite taser. He saw the look on Suresh’s face and added, “The brig cells all look way too comfortable for him. Where’s Li? Settled in? I need to check on her. And then do one more thing before we get out of here.”

“In her cabin. Is Oz asleep yet?”

“Sort of. I gave her a painkiller that knocked her out. Otherwise, she’d be up, trying to talk to Li. Is Li asleep or still sort of…,” he waved a hand in front of his face, “Blank?”

Suresh opened Li’s door so Darwin could see. Li sat on her bunk, knees drawn up and now a faint frown line had settled between her brows. “If Oz is resting, I’ll take a turn in here, see if I can get her out of it.”

“I’d hate to dose her with something only to have it be exactly the wrong thing. I mean, on a battlefield, I’d know what to give a telepath… with what she just did, though, I don’t.” He shook his head. “I’m transporting Suresh’s body up here, then we’ll be on our way.”

“Call me when we need to get past the patrols and I’ll handle it.” Suresh paused, then reached out to shake Darwin’s hand. “It’s finally over isn’t it?”

He took Suresh’s hand firmly. “Yeah, it is.” For a moment, he worried whether this was indeed the new Suresh. “What was it I didn’t want Oralia doing on this trip?”

“You didn’t want her killing that Suresh.” Suresh understood immediately what Darwin was doing. “And if it eases your mind, our key word is shenanigans. Better?”

Dar grinned, his concerns eased. “Better.” He turned and went to the cockpit where he beamed Suresh’s - the dead one’s - body to a stasis chamber and headed the ship towards home.

***********************
Captain Li Hawke
Commander Oralia Zeferino
Lt. Michael Darwin
Suresh - Now The Only One
Under A Shadow No More

Suresh-old
History

Naral
No Longer A Guard...Now A Prisoner