Another Piece Falls Into Place

Posted on Thu May 28th, 2015 @ 2:36am by Lieutenant Commander Robin Swift M.D., PhD & Petty Officer 1st Class Drusilla Dupree & Lieutenant Commander Nicolao

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: Counselor Swift's Office

* * * Java - The Promenade * * *

After Julisa’s departure, Nico had remained seated, trying to digest what she had revealed. The more he thought about it, the more astounded he became. It was going to be quite some time before he could make sense of it or assimilate it, really. Now that he knew, he wondered if it would somehow spur the missing memory, just as the shock from Anaar’s flowers had done. His first impulse was to tell Dru, but he realized she had gone back to work. Well, that was perfect. Robin should know, too. If Robin was busy, he could just wait. Now decided, he finished his last cup of coffee and departed.

* * * Counselor’s Office * * *

He reached the counselor’s office and when the door opened, he stepped into the waiting area. He waited just inside the door as Dru finished up a call.

She smiled when she saw him. “Checking up on me?” she asked. “You’re a few days early for your regular session.”

Her smile warmed him in a flash and without a thought, he crossed the waiting room to stand before her, his hand on her cheek. “I have news.”

“Good news, I hope?” she asked as she stood and pecked his cheek with a kiss.

“Here now,” Robin interrupted, coming from his office. “I shouldn’t need to remind you that it’s unprofessional to act that way at work.” He winked, then added, “It’s a good thing you just went on break.”

Dru blushed. “Thanks, Robin.”

“Nico?” he said, “Doing well, I hope? I can’t recall you ever coming here, voluntarily, on an off day.”

“Something happened just now, something related to this...mess. I think you both should know.” His hand found Dru’s and squeezed it gently. “Another piece of the mystery you might say.”

“I have about twenty minutes before my next patient. Come on in.” Robin waved them both into his office and shut the door behind them. “Did it cause any adverse reaction for you? Any more of those horrible memories?”

“I suppose we will see later, but I just left her so..nothing yet.” He sat next to Dru, then clasped his hand between his knees. “It’s about Lt. Bajun. I was having coffee and she joined me. What she had to say...it’s a little mind-blowing.”

Dru sat silent, not even certain who Lt. Bajun was, but she would ask about that later. There had been so many people involved in all of this that she was losing track of all of them. “More than the fact that a member of Starfleet Command was behind all of this?” she finally said.

Nico nodded and picked up that she wasn’t sure who he was talking about. “She’s the JAG officer that went to Betazed...the ones who brought back that video.” He looked from her to Robin before he continued. “She was on Bajor while I was in that prison...sent there to negotiate my release from the Cardassians. She said they did everything they could to delay, but insisted I was being well treated. But then someone reported that it was a lie and that I had to be removed or else.”

“Okay…” Robin replied, not really wanting to interrupt.

“She said that someone ….” He paused to think back, making sure he had it right. “Someone had a plan and so she went in...with my brother. They managed to get me out, she didn’t say exactly how, and off the planet.”

Dru looked at him quizzically. “You have a brother?”

Robin ignored her question. “Julisa and your brother mounted your rescue? How did they even know how to contact him?”

Nico shrugged. “She did not say who but I can assume it was someone related to intel. They were thick in the area during the war and after. It’s the only explanation, isn’t it?” He looked now to Dru and nodded. “I do.”

“And I guess you haven’t heard from him since?” Robin hadn’t known about the brother either but it didn’t matter. Nico was always full of surprises.

“No and we are all better for it,” he answered, his tone bitter. “She mentioned looking him up since she was afraid he might be in danger as she and Holbridge were but I warned her not to do that. If anyone tried to get to him, they wouldn’t last, you can bet on that.”

“I get the feeling he’s not the kind of brother you bring around for the holidays,” Dru said quietly. “Do you think he might head out here? From your description, it doesn’t sound like it would exactly be a good thing…”

“I have no idea where he is but I intend to see if Dae can find him. Not to contact him, but to know his general area.” He brushed back his hair hastily. “I’ve been digging around in my own head since I talked to her but so far there is nothing remotely related to the rescue and I don’t remember her except for meeting her here. It’s a little overwhelming to find one who saved you from torture and death and to have no clue at all about them. What am I supposed to do with this, Robin?”

Mulling it over before answering, Robin leaned back in his chair and had a mini conversation to himself, his head bobbing back and forth while doing so. Finally, “For now, I think we should see how your subconscious mind reacts to this information. Sleep on it. See if you have any more recollection with your dreams or if anything else triggers. If not, I’ll see about some other avenues to pursue and we’ll go from there. But I don’t want to push it when you have a decent track record of coming up with your own answers naturally.”

“Sure.” Nico reached for Dru’s hand once more. “But don’t you think it’s interesting how many people seem to be involved with my past that are here? Lt. Bajun, Jim, a few colleagues...and the old woman who urged them to get me out. All are here. Do you think the admiral was pulling more strings than we knew and for far longer?”

“I never thought of it like that. And with her rank and position in the fleet, she could have done so indirectly so as not to raise any suspicion,” Robin said, now thinking about asking someone in Intel to go back and check on that. “It may be worth looking into, just for curiosity’s sake, but it may also wind up a dead end.”

“She did a grand job of covering her tracks, until they found the evidence...and I remembered.” He shrugged. “We may never know. This, though, I thought you’d want to hear. Sorry if I took up your break between people.”

“It would have just been spent sitting out there with me,” Dru said with a laugh. “So this isn’t much different and, in my opinion, much more important.”

Robin shrugged. “When she’s right, she’s right.”

“She is right about a lot of things, Counselor.” Nico smiled finally. He looked to Dru and now, their conversation the night of the video replayed in his head. We need to talk about that… he sent to her.

We will, but after my shift. Dinner?

Nico nodded, then glanced to Robin. “Sorry Robin. I didn’t mean to ignore you, just something I need to remember to tell Dru later.” He stood and slipped his hands into his pockets. “Thanks.”

“Anytime, Nico,” Robin replied, standing with him. “And I mean that. Anytime at all, you need something, you let me know.”

“I will.” He turned to Dru, resting his hands on her shoulders. “Dinner out or home?”

“Oh, out, definitely,” she said. “Now that we’re not being sequestered, I think it would be nice to stretch our legs a bit and have some fine dining on the Promenade.”

“Me too. I’ll handle the reservations at the Nexus. See you there.” He kissed her forehead, then nodded to Robin and strolled out of their offices.

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PO2 Drusilla Dupree
Ready for a Night Out

Lt. Cmdr. Robin Swift
Learning More Every Day

Nicolao
Putting The Pieces Together