Darwin Takes a Stand (Lying Down)

Posted on Tue Nov 24th, 2015 @ 9:01pm by Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & Admiral Lucius Hawke & Ensign Six of Ten & Niro

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Bajor 2360

* Med Tent - Bajoran Resistance Camp 2360 *

“Try not to sit up again, soldier,” the doctor on duty finished rebandaging Darwin’s wound. Darwin had, when he’d sat up earlier, ripped open his wound and started bleeding again. The doctor had hoped the wound would close again, but it had needed more attention. He’d put in another twenty stitches. “If you do need to, let one of us know and we’ll help you up.”

Disliking being chastised, Darwin frowned. “Fine, but it’s damned hard to eat or drink laying flat on my back. And what about later? I’m going with them into the town to get our companion back.”

“The hell you are,” the doctor said, “That wound isn’t going to be ready for you to do such a thing.”

“Tough. I’m going. I’ve had worse and been in combat,” Darwin argued. Movement at the tent’s flap caught his attention and he stopped. “We’ll talk about that later, Doc.”

“Getting your chops busted Darwin?” Niro strolled to his bedside, a smile on his face and the scent of Six’s perfume still lingering on his shirt. “You should listen to the doctor you know.”

“Whatever, the doctor isn’t always right, you know. Where’s Six?” Darwin looked towards the flap behind Niro. He caught the scent of a woman’s perfume on Niro. “What have you been doing with her?”

“Six and Wegener have gone to check on the Korenna and see how repairs are progressing. She’s also going to take the time to charge up her little nanite buddies while she is there, and likely freak out the admiral in the process.” Niro smiled at Darwin’s question. “Taking care of her of course. With you laid up in here, someone has to.” He looked back at Darwin and let the image of him and Six, snuggled up together as they’d been upon waking, slip into his thoughts. “That answer your question?”

Snarling, Darwin tried to sit up, resulting in him yelping instead of looking threatening. “Fuckin.... I’m going to kill you, Niro. That answer yer question?”

“Oh I doubt that. You won’t risk skewing the timeline while we are here. We’ve likely already done enough damage as it is.” Niro shrugged casually. “Though I’ve been doing my best to repair some damage, at least where Six is concerned. Think what you like, Dar, but I can guarantee you she wouldn’t walk in to find me with someone else in a bed that should only hold her. Not like your best pal Suresh.”

“They worked that out already, you ass. And from what I heard, you helped arrange that, so you know Suresh will be looking to kill you ...as if he needs anything more than what you’ve already done to motivate him to kill you.”

“That little detail is only relevant if Six remembers that it wasn’t his fault. As it is? She is convinced that he did it willingly and hates him for his betrayal. She also recalls our little interlude with amazing clarity. In case you’re curious, she enjoyed it tremendously.” He smiled once more at Darwin. “Whether we actually did or not is irrelevant, because we will very soon. I suspect once I leave here while we wait for nightfall.”

“Com’ere,” Darwin motioned for Niro to come a bit closer. “Com’on, I’m hurt, talking up hurts,” he said.

“How stupid do you think I am?” Niro laughed briefly. “I am unsure why Six and I upset you so much. She’s an adult, she can do what she likes. Jealous maybe? Or missing your Orion? Worried she may be helping Suresh ease his worry while you’re gone?”

“Whatever,” Darwin waved a hand, dismissing that idea and any concerns about it. “I’m protecting Six. And if I weren’t laid up in this bed, I’d kick your ass and keep you from being anywhere near her.”

“That’s her choice, Darwin. You brought up an important point, however.” Niro laughed again. “About Suresh looking to kill me. Somehow I don’t think that’s going to happen, given that this Suresh seems to be treading the straight and narrow. And this over-protectiveness of Six? A mere civvie wouldn’t merit such protection. Someone who is...say...an Intel officer would, however. So tell me, who has the upper hand now?”

Darwin snatched a glass of water from the makeshift table beside his bed and flung it, glass and all, at Niro. “You might have it right now, but remember that I’m not one to sit still for long,” Darwin warned, pushing himself up as he spoke, “You’re a dead man walking.” The doctor who’d just admonished him not to sit up again had taken notice of the thrown glass and Darwin’s raised voice and was starting to head towards the two.

“I don’t think so.” Niro bent down and picked up the glass. “You really should remain calm. Such fits of temper are not good for you.” Niro lowered his voice. “You also realize that Six will get what Six wants….and Six will want whatever I decide she wants. You should keep that in mind or she might begin to wonder what your true motives are.”

“Then I’ll let her wonder, but I’ll keep after you.” Darwin weakened and eased back down. When the doctor got closer, he said, “You gotta fix me better than this.”

“Your wound taxes our resources as it is. We’re not really a field hospital - most of our medical supplies have been used or sent to other camps that needed the resources more.” Even as he spoke, the doctor administered a hypospray. Once the medication was in Darwin, he said, “That’s a mild sedative; you’ll be out in a few minutes.”


“Six should be back shortly. I suggested she bring back a regenerator. That should take care of you, Darwin.” Niro smiled. “We need you in good shape for tonight. Julisa is counting on us.”

“And then we need to get back to our place in the world,” Darwin looked at the doctor. “Make sure your ship is ready.” He was already starting to feel more mellow towards Niro - and knew that was the doctor’s doing, not Niro’s. At least, he hoped it was.

“The ship is fine.” The voice belonged to Six who was moving to Darwin’s bedside. “It will be ready for tonight and we should have warp power back by tomorrow night.” She stopped and took hold of Niro’s shirt, pulling him down to kiss his cheek, then she moved closer to Darwin. “I brought back the regenerator that was in engineering. How are you?”

Darwin struggled to sit up again but couldn’t. “Give me a hand here, Six,” he said. As she leaned in to help him sit up, he whispered to her, “Don’t trust Niro. He’s messing with your head. And for fuck’s sake, don’t kiss him!” He held onto her arm.

Six’s brow furrowed in confusion at his words. She sensed that he was telling the truth, or believed he was. “Everything’s fine, Darwin, I promise.”

“It is not fine! You kissed him! That’s not okay,” he insisted.

Six touched his cheek gently. “Don’t worry. I’m keeping a close eye on him. Rest. You have a few hours and by then, you should be healed up just fine. I need you with me on the ground, okay?” She spoke softly to him, her tone affectionate.

Behind her, Niro frowned, not liking the closeness. “We should go Six, let the doctor do his thing.”

“I’ve sedated him, so he’ll be resting shortly, whether he wants to or not,” the doctor said.

“Shove off,” Darwin told the doctor, irritated that the man had injected him before saying what he was doing. “Six, stay... make sure this guy knows what he’s doing with that regenerator.” His tongue was getting thick and heavy and his words suffered for it.

“I will.” She smiled at him and then pulled the regenerator out of her pocket and passed it to the doctor. “We won’t leave without you.”

“Good. And I need you to remember you love Suresh, so no kissing that toad,” Darwin tried to point at Niro.

The doctor looked up from the regenerator and over at Niro then remarked, “Apparently you two aren’t exactly friends, are you?”

“It’s a small jealousy issue doctor,” Suresh murmured to the man. “You understand, I’m sure. Six? I’ll wait outside. See you in a few minutes.”

“You will.” She smiled at Niro, then turned back to Darwin and the doctor.

“Jello? No, not jelly,” Darwin shook his head then closed his eyes, having found that shaking his head made it spin a touch - a definite sign he was fighting the sedative too much. He laid back and stopped fighting.

“Whatever,” the Bajoran muttered. “Just sit back and shut up while your friend tells me how this thing works.” He started undoing Darwin’s bandages again, telling Six as he did so, “He ripped a few stitches open earlier. Should we be in surgery for this thing?”

“Not at all. Get the stitches out first, then this will take just a few minutes.” She watched as the doctor began to snip at the stitches. “It simply heals up the wound layer by layer.”

“No stitches, then? But the body will continue the healing?” He made a first pass with the device. “Amazing. This is Starfleet tech? Someday, perhaps, they’ll accept Bajor into their Federation.”

“This sort of helps the body do a serious shortcut.” Six watched as the inner layers healed, then the outer layers. “Excellent. You have a good hand there.” Moments later, the outer layer had healed and there was no longer any sign of the injury. Six ignored his mention of Bajor joining the Federation. Too much information, she decided. “How soon will he wake up?”

“Few hours. Good thing, too, that wound needs time... well, it needed more time to set. Looks like that doesn’t hold true anymore. Either way, he’ll wake before mid-afternoon.”

“Good. I...I will leave that with you but please, keep it out of sight?” Six requested. “And come find us when he wakes up so we can get him ready for tonight.”

“Agreed. I’ll see you in a few hours, then.” The doctor stayed where he was, checking Darwin’s vitals as the former Borg stood.

Six left the med tent and found Niro outside, sitting on a large, flat rock. She settled in his lap facing him and slipped her arms around his neck. “What had Darwin so riled up when I got here?”

"Eh, I think he's just jealous of the time you're spending with me." Niro smiled, certain that Darwin's warnings to her were being ignored.

“He will be up and around and as good as new when he wakes up. Just in time to go with us to get Julisa back. The action will make him happy.” Her fingers played in Niro’s long hair as she studied his face. Darwin’s words nudged at her and she frowned slightly. He was right, of course. She did love Suresh but that didn’t change what he had done. “He’s just being protective of a friend,” she said softly.

“And I’m being protective of you,” Niro lied to her. “Do you still need some sleep or... since we have some time to kill, would you like to find a private spot and let me remind you how much I like protecting you?”

She smiled back at him. “I’m good to go. I got a nice charge from the ship and….oh. I should warn you. You are taking the Korenna tonight to take some shots at the ground but I don’t want you to freak out when you see it.”

“Fre... what did you do to my ship? Am I going to be assimilated when I enter it?” Niro’s temper started to get the better of him. “Dammit! That’s my ship! My livelihood, Six. What have you done?”

Her eyes widened as she looked back at him. “I got your ship up and running and repaired. We’ll have warp capability by tomorrow night and hull armour that no one here and few at home can penetrate.” She slid off his lap and got to her feet, sensing his temper and venting a bit of her own. “You’re welcome!” She turned and started walking, not caring what direction.

"Six! Wait!" Niro hurried after her, surprised by how quickly she could cover ground. "Hang on!" He caught her arm and made her slow down. "So, will I be assimilated when I go aboard? And, tonight, I'm supposed to go up and just fire on random targets?"

“Did you really ask me that? Do you think I’d have you assimilated? I’m not like that anymore and I thought you of all people didn’t see me that way.” She pulled her arm from his grasp. “No, you and the admiral are going to fire on a target a little distance away from the prison to pull manpower away so we can get in easier.”

"The Admiral!? No way! I'm not letting either of those asses onto my ship!" Niro protested, ignoring her hurt feelings.

“I am needed on the ground and he knows the best target to hit. So suck it up, Niro. We have to get Jules back now, before that monster in there does something horrible to her.” She looked him up and down and her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “I’m going to go get some clothes and not bother you since you apparently have such a wonderful opinion of me.”

He grabbed her arm, none too gently, and said, "Hey, come now, don't be that way. You know I adore you, babe." He again used a Reva term. "I'm just nervous about my ship, being here and all. What if the town... the spoonheads? Damned weird name for a race... have weapons that could take her down? Then we'll be stuck here!"

“They won’t. Not at this time and the new armour is one that rotates frequency so it’s almost impermeable. Your phaser array is a lot more deadly than it was before too. Reva quoted me specs but she is going to be surprised when she sees the ship again.” Six stopped and frowned. “Oh...she won’t see it. She….” Whatever she’d been thinking fuzzed out and Six shrugged. “We will get home. We have to.”

"We will get back to our time, Six. But, remember? We were leaving the Station behind. You won't see Reva again," he said. He knew that if Reva saw her friend again, she'd read her and cry foul.

“Once we get them home safe.” She was still obviously hurt by his reaction. “Do you really think of me that way? Are you really so afraid of me?”

"Afraid of you?", he scoffed and shook his head. "No. I'm not afraid of you, Six. Though nanoprobes outside of you worry me." Mostly, he worried about their price dropping, though he wasn't really thrilled with having them run rampant on his ship. "I think of you as a beautiful woman." And a pocket full of latinum.

“So? An apology?” She relaxed in his grip but her expression was serious. “Especially if you expect to find some secluded spot….”

"An... Oh, my dear, did I injure your feelings? I'm so sorry to have done that," he cooed, rubbing her arm. "As for that spot...," he started to look around and spied Lucius heading their way, "...I hope that won't have to wait long."

“Thank you.” She covered his hand with her own and turned to watch Lucius. “He looked like a man on a mission.”

Lucius waved when they turned to look and soon he reached them. “I hear you’re doing better Six. That’s good. Niro.” He nodded. “I actually need to see you both. Ricky is on his way back and since your friend is now patched up, we need to make some plans for tonight.”

"I understand you and I are flying over head, creating a diversion," Niro said. "I suppose we could just beam Jules out of wherever she is."

Lucius nodded. “I will be or him. The rest will be on the ground.” Lucius shook his head. “It w
ould be nice if we could simply transport her out but the prison has safeguards to prevent that. Once we have her and are clear of the outer wall, then yes. You'll transport all of us out and we’ll take a roundabout way back. Come on, Darwin is waiting.”

***************
Ensign Six Of Ten
Lt. Michael Darwin
Niro
Lt. (j.g.) Lucius Hawke