Aftermath

Posted on Fri Feb 12th, 2016 @ 3:15pm by Eldren Tohr & Lieutenant Commander William Harding M.D. & Lieutenant Raj Amani & Indra Nyyar
Edited on on Fri Feb 12th, 2016 @ 3:57pm

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Piper Medical Center

,The Archadian officer had done well his duty. Nyyar had been taken from Eldren’s arms right in the moment they materialized into the transport room aboard 900 set her on a stretcher and whisked her away from his sight before he could say anything. Two young security officers were waiting for them too and started asking him numerous questions about the facts occurred. He wasn’t officially under arrest they said, but he was forbidden from leaving the starbase premises for the moment being. Eldren endured their questions with increasing impatience until they, appearing satisfied by his answers, escorted him to the sickbay where Nyyar had been brought.

By the time he arrived there she was already under observation in a room he wasn’t allowed to enter. At least that was the nurse said, and none too gently. Anger boiled within him now, turning on the verge of exasperation. The nurse seemed to have none of it while a senior doctor, realizing the situation, stepped forward and sent the nurse to other tasks. His words were gentler and he explained that Nyyar’s current medical condition, albeit not severe, required her to be separated from external interference and assisted by the medical equipment for the next few hours at least and after that a period in observation would be in order before dismissing her.

Eldren nodded wearily to the medic’s words. It seemed odd to him that a senior showed himself more sympathetic than a simple nurse, and a Vulcan at that. In all his life Eldren had never met a sympathetic Vulcan, especially one wearing a ponytail.

When he had nearly surrendered to the idea of seeing Nyyar and waiting patiently for the right moment something unexpected happened. The strange doctor patted him on the shoulder and said that at least a little thing could be arranged for him.

He led him then down a corridor and into a locale where a transparent window gave a full view of the room where Nyyar was being attended. The Vulcan explained that this was against the rules but ten minutes wouldn’t hurt anyone. He left then, leaving Eldren alone staring through the window. A flurry of thoughts almost overwhelmed him and he felt strange as his mind’s eye went back in time… He watched her like many years before. Separated by a river back then, separated by a glass window now. But still he watched over her.

Time flew and the Vulcan doctor reappeared at the door. He didn’t say anything but that was the signal that Eldren’s time there was up. The doctor had already overstepped regs for him so he did not complain and, casting a last glance at Nyyar, quietly walked out of the room.

* Two Hours Later *

“Eldren Tohr?” A male voice jarred Tohr from the light doze that had overtaken him. Standing before him was the CMO, who introduced himself. “Dr. Will Harding. I am sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. Does Ms. Indra have any family here that need to be contacted?” he asked.

Tohr breathed deeply regaining lucidity and stood from the seat. “No she has not,” was his reply, not without a sting of regret. “Not here nor anywhere else.” He added then in a half-voice.

“Very well.” Will smiled finally. “She will be fine. Physically we repaired the surface bruises and some slight internal injuries.” His voice grew rough as he considered the reason for those injuries. “Emotionally, she’s suffered a great shock, which is why the delay in letting you in to see her, but she is responsive now. Counselor Amani has seen her and will return a bit later to give you an update. All that aside, she has asked for you. If you’ll come with me?”

“Of course...” Eldren responded promptly, relieved by the news about her being out of danger physically and worried at the same time by the other thing the doctor had said, the kind of wound that you cannot see or touch and that can still ruin your life. “...Lead the way, please.”

Will escorted Eldren down the corridor and back to the room he’d visited previously. “Call if she needs anything.” He nodded to Eldren, then hurried off to his next patient, leaving Eldren standing by the open door.

Will’s voice got Nyyar’s attention and she turned her head to see who was there. A faint smile appeared on her face at the sight of Eldren as she waited for him to enter the room.

He walked the distance separating them and moved a seat next to the bed. Once sat he took her hand in his.

“How do you feel?” he asked, damning himself for such a banal question.

“Stupid,” she replied. ‘Like the target in an elaborate game of cat and mouse. I learned something valuable but it almost cost me my life.”

“Don’t say that,” he said slightly squeezing her hand. “You’ve been abducted, isolated from your kin and placed in a carefully built stage… The parody of a happy life they used to deceive you time and again… You had no means to make a comparison. So, you really hadn’t any choice. The time you’ve been able to see with your own eyes your instinct has guided you to the right choice.”

She considered his words, wondering if he were right. What he had described had been her life for over two decades and was enough to keep the counselors here busy for some time to come. He had raised a point that both of them would need to address going forward. “Does that choice include you? You have saved me in more ways than one,” she said softly.

“That is for you to decide,” he replied looking at a distant point for some moments. “I’m unable to explain how, of all the places in the universe, you finally ended up here and in the right place at the right moment so that we could meet… Just in time. You needed help… The help I was once unable to give… That is hardly a coincidence to my mind. Now the balance is restored and you’ve been returned to your free will.”

“I wasn’t looking for a saviour,” she replied. “That wasn’t what drew me to you, it was just a result of circumstances. It was you yourself that pulled me in.” She raised his hand to her lips. “I know that things are a little strange right now. There are some things I’ll need to deal with but it will all be done soon enough. I guess what I need to know is what happens now?”

“That I will take care of you as long as you wish me to.”

“As long as you can stand a few bumps in the road in the coming days, but there’s something I want you to promise me.” She hesitated, searching for the right words. “I want to learn to stand on my own. You can take care of me all you want, but I don’t want to be the helpless one any more. That’s not a life, Tohr. What I want with you is a real life.”

The hint of a smile appeared on Eldren’s lips. “If you mean sweat and struggling to earn a living, that can be arranged, I’m not very rich,” he joked. “I think that the diplomat that took you under her wing could provide you with any decent accommodation and job should you wish so.”

“I won’t need a job.” Finally she smiled fully. “Everything Zikar had will come to me, and he had tremendous assets. It will give me the space and time to deal with everything that is to come. The first is the Council on Cardassia and the legal aspects of his death. The next is the man who got me off Cardassia. He was apparently paid by Zikar’s assistant to do it and I intend to clear the air with him. Then there is you.” She tightened her grip on his hand. “I have a good idea what it is you do here...for Suresh.”

“So you’re not so naive as you looked,” he responded a bit uneasy “And doesn’t this scare you?”

The question almost made her laugh in light of her past life. “Tohr, I’ve spent my life with a man who was part of the Obsidian Order, a man whose job was to interrogate the enemy. For him? His questions took the form of inhuman torture to get at what they knew. I was never afraid of him a single day. I didn’t become afraid until I left him. You are not that sort of man, Tohr.”

Tohr wondered if she could really agree with the questionable things he’d done so far in his life should she have come to know… He decided that probably not and stood silent for a while.

“I suppose what I mean is...you’re not pretending to be something you’re not and that’s what is important. Whatever you may be, it doesn't matter so much as long as you're honest.” She studied him intently as he looked back at her, then reached out to touch his cheek. “Someday, you’ll tell me the whole story.”

“Yes, someday I will,” he replied feeling the warmth of her hand.

“Is it really over?” she asked. “Is he really not coming back to haunt me?”

“It’s over. He will not harm you ever again.”

The scene in the apartment on Archadia suddenly rose in her mind and she closed her eyes, trying in vain to block it out. The memory played and replayed, always stopping just as Zikar pointed the phaser at her. She realized she couldn’t recall the rest at all and a new fear gripped her. Despite Tohr’s words, she hadn’t seen Zikar die and she knew his capabilities. She kept the fear to herself however, since Tohr seemed so sure.

“I hope so,” she whispered.

“Nyyar,” He said taking her hand in both of his this time “You have nothing to fear. He’s gone, your dreams will be undisturbed from now on. You’re safe.” He paused a few instants then meeting her eyes “Do you trust me?”

“With my life,” she answered and smiled. “I will be out of here tomorrow, so says Dr. Harding, as long as the Counselor agrees. What has Security said to you?”

“That I cannot leave the starbase,” he replied, soberly.

“They will see me tomorrow. Try not to worry. Everything will be fine.”

Behind Tohr the door slid open to reveal Counselor Amani. He smiled, then motioned to Eldren to step outside.

“I have to go,” He told her.

“If Suresh needs you, don’t worry about me. I can call when I am ready to leave here.” She smiled once more. “Thank you.”

He smiled and patted her hand slightly, then stood from the seat. He searched in a pocket and left an object close to her on the bed. When she looked down she saw her earring, the one with the tracer built-in. “I’ll be always somewhere close,” he said, then he nodded to the counselor and walked out of the room.

Out in the corridor, Raj stepped away from the door and motioned Eldren closer. “You are Eldren Tohr, I take it?”

“I am. But I don’t think you’re here for me. Do you?”

“Not directly; it’s about Nyyar. You seem to be her...closest association on the station, is that right?” Raj asked.

“That’s right,”

“And the one involved in this incident…” Raj nodded. “I spoke with her briefly when she first came around. I’ve also read the report regarding what happened on Archadia. Can you tell me if she will be staying alone when she leaves here?”

“That depends on her decision. In any case she has no relatives here on Starbase 900.”

“I see.” Raj frowned a moment. “I would suggest that someone be there, at least the first few days. If she can manage that, it would be ideal. Did she mention that she can’t recall what happened after you first arrived in that apartment?”

“I’ll be there for her... And no, she didn’t mention about a blank of her memory in our talk.”

“With such a traumatic event, it’s not surprising,” Raj answered. “But that means she doesn’t recall how you stopped him, which has left her uncertain that he’s truly dead. I think its important that you be prepared. She could recall it at any time and her reaction is unpredictable.”

Eldren’s shoulders sagged with the news.
“I think that this is a matter that will have to be confronted, sooner or later. I’ll prepare myself for the consequences… I had to act, the other way around would have seen her killed...” His eyes went to the room where she was lying in the bed and then returned to the counselor. “Thank you doctor, for everything you’re going to do to help her.”

“My pleasure. You should feel free to call me as well, if you need me. On a personal note? I’d have done exactly what you did.” Raj, too, glanced through the window at Nyyar, who was now sleeping. “Are you staying? If so, I’ll have the staff bring in some things to make you more comfortable, and something to eat.”

Eldren hesitated only an instant and then nodded “Yes, I’ll stay.”

“Very well. Ensign Jackson will be on duty here for another three hours till alpha shift starts. I’ll let her know. I’ll check back in the morning...well..later this morning.” Raj smiled and departed to find Chanella.

Eldren took a seat close to the wall and disposed himself to the long wait.



************************
Lt. Commander Will Harding, M.D.
The Healer

Indra Nyyar
The Former Target

Eldren Tohr
The Guardian

Lt. Raj Amani
The Caretaker