Going Forward Alone - Part I

Posted on Sun Feb 14th, 2016 @ 11:04pm by Captain Li Hawke & Niro & Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin
Edited on on Mon Feb 15th, 2016 @ 4:28am

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: The Brig / Piper Medical Center

* The Brig - Isolation Wing *

Niro paced his cell. It was twenty paces one way; ten the other. After only a week in here, he already knew where every flaw in the cell’s walls, floor and ceiling were. He could also navigate the cell with his eyes closed, which was just what he was doing now. “...eighteen... nineteen... twenty and turn,” he whispered, more to hear a voice than anything else.

“One...two….” Li began to count off his paces aloud. “Is that all you have to do with your time?”

“What should I do? Study quantum theories? Gravitational waves?” He turned a dull eye on her. “Darwin decreed that I’m not to have padds in here for the next week.”

“Oh? Why is that? What did you do to piss him off?” Li was tired. It had been a very long few days, so she pulled one of the chairs over from the sitting area and relaxed into it. “Tell me about that, then you and I are going to talk about you.”

He glared at her. “Nothing,” he lied. He’d destroyed two padds and used the components to try to short out the force field. “And what about me do you want to talk about?”

Do I need to remind you that you are the only one here whose telepathy isn’t working right now? I can see why he is depriving you of padds. I can send you some real books. So why did you want to see me? Li asked. “Most of the residents down here don’t want to lay eyes on me.”

“I asked to see you?” He shook his head.

“Losing your mind after a week already?” She had no qualms prodding at him. “You made the request the minute you were locked away down here. I get that a lot though. I don’t always respond. In your case, I was curious.”

“Oh, that request. Well, I’d have rather had that visit in the nude. That’s what you’re good at, right?” He lobbed the insult at her.

“From whom? You might want to reconsider your sources,” she snapped. “Who has been running his mouth?”

He laughed. “That’s just what I thought! Married to a Vulcan and I bet he can’t keep up with your Betazoid passion and emotion.”

“That is none of your concern.” Li’s voice had turned to ice. “Now is there something I can do for you? I could just pick it out of your head and avoid the trash coming from your mouth.”

“Yeah, I want you as my first conjugal visit,” he leered and winked at her.

“Look, Niro. I’ve not slept much in too long. I am not in the mood for your jokes so since you can’t seem to use your mouth effectively, I’ll just have to go the direct route.” Given her exhaustion, Li had blocked off her telepathy for the past day, keeping any other mental voices at bay. She opened her mind back up and as she reached out to Niro, was suddenly hit by a wave of emptiness. There was...nothing...no one else in her thoughts. It was all wrong. Where was the link to Sakkath? She knew she was sitting with her mouth open but nothing came. She searched frantically but there was no trace of him at all. A wave of dizziness swept over her and her grip on the chair tightened to keep her from falling to the floor.

Niro watched her, smirking and thinking the vilest thoughts he could. As her confusion grew, though, and her grip on the chair turned her knuckles white, he dropped his thoughts and laughed. “Come now, my thoughts aren’t that bad. I’m sure you’ve heard or seen worse. Don’t be so dramatic.”

“He’s gone,” she whispered. “No, that can’t be right. Not right at all. They would have told me, surely….” She pressed her hands to her temples and a cry escaped her. “It’s a mistake...that’s what it is…..”

“A mistake? What’s a mistake? That I’m in here in is a mistake, yes. Let me out,” Niro said, watching her.

She didn’t seem to hear him at all. The room around her seemed to fade and tilt and this time, she did lose her balance, slipping from the chair to the floor. She could feel the cold metal beneath her hands and it confused her. Why was she on her hands and knees? Why was it so hard to breathe? She heard a voice but it seemed distant…..Niro….

Help me… The frantic thought was passed to Niro.

“Oh, now you want my help?” He scoffed and simply stood looking down at her.

In the next moment, two security officers rushed in, “Captain Hawke! Are you injured? What did Niro do?”

“Oh, sure, blame the guy behind the force field! The one with no telepathic abilities thanks to you goons!”, Niro raged, mildly.

She tried to tell the officers but nothing was making sense. Tell them...it’s Sakkath ...something is wrong ...tell them…

One of the officers was on the comm, calling for an emergency beam-out to Piper. After a moment, Li and one of the officers disappeared. The remaining officer called for Counselor Amani to come assess Niro and make sure the inhibitors were working.

* Piper Medical *

Ophelia arrived in the room moments after Li with Earl on her heels. She was the main telepath on duty and as she approached, she grew silent, studying Li. After a moment, she looked to Earl. “Sedate her,” she requested. “And by that I mean knock her out completely, sir.”

“Wh--,” Earl started to ask what the hell she meant, but once he saw her face, he didn’t voice the question. “Right-o, sedation coming right up,” he said and thumbed a hypospray’s dosing meter. He applied it to Li’s neck and a moment later the Captain relaxed into a deep, dreamless sleep. “Okay, what did you just see in her head?”

Ophelia pulled out a blanket and covered Li. Sedation tended to lower body temperature and she didn’t want the XO getting cold. “It’s a mess in there. Panicky, Earl. Something about a missing link...and her mind is in chaos. That mean anything to you?”

“A missing link? We’re not talking about fossils, are we? Is that a telepathic link that’s missing?” Earl frowned.

Now that Li was asleep, Ophelia read her once more. The panic had subsided, of course, and now she understood what Li had meant by the emptiness. She could feel that something was missing, some deep connection. It was empty. She gasped aloud and pulled back. “Yes, that’s it...there’s ...Oh.” She looked to Earl horrified. “It’s Sakkath that is missing.”

He’d feared that and simply nodded in understanding. “We’ll keep her for a bit and let her wake up slowly, perhaps for tomorrow morning. Perhaps we’ll even keep her down until the Hammond returns. We’ll see. Sakkath won’t be the one in charge of the Hammond,” he said sadly.

“Surely this can’t be right...can it? Maybe it’s just something..interfering?” Ophelia was grasping at straws now, looking for something hopeful. “They’re pretty far away maybe it’s that?”

Earl shook his head. “Perhaps, Sakkath is in a coma... or under the influence of an inhibitor.... We’ll find out what happened, Ophelia.” He put a hand on her shoulder.

She gave Earl a grateful smile. “I think we should keep this between us for now? Well maybe Will and Solis when they come on duty so they’re not caught unaware but that’s it. We can tell anyone who asks that it’s just exhaustion and lack of sleep, which is partly true.”

“Good thinking,” he said. “In the meantime, I need to let Leroy know that he’s on deck as the acting XO. Li is medically unfit for duty until I say differently.” He entered that diagnosis into the computer, freezing Li’s command access and bumping Leroy up.

“Then you are going to be the one to inform her of that when she wakes up,” Ophelia stated. “I’d suggest ducking after you do.”

“Well... that would be why we’re keeping her sedated for a bit,” he said. “So that we have a while before I have to go on the run.” He winked at her.

Despite the circumstances, Ophelia laughed lightly. Earl always managed to brighten the moment. Now, however, a thought occurred to her. “You’d better inform Admiral Wegener. He’ll wonder why she’s not in her office and Commander Leroy is.”

“Oh, you always point out the awful things I have to do!” He stomped away to his office to make that call, leaving Ophelia to get Li situated comfortably.

* Later *

Darwin had been in Earl’s office earlier, quizzing him about Li’s condition and whether Niro had caused it. It had taken some doing, but Earl had finally convinced him that what was wrong with Li was exhaustion and mental trauma - and that Darwin should ask one of the Hammond team members about the latter.

He had. He'd comm’d Gilroy and asked, point blank, about Sakkath. He hadn't liked the answer. Darwin had called Swift’s office and asked for help with Li.

It was at the moment of his return to her room that Li began to awaken. She was groggy and, thanks to another handy hypospray, her telepathy was off-line for the time being. That did little to help her disorientation. She blinked as she looked up at the ceiling and slowly came fully awake. When Darwin shifted, the noise pulled her attention to him and it was then she realized she hadn’t sensed his presence mentally.

“Darwin? Oh. Sickbay. Last I remember I was talking to Niro down in the Brig about sending him some real books....he said something about adding me to his list….then nothing.” She was suddenly suspicious. “Why are you here?”

“Well, because you were talking to Niro when you suddenly collapsed. I-- we were concerned he’d done something to you, Li,” Darwin said as he stepped closer to her bedside. He took her hand.

“He didn’t,” she assured him. “I know that much at least. His telepathy is dead in the water, just like mine seems to be at the moment. This’ll teach me to think I can go for days without sleep like Sakkath can.” She squeezed his hand and once more tried to read him. Nothing came.

He reached over and hit the call button, notifying the nurses that Li was awake. “Dr. Crane sedated you and wants to keep you here for awhile - overnight at least - for observation.” He sighed heavily, not looking forward to his next task. “Li...,” he heard the door open behind him but continued, “Sakkath was killed in the line of duty.”

She blinked up at Darwin, hearing the words but not really believing him. “No he wasn’t. Jackson said they were on their way home.”

He squeezed her hand and put his other hand on her hair. “Li... I’m sorry. Jackson and Gilroy didn’t want you to hear this over a commchannel. But when you collapsed, based on some other things, I contacted them and they told me that Sakkath was killed as he and Gilroy attempted to retrieve Ignatius. While you were in the Brig with Niro, we think you opened up,” he tapped the side of his head, “mentally, and felt his absence.”

“Based on what things?” Her eyes narrowed and she glanced past him to Earl and Ophelia, who had just entered. “What do you know about this Earl?” Her grip on Darwin’s hand tightened considerably.

“Ophelia read you when you came in; there was quite a bit of chaos in your head. She mentioned you were missing a link and I’ve been around long enough to know what that means for a Betazoid, Captain Hawke.” Earl frowned as he joined Darwin by her bedside. “I’m sorry.”

“What happened down in the Brig? Did I say anything? I don’t remember being brought here or anything else, just the beginning of my conversation with Niro. What about the security feed for that area?” Li looked back at Darwin. “Tell me.”

He glanced at Earl, his worry obvious. “You started to look sick, off-balance and then said: ‘he’s gone.’”

“Oh.” She looked from Darwin to Earl and Ophelia. “Is that why you blocked my telepathy?” Her voice was eerily calm.

“Yes,” Earl confirmed. “We needed to figure out what the problem was, if the issue was organic or ...not. This way, you can hear and process the news without external pressures interfering.”

“Without feeling the emptiness you mean?” She sat up and folded down the blanket. “I need to go...somewhere. Now. Then, I need to get back to my office.”

All three standing there said something to the effect of ‘no’. Darwin’s was the strongest: “Li, no! You’ve been temporarily removed from duty and have doctor’s orders to stay here.”

“Exactly. I can sedate you again, if we really need to, Captain, but I’ve summoned Commander Leroy and let him and the Admiral know that you are in need of rest,” Earl told her.

Her dark eyes settled on Earl, her expression bordering on stormy. She was restraining her emotions with great effort, that much as clear. “Then I won’t go to my office but there is somewhere I need to go and I am going. If you think I need to be watched, then fine. Darwin can come. I’ll even come back here when I’m done if you want.” She looked to Ophelia, hoping for a little help.

Ophelia nodded. “Maybe a little time alone, given the news….”

“Fine, but I’m going along, then,” Darwin said. “Earl?”

Rolling his eyes, Earl let Darwin know what he thought of the idea, but acquiesced. “Fine. She’s your responsibility, Darwin, until you get her back here.” Darwin nodded then helped Li from the bed.

To Be Continued...

*************
Niro
Captain Li Hawke
Lt. Commander Michael Darwin