In The Twilight Zone

Posted on Thu Sep 29th, 2016 @ 11:11pm by Lieutenant Raj Amani
Edited on on Fri Sep 30th, 2016 @ 12:44pm

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Raj's Quarters

* Raj’s Quarters *

Raj wanted a shower, the sofa, and a good stiff drink - in that order. He had been down for an appointment with Niro and it coincided with the first quarterly break from telepathy inhibitors that Niro was allowed under his plea agreement. Thus, he’d had full view of Niro’s thoughts, mainly because Niro was projecting them, not entirely intentionally. It was a side effect of coming off the inhibitors after three months of suppression. Raj realized he probably should have waited an extra day to allow for it but he really hadn’t expected it to be this bad.

Niro hadn’t, as far as Raj could tell, implanted any thoughts or done anything else in Raj’s head that he shouldn’t. It was almost a surprise but in the months that they had been meeting, Niro had gone from insolent and insulting to grudging acceptance and now to real anticipation of the counselor’s visits. Raj wasn’t sure yet how much was genuine personal appreciation and how much was due to the fact that Niro really had no other company. At least it had smoothed the way and it was a good start. He entered his quarters and began stripping off his uniform, leaving a trail of clothing in his wake as he went straight to his shower.

Thirty minutes later he emerged, hair still damp and dressed in just a pair of shorts. He stopped at the bar and poured a tall glass of whiskey, then settled on the sofa. Once his bare feet were propped on the coffee table, he took several swift drinks, then let out a sigh.

“Computer, lights to thirty percent,” he ordered.

The lights went down to a dim glow and he had another drink, then leaned his head back and closed his eyes. His quarters were enveloped in silence and that was just perfect. He used an old mental trick to still the noise in his thoughts and finally felt his body begin to relax. The long shower had been more of a mental thing. After all he’d seen of Niro’s memories, he had felt utterly slimy and unclean. Now, the hot water and the whiskey were doing a fine job of cleansing him. He intended to do nothing and go nowhere. He had warned Jan he would be holing up in his quarters tonight, though he really wanted to see her. Given this was his first go around with Niro off inhibitors, he wanted to be sure nothing was amiss before he ventured out in public.

The warm glow brought on by the whiskey was doing exactly what he wanted and before he realized it, he was lingering in that twilight between waking and dreaming. A soft voice was whispering at his ear and warm hands were sliding down his shoulders and over his bare chest. Finally the words became clear.

“I like the idea of making others jealous. Besides, I don't have to be back in uniform until... um, the afternoon, day after tomorrow. I have nothing to do and no one to report to till then."

“Good, that’s good,” he murmured. He was still alone in the room, but then the owner of that sultry voice stepped around the sofa and out of the shadows. It was Reva, wearing a clingy black dress shot through with a gold sheen. Her arms were bare and he could see the back was little more than criss-crossed ribbons. The soft glow from the lights made her hair and the dress shimmer and the effect was breathtaking.

“Hey, can you dance?” she whispered.

Raj found himself agreeing and suddenly she was in his arms, soft music swirling around them. She was close...so very close, her body swaying in perfect rhythm with his.

“”Reva?” he managed to ask. “Stay here, with me. Let me take care of you. You won’t regret it.”

“I will but he has to go away first.”

An image of a man, a Betazoid, rose in his mind and with it memories that Raj wished he couldn’t recall.

“Very well,” he replied. “Before or after I kill him?”

Reva began to laugh and as she did, she faded from his embrace. He looked around and realized he was standing in a dimly lit corridor in the Pit. Footsteps were approaching fast...someone running. He stepped around the corner and almost collided with Six. Instantly, he reached out, took hold of her and pulled her into his arms.

“Let me go….” Her voice was shaky, close to panic.

“We've made plans to go away, remember?” Raj heard himself saying. “Suresh doesn't deserve you. He cares nothing for you, as you have seen. Remember the woman, Six. He did that to you....he doesn't matter now…”

Six began to melt in his arms and he heard a bellow from far away. As Six vanished, along with the corridor, the bellowing continued. Finally, it jerked him from the vision and he was back in his quarters, on his sofa. The glass was no longer in his hand but on the floor, the whiskey now a dark pool on the carpet. The bellowing had been him. He was breathing too fast, he noted and forced himself to slow down. He tried to grab the frantic, scattered pieces of his thoughts and then pressed his hands to his eyes. It didn’t blot out the mental images of what he’d just seen, events from Niro’s memories, memories that were so real they were his own.

“Computer open a channel to Commander Nicolao,” he rasped aloud. The computer beeped and his words came out in a rush. “Nico, it’s Raj. My quarters….come….”

“On my way,” came the terse reply.

Raj was once again left in silence broken only by his own ragged breath.

****************
Lt. Raj Amani
Falling Down A Spiral...Destination Unknown