In Defense of Life, Part 1

Posted on Fri Jan 13th, 2012 @ 6:25pm by Lieutenant Commander Kh'ali & Captain Li Hawke & Commander Patrick Leroy & https://starbase900.info/index.php/personnel/character/23 & Commander Sakkath & Commander Oralia Zeferino

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant

Sakkath emerged onto Deck 210 with Iggy in hand, taking in the Galileo Center for what seemed like the first time. For all of his duties involving the operation of this space station as a whole, he had spent precious little time getting to know it. Initial tours, certainly, studying schematics, definitely. But Divitia Prime had called and he had answered, and he had left behind this new home all too soon.

Now he stood to leave behind far more. If he failed, if this plan he had conceived in haste proved ineffectual, he would have to cast aside Li...

And likely his life.

He was prepared for that. Better he sacrifice himself, preserving both Li's existence and Ignatius's sentience. It was only logical. But self-preservation still demanded that he try to come a more... agreeable solution.

He set Ignatius down upon the first table he came to, nodding to the Ensign in Science blues that was on duty. He paused and simply waited, centering himself as he awaited the many officers he had summoned, most certainly from a sound sleep.

While Sakkath prepared himself for what lay ahead, Ignatius freaked out the Ensign: You there, biped in blue, would you bring me a cloth and a juicy bug, please?

The Ensign startled and glanced at Sakkath, wondering whether the Vulcan was playing some sort of prank. After all, the voice in her head couldn't have come from the arachnid... could it? "A cloth and a ...bug?", she asked, still looking at Sakkath.

The spider drummed her legs in impatience; she was weary and grumpy thanks to her incomplete fight with Rhys. Indeed. Unless you are unfamiliar with what a cloth and a bug are, biped, she said, testily, A cloth to soften this table and a bug for me to feed upon.

Unnecessarily, the Ensign pointed at Iggy and said, "It talks. How is that...?" With her mouth agape, the Ensign caught Sakkath's look, nodded and quickly went to find a cloth and a bug. Just as she was coming back with those two items, the first of the officers Sakkath had roused arrived.

"Commander..." Leroy greeted Sakkath as the doors hissed close behind him. "I've arrived as soon as I could." He ended offering his hand to the Chief Ops, his brows furrowing when he looked down to Sakkath's hand "Commander, what happened? Your hand is injured."

"A minor issue," Sakkath replied, glancing down at the green-stained skin of his left hand. "I assure you, Commander, it is trivial compared to why I have called you here."

"I see." Leroy responded "and this is Commander Zeferino's... Pet." He added looking at the table where the ensign was laying a cloth that the spider seemed to like.

"You're Vulcan and I know you from our days on the Berkeley. So I'm sure there is a logical explanation to all of this as I'm sure that is something I would gladly avoid to hear." Leroy smiled "Anyway, I'm ready."

The Ensign providing provisions to Iggy looked relieved to see her boss. "Chief Leroy... it talks," she said, pointing at the spider, who'd just made a crunching noise as she bit through a bug's carapace.

Shifting slightly as she did two other things: one, eat, and two, gather the cloth into a suitable shape for her to rest upon, Ignatius added a third thing to the list. She spoke up, She. I am female and I can communicate, which elevates me above the 'pet' status that you're labeling me with. She sounded righteously indignant.

The doors opened once again to admit Lt. Dobry in casual clothes. He held a black bag in one hand, and in the other a large mug from which the aroma of coffee drifted. Not having had the pleasure of Iggy's company thus far, he paused two steps in, eyeing her as he greeted the rest.

"Gentlemen. Umm, who's our guest?"

Just as the spider was about to respond to the 'guest' comment with a question about who the guest was, Connor entered the room, carrying what looked to be a standard medkit. He looked a bit harried, worried, but the thing that caught Iggy's attention the most was the chemical taste and smell of Oralia on the Doctor. Focusing on him, she asked, Oralia's mate, you have been with Oralia... does this mean you are moving back into our quarters?

Connor didn't answer. His eyes surveyed her, and then the others as he cautiously approached Sakkath, "What's going on, Sakkath...?" he asked, taking in the Vulcan's wounded hand. He pulled out his medical tricorder and began scanning. The lacerations were moderate, the wound had already had time to clot, although, there were a few fractured bones.

Hearing the alien voice inside his head, which could only be coming from the spider, Dobry froze, the mug dropping from his hand. The hot coffee splashed his hand, breaking his shock. "Dammit! A little warning next time?" he commented as he found a towel to clean up his mess.

Sakkath took a steadying breath, clenching his wounded hand even as he did so. The pain helped him to focus, something aided by Rhys's temporary defeat at the hands... legs of Iggy?

All too familiar with the need of grounding, Connor narrowed his eyes, believing he recognized it in Sakkath.

"Ignatius," he said, indicating the tarantula who had accompanied him, "you know Doctor McKinney. This is Commander Leroy, our Chief Science Officer, charged with the study of the crystal you already know much of. In fact, he is also its owner. This is Lieutenant Dobry, our Diplomatic Attach, and quite possibly the instrument of our salvation. Gentlemen, Ignatius, who has been instrumental in my continued existence."

That business concluded and the finality of that statement still lingering in the air, Sakkath began a lengthy retelling of the selected events that had led them to this point. Connor's examination of Li, Sakkath's meld with her, Rhys's manipulation of his katra. "Barring the existence of the spirits of the dead, I have surmised that there are only two options indicating the source of Rhys's consciousness. One is Patrick's Tholian crystal, the other is Li's Haliian crystal. While Patrick's has certainly had a demonstrable effect on the telepaths present on this station, I believe it is only a means to an end... Rhys had no access.

"But he did have access to Li's crystal for the several months we spent on the Berkeley, and time before. I believe that the Tholian amplifier, if you will, permitted him to move from that Haliian mineral into Li's mind when she awakened it, starting us on this road. Lieutenant Dobry, is this in keeping with what you know of Haliian crystal imprinting? Could it be done?"

Quentin digested that information for several moments before replying. It was a rather fantastic, and frightening, tale. "Under normal circumstances, a canar would need one of us in contact for its abilities to manifest to others. An exceptionally strong telepath could very well possess enough mental strength to do it on their own, though the results might be unpredictable. It fits with what you have told me, especially as I suspect the storage of the former Commander Balasz's pattern was not desired."

He moved over to a table and placed the black bag he carried upon it. He them lowered the bag to reveal his own crystal, careful not to touch it with his skin. Despite the precaution, it already glowed a deep, hypnotic blue. He glanced to Sakkath, the conclusion obvious.

The Vulcan's jaw tightened. This experience was not new to him.

"Li has seen her crystal react in this way to her own presence," he confided. Turning to face the others assembled, he nodded to each in turn. "Commander Leroy, I would ask that you monitor the mineral as we proceed. Doctor, I will need you to monitor me."

"Previous experimentation with the crystals hasn't produced the desired outcome. Bringing uncontrolled results indeed." Leroy advised taking on a pensive look.

"Do you think this is a wise option? If the tholian crystal has acted as amplifier why not simply destroy it? I would rather renounce to a memento of the past and even a scientific opportunity rather than risking someone's life or mind... Wouldn't that be sufficient to undo this kind of... Obscure bond?" Patrick finally asked watching each one of them in turn.

"I agree", Connor said.

No! You cannot destroy it! A small wave of panic radiated out from the spider in their midst. Agitated, Iggy tossed her now-dead-and-dessicated snack aside and reared up to draw attention to herself. Doing so may cause... other harm you seem to not be aware of.

"I have theorized that the crystal's unique properties may be at the root of Ignatius' awakening," the Vulcan added. "I would prefer that its destruction be considered only in the worst possible case. If it has provided consciousness to another lifeform, then I should be willing to sacrifice mine in its defense."

Sakkath's statement caused Ignatius to go quiet and still. She watched the Vulcan a moment and recalled what he'd thought during her bluff against Rhys: that his death was logical, 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few....' If she'd had a mouth, she'd have frowned. Why should it be the Vulcan who made that sacrifice? He had a mate, possibly offspring and parents, to mourn his loss. Who would mourn hers? Oralia, perhaps. Even the spider knew that Oralia's loss would be lesser than Li's; she wasn't so self-centered and selfish as to dismiss the validity of the idea that she was the more disposable of the two. Still, she stayed quiet. She didn't want the destruction of the crystal to be the bipeds' first option. Another question rose in her mind: if her sentience was tied to the crystal, then what would happen if, when Oralia left the Starbase or this Leroy, owner of the crystal, left the Starbase? Troubling thoughts, she mused.

Dobry eyed Sakkath a moment and shook his head. "No offense to Ignatius, but giving up your life in defense of hers seems to me to be just what this other being would want and would play right into his hands. You think he's bent on revenge? What better way to accomplish it than to convince you to be 'noble' and give up your life for the spider, thus depriving you of Li and her of you. However, I tend to agree with your first theory - that this newfound sentience and your own issue are two different things, relying on two different crystals. Her sentience coming from the Tholian crystal makes sense, as they are similar species. Thus the destruction of the other one should solve the issue without harm to her. I can do as you ask, but a stronger telepath would make this all far easier."

His own jaw tightening, Connor sliced a hand out, "Both crystals should have been on a science station, not on a starbase with a high civilian population." His eyes widening, he raised both eyebrows looking to them all, "So my question is, how much do you really understand what you're dealing with here?"

tbc...
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