Deductions

Posted on Sunday, 28 June 2020 - 6:07pm by Lieutenant Alex Kingsley & Commander Soral

Mission: Operation: Iktomi
Location: XO’s quarters
Timeline: MD7, 1900 hours

Turning in a slow circle, eyes glued to the display, Alex sighed as she closed over the tricorder. Nothing. Not so much as a neutron out of place. Her hairbrush was just a hairbrush and their quarters perfectly ordinary. No unusual readings. No spatial anomalies....

Setting down the tricorder she crossed to where Soral was seated, the candle used for meditation already lit and casting a soft glow. Guided meditation was plan B. She was not hopeful. Lacking Soral’s discipline and experience her attempts at meditation to date had been far from successful. Which was why Soral was there. Literally to guide her.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor she squared her shoulders, took a deep breath and frowned, “can you tell me one more time?”

"Indeed. I will lead you through a guided meditation that will get you to examine your emotions and thoughts. I will monitor the items in our quarters while you do that."

He seemed so calm and confident. “Okay... I guess now is as good a time as any, right?”

He reached out and took her hands bringing one up to kiss the inside of her wrist. "It will be alright. I am here with you. We will do this, together."

"If you keep kissing me, I'll keep getting distracted," she pointed out with a mischievous smile. Nevertheless she took a deep breath, trying to relax as much as she could. "Okay."

"We can get distracted later." He sighed and reluctantly let go. "Close your eyes. I want you to take deep breaths. If you get thoughts and images acknowledge them see them as logs on a river and allow them to float away."

With another deep breath she closed her eyes, focusing on only that and the sound of his voice. After a day in the labs there was so much clamouring for attention from random thoughts on how to improve an experiment, to the research paper to her niggling worries about Soral after he had gotten hurt so badly. Those and a million other things. One by one she used his visualisation technique, clearing her mind.

Soral monitored her through their link. He was just a spectator. "Excellent. Now see a log in the distance coming towards you. Fighting against the current of the river. Describe the log to me in detail."

She arched an eyebrow in a way even he would have been proud of. "Its a log, Soral..."

"Just describe it. Colour, shape texture size."

A small smile played on her lips. "Are you irritated?" she teased. She didn't need to open her eyes to sense his … not quite disapproval but close enough. Taking a deep breath she repeated the exercise again. "It's small, maybe half a meter in length, the wood dark, like oak maybe? broken branches on the surface that disappear under the water as it moves on the river. Its broken, the edges either side look sharp and even."

"What is the texture like. Float it to yourself. She yourself reaching out there is a box there. Pick up the box, but do not open it yet."

She frowned, watching the log drift closer even though the current was against it. “There is no -“ she stopped speaking because as it passed she saw there was. She just hadn’t been able to see it... she rescued it at the last moment, the wood polished and smooth and surprisingly light in her hands.

"Good now when you open it you will be pulled inside. When you come out you will be standing on a beach. It will be your dream day. Tell me what it is like. How does it make you feel?"

Swallowing hard she pried open the box, letting out a startled gasp at the feeling of being tugged by some invisible force before the world around her seemed to distort and bleed into the dark... except it wasn’t dark. Raising a hand to help block out the intense heat of the sun, Alex glanced down at her feet, wriggling her now bare toes in the warm golden sand. Sounds grab her attention, childish laughter as three small figures chase the waves and then each other. Yet they are like shadows, their faces out of focus.

Her blue eyes watch the water, the scene calm save for excited children. In either direction the beach stretches on for miles, just as the sea continues on before meeting the horizon. While there are other people, they are as non descriptive as the children. Except for Soral. He is as clear as day.

“We are on a beach, it’s so beautiful Soral. Clear blue skies, the ocean, the breeze. The air! Everything is so vivid and real. I see you. You are right there!”

"Tell me how you feel in this moment." He pried his eyes open and looked around the cabin.

“Calm. Happy. Relaxed,” she said after considering it.

Nothing strange. He sighed. "Alright now close your eyes." He hated to do this. "When you open them you are on a station. The room is cold and sterile. There is a table, chairs. Do you see it?"

“Yes,” she said quietly, wishing for the warmth of the beach. The air felt cold, everything felt cold. The walls a drap, lifeless grey and the metallic surface of the table reflecting four lights hanging overhead. And she was completely alone. “I don’t like this place,” she breathed. “Soral?”

"See the walls go transparent."

She turned, watching the wall behind her seem to fade from existence. Her breath caught at the familiar sky. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she stepped forward, the rest of the room disappearing completely.

"Now you are on Mars. You are seeing the synths go mad." You can hear it and see it but it cannot harm you and you cannot intervene. Your father is there." He hated doing that to her but he had a theory.

She heard his voice, clear as day, cheerful as he relayed his plans for visiting Earth as he followed a human woman into the R&D office. Commander McKenzie. As they entered the rest of the team gathered around the central table to beginning planning. Not one of them noticing the synth abandon his maintenance task... Alex screamed at them to look, to see! She tried everything to make her father look. But he never did. Her screams as she fell to the floor beside his lifeless body resonated with the explosions tearing the shipyards apart.

Soral opened his eyes. He swore in Romulan. "Open your eyes slowly but hold that feeling." There between them was a glass suspended in air.

She complied, eyes red from tears and the image of her father and his lifeless eyes still fresh in her mind. Her whole body tensed up, which didn’t ease at all when she saw the glass. Her shock broke her concentration and It went crashing down towards the floor before stopping just millimetres from certain destruction. She picked it up with shaking hands before setting it down. Still too shaken by the thoughts of her father to think straight.

Soral stood and pulled her up pulling her to him. "I am sorry. It seems heightened emotion is what...triggers it." He held her tight. "I am with you, you are safe."

She said nothing, feeling exhausted. She told herself she should be angry at him for using her father in such a way but she was too tired as she held onto him. He was here and real.

He lifted her in his arms. "I love you Alexandra. I need you to know that."

She nodded, holding him tightly. Not trusting herself not to fall apart if she opened her mouth. Barely aware that he had swept her off her feet.

He gently set her down on the sofa. Getting some camomile tea he placed it in her hand and sat down pulling her into his arms. "We will figure this out. Your emotions are the key to this. There have been other signs...I ignored them but we will figure it out."

“What signs?” She asked him as she sipped the tea, holding the cup in both hands.

"This happened a few times before. Also our connection is stronger then it would be between a telepath and a non telepath. Normally would be able to read my feelings but you can hear my thoughts and communicate telepathically. It is not the norm between a Vulcan and non Vulcan."

Alex considered this for a long moment although she hadn’t the slightest idea what to make of it. “Maybe ... actually I have no idea. I’m sorry. I should speak to Dr Rose. Maybe he can see a reason...”

"It is alright. This is not bad. My Beloved this is not bad at all. Just another aspect of you to love."

“Not bad?! Soral, it is not normal either! What if I hurt you? Or someone else?” She countered. “Or something is wired wrong in my head and they can’t let me stay...”

Soral sighed. "You will not hurt anyone. Nothing is wrong Telekinesis can be a good thing and they will let you stay." He tightened his arms around her. "I promise, all will be well. You have to trust me." He sent calm through their link.

She rested her head on his shoulder, still nursing the cup, savouring the warmth in her hands. The sense of calm washed over her and she welcomed it. After the meditation she felt anything but rested. "I trust you," she promised.

"Good." He kissed the top of her head. "Now I will draw you a bath and prepare some spice wine for you."

"That sounds good," she smiled softly.

He reluctantly let her go and hurried to fill the tub. After adding a sufficient amount of bubbles he headed back. "Bath is ready with bubbles and lavender scent. I will get the wine you go start your bath. He loved taking care of her. It brought him so much joy that he couldn't even explain.

Alex watched him go, trying to shake the unease after the meditation and grateful to have him there.