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Post by Andrew Rice on Jun 6, 2017 23:02:55 GMT
Take My Hand, Part 2 – Coming Home
"What have you done?" Soule gritted his teeth, a look of betrayal on his face. "Why?!" He shouted.
"I am the Captain of this ship; it is my choice to make, and I dont have to explain myself to you, Douglas." Rome stood eye-to-eye with Soule, angry that even after all this time and even now, the young Leftenant still deigns to question him. "And there is no other way."
"Its not always about you Jon. There is ALWAYS another way. " Soule's words were accentuated by the buffeting of the hull, the cracks of the consoles exploding, and groans Hyperion let off in her dying state. "What about us?"
"If sacrificing myself saves the rest of you... then you have my answer." Rome replied resoundingly. "Dying is easy, captain, living is hard." "Says the officer who runs into a gun battle, with a sword." "It's who I am."
"Well this is who I am, who I want to be. You've spent this last three years fighting me at every turn, undermining my authority with blatent disregard for the chain of command, and criticising every decision I make. Why cant you just let me have this?" Jon demanded the answer with great passion, shaking in despair.
"Because I have watched my home burn to the ground too many times, buried too many people I've cared about already in my life. This isn't how our story is supposed to end."
The two men, who had always been at odds, always puffing their chests out at each other, finally stared between them, silent and deflated. Jon hung his head, then took his place in the chair he never wanted, yet was unquestioningly the master of, staring at the view of the encroaching planet below. "I know your just a figment of my imagination Soule, but will you stay... until the end?"
"Of course, sir." Soule looked to Rome with some confusion, thinking the same thing, before taking a seat in the first officer's chair, not voicing his thought. "You'll do a fine job in that seat one day, and this one." Jon smiled. "The red uniform will suit you." "I have my doubts." "You'll argue with me 'til the end, wont you?" He chuckled. "Absolutely."
With the planet rushing ever faster towards them, they went silent again, just watching as Hyperion fell apart around them. "It was privilege to serve under you, sir." "The honour was mine. But promise me something... Keep them safe." Those three words, Soule had heard them before... they were words that changed the course of his life twice before, and were harbingers of the end, that made him relive the darkest days. "Promise me." Rome reiterated, with increasing urgency. "I promise." In the finals moments, Rome looked to Douglas, pride in his eyes and smiled. "Goodbye, Soule."
There was an intense flash of light, and Soule blinked, opening his eyes aboard the escape pod. He looked down at Goodman groaning at his injuries, just resting a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, with a tear cascading down his cheek. "Goodbye, Jon."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “NO!!”
Isabelle lurched to her feet, her voice filled with anguish and grief. A nightmarish scene played out on the shuttle’s main viewer as they fled the battle towards Free Haven. Her cry was echoed throughout the huddled mass of people as she and the other survivors witnessed the three sections of the Hyperion burning up in the atmosphere, falling towards the planet below. Pieces of the ship that had been their home.
The crew…her family…
“No!!….oh god.. no..”
Her hand went reflexively to her comm badge. “Soule, come in! Soule, do you read me?!?” There was no answer. The airwaves were filled with nothing but static. It was impossible to tell if he could hear her.
She wanted to scream at the pilot, to force her to turn the shuttle around.. but they had to get the survivors to the surface. And the odds of anyone being alive up there were slim to none.
Her knees buckled, sorrow threatening to take over. “The.. the bridge crew.. they were still up there…” She caught herself on the edge of her seat with her good arm as she sank back down. Her left arm was cradled in a sling and temporary cast; her head ached from being tossed about during the battle and the subsequent flight to the shuttles. But the pain of her injuries was inconsequential compared to the pain of not knowing what had happened to everyone. One of her colleagues put a comforting arm around her shoulders, lowering her gently back onto her seat.
“It looks as if most of them have escaped, Doctor.” The pilot checked her console readouts. “There are several pods heading to the surface now.”
“Most..?” she replied faintly. A lump caught in her throat. Most..
”…d.. do you know who..?” A glimmer of hope began to work its way out of the miasma of fear and loss.
The pilot hesitated, then shook her head. “The escape pods are only identified by transponder signal, and by amount of lifesigns in each one. I’m.. I’m sorry. You’ll have to find out when we get to the surface.”
She nodded blankly at the pilot, staring unseeingly at the remains of the Hyperion as it burned in the atmosphere of Free Haven. She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes, shutting out the nightmare from view. The shuttle rumbled, red heat streaks surrounding it as it entered the atmosphere, then grey clouds and mist finally obscured the battle that continued to rage above.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The corridors of the medical facility were bustling; the panic, the chaos, so many injuries and casualties from the conflict above and the firey consequences it caused below, all hands on deck. Soule looked around in a daze, he could see the faces of children and the elderly from the city, dusty and bloody from where buildings came down around them, and doctors mournfully shaking their heads to tearful relatives and compatriots.
"Goodman... Anthony..." Soule looked to his errant side, rushing back a number of yards. "Oh damnit, hold on buddy." He slung Anthony's arm over his shoulder, and looked passed the horrors of war, envying the lack of urgency that comes to someone with a head wound. "Almost there..."
They finally made it to where the majority of triage for Hyperion's command section was centralised, seeing much the same as in the corridors,. All he wanted to do was find Izzy, his eye darting around the ward desperately trying to find her in the miasma, before guiltily looking back to Goodman. It wasn't long before medics had rushed him off of Soule's hands to tend to him, and someone to attempt to do the same to Soule himself.
Soule didn't know what this woman was saying to him right now, he just watched as her colleagues treated Goodman and kept looking around for any sign of Izzy, all he heard was a muffled cadence. She started making hand gestures at him, pointing at him and looking a mix of mildly concerned to extremely annoyed, finally signalling to his shoulder and his chest. The whirring sound in his head slowly began to phase out, as the sounds of the world came back into focus, and he gently placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Now I'm not sure what you said, and I'm very sorry, because I don't care right now, either. I may have a broken rib or something, or you think I'm in shock, but I formally decline treatment, because I need to find people, and you have people who you need you more than me." He then casually side stepped the medic, and with a final glance to Goodman rushed off in dire search of Izzy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She looked for him everywhere. The house was empty, The garden, empty. The sky was grey, menaced by the sound of thunder. A tornado roared towards her. She ran, terrified. And she was picked up and swirled around, tossed this way and that.
She couldn’t find which way was up. Lightning crackled all around her. Winds buffeted her. She was alone.
“Iz.…?”
A voice called out. It was faint, nearly drowned out by the roaring sound of the wind.
“Iz…y?”
The wind died down a little, and she could almost find which way was up now, though she was still being tossed around like a rag doll. The voice was stronger, someone calling her from the ground. She knew that voice. She could almost find the way out of this storm. If she could just find the center..if she could just make it there.
“..zzy!”
She thrashed her way towards the eye of the storm, desperate to find the owner of the voice. She knew she had to fight her way to get back to him.
The darkness was lifting. The winds became less and less. She could see more easily now.. She could hear him more clearly now.
“Izzy..?"
He took her hand, pulling her from the darkness.
For a blissful few moments, she remained there at the edge of wakefulness with her hand wrapped in his as if it were a lazy Sunday morning and there wasn’t a care in the world. Her fingers curled around his, just soaking in his presence as she drifted closer to consciousness. Then her eyes finally opened, focusing on his familiar beloved face. “Imzadi..." she whispered, tears flooding her eyes in a mixture of joy and relief at seeing him again.
"Izzy..." He squeezed her hand in both of his, kissing her fingers, and trembling as a weight lifted from his very being. He didn't really need words, the look on his face told Izzy everything he was feeling; the joy and relief as he looked into her eyes, yet the deep sorrow that haunted him for the fractions of a second he would avert his eyes from her.
He pulled himself in close, resting his head on her shoulder. "Our home... it's gone... and I thought I'd lost you as well." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to suck up any tears that were forming. "I set down with Goodman, and I found Jo and Niamh, but I can't find Rojer or Ethan. But I found you... and I couldn't... leave."
“I.. I know.” She put her hand up to his face, kissing away his tears. “I saw the explosion from the shuttle. The shuttle’s comms were out, or jammed, I’m not sure which. I couldn’t contact you.. I didn’t know if you’d lived or died.” With full consciousness, her memories now came flooding back, accompanied by the sharp pain of loss. She nestled against him as much as she was able; burying a few tears in his hair, she stroked his cheek with her fingers, reluctant to part from him.
After a time, she lifted her head up to peer over Soule’s shoulder, looking around the ward for their crewmates. Across the room, she could see Niamh’s red head bowed over Jo’s still form. Goodman was not far away from them, being treated by the insistent med-tech. On the opposite side of Jo and Nia, she thought she could see Stark in a makeshift ICU ward, hovered over by red-clad surgeons. With Rojer and Ethan missing, that was everyone on the senior crew.
Except..
“The Captain.. he didn’t make it out… did he?”
"No. He... he stayed behind, to keep the ship from hitting a populated area, and to... shield the shuttles and escape pods." Soule sighed, thinking it best to keep whatever happened in his mind to himself for the time being, not wanting to cause Izzy anymore distress and worry about him taking a blow to the head.
Soule took another look around the room, at all the pain and the loss; he knew it would all get better soon, but at that moment, he couldn't imagine how. "We'll get through this..." He gently kissed her on the lips and gave her a reassuring smile, as much for himself as it was for her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Soule cheerfully placed the finishing touches on his new office, placing his sword and rifle on the wall above his desk, so that between the sofa and the numerous contraptions and sketches lining the other walls, they would stand out. With a satisfied grin he took a seat at his new desk, it was shiny and had a holographic screen and interface; simply prodding it and watching it light up and open random programs, filled him with a childlike awe.
After screwing around for another ten minutes with the desk, and promptly getting up and doing the same to every other item in the room, he returned to his seat and opened up a comm channel. Seeing the face on the other end filled his already joyous face with greater glee, as he marvelled at an image quality he felt he could almost touch her with.
"Mr Douglas would like to formally invite you, Mrs Douglas, to dinner tonight." He chuckled. "Subsequently, your mum called and invited us to dinner... it's apparently easier to reach me at Jupiter than you at Starfleet Medical."
“Well, hello, Mr. Douglas. It’s very good to see you.” Isabelle smiled at him joyfully in greeting. “How do you like Jupiter Station?” She peered into the viewer, looking around his office at the Daystrom Institute’s holographic division. The reddish curve of Jupiter could be seen through a window next to Soule’s desk. The holographic comm unit made it seem as if they were in the same room, instead of halfway across the solar system from each other.
She was still in the process of setting up her own office, and there were still things piled in the corners and along the walls. Much of what she used to have on the Hyperion had been lost, but there were a few things that she’d managed to save just before the ship went down. Behind her on a shelf was her battered medkit that she’d guarded through all of her years at the academy and through almost four years of serving on board the Hyperion. On the wall was her mek’leth, a reminder to serve and protect her patients. And, on her new desk sat a holoimage of Soule and herself on their wedding day, taken almost a year ago already.
“I’m not surprised Maman hasn’t been able to get through to me. This is the first chance I’ve had to sit down all day.” she grinned. “It’s only my first day back to work and I’ve hit the ground running already… I’ve barely had a chance to unpack my things. But dinner tonight would be lovely. I can’t wait.”
"This place is amazing, there's equipment here our ships won’t have a decade; the whole holodivision is a testbed of next-gen technology. There's this weird open door policy on borrowing equipment and tech, which basically means as long as nobody dies and nothing bigger than a workbench explodes, nobody with a higher rank will suddenly appear and give me a bollocking. I have never had freedom like this... I have access to some things I don't even fully understand." He chuckled. "Oh, and it's full of mad scientist types."
He almost buzzed, as if he was about to explode with excitement, there was so much to tell after just a day, and he couldn't get it all out. He cleared his throat and composed himself; he had a feeling Izzy would be having a similar day to him, then became excited to hear all about it. "Speaking of which, what's it like working with Doctor Moran? Didn't I tell you he was a Looney Tune? Like I told Anaïs, you've probably already preformed half a dozen major lifesaving procedures and delivered some Antedian fry by now."
She grinned. “Yep, Dr. Moran’s quite the character. Remember the wedding, he told me all about the experimental treatments he’s working on? I got to see his lab. I’m not sure that I understood even half of what he was doing in there, but there was certainly enough there to keep me curious for a good long time.” Her eyes lit up with all the new things she’d gotten to do and see that day. It’d been some time since she had been able to be in the hub of some of the best medical minds in the quadrant.
“I did do a stint in the ER this morning – one heart replacement surgery, a direct neural resequencing, and a beamout of a piece of metal that a Nurian swallowed by mistake.. he managed to puncture both stomachs.” she chuckled. “Oh! And tomorrow, I’m scheduled to work with Dr. Moran on an optic nerve laser welding procedure prior to installing an implant.“
"Did he show you the beakers and the mannequin?" He replied in a monotonous tone, then lightened up. "Seriously though, it's like a Rube-Goldberg Machine of beakers and twisty straws, and that mannequin is entirely made out of prosthetics and artifical organs." He shuddered at the thought of that lab, not entirely sure it was Moran's fault, but his eccentric and blasé approach to medicine didn't help.
Soule listened on with intrigue, delighting at how happy she was and how she was enjoying her new work. It had been a rough transistion for the both of them; moving back to Earth, deciding on a place to live, and finding assignments that didn't split them up. It was going to take a while for everything to feel like home, but he was glad the events of the last month had finally begun to ease.
Then a little cringe came through at the end, as he felt uncomfortable at the thought of that particular operation. "That is..." His head shook like a neighing horse, ashe rubbed at his own eye. "You don’t need to go into any further detail about that one.... And how does someone just accidentally eat a shard of metal?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Hello there Mr Douglas!" An eccentric man suddenly appeared, seemingly coming from nowhere. "And of course, Mrs Douglas." Soule's body became taut and rigid, he seemed to shift uncomfortably, and gulped. "Izzy... this is... Doctor Moran." He very subtly managed to hide his body behind Izzy's, making a mild wincing sound.
“Doctor Moran. It’s lovely to meet you.” Izzy smiled and extended her hand, giving a chagrined glance towards Soule who was attempting to hide rather unsuccessfully behind her wedding dress’s train as it draped from her arm. Around them, their wedding reception was in full swing, with a jazz quartet playing on the stage, and guests going to and fro with drinks and food, occasionally stopping to congratulate the happy couple.
"The pleasure is all mine, Doctor. I have read up on your file, and I must say, I am very impressed with your work. Your work on the Tefoy virus, has led to a few breakthroughs in the detection and treatment of a number of both designer and natural viruses. And at one time, I noted, you looked into possible treatments for Vendorian venom, which I found wonderfully esoteric, if not for the fact that knowledge of that species was expunged from Starfleet records over a century ago. You obviously have a keen scientific mind and the spirit of an explorer. It is no wonder to me why this one fell for you, even with the grumpy and grizzled mask he wears so often."
"It's always nice to see you Doctor..." Soule responded in his usual defensive tone. "And no, you cannot have a look of my brain right now."
"He makes the time we spent together seem like I was Doctor Frankenstein. I merely find his neurological architecture to be fascinating in an evolutionary context. He is a hybrid, he displays biological structures of both parent races, yet not all of them are fully functional; he could be telepathic, yet he is not. With the numerous environmental factors in his life restructuring his brain, and the introduction of technological components, it makes him an interesting case study."
"I am not, a case study... and I am not your patient anymore."
"Thats even better. Your wife and I can compare medical notes, and it would be most gratifying to know how she pulled you out of your shell of yours, to turn you into the antithesis of the teenager you once were." Moran smiled coyly. "In fact Doctor Rousseau, I think it would be improper of me to not offer you a position at Starfleet Medical. I know it can't compare to the glamour and adventure of a starship, but there are many projects going that could greatly improve with your input."
“You two seem to have quite a history..” Isabelle grinned, glancing between the two of them as they jabbed and riposted words at each other. She put her arm around Soule’s waist as a protective gesture, at the same time preventing him from scooting any further backwards.
She listened as Moran rattled off each item on her CV, impressed that he’d taken the time to look each one up, especially given that the Vendorian files had been carefully encrypted and locked away for safekeeping. “That is a very generous offer, Doctor Moran.” Isabelle replied, finally. “At the moment we’re still assigned to the Hyperion, but I would definitely consider it if anything changes. I look forward to speaking further, if we have time while we're still here on Earth. Oh, and I don’t suppose you have any leads on where I might find more information on the Vendorians? It’s a personal hobby, you might say. Exobiology was one of my favorite subjects at the academy...”
"I did some research on them a number of years ago, for a certain unnamed blue psychonaut; for reasons nobody will ever quite understand. I may have some notes laying around still, but, other than that, I'd have to get in touch with a Romulan counterpart. That will be more challenging than historically, but I can make enquires. Perhaps I can find a helpful Yridian." He chuckled at how unlikely that outcome was. "But my door is always open, for both of you, if you find yourself back on Earth. I think we could do some great work together, Doctor."
Moran then cocked his head, noticing children crowded around Ilaihr. "Oh look, he's telling scary stories. Toodleoo happy couple, and many congratulations." He gave the pair a warm smile. "But One cannot miss an episode of Ilaihr ruining childhood innocence."
"Please make sure he doesn't make them cry...." Soule called after him, deflating a little as he left earshot, and squeezing Izzy. "And now you know why I didn't like doctors, until I met you."
“I think I’m beginning to have an inkling.. “ she teased him, lifting her chin to kiss him on the lips. “Still, he’s very interesting to talk to. I’m sure we’ll have a lot of good stories to trade.” “Meanwhile, my love..” She changed the subject as the band struck up a tune, with everyone looking at them expectantly. “I believe it’s time for our first dance” She took his hand, leading him onto the dance floor. With their guests looking on, they twirled away in a three-step as the strains of a waltz echoed through the pavilion…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "There." Isabelle lay on her stomach on the living room floor of their tiny temporary quarters, her feet kicking in the air. She scrolled through a padd, looking through description after description of housing listings, swiping several off as she narrowed down her list to her final few selections. “I’ve got my three… a high-rise in San Francisco with one bedroom but a hell of a view.... a two bedroom in Paris centre with a balcony, and a small house on the coast in Bretagne.” She rolled back upright and stood up, crossing the room to the sofa to sit beside Soule who was busy narrowing his own list of places to go see that day.
“What did you find?” She smiled over at him and leaned her head on his shoulder, passing him the padd she was holding.
"Oh, wow, you're way better at this than I am." He nudged her head with his and smiled. "I just got it down to single digits... ooh i like that..." He trailed off, looking at the padd Izzy gave him, his eye immediately drawn to the house. "...I found a couple of nice apartments in Paris, a London flat... I know it's not San Fran, but I found what I think might be a beach house in Malibu... and there's this nice little cottage just outside of Oxford."
"I don't think I've ever been this indecisive." Soule wrapped his arm around her, snuggling in, and held out the padds in front of them. "I wish my grandparents' cottage wasn't currently possessed by a demonic entity, we at least wouldn't of had to of stayed here these past few weeks."
Izzy chuckled. “I think trying to fight off your grandmother would be too much this soon after getting over your injuries, so that will have to wait for another day. There’s still lots of places to look at.” She settled in next to him, leaning against him and interlacing her fingers through his as they looked through the choices on their padds.
“Oooh, Malibu...we could have barbecues on the beach.. or midnight swims.” She winked at him, flipping through the images of the beach house. She swiped through a few more of the listings, looking in turn at the cottage in Oxford, the Paris apartments, and the London flat, considering the pros and cons of each one. “Hm…. It’s still tough to choose. How about we look at the houses and cottage, and then two apartments; one in Paris and one in London, for comparison’s sake? I’m not picky, as long as it’s big enough to not trip over the furniture, and it has space for a garden.. or maybe even an ocean view...”
His lip curled into a smirk, the Malibu idea starting to sound even better to him now. "Well, at least one of us knows what we're doing. I mean, I have a slight bias towards the houses, but I won’t just shoot down the apartments. But is it wrong for a boy to dream of fairytale homes?" He fluttered his eyelashes at her, before breaking into a fit of laughter, and nuzzling into her neck with a kiss. "As long as you're there.
"And I dunno what you mean... I remember you having a broken arm, and me being completely fine at least after you didn't have a broken arm." He chuckled as he put on the bravado. "But yeah, can't be dealing with Djinni. Best to wait until whatever curse keeps her in this universe wears off, or Satan comes and collects her."
She grinned at him, nuzzling him again with another kiss. “Absolutely nothing wrong with dreaming of a fairytale home.. especially if you’re there.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Isabelle put the last finishing touches on the picnic, pouring champagne into two glasses set on a large fur blanket laid out on the sand, beside a plate filled with chocolate strawberries. A sunset glowed in the sky, highlighting the pacific ocean behind them. “Happy Anniversary, my beloved.” She smiled at Soule and picked up the the fluted glasses, handing one to him.
He happily took the glass, swirling it around as he gazed at Izzy with a broad smile. After a few silent moments, he leant forward and pecked her on the lips. "Happy anniversary, Imzadi." He gave a blissful sigh, staring off into the sunset, thinking about all the things they'd gone through to get to this point. "How the hell have you put up with me for this long?"
She chuckled. The question, though phrased in typical direct Douglas fashion, was not difficult to answer once she realized it’s simple truth. “Isn’t it obvious?” She gave him a broad smile back and returned his peck on the lips; the radiance of the sunset reflected in the joy on her face as she gazed back at him. “Because.. Even after being together for almost four years now, you still make me breathless; and at the end of a long day, I can’t wait to come home and spend time with you.. to share my day with you and hear all about yours..” She happily leaned against him, nuzzling his shoulder. “I don’t think I could imagine it any other way.."
"I don't think I'd want to imagine it, I vaguely remember my life before knowing you... and it was lonely." He snorted. "You make me a better man. I always tried, but until I met you I never thought I actually could. And now, looking up at that beautiful sunset with you... I feel like I can achieve anything, because you're there to do it with me."
She had no words to add to that, but just sat with him enjoying the Malibu sunset, breathing in the fresh ocean air. The last few months of almost constant warfare and the following few weeks as they healed and made the journey back to Earth, had made her value this peaceful time in their lives more than ever. As the orange glow slipped over the horizon and night fell, Isabelle wrapped her arms around her much beloved Soule, guiding the both of them towards the blanket..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Ok, Mordecai... this is just a test buddy. So don't feel bad if you can't do it straight away." Soule gave Mordy a reassuring smile. "We'll just need to keep tweaking the system until something happens, and we can home in on a solution from there."
As Mordecai wheeled himself up to the supporting bars, his heart began to race and doubt etched across his face. "I just dunno man, what if it..."
"Shh, save that doubt for later." Soule cut him off. "I mean... what are you tryna say, you dont trust my tech or Izzy's medical skills?" He said seriously, whilst gazing to Izzy with a cheeky look in his eyes. "She's the best doctor in Starfleet."
"Well, no but.." Mordy's gaze shifted around the room, to Izzy, then to Sasha sat in the corner, then back to Soule again; as he got worked up. "I... just..."
"I'm winding you up, little brother. Tryna lighten the mood, maybe rile you up a little." Soule raised his left arm, and held his wrist in his other hand. "It’s just like a prosthetic, but cooler." He looked to Izzy again, knowing that she is far better at this whole bed manner malarkey than he.
Isabelle gave a final glance over at the console that was monitoring his neural signals, satisfied that everything looked normal and then extended her hand to Soule’s younger brother, giving him an encouraging smile. “Mordy, just give me your hand…good.” She placed his hand around the support bar, and repeated the same with his other one. “Ok, now.. lift. You’re strong, I know you can do it.” She stepped back a little to give him some space, but stayed close by if he needed her.
He had done this before, with Vitro, before he had gone missing. The hologram had often adamantly told Mordy, that just because he couldn't access his leg muscles, didn't mean he should stop exercising them, and acted in kind when aiding in his physiotherapy. On occasion Vitro had actually refused to help him up after he had fallen, or his hand had slipped from the bar. "Why do we fall, Master Douglas?" Is what he would say. "So we can get back up." What is Soule and Vitro's obsession with that phrase?
Mordecai sighed, staring at his hands on the bars. "I miss Vee..." He whispered under his breath, as he pushed himself up and locked his elbows; his legs dangling limply beneath him. He oriented himself the way Vitro had shown him; swinging gently, scuffing his shoes until the soles snagged on the floor, slowly straightening his legs until he felt the wobble of his knees locking.
Soule smiled. "I'm going to start activating the system now. And I want you to give us something simple, like, just think about moving your toes."
Typical Douglas etiquette dictated that all Mordy heard was 'give us something', and with a pained expression of concentration, his left leg leapt forward like a octopus' tentacle with all the rigidity of a wet noodle, ending with Mordy face down on the floor.
"Mordy!" Sasha screamed, racing towards her twin.
“Wait a minute, Sasha. Don’t do anything yet.” Isabelle calmly turned to Sasha, putting a hand up. She had to fight her own instinct to pick Mordecai up off of the floor, since she knew he wasn’t helpless. “It’s important for him to form those neural connections.”
Isabelle turned back to Mordecai. “You’re doing fine. I know Vee isn’t here, but I think you remember your training.. We’re here if you need us, but I’d like to see how much you can do on your own.”
“Let’s try again.” She waited patiently, allowing him to make the next move.
Holographic light shimmered around Mordy's legs, as he lifted himself to his knees, tears running down his cheek. "They moved... I felt them.... my legs moved."
Sasha couldn't help herself, getting closer, reaching out for Mordecai. "Let me just help you up." "No. Sasha..." Soule growled, grabbing her shoulder. "Fuck you, Soule!" She flailed, then took a swing for her older brother, growling back at him as he caught her fist. "He needs me..."
"They're right, Sash!" Mordecai sighed. "I'm tired of being stuck in a fucking wheelchair, being pushed around like an invalid. I wanna walk again, I wanna reach for things on the top shelf instead of asking you to get it, I wanna go swimming and climbing... one day I wanna kick Soule's ass..."
"Even with the full use of your legs, that last one's never happening." Soule smirked, slowly letting Sasha go.
"But, I've gotta put the work in." He took a hold of the bars, and lifted himself back up, and readied himself to try again.
As the holographic exoskeleton began to fitfully activate, Isabelle glanced to Soule and then back to Mordecai with an excited look in her eyes. “Good, keep going Mordy! It’s working.” She adjusted the holographic prosthetic’s neural connections via the console, dialing the power down a little bit from last time. “Ok, I want you to focus on lifting just your toes and foot upwards, not the whole leg yet.. and with as much control as you can manage..”
Mordecai took a deep, prolonged breath, closing his eye to concentrate, trying to take on some of the meditation crap his brother spouts to him, and centre himself. He frowned as he felt the unmistakable jolt of Sasha's mind, trying to do as Sasha does; protect him, but he blocked her out. ~"This is something I have to do for myself, this time."~
As Mordy carried on focusing, and Izzy modified the neural gain settings, Soule looked down at his youngest sister for a moment. Sasha looked on with strange look of sadness, then an expression crossed her face that Soule had seldom seen her show; panic. He pulled her in to give her a hug, before whispering to her. "Whatever happens Sash, he's still our little brother... he's not going anywhere."
~"We've always been there for each other Soule, we've always taken care of each other and needed each other to survive... and he doesn't want my help..."~ Her eyes started to well up, and she audibly started to whimper, before wrapping her arms around Soule
~"Of course he does, you daft bugger, but helping him, is letting him help himself right now. Something my fa..."~ Soule paused, clearing his mind. ~"It was something I was taught years ago, during my training. I got knocked down, a lot, and I had to learn to pick myself back up... I didn't always have to, but I had to learn. He's gonna fall down, a bunch, and sometimes he's going to need your help up. Just not this time."
"What the hell are you two talking about over there? I'm supposed to be the centre of attention at the minute. Pay attention to me." Mordy called to them.
~"And remember, he can sometimes be a twat, and if he falls during those times, he totally deserves; just like everyone else."~ He planted a kiss on the side of her head, patted her on the back. Sasha giggled, sniffling and wiping her tears away. "Ok." She replied simply to all Soule had said, before they both turned back to Mordecai.
Mordy continued focusing, but seeing Soule and Sasha, and Izzy next to him, a strange thought struck his mind. It made him chuckle, but it left him to pause and look at Soule and Izzy again, with a look as if he was about to cry. Then it happened; his right leg slowly and shakily lifted no more than an inch or two off the ground, but he lifted it, and his big toe twitched. He quickly gazed down, his face agog.
Isabelle had finished readjusting the settings at the console, and was now busy making notes as the session went along, not noticing Sasha and Soule’s conversation until Mordy piped up, and she looked over and saw the strange expression on his face. “Mordy? Are you ok?...” And then she looked down, following his gaze, and her jaw fell open in wonder. This was turning out even better than the holo-trials had predicted. “Oh.. wow..”
“Soule, Sasha! Come look!” She grabbed Soule’s hand, excitedly bringing him over, hoping that Mordecai would be able to hold his foot up long enough for them to see.
"Oh... wow..." Soule gasped, echoing Izzy's sentiments. "Now that is something."
Mordy strained as if he were lifting the heaviest weights in the gym, holding his breath and wincing as he began to buckle, until he finally let out a gasp and could keep his foot aloft no longer. He slumped into the bars, giving the others a look of exhaustion. "Is that what it's like.... all the time... with your hand? Or your eye?"
Soule shook his head with a smirk. "Noooo, I'm used to them now. The beginning still sucked, but for different reasons; I'll tell you the story of my first hand, after your take your first steps."
"You are never satisfied are you? I just performed your's and Izzy's medical miracle, and you're already pushing me to go for the next one? What happened to pacing? I wanna hear the story now!" Mordy looked to Izzy and Sasha, who both seemed like they agreed; storytime first.
"Well... like your attempt to fly just a minute ago, #1 didn't last long." Soule cleared his throat, as he made an attempt at Ilaihr's theatricality. "I was... me, but smaller and slightly angrier, and blah blah blah. I got angry one day for... any number of reasons, you know me... so I clenched my fist. Well there was apparently something on the back of my hand... and my fingers seemed to want whatever it was really quite alot, because they went through the palm of hand to get to it; and it made god awful racket. It was like watching piston engine eat itself."
Mordy just looked up at his older brother for a minute, numerous looks crossing his face as he developed a response. "That is fucking frightening. Why the hell did you tell me that? Now you got me thinking this is gonna turn my legs into paste tubes..." He rolled his eyes. "You totally ruined a moment I was having! Why do I look at you with bright eyes?"
"At least you've lightened up." Soule chuckled, as he decided to push on. "Stand up again, then. This time I want you to let go of the bars when you get yourself steady."
Mordy complied, centering his weight over his feet as he let go, entering a T-pose to keep himself balanced, although still swaying slightly. "So what am I supposed to do from here?" He asked, as the holographic harness shimmered and shifted over his legs, more intensely the longer he stood there and the more his body swayed.
“Didn’t Soule tell you? There’s an anti-paste setting in here. So.. I’m pretty sure you’ll be fine.” Izzy winked at him, also trying to lighten the mood.
She tweaked the neural gain again, increasing it by another few percentage points as her patient swayed in place, the holographic harness doing the work of his muscles where his body had failed him. She couldn’t help but marvel at the miracle they were performing. Three years ago, when Mordy was injured in the evacuation of Sigma Rho, Cre’el had predicted that he would have only a 22% chance to walk again. If only she could see him now..
“Ok, just focus on balancing.. and try lifting your foot as before.” She could feel the excitement in the room mounting as Soule and Sasha held their breath, and she did the same.
"You are so getting as bad as he is." Mordecai shook his head at Izzy, glaring at Soule. "You're a bad influence." Izzy just chuckled at that, resisting the urge to stick her tongue out through her teeth.
"Can you do it again, Mordy?" Sasha asked, in a uncharacteristically polite tone, giving him an encouraging smile.
He sighed. "Sure. Why not." He closed his eyes again and concentrated on the goal; he just had to balance, lift his foot up, not fall over and balance some more, as he mimicked a flamingo. Nothing was happening, so he focused harder, creases forming on his forehead.
"You can do it Mord." Said Soule. "Just think about whatever you were thinking about just a minute ago."
"I was... I was thinking..." Mord's mind drifted back to those thoughts, how they made him feel. "About how you and Izzy, are like... the closest thing I ever had to proper parents. And that made me feel happy but sad... cuz you're my brother and his wife, and its weird." His leg slowly but fluidly started to lift, his knee hinging properly as it got higher, his toes twitching again. He looked down at amazement, before lowering it and raising the other up, in the same manner but slightly faster, repeating the process a number of times, as if stretching out cramps.
"Can I...?" He looked to Izzy for permission, and nodded further down the bars. "Can I do it?"
Upon Mordy’s mention that she and Soule were both like parents to him, Isabelle sniffed a little and blinked back a tear, glancing from Soule to his brother and sister with shining eyes, with her own inscrutable expression. She began to formulate a reply, but it was was quickly eclipsed by what was happening in front of them as Mordecai’s feet and legs began to move the way they were meant to.
She gave Mordecai a proud smile and nodded her permission. “You’ve come this far. Go the rest of the way.”
They weren't perfect; with a clunky mechanical juddering and the strong flickers of holographic energy, compensating to rebalance him; but they were steps, and he was making them. Mordecai stumbled a few times, catching the bars at the right moment then persevering through the obstacle, until he got to the end, where slowly turned around, leaning on the bar, and making the return trip.
Soule squeezed Izzy's hand, as he stared in amazement. "It works." He whispered to himself, wiping a tear from his eye. "He can walk." It was still early days, Soule knew that, but he couldn't help but feel a great weight lift from him, and he found himself leaning on the bar for support.
“It’s amazing!” She whispered back to him, her face showing a similar reaction of excitement and relief, feeling as happy for Soule as she did for Mordecai.
The moment was interrupted by a forced comm coming through one of the nearby console. "Leftenant Douglas, Saviles here... we, uh... You need to get up to Daystrom right now." "Jesus, Willy can't this wait... something important is happening right now, and I can't leave." Soule shouted defensively. "There's alarms going off up here, that no one has any idea about, and they're demanding your authorisation to shut off. Something about 'Trojan'... Proper ominous like."
Soule's face dropped and he became agitated, shuffling to and fro. "I'll be right there...." He closed the comm, and looked to his family. "I... I have to go..."
The glow on Isabelle’s face turned to concern and her eyes widened as soon as she heard the word ‘Trojan’. That didn’t sound good… especially when it came to the Daystrom Institute.
“All... alright. Just.. try and give me a call later if you can, to let me know how things are going?” She squeezed his hand again, before he could dash out the door.
"This could be..." He paused in careful thought. "This could be good." He planted a kiss on her lips, one on Sasha's cheek and one of Mordy's forehead. "You keep doing what you're doing. Izzy's still the boss, whilst I'm gone." He winked before running out the door.
She raised her eyebrows with a quizzical look on her face. “Good? Ok.. I’Il just assume you know what you’re talking about…” She gave him a quick smile of encouragement as she watched him leave. “Good luck..” she called, as he ran out the door.
”I wonder what that was all about?” she asked the twins rhetorically as she turned back to Mordecai and Sasha, who both looked as confused as she did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It didn't take Soule long to get there, using an emergency long-range transport to beam him from Earth to Daystrom around Jupiter; he thanked the boffins at the Starfleet Corps of Engineers for use of their prototype piece of kit. Cadet Wilhelm Saviles meeting him off the transporter pad, they got a move on the moment he materialised.
"When did it start?" Soule asked as they walked down the corridor with haste. "Hello to you too, Soule." Willy replied in a snippish manner, then grinned. "20 minutes before I called you. So, 45 minutes totes." "Hey Willy." He nodded in response, picking up the pace.
"So what is it? Alien piece of tech trying to integrate with our systems? Enemy virus tryna hack our mainframe? Or have you got some kind of deep off the books blacksite project you're working on, and shits poppin' off the rails?" Soule's mouth moved, his head waved, as a legitimate response became difficult. "Something like that." "What? For real? Shit... does that mean you have to kill me?"
"No? What? Shush." They reached his office; a number of their colleagues hovering outside of their own offices complaining about the noise and disruption to their work. "Computer: Authorisation code; Zeta-Two-Five-Upsilon-Omega" He shouted over the alarm as the pair of them entered his office. "Computer show me."
The holographic interface on his console activated, and showed a star map of the known Alpha and Beta quadrants, centralising of the Terran system. Numerous circles overlapping each other, lines crisscrossing the circles like a web; notable names like Argus and Midas appeared with thicker, longer lines coming from them. Out of the tangled mess, an area sat highlighted in red, blinking, a text box eventually opening. Target located. 99.47% Probability.
"Soule..." Saviles croaked cautiously. "What the hell is that?"
The computer chirped, and a crackled voice message rang out of the console. "Soule... I don't have long. I do nott know how you managed to reach me, but I know you are still alive. Please... find me..." The message fizzled out.
"I found Vitro...."
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Post by Andrew Rice on Aug 14, 2017 9:02:09 GMT
The Measure Of A Warrior With CJ as Takoa'lan
"I'll be fine, Captain..."
Soule sat there at his console, gazing at The First, Takoa'lan, leader of their Jem-Hadar guests. He scanned him with his good eye, examining him, building a picture in his mind of the target. He was as expected, a Jem-Hadar warrior, nothing more, nothing less, as imposing as any other of his kind... a vessel of almost soulless discipline. Collecting his thoughts, Soule eventually stood, approached Takoa'lan, adopting the same stance as he stood beside him, peering at the viewscreen ahead.
"You are dead, and now you must reclaim your life." Soule uttered in what little Dominionese he remembered.
Takoa'lan hadn't paid much direct attention to Soule's approach, though it was a safe bet he'd been tracking the Chief Tactical Officer in his periphery. The Jem'hadar gave one soft grunt at Soule's greeting, one that seemed almost derisive I'm tone, like a bitter laugh.
"'We give our lives for the Founders,'" he recited back. "'That is the order of things.'"
The First took a deep, sharp breath, before casting a sidelong look Soule's way.
"Not any more."
"Enlighten me, what is the new order of things?" Soule returned the gaze. "Are you still bred for war? Do you still crave the White?"
He looked back to the viewscreen. "To what does a soldier pledge, without their masters?"
"I find it strange that a citizen of the Federation would ask another sentient being what it would fight for without masters," replied the First.
"An ancient culture from Earth called that a Ronin; a warrior without a master. Your race has been in service to its gods for fourty thousand years, so you've never really been free to make the choice of what to fight and die for." He sighed. "So what do you fight for?"
The Jem'hadar turned his attention back to the viewscreen, answering after a moment's pause.
"We fight for a day when we won't have to."
Soule's lips creased into a smile. "I can work with that."
Takoa'lan gave a short, soft chuckle.
"Good for you," he said, dryly.
Soule found that something of a rib tickler, letting out a deep laugh. "I suppose you're a better conversationalist than a Breen, atleast."
"One of many things we have over the Breen," remarked the First. "I understand they are giving the Federation trouble."
"They give everyone trouble, every now and then; they just love a good fight. The Federation and the Romulans and Cardassians like to think they're more civilised than the various warrior races out there; The Breen, The Klingons... The Jem-Hadar. They just don't know how to deal with them properly."
"And you do," the First stated. "Right? You think you have some special insight into the Jem'hadar that your superiors lack."
"I've always found single combat to be quite effective. Warriors are always uncivilised and barbaric to those who haven't got a sword in their hand, and a warrior will never respect those who are unwilling to meet them on the battlefield when the time comes. Sometimes its about more than just killing an opponent, you can learn a great deal about them and those like them, and about yourself. Some opponents are too good to kill, the challenge they bring pushes you to be better for the next encounter."
"And, my superiors want too much for races like yours to think like ours, they think every problem with every race can be solved with words, you value action, and believe in honour much more than my kind generally does. If I were to shoot you down now, your men would believe me a coward and would rally for my blood, but if I were to defeat you in single combat before their eyes, that may very well gain me respect.
"The First snapped a look to Soule, then turned to face him completely.
"You know nothing about me, human," he growled. "You are no better just because you replace one false assumption with another - a different kind of fool is still a fool."
Soule's smirk widened. He had found a chink in the armour, a flaw in the warrior's discipline. "I learn more about you, with every word you speak. I don't know what you are so afraid of, but I'm sure we'll see in time." He turned his head, to meet the First's gaze. "You never did answer my question about the White, though."
The First furrowed his brow in mild confusion as he considered Soule's statement, though the expression was soon replaced with a more stoic one.
"I see. Not so honorable after all," he noted. He turned back to face the viewscreen, ignoring Soule's remark about the White.
Soule too looked back to the front of the bridge, watching as the stars as they drifted by. There was much to ponder on and he'd learnt alot in this first encounter, although he had pushed too hard, too quickly to ascertain all of information he sought. Whether he trusted Takoa'lan or not, there were alot of unknowns still ahead of them, but the Jem-Hadar First seemed genuine enough.
"I had a master, once..." He left as parting words, before turning about and returning to his console; the threat aboard assessed, they were in the Gamma Quadrant, and besides hostile Dominion ships there could be any number of undiscovered dangers lurking around the corner.
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Post by Andrew Rice on Apr 13, 2018 2:41:08 GMT
11803.26 Lentil (continued) With Izzy & Soule
Isabelle’s mind oscillated between the news of the Vaadwaur tunnels and their possible connection with the disappearance of the Chiron, and the news that had been revealed on her tricorder earlier that day. Soule’s multiple curious glances in her direction made her want to whisk him away immediately, but instead she sipped at her ginger tea and tapped her fingers impatiently on her console while the last hour of shift counted down. Since they were still on the bridge, she could only return Soule’s curiosity about her message with a secret smile..
And finally, shift was over.
As the Alpha crew were leaving the bridge, she slid up next to him and clasped his hand. “So.. there’s something you need to see.” Her eyes sparkled with the untold news.
Soule was almost taken aback by her mood, only able to beam a smile back at her. "Okay." Despite the recent developments about the Chiron and the Cardassians, her being happy did have a way of disarming and distracting him.
He swung their hands cheerfully as they trotted into the turbolift, not sure of what she had to show him. It must be good, because she had had a smile all shift, that he could feel even when he'd been looking at his console.
As the doors closed, he pecked her on the cheek and sighed blissfully unaware. "You're in a particularly good mood today...."
“I am.“ She gave him a smile, trying to rein in the curious blend of emotions that were threatening to spill over. Despite the more sombre events on the Bridge, she did feel happy.
And nervous.. and a little bit scared and giddy all the same time. She took a deep breath and squeezed his hand, trying to quell the butterflies in her stomach. Thankfully what she was feeling was mostly nerves at this point.. the medication from earlier was still working.
“I have something to tell you, but I think you’ll want to be sitting down for it. Let’s go to our quarters..”
He was unsure what to make of that; but smiled back at her, pondering the near limitless things he thought it could be. "Deck 3, please computer."
The journey just one deck seemed to take an age. Soule could feel her almost buzzing in anticipation with whatever she had to tell him, staring at her out of the corner of his eye every time she squeezed his hand. "It must be big; you're almost puffing up like a bird in excitement, trying to keep it in." The doors finally slid open.
“It is.. That is.. I mean..the news.. Not the actual thing..” Her words fumbled over each other in her heroic effort not to reveal the surprise. “I mean.. Well, you’ll see.” She squeezed his hand again in excitement, and led him out of the lift. In her impatience to get there, the distance to their quarters seemed to stretch out much longer than she remembered, having to dodge around several duty officers who were cluttering up the corridors on the way. But they finally arrived at their door in much less actual time than it seemed to take, and she beckoned Soule inside to the sofa.
Izzy took her medkit from her shoulder and opened it, then withdrew a PADD and handed it to him. She took a deep breath. “It’s in here..”
He gave another confused grin, then stared at the PADD for a moment. He could see that it was a medical report, which he thought was odd. "You don't usually show me your work." It had the obvious medi-babble that he couldn't fathom, because it was the language of doctors; but there was obvious scan data and a report summary, that he could understand."It says that your patient is pregnant." He chuckled. "That's really good news, that'll get the ship's morale up; baby news always cheers every bugger up."
"So.. who's the lucky couple, or individual?" He asked; the penny not having dropped yet.
"Actually..." He paused. "I'm sure I'm not supposed to know about your patients.... why are you showing me this?" He continued to smile like an oblivious idiot.
“Well…” she took another deep breath and plunged onwards. “You’re absolutely right, you wouldn’t normally know about my patients’ medical information. But this time...the patient is me. And... the lucky couple is us.”
She paused, waiting for his reaction.
"Oh... fair enough." He replied off-handedly, whilst his brain caught up with the information. At first he felt a bit stupid for not recognising it was... "I'm sorry, what...?" And the bells rang.
From the initial dumbstruck look, his face ran a gamut of expressions, as he went white as a sheet and completely silent. His mouth agape and his eyes blinking, he just stared at her blankly, before sitting down like she had previously recommended. The silence had hung around long enough for it to become awkward, before he finally started the makings of incoherent speech; with every attempt to talk, his eyes widened and the look of shock gave way.
"We're gonna have a baby?" A smile slowly started to form.
She’d broken similar news a dozen times over her career so far, and nearly every time, that particular gamut of emotions had crossed the newly minted parents’ faces. His reaction was perfectly normal...
“Yes.” She nodded, her eyes glimmering with excitement. “We’re gonna have a baby.” It still felt strange to say those words out loud; she’d said them so many times in her head already that day.
He squeezed her hand, taking the other and slowly standing back up. His smile grew wider, and he placed his forehead to her's, before starting to laugh. " We're gonna have a baby..." The words echoed in his head, spinning around, just leaving him at a loss for words.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, hoisting her into the air. "Izzy..." He croaked, as the news finally took hold; planting a kiss on her lips. "I... I..."
Whatever apprehension she had about him accepting the news dissipated, and she blissfully returned the kiss. But then his grip around her waist weakened and his voice started to falter.
“Soule..?” She looked at him with concern. “Are you alright, cheri? Let’s sit down again. You look like you’re about to faint..”
"I'm just.... I feel...." He took a long, deep breath, going bleary eyed. "Wow...." He then simply nodded and put her down, before sitting back down with her on the sofa. He stared at her lovingly, going into a daze of thoughts of the future, smiling like a cheshire cat.
"H... h... how long?" He tried very hard to pull his thoughts together. "How pregnant are you?
I mean... You know what I mean... Umm....." He had never fallen over his words like this before, he'd made a habit of always having something to say, but he found that words failed him in this instance. "We're going to be parents."
“Parents..” she replied in a daze, nodding giddily. At first she just smiled and snuggled up against him with a sigh, letting the word sink in further, before taking up the PADD again and bringing up the image of the scan she’d made earlier, so she could answer his question properly.
“The.. I mean.. Our baby is at just around six weeks. Here..”
A small three dimensional image appeared above the screen. The tiny being was curled up like a 'c', and it still looked alienesque at this stage. It’s rounded head contained two tiny dots of eyes above a bump of a nose, and the hands and feet were still in bud stage, a few weeks away from forming fingers and toes, and the spinal column still resembled a small tail. She cradled the diminutive image in the palm of her hand, staring at it in fascination.
“So, she.. or he.. will be born..” She took a moment to work out when that would be exactly; it was currently about a week before the new year. “Seven and a half months from now. Around mid to late august.”
She paused, letting out a giggle. “Our baby..” and continued to gaze at the image, trying to imagine what their child would look like in a little over seven months time.
Soule too stared at the image in wide eyed fascination, snuggling into Izzy, with a blissful smile on his face. "Wow... Its a tiny us..."
"Will it be a girl?" He asked, catching up with how she phrased it. "No wait. Don’t tell me... I don’t wanna know yet."
"I wonder if they'll have dark hair or blonde..." He thought aloud.
Isabelle chuckled and shook her head. “I won’t know whether it’s a boy or girl until at least month four. Before then, they mostly look like girls..” she grinned. “But, we can try projecting the hair color.. And other genetic traits.. “
She pressed a few buttons on the PADD and brought up a genetic prediction screen. “So.. there is a higher likelihood of darker hair over light. Although we could have a child with reddish hair like my mother.. And a good chance of blue eyes, since both of ours are. But there is a possibility of dark eyes with the betazoid DNA...”
“Oh my god...” Her voice trailed off, realising something. Her thoughts went back to that dream she’d had earlier.. Was it possible..? Surely it was too early to tell..
“This baby is going to be one quarter betazoid. We could have a little empath.. or telepath on our hands..”
"Oh, wow... I never thought of that." He went silent for a moment, staring off with an alarmed look on his face. "That would be... something." Soule had always felt uncomfortable with telepathy, being the one out of the four children who couldn't do it. "We might need some advice on that..."
"But umm..." He flicked his finger across the padd, showing different predictions of boys and girls at varying ages. "Is it me, or does this seem weird. It kinda feels like window shopping; for children." He chuckled.
“Yeah, maybe a little bit.” She grinned at him. “But, all of this is just fancy guesswork, really. Though it is fun to see the possibilities.” She set the PADD aside on the coffee table, lost in thought for a moment.
“If we do have a telepathic child, we know several people that can offer guidance. Ilaihr, Cre’el, your brother and sisters…” she hesitated. “Hmm... I’m not sure about that one.. Well, maybe Melly..”
"Could you imagine getting advice from Mordy and Sash?" He looked at her seriously, before breaking into a chuckle. "I suppose they do owe us, living with us all that time." He sighed cheerfully, actually having enjoyed the time he spent with them on Hyperion, and back on Earth. "But yeah... Melly; she doesn't abuse her powers. It's all that time she spends around Vulcans."
"Cre'el's a bledy good idea though, speaking of Vulcans. She's a mother, she's a telepath, at least two of her children are monsters, and she's married to a guy often described as odd." He smiled at her. "I'd wager she has alot she could she teach you. And she's a doctor too, so she could explain it to you in a way I wouldn't understand."
Soule then sighed, thinking about Ilaihr. "We could ask the old man..." He gave a long pause. "Though, he answers in riddles, and is... y'know, insane. I'm always afraid to ask him things; I love him to bits, but he scares me."
"On that note... there's always Doctor Moran... I suppose."
“Oh, yes, he’s El-Aurian, so he has the empathic abilities. And he’s Ilaihr’s doctor. We’ll have lots of help if we need it.” She sighed happily, nuzzling Soule. ‘Our baby will have a big loving family.. Grandparents, aunties and uncles.. Speaking of which, I suppose we’ll have to let everyone know soon.”
"Yeah... a big extended family, with several crazy uncle types." He chuckled thinking about it. "Our baby wont be short of people with things to teach them, as they grow up."
"Listen to me... when they grow up..." He planted a drawn out kiss on the side of her head, barely containing his joy and excitement. "Who do we tell first? It's gotta be your parents?"
“Yes, my parents, and your mum first, definitely… Wow..” she giggled; She didn’t need telepathy to catch his contagious joy and excitement. “They’re gonna be grandparents..”
She turned her head towards him and just smiled at him for a few moments, then pressed her lips to his in a tender kiss. “I love you. You’re going to be a good father, Imzadi.”
"I love you too." He replied, snuggling in. He suddenly found himself thinking about the people who wouldn't be there to meet his child, sighing and holding Izzy tighter. "I hope I'm a good dad... Make my parents, and my father proud."
"I wish you could have met them, Izz..." He smiled. "I wish they could be here for this."
“I do too..” A wistful expression crossed her face, remembering stories Soule had told her of his parents and his klingon adoptive father. ”But we can keep their memory alive by telling our child stories about them. They could be part of their grandchild’s life in that way, at least..”
He chuckled; she always knew what to say. He kissed her affectionately, sighing happily, before placing his hand on her belly; even though he knew there was nothing to feel yet. "I'm gonna teach 'em swordplay..."
Isabelle grinned, imagining a small fearless child pinning him up against a wall with a diminutive bat’leth. “Just keep the safeties on, love…”
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Post by Andrew Rice on Sept 24, 2018 16:05:38 GMT
11809.17 The Darkness Before the Light With Babs as Izzy
“Imzadi..” Isabelle gave an anxious sigh, dabbing the blood away from Soule’s nose and smoothing his cheek with her fingers. Even though sedated, he continued to mumble in his sleep, and his eyes were twitching as if he were dreaming. It doesn’t make sense.. Why would he be the only one seeing things? If it was because of the radiation, more people would have been affected… She glared at the biobed readouts; the scans seemed to be taking longer than usual, and she’d never felt so impatient to know the results. “It’s going to be ok.. We’ll figure out what’s wrong.“ She murmured softly, taking his hand again, watching the information roll across the biobed console as it slowly continued to scan him from head to toe. Soule murmured, his eyes squinting, and his head shaking. "Nooo..." He let out a whine. "I didn't do anything grandma... I promise..." His body recoiled, trembling. "I don’t like it in here..." She frowned in worry, squeezing his hand to comfort him, though she wasn’t sure if he was able to tell if she was there or not. She’d known him to have vivid dreams before, and that Djinni, his betazoid grandmother was one of the people he feared the most. But why would she be taking over his mind now, especially here..?. She huffed impatiently at the console. “Come on..” A few more agonising seconds passed, and finally the console bleeped and results began trickling in. The organic tissues, apart from the minor cellular degeneration that was present in the scans she did earlier on the bridge, were not affected as much as she’d feared. But it still didn’t account for his hallucinations.. “Psilosynine levels are normal. So it’s not telepathic. And no psychotropics..” Not that she thought there were, but looking for drugs was part of the full scan procedure. “That’s good, at least..” she sighed, rubbing her forehead with her other hand, trying to push through the fog of exhaustion that was threatening to take over. ” Ok.. Computer, show me neural activity..” The console bleeped again, and the three dimensional image of Soule’s brain appeared above the console screen, neurons firing at a rapid pace. Even though he was sedated, beta waves were present as if he was awake. Most of the activity was centered in his visual cortex, and his amygdala was lit up like a christmas tree. "vav..." His head rolled around in the biobed his eyes wandering, as if he was looking for something. "nuqDaq SoH? SoHvaD pagh 'e' vItu'? targh tlha' jlH, 'ach wej vlp jlHvaD." He started breathing erratically. "latlh vay' wamwI'ghom targh... krencha 'e' vIHar." He started shuddering, panting, desperately searching around, his arms beginning to flail around in the bed. "naDev." He fell silent, his breathing down to the bare minimum, before suddenly roaring and screaming at the top of his lungs, fighting at the biobed scanner. He again fell silent, before just mumbling incomprehensibly. Around them in the ICU, several of the staff turned to stare at them with horrified curiosity. The terrified and confused expression on Izzy’s face was enough for the head nurse to shoo them all away, directing them to another part of sickbay. When they were gone, she came over to where Izzy was sitting next to Soule’s biobed. “Doc, we can take over here. You’re in no shape to..” “No, Dej.” She shook her head, holding back tears of frustration and exhaustion, “I won’t leave him. I.. I just need an extra pair of eyes.” Dedoja laid a comforting hand on Izzy’s shoulder and nodded, peering at the three dimensional image. “Any idea what’s wrong?” Isabelle let out another sigh. “He’s not showing symptoms of classic radiation sickness, except for the cell damage, and that’s easily reversible. It may be Theta, but it usually takes more exposure than that for hallucinations to manifest, and he’s the only one with those symptoms so far. And everyone else was affected by fatigue and he wasn’t, so far. It’s weird. “ Isabelle continued to stare at the neural readouts, trying puzzle out the problem. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes as she struggled to think, feeling less than capable of making a clear diagnosis right now. “Doc? Is his eye supposed to do that?” “Huh?” She opened her eyes and stared at Dedoja. “It’s got a blinking light..” “That’s not in the display..” “No, there.” She indicated Soule’s face. Isabelle looked over at Soule, and his eyes were wide open, flickering back and forth as if he were seeing something that was not there. Deep within the pupil of his right eye, a tiny red light was flashing. “Oh shit.. Something’s wrong with his prosthetic.” "Izzy...." Soule groaned exhaustedly. "Where am I?" He looked around the room for where he could hear her voice. "I can't see you..." “I’m here, love.” She took his hand, giving a relieved sigh that he was awake and lucid. “You’re in sickbay. You were having some hallucinations, and your eye seems to be malfunctioning also..” She exchanged a worried glance with Dedoja. This was worse than she’d thought. “You can’t see at all? Not even out of your left eye?” He shook his head, squeezing Izzy's hands, his eyelids feeling heavy as he struggled to keep them open. "No... my... head hurts." "You smell pretty though, Imzadi..." “Well, your sense of smell’s not affected anyway...that’s good.” Izzy grinned, squeezing his hand affectionately. “Let me get you something for the pain.” She grabbed a hypo of triptacederine from a cart next to the bed, and pressed it to his neck. “Doc, I’m going to go to the main ward. We’ve got a few more patients coming in. Just let us know if you need anything.” Dedoja piped up, excusing herself. “Alright Dej, I’ve got this for now. And thanks.” Izzy smiled to her colleague in gratitude before she swished out of ICU doors. “Ok.. let’s see what’s going on.. “ She peered at the image of his visual cortex, magnifying the implants that were located there. She flipped through another screen or two, and then gave a quick “ohh..” Then she went silent for a few moments as she took in the information. “Hmm, I’m seeing some erratic signaling in your implants. They’re not connecting to your eye like they should be.” She turned back to Soule. “It seems to have caused some misfiring of the neurons along along the magnocellular pathways.. That could be why you were seeing things that weren’t there. Also, some minor brain swelling.. giving you that headache..." She turned back to the display to enlarge the image further around the implant in his right visual cortex. "And I'm seeing some damage to the optic nerves going to your left eye.. probably caused by the same energy spikes." "I lost my sight for a while when I was younger, but that was years ago... and that was because my original implants weren't calibrated correctly. Everything was painfully bright and shiny." He rubbed his head as the headache started to subside. "Thanks, love." Soule opened the compartment in his arm, taking out his eyepatch. "No one else is there right?" He asked, before removing his prosthetic eye, and quickly placing the eyepatch over the empty socket. She shook her head, before remembering that he couldn't see it. "No, no one is there. Dedoja has been married during enough lifetimes to know when a husband and wife need their privacy." "Is it the radiation causing it?" “Maybe so..” She paused, thinking back to when it started happening. “I seem to vaguely remember the chief engineer saying something about ship’s systems being affected by the radiation. At the time I didn’t think to connect that with what was going on with you.. Did you have any problems with your arm also?” "Trill? That's gotta be weird. Living multiple lifetimes..." Soule asked distractingly; either taking going blind unsettlingly well, or trying to put up a firm front to the problem. "My father had an off switch so to speak... to teach me opponents don't always fight with honour. It was as I was advancing in my training, times I was getting an upper hand. He'd activate a specific frequency of dampening field... like the one that took me out when we first met." "But this is... different. That doesn't cause hallucinations, it's just really painful, and my hand locks up; but its fine at the minute." He raised his left hand, drumming his fingers in the air, perfectly coordinated, before reaching out and poking Izzy on the nose; making a 'boop' sound. "And I still have spatial coordination." She giggled as his finger touched her nose, certainly not expecting that. She caught the finger that had ‘booped’ her nose, and kissed it. “Definitely no problems with spatial coordination.. No loss of sensitivity either. Your hand’s fine..” “And you won’t be blind for long. We can regenerate the damaged ocular nerve. Repairing your ocular implants is going to be trickier though,” She pressed the button to retract the biobed scanning wings back into their compartment inside the base of the bed. “You’ll need to give me some guidance on how to do that.” Soule sighed, sitting up and dangling his legs off the biobed. "Your right.... it will be trickier." He admitted to her. "I don't know my internal implants as well as I do my externals ones. I've had my hand and eye swapped out loads of times; I designed these ones myself. But my internal implants, they've been there since the beginning; so I try to keep to the software side for them." "Don't suppose you'll let me go back to my post?" He asked seriously. She blinked in surprise, then put a hand on his shoulder to keep him from getting up, giving him a look of concern. “Even if I let you do that.. We’re still stuck in the pocket of radiation that caused all of this. I don’t want to risk your implants having more issues. Sickbay’s well shielded, it’s the best place for you to be right now. Plus I need to keep you monitored until that brain swelling goes down..” "But I need to keep an eye on things... I got a department to run." He looked in her general direction. "Put a cortical monitor on me... and I'll use my sword as a cane, activate a tactile interface." "I'll be fine love." He smiled, holding her hand, stroking it with his thumb to calm her. “I..” She took a breath and cupped his head in her hands, pressing her forehead to his. She had to fight her protective instinct to keep him there. But deep down, she knew he could handle himself, he’d been through this before. She sighed again. “Ok.” She stood and crossed the room to cabinet, taking out a cortical monitor and PADD, then placed the monitor on his forehead, linking it to the PADD. “They should have Roj and Ethan by now, which means the ship should be moving out of the pocket of radiation shortly. I’ll be watching this PADD like a hawk. The instant there’s something wrong, you need to go directly back to sickbay, understood? And you know.. We do have canes here, for the rare cases that someone needs one. Or I could replicate you a sensor web. You don’t have to use your sword.” He pecked her on the cheek and stood up. "You know me... gotta look mysterious and badass." He chuckled. "I always figured I'd end up using it, when I get old." "I just hope it isn't permanent." He sighed. "But I'll be good, and it's not like I'll be able to get far." "It's not permanent." She smiled, though she still had to push down the worry in the pit of her stomach. "I'll schedule your surgery for tomorrow morning, to regenerate the damaged nerves to your left eye. Then at least you'll have half your sight again. As far repairing your implants, we can do some diagnostic testing in one of the engineering labs. And if we can't figure out the problem, then maybe some of your colleagues at Daystrom can." "Everyone will just have to get used to me wearing an eyepatch for a while... yaaaarg." He gave Izzy's hand another squeeze. "Now, I'm gonna practice being blind for a bit, go for a nice stroll to the quartermaster's... Geralt can have a nice laugh at my expense." "I'll uh... see you on the bridge." He managed a smile, before slowly creeping towards the door. She couldn’t help letting out a chuckle, then gave him a kiss on the cheek. At least he was taking it well. “I’ll see you there soon..”
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