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"What a Fool"
[Previous post: "Worse Than Expected", written by the always friendly Francois]
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Setting: USS LANCELOT, Corridor
Stardate: 63072.1318

Lea had held her breath since that large explosion, her eyes as wide as could be. Fear had been all that the CMO could feel, the emotion having become almost tangible. The only sound she could hear had been a rapid pounding that made it impossible for the Doctor to even think.

In a terrifying moment the CMO lost control of her body and the tricorder slipped from her hand. Frozen in time the device hung in the air beyond Doctor Summer's reach until it fell onto the floor. Lea had not heard the crash because of the pounding in her ears, but the glare from the ILO had been enough.

So much anger, so much hatred, how could a single person hold such rage without exploding? The CMO had been used to seeing admiration on the verge of adoration from the CEO. To be on the receiving end of the polar opposite had been troubling to say the least. The ILO could have frozen plasma in mid air with those eyes, and Lea felt powerless to look away.

How could this have been possible? True the ILO had been the best in her field but she also held the role of mother and wife. Somewhere in that twisted soul there had to be the capacity for warmth, affection and love. Maybe time and patience had been required to pierce the woman's secrets, to open the door onto another person.

The pounding in Lea's ears had finally begun to subside, but the icy glare of the ILO had not changed. A Vulcan would have dismissed the whole thing as illogical. Anyone else vulnerable to emotions would have labeled Enaii as overly passionate. She had been a creature of extremes, likely hating with as much force as she loved.

The CMO felt her throat tightened, her lungs already having begun to scream for the air that had been denied. What powers did the ILO possess against everyone around her, what control did she exert over Lea? Could Enaii actually kill with a simple glare?

Lea finally gave in; there had been no sense in resisting the ILO's power, or her passion any longer. There had been only one way for the CMO to see just how deep Enaii's emotions ran, and if they were as deadly as the Doctor had imagined.

The pounding in her ears returned with a vengeance as Leaslowly, very slowly leaned in closer to the ILO. The moment their lips met the CMO experienced the full extreme that could be found at Enaii's core. The indescribable heat of passion, as well as the blood freezing chill of death, all wrapped into a single heartbeat.

Then silence and darkness, each in their absolute values of a peace that all sought throughout their lives and so very few found.

Seconds, minutes, hours, maybe even days passed before Lea opened her eyes to see one of the Marines looking down at her. The man seemed almost amused as he gently tapped the CMO's cheek.  "You fainted," he whispered as he helped the Doctor up into a sitting position.

Doctor Summers quickly looked around to see the ILO by the entrance of the room they had been in. Enaii had her back to the room and been several meters away. Lea looked down at her hand to see the tricorder still firmly in her grasp.

Hadn't this all started because she had dropped the instrument? Had this been nothing more than a dream? A nightmare born of chaos and fear?

Lea felt like such a fool.

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Tiffany Rose {lady.tiffany.rose@gmail.com}

Lt. Lea Summers
Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS