“The Needs of the One”
Previous Posts: (ANU) “Situational Review” & (BAS) “Different Surroundings”
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Setting: USS HATHOR, Sickbay
Stardate: 33003.2035
Nicole stood still, Sofia’s gesture having depleted what little energy she had left after calling upon her inner reserves to work with Gemma and the others to escape the horrors of the underground prison. She was exhausted, bruised and battered. She was hungry, wanting something more substantial than the flavorless gruel that she had barely subsisted on. She was confused. How had their rescuers come to be here at this place and time? She was saddened. An officer she had just met had died in that hellhole below so that they could live. Had her life been worth their freedom? They had merely been two junior officers, still somewhat green, in a dark and dangerous place; the presumed dead woman had been a seasoned member of Starfleet. Regardless, the die was cast. It was over and done. But that did not mean Nic would forget. The symbiont most certainly would not.
And now, after all that, she was also surprised. Stunned, actually. Nicole hadn’t kissed anyone since Tenar broke off their engagement. After the joining, the thought of relationships and commitment had been set aside in light of the slew of memories Dima had in store for her. As a host, she never felt alone or incomplete. While she felt genuine emotion from Sofia, knowing she had been held captive for many months without companionship made the Counselor aware the blonde woman’s feelings might be misplaced.
There was an awkward silence. Thanks to the repair to her optic nerves, Sofia could easily see bewilderment play out on the Trill’s face. While it wasn’t exactly the reciprocal response she hoped for, it didn’t come across as being negative. The spontaneous display wasn't exactly the physician’s normal style either, but it just happened. It felt right.
Andersson looked to the two other women, Gemma and Commander Valentine. “Does anyone need medical assistance? I'm in a much better position to provide it, now,” she offered gamely.
Sarena shook her head slowly, indicating no. She seemed troubled too, but kept her concerns much closer to the vest. “I'm going to check in with the Captain.” She moved with purpose to the exit, from which a corridor could be seen leading to the rest of the vessel.
“Thank you, Commander,” Nicole said with gratitude. It felt like the words were lacking in light of what had happened, but it was the Trill’s attempt to make amends.
Gemma watched the others, her keen skills of observation still on alert even though they had reached safety. She continued to work with a regenerator on the various cuts and scrapes she had received, handling the equipment confidently. “I’m fine, Doctor. Thanks for your concern.”
That left things back with Nicole and Sofia. “You were in that place longer than I was,” the joined Trill suggested. “Perhaps we should first eliminate any other issues besides the obvious one of repairing your eyesight.” She gestured towards the biobed.
Sofia laid down, the material beneath her a great deal more comfortable than her previous surroundings. She remembered Nicole explaining her reasoning days earlier to follow whoever came to help them get out of that forsaken wasteland, even if escape was not guaranteed. “Have you always been so logical?”
A gentle smile graced Nic’s lips as she turned on the equipment to confirm there were no underlying internal injuries. “No. Dima’s third host was a bit of a nerd. He was a published scientist and very proud of that fact. I often get a strong sense of him when I have to make a decision about something.” While there was evidence of previous fractures, the small medical tool that had found its way into their hands while on JDO-SHEN appeared to have mitigated the majority of the damage caused by their Reman and Romulan captors.
“Oh.” Nicole suddenly made a pained sound, which caused Sofia to sit up, temporarily disrupting the scan.
“What’s wrong? Does something hurt?”
“Finnja.” Recalling some of their time in captivity had caused Nicole to reflect on the Dinaali woman, the Nurse who had visited them once, urging them to prepare. “We have no idea if she made it.” The Trill was clearly rattled as she continued to comprehend all the sacrifices that had been made for the two of them.
Sofia squeezed Nic’s hand in support. “We still don’t know how she came to be there in the first place.”
The Intel agent, who had been quietly deciding what her next move would be, interjected. “Do not trouble yourselves about her,” Gemma urged. “Although I cannot explain, I can assure you of her safety. Do you understand?”
Nic, who was all too used to the secretive ways of ILOs, nodded as the Operative gazed into her blue eyes with a cold assurance. She then refocused her attention to Sofia Andersson. “We really need to finish the scan. Then I will allow the same for myself,” Nicole promised to the physician.
Sofia lowered herself back into bed, arms at her sides.“You are not in any physical distress?”
Nicole put her hand on her upper abdomen, where Dima was. “Thankfully, no. Other than fatigue and a desire for that beef stew they make on New Alexandria.” Mentally, it was another matter, but as a Counselor she trusted the eventual outcome.
“And I need to explore,” The dark auburn haired woman announced to no one in particular, and left the same way Commander Valentine had.
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Setting: USS HATHOR, Captain’s Ready Room
Stardate: 33003.2130
The room was small and utilitarian; in fact the whole ship had a scaled down feeling to it. Nicole shifted in her seat across from Captain Iverson. Her first thoughts after getting medically cleared were to clean up, replicate a fresh uniform, and move beyond Sickbay to the ship proper. The vessel was unfamiliar, but it was still Starfleet and definitely levels above the tiny cell that she and Sofia had been housed in. She remembered Erik’s daily status briefings with fondness, and thought a visit to the Commanding Officer of this ship was due in short order. But the woman across from her was not Morningstar, and the business of the day had little to do with average concerns.
“...we are making repairs to the ship while cloaked, after which we will carefully leave Romulan space.” Iverson explained as little as possible, and did not include how they came to be broken down. While Miss Dima and her alliances were clearly known, the joined Trill was still a little bit of an unknown quantity.
“We’re in Romulan space,” Dima said, repeating what the CO had just advised her. It made absolute sense, but it was still difficult to let it sink in how far she was from home, that being the hidden Intel station.
“Yes. Are you able you tell me how you got here, Ensign?” Selene wanted an unsullied account from the Counselor, and getting that sooner, while it was still the freshest in the young woman's mind, would be ideal.
Nic nodded. “You’re not going to believe it, though. I’m still not sure I do.”
The woman with raven locks crossed her arms, curious to find out how the Cns had interpreted the event. “Go ahead.”
“The ANUBIS was assisting Professor Elijah Arken by gathering a series of crystals related to one of his experiments. Each subsequent crystal led us to the location of the next one. We spent months bringing these items together, but even with an extensive amount of research by our Science Officer, we couldn't completely decipher the nature of Arken’s work.” Nicole paused to take a sip of tea that had been fortified with copious amounts of honey and lemon.
“Inscrutable to a fault, Arken kept the final crystal to himself until we returned home. He provided the item but still did not explain its role in the object that had been formed when the shards were pieced together.” Dima sounded annoyed.
“What was your impression of Arken?”
“A pompous genius with all the sensitivity of a piece of yarelwood,” Nicole answered. “In hindsight, he could have helped us immeasurably by providing us more information, but perhaps his machinations were to prove, without any variables, that the technology worked. In addition to withholding the last crystal, Arken had planted one of the crystals among the crew’s belongings, which we had located a short time earlier. I was assisting Jayson in going through his things thinking he might have had it, and instead found a hairpin that belonged to Sofia.”
“Jayson?”
“Lieutenant Stark, our Operations Officer. He had met Sofia on EARTH before I was assigned to the ship.” It didn't quite explain everything, but it did explain the connection between the two prisoners, however obscure it might be.
“After an abrupt meeting with Arken in which he was much more keen to question a person of interest than in explaining himself, I visited Maya, our Science Officer, in the Lab, eager to show her what I hoped would be the key to making a breakthrough. I also still had the hairpin in my possession and intended to return it to Jayson when I was finished speaking with Maya. My last conscious thought as I slid the crystal into place was of Sofia being the original owner of that hairpin.”
“What happened next?” Thanks to the work of the BASTET and ANUBIS crews, Selene knew the answer, but wanted to hear it.
“Somehow, I don’t understand how, my thoughts were channeled through the device and instantly transported me to Sofia Andersson’s location on JDO-SHEN. I was thinking of her and his machine... brought me to her.” Nicole Dima sat back in the small chair, looking relieved as she unburdened herself of this information, no matter how impossible it sounded. “If this is really the purpose of Arken’s work, I guess I should be thankful he’s on our side.”
“Indeed,” the CO replied, her stance not having changed since Nicole had started explaining.
“That I was thinking of a missing officer that had been reported deceased, because I found one of her belongings, is an incredible coincidence. But it’s not the only one.”
Selene allowed herself a faint smile of acknowledgement. “Yes?”
“Gemma was there- she obviously had some sort of mission to fulfill. I’m sure I will never find out what it was- nobody can keep a secret like an Intel Operative.”
“Or a pompous Scientist,” the Captain added for good measure.
Nicole nodded. “She stumbled across the two of us being there. So a pure stroke of luck, at least as far as Sofia and I were concerned. And there’s something else.” The Trill looked hesitant.
“You can speak freely here, Ensign.”
“If I didn’t know where I was, and Doctor Andersson didn’t know where she was, and Gemma was under deep cover, how did the crew of the HATHOR know where I was? And why, if my whereabouts were discovered, was the ANUBIS not tasked with coming to get me?”
Iverson studied the young Trill, her lifetimes of understanding serving her well when the situation defied a standard explanation.
Before Selene could answer, Nicole put her head in her hands, quickly raking her fingers through her short hair and peering back at the Captain. “No, that’s okay. Let me guess. Koniki.”
“In part, yes,” Iverson admitted, searching the other woman’s face for her reaction.
The Counselor looked a little shaken, but not completely surprised. “I blame Arken for tricking me into testing his glorified transporter, but everything else is my fault. It’s my fault you’re here stranded, and it’s my fault that Janeel is...” she couldn’t bring herself to finish.
“If you hadn’t come here, Sofia Andersson could have easily been killed or in permanent exile. Consider that.”
Nicole’s expression softened. That was true. “There’s just one thing I know to do.”
“And that is?”
She stood up. “I’m asking you- put me to work, Captain. There has to be something I can do to assist.”
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Susan Ledbetter
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