USS Nimitz

Stardate:2406.04.19
(Alter-Nimitz - Cell - COUNS Winters - 0730)


Vanyssa, after examining the room to make sure that there was no way 
out, not that there would be one, considering where she thought she 
was; curled up in a little ball on the floor, her head in her hands. 
She was never going to get back home to see Jennah or Kat.... there was 
no way she would ever see David again.

She'd remembered the transporter beam, then being held down by 4 burly 
security officers while an evil looking Fickett had shot her full of 
something.  Then everything had went numb, and she couldn't sense 
anything.

"Well, I can't say that I'm surprised to see you in tears.  The 
Suppressant acts also like a depressant - and affects different 
telepaths differently."  Vanyssa looked up in shock to see herself 
standing there, hair longer, face crueler, and dressed in a skintight 
leather version of the uniform others had worn, including heels.  
Vanyssa gaped at the sensual woman standing in front of her. Everything 
about her was sex, from the way she carried herself to the aura that 
she projected.

"I want to tell you some things, before they take you off to be 
tortured, and they will.  There are telepaths in your universe, and you 
are quite a strong one.  I am, however, stronger. So is every telepath 
on this ship.  We are taken from our parents at a very young age and 
taught to be the strongest we can be.  There was a war, not long ago, 
where telepaths fought telepaths, and many died; so true, strong, 
telepaths are a rarity to be prized. When I killed my mother I was 
given the FO position of this ship and my choice of rewards."  The evil 
Vanyssa leaned down and softly stroked the good Vanyssa's face.  "I 
chose Falthgood."  She whispered, leaning in to kiss the tears out of 
Vanyssa's eyes, being very soft and tender.  The good Vanyssa almost 
jumped back in revulsion, disgust dominant in her thoughts.

"Good girl."  The evil Vanyssa whispered. "I feed on emotions, you 
know..we are taught to from an early age, so that we will have the 
proper incentives to do our job."  The evil Vanyssa pressed the good 
Vanyssa against the wall and straddled the good Vanyssa's body, hands 
lightly touching the good Vanyssa's face, one on each side of her 
temple. She turned back to her guards and told them to not let anyone 
interrupt. One of her guards was a medium level telepath and nodded, 
leaving the room with the other.

"Lets see what we have here..."  the evil Vanyssa whispered, and 
pressed into her mind, ripping through her barriers as the good Vanyssa 
began to scream in pain.

The evil Vanyssa stopped about 15 minutes later, and got up, relishing 
in the emotions that she had caused her counterpart. She summoned her 
guards in. "I want her stripped, and have her uniform delivered to my 
Quarters. I'll be going to help Sevant take over the other ship.  Tell 
the doctor to keep her doped up on the usual course of drugs, and give 
her over to the trainees.  It will be good for them to have someone 
relatively unbroken to practice on."  The one guard nodded and went off 
to carry out her orders.  The evil Vanyssa turned and looked down at 
her pitiful counterpart.

The evil Vanyssa leaned down and grabbed Winters by the hair, pulling 
her head back and forcing her to look eye to eye.  "The strong ALWAYS 
win, Vanyssa. ALWAYS."  And the evil Vanyssa seared those words into 
Ness's mind, burning them in.  they would haunt her for the rest of her 
days...however long that might be.

And then Vanyssa was left alone,  in the Darkness, with no one to hold 
her, until  2 rough hands came and dragged her into a room.  She was 
left in the middle of the floor a spotlight shining right into her 
eyes, too weak to move from the drugs. If she could have moved, she 
would have fought her counterpart.

"Class, this is Vanyssa Winters, who is from the other side."  A voice 
spoke, a voice that Vanyssa knew. It was Kestra.  "She's a telepath, 
but has been shot full of suppressant. She is relatively unbroken, only 
having been deep-scanned by Commander Winters.  Each of you will take 
turns scanning her, and causing and evoking pain and hurt. The goal 
here is not to leave any marks, but to cause the maximum amount of pain 
possible.  Each of you will take turns monitoring the subject so that 
you will know how to recognize the signs. The goal is not to kill your 
subject, just to torture them.  Everyone in the Fleet has cost the 
Fleet much in man-hours and training.  Killing your subject could be 
cause to be executed yourself, depending on your record."  And with 
that Vanyssa's torment began, her mind slowly being peeled away as 
Kestra refined each of the student's techniques on her.  After about a 
half hour she wasn't capable of screaming anymore.

After two hours, she retreated inside her head and knew that she 
wouldn't be able to come back out.  They already knew what they wanted 
to know about her... The evil Vanyssa had been able to extract the 
details from her mind.  Now they just wanted to hurt her.

(reply none yet :-)
(pb melinda)

Stardate:2406.04.19
(Alter-Nimitz - Detention Cell - Cmdr Sevant - 0930)

Sevant pushed himself up against the bulkhead, his eyes tight shut as he
steeled himself against the fire that his nerves had become. Slowly be
turned his mind inward, taking a mental look about to see if he had any
serious problems. He hadn't been able to discover any, so far, they
hadn't so much as put a finger on him during the entire process. 

But he had never felt such residual pain before, not without having
something physically wrong. The theory of nerve induction torture wasn't
a new one for him, someone with enough knowledge of physiology and nerve
structure could make a person feel just about anything. But he had never
before experienced it, and never had he heard of a system that worked
just so well as this had. 

After several long minutes, he abandoned his attempt to find physical
damage, there was just none to be had. Rather, he tried to fight past
the memories of pain, and remember just what he had been asked. And
worse, if he had answered when the pain-induction devices had been
engaged. Sevant took a very long, slow breath... And began putting
himself into a trace state. 


(Alter Nimitz - Counseling Section - Cmdr Sevant - Earlier)

"Name and position?"

The Vulcan quirked an eyebrow, and just looked at the woman who was
questioning him. He couldn't move much of anything else, he was strapped
down to a chair with straps strong enough to hold a raging Klingon. He
had given them a quick test, but little else, he was certain that his
captors were competent at their business. Besides, he was already
physically weak from being zapped by some sort of stun device in the
cell. 

The woman smiled at him for a few moments, then pulled out a small
device that vaguely resembled his own communicator. It had the same
general shape, though it had a much more wicked design. She put it on
his chest, right about in the 'correct' place for a communicator, then
stepped back to her seat. "I will ask you again, Vulcan, what is your
name and position?" 

Without waiting for an answer, she pushed a button on a small controller
she was holding. Sevant's eyes immediately bugged out, and he convulsed
against the straps as excruciating pain filled every place on his body
at once. After just a moment, the pain disappeared, leaving a small
tingling in the tips of his fingers and toes, and a painful memory of
the jolt. 

"I only ask my first question, more then once. I've given you a taste of
our techniques now, but just a taste." She smiled as she stood once
again, "I can make pain explode behind your eyes, I can make it flow in
waves up and down your body, I can just about do anything. So..." she
put a finger under the Vulcan's chin, and ran it lightly up to the scar
of his face. "I will ask you one. last. time. Name, and position?"

The Vulcan shifted his eyes to look at her. "Caladryll Sevant, First
Officer USS Nimitz."

"Ahhhhh, better." she said

Sevant snorted. 

"Now," she said, apparently taking no notice of his snort. "What are you
doing here?"

Sevant quirked an eyebrow as his mouth quirked into a nasty grin.
"Caladryll Sevant, First Officer, USS Nimitz."

The woman shook her head, "I hate slow learners." She pushed a button,
and held it. Sevant jerked against the bonds and straps, his body
completely out of his control. He tried biting his tongue, to prevent
the screams he knew where coming.. But he found he was already too late,
his voice rang high and loud in the closed room. His painful bellow
filled every corner of the room. 

Without warning, the pain suddenly stopped, and Sevant was left with
fresh pain in his body.. Something he knew would take longer to
dissipate this time. He couldn't handle much more of this, he purposely
closed his eyes and retreated into his own private world...


(Alter-Nimitz - Detention Cell - Cmdr Sevant - 1025)

Sevant came out of his self-induced meditation with a deep gasp of
remembered pain. His body still twitched from the nerve induction, it
didn't take much to recall the absolute penalization that he had been
through. He couldn't remember anything after his own self-induced
hypnosis in the torture room, but he could only assume he said nothing
there... His body was nothing but a shell by that point. He had only
come 'out' of it once he noticed that he was no longer being shocked. 

He took another deep breath and shuddered, this was NOT a good
situation. He couldn't go through many sessions like that, without
either permanently withdrawing into his mind, or giving away some sort
of vital evidence. It was only a matter of time...

Caladryll closed his eyes and sighed as guards stepped in front of his
cell, and the force field was dropped. He had no good idea of how long
it had been since their last session, but it seems a bit soon for them
to be dragging him up again... Unless they had no intention of letting
him rest up. The Vulcan looked up, and immediately frowned when he
noticed one of the jailers had a woman over his shoulder. The guard
tossed the woman onto his cot, and said "Here's a little present for you
Vulcan,"  

A gasp of breath forced Sevant to turn his attention to the door. 

"It's him!  The one from..."

Sevant was in his feet in an instant, both guards started pulling
weapons, but whomever had just dropped off the Counselor took a single
shot and knocked one of them over. Sevant reached out with all his
strength, and snapped the neck of the second. The guard slowly slid
down, his face a mask of horror. 

"I'm Captain Devan Sash, of the USS Endeavor."

Sevant nodded to the man, briefly, and limped his way over to the side
of Winters. 

(reply: none)
(posted by Trout)
Stardate:2406.04.19
Mission:  Beyond the Looking Glass 
Mission Day:  1 
Stardate 04.19.2406 

(Mirror Universe- Prison deck- Captain Devan Sash & Cmndr Sevant-1030) 

Sash looked at the Vulcan, who seemed a little unsteady on his feet.  He
helped him to sit on the side of the cot beside Vanyssa Winters.  

"You don't seem to be in much better shape than her," he commented
plainly.

"I would guess I'm not." Sevant said, quietly. 

"Obviously, it's not going to work for us to get out of here and have to
carry her," he said touching her face softly.   ~Was it really her?~
"Do you have any suggestions?"

Sevant closed his eyes for a moment, but rather then just shaking his
head, he looked over at her. "Is this recent?" he eventually asked.

"When I found her she was alreaddy like this.  They were torturing her,
I believe telepathically."

"Hmmmm, then she might have withdrawn, or might have been pushed into a
quiet corner of her mind. She might not come back out until someone
friendly links with her."

"Are you sure you're up to it?"  Sash looked worried.

The Vulcan snorted, "Not likely, but I don't see we have much of a
choice." He looked back up, "But who are you?" he asked. 

"As I said,"  Sash replied, "I'm Captain Devan Sash.  I was the CO of the
USS Endeavor.  My ship was drawn over to this side of the dimensional rift
and was subsequently destroyed."  He figured there was no point in giving
all the details right now.  he would have to answer for that once he was
back in his own universe.  "I can't say how long I've been here, but most
likely it's been a a couple of months.  I'm ready to go home now, and I'd
like to have your help.  If you are willing to trust me."

Sevant considered that for a few minutes, then nodded gruffly. If he was
other then what he said, it really wouldnt matter. He slowly put Vanyssa on
the floor, and reached out to put his fingers lightly on her face. 

Sash moved out of the way in order to let the Vulcan get at Nessa.  He
watched in awe as the Vulcan touched her and began to mold her mind, to
wade through the destruction that had been laid in her mind.  To say the
least, he was impressed. 

(reply Sevant and Winters)
(posted by Al Muir)

Stardate:2406.04.19
(Alter-Nimitz - Detention Cell - Sevant & Winters - 1040)

When the telepaths had attempted to break her, Vanyssa did the only
thing that she knew how to  do in such a situation, retreat into the
inner corners of her mind, build some defenses and  hunker down.  it was
a much better solution that allowing them to see how easily they could
hurt  her.  And truth be told, sometimes Vanyssa wasn't the strongest
person , especially since she  had broken the bond with David that kept
her whole. A piece of her was missing, and without that  piece she
wouldn't be able to survive. With the thought that she had failed her
colleagues, she  retreated to a happier time.

Sevant, his face a tight mask of pain, entered slowly into a complete
meld, melting himself into  whatever reality Winters had created for
herself, if there was one at all. 

(reply: any)


(Dreamscape - Sevant & Winters - Time has no meaning)

When the Nimitz had passed through some temporal distortions, the
telepaths on the ship had  gotten visions of alternate futures, and it
was that vision that Vanyssa clung to.  She found  herself in a house,
with children running about, and David standing there, welcoming her
with  open arms. She joyfully surrendered herself to those arms, knowing
that he was not only strong,  but would protect her. With his very life
if need be. 

The Vulcan slowly blinked, once he was connected to her, and looked
'around' him. He took a few  moments to consider his surroundings and
what they meant, then decided she had buried herself  deep into either a
memory of home, or a fantasy of home. Either way, it wasn't unexpected,
as  long as this was a place of relative comfort. He took a deep
'breath', prepared himself mentally  for any dozens of possible
reactions, then bellowed "Counselor Winters!"

Vanyssa turned out of the loving arms of David enough to see Caladryll
standing there, amongst  her children. "Cal, did you bring Jayne and
T'loren to play? Jennah will be so excited.  We  haven't seen you in so
long, how are Vicki and the twins doing?"

David went to welcome his friend and fellow warrior. "Hello, Sevant. How
does being right hand  to the Admiral treat you these days?"  He asked,
reaching his hand out in welcome. 

Sevant went slack-jawed, this was FAR from what he had expected. He
shook his head, closed his  eyes, and fought the waves of feeling that
came. "Vanyssa!" he finally said, "Come back to  reality, we need you on
your feet..." He looked back up, "Look around you! This isn't real, this
isn't.. anything like real. My Family is dead, your David is dead...
lock onto that, remember  it." His eyes crossed with tension as he
fought Vanyssa's mind for just a moment, and brought an  image of David
Dark, lying against a forested tree, his BDU snapped nearly in half. It
was David  as Sevant had seen him, during their last mission. He
desperately hoped he wouldn't have to give  her images of his family, as
he had seen them from pictures. "We can't go anywhere, unless you  come
back to us." he finally managed. 

"Come back to you?  But you are right here, Caladryll. And David is
right here too. He isn't  dead."  She looked at him in concern. "Are you
sure you haven't been working too hard from all  that stress? Admiral
Doenitz?  sure has been working you hard with the trial of that traitor
LoDona."  She held out her hand in concern. "Is that why you came to see
me? Since you don't  want any of the Counselors to know?"  She asked,
softly. "I won't tell, I promise."

Sevant grit his teeth, "You are a betazoid, tell me how I should be able
to do this." It was  painful, and Vanyssa's subconscious defenses were
fighting him all the way, but Sevant managed  to form an image of Vicki
and the dead children right before Vanyssa's feet. He noticed her  gasp,
but left the image there for several moments before letting it slip
away. "The only time  either of us has been able to do anything like
that, Vanyssa, was when we were melded." His face  was grim, "I'm melded
to you, right now. If you have the courage, take note of yourself.. find
me  in your mind."

Vanyssa looked at him strangely, and then David stepped in front of her.
"You are hurting her,  Caladryll.  You must be evil."  And with that
David drew his Katana. "Defend yourself, if you  dare."

Sevant looked at David and shook his head, he couldn't fight a full
betazoid in her own mind. He  would have to break the meld before that.
Rather, he turned back to her. "I'm trying to save you,  Vanyssa. You
will die if you do NOT come out, we need to escape, we can't carry you.
I won't  leave you, so if you don't come out, we BOTH die." he said,
flatly. 

She looked uncertain, almost as if something he was saying was beginning
to break through her  carefully constructed world. "How can we die here,
Caladryll? It's so perfect."  She asked  uncertainly.

"YOU ARE WITHIN YOUR OWN MIND!" he finally bellowed. His strength was
finally fading, he didn't  have much time left. "YOU RETREATED HERE!" he
ducked a swing of the Katana, then put most of his  strength behind one
last ditch effort to get through to her. He punched David, with every
ounce  of 'strength' he had, to buy himself a few more seconds. "We can
escape, if we hurry, if you  come back... if you see what you have done
to yourself in order to protect yourself. I can't  help you any more
then this..." 

Sevant was beginning to fade, his physical strength was nearly
finished... he would be sweating  and shaking by now, in the real world.
He looked at Vanyssa's mental projection for a second  longer. "Follow
me... and we can make ourselves safe again..."

Vanyssa cried out as the image in front of her began to waver and she
ran and hugged him tight  to herself. "Oh, god."  She cried, tears
streaming down her face physically though her eyes were  still shut and
she was locked in the meld.

Sevant, his mental grasp as tight around Vanyssa as he could, pulled..
and attempted to break the  meld. If he could succeed, then odds were
she would pull herself out with him. He was meeting  resistance though,
lots of it, both from Vanyssa's subconscious and his own exhausted body.
He  mentally growled at himself and the whole situation, and YANKED with
everything he had left. 


(Alter-Nimitz - Detention Cell - Sevant & Winters - 1045)

Sevant stifled a groan of pain, as he pulled his fingers away from
Vanyssa's face, and fell  backwards onto his hind end. 

Vanyssa sat up, blinking in the darkness to see Sash standing over her
with a phaser pointed at  the door. "Oh my God."  She whispered softly,
and saw Sash whirl at her familiar voice. She  looked down at Caladryll,
and slid off the cot, trying not to move too fast. She looked into his
eyes and asked quietly, "Are you ok?"  She whispered.  She didn't
remember him being in the  alternate reality of her mind with her, only
that Kestra and the telepaths had been hurting her  and she had
withdrawn. It was obvious then that Cal had saved her by melding. 

"I will live," he said after a few moments. "We haven't much time."

Vanyssa nodded. "Caladryll, why is Sash here?"  She asked quietly,
seeing Sash's eyes widen.

Sevant looked up at the officer he had just met, "To escape with us," he
said. He put his hands  down, and pushed himself to wobbly feet. "And we
had best get to it, or we will never make it."

"Wait a second."  Vanyssa said softly, walking over to him and wrapping
her arms around him in a hug, attempting to make her telepathic contact
closer. She drew away and stared into Sash's eyes. "Oh my God, it is
you."  She threw herself back into his arms and hugged him close.  She
turned back to Cal. "This is Sash!"  She replied with a huge grin,
totally out of character for the present circumstances.  She then looked
at Cal, more seriously. "Where are the others? Nishi and Zach and
Fickett?"  

Sevant shook his head, and gestured to Sash. "He would know better."

(reply: sash)

Vanyssa reached out with her mind, even though it hurt, hurt like
reaching into flame to do it.  She would need to spend some time with a
betazoid or Vulcan mind-healer when this was all over, recovering.
"Nishi and Zach are that way.  There are 4 minds between us and Zach,
more between Zach and Nishi.  I can't sense Fickett."  She replied,
slumping against Sash's strong arms.

Sevant nodded, "Let's go, then."

(reply: Sash, any)
(posted by Trout)


Stardate:2406.04.19
Mission:  Beyond the Looking Glass
Day 1
Stardate: 2406.04.19
 
(Mirror Universe - Detention Cell - Lt.Cmdr. Nakamura - 10:41)

The forcefield beeped to indicate that it had been shut off and Nishi
heard movement, sheer panic set in, an uncontrollable jerking began in
his limbs - the need to escape from Kestra and the pain she brought took
control of is body, he was trying to flee, to back away - the shackles
and cables kept him where he was, thrashing like a fish on a line.
 
"My god, what did she do to this guy?" spoke a male voice, Nishi focused
on them, two men in uniforms walking toward him. It didn't matter that
it wasn't Kestra. His mind was working on a single primitive need for
self preservation. 

"Hey calm down, we've been sent to get you down" said one of the men.

Nishi continued to thrash, until one of the men punched him in the face,
then he went limp. He heard their voices, as he verged on the edge of
unconsciousness, but didn't understand what they were saying. He longed
for the comfort of unconsciousness, like a dark comfortable body of
water where he could float weightlessly and escape. 

Suddenly he was falling, his legs weren't ready to support him and he
fell face first on to the floor. He weakly got his arms into position,
trying to get to his feet, or even knees, but as he lifted himself from
the ground, one of his hands slipped in the blood on the floor, and he
hit the ground again. The world span, and the dark pool of
unconsciousness came tauntingly close, but was denied to him, he threw
up, then just lay there on the ground.

The men spoke, their was disgust in their voices, then he was lifted and
dropped onto the bunk, and they left. Nishi curled up, the smell of
blood and vomit strong in his nostrils and mouth, forcing their way into
his senses, keeping him from the comfort of unconsciousness.

(Reply: Sash, Sevant, Winters)
(Posted: Alister)

Stardate:2406.04.19
Mission:  Beyond the Looking Glass
Day 1
Stardate: 2406.04.19

(Alter-Nimitz - Detention Cell - Captain Devan Sash- 1050)

Sash watched carefully at the telepathic confrontation going on before him.
He knew that a mind meld was rough even if you were oin your best condition.
But what Sevant was doing now could only be described as heroic.  He watched
as sweat began to drip from his face and patches of sweat began to appear on
his tunic.

He could literally feel the tension in the air.  He had no telepathic
abilities, latent or otherwise, but he knew there was a hell of a battle
going on in Nessa's head.

Suddenly Sevant moved.  His fingers stiffly removed themselves from
Vanyssa's head and he groaned.  He fell backwards and Sash caught him.  He
helped him to lean against the wall, and then went to check if anyone was
coming yet.

Vanyssa sat up, blinking in the darkness to see Sash standing over her
with a phaser pointed at  the door. "Oh my God."  She whispered softly,
and saw Sash whirl at her familiar voice. She  looked down at Caladryll,
and slid off the cot, trying not to move too fast. She looked into his
eyes and asked quietly, "Are you ok?"  She whispered.  

"I will live," Sevant replied. "We haven't much time."

Vanyssa nodded. "Caladryll, why is Sash here?"  She asked quietly,
seeing Sash's eyes widen.

Sevant looked up at the officer he had just met, "To escape with us," he
said. "And we had best get to it, or we will never make it."

"Wait a second."  Vanyssa said softly, walking over to him and wrapping
her arms around him in a hug, attempting to make her telepathic contact
closer. She drew away and stared into Sash's eyes. "Oh my God, it is
you."  She threw herself back into his arms and hugged him close.  She
turned back to Cal. "This is Sash!"  She replied with a huge grin,
totally out of character for the present circumstances.  She then looked
at Cal, more seriously. "Where are the others? Nishi and Zach and
Fickett?"  

Sevant shook his head, and gestured to Sash. "He would know better."

Sash returned the hug, happy and not happy that it was her, and that she
appeared to be alright.  Vanyssa looked into his eyes, expecting an answer.

"To be honest, I don't know where your friends are," Sash admitted.  "In
fact I didn't know you were here until I actually saw you.  They will be
around this section of the ship, but I can't be sure where exactly."

Vanyssa reached out with her mind, even though it hurt, hurt like
reaching into flame to do it.  She would need to spend some time with a
betazoid or Vulcan mind-healer when this was all over, recovering.
"Nishi and Zach are that way.  There are 4 minds between us and Zach,
more between Zach and Nishi.  I can't sense Fickett."  She replied,
slumping against Sash's strong arms.

Sevant nodded, "Let's go, then."

Sash nodded in agreement.  "You two stay here for just a moment.  Neither of
you look like your ready for a fight, and I have a bad feeling about it
being so quiet."

He went over to the door and opened it.  There was still nobody there.  It
wasn't until he stepped out into the corridor that he saw the security team.
They were standing there with what appeared to be tazered clubs.  The front
row were tapping the clubs in the palms of their hands, smiling.

Sash looked inside for a moment, and said, "Stay here.  This shouldn't take
long."  He closed the door.  

There sounds of thuds and grunts through the wall.  Then some, what sounded
like electric shocks and screams.  After a short time Sash opened the door
again and walked in.  He was straightening his tunic and fixing his hair. 

"Ready?" he said, breathing a little heavy.  "Let's go."

They stepped into the hall to find about a half dozen security officers
laying on the floor.  Sash smiled and shrugged his shoulders.  "I think I'm
getting to old for this."

He stepped on top of the guards as they moved down the hallway.  He looked
to Vanyssa to get directions to the cells.  She finally pointed to a cell.
Sash hit the door button and it slid open.  Inside was a man lying on the
cot.  He was curled into a fetal postition and the sound of sobs were coming
from him.

(reply Nakamura, Winters, Sevant)
(posted by Al Muir)

Stardate:2406.04.19
Mission:  Beyond the Looking Glass
Day 1
Stardate: 2406.04.19

(Alter-Nimitz - Detention Cell - Captain Devan Sash- 1052)

Sash the reunion of the three crewmen and felt a momentary pang of sadness
and guilt.  He would not have such a reunion with his crew.  They were all
gone and that was all there was to it.  He had learned a long time ago, in
times of war people die.  And they were at war here.

There were still two others to find.  And Sash was sure that those security
officers would not be go long unmissed.  He didn't really want to hasten
things up too much but time was of the essence here and they had to get
moving.

"I'm sorry people," Sash said, "but we really need to get moving.  Somebody
could be here anytime now."

Sash heard footsteps coming and stopped.  The door opened and a woman
stepped in.  Sash recognized her, as did Vanyssa, as she caught her breath.
The woman looked a little disshevled, her hair a bit amiss and her face
nearly red with fury.

He wasn't sure who said it, but a voice behind his whispered a name,
"Kestra."

With the most evil look that sash had seen in his long life, Sash realized
that it was the woman he had phasered not that long ago.  And she definitely
looked the type to hold a grudge.

(reply Evil Kestra, Winters, Sevant, Nakamura)
(posted by Al Muir)

Stardate:2406.04.19
Mission: Beyond the Looking Glass
Day 1
Stardate: 2406.04.19

(Alter-Nimitz - Detention Cell - Evil Kestra Troi, Catain Sash, Vanyssa
Winters - 1058)

Kestra finally woke up from the stun blast and was not in a very good
mood. Not only had she let a prisoner get into her room, fool her, stun her,
the prisoner had taken her test subject. The prisoner was the one they had
found out to be the other Capt Sash and he had fooled her. That would not
do, would not do at all. Now Kestra would show this captain why her students
feared getting her angry.

She searched for him with her mind and found exactly where he was then
smiled a very evil smile that made the waking students cringe hoping it
was not aimed at them. Kestra started in the direction where she felt
Captain Sash was at. She thought about getting security to meet up with her
where the prisoners were, but, she knew she could handle them herself. She
had done this before and one more time would not matter.

As she closed in on their position she heard the one called Captain Sash
say, "I'm sorry people, but, we really need to get moving. Somebody
could be here anytime now."

Kestra opened the door and stepped in. She could feel the fear that she
genorated from them that was in the room which made her smile an evil
smile.  Kestra did not care that she looked a little disshevled, her hair a
bit amiss and her face nearly red with fury, all she wanted was to show Sash
who he messed with.

As she leveled her eyes on Sash, a voice behind his whispered a name,
"Kestra."

At that Kestra leveled a mental blast of pain at everyone in the room
but Sash, she wanted him to watch as she would torture the rest in front of
him.  At him she told his mind that he could not control the muscles in his
arms or legs. She watched him slump down as his legs gave way then she
walked over to him.

"You would dare my wrath by shooting me?" Kestra asked in a sneer as she
wrapped her fingers in his hair and pulled his face up to look at her.
"You are going to feel pain as you have never felt pain before and you will
come to beg for me to kill you, which I will not do but give you more pain."

Kestra then let him go to sink to the ground once again. She watched the
others as they were coming out of her pain suggestion. She wanted to do
nothing with them at the time so she pressed on their minds a very
strong suggestion of sleep and watched as they started to drop to the floor.
She knew that the torture she had inflicted on them earlier was just too
much for them to recover too soon then she returned to Sash.

"Haven't you learned while you have been here that we have been doing
this sort of thing for a very long time. We have developed our minds past
what the telepaths of your universe have. We have won wars with our minds
alone and you think that you can come here to beat us?" Kestra laughed an
evil laugh as she shot down into Sash's mind to place the memories of the
horrid tortures of his crew and their deaths. She then destorted them to
make them worse and made them his memories. She laughed at the horrid scream
that emitted from Sash.

Sash grited his teeth against the images that he was seeing in his minds
eye. The vision of his CMO having his fingers emoved one at a time. The
screams and the blood were so real in his mind. The continual rape of
the young ensign that he had just brought on board to work at the conn. He
could hear her screams to stop until she begged them to let her die. 

Then there was the intense feelings of guilt that seemed a lot stronger than
he remembered them being. His training should have helped him deal with
this. He had seen death and mutilation in his life. Some of it worse than he
was envisioning now. But still, the thoughts that were being accessed were
surface memeories. But he could feel the pressure of her mental probe,
cutting through his mind.  It wasn't a nice clean cut through his mind. It
was like a three hundred pound man pushing a dull knife through his mind,
causing ragged and ugly tears in the fabric of his reality.

Then he realized that everything he was seeing, was the negative side of his
thoughts.  He was protecting his pleasant memories. The memories that he did
not want Kestra to see. If he were to act he needed to act fast, or he would
not be able to save himself. 

He accessed his memories of the Angossian Wars. He pulled up the images of
the horrors of the war he'd experienced.  Small children that had been
burned alive, men who had been litterally torn to shreds by weapons fire. He
called on these memories and sent them in a stream back at Troi. He made
them the most intense memories that he had ever experienced.

He opened his eyes in time to see the look on the telepaths face. It was
a look of shock and surprise. In a manner of speaking, he was giving her
back what she had been giving him.

Kestra took in what Sash had sent her and it surprised her that he had
the ability at this time. She had been sending him some memories that she
had thought would decimate him but even after the screams, he sent her this.
She noticed that the shock and surprise had made it to her face which she
hid quickly, but, she could feel from him that he saw it. Now he had hope
that he could beat her and that would just not do.

"You measly little piss ant! You think that you have the power to
overcome me? Me, a more powerful telepath than you have met in your measly
universe?  Well, mister now you will know true pain!" Kestra said as she
started back into his mind.

She started back in and noticed this time that he was guarding something
important to him. She saw that he had a protective shield that caused
her to slide past it if she was not actively seeking things that were
protect like pleasure memories. She thought that it was a very clever
barrier, but, once it was found, it was week. It was never meant to bar but
to hide the thoughts by making the area look empty so the telepath would
just slide on past them.

"Very clever little man, I have never seen anything like that before. I
will have to put that to memory and use it at a later date. Now that it
has been found, though, it will be used against you." Kestra said with an
evil laugh as she started to plunged through his barrier into those pleasant
thoughts. Once there she started to distort everything to make them turn bad
and commit them to his long term memory. As she was doing that she was
laughing her little evil chuckle, leaving it in stamped on every memory that
she touched.

There was no fighting it.  He knew he couldn't keep her out.  he had no
telepathic abilities.  He had nothing in his repertory to even come close.
All he could do is let it happen.  Agaian the power of Kestra Troi dug into
his mind, now plowing into his more personal thoughts.

Thoughts of his life, of his youth, of Vanyssa.  Suddenly they turned ugly.
Every pleasant moment he had, twisted to a sick, dark nightmare.  Sash bit
into his cheeks antil they bled, but he couldn't keep the  scream from
coming.  He fell back onto the floor digging his fingers into his head,
trying to physically pull the twisted memories from his head.  Kestra leaned
over him to get a good luck at his broken spirit on his face.

Vanyssa had frozen by Nishi's side when Kestra had walked into the 
room.   The woman didn't have a phaser, didn't have anything but her 
mind.  Vanyssa screamed as the pain flowed over her and threw her, and 
from somewhere she felt  pain flowing through her.

However, she was no longer under the suppressant and shielded it out in a
supreme effort of will.  Vanyssa slowly rose, hugging the wall behind her,
trembling against the effort of keeping Kestra out. When she saw Kestra
focusing solely on Sash, and Sash collapsed on the floor, Vanyssa moved over
to Sevant, and took the phaser out of his unresponsive hand.  She levelled
it at Kestra and hit the button, her shot going wildly off mark due to her
trembling, and Kestra's attention turned to Vanyssa.

What very few people knew about Vanyssa was that when she was 14 and 
vacationing on Risa with her father, she had been attacked by an assassin
sent to kill her father and had killed him with her mind.  The incident was
buried and forgotten by most, including Vanyssa but somehow  the memory came
bounding forth, giving Vanyssa energy that she didn't know that she had.
Sash was one of the few last living links to her childhood and so Vanyssa
launched herself at Kestra, Vanyssa slammed into Kestra and ended up
straddling her on the floor pinning her down, looking into her eye.

~I WILL NOT LET YOU HURT HIM~  She seared into Kestra's mind, and saw 
the other telepath wince, but remain awake.  Vanyssa used every iota of 
her telepathic ability to rip through Kestra's shielding and expose her 
mind bare. ~You know what, Kestra Troi of the fifth House, in my 
universe you aren't stronger than me, and you aren't here, either.~  
And with that Vanyssa reached deep and down to that place where all 
life force lived and snuffed it out, almost like she was blowing out a 
candle.

Kestra Trois's eyes rolled to the back of her head and her light was gone.
By the time she hit the floor the blood had ceased to flow and her heart had
stopped pumping.  but that was just as well, since her brain had already
stopped functioning.

As the light went out on Kestra's mind she sent her last malevolent thought
into Sash's mind.  ~You think you've won, but I will have my revenge.~
Sash's head spun as some thought implanted into his head, then his head
cleared.  He decided it was just the fact of her mind being so violently
pulled from his own.

(reply none)
(posted by Al Muir, Frank Rogers and Melinda Martin)

Stardate:2406.04.19
Mission: Beyond the Looking Glass
Day 1
Stardate: 2406.04.19

(Alter-Nimitz - Detention Cell - Catain Sash, Vanyssa Winters - 1104)

Sash could feel his energy restore already, and the damaged cells in his
brain were already repairing themselves.  The product of genetic and
biochemical engineering.  He looked down at Vanyssa.  He had seen that
look before.  He offered her a hand.

Vanyssa looked up into Sash's blue, concerned eyes and resisted the urge
to throw up. She took his hand and rose unsteadily to her feet. She
walked over to Nishi and touched his head with one hand and pulled him
back to consciousness, and rather roughly too.  She looked down at him
in 
sympathy. "You are going to have one hell of a headache, and I'm sorry 
about that."  She spoke softly. "We have to find Falthgood and Fickett 
and get out of here as soon as possible." 

Vanyssa started to sway a little.  Sash moved over and put his arms
around her.  To steady her of course.  ~Just like the old days.~

Vanyssa looked over at the body of Kestra Troi and whispered. "I never
want to have to do that again." She began to shake and felt Sash's arms
around her, holding her.  She bit her lip, causing a trickle of blood to
flow down the left side of her mouth, which she wiped away determinedly.
The pain gave her a focus and she calmed down, using it. She would pay
for all of this, and most likely pay for it in sedation. But for now she
needed to be strong.

"Falthgood is that way."  And she pointed. "Let's go find him."  She 
handed Sevant back his phaser, and shrugged out of Sash's embrace. When 
she was 14 she had wanted him. When she was 18 she had desired him.  
Now, at 30, she craved him.  

His touching her was almost too much to bear.  Never before had she felt
this way, about anyone. She knew that what she had been searching for in
her marine lovers was Sash, but that wasn't important right now.  David
was dead, the part of her that loved David for being him had died with
her that day on earth when she had broken her bond with him.  She saw
the others looking at her in concern.

Vanyssa stopped in the door way and realized something. "I know how we 
can get home. It was in her head. We have to find Zach and Fickett 
fast. In less than an hour the occupation troops are going to pass over 
to our universe."  Vanyssa's eyes glazed over as she sifted through the 
mess of information that she had found in Kestra's mind. "Fickett is 
that way. Three doors down."  She pointed.   "And Zach is that way..... 
in room 3413. It's a torture chamber of the more mundane variety."

She frowned and turned down a hallway, the others following her. She 
stopped outside a room that said "Supplies" and walked into it, more 
confidently than she felt.  She walked over to a wall and punched it, 
where there was a slight indentation. The wall shivered and opened a 
doorway into a room, complete with bed, torture devices and a dressing 
table.

"This is Kestra's personal office, although my counterpart shares it."  
Vanyssa whispered.  She walked over to the shelves and took down a 
medical kit, handing it to Sevant.  She sorted through the stacks of 
clothing, pulling out uniforms for them, in what she hoped were their 
sizes.  

"We will elicit less comments cleaned up and in uniform."  She spoke
quietly, hardly feeling like herself.   She walked behind the 
screen and walked out in skintight pseudo-leather that shimmered in a 
variety of blues. It was loosely based on the starfleet  counsellor 
jumpsuit design.  She nodded to herself as she cleaned the last traces 
of blood away and picked up a dagger and a phaser.  She looked back at 
the others and noticed that they were dressed. 

Sash looked at Vanyssa in her new uniform.  For a moment he thought he
might institute that uniform on his next ship.  a little evil laugh ran
through his mind.  ~Damn that woman, her laugh will be there for a long
time.~

"Everyone ready?" She asked, in a voice that was decidedly unlike
Vanyssa Winters.

Sash was impressed with Nessa's ability to take charge.  He could see
with her body language that she was not as confident in her decisions as
was trying to sound.  It impressed him even more.  She had definitely
grown up since their last encounter.  And he was glasd of it.

(reply none)
(posted by Al Muir and Melinda Martin)

Stardate:2406.04.19
Mission:  Beyond the Looking Glass
Day 1
Stardate: 2406.04.19

(Alter-Nimitz - Detention Center - Catain Sash- 1110)

Finding the other two comrades was realativly easy now.  Nobody really
wanted to question Vanyssa's authority as she wore the uniform of the
telephath.  Most of the guards just stood aside and shook their heads
afterwards, feeling sorry for the two prisoners.

As they left the detention area Sash stopped.  "Nessa, Sevant I want you
to
take the others to the shuttlebay.  Get there safely, and secure the
shuttle.  I have something that needs to be taken care of."

He could see the signs of worry on Nessa's face and he smiled.  He knew
that
he couldn't hide what he was about to do from her.  It was best to just
be
honest with her.

"As far as I know, this shiop is the only one equipped with the
technology
to open the anomoly to slide between the two universes.  I need to put
an
end to this insanity, here and now."

He could tell that she was about to protest and he silenced her.  "No,
if  I
can, I'll meet you at the shuttlebay.  If not, then it's for the best.
My
ship is lost, I am responsible for the deaths of my entire crew."  The
laugh
of Kestra Troi rang through his mind.  "I'm going to stop them before
they
can do anything more.  And I 'm going to save you and you're friends
here."

At that he turned his back and ran down a corridor before anything else
could be said.  But his mind tingled with the sensation of her thoughts
in
his head.  There was a feeling he hadn't had in a while.  He hoped he'd
feel
it again.


(Alter-Nimitz - Main Engineering- Catain Sash- 1200)

It had taken him nearly an hour to make his way to the only logical
place
that they would put such a device.  It would require a lot of power,
that
would have to come from  them main engines.  Perhaps even a direct
connection to the warp core.  Once on the right deck it didn't take long
at
all to find the right room.  it was the one that was most heavily
guarded.
It was a moment like this tht he was glad to be alone.  Nobody else
could
see what he was about to do.

With an air of authority he walked up to the security check point.  The
first guard stopped him.  "Security pass?"

Sash searched himself and took a step inside the security perimeter.  He
saw
the flash of motion as the second guard moved for his phaser.  The first
guard's eyes wavered and then Sash began his assault.  Two minutes
later,
with a severe phaser burn on his left shoulder, and sweat pour down his
face, the security team lay either dead or unconscious.

~Those guys were good.~  

He knew that his time was even more limited thatn before.  The entry way
had
a DNA scanner to permit entry.  He picked up the severed hand of the the
Lt.
Commander that had been there and placed it on the DNA scanner.  The
door
beeped and access was granted.  The door slid open and closed.  

Inside he was faced by two more security officers aswell as the
technicians.
This was, perhaps, the most heavily gurded thing Sash had ever seen.
His
war trained muscles moved without thought as he disposed of the the men.
He
managed to keep one of the technicians conscious to show him how to stop
the
field generator.

It seemed fairly simple, to cause a low level power grid feedback in a
centralized area so that the internal sensors wouldn't be able to detect
it
until the there was a cascade failure in the shut of relays.  When that
happens, no matter what, the generator would implode, unfortuantely
taking
most of the engineering section with it.  The remaining ship, would most
likely experience some form of uncontrolled matter/anti-matter reaction.
One way or the other, Sash figured he would not be around to see it.

There were noises coming from outside the room.  Sash quickly made his
adjustments, and then disconected the relay interface.  He programed the
sensors to show normal operations.  It would only survive a cursory
investigation.  But he hoped that was all they would have time to give
it.

He found the access panel and was inside and pulling closed before they
entered the chamber.  Now he had to find his way to the shuttle bay.  he
hoped that Vanyssa and the others were alright.  

(Alter-Nimitz - Shuttle bay 1- Catain Sash- 1330)

The alert that was sent out must have roused every mobile person on the
ship.  The idea of making it through to the shuttle bay without running
into
anyone was just foolishness.  His hope was that his trail of bodies did
not
lead them directly to where he wa heading.  So he had to take a very
round
about path.

There was no chance of him not being noticed.  His uniform was ripped in
several areas.  There was no hiding the bruises and contusions.  His
only hope of making it to a shuttle was complete surprise.  He managed to
find the shuttle that had been designate for the trip to the other side.  He
could only hope that everyone was already on board.  

He managed to get about half way there, being hidden behind objests, before
someone noticed him.  They called out to him.  Sash took a skip and then hit
a full run to the shuttle.  All he could think was, they'd better be there.

As he got there the door opened and phaser fire hit all around him.  he dove
through the entry and the door closed behind him.  He looked up to see the
smiling faces of his new companions.  He didn't stop to smile back.  Seeing
Sevantat the helm he called tohim.

"We need to get out of here and now.  Head for the anomoly.  I don't know
how much longer it's going to be there."  

As the shuttle cleared the bay Sash sent phaser fire back into the shuttle
bay.  The bay burst into flames sending up a level 10 force field,
preventing any other ships from following them from that bay.  This day had
been made on hopes.  So far they had been lucky.  ~Let's hope that we can
get to that anomoly in time.~ 

(reply any)
(posted by Al Muir)