ILLUMINARRPG: (6- 2045) CO Captain Sekal & FO Commander Sienna Williams-Verin & CMO Dr. Quinna Solice & CTO Ensign T¹Mur

[Al Muir]

Mission:  Death in the Shadows

Day: 6

Stardate:2446.02.06


(USS Illuminar  - Deck 5 - Sickbay - Isolation Room 1 - CO Captain Sekal & FO Commander Sienna Williams-Verin & CMO Dr. Quinna Solice & CTO Ensign T’Mur - 2045)


T’Mur, Sienna, and Quinna rematerialized in an isolation room without any of the security or medical teams.  T’Mur was gratified as there had just been too many people in their quarters, but it also meant that all of those people had just been left alone in their quarters.  Suddenly T’Mur remembered the door.


::Sienna, I am concerned about Kenna.  The door is not going to close.::


Sienna frowned and touched her comm badge, “Commander Verin to Operations, please send a repair team to my quarters. Please be aware that my cat has a collar that won’t allow her to leave the confines of my quarters but will not stop her from trying.” Operations replied that they would deal with it and not disturb her brat ragdoll siamese cat.


Then T’Mur turned her attention to Quinna, “Sit down Quinna,” she said.  She hadn’t meant it to sound like an order.  “I want to see how you are doing before all of the medical people come in and do their … work.”


She lifted Quinna’s chin and examined the bruising that was forming around her throat.  It would heal soon enough, but she could easily have killed the woman.


“I am sorry Quinna,” she said, trying to sound sorry,but not certain if she succeeded.  “Does it hurt much?”


Sienna frowned as she stood against the wall, watching her mate tend to Quinna. She had to be here and they were awaiting the Captain.


“Ye..”  Quinna also nodded in the affirmative direction. Instead of sitting, Quinna moved toward the medical cart.  She entered the code to open the cart.


“Sit down,” T’Mur repeated, “I can take care of that.”  She moved over to the cart and took out a hypo spray and a vial of an anti-inflammatory and analgesic.  She showed the vials to Quinna before inserting them into the hypodermic.  She wanted to assure her that she was not still trying to kill her.


Quinna shook her head no and grabbed the hypospray.  T’Mur was close.  But not close enough.  Quinna took a PADD that she stashed.  There was one under every mattress of every bio bed.  Feeling weak she finally sat in the chair and typed out that she was allergic to the med she was about to give her.  Then Quinna reprogrammed the hypospray.  It was a  less effective anti-inflammatory, but it worked.  She then administered it to herself.  She then wrote, “This will take a while.”


T’Mur understood.  She was not aware of Quinna’s medical record.  Why should she be? She had learned most of her first-aid, and medical training in the dojo.  Her teacher had shared wise words with her.  “If you plan to hurt someone, you should also know how to heal.”  She would make a passable medical technician, but she was not a doctor.  And Quninna had no reason to trust her right now.


Quinna felt shame, she could not look at her friends.  She spoke but it was barely audible, “What did I do?”


T’Mur shook her head, “That is not important right now.  You were, apparently, under the control of a subversive personality that had been implanted in your mind.  We will summarize and analyze the actions of that personality later.  For now, let’s look at your present condition.”


She picked up the medical tricorder and began to scan Quinna’s neck.  The damage had been considerable, but not permanent.  The pressure to her throat had caused severe hematomas throughout her neck and down her upper spine.  There had been some minor ligament damage.  With just a little more pressure, she could have crushed one of Quinna’s vertebrae.


Quinna put her hands on T’Mur and made her stop scanning her.  Whispering, “The commander ..check her first.  More… Important.”  Quinna leaned against the wall next to her.  She closed her eyes to the light.  “Commander first”


T’Mur put her hand on top of Quinna’s.  “I am gratified that you see the value of my Sienna as well.  And trust me, I WILL take care of her.  As soon as your injuries are revealed to my satisfaction, otherwise I would be unable to give her the care she deserves.”


She looked over at Sienna who looked on.


Quinna took a deep breath.  Quinna could feel her injuries were more intense than T’Mur’s training.  “Doctor?....E….M...H?”  Quinna started to drift, “Mich...ael..”


Catching the doctor’s intention she stepped back and touched the wall for a better connection.


::Luma I need the EMH.::


::Is the Quinna all right?::  Luma said concerned.


::She is injured and I do not have time to explain right now.  EMH… please.::


The EMH shimmered into place in front of T’Mur.  “What is the nature of the medical emergency.”


“Multiple injuries to the neck and throat,” T’Mur stated.


“You appear to be unharmed,” the EMH said, looking confused.


“Not me,” T’Mur shook her head, not being filled with confidence but trusting to the programing, “her.”


She pointed to Quinna who was starting to fade into unconsciousness.


“Put her on the biobed,” the EMH ordered, and T’Mur complied, picking her up easily and placing her on the bed.


She stepped back and let the hologram get to work, then turned her attention to Sienna, starting with a tight hug.


“My love,” she said, “are you all right?”


Sienna nodded, sore and tired, “I am.  I’m sorry I had to have Luma snatch you from your training session. I knew something was wrong, I just didn’t know what was wrong.”  Sienna shivered, “It wanted me so badly. It tried to tell me that you were not going to come for me.”  Sienna was shivering from shock, though she didn’t realize she was actually shivering.


T’Mur squeezed her tightly, “I will always come for you.  I wish it hadn’t taken me so long.”


Quinna laid still on the biobed, she moved a hand to cover her eyes when she felt a sharp pain, “This is the worst experience ever?  How did I get like this?”


“Hold still.”  the EMH ordered.  “How do you expect me to treat you when you are moving about?”


Quinna knew why she hated the Mark I EMH.  “Why did we not upgrade him?”  Quinna moved to sit up.


“Lay down or I will sedate you." the EMH protested. "And I have been updated with the latest medical techniques. If you have an issue with my bedside manner you should take it up with the Captain."


With a bit of dizziness, Quinna did not argue.  She lay back down.  Her brain was starting to cognitively become more coherent.  “I think I am going to be sick.”


“Which is why you are here, now be still.”  The EMH said.  The EMH turned back to T’Mur.  “She will be fine.  Now if you will move, I can tend to the Commander.”


Sienna shook her head and stepped behind T’Mur, “I am just fine.” She lied.


“I will be the judge of that” The EMH moved closer.  “Let's take you into the other room.”


T’Mur presented herself to the EMH with her full authority, “I don’t think so.  We will all wait here for the captain.  You tend to Quinna, I will take care of the Commander… if you don’t mind.”


“Actually,” the EMH began.


“Luma, prepare to terminate the EMH if he speaks another word to me,” she said.


The EMH made a mute gesture to speak, but thought about it then went back to work on the  CMO.


Then T’Mur moved Sienna to a chair and knelt beside her.  “Where are you hurt?”


Sienna reached up to unzip her uniform top, pulling it back so that T’Mur would see the bruises formed on her collarbones.  “I pulled a muscle in my leg by straining to get around a chair. In my left thigh.  And I’m scared, T’Mur. What if that thing got a hold in me? I want someone to make sure it didn’t.”  She was still shivering from shock.


For the first time T’Mur realized that she might not be the one to check that.  She herself needed to be checked that she was clear of the influence of the personality.  However, she could still give physical comfort.  Slowly she bent over and looked at the bruises.  She leaned in and planted a kiss on her clavicle.


“Does this help it feel better,” she asked, as she had noted that people had done that with children and loved ones.


Sienna made a soft sound, “Mhmm hmm.  But I think I need more of that type of medicine.”  Her eyes were haunted. This was what Admiral Winters had been so concerned about.  That someone would have an implanted personality in them. Sienna wondered how long Quinna had it in her.


T’Mur could still see the fear in her mates eyes, and knew she could do nothing to alleviate it, just yet.  She did not even want to reach down through their connection until she was certain that there was no trace of the personality remaining.  That would require a mind meld.  But she would have to keep trying to reassure Sienna that she was as safe as she could be right now.


She put her hand on Sienna’s thigh, “And does it hurt here?”


“Only a little bit. It should probably have a hypospray medicine, not a kiss. Where is the Captain? He should be here by now.  And who do we trust to read the three of us? Alaya Hammons?” Sienna sighed, distress on her face. She kept her eye on Quinna though.


T’Mur raised an eyebrow at the suggestion of a kiss to make her leg feel better but agreed that the hypospray was probably a more logical solution to the issue.  She got up and went to the med cart and picked up a second hypospray.  She still had the analgesic with her and inserted it into the spray.  She came back over and laid the hypodermic on her thigh and pressed the button to release the medicine.


“We will have to determine who we can and cannot trust when the Captain arrives,” she said logically.


Certain that Sienna had received all of the medical attention she required T’Mur went back over to observe the EMH, who look at her as if she were a full grown Sehlat.  He looked at her as if to ask permission to speak.  She nodded.


“What caused these injuries?” he inquired.


T’Mur looked at him blankly and replied, “I did.”


He gave a grunt of disapproval, “Why am I not surprised?  Well, despite your best efforts, your friend will survive.  She’ll be in pain but she will live.”


T’Mur looked at the EMH coldly, “Trust me, that was not my best effort.”


“Honestly, I have a swollen throat, tissue damage to my spine and such,  but you know that.  I am experiencing photosensitivity, and recovering from an aneurysm.  And yes, I do hurt.”  Quinna spoke softly. Quinna had managed to read that from the PADD she still had in her hands.  She then waved off the EMH.  “What is the stardate.  It is 2446.02.04/05 right?”


Luma had directed Sekal to the appropriate room and he entered the door with a quick step then looked about at the tableau. The Mark I EMH was tending to his CMO while Commander Verin and T'Mur were talking to the side. He moved to them first. "Report please and explain in detail what happened."


"Dr. Solice came to my quarters about an hour ago.  She pushed her way inside, which didn’t bother me. She’s my friend, so I didn’t think anything of it at first. But something was not quite right about her, and I asked her if she was ok. I finally found out that there was a personality calling itself Rito or Rita controlling her. It kept offering me Quinna’s virgin body for myself.  Then it wanted me to try and read Quinna, so that it could take over me. It really wanted me.  I kept distance between myself and Quinna, but she did something to put a quarantine seal on my quarters and no one could get in. Luma could not use the site to site transporters to get T’Mur through, so T did something where she literally broke the door to our quarters down.  At that point security arrived, and put Quinna in restraints and T’Mur and I melded to bring Quinna’s personality back to the surface and I’m not sure what T did but somehow she destroyed the Rito personality. At least we think she did.  The bruising on Quinna is from T’Mur defending me.” The unspoken words were there, ‘Because I can’t defend myself’.  Sienna was still shaking with reaction from the night. “We need someone to make sure that the personality is not lurking before we trust ourselves. It was awful, I’ve never experienced anything so violent and lewd before.”  Sienna twined her fingers with T’Mur. “We were discussing if Alaya Hammons might be the best choice to check us.”


Quinna turned her back to the others while on the bed.  She could not believe what she heard.  She did not remember any of it happening.  She found herself more embarrassed.  A tear slid out of her closed eyes.


Sienna realized that it was more of a ramble than it was a report after the words had tumbled out, but she supposed that it did not really matter. The Captain had the gist of the situation.


His head snapped toward the EMH. "Give Commander Verin a mild sedative."


The EMH turned his head toward him. "I'm a little busy Captain."


"Is your patient's life in immediate danger?"


"No."


"That was an order." The Vulcan snapped.


The EMH then did as told.


"Luma seal the room and begin protocol Zeta, Omega 5 on my order. All authorization codes subverting Commander Overrides are to be purged immediately. Begin process."


He then turned his attention back to Sienna who had received the sedative. The EMH looked at him inquisitively. "You may return to your patient."


The sedative worked and Sienna relaxed, the tension leaving her body. T’Mur shifted so that she was holding Sienna’s body up. The woman’s eyes closed and the tremors faded. Her telepathic shielding came down some as she relaxed.  “Thank you Sir. I did not feel up to handling this.”  She whispered as her jaw unlocked, the drug going through her body.


"If this synthetic personality was intent on invading and taking over a host telepath then we will not bring Mrs. Hammons into this, I will take care of the matter personally as I will not be able to trust implicitly that it has been dealt with until I have seen to it myself."


Sienna simply nodded, seeming to doze a bit, “You should probably start with Dr. Solice then.”


Quinna found her voice, “There is another way.  Neuro testing.  I performed the testing on Commander Dieter a few days ago.  He was clear.”  Quinna refused to turn to the direction of the others.  “Sorry the lights are too bright for me to see, but you are not too loud for me to hear.”  Taking another breath, “I do not like anyone in my head.”


"Very well, you will not have it forced on you Doctor. EMH have the equipment brought in immediately. Luma unseal the room." He tapped his combadge. "Security send two officers to Isolation room 3 in medical, no one is to enter or leave it without my authorization."


=^= Routing them now Captain. =^=


"Lights at fifty percent." As the lighting softened he moved around the biobed so that Quinna could see him then halted before her. "Do you remember anything that might have initiated this doctor? Any kind of trigger perhaps or event?"


“I don’t know what day it is.  All I remember is waking in pain and Sanchez’s death.”  thinking harder. “I know I awoke in Commander Verin’s Quarters.  Security lifted me up and bound me.”  Quinna hoped they believed her as she really knew nothing but remembering what was said that she did, She was not sure if they would.


"You say you remember the death of Sanchez…" the CO prodded, attempting to gain more information, "... what about his death do you remember? Any thoughts or impressions? Even emotional ones might be helpful."


Sienna sat dozing, half listening to the conversation, her head now on T’Mur’s shoulder.  She would need the cliff notes version later to refresh her memory.


“Ummm,” Quinna slowly sat up, “Sir, I was in Sanchez’s Room, He died and I let him go in peace.  Then I exited the room, I remember screaming out in pain, and nothing.”  Quinna supplied she then remembered something, “Captain, what are you doing out of your room?  It is not time for your release.”


The voice of the EMH spoke before he did, he had appeared again on the other side of the biobed. "Her memory is faulty Captain."


"I am aware of this." Speaking to Quinna then. "You released me from sickbay two days ago doctor."


“Excuse me?”  Quinna was confused.


The EMH spoke again. "The doctor was found in Sanchez's room unconscious and unresponsive. The nurse called me in for a consultation then requested the presence of Doctor Hezuela. After she was commed to sickbay I left. Medical records also show that Doctor Solice regained consciousness then attempted to leave the room but collapsed and her heart stopped beating. Doctor Hezuela presided over her resuscitation. As an additional note the doctor had a device attached to her temple which appeared to be linked with a similar one on Sanchez."


Quinna was starting to get angry.  She would deactivate the EMH but instead…”And that still does not explain how I got from there to the Commander’s quarters.  I know what happened with Sanchez and this is a personal conversation with different people.”


Sienna’s sleepy eyes opened for a second to focus on Quinna, “What do you mean?” Her voice was slightly slurred as she asked.


The EMH was completely nonplussed. "This is a report to the Captain on events pursuant to the time at which your memory was shown to be faulty and is appropriate to the situation. If you disagree then you have the right to an appeal however I assure you my report will be ruled as admissible. The neuro scanner will be here shortly. I will be available when it arrives or you may call in other medical personnel. It does not matter to me." With that he vanished.


Quinna  put her hand on her forehead and shook her head.  “Damn EMH.  I wasn’t contradicting him. That egotistical Hologram.”  Quinna made a few confessions, “Captain, remember the other matter where you said I should not get any more involved in, well I got more involved.”


"More detail would be appreciated." He deadpanned.


It was time for more confessions.  “I used a piece of technology developed by Dr. Bashir to talk to Mr. Sanchez over your attempted assination.  At first I thought it was all connected.  When the brain started to deteriorate faster, I had to talk to him.  He talked to me.”


"Do you remember any of what was said?"


“Yeah, I do.  He has a PADD in his belongings that contains information.  Also someone had to kill him.  So he is not the only one onboard, but he has no idea who else is onboard.  It is more information than that but I need more time to recall.  Some things are fuzzy.”


He nodded. "We will talk more about this later. After you have had time to collect your thoughts."


A young human nurse came to the door, bringing the equipment that was needed to check Quinna for implanted personalities. The security officer looked to the Captain for permission to let Nurse Ferell into the room.


The Captain nodded. "Let her in."


“Lets’s just do this so it can be cleared.”  The Quinna thought about how Dieter he felt ….  How did he feel.  She kept thinking.


The young human nurse came in, pushing past the security officer with a soft huff. “Sir? Who am I setting this test up for?”

Quinna looked at Ferell, “That would be me.”  Quinna said.


Sekal moved to a chair and sat down though he remained alert to what was going on in case he was needed.


The nurse moved over to Dr. Solice and set up the test, placing the electrodes on Quinna’s forehead, and settling the  light mesh over Quinna’s brain. She linked the electrodes to the system box, then looked towards the Captain who seemed to be in charge, “It would be best to sedate the patient, Sir. It allows the test to get the best readings if the patient is not conscious. It will take about three hours for it to fully run. It’s not quick but it’s thorough.”


“Ferell, the test will work fine with me being awake.  Don’t you think I have slept too long already.”  Quinna was now afraid that when she woke she would not be where she slept and doing something she was not aware of.  She also did not let anyone know she was scared.


Ferell kept her attention on the Captain, but she knew that she was going to pay for this later.


"According to Ensign T'Mur the doctor should be free of any influence. You may do the test with her conscious."


“Thank-you,” Quinna said with a sign of relief.


“Yes, Sir.” Ferell activated the test, “Lay back and try to relax, Dr. Solice.”


Quinna complied, slowly.  She took deep breaths and closed her eyes.  She started thinking about Michael, pasta, and cheesecake.


Sienna looked out through lowered eyelids, trying so hard to hold onto the current situation, but the stress plus the sedative had her slightly out of it.  She leaned against her mate, half dozing. She too wanted to be checked out but she trusted Sekal to allow him to read her. He would know that she had been curious about the vulcan mindmeld. That curiosity had been satisfied with T’Mur, but it seemed that Sienna would be getting a long wished for curiosity.  Sekal would know her better than her parents did, and that was not a terrible thing.  It was so hard for her to keep her thoughts on topic.


“Captain,” T’Mur stepped up to the CO, “I had the greatest exposure to the personality of Rito after Dr. Solice.  It is logical to assume that I present the greatest risk after her.  Perhaps you should check me first.”


His eyes were penetrating. "My thoughts exactly Ms. T'Mur."


T’Mur nodded and took a deep breath.  She had spent most of her life avoiding melds, but in the months since her treatment she had embraced the telepathic nature of her people and practiced the skill as much as possible.


“Are you sure it is wise to Mind Meld?”  Quinna opened her eyes and turned her head.  It was the first time she looked at the people in the room.  Everyone had been keeping their distance from her.  Despite the fact of how anyone felt about her right now, still cared for them.  “With recent treatment for Panar, a mindmeld could cause a recurrence of the condition.”


T’Mur did not turn her face.  “I appreciate your concern, Doctor, but I am certain that not only is this the best course of action, I am completely safe.  I have melded with Sienna and there has been no sign of symptoms of the Pannar syndrome returning.”


Quinna shrugged and turned away.


"Are you prepared?"


“I am,” T’Mur replied calmly.


He lifted his right hand and placed fingertips at her left temple as he began the process of lowering his mental barriers. T'Murs control had hardened noticeably in the time she had become bonded to Sienna. There was no deluge of emotional content in the surface contact, only the feel of another mind near enough to touch. His left hand with his small finger high on her right cheek, the other fingers splayed across the upper portion of her face to her forehead touching sensitive pressure points that would give him access to her thoughts. He spoke as he leaned closer. "My mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts."


He met the surface layers of her thoughts and passed through them, in this way their shared consciousness becoming one slowly and with delicate finesse. He had accomplished much in his time with the monks at Mount Sehlaya and though not a master he was practiced in the discipline.


She could feel the wave of his thoughts slip through her own, as he intertwined his thoughts with hers.  It was a gentle cohesion, not at all like the forced meld of her youth.  It was… effortless.  There was no push through, only a natural connection.  Her mind was connecting to his as well.  His basic surface thoughts became hers, hers became his, until they arrived at the logical conclusion.  There were no thoughts that were hers, no thoughts that were his, there were only thoughts that were theirs.


They thought back to the encounter, and could feel Sienna adding to her strength as she completely encircled and began crushing the life from the malignant, pernicious synthetic personality. Little knowledge could be gleaned from it, to invite it to initiate further contact would have brought disaster. :: A logical conclusion well considered.::


A deeper search could find no lingering trace in their mind. All that was left were questions. Curiosity was what drove them. But there were no answers. Nothing left to answer them. They were satisfied.  There was no trace of the personality remaining. The only question they could answer was if there had been enough contact with Sienna to make that transference.


Sekal began slowly to withdraw, gently untangling himself from her thoughts. The process was long practiced and deft. He rose through her mind, brushing the bond with Sienna but not disturbing nor intruding upon it. He opened his eyes and raised his head, his forehead had lowered until it had nearly touched the back of his hands. When he had regained the surface and came clear he paused for an instant to ensure his exit was clean. Ripples in her consciousness were non-existent. Satisfied he removed his hands in reverse order and stepped back. "She is free of it."


T’Mur nodded, “I concur.”


Then they both looked at Sienna.  “I can easily reach into Si… Commander Verin and give you the information you wish, but I know you would not be satisfied without firsthand knowledge.”


"Correct. I must know for myself that she is uncompromised. As she is partially sedated it will not be a difficult task."."


Sienna sat quietly,  her head leaning now against the wall but her focus was on the two of them. "Go ahead, Sekal. I trust you." And she did, despite the slight slur of her words. "Need to be sure." The last word was more slurred than the others. There was no fear in her and with the sedative her shields were as far down as they ever got.


He pulled a chair close before her and sat down. As she sat up toward him her placed his hands just as he had placed them on T'Mur. He could sense her mind just beyond a whisper of mental shielding as he dropped his own. He prepared for the meld carefully in the event he was to meet up with the implant, his own mental reserves bolstered by logic should be enough to keep it at bay. And he had other reserves to call upon should it become necessary.


"My mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts." The last of Sienna’s shields had fallen and tendrils of his thoughts began to merge with hers, reaching outward to encompass them both. Two beings became one in thought, one slightly dazed by the tranquilizer and the other seeking anything that did not belong.


Sienna had practice with mind melds due to T’Mur and did not resist at all. Of course part of that was the sedative that was leaving her slightly dazed.  Her view of the incident showed that Dr. Solice had touched her twice. Once in the earlier part of the encounter when the implanted personality Rito wanted to seduce Sienna. The revulsion of that brief physical contact had shown her that something was going on with Quinna. The second had been the one where she had gotten her bruises and it was prolonged. But her shields had held, and when she was assisting T’Mur she had been mostly the oomph that had powered T’Mur’s obliterating the personality.  Rito had been so focused on taking over Sienna that T’Mur had been able to trap and destroy it.  She was free of the taint of it, and had done a decent job acting on her instincts to shield the other two women so that Rito could not infect either of them.


He searched for a moment longer, then satisfied. ::You did extremely well.:: With that he began to withdraw slowly, taking care not to disturb her bond and cause no disorientation. Once their minds were again separated he opened his eyes and removed his hands as he leaned back in the chair. "Commander Verin is free of it as well." He looked over at T'Mur. "It is unnecessary for the two of you to remain. You may return with her to your quarters."


Sienna smiled lightly as she heard his words, that she did well. Her eyes closed completely in sheer exhaustion. In order to get her to their quarters, T’Mur was either going to have to carry her or use the site to site transporters; she was incapable of walking. Sienna had used the last of her energy and was tapped out. She needed sleep and food.


T’Mur picked Sienna up in her arms like a child.  She nodded to the captain. As much as walking through the halls with her mate in her arms was appealing it was not logical.  ::Luma, please transport Sienna and myself to our quarters.::


They shimmered in the transporter effect and then were gone.


Having taken care of that matter Sekal then picked up a chair and carried it to the side of the room Quinna was facing and sat down to wait.


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