The Warrior and the Artist - 1

Posted on Sun Dec 14, 2014 @ 6:20pm by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson

1,743 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: All this has happened before...
Location: Holodeck
Timeline: Evening of Departure

Nicole was pacing in the blank holodeck, breathing hard and in danger of hyperventilating. *Where is he?* she thought. She'd been cursing him out in her head for his being "late" for the past five minutes, even though it was still five minutes before they had agreed to meet. She heard his footfall approach and finally stopped pacing, but was still twitching like a caged animal.

"About time," she said, folding her arms and frowning.

"Hello to you too, Doctor," he replied, unfazed by her frown and her nervous pacing. He wasn't going to let her bad mood effect his good one. "It looks like you're raring to get started." He paused and gave her look. "By that frown you're wearing, did you think I wasn't coming? You should know that I would never disappoint you."

"Your loyalty is overwhelming," she deadpanned, turning and walking into the holodeck. "You've seen the program, ready to try again?"

"Do I detect a note of sarcasm?" He replied as he followed her into the holodeck. "By all means I'm ready. The more important question is are you ready?"

"Nope," she said. "Computer, load program 'Ommadawn-Three.'" The holodeck grid vanished, replaced by the dark, gothic cathedral look of the Leech ship's interior. She knelt down and picked up the two phaser rifles, tossing one to Alec. "They're already tooled to emit a UV-intense beam." She activated the light on hers and swung it around the room carefully, scoping the area quickly.

He caught the rifle easily and turned on his own light. "Good to hear and know." He looked around the interior where is light was shining, "Well, this is dark and creepy." His own rifle swinging in a careful professional manner.

"They like it that way," Nicole said quietly. "They hide in shadows and pounce when--oi!" she gave a yelp of pain as the beam of light from his rifle moved over her neck, the skin burning along its path. "Be careful," she hissed, her hand gingering touching the spot on her neck.

"Noted," he reacted to her reprimand. "Sorry. Are you going to be all right? In addition, while I'm thinking of it, heed your own words Doctor. Or didn't you see my light on?"

She hissed at him again, and pulled her hand away from her neck, the skin already turning back to her usual 'healthy' pale. "I'll be fine," she said. She reached into her uniform top and pulled out her flask, uncapping it, taking a long draught, resealing it and returning it to her breast pocket with practiced ease. "We should get on with it," she said, swinging her rifle around and drilling the leech who was sneaking up at them down the corridor. "There are two more sentries. If we go up now we'll avoid them."

He watched her drink but made no comment. "Good. Looks better already," he said briskly before continuing. "Then by all means, let's get on with the show. You lead; you know the ship better than I do. I'll watch our backside, so no one and nothing can sneak up on us."

Nicole was chewing on a crack about him risking his life if he watched her backside, but swallowed it as she started up the curving staircase. She gripped her rifle tighter and as they neared the top, she paused, pressing against the wall and sweeping the upper portions of the room with her light. The ceiling was so high up the rifle's light couldn't reach, giving the Leech Lord a convenient hiding place.

She walked inside and immediately fired along the ceiling across the center of the room. She heard the movement before she actually saw it and dove forwards, rolling away as the monster landed near her, bringing her rifle up and firing again.

He had been following dutifully behind, his rifle swinging left and right in a controlled pattern as they started up the curving staircase and into a room with cathedral like ceilings. He watched as the Doc fired her rifle along ceiling and then he saw a dark mass on the floor, close to her. His rifle was up in an instant, firing into the mass. he could hear skin blistering as a howl of pain erupted from the creature. He didn't let up, he moved his beam across the creature's skin, blackening in wherever it touched. "Move, Doc!" He shouted as he continued to fire.

Nicole rolled back out of the way, bringing her weapon up as well as the monster rushed forward, knocking Alec into the wall and leaping back up into the shadows. She knew exactly what he was doing. He'd hide and heal, then drop again. She followed him with her phaser, trying to use its beam to illuminate the ceiling, but she lost him. She strafed a few more times, but didn't strike.

Keeping her rifle trained upwards, she made her way over to Alec, slumped against the wall. "You okay?" she said, trying to glance at him and the ceiling together.

He shook his head, "Ohhhh yeah, Just fine. You?" as his eyes focused on her. "Score one for the bad guy. What do we do next?"

Nicole's chest was heaving. All her senses were on alert. She wanted to look closer at the darkness, but she knew the moment the computer registered the shift in her biosigns, the program would be over. "Question is, what will he do next--" as soon as she said it, she knew. They were in one, tight spot together, an easy double target.

She immediately threw herself back from Alec's position, but as she did, the beast dropped again, knocking her down and landing on her ankle, making a sickening crunch. She screamed in pain, her rifle falling away as she jerked in pain.

As he waited for her reply, Alec saw the creature drop from the ceiling and land on the CMO's ankle that was instantly followed by a sickening crunch and her scream of pain. His rifle was up and he was firing into the creature's face and body, moving as he did to give the Doctor some time to regroup. The Leech Lord's body, blistered and blackened under his barrage. The creature would find them made of sturdy stuff.

The beast roared in pain and ducked the beam, his body regenerating immediately as he rushed Alec, slamming him against the wall.

Nicole roared a challenge, her eyes red and her fangs extended as she jumped onto her good ankle and leaped onto the Leech Lord's back, sinking her fangs into his neck.

The beast started to roar, then froze and vanished, Nicole dropping unceremoniously to the ground, crying out in pain as she landed on her ankle. She whimpered and pounded the deck in frustration as it reverted back to the holodeck grid.

Alec lay in a heap, he was aware of the Doctor's roar and through half closed eyes saw her jump onto the Leach Lord's back and sink her fangs into his neck just as he was reaching for his rifle. Then the program vanished and they were sitting in an empty holodeck. He wanted to say something witty but instead said the obvious: "You lost control."

"Ri guhsh!" Nicole said through clenched teeth. She sat up, tears in her eyes and grabbed her ankle, twisting it with another "crunch" back into a natural position, collapsing to the floor and groaning. "Was that, or let him take a chunk out of you."

He nodded. "A fact that I am extremely grateful for. I meant no criticism. There must be a way for you to beat the simulation. Tell me again how the program works."

Nicole was lying back on the deck, trying to control her breathing as she flexed her ankle experimentally. "It recreates the situation I experienced with Captain Katana and..." she choked up trying to say her ex's name, "...and another crewman. He was knocked down and it came down to the Captain and I." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "The Program monitors my biosigns. If I 'lose control', then the program ends. If it senses a life-threatening injury is imminent, the program ends."

She sat up and reached into her top pocket again, pulling out her flask and taking two long swigs before putting it back, her breath steadier. "That's the long and short of it."

He listened in silence taking in what she had told him. "Okay, I know this is hard for you to go through repeatedly, however what if you didn't lose control when you fought? You know kept your emotions in check? Be a Vulcan."

She made a face as if she'd tasted something rancid. "What do you think I try to do every damn time I do this?" she said, getting to her feet. "'Not lose control,' bloody brilliant."

He jumped to his feet and got in her face. "Try harder, dammit! I didn't say it was going to be easy, clearly it isn't. You've run this program how many times trying to win? Yet you seem not to have learned anything, despite your numerous attempts to defeat the creature." He stopped and stared at her. "Vulcans have emotions, but they keep a tight rein on them. They stay in control."

She grabbed him by the throat, her fangs extending again, her eyes turning red. She lifted him off the ground with barely a grunt of effort. "Vulcans," she growled, "have millenia of mental discipline, and a brain structured for it. I have a temper and a biological drive you bite you in the neck right now." She growled again and dropped him. "I have run this program over and over, trying every tactic I can think of. I'm sorry if facing the origin of the monster in me is 'unsettling.' She walked out of the holodeck without looking back, too angry to cry, too embarrassed to stay.

He rubbed his throat and croaked after her, "And yet you controlled yourself not to bite me. You have to look into the abyss Doctor and not blink. Only you see yourself as a monster. No one else does. Perhaps that is why you don't win: you're afraid."

She didn't look back as she paused at the doors. "I know I am," she said quietly, leaving the holodeck.


JP

Commander Alec Hunter
Executive Officer
USS Victory

Doctor Nicole Anderson
CMO
USS Victory

 

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