Ignition

Posted on Wed Dec 24, 2014 @ 12:47pm by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Lieutenant Cassandra Kennings

579 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: All this has happened before...
Location: Cassandra's Office

Cassandra sat in her favorite armchair, the lights in her office off. The only illumination came from a fire blazing underneath a cauldron in the center of the room, the cauldron's bubbling contents obscured by shadow. She stirred it idly, watching it bubble up, but no steam rising. As the chime sounded, she pulled out her gold compact and flipped it open, taking a look in its mirror before calling out, "enter."

Nicole walked in, barely giving the doors time to open and plunked herself down in the chair across from Cassandra. She crossed her legs, folded her arms, and would have twisted up tight as a pretzel if she could have.

"So....how did it go?" Cass said casually.

"Which part? The dinner date I was embarrassingly nervous about? Or the holodeck fiasco where I almost bit the XO's head off?" Nicole snarled.

"I'm sure it wasn't as bad as all that," Cassandra said, continuing to stir. "Being nervous is natural. And you didn't tear the XO's head off, which is what matters."

Nicole glanced at the cauldron but didn't take the bait. She knew Cass was trying to distract her with it, and she didn't want to give in just yet. "How do I beat the program?" she said.

"Asking me again doesn't make my instructions any different," Cassandra said, sitting back and looking her in the eye. "You need to learn what control means. Your fear is losing control and hurting more innocents, you need to understand how to overcome that."

"And so putting the XO in harms way is the solution?" Nicole said.

"You're the one who suggested bringing him in on it," Cass said evenly.

Nicole sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I just feel like you're winding me up," she complained. "This program is impossible."

"Eyes on the prize," Cassandra said, reaching forward to stir the pot again. "Remember the goal, it will be worth the trouble."

Nicole eyed the cauldron again. "All right, I'll bite. What are you making?"

"Trying out an old recipe," Cass said. She pulled out the sick she was stirring with, and revealed a pincer at the end, gripping a solid metal bar. "Trying to see if I can turn it gold."

Nicole raised an eyebrow.

"A very old recipe," Cassandra quipped and put the bar back in the cauldron. She sat back again and fixed Nicole with a gaze. "You have been in a funk long enough, Nicole," she said. She reached over, touching Nicole's temple, the jewel in her headband glowing gently.

Nicole felt the last traces of her hangover leave her and her head clear. She took a steadying breath. "Thanks," she said.

Cass smiled and nodded. "Keep at it, you'll get it. In the mean time, try to have some fun and appreciate what's going on around you."

Nicole nodded and stood up. "I'll try," she said. She came around the cauldron and gave Cass a quick hug then hurried back to Sickbay to get back to her shift.

Cassandra waited for the doors to close and went back to stirring and thinking. "Computer," she said, "access holodeck controls, program Ommadawn-3 and increase difficulty to level four."

"Acknowledged," the computer said.

Cassandra pulled the bar out of the cauldron again and examined it closely. Stage one of alchemy was the hardest as far as she was concerned, but it just took time and patience.


JP


Nicole Anderson
CMO


Cassandra Sanders
Chief Counselor

 

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