Something Borrowed

Posted on Mon Oct 21, 2019 @ 3:18am by Lieutenant Cassandra Kennings & Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Lieutenant JG Camille Lévesque PhD

1,675 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Nibiru
Location: Ward Room

Cassandra sat with a tape measure and pressed the comm panel on the wardroom table. "Cassandra to Camille, could you join me in the mess hall when you have a moment?"

Everyone wants to see me in the mess hall this trip! Camille thought as she got up from her chair in the science lab. She tapped her combadge. "On my way, Cassandra."

A moment later, she stepped into the mess hall-cum-ward room and saw the rainbow-haired Counselor working away. "Cassandra, last time we sat down in a room that looked like this, we had a bad conversation. The time before that it was among trees and you helped me tell Nicole how I feel. You'll understand my hesitation in talking to you in rooms without trees." She grinned and winked and Cass.

Cassandra looked at her, smirked and closed her eyes, concentrating. A large pot appeared in front of her, a stalk growing out of it which quickly thickened to a trunk, sprouted branches, leaves and finally round, golden fruits. "Apple?" she said, plucking one and tossing it to Camille.

Camille's eyes grew large as she watched the act of creation before her. She adjusted her glasses to make sure she saw it properly. She caught the fruit and took a bite. The tender flesh and tart juice hit the spot. "Merci," she said, smiling.

"Now that that's out of the way," Cass said, "I have a favor to ask of you. It seems there's yet another obstacle to overcome. One of my bridesmaids is unable to attend after all. I was wondering if you would be willing to fill in? I know this is last minute and I'm sorry to spring this on you, but we'll be to Earth tomorrow and I would love to have you involved."

Camille couldn't contain her excitement. Grinning from ear to ear, she put the fruit down and wrapped her arms around Cassandra. "Of course!" she said, a bit too loud that close to Cass' ear. "I knew we were friends, but I didn't realize you thought of me as that close of a friend!"

"Absolutely," Cassandra said, hugging her back. "So I take it that's a yes?" she laughed.

“Yes!” Camille answered. Her excitement subsided a moment as new thoughts crossed her mind. “But what about a bridesmaid dress? Will we have time to make arrangements?”

"I think we can manage," Cassandra said with a grin. She stepped back and clapped her hands together, rubbing them briskly, a few violet sparks flying from them. "The trick is going to be finding the right style of dress. What's popular where you're from?"

"I don't follow fashion," Camille admitted, "but the last few weddings I've been to, or seen pictures of, including those of my cousin Manon and my aunt Roxanne, the bridesmaids wore something floor-length with a high neck. Usually figure-hugging too, but not always." She looked at Cassandra and gave a sad smile. "I actually missed my first wedding just recently. I shipped out to the Victory the week before my cousin Robert and his then-fiancée Emilie were to be married."

"That's a shame," Cassandra said, looking through options in the computer. "Hm...this could work," she said, pointing to a form-fitting simple dress. She called up pictures of Amber's red frock, Mirana's orange dress, Meesa's green toga dress, Penny's blue Saree, Tiffany's indigo dress and Nicole's violet dress. She moved the image of Camille's dress into line. "I think that could work nicely," she said. "Now, to try the fit."

She snapped her fingers, gold energy swirling around Camille and coalescing into the self-same dress. "There," she said, smiling. "You know, it really is refreshing not having to hold back and flex my muscles a bit." She adjusted the dress a bit, walking around Camille. She smiled at the look on the other woman's face. "It takes a bit to get used to, I know, but with all the miracles in this universe, creating a dress is low on the scale, I promise."

"It doesn't make it any less wonderful," Camille replied. She pulled at the gorgeous dress, which fit her perfectly. The shade of yellow was lovely, and Camille adored the decision to dress the bridesmaids as a spectrum. "Is there a way I can see how this looks on me? Many mirrors, maybe?"

Cass thought a moment and formed a three-way mirror. "Step inside there," she said.

Camille stepped inside and used the mirrors to look at herself. She put her hands on her hips, posed a bit, and smiled.

"It's a good color on you," Cass said, standing behind her.

“Merci,” Camille replied. “Cassandra, I have a question for you. Very simple. Shouldn’t take long.” Magically-conjured, gorgeous dress on her frame, she looked her rainbow-haired friend in the eye. “Explain the science behind what you do. Because that’s what it is, right? A more advanced science that most of Starfleet doesn’t understand?”

Cassandra sighed. "I've written over a dozen papers on it, none of which have received clearance for publication, but, yes, there is a science to it, a biological one. I wish I could explain it better..." she thought a moment.

She took Camille's hand and held it up. "Make a fist."

Camille did just that. She closed her open hand into a fist.

"Now, tell me how you did that," Cassandra said.

“Signals from my brain traveled along nerves down my spinal column, into my arm, and released acetylcholine into specific muscles in my hands, prompting them to contract.” Camille furrowed her brow, not yet understanding why so simple a question was asked.

"Exactly," Cassandra said, smiling. "Now...how did you tell your brain to do that?"

Camille thought hard. She didn’t want to come up with an unsatisfactory answer. Even though she was talking with Cassandra to learn more, part of her needed to believe that this was science that wasn’t so far beyond her grasp that it was unobtainable.

“Consciousness,” Camille offered. “The brain is an organ that knows itself and can control itself to at least some extent. The conscious me issues the command. The body reacts.” She smiled at her answer.

"Very well," Cassandra said. "Now explain how consciousness, thought, the will of the intangible soul, can somehow cause physical manifestations inside the brain and body. That is the essence of what I'm dealing with. I will something to happen, and it happens. I will the energy to transform into matter, or vice versa, and it happens. I'm still learning what that means, and I've had these abilities for well over a year now."

Camille nodded. Those were ideas she was familiar with, but the scientific method still hadn't identified the source of consciousness, thought, or free will, and couldn't even confirm the existence of what Cass called an 'intangible soul'. "Is that something that anyone can be taught? Or is it innate to your species?"

"More the former, not the latter," Cass said. "My abilities are the result of exposure to a combination of magic from the people of Megas-Tu, and being in proximity to the Galactic Barrier. The first granted Amber and myself some limited abilities, and the Barrier dialed them up to eleven. Taureans have some innate ability to transfer life force, a byproduct of our technology," she touched the circlet on her head. "But magic is something far harder to acquire, and rightly so. Humans have not had good encounters with it in the past."

"No?" Camille asked. "Have there been many incidents in which humans are granted powers beyond the norm? I've only read the report of when the entity called Q shared his powers with the first officer of the Enterprise-D."

"Oh, there have been plenty of instances of humans acquiring power, or fearing each other acquiring power, all the way back to the Salem Witch Trials," Cassandra said. "They rarely ended well. So, Amber and I tend to hold back when we can. However, sometimes circumstances dictate action."

“Of course,” Camille said, nodding. “I can imagine how tempting it might be to snap your fingers and solve every problem. But then life would be boring.” She looked back at herself in the mirror. “I really do like this dress.”

"Good, you can hang onto it after the wedding if you like," Cass said. She brushed Camille's shoulders and the dress fell off like grains of sand, disappearing into the carpet, leaving her back in her regular clothing.

Cass yawned and walked to the replicator. "Although, it takes a lot out of me, so there are limitations." She replicated a bowl of fruit salad and sat down at the table, chewing thoughtfully. "Not sure how I'll have enough energy for the wedding. I'll most likely be running on pure adrenaline," she said, smiling. "I already know Richard's going to be exhausted. He won't sleep a wink the night before. Never can when he's keyed up about something."

“Tell me about him,” Camille said, sitting down at the table with her friend. “All I know is ‘Admiral’ and ‘Cassandra loves him deeply’.”

Cassandra blushed so hard that the golden-pink glow of her skin almost turned pure crimson. "Richard isn't Admiral Markus," she said. "Admiral Markus is a former relationship of mine. Richard is a civilian through and through. You'd get along with him famously. He's a xenosociologist, but he has lived on Earth practically his whole life. He's a very simple man, does not suffer fools gladly and has infinite patience, so long as someone isn't wasting his time. A very pragmatic individual. He's also caring, and sweet and..." she smiled a bit, her eyes getting a far away look. "He's romantic in the most down-to-Earth, old world way I have ever seen."

“Aww,” Camille couldn’t help but say. “I’m glad he makes you so happy. And thank you for letting me share in your moment.”

Cassandra smiled again. "Thank you for helping."

 

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