Summer Solstice

Posted on Mon Nov 25, 2019 @ 2:31pm by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Commander Cullen Walker & Lieutenant Arashi Tanaka Mr. & Senior Chief Petty Officer Samantha Summers

1,254 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Nibiru
Location: Brig/Sickbay
Timeline: 1 hour after Amid Summers' Nightmare

Nicole led the brigade, a general leading her troops against the enemy. She gripped her black doctor's bag tightly in left hand, her Herran stunner in her right. Behind her was her army: Maggie and the two burliest medtechs she could manage. They were escorting a gurney and a medkit with essentials, ready for their battle.

She stepped into the brig and didn't slow down, nodding to Walker, Arashi, and the smattering of armed guards. She stepped between them and up to the forcefield. "Now," she said, looking at Summers, "please have a seat."

Summers looked at Nicole, then at the crowd around her and sat down. She looked back at Nicole. "What ever you ask me to do, I will comply. " Summers slightly smiled. "You know, I 'remember' her dreams and nightmares. Everything about her was 'put into me.' She wished to be accepted for so long, even before coming onto this ship...but others looked at her...called her 'big britches'...other names...all she wants is to be accepted." Summers looked at Commander Walker. "Do you know..she *actually* had a 'crush' on the former Commander? She wanted to invite him to visit her cabin in the holodeck, modeled after her family's vacation home." Summers sighed. "Well...shall we begin? Maybe, perhaps, you all will be a little nicer to her when she returns?"

Walker looked at her, "This is not the time for this."

Nicole's jaw twitched in irritation. "Lower the damn forcefield," she said to Arashi.

Arashi lowered the forcefield, hand on his phaser, which was set on stun. He watched intently so as to make sure that Summers did not harm anyone or herself.

As the forcefield fizzled out, Nicole's arm swung up and she pulled the trigger. The blast washed over Summers and she slumped back on the bench.

"Twenty minutes," Nicole said to the team. The medtechs stepped in and grabbed Summers, hauling her immobile form onto the gurney. Nicole looked down into Summers' eyes. "How one is treated, is solely dependent on how one treats others," she said. "Use your second life wisely."

As Maggie scanned Summers' vitals, the medtechs pushed her out and towards Sickbay, security officers following. The stunner's effects were limited, but it would keep Summers from being able to do more than blink for a time, and give him a window.

"You think this is going to work?"Arashi asked Walker. He wanted it to work. He had a conversation with Summers before and it seemed that she was a genuinely nice person.

Walker looked at him as the walked, "If anyone can make her Summers and only Summers, it is Anderson. She will do it as cleanly and safely as possible. A lot safer than either of our ancestors could have done."

They entered Sickbay quickly through an auxiliary door and immediately into one of the examination rooms, the chair already set up. "seventeen minutes," she said as they hauled Summers off the gurney and into the chair, trying to get her dead weight into position.

"Thirteen minutes," Nicole warned as they began securing the restraints. She swung an arm light into position and sat down in front of Summers.

Walker checked the restraints and their systems.

"All right," she said, "we're ready to begin. Blink twice if you understand me."

Summers looked at Nicole, bleary eyed, and blinked twice.

Nicole nodded as Maggie began monitoring Summers' vitals. "I'm sorry for what has to happen next, but I need to bring her out if we're going to subdue her. If this works, I'll see you soon. If not...I'm sorry I failed you."

"Eleven minutes," Maggie said.

She reached back and slapped Summers' hard across the face. "Rihansu guhsh!" Nicole said.

Summers head shook and she shut her eyes.

Nicole smacked her again, harder. "C'mon, you Romulan bitch. Let's see that fire in your eyes. I know you want to rip my throat out. Let's see that look." She stared right at Summers, looking for Karee.

Walker figured out where Nicole was going, "Rihannsu are ehdhihss dyypanin ryakna hvaedroalh ehri oa swai thaes plæh." In layman terms, he said that 'Romulans were the imcompetant garbage of all those with Vulcan blood.' It had to be him who said that. They view mixbreeds as lower than feces. Him saying that would be even more insulting.

Nicole wanted to turn and give him a look of surprise, but she kept her gaze on her patient.

Summers' eyes opened and she looked at them with hatred in her eyes...

"There she is," Nicole purred.

"Ten minutes," Maggie said.

"Hear that?" Nicole said. "That's how long you've got to be alive. And it isn't long, my pretty. It isn't long. I'd tell you to say your goodbyes but..." She smirked, dialing up the Romulan's ire.

When she was sure she had the Romulan's undivided attention, Nicole's eyes stared back, then her blue irises disappeared, turning red. She dove past the rage and the anger, both familiar paths and struck deep in the Romulan's mind. Karee's eyes glazed over and she was ready. "Do as your told and open your mind," Nicole instructed.

"Eight minutes," Maggie warned.

Nicole sat back and brought the arm of the hypnotherapy machine into position, placing the light in front of Karee's face. "Watch the light," she said, and Karee's eyes obediently moved. "Now, match your breathing to the pulse of the light."

As the other woman's breathing slowed and deepened, Nicole gave her a moment to relax further. "You feel yourself sinking further and further down," she said. "It's warm and comforting, like a big soft bed. You feel incredibly tired and want nothing more than to sleep."

She waited as the words sank in, watching the readings Maggie was taking. She continued talking, bringing Karee's breathing down even more, and taking her deeper in. Finally, when Karee's readings were starting to get into the danger zone, and the body's self-preservation was about to kick in, Nicole told her to hold.

"You're safe here," she said. "You're safe, and asleep and you want nothing more than to stay here," she said. "When I count to three, you're going to close your eyes and go to sleep, and not wake up." She took a breath. "One," she said slowly, "two... "she paused and mentally crossed her fingers. "Three."

The Romulan's eyes closed and she slumped in the chair as much as the restraints allowed.

Nicole deactivated the machine and pushed it aside, and sat back, wiping her brow. "All right," she said slowly. "Now, we wait and see if Summers comes back."

Walker was leaned up against the wall. He was her Commander, not just security.

Nicole looked at the timer in Maggie's hand. "Five minutes," she said. "Let's get her on a bed and get her restrained," she said.

The medtechs grunted as they hauled Summers out of her chair and onto a gurney, taking her to isolation and a more comfortable bed.

After the med techs were done, Walker checked the force field and restraints. He was very anal about this and showed due diligence.

Nicole sighed, ran her hands through her hair and stood up. "And now," she said to the others, "we wait."

Walker looked at her, "I will remain." This was a harsh reality. No matter technically Karee died so Summers could live. Someone who knew him knew that, despite her being Romulan, he believed no one should die alone.

 

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