Out of the Void

Posted on Mon Jul 31st, 2023 @ 2:41am by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Chief Petty Officer Virginia Pryce & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov & Lieutenant Dr. Daniel Brasken

Mission: S1 Episode 5: Ex Post Facto
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Date 2371-08-21 at 1800
3315 words - 6.6 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

The oblivion sleep induced by sedation was a welcome balm to Lyra’s body and mind; no dreams, no nightmares, no memories, no whispers… simply the void. She was of course unaware of it on any sort of conscious level, but in the depths of her injured mind she took solace in the silence and emptiness. The surgery went well thanks to Brasken’s skill and quick thinking alongside the assistance of the Banean doctor and the nurses. Afterwards, she had been carefully cleaned up and tended to by the nurses and was now lying silent and still as she had been for over a day now in the unflattering blue medical gown covered by the standard issue medical sheet. She hadn’t moved or given any sign of being alive outside of the slow but steady rise and fall of her chest.

Andrei had been no stranger to Lyra during her time unconscious in Sickbay. He had many responsibilities, especially those related to concluding their business in the system and executing his plan of vengeance on those who had done this to her. But when he wasn’t needed elsewhere, he had been sitting right at her side just as she had done when the Kazon had shamed him.

The awareness that came to her was slow, first the smell that she hated so much, then the low reverberating hum of the power conduits that surrounded them, then the occasional beep of the monitors and equipment around her. The light dispersed in a hazy white behind her eyelids. Then it happened in a flash. There was no romantic, sweet moment of the eyes cracking open, sweet and tender smiles or tears; that was for fantasy. Instead, Lyra’s eyes flew open wide and her body suddenly jerked upright into a sitting position. Her heart was flying in her chest as her body flooded with adrenaline in full fight mode. It was obvious at that moment she had no idea where she was, no idea that she was safe; she thought she was still in prison. Her hands started to move and one did, but then she realized the other didn’t and immediately turned her head toward that side. When she saw him there, she frowned slightly, her expression immediately going into a guarded one, though it gave the sense it was of disbelief.

“Andrei…?” She questioned, her voice quiet. Was it a dream? A trick? Last time it had been a dream, a different man asking her to come away… but this one… this one she knew she would follow if he asked.

As soon as she started, Andrei had jumped out of surprise, not knowing whether she needed him to protect her, reassure her, or call the doctor. But as soon as she was up, he looked at her bruised complexion and frowned as well. What had they done to her?

“It’s me.” He answered then, and reached to touch her arm softly. His voice was uncharacteristically soft as well, like nothing anyone had ever really heard from him. “It’s me. I’m here…you’re safe now in the Sickbay on Vengeance..”

Her brow knit slightly and her dark eyes briefly looked around again. Yes, this was different. This was the Vengeance. Andrei could see through his patch that she was in a bad way. While he may not have had the medical knowledge to give solid context to what he was seeing, in the simplest of explanations he could see numbers that were usually high were very low, and numbers that were usually very low were too high. She was in pain, she was tired. Her gaze found him again, a frown still playing slightly on her lips. She reached up with one hand to touch his cheek and traced her fingers over his features slowly then up and through his hair.

“Andrei.” She sighed out then, her relief readily apparent, and leaned in to touch her forehead to his. She vaguely remembered Mika assuring her that he was okay, but to see it with her own eyes was completely different. “I told you I’d come back to you.”

Andrei leaned in then and kissed her cheek as gently as he could, not wanting to hurt her. When the slow kiss was done, he pulled back and smiled at her, his face still very close to hers.

“We’re inseparable, you and me.” He said, a look of absolute confidence in his visible eye. Even after so little time, they had been through so much.

Lyra returned his smile with a small, tired one of her own. Her fingers still in his hair, she leaned in to kiss him on the lips. It lacked their typical fire and fierceness, but offered an unusually tender passion. It wasn’t without pain, but she wanted to kiss his lips and touch him; to know for sure he was real.

“Lovely to see you as always.” She said with just a hint of amusement in her voice, giving him the line she had so often given him in greeting or farewell when they first started their “courting” as Andrei and Madeline. “I missed you terribly, darling.”

“I’ve been doing everything I could to find you.” He said, informing more than bragging. With a haunted look, he turned his gaze up at the memory. “You might say I’ve been tearing up the town. The people who did this to you have already paid dearly. But not nearly enough. Not yet.”

“I’m here.” She assured him, nuzzling into his neck slightly. She had always loved to touch of course, but now she craved that connection.

“I want to make them bleed.”

“There will be a time for that.” he said, kissing her forehead and allowing his arm to fall around her gently enough that it wouldn’t hurt. “But for now, rest. I’ll make sure there is blood to be shed when you’re better.”

Andrei’s gentleness and care was not going unnoticed even in her compromised state. It surprised her, but it was also a very welcome surprise. She was about to say something when the doors opened. Her body jumped and Andrei could feel the tension immediately return, her head snapped toward it, and she didn’t exactly relax as Brasken walked in, and certainly not as the Banean doctor trailed after him. Her dark eyes glittered dangerously, narrowed and enraged. She said nothing for a moment, and then looked up at Andrei.

“I want this one.” She pointed at the Banean who jumped and let out a nervous chirp. She was not asking.

Andrei eyed the doctor over his shoulder and smirked weakly.

“Done.” He said, and then was up on his feet as quick as lightning, his hands reaching out and catching the white coat of the doctor where he stood. Considering how strong he was, the doctor was basically off his feet as Andrei sent him reeling into the side of the bed. With his free hand, he grabbed a scalpel from a nearby table and extended the handle toward her. He didn’t look at Dr. Brasken and he certainly didn’t heed the cries of the Banean.

Before anyone else could react, Virginia rushed forward, placing both hands on Andrei’s arm that was holding the scalpel. “Commander! Lieutenant!” She called out in alarm. “Stop this! This man is here to make sure the Lieutenant is recovering from her ordeal. We need him.”

Lyra had reached out to take the scalpel from Andrei when Virginia rushed over. Her head tilted to one side over the combination of Virginia’s words and her putting her hands on Andrei; it made her animal brain short out for a brief second, and then she shook her head. “Fine. Fine…”

Andrei gave Virginia a cold expression. His eye was hard as he yanked his arm back out of his grasp and stood up to his full height. He released the Banean doctor as well who went weeping into the background.

“I’m leaving. I’ve got work to do elsewhere.” He said, and then looked at nurse Pryce. “Don’t you dare let that bird anywhere near the Lieutenant without supervision, do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir.” Virginia replied, her voice small. She was frowning. These people scared her.

Lyra didn’t say anything but looked up at Andrei from where she sat and gave him a bit of a nod to assure him she would be alright. Her eyes were softer though, silently thanking him for being with her when she woke up.

He walked to her and leaned over, kissing her on the lips very gently and then, after a few seconds, a bit harder. His hand found her head and his fingers wrapped around her matted brown locks.

“Call me if you need anything.” He said quietly.

“I will.” She assured him quietly after returning his kiss, her lips lingered against his for a moment, and then she spoke again. “Zastavit' ikh stradat.”

He went for the door, at first not having said anything at all, but just before he left the room, he turned again for one final response.

“Oni pozhaleyut o dne svoyego rozhdeniya.”

Lyra smiled just a little at that and watched Andrei finally step out of the room, and then her attention turned immediately to Daniel.

"Doctor." She greeted, her tone neutral, though suddenly there was a flash of annoyance across her face as the Banean let out a louder chirp, finally recovering from his rough handling and near assault.

Daniel watched everything unfold around him with something akin to boredom, Lyra's voice bringing his eyes more into focus as he looked at her. "Lieutenant." He turned and looked to the Banaen and Virginia. "Take that out of here while I continue looking at Miss Cassiel."

"Yes, sir." Virginia said and stepped out of the room with the Banean and Cedrik in tow.

He moved closer to Lyra after they were gone and pressed a few commands into the bio bed to review the results on the closest wall. "Anything you'd like to say before we get started?"

"Thank you, for starters." Lyra replied and, with Andrei gone, she allowed herself to lie back though remained propped up on her elbows. She was terribly tired and everything hurt. "I know I was pretty close to being gone, so I can't imagine it was a simple thing to fix me."

"If I wanted simple, there were much better ways I could have spent my life. There were challenges, certainly, but what doesn't challenge us doesn't change us as the old saying goes." Without asking, Daniel moved and pulled a couple pillows out from under the biobed and slipped them behind Lyra's back so she didn't have to support herself the same way. "Obviously rest is high on my list, but on top of that...how are you feeling at this point?"

Lyra frowned slightly as he put the pillows behind her and for a moment continued to support herself, but eventually she grudgingly accepted the help and sank down onto them. "I'm exhausted and everything hurts. Especially my head, shoulder, and side. Nothing I can't deal with." She paused then, frowning and added slowly, "I'm having trouble remembering exactly what happened over the past few days. There's bits and pieces..."

"That doesn't surprise me much. Your memory engrams were messed around with significantly and in a way that the human brain was not designed to handle." Daniel eyed the displays and grunted before entering a few commands to increase the rate at which the device keeping her hydrated was supplying her. "You should make a full recovery, but rest...real rest, will be incredibly important."

A flash of annoyance crossed her beautiful, tired features. "We've gone through this before. I assure you I take my health seriously and am not of the mind I know better than my doctor. Now will you please tell me what those creatures did to me in a way that I will understand."

"My apologies, my stress on your health was less about you than those around you. However, that is neither here nor there right now." Daniel brought up a PADD and handed it to Lyra, already keyed to a model of her brain. Lines moving to specific points indicating information of what was done there. "Some reading for you and a pretty chart to follow along with."

Daniel grinned at his little joke, playing off her own comment of making sure she could understand it. "The basics of it are that they have technology that can add memories to a mind. Specifically those taken from another person and is used as a punishment for suspects to feel their crimes from the point of view of their victims. Clever and admittedly interesting scientifically if it hadn't been used on a member of the Empire."

"I didn't fucking do anything!" Lyra growled and Daniel could see her adrenaline and cortisol spike in front of his eyes on the monitor. She was angry, though seemed to realize it after a few beats and took a slow, deep breath. She looked down at the PADD in her hand and skimmed it; it didn't make immediate sense so she would have to look over it on her own time if she wanted more details. She licked her lips and then looked away from him.

"Fine, yes. So I imagine you have some thoughts about my recovery and what needs to be done."

"I do, surprisingly. You need to stay in Sick Bay another twenty four hours. Assuming your vitals stay in range, you will be allowed to leave and continue your rest in your quarters. Your physical activity for the next forty eight hours will be restricted to bare minimum, not even walking unless it is necessary. Past that, your physical recovery is at your own pace so long as you keep me appraised of anything that feels wrong." Daniel paused here and moved from the monitors over to her side to hand her a small metal disk.

"You will need to wear this monitor for the next week or so. Unknown technology is not something I'm willing to risk your health with and I want to know immediately if your cortical readings vary outside expectations." Daniel took a breath before continuing. "Lastly, I expect your recovery to take one to two weeks, but I want a full psych evaluation before I sign off on your return to full duty."

For a long moment, Lyra was quiet. When she looked up to Daniel again, she gave a slow nod. "That seems reasonable. Though I would prefer you performed the psych evaluation yourself."

"That seems an odd request, but I can accommodate. Though now, unless you have more questions, I think it is time you continued to heal up." Daniel watched her thoughtfully. For someone so used to being active and in control, she was behaving better than most in her position. It spoke to her strength of will more than anything else, but it was still something uncommon in the Empire.

It wasn't odd to not want some half breed alien trying to peer into the corners of her mind, but she didn't have it in her to start arguing that so instead her acknowledgement was a slightly juvenile roll of her eyes. Immediately after, she took notice of how he was watching her and her eyebrows lifted slightly. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Hm? Oh, just thinking to myself that you are still surprising me with your willingness to follow medical direction. Your field is full of those that will at best hinder the recovery process and at worst cause bigger problems in the long run with their stubbornness." Daniel shrugged slightly. "Nothing but complimentary thoughts, I assure you."

"I value my health more than most." The reply was simple enough but she was still eyeballing him slightly. "So am I completely off duty for the entire time? Or will I be allowed to do some light office duties at some point here?"

"You will need to stay in Sick Bay another day, then a week off duty entirely. From there so long as you are where I expect you to be, I will approve light duty until cleared for full." Daniel stepped back and checked the console again to see how this visit from the others and then discussion with himself had affected her. Overall, better than he expected, but some sleep wouldn't hurt either. "Do you think you can get some sleep now? Or would you like a sedative?"

Instead of answering, Lyra sat there in her own thoughts for a moment. Then, he could see the shift in her expression. There was apprehension, anxiety; she frowned and looked up at him with vulnerability in her eyes. In all his interactions with her he had never seen her this expressive, and certainly not expressive of anything like this. “Daniel did they… did they do anything else to me?” She asked slowly. “I don’t remember everything, but I know I was in an out of consciousness a lot. One of the Numiri doctors he… his interest wasn’t only in whatever was in my head.”

"Whether by virtue of time or ferocity, your physical assault was external only." Thankfully the news here was good, so Daniel could be direct about it. Any hesitation on his part could easily be construed as less than favorable so best to be a little on the blunt said than to allow her to stress more than necessary.

She didn't react immediately and instead looked away at a random point at the wall. Her attention drifted, distant; a slight frown appeared on her face and her eyes slowly moved back and forth. It gave the impression she was searching for something, perhaps for some indication to confirm what he had said - or refute it. Finding nothing, she gave up with a blink and instead nodded slowly. That vulnerability and anxiety faded, but she still appeared rather perturbed. Who wouldn’t be though? She reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Thank you for taking care of me.” Her dark eyes found his, and where her cold and distant expression usually was, this time she looked genuinely grateful to him. Warm even, perhaps. “I think I can rest without the sedative unless you think I need it.”

Daniel gave a slight nod as he put his hand over hers on his shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. "Think nothing of it, just don't forget it." He finished with a wink and a grin. "You have been medicated for quite some time now for better or ill. I think if you can manage without it, lets let your body do its thing. Just flag a nurse if that changes."

"Alright. I will." Tiredly, she shifted to lie back down and pulled the blanket up over her chest. She didn't bid him goodbye and didn't really have anything else to say to him that didn't just seem awkward in her mind so she simply closed her eyes and let her mind drift.

Stepping to the door, Daniel didn't look back at Lyra. He knew everything about the last week without having to remind himself. She was back and finally in a state that he could relax and not expect a chirp from the communications array at any moment. He did pause though and take a slow breath with his eyes closed before finally leaving. While Lyra may be safe that hardly meant there wasn't other things to deal with now outside this room that had been on hold.

END