Chapter
Three
The
Udus pulsar had a sort of hypnotic power...As Sutter
watched the flow of brilliant energy swivel continuously on the viewscreen she
felt her eyelids getting heavy, fortunately, her shift would soon be mercifully
ending, giving her some well deserved time off...
The
turbolift doors hissed open and Sutter turned to see who had just come in.
Whoa...
One
would have thought that, after a good night's sleep, the Captain would have
looked a little better than the day before...However it seemed he had only
gotten worse.
"Captain,"
She greeted him and vacated the command chair into which he let himself fall.
"Morning,"
He said, the bags under his eyes made him look a few dozen years older.
"Uh..."
She cleared her throat. "How are you feeling, sir?"
He
sighed: "What's it look like?"
"Pretty
bad..." She said.
He
nodded: "I can't sleep anymore...I don't get it...Even with sickbay's
miracle drug I couldn't find any sleep."
"Sickbay,"
She repeated with a small smile. "What a good idea."
He
looked up at her, saw her smile and shrugged: "Yeah, maybe you're
right..."
A
few minutes later, he was in sickbay--again--with Tarses lazily passing his
tricorder over him...The doctor had a blank expression on his face, probably
because it was soon the end of his shift.
"Nothing,"
He finally said, switching off the medical tricorder. "I just can't find
anything wrong...The med-scans and the tricorders both tell me that you're in
perfect shape...Except for your tiredness which I can't explain either."
Kline
let out a sigh: "What the hell is going on...?" He asked no one in
particular, and then. "How do you explain these hallucinations? These dreams?"
"I'm
worried about them, actually..." Tarses said with a frown. "They're
the only things which seem to be wrong with you besides the tiredness...
"And
what exactly are they?" Kline was obviously on edge; his snappy tone took everyone
by surprise.
"I'm
going to assign a counselor to you," Tarses said.
"A counselor? We don't have any counselor on
board." Kline said.
"No,
you're right...Starfleet Intelligence obviously didn't think their 'finest
agents' would be in need of psychological support," Tarses said.
"However, Lieutenant Davies has studied psychology and will be able to
help you."
"Will
be able..." Kline repeated. "Pretty optimistic,
doc."
"I'm
not optimistic, I'm a doctor..." Tarses smiled.
* * *
Tarses
lent his office to Kline and Davies for their 'sessions'...Davies was rather
surprised to that she was going to be the Captain's new counselor but accepted
the assignment without hesitation.
"So,"
Kline sighed. "Let's get going, shall we?"
"Right,"
Davies took Tarses' usual seat and sat Kline down in front of her. "Okay,
so first tell me again about your dream..."
Kline
cooperated and gave a quick description of the dream he had experienced the
night before. Davies took a few notes, her face emotionless.
"Okay,"
She said as soon as he was finished. "What kind of ship were you on?"
"It
was a..." He stopped, frowned. "I...I can't remember...I just
remember being in places...I don't remember what the placed looked
like."
"How about the uniforms? The uniforms
of the crewmen that were running around?"
"They..."
Kline scratched his head. "They were pretty bland...The shirts were of one
color and the pants were black...Crewmembers had different color shirts but I
don't remember them."
"Could
these have been Starfleet uniforms?" She asked. "Like the old-style
uniforms from the 2250-60 eras?"
He
nodded: "It's possible...I don't remember so clearly. It's like trying to
remember a dream...uh..." He blinked at the stupidity of his statement and
looked up at Davies with a sad look. "Sorry...I'm a bit confused."
"You're
still thinking this was more than a dream?" She asked.
"Thinking,
no..." He shook his head slowly. "But I still have this...this impression.
You know? Like it's my intuition telling me this..."
"Hmm..."
She nodded. "And now, tell me more about what happened when you were on
the bridge."
"Well...When
I came onto the bridge the crewmen were all staring in terror at the
viewscreen...I couldn't see their faces but I knew that they were looking at
it. But when I looked at the screen all I could see was a black void...There
was nothing on it."
"Someone
was preventing you to see it?"
"No...There
was just nothing on the screen!" He said.
"Okay
and then what happened...With the woman?"
"First
there was a scream...I don't know where it came from. It was so high I doubt it
could have been human. I didn't know it was a woman at first...She was blurred
out like all the others. But she picked up a sword...A big medieval type sword
and she began hacking the bridge crew to pieces..."
"Describe
the sword to me..."
He
sighed: "It was long, about 120 centimeters long...the hilt was bronze, I
think, with no particular engravings on it or anything..."
"Okay,
and then...?"
"Then
I came closer to her and I could suddenly see her face...I told you this
right?"
"Yes,
the woman with the black hair and the dark eyes who seemed familiar."
"That's
right...I still don't know why she seemed so familiar to me. I swear I never
ever saw her before..."
"And
then?"
"She
said...No...Whispered: 'Please help us'..." He said. "The same
thing she told me in the holodeck."
He
began looking very pensive, Davies asked: "What is it?"
"Maybe...Just
maybe..." He said.
"Maybe what?"
"Maybe
it isn't just me..." He said, looking up at her. "Maybe I'm not going
crazy...That would suit me just fine."
"What
do you mean?"
"What
if she really needed my help?"
"What?!"
"Just
an idea..." He said.
She
shrugged: "There's no way we can know anything more about this woman."
He
frowned: "Hmmm..."
* * *
There's
no way we can know anything more about this woman...
Yes
there is...
Kline lay down in his bed;
letting out a sigh...Maybe if he managed to fall asleep...Maybe he would see
her again.
He
knew he wasn't going crazy...He couldn't have been going crazy. There
was an explanation for all this. There had to be an explanation...
A
few minutes later, he was asleep...
But
only physically, his mind was wide-awake...He was dreaming again.
He
was back on the bridge, all the officers were dead, the blood was still
everywhere. But there was no sign of the woman.
"Where
are you?" He called, his voice sounded distant...Like an echo bouncing
back at him. "You need my help, I'm here."
"Please
help..."
He
swiveled, she was standing there...Next to the viewscreen...Her dark eyes
staring at him.
"I
want to help...What must I do?" He came towards her.
She
looked up at him, and she smiled...He had never seen such a beautiful smile:
"Please...I beg you. We are dying..."
"Who
are you? How can I save you?"
"We
are lost...We cannot get home. We are prisoners of independence."
"Of independence? What does that mean?"
"Help
us..."
Everything
began fading away...
"No!
No wait!" Kline said...But he didn't hear his voice. The dream faded to
oblivion...He was back aboard the Valiant.
He
wiped a bead of sweat from his brow and let out a sigh.
Prisoners
of independence...
What did it mean?
He
was going to find out...