"Guest"
Continued From: ("Time")
###
Stardate: 60309.0954
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA - SECTION I - "Debriefing" Room
It had been 3 days past a week since she had first arrived in this place of pain and madness. Though she could clearly hear the environment around her, her sense of taste and smell were clogged by an overwhelming presence of iron. Her vision alternated between states of fogginess and double vision, much as her mind did between incoherence and a state she imagined was quite similar to psychosis.
There were times she knew where she was and why she was here, others when the only thing clear to her was that someone held her captive and demanded answers. At the particular moment she held a vague recollection of the events that had transpired to bring her here but could not bring to mind the names or faces of the people she served with or the place to which she was assigned. She knew there were people watching her… judging her… but she did not understand the relevance of the current situation.
"Captain, please understand that this is highly irregular, were it not for Admiral Koneki's direct order this would never be allowed…"
She could hear two distinct sets of feet as they softly patted the concrete floor. Something about the presence of the second man comforted her, a hoarse irregularity in the pattern of his breath seemed familiar, she wished he would speak so she could hear his voice.
"CAPTAIN! Please don't touch her, you shouldn't even *BE* that close to her. You'll contaminate a controlled condition."
"What the hell did you do to her?!?" The whispered words were angry, passionate and sorrow filled. She wanted to turn toward the man, to reach out to him, she felt the strength of his compassion engulf her and yet she dare not react to him lest her tormentor cut the man's visit short.
"Captain, please step back or you will need to be removed. It may look extreme to you but let me assure you that she knew this procedure intimately before accepting her current level of clearance and that we will subject her to nothing more than is absolutely necessary to ensure the security of Starfleet Intelligence."
She heard the kind man's footsteps as he backed away from her side. "Extreme is an understatement Doctor," she could tell that he spoke the word 'Doctor' with great distaste. "I doubt anyone could come out of this state wholly sane. I will let you deliver the news of her condition to her wife and child."
Wife and child, yes she remembered them… she wanted to ask the man to tell her more of her family, their names… to describe their faces… still, she dared not speak.
"Captain, you overreact. The situation is not so dire as that, and Enaii has survived it in the past. She will be given ample time to rest and heal before being returned to your crew."
"You mean *IF* she is retuned to my crew." The man's growl made it clear to her that he was not happy at all with the current situation.
"Yes… well *that* I cannot help you with," her tormentor sounded distinctly uncomfortable and shuffled away from her advocate. "She will have to pass all of the tests on her own."
There was silence for a few moments, they stretched out long enough that she was able to isolate the breathing of the familiar man and concentrate on it.
"Can she hear us?"
"In her current state it is highly doubtful."
"Why are her eyes so milky?"
"Eye drops, they do no permanent damage to her vision but prevent potentially serious injury."
"Injury?"
"Captain, you must understand that we need to protect Starfleet at all costs… sometimes in these cases more… unconventional… treatments are necessary."
"It has something to do with the slits under her eyes doesn't it?"
"Yes Captain, but I cannot reveal anything else."
"She could hear the Captain's teeth grind together. "Barbaric."
"Perhaps, nonetheless it's necessary. Your time is up Captain, say your goodbyes."
She felt as if the man had come closer to her. "Stay strong Enaii…" she heard him whisper, "Concentrate on yourself, I will take care of Sabrina and Talia until you return… so you'd better return. That's an order from your Captain and a request from a friend."
As she heard the man turn and leave the room, she felt an overwhelming sense of peace. Sabrina and Talia, he had given her an amazing gift to hold on to, the names of her wife and child.
-=-=-=-
Lisa Mac Isaac {lisa_mac_isaac@hotmail.com}
Writing the hopes, dreams and future of:
Lieutenant Commander Enaii
Intelligence Liaison Officer
USS ANUBIS
And if you see no reason for giving thanks, rest assured that the fault is in yourself. 2005 post #095
~~Chief Tecumseh 1813
