Intervention

Posted on Fri Nov 22, 2019 @ 9:22am by Commander Amia Telamon M.D. & Commander Caleb Ryan & Civilian Aleczandra Naqiis-Ryan
Edited on on Mon Nov 25, 2019 @ 10:48pm

3,038 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Doors of Perception
Location: Caleb’s quarters
Timeline: MD09 1800

“Dr. Desatu!” Aleczandra exclaimed when she answered the door chime and found Zoe standing there. She hugged the dark-skinned El-Aurian woman tightly.

Zoe laughed and hugged Aleczandra back. “Hello, Zandra,” she said. “It’s been so long. You’ve grown up so much! I see you still have the rainbow hair.”

Zandra blushed and smiled.

“And I’m not your doctor anymore, so you can call me Zoe,” she said with a smile.

Caleb came up behind Zandra and smiled. “Welcome, Zoe,” he said, shaking her hand and taking the bottle of wine from her. “Zandy-bear, open this up and let it breathe,” he told his daughter.

“And this is my plus one,” Zoe gestured to Amia standing beside her.

“Commander Telamon,” Caleb said. “I didn’t know you knew Dr. Desatu.” He looked between the two women. He knew Zoe wasn’t one to forego a physical or romantic relationship with a colleague, but Amia was recently widowed. Maybe she hadn’t been as close to Cade as he thought. Maybe throwing herself into a fling with a beautiful alien woman was her way of dealing with grief? He found that surprising.

He was right to be surprised at that idea because it wasn't in Amia's wiring, and no matter how angry she was with Cade, if she had a relationship to help herself put him behind her it wasn't going to be another woman.

Unaware of what Caleb had been thinking, Amia said, "I hope it's okay for me to be here?"

“Of course, Doctor...Commander... “ Caleb gave an embarrassed smile. “Now Ah don’t know what ta call either of ya without this gettin’ all confusin’.” He laughed.

"Please just call me Amia," the doctor hurried to reassure him.

Aleczandra came back. “Can I get either of you a drink?” she asked.

“Make yourselves comfortable,” Caleb told them. “Dinner will be on soon.”

Soon they were sitting down at the table to Caleb’s specialty, grilled steaks, with fresh side salad, baked potato with all the trimmings, just about anything one could want with a steak dinner. Aleczandra filled some wine glasses for each of them.

"This is excellent!" Amia admired the spread in front of them with rising hunger. "It looks delicious. Thank you, Caleb, for all the hard work this must have entailed."

Caleb chuckled. “Ah just did the steaks, an’ Ah never have t’ have mah arm wrung ta do that,” he said with a smile. “Zandy-bear did the rest.”

“Dad!” Aleczandra blushed with embarrassment. She never liked him using her childhood nickname, especially in front of others. “It was a good excuse to stay out of school today,” Zandra said with a grin.

"I hope we didn't spoil anything you were meant to be learning, Zandy. I'm hoping you want to be a doctor, and that will mean some heavy study for a while at least." Amia smiled at the rainbow- haired youth warmly.

Aleczandra shrugged. “I’m ahead of my class in most subjects anyway,” she said. “That’s what being home-schooled on starships does. I have no idea what I want to do,” she admitted.

"It's a great time for you, all the universe is at your feet. All you have to do is pick a path and go off into your future, whistling a happy tune!" Amia grinned at the rainbow haired teen. "All to play for?"

Aleczandra shrugged. That was way too PollyAnna-ish for her.

“An’ how is the little one, Amia?” Caleb asked. “Keepin’ ya up?”

Amia beamed, suitably distracted by talk about Liana. "Oh yes, naturally, the little monkey. She's a poor sleeper like her da...." She stopped herself before uttering that final word referring to Cade.

"Actually, I have a holo-nanny who helps me and she's wonderful!" She went on as if she hadn't stopped at all.

Caleb gave Amia a sympathetic smile. He knew the pain she was hiding. “Man, if Ah’d had a holo-nanny when Ah was raisin’ Zandy… Ow!” he said as said teenager kicked him under the table and stuck her tongue out at him.

Amia smiled at the father-daughter exchange, but then looked thoughtful and sad again as she realised that Leana would not get that special relationship herself. She tried to cheer herself up with the idea that at least she would have a mother, so there was one thing to offset the other. Life was a journey of pros and cons that needed to be balanced as best as you could.

"You did a wonderful job without one!" she encouraged Caleb with a smile. "You're a credit to your dad, Zandy," she added, making sure to keep the praise and credit as even between them as possible. She didn't want to get him kicked again.

“Gag,” Alexzandra said, rolling her eyes.

“Any good job Ah did was ‘cause Ah had mah mama helpin’ me,” Caleb said, shaking his head. “All that bad in her is all me.” He grinned at his daughter. “So is everyone ready for coffee an’ dessert, or do ya’ll wanna spring on me the real reason ya’ll decided ta come ta dinner tonight?” he asked them levelly.

Amia looked hurt at first, but then shrugged. "Can't friends come round without an ulterior motive now?" she said with a pout, but she followed it with a sigh and looked across at Zoe with a roll of her eyes. "Do you want to go first, Zoe?" she asked.

Zoe chuckled. “Should have known a you would have picked up on it, Caleb,” she said with a smile. “You are a cop at heart.”

Caleb just nodded.

“Amia contacted me this week about some concerns she has about Aleczandra,” Zoe explained. “Given what happened in sickbay before her pregnancy came to term…” Zoe trailed off, giving Zandra a level look.

Zandra had the decency to blush and look down, fiddling with the food on her plate.

"It's not personal, Zandy. It's not so much about your attack on me, but who it seemed was in control. It didn't seem to be to be your usual self," Amia continued, pausing as she assessed how odd that sounded, and then tried to explain. "I'm just concerned that your symbionic balance might be a little bit unusual." She paused to make sure that didn't seem to be giving offence or hurt before adding, "I asked Zoe because I know she's a person you both might trust and who would be on your side, as am I, when it comes to what to do about this. I know my ex-husband was drawn to the Trill side of things, but I am not."

Caleb glared a bit. “We dealt with that,” he said. “It was just a misunderstandin’. She was upset about me datin’ again is all.”

Zoe was ignoring Caleb and just watching Zandy. “But it isn’t all, is it, Zandra?” she asked.

Aleczandra swallowed, refusing to meet Zoe’s eyes.

Amia softened her tone to one of deepest sympathy. She really did feel so much for this beleaguered father and daughter. "It's all just so unfair on you both, and we care. I know that sounds like a cliche, but I promise it's the truth." She looked at Zoe to see if she was getting disapproving looks or if it was okay to be so honest and informal about this. Amia just went with her heart. It was both a strength and a failing, but it was deep down who she was.

Zoe decided to be direct. “Aleczandra, are you losing time.”

Zandra’s head snapped up, her eyes opening wide as she stared at Zoe, her mouth opening in surprise. How could she know!

Zoe's direct question took Amia by surprise a little as well, but she had to hand it to her friend. The reaction spoke volumes. "How often?" Amia added softly, backing Zoe up.

Aleczandra looked down at her plate, ashamed. “Often enough,” she said. “At least...once a week. Sometimes more.”

“When did it start?” Zoe asked kindly. She reached out and took Aleczandra’s hand. “You are safe with us, Zandra,” she said. “You know me. I’ve never told the Symbiosis Council anything but the story we made up, that Naquis died with your mother. And Dr. Telemon -- Amia -- she just wants to help you. She needs to know.”

“The first time…” Zandra swallowed. “It was with the Ferengi. Nazl. On the ambassador’s ship during the evacuation. I...we…”

“We?”

“Kinony suggested…” she looked at Amia. “An...incentive. To get my classmates off the station. I offered oomax. And...well, I was doing what Kinony suggested, but...it was my first time. I wasn’t really any good. And then…”

“And then you blacked out?” Zoe asked quietly.

Zandra nodded. “I think...Kinony took over, to...do it.”

"Do you have any memory of what actually happened after Kinony took over?" Amia asked gently, dreading what the answer might be, but needing to know as it made an enormous difference.

Aleczandra shrugged. “A little bit,” she said. “It wasn’t really a...blackout. It was kind of...like a dream. Like watching myself. Enough to feel dirty and want a shower after. I scrubbed myself raw.” Her head came up, her eyes defiant. “But it had to be done!” she insisted. “Or we never would have gotten off the station!”

Zoe listened quietly, nodding, not offering any judgment.

“The blackouts started later, I guess. I’d lose time, find myself somewhere I hadn’t been before the blackout. Sometimes…” She looked at her hands. “Sometimes I was sore all over. I had this freshly healed skin on my leg once. One time it felt like I’d taken a beating. But everything was healed.” She bit her lip. “I’m not sure what I’ve been doing. Ibalin at the Box thinks I did something to a friend of hers.”

Amia's brows knitted into a worried frown and she cast a glance at Caleb to see how he was handling this, and if he was showing any signals that he knew about it already.

"But you don't remember watching that particular incident... Ibalin's friend, I mean?" she murmured gently to Zandy.

Aleczandra shook her head. “Not until we saw it on the security footage,” she said.

Caleb was sitting stock still, his face a mask as he stared at his daughter.

Noticing how shocked Caleb must be, as he was frozen, so shut inside he was giving nothing away, Amia was concerned for him. She reached out a hand softly to touch the back his hand that was nearest to her. "Are you okay, Caleb?" she whispered. "Can I get you a glass of water? Beer? Coffee?"

“Ah might need somethin’ a bit harder,” Caleb admitted. “Mah little girl…” His voice was tight with emotion.

“I honestly thought we were past this danger, Caleb,” Zoe admitted. “Zandy seemed to integrate with the symbiote so well…”

“No,” Aleczandra said. “I’ve always been able to hear them,” she said.

Zoe raised an eyebrow.

“Why didn’t ya say somethin’!” Caleb exclaimed.

“Because hearing voices is crazy?” Zandra shot back. “I didn’t want to be crazy!”

“You aren’t crazy, Zandra,” Zoe said, taking the teen’s hand.

"No, you're very brave, actually," Amia said, nodding in agreement and sympathy. "I take it the jealous attack on me was you mother, looking for Opal?" she asked softly. "Do you know that? Were you aware of what she was doing, or did you realise afterwards?"

Aleczandra blushed. “That...might have been a little bit me, too,” she admitted. “It’s...hazy. I have...feelings for Dad that I shouldn’t.” She blushed, unable to look at her father. “Mom is...different. More familiar. Closer to the surface, though not as strong as...some of the others. She doesn’t try and take over, but...she’s easier to slip into.”

Caleb choked on his coffee, and even he blushed. “Zandy-bear…”

Amia nodded just slightly, but it covered a bigger internal nod. That did seem to explain a lot.

“God, do you know what it’s like to want to jump your dad’s bones?” Aleczandra exclaimed. “I mean, ewww, right?”

Caleb choked again. He wasn’t sure if he should be offended, or what, but, okay, ewww, yeah.

“And, boy, is mom not happy with Opal!”

“Mika always...was rather the jealous type,” Caleb coughed. This was uncomfortable.

"Now that Mika knows which one Opal is -- and considering that she's used you to attack before with the intention of harming Opal -- does this make her a danger and you a hostage to that?" Amia asked Zandy. She spoke quietly, so as not to let Zandy get any idea that she was going to be considered complicit in anything the Symbiont might attempt to make her do. "In fact," she expanded the thought,"not just Mika, but any of them. Do they force you to do things you don't agree with? Not just the images of what they did themselves once, but trying to do their own things through you? Does that question make sense, Honey?"

“I...I think mom’s learned her lesson,” Aleczandra said. “I think it was all just a...shock to her. And the only times I know they’ve done things are when I was...unsure. Like Kinony with Nazl. I had the knowledge of how to do oomox, but she had the experience, and...well, I think she wanted to protect me, so she...took over and gave him one hell of a lobe rub. But...I don’t know what happens when I black out,” the teenager had to admit. “Obviously it seems like I had some kind of relationship with Ahjess the dabo boy. Maybe Kinony likes dabo boys? I mean, he’s cute.” She blushed and avoided her father’s gaze. He would likely kill Ahjess, if he wasn’t already dead.

Amia took in a slow, deep, but silent breath. What this poor girl had been through! she thought.

Caleb was glowering a bit. “So what do we do about this?” he asked the two doctors.

Amia looked at Zoe before answering gently, "Well, from the other way around, what we can't do is approach the Trill Council, because, judging by what Cade has said in the past, he thought they'd want to remove the symbiont, and that would make a big, big medical mistake from Zandy's point of view, so that's the first thing we need to agree on. We can't really do anything that would affect the symbiont without some kind of permission from it, however. Well, them, more than it,” she corrected herself. "But personally, I'm still trying to work out how we could get to the various parts of Naqiis to communicate with us. We can't take it out to get to it, but can we talk to it, if Zandy is unconscious? For example, anaesthetic? I wish we had Cade here now. I wonder if I could approach his mother? I don't want to get anyone else involved though." Amia realised she was thinking out loud, and went quiet, passing the baton to Zoe to put forward any ideas now.

“Ah don’t know,” Caleb said. “Trill are very reticent ta even talk about things surrounding the Joinin’ an’ stuff. It’s very personal, an’ very secretive.”

Zoe looked around the table. She had been around a long time as an El-Aurian, and learned a few things. “There is the Rite of Emergence,” she said. “We could bring forth one of the previous hosts. There is also the zhian’tara. It moves the symbiont’s personalities out of the host and into willing volunteers. It is insisted upon in normal Joining procedures. Zandra should have gone through it already. Unfortunately, both are normally assisted by a Guardian telepath, which would require going through the Symbiosis Council.”

“How do ya know this?” Caleb asked with surprise.

Zoe smiled. “I may have dated a Guardian once. As a physician, our pillow talk was quite...varied.”

Amia's eyes widened. "Wow. Can you get me an introduction to one of those?" she joked, but the idea did seriously appeal on one level at least.

Zoe smiled. “Sex with a telepath is quite...the experience.” She gave Amia a knowing grin.

"I would like to try that one day!" Amia muttered almost inaudibly but not quite.

"So," Amia returned to the matter at hand quickly, "how could we get to a Guardian without going through the Council? And if we were to ask one, would they just be outraged by the suggestion and turn us in, or how do we find someone we can trust? Zoe, do you still have contact with your former lover?"

“We haven’t spoken in some time, and he will be quite old,” Zoe admitted. “But the breakup was amicable and mutual. I could make inquiries.”

"Would that be okay with you two?" Amia looked at Caleb and Zandy in turn, anxious not to bulldoze them, but unsure what other options there were likely to be.

Aleczandra didn’t look too happy, but it was Caleb that spoke. “Ah don’t see that we have a choice. We have ta do somethin’.”

"Then let's adjourn the subject until Zoe has time to make her enquiries," Amia suggested, returning to her half eaten meal that she had stopped eating whilst they talked so intensely. She held up her glass of the excellent merlot that Zoe had brought along, and toasted to them all. "Good health and happy resolutions, to us all," she said, offering up the glass to chink gently against that in Caleb's hand, sitting next to her, then across to Zandy, and finally, but not least, to Zoe, who appeared to be the hope they were now all counting on for a lucky break.

FIN

Cdr. Caleb Ryan
Executive Officer

Aleczandra Ryan
Civilian
NPC Caleb Ryan

Ltcdr. Zoe Desatu
Chief Medical Officer
USS Nemesis
NPC Caleb Ryan

Cmdr Amia Telamon
CMO - DS5

 

RSS Feed