Chaotic Reunion (Part III)

Posted on Mon Apr 5, 2021 @ 8:58am by Lieutenant Alanna Wells & R'gelis Stadi & Tannis Tarkelion & Captain Tam "Demon" Haican & Civilian Jason Haines

1,487 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Si vis pacem, para bellum
Location: Pangaea
Timeline: MD04 0700 hours

[PREVIOUSLY]

"Maybe", Jason replied, then cleaned the board and wrote, They had an agent here, looking for something. The brought me back into SF. I found what they are looking for, a map for the portals.

Alanna stared at the board, then looked at Jason and switched to telepathy, using her bond to create a tightly-controlled mental band to just Jason. "A MAP? A working map?"

Jason nodded and then wrote on the board.

It's dangerous.

[CONTINUED]


"The map, the location, or both?" Then, not wanting to be picked up, wrote. And can you keep it safe?

"Both", Jason said. "And yes, one way or the other."

He then wrote on the slate, You and scientists need to get off the planet!

He underlined it for emphasis.

She wrote, "Cardassians and Xi'Cadian everywhere. Not safe to leave." And then, telepathically, she added, "Not leaving you."

Jason sighed a little and said, "They will be looking for you. They wouldn't have been chasing the others downstairs..."

He cut himself off, he knew she wasn't going to agree no matter what he said. He shook his head slightly, smirked, took her hand and squeezed it.

"What am I going to do with you?", he said with a chuckle.

She squeezed his hand back. "I'm sure you'll think of something, Imzadi." She considered cutting her hair, or dying it. Something to not look like herself.

He smiled and said, "You better watch hitching your wagon to me young lady. All I have to my name is a bunch of sand on the beach and the clothes on my back."

"That's good enough for me." She grinned. "I can add this lovely hobbit hole and at least a decade of archaeological work just outside. I couldn't ask for more."

"Before that, we need to survive", Jason said.

The planet is changing, he wrote on the slate.

Changing how? she wrote. She hadn't checked her equipment recently. She went to her computer and pulled up the latest readings. Temporal fluctuations had ceased. Chroniton particle levels had dropped as well. She looked at Jason, then wrote, Portals and planet? She wanted to check the solar flares to see if they'd stopped, too, but that would have to wait for later. She had a lot of questions, and wanted to hear what Jason had to say first.

"Bah, screw it if anyone is listening", Jason, getting tired of writing on the board. "Two minutes before meeting up with your colleagues, I was at least a half-day away at a run. One minute I was jumping over a creek I've jumped over many times, the next moment I was in the woods near where they were being chased. And right before and after I transported, I started feeling really weird, similar to when we used the portal before, yet different. It was almost like it was vibrating through me."

"A half day? Do you have any idea why?" There were so many possibilities, none of them entirely logical, but then, neither was Pangaea. "How are you connected to the planet?"

"Know why?", Jason asked. "No, I was too busy trying not to vomit after and then helping your friends. I'm not sure if itit has anything to do with me. I think perhaps what is going on with the fighting."

"That would make sense. Especially with going through the portals and now living on the planet the way you do. It helped you save the three scientists." So, the Cardassians, the map, and the planet. Was it trying to help in some way? That would require it to be sentient, but then, some scientists believed nature was, on some level, self-aware. It was a theory she'd be interested in exploring. "So, how do we protect this map?"

"What map?", Jason asked with a wink. "Silence is golden, for now."

She grinned. "Why, the one with all the officially designated archaeological sites, of course." "For now," she added, telepathically.

She kissed him again. "Anything else I need to know, or should we check on the others?"

"The only thing else you should know before we go down is that I love you", Jason said for the first time since they had been together. It had been a hard thing for him.

She knew he cared for her, but this... Her eyes met his for a long moment, not bothering to wipe away the tears on her cheeks. "Oh, Jason. I love you, too. You make me whole." She hugged him, wanting to extend this moment. It was her love for and trust in him that kept her going on the alternate Risa and the eight months he'd been presumed dead. And now, he was whole again and he was here.

He hugged her back, kissed her sweetly on the cheek, and then said, "Why don't we go down, before they send a search party."

[First floor]

Tannis and R'gelis helped the other Romulan to one of the rooms. "I will stay with him," R'gelis said, looking around. "There is room enough."

Tannis nodded. She went back out to the main room. Now that things had settled down, she bowed to Tam. "Thank you for rescuing us."

Surprised by the sudden bow, Tam put down the glass of water that he was drinking and bowed in return. “No need to thank me, Ma’am. Just doing my job. However, it was my honor to serve.” Straightening back up, he asked, “How long have you been here, on Pangaea?”

She thought for a moment. "Ten months. My cousin and I were asked to be part of a joint scientific research team here on the planet."

Nodding, Tam responded. "Well, I regret that we had to make our acquaintance during such dangerous times." He paused before continuing. "How bad was the Romulan sector hit? I was shot down shortly after eliminating some Cardassians who had been firing on the Klingon sector."

"The Cardassians were...careful...not to kill anyone who did not fight back. The few with weapons fought, some went to ask the Klingons for help, most of us ran. There was a great deal of fighting in the Klingon quarter. Last I heard, it was not going well for the other sectors, either." Her expression grew sour. "Except the Cardassians."

Tam's expression mirrored Tannins's. "Yeah, wouldn't do to blemish any of their area." He shook his head in disgust. "Leave ot to the Cardassians! They will never come out and start something in tve open. They will always skulk in the shadows, smiling in your face, while stabbing you on the back."

"Yes. They think we will simply find it inconvenient to fight them if they are in control, but I do not believe the Empire will simply overlook this."

"No," he chuckled ruefully, "I don't imagine that the new Romulan Empire will stand by idly when they hear about what happened here." Let's just hope the damn Tal Shi'ar doesnt try to use this as a play for power. he thought to himself quietly.

"Indeed," Tannis replied.

Tam suddenly reached for his head, a look of dismay on his face."No..." he whispered. "Don't you do it..."

"Is something wrong?" the Romulan asked. She looked around for the med kit.

Looking over at the concerned woman, Tam shook his head. "No, no,sigh, I'm fine. Thank you for your concern. You see, I'm Betazoid, as is my daughter. Because of our familial bond, we can feel each other over great distances. A year ago, I was away from the station, and I felt her fear. Now, that was a few systems away and it had felt like an electric current had passed through me."

"Now, with her just on the station above us, I can feel much more. While I still can't communicate with her, I do know that she is about to do something, something quite stupid."

Tannis had no children, but she understood. "I am sorry. I hope they are thoughts only."

Alanna walked down the stairs with Jason. "What are thoughts only?"

Turning to look at Alanna and Jason as they reentered the room, Tam replied aloud, "I think my daughter, Sabina, who is up on the station, is about to do something foolish. As I left her in an emergency shelter, the only thing I can think of," he shook his head. "Is that she is considering breaking out somehow. Though, for the life of me, I don't know why." Then, sending a telepathic message to Alanna, he asked, Everything okay? I felt an odd burst of fear up there.

(To be Continued...)

Lieutenant Alanna Wells
Resident Archaeologist & Rabble Rouser
Pangaea

Captain Tam "DEMON" Haican
DS5 CAG

Jason Haines
DS5's Beach Bum Extraordinaire

 

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