Welcome to the First Federation...

Posted on Sun Feb 2nd, 2020 @ 5:25pm by Commander Hades,MD & Lieutenant Commander Carolyn Corrigan MD

1,815 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 103 - In The Darkest Days...
Location: In the vastness of space
Timeline: MD03 0900 hours

ON:

Far below them, beyond the point when the ground seemed to abruptly give way, lay the still black waters of the loch. Trying not to dwell on the ice cold water, bright blue eyes sought out the small glimpse of her grandmother's house in the distance. The building largely obscured by the woods which bordered the estate. The fortress her brother had always called it.

"Carolyn."

She glanced across at her brother, standing beside her with his hand outstretched. Nine years her senior, he towered over his youngest sibling, not even the slightest hint of fear in his brown eyes or that mischievous smile. He winked, wiggling his fingers.

"Come on, can't stay up here forever," he told her, his voice sounding off to her young ears. His accent was gone, it sounded older... "Not scared are we?"

Eight year old Carolyn stuck her tongue out at him, taking a deep breath as she took his hand. Of course she was, she had read in her father's book all about how the human body reacted when stressed. She could almost taste her fear as the cold wind whipped her hair up around her face. But she would never admit to be being afraid in front of her brother. Nope. Just like she wasn't going to back out of a bet she made with her sister.

In truth she was supposed to be up here alone. But Sean had said it was too dangerous and she wasn't a strong enough swimmer yet. "You jump, I jump," he had said.

"Carolyn. Now!"

She screamed as they threw themselves over the edge, the ground beneath them replaced by a long drop and the still black waters of the loch. There was a sickening moment where everything seemed to stop and her grip on his hand was making her knuckles turn white.

And then they fell, screams echoing off of the outcroppings of rocks before the icy water rushed up to meet them.

With startled cry, Carolyn’s eyes flew open, her heart racing as a nearby monitor dutifully tracked her vital signs. For a fraction of a second panic gripped her, expecting the ice cold waters to claim them any second as she instinctively clutched the hand around hers.

Her sudden waking state caught him off guard. "Carolyn!" He squeezed her hand. "It's me, Richard."

Carolyn looked at him, a frown etched into her forehead. Confused she looked from him down to their intertwined hands. Richard... Richard. “Harris?” she breathed, wincing at the pain in her head as she looked around them. A steady sound in the background catching her attention. A ship? No, a shuttle. The decor decidedly familiar.

He grinned, "Sure. Harris works." He gently moved a bit of hair from her face. They now stood at the boarder of the First Federation, just inside it. The trip took a while but they couldn't encroach farther without an escort...especially with a federation shuttle.

He turned to the night stand and grabbed a glass of water. "Here. Drink. You've been out for a few days"

“Days?” she repeated, only now acutely aware of how dry her throat felt. And sore. She reached for the glass, stopping suddenly when she caught sight of her bloodstained hand. What colour she had drained from her face as she stared at the wound, carved by an old fashioned scalpel dead centre of her palm. Her hands!

She lifted her left hand, vividly remembering how it had suffered a near identical injury yet it was fine. She tentatively touched a fingertip to the edge of the wound yet all she felt was soft and smooth skin. She closed her eyes for a second to quell her rising panic. Yet when she opened them there was nothing wrong at all, no blood, no injuries no anything...

"Carolyn?"

“Hm? Oh... sorry.” She looked up at Harris, her frown fading as she took the glass and took a few tentative sips. Maybe, she reasoned, she was just dehydrated and needed water. And food.

The shuttle shook violently. "Damn! They're faster then I remember." He took the water and placed it on the bedside. "Lay back, close your eyes and don't make a sound no matter what."

“Harris?!” She gripped his hand, knuckles white and a million questions and fear in her eyes.

"Trust me, I won't let anyone harm you."

She stared at him for a long moment before nodding, lying back and closing her eyes.

When she settled Harris made it to the pilot seat and sent out a hail. "Dassik battle cruiser. This is Harris Alpha one Beta two Charlie, Charlie, Seven. I am Vedari, from Erebus colony." He sighed, as the ship stopped shaking. "I come on the order of Lord Hades, member of the First Federation Council, leader of the Vedari people."

There was a moment of silence and then a voice rumbled through the ship. "Stand by." There was a moment of blissful silence and then, "Scan verified. You have a human with you."

He sighed, "Yes, special envoy of Lord Hades. Under his protection."

"Power down. We will tow you to our shuttle bay."

Harris' fingers flew over the shuttle keys and the shuttles hum ended. "I wish to bring the Envoy to consciousness. She was asleep for the journey.

"Granted. It will be 25 Togdens until you are in the bay."

Harris gave a nod even though the communication was not visual. "Understood."

There was silence. Harris was back at Carolyn's side. "All clear."

“What is going on?” She asked him quietly.

He cupped her face. "A long story."

“Oh...” She looked at him with troubled eyes. “Harris...? Are we the only ones on this ship?”

"We are...why?" He asked.

“No reason,” she breathed, her eyes focused on something over his shoulder. She closed her eyes, telling herself what she saw wasn’t real. Just like her hands it was her imagination playing tricks. No... that wasn’t quite right...

"Carolyn... tell me. We have a good half an our before we're on the Dassik ship." The tractor beam range of the ship was beyond anything Starfleet had. "What's going on?"

“There was someone there,” she whispered, opening her eyes to see just an empty space where she had seen the towering Vulcan. “What’s wrong with me?“

"I don't know but we'll find out. We're going to my home, to the colony. Hades wanted you there so that you are safe and so our doctors there can figure it out. They are...more advanced then Starfleet."

“Safe? From what?” She frowned, “wait... your colony isn’t even in Federation space...”

"No it's not. It's in First Federation Space. We're there now. Carolyn you had a sedative in your system that could have killed you and the baby." He blurted out the last bit forgetting that she didn't know she was pregnant yet.

Her eyes widened, shaking her head as she moved suddenly. Pulling away from him to move as far as she could, ending up in the corner with her back to the wall. “Don’t lie to me!” she shouted at him, tears stinging her eyes as she drew her legs up, resting her forehead on her knees.

"I'm not lying." He pulled out a PADD and handed it to her. "Scan of our baby just a few hours ago."

After a hesitation she took it from him, activating it and staring at the scan for the longest time. “Our baby?” She repeated, her voice shaking as much as her hand as she stared at the scan, committing it to memory. She brushed her fingertips across the image, as if she could actually touch the tiny life. “Ours?”

She shook her head, "this can't be real... I lost my baby. He killed her and the doctors... they said I couldn't..."

He sighed. He had so much to tell her but she was still fragile. He sat down by her and wrapped his arms around her. "This will all be alright. I promise you." He hoped that he could keep that promise.

It would have been impossible to curl up any more than she was, leaning into him. “It hurts so much,” she whispered. “Please make it stop. Make them go away Harris, please...”

"We will. When we get on the ship they have advanced facilities. We can get you feeling better for the trip to the colony." He gently stroked her hair. "I'm with you. Just close your eyes and listen to my voice."

With a nod she rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes against any other tricks her mind wanted to play.



=/\= One Hour Later =/\=

Harris pressed the hypo into her neck and let it slowly hiss out its dose. It would get her feeling better for now. He knew it could only last a day but a day of rest was long enough to get her settled on the colony and to give her a rest. The constant stress could prove detrimental to her and the baby. He would ensure they would both be alright. "That will do it."

They'd arrived on the ship and she'd passed out. He'd gotten her to sickbay where the Erize doctors took over. While the Dassik were warriors the Erize were great physicians. Now hey all retreated until he could prepare her for where she was. "How do you feel?"

“Tired but better,” she assured him. “It doesn’t hurt so much. A little hungry...”

She looked past him, at the unfamiliar room. “We aren’t in Kansas anymore. You’re still here. You stayed.”

He smiled, "Yes, I stayed." He sighed, "Come, lets go eat." He helped her sit up. "We're on the ship. You are about to see wonders that you have never seen. Welcome to the First Federation."

“Do they still have chocolate?” She asked him in a low voice, sliding off the edge of what she guessed was a biobed. Standing on her own two feet felt odd and only his grip kept her upright.

"They do indeed." He supported her as they walked. "Lets get some food for you. Now a heads up. When we leave the bay you'll notice that the Dassik....well they look like very tall little grey men of Earth's past. They are very strong I assure you. Then there are the Erize they are the medical race. Dedicated to medicine. You'll note they are short, purple, and look like birds with arms." He laughed at her face expression. "First Federation has a lot of races never seen by Starfleet."

“Okay,” she said slowly. Tall grey men and purple birds ... all perfectly normal. Perfectly sane. Not. “Harris?”

"Hmm?" He said guiding her delicately.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He smiled and kissed the side of her forehead. "No thanks necessary."

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