The first time i died.

Posted on Tue Jul 20th, 2021 @ 2:18pm by Lieutenant Kah'lyn Chiara-Rivers & Lieutenant Xalanth

1,413 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 110 - An Endeavor in Discovery
Location: Medbay.
Timeline: MD1 evening

Xalanth was bored as he closed the holographic interface on his chess set. Pulling himself out of bed and picking up his set he wandered out of the ward over to Kah'lyn room and pressed the door alarm.

"You in there my friend?" he inquired.

Kah’lyn smiled as she called Xalanth to enter. “I’m here Xalanth. Come on in.”

Xalanth did so giving her a polite smile. " How are you today my friend." He said as he walked over to her bed picking up a chair to sit on as he did so.

“I’m okay... just feeling a little... empty” She looked towards the artificial womb that held her daughter.

" I'll admit i have no idea what that must feel like. " The lizard replied as he sat down. " I know my mates would offer to surrogate her if they were here and Fulvia wasn't already pregnant."

“The doctor said once my body is ready I’ll be able to have her transferred back to me, they just have to make sure my hormone levels and something else are right, and that all the drugs are out of my system too.” Kah’lyn sighed. “It’s a horrible feeling being without her.”

" It's good that you'll be able to take her back soon." Xalnth replied wondering if she'd still be saying that after labor. " And how are you and her father doing?" he inquired.

“We’re doing fine” Kah’lyn smiled warmly. “Croesus doesn’t blame me for any of this but I’m struggling to understand why. It was my choice to get to know my father.”

" You wanted to get to know him and he betrayed your trust. What he did is unforgivable. He can think about that as he grows old in a federation jail cell." Xalanth replied reassuringly.

Kah’lyn nodded. “Once Admiral Bremer learns all of this I’ll probably end up under a microscope, or in one of your cells!” She sighed. “There’s still a part of me that they control, what’s to stop the other me from just taking over?”

" Your strong Kah'lyn you'll beat her and she'll fade from memory like a bad dream. " The lizard said looking deep into her eyes with a reassuring look. " Believe me I know what's it's like to have something in control of your body."

“You do?” Kah’lyn looked at Xalanth curiously.

Xalanth nodded. " I do. I never told you about how i ended up with a genetically engineered biomass in me that allows me to do my shadow blend ability did I?"

Kah’lyn shook her head. “No you haven’t told me before. I’d like to hear about it though.”

" It's a long story so i'll start at the beginning. The ship i was assigned on was
to aid a federation dig team on the planet Mantis Prime. The archeological team had found signs of a long-dead civilization. T'para and Leilani were both assigned to help the ground team most of the site was underwater and their both trained freedivers."

"Muggins here was left on gaurd duty on the ship so i was whistling on a cahir until a shuttle from one of the other archeological sites on the planet's moon was coming into land. I was sent down to help them offload only about halfway there it seemed like the whole ship went dead as if something had sucked all the power from the vessel. When I and the team reached the shuttle bay it was if a wild animal had broken out. Blood was everywhere as if the crew in the bay had been torn apart. When we finally did see what it was it was horrifying. "

"The crew seemed to have gone mad, with dark eyes, blood leaking from every orifice, bite marks, and many broken and bloody species everywhere. We tried a tactical retreat, but there were too many. i was jumped by around twelve of them and to put it politely they beat me to death with their bare hands and teeth. The last thing I felt as I slipped away was one of them vomiting their red blood all over me. I still don't know how long it was, but i felt life return to me. Only i wasn't in control. It was if someone was piloting my body while i was stuck in the back of my skull. " the lizards told his tale keeping his eyes on his friend though judging by his hands fidgeting it was still terrifying to him."

Kah’lyn reaches out her hand and placed it on Xalanth’s hands. “It’s okay, you don’t need to be afraid. Tell me what happened after that.”

" Ancestors forgive me, but that thing started hunting my crewmates down while all i could do was silently scream. It amused the leader of the dark collective so much that he gave it the ability to blend with the shadows. He was inhabiting the body of the captain at the time. By this time the collection of light had managed to assimilate the ground team and a good portion of the ship's crew as well. Fortunately, some of the surviving crew found a way to free the light crew from their brainwashing and free them from the collective. When the thing piloting my body found T'para and Leilani it attacked them, but my biology was making it slow and clunky. My body knows not to hurt my mates so they managed to overpower it by stabbing me through the chest. I've never been so happy to feel pain and be able to scream as i managed to fight for control and being able to feel my limbs again. One of the scariest moments in my life." he continued fiddling with his bonding bracelet as he did so. " I'm so happy Yazar was with Leilani parents for a visit. If she'd been their......" He said before losing the words.

“I can’t imagine what that must have been like for you Xalanth” Kah’lyn offered an understanding smile. “So you can blend with the shadows now? The ability remains with you, but controlled by you.”

" No, I have no control over it. I just get pulled into them whenever I'm in near a shadow. It hurts so much that the doctors worry I may not come back from inside the shadows. Like, imagine every cell in your body burning at once. That's how much it hurts. It's why I take the pills to stop it from working. " The lizard said holding up the small pill bottle before returning it to his belt.

“So you can’t go into the shadows without becoming...” She stopped herself. “Xalanth you did that for me!? You could have been killed... again!, or worse!!” She leant forward and gently hugged him. “Thank you so much!!”

Xalanth said nothing as he held her in the friendly hug making sure to not wince from his injuries. " It's okay my friend. My bloodline was created to protect the weak and those in need of aid."

Kah’lyn gently let go, “I owe you and Croesus my life and I will repay it.” She smiled warmly.

" I'm sure you will my friend. Now first you're going to beat that thing in your head. " The lizard said calmly. " And I'm sure you can do it without need two swords rammed through your chest."

Kah’lyn nodded. “Most definitely!” She smiled a wry smile. “At the moment that part of me seems pretty quiet, but that’s what’s bothering me. Why is ‘she’ so quiet?”

" Maybe she's already starting to fade?" Xalanth suggested. " I'm could call Leilani and ask her opinion."

“No it’s okay” Kah’lyn smiled. “I need to talk to a Counsellor, get my head straight. I’ll request to see someone.”

" You do that my friend," Xlanth said as he reached down and picked up his holo 3d chessboard. " How about a game? I regulary get thrashed by my girls so you should have a chance." He said with a friendly grin.

“Ohh you’ll beat me!” Kah’lyn grinned. “I have no clue how to play chess. You’ll have to teach me.”

" Please my daughter's regularly beat me so you'll probably have a chance. " Xalanth said as he brought up a standard board. " So shall we begin?"

“Just show me what to do” Kah’lyn smiled and nodded.

(OFF)

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