Sien'temehludet (Part 2)

Posted on 03 Jun 2024 @ 11:24pm by Lieutenant JG Montgomery Vala & Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Edited on on 04 Jun 2024 @ 10:35am

2,048 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: USS Galileo-A - Vala's Quarters
Timeline: MD06 - 0300hrs

Previously on Sien'temehludet...

She was at a precipice, and it was getting really difficult to focus on any reason not to jump. Her mouth watered at the thought of licking him clean, of running her fingers up the elegant lines of his ears of...she closed her eyes and tilted her head back as an unbidden pained-hungry sound escaped past gritted teeth.

The syringe was suddenly gone from Montgomery's hand, and Sera made a small, almost surprised noise as she slammed the long syringe deep within her leg until it struck bone and then sucked in a deep breath as the auto injector emptied the contents into the marrow.

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

A fire spread from within that was almost impossible to bear. It was a searing heat that spread from the femur and slowly progressed down to the toes and crept up the body through the core of the bones. It was a visceral skald that caused regret at her body's association with it's skeleton.

Sera collapsed to the ground as the particles in the serum began to interact with her immune system and DNA, her consciousness bleeding away.

Vala stood motionless above her for a time, his hand still outstretched, his mind taking time to register subsequent events.

After an unknowable time, he blinked and registered the engineer's body on the ground. The syringe in her leg.

His rational mind reasserted itself. A little at least. It was easier without her gaze, the gaze that tempted so and offered to consume him. He shivered. Surely it was the sien'temehludet... Surely? Maybe.

He knelt down and slowly pulled the syringe from her leg. It was glistening with her blood. At least the particles were gone. Doing their job. Burning her from the inside out. Medicinal agony.

He smiled, his teeth stained with his own blood. He had succeeded. He had helped her.

It was awful. Pain that could not be logically categorized or more importantly suppressed gnawed through her at what felt like a cellular level. Sera's agonizing scream echoed silently within her mind, while outwardly her body did nothing more but twitch uncontrollably.

She was burned out and sliced through and her bones were ground to dust. He had rejected her offer...rejected her and instead offered her a poisoned 'apple.'

He was Romulan, after all.

Sera realized her eyes were open. How long had they been so? Slowly the cones and rods conveyed images to her brain. She was...on the ground. It was...cold. What? Where?

Pushing herself up onto an elbow elicited a painful felinoid hiss. Everything...hurt.

Beware Romulans bearing gifts...

Vala had not moved, seemingly content to wait for her to come around. He knelt nearby, swaying a little, his eyes fixed on her.

Her sudden movement made him flinch, and brought his mind back into the room.

"C-Careful," he said softly, "It will hurt for a while yet..."

His voice hadn't become any less tangible since she had last heard him speak, "But the pain will end and you will find pieces of your mind you have not been in contact with for several days suddenly more... reachable." His bloody mouth formed into a smile, and he laughed a little. It wasn't even a joke, just a little metaphor, but his own brain was not in much of a state for regular discourse.

"Hurt?" Sera croaked. Hurt did not seem to be the correct verbiage to describe what she had just endured. Not heeding Montgomery's warning, Sera pushed herself up to sitting and promptly began retching from the intensity of the 'discomfort.' It had been hours since eating with Lamar at least, so it wasn't like Sera was getting sick all over his carpeting.

Unfortunate. It would serve him right. "And...you? Your lip. You're bleeding."

"Hm?" He wiped his mouth, and looked at his sleeve in the starlight, "Oh... I am?" He shook his head, "I-I am sorry. I'm not sure... I'm not sure." He tutted under his breath, "How did that happen?"

He stared at his hand for several moments, then looked back to Sera, "I... hope it... helps. I did not wish to... to... mean to..." He closed his eyes.

She studied Montgomery for a moment in silence as she focused on slowing her breathing. She has heard what he had said but he sounded so...distant.

Sera tried to stand but her legs weren't having it yet so she crawled the distance to the low table and saw the vial that held the glowing particles she had just willingly injected into her leg. There appeared to be half a dose left. Her mind still felt disconnected but it things were no longer traipsing from point to point in a chaotic manner. She looked about the space and saw the syringe and picked it up. Not thinking about things like cleanliness, she pierced the lid of the vial and drew up the liquid and then made her way over to Montgomery.

Not saying a word to him, Sera stabbed the syringe into his thigh and watched with interest as the fluid forced itself into his femur.

"Hello old friend..." He murmured before collapsing sideways to the ground.

The blistering pain never got easier to bear. If it hadn't been so paralysing he would have attempted to scratch the bones from his flesh, to rid himself of the routes of torture. But it was inevitable.

Time passed. Suffering dragged on for an unknowable period.

Then sentience returned. Shaking, echoing vision. Darkness. The reverberations of silence.

The cold. The blessed cold. A chill in the bones felt like a delight.

His eyes began to find some focus.

His mouth was dry but he attempted a word nonetheless, "S-Sera?"

"I am here." She said calmly from to the side of Montgomery's curled up form. She had not moved since returning the 'favor.'

Sera ached. She was unable to suppress it given the state of her mind. There was nothing to be done but to sit and bear it.

"I trust that you will survive?"

Vala remained motionless on the floor, his body only shifting slightly as he took in gulps of air. "I shall... We shall..." His voice had a little more tangibility to it now, "Though it will... benefit me little. I-I hope we return to our proper time soon..."

A few moments passed and he painfully shifted so he could see Sera to his side. He seemed more lucid now. "I... I worked out a way to get things as close as possible... To how things should have played out. In the past." He winced, his bones still searing inside, "Our true present..."

He hoped the serum would allow him to remain focused until the bitter end of it all. "If Tarin takes my advice we will at least feel... more at home there."

Despair. Hearing Montgomery's words filled her with it. Not a permanent repair...just a band-aid. How could she endure this for the rest of her life?

Oh, she really was not in the correct mindset to consider such a question...such a scenario. She was consumed with a sensation of nihilism. What did any of this matter if it left her irrevocably damaged that a productive life was unattainable?

"How many of your colleagues self-terminated?"

Vala closed his eyes, willing the pain to ebb away more. This kind of question was not a helpful one, but it was one that had to be answered in order to begin to understand where such a condition might lead.

"It... depends on your definition. To wish to take one's own life... it is uncommon. To attempt to get to what one might perceive to be their 'proper time'... this is usually h-how people meet a painful demise."

He grimaced as he pushed himself up into a hunched position on the floor. "N-Not that many have been afflicted in order to be the subject of s-study."

"Ah." Sera said in a quiet voice as she closed her eyes and dipped her head.

"I thank thee." She said formally. It was not an experience she ever wanted to endure again, but Montgomery tried to help...was it appreciated? Well...it was logical, anyway. Although nowhere near a measure of equilibrium, Sera no longer felt utterly out of control.

"There's no... no need," Vala sat a little straighter and examined the engineer in front of him. She would improve. He knew that much. For a time at least. Until they got back to their time, if it really counted as such with the changes they would make...

He exhaled sharply, his senses were returning despite the internal agony. He became cognisant that his mouth tasted of blood, and that his chin seemed to be covered in it.

Had he bitten her? Surely she would not have stuck around if he had... It didn't take too long to find the wound on the inside of his cheek. Ah. He'd done that before. The pain of that was a pleasure compared to that going on in his skeleton.

"D-Do not fear, Sera. It has been 20 or more years since I first suffered from this affliction and I remain..." He attempted a smile amidst the agony, "...largely sane."

Sera's mouth tugged uncomfortably. What an interesting word choice. Ah. No matter. Kaiidth. She could not change the past, and she could not see any future that wasn't some form of catastrophe...all there was left was now.

And now was...well. It was rather unpleasant too.

"Can I obtain anything for you to aid in your recovery, Montgomery? A blanket...or a pillow, perhaps?"

Vala slowly raised an arm, then with an agonising expression stretched it out. He then repeated the motion with the other.

"N-No... Very kind of you but... well I hope all will be well." He nodded, then attempted to wipe his face clean of blood to mixed success. "You are not alone in this Sera. Have no f-fear."

Sera huffed. To a Vulcan, it was a sardonic sound. "I think...I am too far past...things to expect that my existence would be agreeable." Sera's brows furrowed. She spoke of an abnegation, a relinquishment of personal goals and yes, even dreams. Was this what the healers had been trying to help her to understand?

"and fear is an...emotion."

"Vulcans always s-seem to pick and choose what they consider to be emotion..." He let out a laugh and immediately regretted it as his ribs felt like they buckled within him.

"You have expressed d-despair, nihilism..." He had a fleeting memory of her oozing some kind of desire too, though he couldn't be sure of its authenticity, "If fear is an emotion, s-surely they are too."

"Very well." Sera said after a moment of silence. It was merely an acceptance of his statement, not an agreement of it.

"Should I go to allow you time to convalesce?"

"I do not have time for convalescence." His tone was straightforward. His time was already running out. It was a fact. "But do not feel that you have to remain. We may as well make the most of lucidity while it is present."

He sat himself straighter, groaning a little. He'd be able to stand in a few minutes, even if it was agony.

"You will be content to know I no longer need power in the lab at least."

"Then I will go. There is much still to be accomplished. I will reroute the power from your lab back into defensive systems." Sera felt more clear headed than she had been in days, but at such a cost! She slowly pushed herself up to standing and swayed. What a most repugnant experience.

Vala watched her from the ground, still unable to stand. "Jolan'tru, Sera." He spoke softly as she left. Moments passed, then pain once again surged. This time he did not resist, and allowed it to draw him into unconsciousness.

[OFF]


--

Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Acting Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo-A

&

LTJG Montgomery Vala
Deputy Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

RSS Feed