Reflections
Posted on Friday May 3rd, 2019 @ 00:33 hours by Canaan Serene & Taleria Lin MD
Edited on on Friday May 3rd, 2019 @ 02:35 hours
Mission:
Pixie Dust
Location: Medical Bay, Deck 2, S.S. Fawkes
Timeline: MD02 - 0723 hours
1868 words - 3.7 OF Standard Post Measure
[ON]
For a second time since the Fawkes had encroached the distorted subspace, Canaan had fallen through the looking glass, or so it felt. The experience in-of-itself was utterly disconcerting, to the extent it was unbearable to remain on the bridge, or in any one place for that matter, for too long at a time. Alexandria, who appeared less affected by whatever was causing the impetus of reality, had reluctantly agreed to manage the comms while he sought the expertise of the freighters' medic.
Canaan stepped over the raised threshold of the doorframe to the medical bay, the black-capped chickadee preceded him by several meters, hopping about the deck this way or that, all the while its feet were leaving imprints of steaming black tar in its wake. Canaan rubbed either eye; pupils were blown to an incredible diameter while the whites reddened with irritation and gray circles darkened the space under both eyes.
The chickadee spread its wings, taking flight ever so briefly before landing on the Doc's left shoulder. Canaan observed the bird, seemingly mesmerized by its affectionate lean against the woman's neck before gingerly pecking at the Trill's honey-colored spots. Of course, the action had no ill-effect on the medic, as Canaan was quickly learning; this was all in his head.
Said trill however looked to be talking to someone who wasn't there, yet the trill insistently looked at her reflection in the upper panel. "What do you want from me, Baran? You died. I remember every moment of it. I was there, I almost died along with you. Why must you keep reminding me? It's bad enough to live with the memory.
"You almost died?!" Canaan exclaimed from inside the doorway, "Who are you talking to?" Reality played games with the pair, twisting their perception.
The new voice broke the spell, and the image of a bloodied, soot-covered trill male disappeared from her sight. Taleria blinked, shook her head then turned to face the voice, only to find a man with the palest hair and eyes she had ever seen looking at her with a quizzical expression. Licking her lips, she stalled for time to come up with a reply, before realizing he probably saw demons of his own, as the rest of them had. "A version of me from long ago..." she said finally. "I'm Taleria Lin, standing in for your medic. How can I help?" She said, grateful for something to focus on.
"Where's the Doc?" Canaan took a tentative step toward the unfamiliar woman as the temperature in the room felt like it dropped several degrees in a matter of seconds.
"I don't know." Taleria admitted, shrugging, "I got the call for assistance, and reported in, only to find the place empty. Then the Captain and the Engineer came in, complaining about strange vision, as did Ms. Onasis. So, you're stuck with me for now. How can I help?"
Canaan keyed in almost immediately on the 'strange vision' remark; so he wasn't the only one suffering from a break, in reality, that was a relief... kinda. "Wait, so the others are seeing things, too?" He approached the Trill, eyes shifting between the woman and the chickadee which continued to peck at her spots. Canaan's brow furrowed when each spot the bird made contact with started to drip sap. Canaan's forehead creased as he unknowingly scratched at his neck, leaving red nail marks along the soft skin. Stepping to the Doc, yet not close enough to be in her personal space, Canaan reached out a hand as if to grip her shoulder only to flick his wrist in a gesture to shoo away the bird. "So, um, are we all seeing things? Like, what's happening to us?"
Lin observed his movements, nodding slowly as he'd asked the question. He was clearly having visions as well, as his eyes never quite settled on her but rather her shoulder and when he reached out and flicked his wrist, she was sure. "So far everyone I've met except for the Caitian M'Erah have. I've been seeing my previous host, who died several years ago on the Bridge of his ship...quite a nasty affair. What do you see, Mister?"
Seeing her past host in such a way must have been beyond any semblance of disturbing for the Doc. "Nothing quite like that. Um, well." Canaan paused before gesturing to the woman's shoulder, "There's a rather precocious black-capped chickadee nesting on your shoulder and pecking at your spots... which are oozing sap." He tried to shoo the bird once more, which trilled a melody before flittering to Doc's other shoulder, pecking the spots on that side of her neck, too. "And it's snowing. Aren't you cold?" Canaan shivered, goosebumps running the length of both bare arms. "This all usually precedes a, um, creepy encounter with a reindeer." Canaan didn't elaborate, locking eyes with the Doc where she could see her reflection in his blown pupils.
Taleria reached out, gently turning Canaan around and guiding him over to the bio-bed. "No, it's quite warm in here actually." She said. "From what we can tell, there is a compound in the environmental systems that has been affecting everyone. I've found traces of it in the Captain's, my own and the Engineer's bloodstream and I'm willing to bet I'll find it in yours too. Any other symptoms?" Lin studied his dilated pupils.
"Follow my fingers." She instructed, lifting her index and middle finger, waiting for his eyes to follow her motions.
Canaan shook his head, following the Doc's finger with his eyes, "Aside from feeling as if I'm going crazy? Nope, feeling right as rain." He joked sarcastically. "So what made it nasty? Aside from death, I mean." Canaan pulled himself onto the biobed and watched the Doc closely as she performed her examination.
Taleria chuckled, "oh the whole....I felt it happen and almost died myself a bit, and how it happened. We remember all aspects of our hosts, so even on the deathbed, we remember it up to the last point of conscious thought. The way Baran died was particularly traumatic. Now, what about the snow and the chickadee and the reindeer? Do they have any significance to you or do you think it's random? The others, well let's say their own visions were rather personal to them, meaningful?"
"I-I..." There were no words. Canaan couldn't fathom the emotional turmoil the Doc experienced in reliving those deaths. It was one thing to inherit the memory, quite another to experience. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?" His concern was sincere, and the question diverted attention from Doc's questions about his delusions.
"Yes, I'm fine." Taleria threw on a warm smile, "it's just a little jarring to see one of my old faces on any surface I pass just staring silently at me. Hardly the first time I had to face myself. Now...back to you, young man whose name I still don't know? Also, may I take a blood sample for comparison?"
The dynamic Lin abided must have been insurmountable. Countless others found self-exploration a daunting task, there were times when Canaan hardly knew himself; he couldn't fathom what the Doc was experiencing in not only having to face herself under such strenuous circumstances but also those of the symbiotes' past lives, too.
He nodded at the Doc's permission to draw a blood sample, heaving a deep sigh before describing the vivid hallucination he'd experienced on the way to the flight deck, and then again at his station. He described the intimate details of each experience, including how whenever he made contact with the tar-coated stag, he was drawn into an all-encompassing void of suffocating isolation and despair before being expelled back into reality, choking for breath. "It's freaking me out, Doc," Canaan confessed, watching as the thick flakes of snow clung to the woman's blond hair, the deck below her feet disappearing under an inch or so of fluffy accumulation. Through his eyes, Canaan could see the steam of his hot breath expelled in the frigid air. His body trembled as the cold soaked through his body, his skin prickling as he tried to push aside the discomfort. "I feel like I'm losing my mind," There was genuine sadness edged in those words, "I should never have left home." There was a flutter in his voice from the shivers that racked his body.
Taleria's heart went out to the young man. She knew that for a young mind, especially one having experienced trauma, these visions were difficult to process. As she set the extractor aside, vial secured, she put her palms on his cheeks and gently nudged his face up so he could face her. "This is an event that couldn't have been foreseen, and we are all quite literally in this together. We will get through this. We're working on a solution as we speak, so I need you to not give up on me. Okay? What's your name?"
Canaan swallowed hard, nodding in the affirmative to the Doc's encouraging words. "Canaan, I'm the ships' signaller." He looked up to meet her eyes, his widening when they saw the immense antlers that suddenly appeared left and right of the woman's temples. There was some distance, however, as if the rack were behind. More distressing was that the chickadee was no longer resting upon Lin's shoulder, but on one of the tar-covered points, consumed in a glossy black that dripped long tendrils which hissed when they made contact with the snow-packed deck below. Canaan's pulse quickened as he leaned ever so slightly to the left, peering around the Doc. A wave of defeat washed over him knowing what was to come. It was inevitable, unavoidable. "I need to go now," Canaan stated flatly.
Taleria's heart went out to the young man, knowing she couldn't keep him there. She was no more than a passenger, helping out, rather than the standing physician of the ship. "Okay, just try to focus on others, what's in front of you, rather than the images."
Canaan hopped off the biobed, turning to leave yet hesitated. Awkwardly, the white-haired signaller embraced the Doc in a gesture of gratitude. His chin resting on her shoulder, Canaan locked eyes with the red-colored orbs of the mammoth, tar-covered reindeer standing directly behind Lin, its hooves clapping against the compacted snow beneath. "Thank you." He whispered before retreating into the corridor beyond, the creature following close behind. Maybe if he didn't touch it. Yeah, that was probably a good idea. Touching bad. No touching meant not slipping into the void.
An embrace was the last thing she'd expected, yet she welcomed it all the same, soaking in whatever morsel of grounding in reality it offered. As Canaan left, Taleria hoped he managed to stay grounded himself. It was taking all of her willpower not to see Baran's empty gaze in every surface, and she had the assistance of Lin. Canaan and the others only had themselves.
[OFF]
Canaan Serene
Signaller
&
Taleria Lin, MD
Medic
"It's all about finding the calm in the chaos."