Somethings Go Your Way and Some Things Don’t
Posted on Sun May 14th, 2023 @ 11:35pm by Lieutenant JG Kaydren Aukai & Daniel Martinez & Fleet Captain Maxwell Culver & Lieutenant Rowena "Rena" Campbell
2,860 words; about a 14 minute read
Mission:
Good Will Tour: Mountain Home [Part Two]
Location: Mountain Home: The Well’s House
Timeline: MD25: 2330 hours
Max could hear the door clang over and over in the metal round home. Max had seen some sci-fi as a child where the buildings were built small and like metal balls…Star Wars. He couldn’t help but think how stupid the architecture was in this galaxy a long time ago and yet right here on Mountain Home.
Max used what little strength he had to shove open the door on its frozen hinges. There he was looking at the black on black color of the Starfleet uniforms which he now knew looked like the Empire’s dark tie fighter pilots. He was losing it.
She pulled the heavy door and entered. "One boyfriend, one counselor. I had to lie to everyone and I don't like it," Rena said.
Pulling back his dark black hood, removing his goggles and pulling up his balaclava enough to talk and be heard, Dani revealed himself, “For fuck’s sake, it’s cold here. Go sit down for a minute,” he ordered to the Captain.
So far, Max felt as if he’d cut a cord of wood and yet his pile was pathetic. New wood, freshly chopped and left to freeze. Max sniffled, his hands full of pine sap and pulled on his meaty, smoke smelling field jacket.
“God! I hope you have other clothes?! You smell like Hawaiian pork, pineapple, poi and onions on top of smoky fire,” Dani complained as he took his first swing at the frozen wood, his hatchet sliding off full force.
Max moved to the only bedroom, apparently it slept six. One whole family in one room. Rena followed on Max’s heels. Things had gone south quickly, and she needed to help. Wanted to, but also needed because she was partially responsible for it. She knocked. "Max? It's Rena."
Max motioned toward the child half his age while looking at Rena. ’What in all the Hells is going on here?’ he wanted to mentally rage, knowing she would catch the full of the wrath of the meaning if not the entire sentence. Instead, he pulled it back, hoping she heard the words, but not at a mind fracturing rate.
She winced at his unspoken words. Putting her hand on her forehead, and leaning against the wall, she shrugged. "I have no idea, Max. Dani came here of his own accord; I was hoping I could beat him out here. You know I COULDN'T tell him what I knew - what you were still doing up here. I didn't know what he knew and what he didn't, and he was resistant to my help," she explained. If he'd calm down a minute, her head wouldn't hurt, and she could think. "You're hurting my head," she said.
Max closed his eyes and focused his anger where it belonged. With a deep breath, he broke that all down into a box for later. Rena was here to do what she knew best. Bring a twenty six year old, worried human directly to him, to show him he’s safe, so far.
Max loaded a hypospray and injected himself. Loading another dose, he injected some into Rena and walking out to the living space, he did the same for Dani. Max’s skull stopped pounding after he injected the Triox. ”You’ll all thank me in a few minutes here, especially sloppy pine otter over there. Dani, you’ll have as much success as I was.”
Rena had initially balked at the suggestion that she needed Triox but honestly, she could use the release. Max seemed to calm down, and her head relaxed.
"You need to calm down. What the hell is going on?" She asked, her arms crossed over her chest. The counselor was normally calm, serene, even keeled. Right now? She was upset, and cold, and scared.
Max moved past Dani in such a way that he could smell the fresh shampoo in his hair. “You smell so much better than I do right now. Just some kind of pork slop and smoke and sweat.”
Max slipped his cold hand under Dani’s jacket and grabbed his hip. “Cold, but not too cold than to get through the winter clothes of Starfleet,” Dani quipped. Max’s fingers hunted around until the fell upon what he was looking for.
“Took your phaser rifle, weapons they could find, but this was turned off. Remind me to promote your weapons dispenser; he, she or it just saved our lives.” Max smiled as he checked the loaded battery, and replaced it. He loaded some of the smaller hunks of wood before aiming. Switching from off to red (the safety) to high even higher red, Max fired at the wood which dried on contact, then burned hotter than the blazes. Even the metal stove would burn to the touch.
“If it gets smoky, open the flue. This shift from left to right. It’s not frozen anymore,” he showed Rena, then Dani.
Rena nodded. She understood; the phaser energy was much stronger and hotter than conventional fire. "Got it." So she was here to babysit. Fun.
Walking to the back, Max threw a few logs into the burner and fired hot. Until he got the same response. On this one, he half opened the flue until someone could watch.
Feeling like dancing suddenly, probably all the triox moving in his system, Max powered off the phaser and hid it in an old box, but one he wanted to look at more once the others had left. It left him with images that made him feel as cold as it was outside.
“Do you mind if I have a quick bath?” He asked, feeling disgusting. ”The water works, in so far as it came out, just not hot. Max reached up into that box again and grabbed the phaser, shooting the tub, he dipped a finger in. Three more shots and it was okay. A total of five shots would get the smell of the little dinner pork and smoke away.
“Dani! Would you throw these filthy, smelly clothes outside, please?” Max shouted as he slipped into the tub.
Dani didn’t skip a glance at his promised man. Then, disgusted, he collected the items from Max’s pockets and then threw the clothes out the back door, where there appeared to be some type of high living hot tub, but in what the hell season could that happen?
When he was done, he deactivated the the phaser after another shot. Sitting on the edge of the tub, he rubbed Max’s shoulders and washed his hair, massaging his scalp. Max had worried he would die here overnight, Dani knew that loud and clear. He’d also been annoyed and thrilled to have seen Rena and Dani together. Part of his family to the rescue.
Standing, Dani touched the bathtub, activated the phaser and fired at the feet and the bottom in whole. “Now relax for a bit. Rena and I are here to help. I promise.”
Dani stepped out of the room and into the living room. It was blazing hot. “Somebody is going to notice. They seemed to want him dead, Rena. Now, it’s as hot as though a family still lived here.”
She nodded. "Help me put this fire out. He doesn't need it that hot," she said.
Dani moved in and closed the flue until the heat was escaping but not smoking up the interior. He had never used a fireplace before, but that was what Max explained.
Rena was overheated, not just her extra weight, but Starfleet's winter uniform was also insulated. She'd liked it for the trip up, but not so much now. "Do you see a replicator anywhere?"
Dani was standing halfway on the couch now, trying to open the window, but it wouldn’t budge. Noticing the soot stains, he pressed in a circle and some fresh air let in. He sucked in the cool air as he fell back onto a cushioned chair, one that could use a lot more cushioning to be honest. When he’d caught his breath, he managed to answer, “No, and there’s nothing that looks like one in the bedroom. If we don’t have it in the emergency backpacks, I’m going to say we don’t have it.”
Maybe she could have one beamed over. As Dani worked, she tapped out a quick message to the others that she was fine, with the Captain, and she'd explain later. She then got to work helping Dani to lessen the fire, and it finally cooled to a level that wasn't lethal to humans (and Betazoids). She settled down in a chair. "See what happens when you ask too many questions?" she asked Dani, but shook her head. "He was OK. I TOLD you. Now, we're ALL in danger!" She shook her head. "I am sorry. I don't blame you for worrying."
Suddenly, the door clattered and Dani’s eyes caught Rena’s, hers were terrified. He rudely pushed her into the corner, zipped up his jacket and pulled on his balaclava to hide his identity. Opening the door as much as he could, a Romulan guard scowled. “It’s time for you to close up, Terran Captain.”
“I’m El-Aurian, not Terran,” Dani answered sternly in his best American English accent.
“I don’t care. You know your shuttle went down, according to our transmissions, you can do nothing tonight. Due to the incident, the Romulan Senate has placed the colony under lockdown for the night and for as long as they see appropriate. You are alone, yes?”
Dani cracked in his mind as his voice answered, “You put me in here alone, who else would be here,” he heard himself mimicking Max again. “Now beat it. You’re letting in the cold.” Dani closed the door and felt himself collapse on the couch.
Max stumbled out of the bedroom, wearing underwear and a t-shirt, and settled next to Dani. He felt exhausted and he was sure he looked it. Huffing for breath, Max pulled off Dani’s face mask and unzipped his jacket. Max felt like his head might explode and though he could sense Dani was fine, he was still worried.
Feeling only slightly bad about it, Max had the fighter disconnect their portable replicator sent to his cabin just before they took off and the crash landed just after. “Rena,” Max could hear the slur in his voice. “Portable replicator is in the bedroom…medical supplies.”
From beside him, Max dragged a backpack onto the couch. Inside was a functioning oxygen device. He draped a line over his head and began breathing through the nasal cannula before hooking up a second line to drape over Dani’s face and pushing the cannulas into his nose.
For a moment the room spun, a dark cloud creeped in around his vision and a loud ringing amped up until he collapsed forward.
Rena moved quickly, luckily, she'd paid good attention in the few basic medical classes that Starfleet counselors were required to take. She found the replicator in the bedroom, and quickly ordered up a tricorder. Her chronometer could transfer the EMH here.
She returned to the living room. "I have Dr. Graham on the communicator. Doctor," she said. "Lieutenant Rowena Campbell, Counselor. I think Max's been poisoned. Again. What should I do?"
Christine was stood inside the remains of a downed fighter when she rematerialized. There were bodies; broken, burned, all three of them dead. Doing two things at once, she split her attention to gather the black box data and confirm times of death and mortal injuries while the counselor panicked.
Using her ability to concentrate in two places, Christine turned to the Counselor. “Before we left, I gave the captain my portable emitter. It should be an extra combadge in his pocket.” Christine’s eyes flashed with electricity for a moment.
Christine appeared, standing on a bed. She jumped into the floor and rushed out to where she had three patients. A panicked counselor and two men who appeared unconscious and pale.
Rena tried to stay calm, but her mind was racing. She tried to turn off her thoughts so that they wouldn't put Max in more distress. Christine put her hand on Rena’s shoulder. “There’s been enough loss tonight, we won’t lose these two. Use your medical scanner to assess them both.”
The EMH advised her to scan them - she did. It seemed to be a mild psychic shock - one *she* hadn't been affected by because her abilities were dampened by the cold, stress, and the fact she was half Human.
After the data was read by both Rena and Christine, the EMH advised Rena to replicate and administer synaptizine, to both men. Why that specific drug, Rena had no idea, but she did as she was told -replicating and administering the hyposprays to both men.
Christine advised that it could take as long as an hour to fully rouse them, but that at least it would stave off worse consequences. “They’re both oxygenating fine,” Christine said, relieving Rena of her duties. She placed a small device on Rena’s neck. “You’re oxygenating fine as well. All three of you will wear these tonight so I can monitor your vitals. You should get some rest.”
Rena nodded. "There's only this room, I think. The other bed I'll take, I guess." She hated sleeping in her uniform but had no better ideas. "Do you need me for the recovery? I can sleep a bit and then come out," she asked the EMH. She turned to the men, still sleeping.
"Might as well prepare a bed for both of them. They'll need to sleep more.. I'll call up to the Base and let Paxidor know." She let out a long-suffering sigh. If this cost her a pip, she was going to raise some hell with HQ. "And replicate them some fluids. Probably water is best, or whatever the hell El Aurians drink." Her brain was goo, and she wasn't in a mood to give a shit about politeness.
Christine smiled. “You are relieved, Counselor. We worked well as a team and once I know more about why they went into psychic shock, I’ll understand more about how this happened. For now, I will handle the rest of their treatment.” To be honest, the counselor had seemed on the verge of hysteria, but she didn’t need Counselor Campbell to know that.
Rena nodded. "Thank you, Ma'am. We're okay here. Focus on the accident. Once they are roused, I can contact you again." Rena stepped out. "I need to use the restroom and get some things together." She left the EMH to watch the two sleeping men. In the quiet, stark whiteness of the restroom, she was able to think more clearly. Why did she always put herself into these situations?! She was way too attached to Max, not just as a Captain, but as a friend. She needed to turn that part off and turn on the professional. She splashed her face with some water, and went back out.
Christine looked at Rena. She was clearly confused. “Counselor, you need sleep as well. You’ve been through quite the ordeal. I can work in two places at one time, an upgrade from previous EMH models.
“You should replicate a mug of tea and get some rest. No doubt this long night will drag into another long day.” The EMH made a supposition.
Rena let out a long-suffering sigh. "Ok, ma'am." She wouldn't sleep, but she didn't see the point in arguing. Heading back to the bedroom, she used the replicator to make a fresh pair of pajamas, and a toothbrush. It'd do for now. She was going to need a full water shower when this was all over. And probably her own psych examination.
Christine entered with a mug of Bajoran alvas tea. “This should settle your nerves. Honestly, I’ll monitor all three of you tonight. You should try to get some sleep and then we can work on the psychopathology of what happened to cause the low level shock earlier. Now, drink some tea, lay back on your fresh pillow and blankets and try to get some sleep. Okay?”
Rena did her best to relax, drinking the tea. "It's not Uttaberry, but it's okay," she commented. She glanced over at Max and Dani, they were still out, and she knew they'd likely be out for AWHILE. "I'll see you tomorrow," the Counselor said, letting the exhaustion and stress take her off to a light slumber.
Christine checked the fire before she closed the privacy door, allowing the counselor some rest. As she promised part of her program remained, passively monitoring the trio for the rest of the night.
While they slept, she murmured, “A hologram’s work is never done.” The primary core of her attention focused from the small, calm scene to one much less pleasant.
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