By Commander Salvek
80226.23
Following Walk On and Any Advantage
-=Bridge of the USS Serendipity=-
80226.23
Following Walk On and Any Advantage
-=Bridge of the USS Serendipity=-
[I have them.] Came the call from the transporter room.
"Prepare to disengage the tractor beam." Salvek said. Around him was a sense of relief from the crew, but Salvek felt no such comfort. The last few minutes he became increasingly aware that he was needed in Sickbay, and the urge to leave the bridge only grew as time passed.
"Captain." Salvek bolted up out of the command chair as Zanh Liis entered the bridge, her hair clinging to her cheeks, matted with sweat.
"If I'm not too mistaken, that's everyone." Zanh said. She looked like she was in desperate need of a shower and a nap, but she knew her First Officer had a desperate need as well.
"Go. I'll handle it." She said.
Salvek entered the lift. "Sickbay.” Salvek instructed the computer. Then, he tapped his badge. “Ensign Sten, please bring Lair Arie to meet me at Sickbay immediately."
The lift around him seemed to dissolve, and all he could see was her. She was not suffering, indeed she seemed to be reaching out to him to share a great sense of relief and peace, as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. However, that relief was tempered by a sense of longing.
Salvek's mind focused once again on his surroundings. The lift had stopped, and Arie was waiting for him, as he had requested.
"Honored father."
"Come Arie." Salvek took the girl by the hand. "Your mother needs us."
They entered sickbay together, and saw Kellyn still sleeping serenely on the biobed.
Terasha set down the PADD she held in her hand and approached Salvek. "Commander, she is making progress. I am glad you returned, I think your presence can help."
"I must have her thoughts now, Doctor." Salvek strode past Terasha to Kellyn's bedside, Arie obediently and courageously followed, despite the fear she felt about seeing her mother in her condition.
"I'm not sure she is ready for such an invasive procedure." The doctor protested.
"Please remove the neural stimulator." Terasha could tell Salvek was not going to relent on the issue, and accepted that as her husband he had a right to speak for Kellyn on her treatment.
"All right." She said after a moment. Her antennae expressed her reluctance, even if her voice was agreeable. She deactivated the device, and released it from Kellyn's face.
Salvek raised his hand, and let it hover over Kellyn's cheek.
"Arie, please join me."
Arie's lips parted, and her face flushed. She had never received such a request from her father, and she shook her head slowly. "But, Father, I don't know how."
"You have the ability, and I have faith in you. I will be there to help you." Arie nodded, and placed her hand on her mother's face. Salvek joined her, and began chanting softly.
"Kashkau, Lair Kellyn, Lair Arie and Salvek wuhkuh eh teretuhr" (Minds, Lair Kellyn, Lair Arie and Salvek, one and together).
Sickbay vanished, and Salvek found himself on a train rumbling through the desert. "Are you here Arie?"
"Yes father, I am here with you. Where are we?"
"This is your mother's soul. Her katra. What you see is a train, but where you really are is on a journey she is taking."
As Salvek spoke he steadied himself as the movement of the car beneath his feet threatened to take his balance. He placed his hand upon one of the simple wooden benches that served as seating in the car. Carefully, he leaned down to look out the window. As far as the eye cold see was a vast desert.
"Look, L-K. It's mother's initials." Arie pointed to the gold trim that went around the edge of the window.
"Indeed." Salvek focused his gaze inside the train car. The edge of the carpet, the backs of the benches, the trim of the ceiling were all emblazoned with Lair Kellyn's initials.
"Pardon me, tickets please." Salvek was caught off guard the voice from behind him and spun on his heel.
"Mister Breaux. How did you get here?"
"Why does everyone keep calling me that today?" Avery studied Salvek face for a moment, his lips parted and he shook his stack of tickets gently in Salvek's direction. "Wait, I've seen you. You are here with her."
"I'm sorry sir, but we do not have any tickets." Arie said honestly, a trait she had learned from her father.
"Oh, don't worry young lady, she arranged for your tickets already."
"May I ask, where is she?" Salvek inquired, figuring he could only be referring to Lair Kellyn.
"May want to try two cars up. Have a nice day friends." Avery tipped his cap, and walked towards the rear of the train.
"Come, Arie." Salvek once again took her by the hand and proceeded to the front of the car. He took notice of the pattern etched into the ornate glass door, which also featured the letters L-K written in script. Salvek grasped the brass knob, and turned it slowly, the door creaked open and the roar of the tracks below filled the car. The incessant clanking and clacking was too loud for Arie and Salvek to hear each other without shouting.
Salvek regarded the gap of about two feet cautiously. Directly across from him, the next car shimmied back and forth on the track. Below him was the hitch connecting the two cars. Below that, nothing but a blur of gray and brown as the ground beneath him hurtled by at a blinding pace.
He stretched his leg for the next platform and extended his arm to the handle bar. Grasping it tightly, he pulled himself across, and opened the door to the next car. He looked up at Arie, to see she was grasping the handles with both her hands, and staring down at the ground rushing by below.
"I'm afraid, Father." She yelled over the roar of the tracks. "It's so far."
Salvek held the handle in one hand, and leaned forward to extend his other to Arie. "It is all right, just hold my hand, and step across."
Arie slowly released one hand. It shook as she reached for his, and grasped him as tight as she could.
"You promise you will not let me fall?"
"I do not need to, Arie. Your mother is here with us. She will protect you."
Arie looked down at the ground below one last time, and pushed off of the car. Salvek pulled her towards him, onto the platform beside him. He held the door for her, as they entered the next car.
"Well done, Arie." He said simply. "Come."
They walked together across the car and again navigated the leap to the next car. In the fore of the next car, was one lone soul, dressed in a Starfleet uniform, sitting on one of the benches. Lair Kellyn sat peacefully, with her legs crossed at the knees, hands folded neatly atop them, and her single bag lying on the seat beside her.
Salvek and Arie approached her quietly from behind.
"Lair Kellyn Etek 'ka halovau le kakhartau tu" (We have journeyed here to guide you.)
Kellyn felt his soft gentle hand land upon her shoulder. She turned slowly to look up at him.
"I knew you would come to see me the rest of the way." Kellyn gathered her luggage up into her lap, and slid down the bench. Arie slid in next to her, and Salvek sat down on the edge.
"Mother, are you coming home with us?" Arie asked expectantly.
Kellyn slid her ticket out from the pocket on her bag, and handed it to Arie. "Of course, Arie."
Arie read the destination. Satisfied, she slid it back into the pocket from whence it came. "Best to not lose that." She said.
"Never." Kellyn said with a smile. Her hand reached behind Arie's, and found Salvek's. She squeezed it tightly three times, a silent "I love you". He squeezed hers back.
Arie yawned, and her head began to slump onto Salvek's shoulder.
"Are we almost there mother?"
"Almost, Arie." Salvek tucked Arie under his arm, against his chest, leaving a space clear for Kellyn to lean in against his shoulder. She closed her eyes and sighed in contentment.
"What is in the case?" Salvek asked.
"This." She said simply, "And anything else I truly need."
Salvek sat in silence for several minutes. Suddenly, he was startled by the sound of the engine's bell ringing, and a squeal as the train's breaks were applied. The bell continued to ring as the desert around them slowly dissolved, and was replaced by a corridor from the Sera.
"Come Arie, Kellyn, we are here."The train continued to slow, as the corridor passed by outside their window. As the train ground to a halt, Salvek saw himself, Arie and Kellyn as they were in the outside world, in Sickbay aboard the ship.
Salvek gathered up Arie, Kellyn, and her suitcase. They stepped down off the car, and onto the deck of Sickbay . . .
**********************************
Lair Kellyn's eyes fluttered open. She felt the touch of Salvek and Arie upon her face. As their eyes opened, the slowly released themselves from the meld.
"I'm dizzy." Arie said, as her hand reached up to her forehead.
"This disorientation will only last a few moments. Be seated." Salvek said. Terasha took the girl by the hand and led her to the nearest bed to rest.
Kellyn still looked weak to him. She still had much physical recovery to undergo, but he could not remember the last time her eyes had appeared so bright and full of joy.
"I love you." He said simply.
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Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012