by Lair Kellyn and TC Blane
81203.18
An hour after Sufficient Distraction
-=Lethus IV=-
81203.18
An hour after Sufficient Distraction
-=Lethus IV=-
"Reece," Kellyn's breathing was shallow, her voice tremulous from the effects of all of the stimulants that had been injected into her. "Go'way."
"Kellyn," Dabin's eyes revealed that he was afraid if he left her now, he'd never hear the sound of her voice again.
"Mean it. I don't want," she coughed, groaning involuntarily before struggling on, "youto... remember me this way."
"Kellyn, I'm not going to have to remember you because you're going to be just fine."
"Dabin," She squeezed his hand with what remained of her waning strength. "You have. To know that-"
"No you don't." He shook his head and narrowed his eyes. His voice broke, only slightly. "Don't you dare say goodbye."
"Get OUT!" she insisted angrily, not wanting him to have to carry the last moments of her life in his memory. "LEAVE!"
Stunned by her vehemence and overcome by the emotions he'd been fighting back since the moment he saw her bleeding from the hole in her side, Reece bolted.
TC Blane, who had been standing watch just outside, quickly responded to the sound of her yell and took Reece's place at Lair's side.
"Good. Blane. I need you." Kellyn said with a sudden, eerie calm. Her speech degraded at a rapid pace as she tried to force her lips to speak, when all she wanted to do was sleep.
"What can I do for you, Commander?" TC asked calmly, responding as he would under any normal circumstances to try to reassure her, even though their situation was anything but normal.
"I need you to...take down a letter." She requested. "To my husband."
TC stared at her for a moment before responding. “Now is not the time to be putting together a shopping list.” He joked.
"Look." Kellyn tried to roll over to face him but was unable. She sighed and gave up the attempt, deciding instead to focus dimming eyes on the ceiling. "The others. They haven't seen. What we've seen. You and I."
She tilted her head as far in his direction as she could, trying to indicate that she meant business. "Reece is old. Yeah. Been through some shit. But you. Me." She glanced over and noticed that Blane's eyes were firmly locked on her face. The intensity of them was remarkable as he respectfully considered her every word. "We've seen it."
"It?"
"The things that make you realize that...it can always get worse."
“I don’t think you need to do this Commander.” He nodded towards the entrance of the tent, attempting to lead her to believe that the LMH was going to walk back into the room at any moment. “Doc said your going to be fine.”
She knew now that he was doing his best to keep her hopes alive, but Kellyn was nothing if not a realist, and unless she was in a Sickbay on a ship or in a stasis tube soon she had no chance, and she knew it.
"Salvek." She began dictating, without waiting for him to find something with which to take her words down. "I'm sorry..."
"Wait, I don't have,"
"Then you better..." Kellyn closed her eyes, "remember what I'm saying so you can tell him when you get home."
TC stared at her for a moment. She was right, they had seen more then they cared to remember and he certainly was a realist too; but he was also certain that Kellyn would pull through. Still, she was also right in the thought that things could always get worse.
TC pulled up a empty bucket that was nearby to use as a chair and sat down next to her.
“You have my word that he’ll hear everything you say, word for word.” He stared at her intently.
"Tell him," She struggled for every syllable now, sweat beading her brow and matting her hair down against her face. "That he made the right choice. That heshould never...second guess...decision..." her eyelids began to slide closed, and Blane put a strong hand on her shoulder and jostled her as hard as he dare given her internal injuries.
"Lair! Eyes front!"
"Yes...sir." she murmured, slipping farther away.
"Salvek should never second guess his decision to..." he hoped that repeatedly using her husband's name would help keep her focused on the moment. He waited, but she did not continue, so he started yet again. "Salvek should never..."
"...never...second guess...going after Arie. She is...most important thing. Always."
TC simply nodded. He did not have any children of his own, but he understood the feeling and the concept of putting others ahead of yourself.
"Message...for Zanh." Lair added, her tone changing as she spoke of their captain.
"I'm listening."
"Tell her, look out for him. In a few years he will...have no choice but to choose..another..." she stopped.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves."
"Blane." Kellyn shook her head weakly from side to side. "Running out of time. Need to finish this."
He sighed, and nodded.
"Tell Arie that her motherloved...nothing more...than her."
“I know that is something I do not have to tell her.” He nodded. “But I will.”
"Sera crew, finest I've ever,"she seemed to be finishing her sentences only in her head now, leaving half of the words she thought she was speaking, unspoken. "Don't let Reece see this. Promise."
Blane's crystal blue eyes locked on hers. "I give you my word."
"TellRada," she knew that the young Angosian would be punishing himself for things that he in fact, had no control over and she didn't want him to bear any guilt going forward should she not pull through. "Tell him, I'm proud of him."
She closed her eyes at last, and Blane tried again to stir her but with limited success.
"Lair, talk to me. Who else do you want me to take a message to? Vedek Jariel?" Blane knew how close Lair was to the man, but at this point she was too far gone to say anymore.
"Tired." She said, sighing softly. "Need. Sleep."
“Damn it, Commander you are slacking in your duty here. Plus you are making me look bad. I promised your husband that I’d bring you home safe.” He whispered harshly. “I keep my promises. So if you are planning to die, your gonna do it on your own time.”
He felt for a pulse, it was there...weak but steady.
TC stood and looked for the doctor. “McKay, get your digitally generated butt cheeks over here.”
"We still haven't gotten him back online, Commander," Reece, who was pale as a ghost and had obviously been eavesdropping just beyond the doorway, informed him gravely. "Dengar is giving it everything he's got, but the emitter...we need something else to route McKay's program through if we're going to get him up and running again before we get back to the ship. I only hope the integrity of his program pattern hasn't been compromised."
"Well I know that there is a back-up version of his program stored aboard the Sera, as long as the main computer isn't completely fried, he should be recoverable there. He just won't remember anything beyond the point that he was transferred down here."
"I wish we could all forget everything that's happened since we were transferred down here." Reece replied, speaking for the first time Blane could ever recall hearing without a trace of humor or sarcasm.
"Dabin," Kellyn growled, the sound of his voice and her determination to spare him the sight of her fading, bringing her around once again. "Get thehellOUT."
Commander Lair Kellyn
Engineering Research and Development
The Alchemy Project
and
Commander TC Blane
Second Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Engineering Research and Development
The Alchemy Project
and
Commander TC Blane
Second Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012