by Keiran O’Sullivan and William Lindsay
100810.00
Soundtrack: Nightminds by Missy Higgins
Immediately following But One Priority
-=/\=-
-=USS Poseidon=-
100810.00
Soundtrack: Nightminds by Missy Higgins
Immediately following But One Priority
-=/\=-
-=USS Poseidon=-
It was plain to see from his size alone that Keiran O’Sullivan was a physically powerful man.
He seemed at times to be a steady juggernaut: slow moving, but unstoppable. Yet now there was nothing lacking in his speed as constant, sweeping strides drew him across what felt to be an imperceptible distance to his wife. Each step landed more quickly than the last as the force of his massive form struck against the deck. The sound it made as the vibrations shook the floor beneath them made the entire ship seem a fragile construction compared to the love of this single-minded, solitary man.
William Lindsay could barely keep up with Keiran’s pace, still he did not shout for him to slow down. He could not ask that of O’Sullivan, who had taught him so much about the dangers of drawing unwanted attention. He couldn’t give voice to the thoughts screaming through his head- wishing Keiran would stop before the rattling noise of his every movement drew the Poseidon’s entire crew to them. He owed it to Keiran now to simply keep his mouth shut and follow.
It was difficult to perceive fear in the heart of a man as courageous and controlled as O’Sullivan. Yet, and even though he could not see the expression on his face, Will knew that on the deepest level Keiran was afraid that they might already be too late. He knew, because he was trying his best to dismiss the very same fear.
The repetitive, violent, insistent sound of the screeching alarm announced that Poseidon was soon to be buried, fast and deep, within the sands of past time. Its howling wail seemed to be aimed at Keiran’s ears alone, an eerie warning of Liis’ dark fate. That shattering sound fought for supremacy with another, and was in the end drowned out almost completely by the pounding of his heart.
When he thought of the fear she must have felt…the anguish- the things that Brody must’ve said to her…
As he rounded the final corner, Keiran’s mouth fell open in preparation to speak a prayer. It died before forming upon his lips, no words could be found. No man could doubt what he’d ask for and no god of the benevolence he was taught to believe in could have denied something so entirely dear to him, even without his asking.
He could not speak the wish that she be all right because it meant considering again that she might not.
With the holosuite controls in sight his breathing grew faster and he was only able to whisper, “Please. Oh God, please…”
His hand trembled as he accessed the panel and began to type in the override command. His large fingertips refused to do his bidding; he cursed himself as the computer beeped its defiance.
“Brody lied to us,” Keiran growled, though it was more the sound of a wounded beast unable to stop its descent than of one simply ready to attack. He saw in this moment a mistake that could come to haunt him for the rest of this life and the next. “Son of a bitch- I should have…”
Will saw the fear and uncertainty threatening to envelop his greatest friend, swallowing the man whole before his eyes. Keiran was frozen dead still, eyes locked on the uncooperative controls.
Will knew that in moments like this a man could make an instant choice he’d always regret – to attack the panel and set off God knows what security protocol Brody may have in place, or to attempt to leave to track Brody down so by the time he returned it was far too late.
He could see Keiran about to snap and make such a choice-- it always happened in the times when you felt like you were losing a battle you couldn’t possibly go on after. Keiran’s own family motto seemed all too appropriate for the moment as Will saw the Irishman’s hands were trembling.
Will knew he had placed all their lives in danger with his investigations and there was every risk he’d do it again. Whatever respect or concern he’d ever felt for anyone in his life, he was sure it didn’t mean a damn compared to what Keiran felt now. This could be a great difference between the two of them, but right now all it meant was that Will’s own hands were steady.
“Let me try.” Will placed a hand on Keiran’s shoulder and then moved quickly past him, beginning to input the same command that Keiran had attempted.
Though not a religious man, Will could have understood praying as he held his breath, typing the code in letter by letter:
E-L-E-E-T-S-A-N-N-A-S-U-S-Y-R-D-N-A-L
It was a name, indeed, Will thought. Bastard had to reverse all the letters…
With the last letter keyed in the door finally clicked an unmistakable sound: the release of the lock.
Keiran’s eyes opened wide and he spoke his next words very softly. “Thank you.”
His tone left Will unsure whether it was intended for him or for God but he didn't much care which of them got the credit. All he cared about was what Keiran did next.
What he knew for certain was that whatever outcome awaited on the other side of that door it would be fiercely personal for O’Sullivan. All Will could do to help now was to make damn sure no one on this ship was able to follow him in.
“I’ll stay here and keep watch,” Will announced, his desperate eyes urging Keiran onward. “Go an’ get her.”
-=/\=-
Keiran charged through the holographic image of her door with enough force to tear it from its hinges. He was horrified at the sight of the room it revealed.
He had never seen the real one it was modeled on, but every detail, down to the last was burned into his memory- committed there the moment that Liis had told him of its existence. It was more than just a memory from alternate times. This place was the nightmare that had hunted her in waking thoughts and restless sleep down to this day, even when she could wake to find she was safe in his arms.
He was frantic as his eyes scanned the room, fearing he’d find only the limp, empty shell of the woman that he knew, the tangible remains of the soul he loved, already extinguished.
“Liis?”
There was no answer.
He finally found her in the corner by the small metal bed, her legs hugged up tightly against her body, her head resting upon her knees. He rushed over as quickly as any man’s legs could take him. Aching and desperate to hold her, he forgot all about the bundle he’d tucked under one arm; her clothing that he’d repossessed from Brody. It fell into a heap on the floor as he dropped down to his knees beside her.
“Liis, look at me.”
Still she did not respond. She didn’t believe that he could possibly really be there if she did.
He gathered her up in his arms as quickly as he could, pulling her in tight against his chest. “Liis, I need ya ta listen to me. We have to go.”
She finally turned to him, her expression almost curious as her eyes stared beyond him, devoid of any true indication of recognition. She had been through so much, her mind refused now to validate even the warmth of his touch as authentic.
She couldn’t- no- she wouldn’t speak to this ghost. Surely it was only the latest of Brody’s machinations to try to rip away what tenuous hold on her mind she had left.
“Please, Liis…you’ve got to hear me.”
The apparition sounded so much like him, yet she knew too well that in this place every lie could be so convincing that it stood on equal footing with the truth.
“Keiran!” Lindsay called from beyond the door. “Is she alright?!”
When Liis heard Will’s voice shouting from outside these walls, her eyes snapped up. He was certainly not someone she would hallucinate here- not that way.
“Keiran!” Will tried again, more insistently. “Is Liis alright?”
Keiran gently moved his hand to stroke the side of her face. His eyes stayed focused solely on her as he wished there was something more he could do to help her.
Her expression changed to one of utter confusion as she became all the more uncertain about what was really happening.
“No, she’s not,” he answered, his voice fully conveying the weight of his dread. He looked up a second later as Will appeared in the doorway.
“We’re runnin’ out of time, William. You…” He grasped Liis even more tightly as she remained limp as a rag doll in his arms. “You have to get to the bridge- you have to do something.” His eyes glimmered in the harsh, clinical light as he pressed his cheek against the top of Liis’ bowed head.
“I can't just leave you here,” Will objected, unwilling to abandon them now.
“I am the only one who can help her. You’re the only one who can save us all.” Keiran insisted. “Please, William, I’m beggin’ you. Go.”
Will could not refuse this request.
“You are going to get her off this ship,” Will promised, his eyes reflecting concern and admiration for the best friend he had ever had-- a man he suddenly realized he may never see again. He gave a final, respectful nod before he took off at a full run down the corridor.
Keiran shifted position and gently lifted Liis’ face toward his. He searched the fathomless depths of her eyes, haunted by the emptiness within them. “Liis, we are goin’ to get you out of here.”
Any sign that she was still fighting at all faded away again to nothing. She just stared at him; hazy, medicated, unable to connect his words to thoughts and actions strong enough to overcome her fear he was just another illusion. He could see she was ready to cry.
“Liis- god, why didn’t I…look at this.” Keiran shivered as he tenderly took her face into his hands, realizing what a fool he’d been not to have thought of this before. “Watch. Computer, end program.”
She looked up, her heart still clinging to the thinnest of hopes that this truly was her Keiran, the man she believed had the power to make all the horror go away. She held her breath.
The contents of the room flickered and vanished one by one into nothing, along with the very walls that contained them.
Soon all that was left was the grid, scattered articles of familiar clothing on the floor, and the man who was staring at her now with tears gleaming in his bright blue eyes. “Please, Liis, wake up. Come back to me from the Hell that Brody has locked you in. I- I just can’t lose you now.”
Fragments of so many thoughts and experiences tried to connect to each other to form an image she could accept as reality.
He could be real, she thought. Maybe it really is over.
Yet she feared if she trusted this, and it wasn’t really here this time- if it was just another desperate fiction contrived by her mind to buy her five more minutes of sanity- she would be so truly lost that nothing that happened afterward could ever bring her back.
Keiran could see the battle raging again inside her as her shoulders began to shake. Where there once had been only certainty that he wasn’t real. It was a hopeful, beautiful sight and he would not miss this opportunity.
“I have somethin’ that belongs to you,” he whispered, with as much love as any man had ever spoken any words.
He reached one shaking hand into the pocket of his jacket and then grasped hold of her left hand with the other. “I’m only sorry it took me so long to get 'em back to ya.”
Liis didn’t know what was happening until she felt an incredibly familiar sensation. It was cold metal moving down her finger, settling down against her hand once it was positioned where it had belonged for so long.
She opened her eyes again fully now. They darted from the metal and glimmering stones to the crest on the signet ring immediately. It was so real, utterly unable to exist in only as a figment of her desperate imagination that she turned, suddenly taking in the room in a hurry to see what else could be.
The grid that meant these were actually holosuite walls.
Her clothing-- scattered all around them.
Then there was Keiran, her husband-- his strong arms grasping hold of her as tightly as he dare.
She tried to focus on him fully now, fighting so hard against the dizziness that swept over her as the medication made images twist and momentarily overlap each other, until finally it stopped. As his face slowly came into focus something caught flame inside of her.
“Keiran…”
Now a different sort of tears formed in his eyes as Keiran pulled her even closer to him, clasping her to his chest as he kissed her tenderly.
“Yes, a chuisle, i’s me,” he promised, when finally their lips parted again. “I’m here, and I’ve come to take you home.”
-=/\=- Keiran O’Sullivan
Security Liaison
The Alchemy Project
and
Captain William Lindsay
Interim Director
The Department of Temporal Investigations
Security Liaison
The Alchemy Project
and
Captain William Lindsay
Interim Director
The Department of Temporal Investigations