Star Trek PBEM Sim / Star Trek RPG
OUR STAR TREK PBEM STORIES: TO SLEEP, PER CHANCE TO DREAM... AND REMEMBER
Title: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream... and Remember, Part Three
Location: Pandora's Box
Setting: CMO's Office
Violet watched the Pandora's Captain leave sickbay. She wondered if he would
regain any of his Alan memory back. And that thought led to another... What if
he didn't? Would he eventually become close to her again? As Niko? Or had
they lost that opportunity when Alan left the Victory and shed one identity for
another much like a snake sheds its skin when it's no longer needed.
She sighed softly and made her way to her office. She was slowly making it her
own. There were plants scattered around, nothing big or overgrown looking. The
Pixie Program had been uploaded into her office and lab computers, but she just
hadn't had the heart to activate them yet. She smiled a little and her fingers
brushed the plants, especially the heather, as she slipped around the desk and
into her chair. It didn't take her long to get comfortable, feet propped on the
desk and leaning back in the chair, as she read and made schedule adjustments.
At one point she looked up as if someone had entered her office, yet no one was
there. She smiled a little wryly and rubbed the back of her neck where the
hairs had risen in reaction to the sense she was not alone. She felt great
worry from the 'presence', and an overwhelming need for secrecy. She was about
ready to speak when the 'presence' touched her mind...
~It's Emma. Please turn your sign language recognition program off along with
the monitors necessary to run it and after that your synthesizer, so we can talk
in sign in a moment. Please give no indication to the computer that there is
anyone in your office. Please do not think I can understand anything you can
think. I cannot but I know you should be able to "hear" me,~ the young Intel
officer said in thought. ~ When you are finished, please scratch your nose with
your left thumb so I know it is safe to appear.~ LT Peel directed. She then
proceeded to repeat the message trying to making sure that the CMO understood
her and went more slowly.
Violet arched a brow at the 'message' from Emma. Starfleet Intelligence was
becoming even more weird than she originally thought. She also thought the
whole process of Emma's approach meant that Emma needed to talk to her about
something extraordinarily important. She didn't dawdle. She did everything Emma
asked and then scratched her nose with her let thumb, giving the young SI
officer then signal she asked for.
Emma was relieved at the signal and the shutting down of the monitors. She had
checked other possible ways of watching them previously. A lot hinged on secrecy
to her. Something was wrong besides how Niko had forgotten more than he should
have resuming his identity.
~Please do not be alarmed when I appear and remember to talk in Federation Sign
slowly, or I won't be able to keep up. Also I was never here and you haven't
seen me since you arrived. We have approxiamately eight minutes to do this,~
Emma thought to Violet.
Violet nodded. [Very well,] she signed slowly and in Federation sign.
Emma appeared. There was no unusual sound or lights. She just simply became
visible to Violet.
[Thank you. Eight minutes. Max. What's wrong with Nicky?] she signed.
Violet had a hundred questions she wanted to ask. Why only eight minutes? How
was Emma able to be invisible? How long had she been there? Where had she been
all this time? Why wasn't she at Alan's side? Those were only a few, but she
restrained herself admirably and didn't ask a one.
[Niko's has drugs racing around in his system to suppress his memory,] Violet
replied. [He's also having a pretty severe allergic reaction to some chemicals
that were accidentally spilled onto his hands.] Whether Emma was aware of it or
not, there was more than a hint of disbelief in the way Violet signed
'accidentally'. [I get the impression that this....] she wasn't sure exactly
what to call it. [Personality change,] she finally settled on. [Is much harder
on him than it has been in the past. Other than that.... There are parts of
his medical chart that are simply missing. I'm not his physician, Emma. Dr.
S'Traht is.] There was something about the whole thing with S'Traht that
bothered her. She wasn't sure just how much she could trust him.
Emma squinted.~Accident with chemicals? That doesn't sound right,~ she thought.
Her thought was reinforced by her interpretation of what extra meaning she
thought that the CMO tacked on there the way she had signed it. A lot of things
weren't adding up these last few days to the young intelligence officer. There
were too many odd coincidences and accidents. The biggest one of course happened
before she and Niko arrived with the death of the CENG.
[Yes,] Emma signed. [This restoration is harder for some reason. Do you think
it's because of all the mindwipes, etc. he's gone through or maybe because of
the..] she paused for a moment. Even with all the precautions taken, she was
never going to say what had really happened. [...encephalitis that it is making
this so much harder? He should be through most of the problems with the
restoration by now.]
She continued,[Something is holding that back. Things aren't adding up. He
shouldn't be getting any more selective memory blocking drugs. He should be able
to resume Kamranov and reintegrate Dulles as a previous idenity. Dr. S'Traht is
very thorough. It is unlike him to have missing parts of the chart unless they
needed to be classified.]
Violet filled her in on what she had done to save the memories of the man she
loved and gave her a slender vial.
The two women talked longer until time was up. Emma dissappeared just as
silently she had arrived with no indication she had ever visited.
Just as she did so, Dr. S'Traht walked into Sickbay...
