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Day 02 [1315 hrs.] Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow

Day 02 [1315 hrs.] Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow

[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Elsewhere | Then ] Atten: Lucan.

Light blurred outside of the observation windows, swirling masses drawn out, slowing to points, snapping back to reality. The ship was dropping out of warp. Everyone in the diplomatic enclave aboard the USS Theurgy could feel the sudden shudder as the prototype dreadnought decelerated. Faye turned her head, as if that would block out the waves of worry flooding her senses, smashing against her defenses - and instead found her dark eyes staring out at the swirls of orange and red that filled the port window of the room they were all in. Her hands stilled on the med kit she was putting together, the tricorder removed, the case half closed. The view of Jupiter's Great Red Spot was breathtaking.

If only we were here to sight see, the young Betazoid officer thought to herself, the dismal words reflecting the emotional nature of those around her. But unfortunately for Ensign Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers , the team - and the ship, for that matter - that she was assigned to was not on a scenic jaunt across the Sol system. No, they were fleeing the heart of the Federation, as fast as they could. Her boss had said something about stopping at Jupiter Station, to try and get the warning out, to see if they could tell the galaxy what Captain Ives had discovered less than 2 hours before - the upper eschelon's of Starfleet Command had been replaced by some set of alien usurpers.

A revelation that Faye could hardly believe herself.

She could tell her immediate superior, Lt. Commander TharinAlk th'Thane, the Andorian head of the failed diplomatic mission to Romulus, was on edge. They all were. But she didn't need to be a telepath to know TharinAlk's misery. His fists were clenched tightly behind his back, almost to the point of drawing blood, and his antenna were almost flat to his head. Never a good sign. He was like a bowstring, taut and ready to snap. Instead of helping the others pack med kits and prep for search and rescue operations across the many levels of the ship (and may the gods help them if it came to that) the Andorian Chief Diplomat stalked his subordinates in a tense silence.

Faye was of half a mind to mentally prod her boss, just a soft, gentle tap in the back of his thoughts.He'd know it was her, and it might get her in trouble, but the brunette betazoid understood both the importance of perception and the very real hazard of micromanaging your people. And even without a serious probe into his mind, Faye could tell just how wrapped up he was inside. It wasn't a healthy state for a diplomat to be in, not when so many relied on him for strength.

It didn't help matters that Faye was feeling the same thing in the pit of her own gut. That worry, that sense of dread, and impeding doom. She got it every time she visited Lake El'nar back home on Betazed. Back when the birth parent's she'd never really known had died, when their boat capsized. It was that same sense now, bubbling up, so very much at odds with the sense of wonder she should be feeling.

The metal framework of Jupiter Station grew in the distance, lights twinkling like the lights on the Christmas Trees that Faye's mother always insisted on having. Two pillars, with three mushroom cap hulls on each, floated closer and closer as the Theurgy approached on impulse. A sense of hope bubbled up in Faye despite herself,  that was sharply cut as the captains voice echoed in the room.

[Ives to th'Thane, hailing Jupiter Station now. Stand by.]

Faye could see the antenna on TharinAlk's head snap upright. His deep voice answered back, as he stopped his pacing, and crossed his arms tightly. "Acknowledged, Captain." At least he was physically projecting confidence. Even if Faye knew it was a false sense. Even with her barriers firmly in place, she was picking up all the stray emotions, if not the specific thoughts, of her teammates. And Lt. Cmdr. th'Thane was piratically broadcasting his feelings. Tension, worry, suspicion, his mind as tense as the set of his shoulders. He raised a hand up, brushing it over the white hair of his beard.

Faye wished she didn't know the confidence was fake. But she did. Forcing herself to go back to the med kit, she listened with half an ear to the now open channel. They all did, every man and woman's attention drawn away from what they should be focused on. The younger Ens. Vax was fidgeting in her seat, her pig-nosed snout flaring as the Tellerite tried to - Faye assumed - settle herself. Even Lt. Sentek, the stately Vulcan assigned to the group was clearly on edge. Faye didn't need her powers to see it, the way his eyebrow was permanently arched, and the slight tapping of one finger on the top of the table they were gathered around. Nigh on an anxiety attack for a Vulcan.

[This is Captain Ives of the Federation starship Theurgy, requesting private channel to Base Commander Anderson immediately.]

Tension gripped Faye, as she gave up trying to pretend to focus. What was the point. Would the captain get their answer. Apparently not. Silence filtered in over the comms.

"What are they playing at?" She heard TharinAlk whisper, as he unfolded his arms and planted his blue hands on the mahogany table, spread wide. He hunched over and closed his eyes, his antenna curling in forward towards the table top.

[Jupiter Station, I repeat, we need to speak with Admiral Anderson. Please resp-]

BOOM! There was sudden, gut wrenching jolt as everyone in the room were thrown upwards, away from the table, towards the fall wall. Faye flailed out, her stomach catching the edge of the table, forcing her back down into her chair with a force that left her breathless. She could see Lt. Cmdr. th'Thane go sliding across the slicked surface, face first towards the far side, scattering padd's and medkits all about.

Breee-t, Breeee-t. Red Alert, Red Alert. All hands to battle stations. Red alert Red - A secondary impact shook the ship.

"Whats going on!?" She cried out, staggering to her feet. The call to battle stations had been given, and that meant they were officially on damage control and rescue response. She had to - she had to get into the hall, she had to be ready. Her left hand managed to close onto a medkit strap, pulling it along the table and she staggered past one of the other Diplomats whom had just risen to their feet.

Overhead, Faye could hear the automated voice of Thea, the ships avatar, sending out a warning to the crew. [All hands to battle stations. We are under attack The Jupiter defense grid - ] whatever else the ships AI was going to say cut off with a burst of sudden rush of all encompassing silence. Faye was tossed tits over ass, flinging her from the room with such a violent force that she barely had a chance to come to terms with being in flight before she smashed into the far wall. Her eyes snapped shut in the wake of a blinding orange-white burst of light, heat rippling out across her lithe body. Futile, she reached back out, towards her friends...

Glass and duranium blew inwards with the impact, sending deadly shards into the room at terminal velocities. The shrapnel ripped through the diplomats, shredding Lt. Sentak into a green mass of torn muscle and gore. Flame followed, washing across the room, searing the flesh from Vax's bones, her cry of anguish snuffed out in an instant, sucked away by the venting atmosphere. And screaming in Faye's mind was the mental voice of TharinAlk th'Thane as his body was sucked out of the breach before the emergency forcefield could snap into place, tumbling over and over into the cold harsh vacuum of space.

Barely did Faye have the time to process what had happened when the emergency bulkhead slammed down atop her arm. The crushing force snapped the bone, the crack like that of an ancient firearm. Flames licked the fingers on the far side of the door before the oxygen was swept from the room. Blinding, inhumanly strong pain shot up, banishing rational thought from Faye as she screamed in utter terror. But another torpedo impacted the ship, sending the dreadnought rolling to port with such a force that Faye was bodily torn from the doorway, smashing into the far side of the hall, wind rushing in her ears. She never heard the sickening thud of her skull against the far wall, or the wet rip that accompanied the tearing of tendons and muscle, leaving half her arm behind.

[ Main Sickbay | USS Theurgy | Now ]

One moment, there was intense, unholy pain ripping through her synopsis, leaving her crying out in physical and telepathic anguish. The next, there was...nothing. Darkness, floating in an empty abyss, all encompassing, ceaseless, endless darkness. Eternity reached out its empty hand towards Faye, to draw her into its never ending depths, only to recede at the last moment.

First there was the pressure in the back of her mind. The awareness of presence, of thoughts - those of others, not her own. Threatening to overwhelm her before her barely conscious mind erected the shields that years of training had granted her. Everything felt heavy, stiff. There was a soft, beeping noise in the background, a steady pulsing, and a distinctly antiseptic scent forcing its way into her nose. Her mouth was dry as a canyon, as she slowly licked at her lips, struggling.

Consciousness returned gradually to Ens. Eloi-Danvers, as she lay on the relatively comfortable, if firm, bed in the recovery wing of the massive ships sickbay. Not that Faye was aware of just exactly what part of the ship - if it was her ship - she hand ended up in. All she knew was a wave of gut twisting anguish raged against her self control and fuzzy memory.

Re: Chapter 29: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #1 –
[ Dr. Nicander | Meanwhile | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan
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There was a chirp from Lucan cin Nicander's desk, and he walked up to it - his white lab coat flaring out as he put his hands on either side of the console. His pale grey eyes read the notification he'd asked for and then he pushed away from the desk, heading out of his office. On the way out, he passed by the former Kzinti male where he lay in the primary surgical suite. After Amelya Duv  - or would it eventually be Amelya Rez? - had been beamed to the isolation ward, the Kzinti had taken her place, and the surgical team had more or less just finished with him. "Nicander to Nurse Patterson, would you please join me in the Recovery Ward? Thank you."

By the winds, why had we scheduled so many stasis revivals right before this outbreak? he asked himself in regret as he passed through the throng in Main Sickbay, physicians and patients on hover gurneys in his way. This particular patient had been on ice since months back, and he wondered what she might think when she woke to the current chaos that was the situation aboard the Theurgy. Nonetheless, he made his way to the ward where the ship's last Diplomatic officer rested after her surgery.

He could see that she was slowly coming to, but he stopped short of leaning over her. The reason was that there was a bio contamination field around her where she lay, raised when it was determined that the virus hadn't infected her after she was removed from stasis. Reaching her side, he checked the readings on the biobed and waited for the nurse to join him by Eloi-Danvers' side. "Prepare the biobed for transport out of this chaos," he asked of Patterson, essentially asking her to decouple it from the wall where it sat. "We will soon move the patient, and I want you to accompany her, so after I scan you for the virus, I need you to prepare to go with her. Decontamination Chamber 02 should be available, and as soon as you are done and have donned a new uniform, you will be beamed out with this Ensign. The patient should not have to remain behind her bio field, so moving her is the only option."

The parasite inside had a notion about what it might look like, seeing the lovely Nurse rubbing decontamination gel all over her naked body in the blue light, but Lucan dismissed the very idea of spying on her. He would have to remain with the patient, and the notions of the parasite would have to be ignored. So, letting the Nurse handle the biobed first, Lucan directed his attention to the Betazoid that lay on the biobed in front of him and Patterson.

"Ensign Eloi-Danvers?" he said to her, his exotic accent rolling over phonetics of her unique name. He raised his tattooed hands in a calming manner, "I'm Chief Medical Officer Nicander, and you are aboard the Federation starship Theurgy. Please, don't try to rise up. There is currently a virus outbreak, with sick patients all around you, and you are protected by a bio contamination field. As soon as we have verified your recovery, you will be moved from here. You've only remained here because our surgery began before the outbreak was known, and we needed to monitor your condition. It if is too early for you to speak, simply nod if you understand what I am saying to you."

Seeing her there on the biobed, with both arms over the thin blanket that covered her, it was nigh impossible to tell which one of her arms were the synthetic one. Yet Nicander knew, because he had personally attached it to her nervous system, calibrated every servo and synthetic nerve node. Still, it was almost uncanny how life-like it seemed next to her other one.

Re: Chapter 29: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #2 –
[ PO Riley Patterson | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn Faye, Nicander

"Nicander to Nurse Patterson, would you please join me in the Recovery Ward? Thank you."

Riley looked up from the lavatories where she had just finished up. She didn't even bother to answer the CMO as he probably already expected her to show up at his side. She quickly finished up and pulled her underwear and pants up before she washed her hands and rushed her way into the overcrowded Sickbay. It was easy enough to find the doctor with his white coat on as he strides through the Sickbay.  By the time she made it to his side he had already reached the last of their diplomats as she was slowly waking up for the anesthetics.

"Prepare the biobed for transport out of this chaos, we will soon move the patient, and I want you to accompany her, so after I scan you for the virus, I need you to prepare to go with her. Decontamination Chamber 02 should be available, and as soon as you are done and have donned a new uniform, you will be beamed out with this Ensign. The patient should not have to remain behind her bio field, so moving her is the only option."

"Of course Doctor." Patterson complied as she disconnected the biobed from the energy supply system. She tapped the biobed's controls and set it for transport mode while she made sure Ensign Eloi-Danvers wouldn't endure too many inconveniences during the transport. She looked up at her department head as he gave her further instructions and nodded "Of course doctor." she answered humbly as she was surprised to get the task to look after Eloi-Danvers.

She waited patiently as she looked at Faye while he informed Faye about what was supposed to happen. She smiled at the handy work Nicander had performed with the prime prosthetic they had scavenged off Opal. She would introduce herself later to Faye when they would be out of the witch's cauldron so to speak. She remained standing in position with her hands behind her back as she allowed her eyes to go over Nicander. There was a lot of gossip between the nurses about the good doctor, many of them, including Riley had thought him as attractive and mysterious. Working with him was always a pleasure and today was no different as Riley felt her gut clench as some forbidden thoughts ran through her mind as she wondered what the Doctor would be underneath all those clothes.

Re: Chapter 29: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #3 –
[Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Elsewhere | Then ] Atten: @AuctorLucan, @Nolan 

There began, behind her eyes, a soft sort of dull ache, an almost familiar one, of overuse. There were waves of emotion and thought crashing against her, taxing  her, and the dark haired Betazoid felt like she'd been both asleep for ages, and worn to the core for exhaustion. Something had happened, and Faye couldn't remember the specifics. She remembered - or recognized, perhaps was a better word - the voice above her, however. The ships Doctor - her ships doctor. They were in orbit around....around....it was there and gone, washed away with the sudden impression of misery. Her own? Or someone else's? Someone affected by the virus, perhaps that the doctor mentioned?

Suddenly a heat rose up in her cheeks, as thoughts of the Doctor surfaced, unbidden. Impressions of the man in naught but his white lab coat, billowing open. Muscles on display, indistinct tattoo'd patterns on his tanned skin. Do they go all the way down she thought. Except it wasn't her voice thinking that, Faye was sure of it. Those dark eyes drew upward, towards a woman she didn't recognize, but understood, in that instant, was the source of the thoughts running across her head. She gave the girl - the nurse -pretty nurse, at that - a knowing look before turning her gaze back to the man standing by the bed, and away from the woman decoupling the device from its port.

Carefully, she latched onto the blank spot that was Lucan Nicander, and focused her mind on it, drawing strength from the cool, empty impression he left on her psyche. She'd never been able to read him - a genetic quirk, not unlike a Cardassian's gave his species protection of thought from her empathic and telepathic powers. And just right then, when her mind was being assaulted by so many warring thoughts and feelings, he was a gods send. Apparently literally, judging by the fact that she was on a biobed, and the Doctor had just said she'd come from surgery.

"Sur...gurey?" The words sounded like they were croaked, coming from a bloated toad, and not her throat. It left her eyes wide in fear that something had been done to her voice. She relied on her voice,  as much as her mental gifts. She started to rise up then stopped, belatedly remembering his words, and allowed herself to settle back down on the bed. Glancing around, turning her head gently, she could see her arms above the sheet. She curled her fingers - or tried to. Her right hand seemed to respond just a bit faster than her left. It was nigh on undetectable - but not completely so. Just enough, a hint, for Faye to notice The dread in the pit of her stomach intensified, and she felt color drain from her face. Oh no, ohnoohnohno, something had gone horribly wrong but she couldn't remember.

Her head nodded because he had said to nod. She hazarded a jagged question, however. The one that was now burning in her soul, as visions of a bright yellow light surfaced in her mind, there and gone in an instant. "What...wha-t happ-ppend?"

Re: Chapter 29: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #4 –
[ Dr. Nicander | Meanwhile | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan
[Show/Hide]
While the patient slowly recovered enough to speak, Nicander had fished a medical tricorder out of the pockets of his lab coat. Nurse Patterson was finished with the biobed and had returned to his side, so he'd turned to her so that he might scan her.

"A moment please," he said quietly to the Nurse, asking her to stand still while he made the scan. His attention was split between the readings on the tricorder and the Ensign on the biobed, so he missed the subtle exchange between the two woman, and even if he'd caught it, he would have had no inkling as to what it had been about. Instead, he read her readings from head to toe, the outline of her uniform still before he made the call. "You show no signs of the virus. I'll have you beamed into the chamber straight away, and you need to tell me when you are finished."

Having said this, Lucan glanced upwards. "Thea, is Decontamination Chamber 02 available?"

[Yes, Doctor Nicander. There are no life-signs present.]

"Then I am in need of a medical site-to-site transport. Nurse Riley Patterson needs to be beamed there straight away. Can do that?" he said, not answering Eloi-Danvers just yet.

[Stand by. Establishing transporter lock... Energising.]

When the nurse had been beamed out of the busy recovery ward, just so that she might not be infected before she'd decontaminated herself, Lucan turned to the Diplomatic officer again, giving her his full attention. "You lost a lot of blood, so before I tell you what your injures were, please tell me what assignments you've had in Starfleet before you came aboard. I also need you to tell me where you were born, and which year you graduated from the Academy. By the winds, this might seem strange, but I need to verify that you don't suffer from any amnesia after what you went through." The warm smile he gave her was one of encouragement, and he folded his tattooed hands behind his back as he listened to her. "This is important, so try to focus but remain calm. If you can't remember right away, there is no need for concern. You just need some time."

Re: Chapter 29: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #5 –
[ PO Riley Patterson | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Brutus, @Lucan

While her improper thoughts weren't enough to satisfy her need to know, or feel for that matter, Riley suddenly found herself eye locked with the ensign on the biobed. Her eyes seemingly looking right into her very soul as she seemed to know what she was thinking. A light blush covering her own cheeks now as she saw the PADD details herself. Realizing the ensign was a telepath, she couldn't help but smile a bit shy before she diverted her eyes.

She remained still and read through her patient's information and got up to speed with what she needed to know about her seeing she'd spent some time with her in the coming future. Whilst getting up to speed, Nicander continued to inform the patient about the current situation. Faye didn't seem to remember she had any surgery, nor the trauma she had suffered. Riley smiled a bit faintly at Faye as her eyes went over her again, the details of the surgery impossible to notice with the bare eye. Yet Riley knew what and where and forced herself not to think about it. She didn't want to upset Faye by spilling the idea in her head. So instead she just thought about how good looking she was. Before even halting that train of thought as it would be rather unprofessional on her behalf to even consider such things.

By the time she had blanked out her mind once more, Nicander turned his attention back to her as he fished out his medical tricorder. Patterson nodded and remained still enough while Nicander performed the scan. After hearing she wasn't infected, she smiled and waited for herself to be beamed over to the decontamination room. "I'll inform you when I'm done doctor." she answered correctly before she got energized.

Once the site to site transfer had been completed, the low blue lights of the decontamination room provided enough light for Patterson to continue. She shed the uniform off her along with her underwear as she padded through the room in her nude frame. She placed the items in a dispenser that would incenerate the clothes as she didn't want to risk any contamination. Her combadge was still in her hand as she placed it on a cabinet before she walked over to the replicator. She asked for the disinfectant gel so she could go and shower before she received the contents required. She padded back to the part of the room where she could use the sonic field sweep.

She activated the sonic showers as it removed the light grime she was wearing and any other bodily fluids she might've come in contact with. The purpose sonic shower served to clean out her body so the gel could be applied to in a way that her body would absorb most of it and maximum disinfection could be achieved.

She opened the pads with the gel as she started to smear herself in from top to bottom with the contents. The gel rather sticky and slime-like as if she was rubbing herself in with an ultrasound gel. Once she had lubricated her body with it, she turned the sonic settings to the hardest as she looked like a swamp monster at this point. The hard sonic vibrations served their purpose to shed any gel she couldn't rub off and she cleaned out her hair thoroughly enough. The contents of the gel did cause for some vapor to rise up as it moistened her hair to a rather damp condition.

Once she was clean of the gel she replicated a towel for her hair, she did went to the replicator for new underwear and a fresh uniform. In a matter of minutes Riley was dressed, her hair however still damp as she tapped her combadge "Patterson to Nicander. I'm ready doctor." she informed the man as she pinned the badge back on her uniform and tried to dry off her hair as good as possible before letting it hang loose for now.

Re: Chapter 29: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #6 –
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan , @Nolan
[Show/Hide]

Before she could get a straight answer out of the doctor he shifted his focus away from her, to the pretty nurse with the wandering eyes and the growing blush. If her head hadn't been throbbing in pain already, Faye might have felt guilt at picking up the other woman's thoughts. But she was worried about herself, about what had happened, why she was in sickbay, and what was wrong with her hands. The last thing she remembered was Jupiter...something about Jupiter, that beautiful ball of gas swirls in her mothers home system. But she couldn't remember why that mattered.

And with her defenses as battered and broken as they were, she got the ghost of a thought that something very bad had happened to her. Faye was certain this time the feeling wasn't coming from her, and it certainly wasn't coming from Dr. Nicander - he was that welcome blank spot around her. Which meant it had to come from Nurse...Nurse....Paterson, had he called her that? Or was she picking up the name from the girls thoughts. Thoughts that...Oh. Oh My.

It was Faye's turn to blush, as the transporter effect whisked the woman away and left the young Betazoid Ensign 'alone' with the Doctor. Trying to use that calmness that was Nicander's mind, Faye focused on rebuilding her walls while she listened to the doctor. His voice, singsong in its own way, was also a welcome relief. Why oh why did she feel so tired? Well, she'd lost a lot of blood. That wasn't good. And it was clear more had happened and that had to mean - it had to mean that if she didn't focus, she'd spiral. Daddy always told me to clear my mind and focus on the task at hand she thought quietly.

"Before I was on the Theurgy?" Faye repeated the question, her voice sounding a bit better, but still gravely. An image of an old Oberth-class starship filtered up into her mind, as seen from a shuttle on approach. Tiny, compact, tightly knit crew, not an inch of wasted space. Reliable. "I was assigned to the Cortes, stationed out of Khitomer." She even managed a smile for a moment, fondly remembering her first billet. "After I graduated in 2378 - well, 77, but there was the diplomatic courses." Each word helped reassure Faye that she was....well, Faye. That she remembered herself, which mattered, because she didn't remember how she got here and that would threaten to send her into a panic. She hated hospitals, and any time a doctor advised her to 'try and stay calm' was usually the exact time she started to slip.

"And I was born in 2356...April 18." She said nothing of the fate of her parents - he hadn't asked. Worry gripped her all the sudden and she forced her head to the side, to look at her right arm. A sigh of relief escaped as the dark haired woman saw the small tattoo  just below her elbow. Whatever had happened, she hadn't lost that. Thank the gods.

Dry swallowing, she leaned back against the pillow, hair billowing out around her head, shutting her pitch black eyes for a moment. There was that pressure again, at the base of her skull, thoughts rapping against her shields. This was bad. She was usually better about this. Then again, she was in sickbay. Something had happened - the pretty nurse had hinted at it. "Doctor," she ventured, looking back up at him, taking in the visage that sent many a heart a flutter. "Water?" Easier to ask than "what the hell is going on, what did you do to me?".

Re: Chapter 29: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #7 –
[ Dr. Nicander | Meanwhile | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan @Brutus
[Show/Hide]
When asked for water, and with the Nurse no longer present, Lucan merely nodded. "Of course. A moment."

While he went to get the water, Lucan let the Betazoid officer think things through, not saying anything. The thing inside had notions, vivid ideas of what it wanted to do to the young woman, taking advantage of her situation. The images flashing before Lucan's eyes were more easily ignored after what the Radiant had done to him, the impressions they left not in any way appealing to him, and he merely found them irritating in how they were always there. Far gone was the feeling of sharing in the parasite's delights, and the only thing it served to do was to motivate him to find a answer to rid himself of the thing within. Better yet, to find a way to weaponize what Heather McMillan had done to him.

"There you go." When he returned, giving the Betazoid her the sanitised water, he stood by her biobed and gave some further insight. He let her prop herself up on the biobed in order to drink, making sure she retained the ability to move despite her new limb.

"There was an accident at Jupiter Station, where Thea sustained heavy phaser and torpedo bombardment. There were hull breaches along the port side, and one of them occurred right where you and the rest of the diplomatic delegation sat in attendance. The winds carry their souls, by most of them were lost in the breach." Lucan took the glass from her when she was finished drinking, and he held it by his side in a tattooed hand. "You survived, and while the exact circumstances remain unclear, you had lost your left arm, and would have bled out if my medical officers hadn't been quick to reach you and put you in your stasis pod. Your arm was never found again, likely lost through the hull breach since the entire deck was left depressurised after you were recovered. Aside from the arm, you suffered from multiple lacerations and massive cranial trauma."

Indicating her left arm with his pale grey eyes, he continued, since the rest needed to be said before she'd become frightened by the implications of what he'd said. "Your left arm is the latest model of a Starfleet Medical issue prosthetic, nigh impossible to tell apart from your other arm. Your nervous system has been patched to its artificial tactile sensors, and its servos calibrated to respond as it should to your brain's commands. You may, of course, experience some initial discomfort or not think it behaves as it should, but if you just give it a few days, you will notice quick improvement. What needs to happen is to let the control of your arm become subconscious, and your brain will compensate for any discrepancies compared to the arm you lost. You will, in short, adapt."

Pausing, Lucan let her absorb it all, before he continued. "Do you have any quest-"

[Patterson to Nicander. I'm ready doctor.]1

Lucan tapped the combadge on his lab coat. "Acknowledged, Patterson. Please ask Thea for a transport to the lower Battle Sickbay and prepare for Eloi-Danvers' arrival. I want you to assess her ability to walk, and if there is no indication of lasting issues, I need you to escort her to her new quarters. She will be with you shortly. Nicander out."

Turning his attention back to the Betazoid, he smiled reassuringly and repeated the question that he never finished. "Do you have any questions at this time? I may be able to give you some answers, at least, before you get your briefing."

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #8 –
[ PO Riley Patterson | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @@Brutus , @Auctor Lucan

"Acknowledged, Patterson. Please ask Thea for a transport to the lower Battle Sickbay and prepare for Eloi-Danvers' arrival. I want you to assess her ability to walk, and if there is no indication of lasting issues, I need you to escort her to her new quarters. She will be with you shortly. Nicander out."

"Acknowledged Doctor." she answered before she prepared herself and looked around that she hadn't forgotten anything. "Thea, would you be so kind for a site to site transport to the Lower Battle Sickbay. Prepare a room for Miss Eloi Danvers with some equipment for physio therapy." she requested, with an acknowledgment of the order, the nurse was transported to the lower Battle Sickbay. She had been placed in a room that was separate from the  patients that were there as well and she looked around before she inspected the equipment. There was a modern walker that levitated off the ground. She stepped towards it and calibrated it to the weight and height of the incoming patient. It would serve as a good exercise to see how well the woman would be after stasis. Furthermore there were some practical exercises like reading and writing and the usage of a PADD. All these served to see how her motor skills and eye to hand skills were making the transition from stasis.

With everything set, now the only thing Riley needed wash er patient. She closed her eyes and thought to herself that she shouldn't try and overthink or think out loud for that reason. Her patient could probably use the silence and tranquility, not someone who was pretty much screaming and thinking chaotically. With a few deep breaths she tried to clear her mind as she leaned against the walker. 

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #9 –
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan , @Nolan 
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With a very raspy "thank you," to the dark haired Chief of Medicine, Faye pushed herself up and reached out with her right hand to take the water glass and bring it to her parched lips. This took a bit of effort to pull off, as she didn't want to let the covers slip away, but she managed. And still, her left arm felt...wrong. Even as she used it to clutch the sheet to her chest. With the crackly feeling in her throat now soothed, she turned her attention to Dr. Nicander's words, listening, intent. And as he spoke, horror washed through her. Her eyes went wide, her mouth sunk open, and she felt the panic build, the certainty of ....of being chased? Of being used? Chastised for what she was becoming?

Her head turned to the side, eyes wide, trying to find the source - but it was gone just as swiftly and she was left with the sickening after effects, the soothing water replaced with the taste of fear and bile, and her own native sorrow. So many gone...

Did she have questions? She'd just been informed of the loss off her arm. The doctors didn't even know how she had lost it. There was an explosion she didn't remember. She was starring down at her left hand trying to tell the difference. And yet she was unable to see a marked change. Where the real arm ended, where the new one began. She knew now, it was fake.

It was not her.

Alien.

Foreign.

False.

Faye shuddered and shut her eyes as yet more fear and sorrow welled up inside of her. From herself, she was sure this time, not someone else. Not like the abject wave of terror that had hit while the Doctor was speaking, a feeling of being chased. This was a feeling of loss. Her loss, and it was all she could do to keep herself together. She curled her hands into tight fists on the sheet that gave her some sense of modesty.

The left hand was slower. Microseconds slower, but she felt it. She would not let herself cry. They wouldn't want that, her friends...oh, her friends. She was so caught up with trying to control herself that she missed the exchange between Dr. Nicander and Nurse Patterson, about what would come next.had she paid attention, nothing would have changed, of course, but it was one more tidbit, one additional piece of missed information for the young Ensign

Finally however, she heard Lucan's voice, cutting through the fog of her thoughts, focusing her once again on the matter at hand.

"Did anyone else survive, Doctor?" She could have asked about the new quarters. About the details of the damage done, that he had healed. About how long she had been in stasis. About where they were. A thousand questions flashed through her mind but all she could ask was that. "Did any of my collu-of my friends made it out alive? Thari- Commander th'Thane?"

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #10 –
[ Dr. Nicander | Meanwhile | CMO Office | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan @Brutus
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The question ought to have been expected. Of course Eloi-Danvers wanted to know how the rest of the Diplomatic delegation aboard had fared. Unfortunately, Lucan had no good news for her.

"There is never an easy way to say this, and I suspect you already know what I am about to say... Not because of my thoughts, of course, but because the memories might still be there... in your subconscious."

He paused, and he stepped to her right side, taking the glass of water out of her hand. Since he had already scanned himself for any Virus 117 infection, he reached through the containment field and held her real hand in his own, clasping it for support as he told her. "Outside Jupiter Station, where we dropped out of warp to contact the base commander, Thea suffered a direct hit from a full spread of quantum torpedoes. The deck you were all on was depressurised, and you are the only survivor as far as we know."

He needn't tell her that during the strange voyage they had behind themselves, officers returning to the ship even though they had been lost in battle was not the strangest thing by far. He wouldn't tell because it might prolong the time she'd need to process her grief. The parasite saw it as an opportunity to manipulate her, to make her depend on his every word, but Lucan was through playing such games. He would not wield truth in untruth just because he could, because of leverage. He would tell her because she needed to hear it, and not act upon the chance he had. He would do the right thing, despite the will of the thing inside him.

"I am afraid that those working closest to you are gone, but many of the Theurgy's crew still remains here. We have picked up a lot of new people along the way, but you should take comfort in the fact that you are not alone... and that we need you. I am sure Captain Ives will speak with you about your continued duties aboard, and what you might do for the mission."

He gave her a faint smile, one of encouragement. "You need time, and rest, but please acknowledge the fact that while some winds have ceased to blow, there will yet come more for you to ride upon. A saying of my people, and it means that death is never the end, just temporary calm before the next breeze."

Having said this, he let her hand go, but he crouched down next to her biobed, so that he was level with her. "Do you have any more questions, or would you like to get out of this crowd? Nurse Patterson will take good care of you."

If she so wished, he would tell Thea to initiate the site-to-site transport.

OOC: If Faye has another question, I will post again, but if not, feel free to have Lucan transport Faye in your upcoming post, Brutus. :) Nolan posts after you since that makes more sense, right?

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #11 –
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan  @Nolan 
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Faye knew the moment that Dr. Nicander reached through the containment field that things were bad. He wouldn't do that, he wouldn't take her hand - the real one - if it was good news he had to deliver. Or even a silver lining. No, he'd only do this if he had to impart the kind of news that would hollow her out inside. The kind that would confirm her suspicions, her fears on the subject.

They were all dead.

A wave of anguish crashed in against her battered defenses, against the walls she had desperately tried to build, both around her mind, and her heart. Each failed her in turn and she was swept under the torrent, the feeling of her own despair being a sharp, wracking sob to the surface as the deep, dark pools of her pure black eyes went wide in pain.

Doctor Nicander was right, about one thing. She wasn't picking up his thoughts, even with the direct contact. The raven haired ensign squeezed Lucan's tattooed hand, hard, so terribly hard, needing that contact for a moment. She stared back into his consolatory  countenance, trying to draw strength from it as the suffering of others in Sickbay invaded her mind. Did she have more questions? Of course Faye did. She always had questions. Never ending assortment of them. Her father had always said that her favorite word was 'why'. It drove her poor mother 'bonkers' as the elder Danvers would often claim.

Faye was brimming with questions, but with the news hitting her as hard as it did - with the tears now silently pooling in the corners of her eyes, the young officer did not want to remain in the recovery ward surrounded by so many people. So many minds, almost all of them weighed down in chains of depression. Gods help us the ship feels like its been gutted to the core, she thought to herself as she struggled to put bricks in place. Just dealing with one mind would be much more preferable. The betazoid needed time to process - the losses of her friends and colleges (the only friends she had on the ship, to be truthful), the fear that she would now have the weight of the whole department on her shoulders; the knowledge that the crew had suffered grievous losses and yet gained new members? The pressure of the unknown ate at her, and she needed to be away.

Perhaps the physical evaluation would let her take her mind off it. She sniffled, hoping the thought was right, and that when she spoke, her voice would not break. Gods help me I'm going to need a lot of time with Counselor Nelis once things settled down. If they settle down...

With that less than cheery thought filling her mind, Faye shook her head slowly and spoke up. "I...No questions right now. Thank you, Doctor." She swallowed hard, before she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. Her eyes were far too wide still, like a hunted, wounded animal - she could tell. So she shut them, let the tears stream down her cheeks and calmly continued. "I think ...seeing Nurse Patterson now would be a good idea." Being away from here would be a good idea she silently added.

In a valiant attempt to make herself a bit more presentable, she dashed her hand - her right hand, her real hand - across her face, wiping away the tears. She'd be mortified later at such a display, shameful for a Starfleet officer, even a Betazoid, whom were known for being open with their emotions and opinions. But for now she watched as the Doctor squared his shoulders and shot her a comforting smile. At least there's this friendly face, she told herself, doing her best not to think about anything or anyone else - even the seemingly friend nurse she was on her way to meet.

"Thea," that accented voice called out. "Please beam Ens. Eloi-Danvers to Nurse Patterson's current location."

"Acknowledged, Doctor," came the dulcet tones of the ships AI. The last thing Faye saw before the blue white light swept her away to the secluded Battle Sickbay and the tender care of Nurse Riley Patterson was Lucan Nicander, hands clasped behind his back, eyes homed in on hers, and that gentle, sympathetic smile on his face.

OOC: I figure Faye has a metric ton of questions but she's in no condition to ask them just yet. @Nolan - i render her into Patterson's tender care LOL.

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #12 –
[ PO Riley Patterson | Battle Sickbay | Deck 07 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Brutus

The blue light energized in front of her eyes as the figure formed itself on the bed at the Battle Sickbay's secluded section. Patterson stood more in attention as she waited for the site to site transport to be completed. Once ensign Eloi-Danvers had materialized entirely, Patterson smiled faintly as she noticed the features on her face. It indicated that Nicander must've broken the news about the other members of the diplomatic party aboard the ship. Faye was the only known survivor at this point and Riley slowly ventured closer as she did her best to keep her mind as blank as possible to not overwhelm the ensign entirely.

Despite Faye's best intentions to wipe away the tears, there was no way of covering up the fact that she had been crying earlier on.
She placed her hand on her shoulder as she whispered softly "Ensign... I'm sorry for your loss. Would you like something to drink? Perhaps something warm?" she suggested as she stepped closer until she came face to face with her. Her eyes looking at her face and features before looking in her eyes "If there's anything I can do for you or if you ever want to talk, you can always contact me or tell me." she offered as a meager option.

Her eyes looked over the equipment and she wondered if it was a good idea to put the ensign through all the exercises. She could possible stall or postpone some tests until she was at her own quarters. That is if she could walk steadily to her own quarters. She looked back at Faye as she gave a gentle squeeze in her shoulders before giving her a warm and caring smile "Whenever you feel ready ensign, let me know." she informed her with a smile.

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #13 –
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Battle Sickbay | Deck 07 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan
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The trilling hum of Thea's transporter beam filled Faye's ears. She'd always liked the tone, finding it soothing. Such was the case now as she was deposited into a different bed, 4 decks above where she had awoken - and a separate vector entirely. The light of the beam vanished, displaying a reasonably well lit room, with - amazingly - only one occupant. The nurse from before.... Patterson, Dr. Nicander had called her. The one with the long brown hair that grew light at the tips, and the piercing Blue eyes. She was, Faye saw, affecting a pleasant smile, and doing her best to blanket her mind, bless her.

What a state I must seem to her, she silently lamented, knowing that her efforts to rid her face of her tears were less than successful. Her suspicions were confirmed when the nurse reached out and touched her arm. Immediately there was a sense of sympathy, but it was muted - Faye had been forcing that wall of hers into place again, as she had been transported away. Something, anything, to keep the voices out of her head, let her deal with her grief and recovery behind the safety of her mental defenses.

And yet she still felt that sympathy, and managed a smile, even if she felt overwhelmed by the woman's offer to listen, to be there if she needed it. Riley's face was so close, and so earnest, and unlike with Dr. Nicander she had a sense, as she stared back into those bright eyes, of the emotions and thoughts behind the offer. It was hard for Faye to not reach out and probe, but she managed to curtail her desires, lumping it all in with the stress of the news she'd been given.

To say she was an emotional wreck right then would have been an understatement of the highest order.

"I...thank you," she quietly replied, her voice still a little raw. "A hot drink would be nice, yes. Tarkalian Tea? Sweetened?" Faye tried not to pout a little as she asked, but she always had a habit of looking something akin to a Terran puppy dog at times like this. Riley stepped away, and Faye continued to ponder her words, pulling her legs up slowly, bunching them against her chest, under the sheet that had been  beamed in with her. She wiggled her toes against the matress, her dark eyes following the other woman, her mind still turbulent.

"I um...I'll keep in mind your other offer as well." Faye didn't have any friends left alive on the ship; the only people she might have turned to were all spaced. The color drained out of her face as she thought of that, and her breath hitched, before she shunted it away. Riley was offering...that made a grand total of one person making an effort (she didn't count the counseling staff, or Dr. Nicander, who had given her his best reassurance then bundled her off to go see to his next paitent.) "But....Nurse Patterson -" she had
 a sudden sense, even as she said it, that the other woman would have preferred her first name, "Riley...what are we supposed to begin?"

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #14 –
[ PO Riley Patterson | Battle Sickbay | Deck 07 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Brutus

"One Tarkalian tea coming right up." she smiled, her vibrant happy mood pretty much radiating from her despite her efforts to keep her head as blank as possible. The idea of tea though had her thinking of back home. Riley was a definite tea kind of person as she despised coffee. She had tasted many kind of flavors and wasn't too scared to experiment with the alien variants of them. It had gotten her in several odd situations where at some point she almost got considered a bride-to-be of a chieftain during her early years as an explorer.

As Riley walked over to the replicator she hadn't intended to sway her hips too much for Faye, yet had managed to do so either way. She cocked her hips in front of the replicator as she ordered the drink and added the option to add some sweetness to it. Her eyes looked at the beverage forming before the warm damps came from out of the cup. She took it in both hands and walked back to Faye as she smiled and handed it over to her. The ensign seemed to know her name already and Riley figured it was probably because of Nicander. She was pleased to hear that she'd keep her offer in mind and she nodded ever so lightly at the brunette in front of her.

When she addressed her as Nurse Patterson followed by Riley, the young woman giggled and shook her head before looking around at the infrastructure. "Please just call me Riley." she smiled "As for what we're supposed to do here... Nothing kinky, this isn't a playroom so to speak." she joked with a wink before she walked to the hovering walker. "Doctor Nicander had requested me to check how your motor skills endured the stasis. Sometimes we see that people have lost some of these abilities and need some physiotherapy." she explained herself as she allowed the woman to savor her drink first. "I was thinking of exercises for the mind and the body, like some brain games, puzzles and sorts. Yet also walking and checking what other physical duty you're already comfortable with. Running or rope skipping as an example there." she clarified as she remained professional with Faye. She didn't want her to see her as the pervert who had naughty thoughts about anyone.

"So anyway, I'll leave it up to you to decide what you'd want to start with. We have time really as Nicander has appointed me to be your personal nurse until you're back on your feet and at work." she smiled friendly and stood back in front of her.

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #15 –
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Battle Sickbay | Deck 07 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan , @Nolan
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A ray of sunshine, Faye found herself thinking, in regards to the bright Nurse, as she watched the smile spread over Rileys' face. Then the woman was sauntering off, drawing Faye's gaze, and instead of wallowing for a few minutes in self pity, the Betazoid found herself instead following the nurse' trek across the room. Her fingers on her right hand were taping against the side of her leg, in time with Riley's steps. And when the other woman cocked her hip to one side to place an order, Faye tilted her head in the same direction. Whether it was the nurses intention or not, she had at least momentarily distracted Faye from her grief.

Taking the tea in both hands - awkwardly, with the left hand - Faye managed to balance the cup and bring it to her lips. She closed her eyes and drew in the scent of the tea in a long, slow breath through her nose. A sigh escaped her lips as the spicy tang of it comforted her. It reminded her of her mother, who would often sip a cup of this in the afternoon, if she couldn't get her hands on a blend from earth (She refused to replicate the tea, insisting on imports). Savoring the moment, Ens. Eloi-Danvers looked up just in time to catch Riley's crack about a playroom, and her eyebrows shot up high on her forehead, while her lips curled into a slight smile behind the rim of the Starfleet standard issue glass mug.

Enjoying the flavor as she took her first sip, letting it roll down her tongue, and sooth her, Faye listened intently, finding herself nodding along. A serious look began to bloom, but it quickly cracked into a small smile - the nurses happy nature (and the light teasing) made it impossible for Faye to remain stoic. Still a lot of what the lighter haired woman was saying made plenty of sense to the diplomat. And she acknowledged that with a small tilt of the teacup in Riley's direction, before takign another sip and nearly choking on it when she got a stray....impression. Oh dear she thought, blushing a bit harder before tamping down on that impulse. Now was certainly not the time. And yet....and yet.

"Personal nurse, huh? I must have done something right then." The teasing quip was out of her mouth before she could stop it, and she hid the follow up blush with that same mug, taking another long drink from it to get her wits about her. Settling back down, her legs now crossed under the blanket, and her hands resting - fake inside real, with the teacup balances in the palm of her replacement, Faye found herself looking the other woman over a few times, her own dark eyes passing up and down as she contemplated everything she'd been told.

"I'm not entirely sure that I'm up for skipping rope just yet," the Ensign finally concluded, as her gaze shifted to the hover walker. Chewing on her lip, she continued, "But...I do  want to see what I'm capable of. I just don't know if its much, at all." She let out a sigh. Her throat no longer hurt, and the throaty, raspy quality was gone from her voice. But she still felt exhausted. Which, considering she'd been in stasis for ...for what? For how long?

"Lets get started. But Nu-Riley?" She asked, swinging a leg to the side, letting it slip out from under the sheets, mostly bare, at least up to the knee. "How long...was I even in stasis? I just realized Dr. Nicander didn't say. How long has it been, since -" Since all your friends died and you were the only one spared. Since everyone on this ship you cared about became stardust - "Since we left Earth."

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #16 –
[ PO Riley Patterson | Battle Sickbay | Deck 07 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Brutus

Riley observed Faye as she took over the tea in her hands, her left hand still seemed to be a tad alienated from the rest of her body, yet Riley smiled contently as this itself was already and exercise. The woman seemed to enjoy the scent of the tea and the flavor seemed to be just right as she took a sip and her face seemed to look a thousand times better already in the eyes of the young nurse.

"Personal nurse, huh? I must have done something right then."

Riley's reply was to mention that she stayed alive, yet she bit back on that reply as she figured it would probably be unfit in this situation. Faye's blush on her cheeks didn't alert Riley that she had gotten an impression off her, she just imagined it was the tea working it's way down her body.

As she mentioned not to be ready for any rope skipping just yet, Riley snickered and nodded as she still acknowledged that she wanted to see what she was still capable off. "Well, the good news is, your fingers and hands seem to work perfectly as you can drink on your own and not throw the cup around." she assured the ensign, boosting her self confidence a little before noticing she was still in her patient gown. Considering, she'd probably be naked underneath it, Riley wanted to voice out the option to replicate her some clothes and underwear. That itself would be a perfect exercise to see if she could have the fine motor skills to get dressed and remember what was needed for what.

However Faye asked a different question to Riley as she wanted to know for how long she had been in stasis. Riley looked at her as she had to count for it herself. "A while... Right now we're at stardate 57505.34. We left Earth since..." Riley paused, they had been through so much that she honestly couldn't remember when they left. There been so much trauma, so much loss and new people. Her mind wondered off at all the patients she remembered treating. The moments of loss and grieving she went through, yet also the moment of happiness when they were on Theta for a brief breather. The partners she had shared there during the parties in the hot springs, the relaxing mood she had shared with some during Lohlunat . The angst and danger she experienced during the mutiny with Harbinger and Calamity. It all flashed through her head before she realized Faye could probably peek in and get a grasp of everything that went on. She blushed and looked back at Faye, right into her eyes "S-Sorry..." she murmured "Should've kept that to myself..." she offered sheepish.

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #17 –
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Battle Sickbay | Deck 07 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan 
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Belatedly, Faye realized what she'd been felling must have shown on her face. The shock, the horror, the grief, mixed with a flash of desire, and a dose of shame. Shame, for her inability to keep from prying, as Riley Patterson's memories of the last few months washed over Faye like a wave cresting over a damn, sloshing down the sides of her mental fortifications and drowning her in the other woman's thoughts and feelings. They blossomed like a rose, and Faye drifted through it all, even though it was naught but scant seconds before Riley reigned herself in.

Tears did not fall, but pricked the edges of Faye's eyes as the young ensign dealt with the bitter losses Riley had seen. The memories were jumbled and scattered, no sense of time or organization was left from what Ens. Eloi-Danvers had gleaned, but what she had picked up left her with a much better sense of what had happened to the Theurgy and her crew since Jupiter Station. There was heat in her cheeks as well, not only for the memories that Riley had of the Lohlunat , and the encountered there, the now fleeting knowledge of just what the nurse sounded like when - well - not just from that. No, it also came from the shame of having invaded the woman's memories, even if she had not done so on purpose. The lack of control of her telepathic abilities was horrifying to Faye. Her only comfort was that it simply had to be a result of long term stasis.

There was simply no other explanation that the diplomat could come up with.

A full minute passed, of Faye starring into the depths of Riley's mind, their eyes locked together, before Riley's words registered with the Betazoid. She shut her eyes, drew in a shaking breath, slowly, and shook her head from side to side. There was no way that Faye was going to let the nurse take any of the blame here. She shouldn't have to watch her every thought - that was Faye's responsibility.

"No...I"m the one who is sorry. Sorry for invading your mind like that," her breath hitched a bit, "And...and sorry for everything. My gods what you've all been through while I just slept everything off..."

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #18 –
[ PO Riley Patterson | Battle Sickbay | Deck 07 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Brutus

The apology came from ensign Eloi-Danvers as she shook her head. She had seen everything that had flashed before Riley's eyes and Riley couldn't help but wonder if she even saw the parts that were more horrifying for people who hadn't received the correct training or the parts that were more personal to her when she engaged in sexual interactions. She did however not seem to mind to share it all as it in total gave Faye a good recap of what had happened. Riley's eyes dropping down to the floor for a second before looking back up at Faye.

"You need not to apologize ensign." she started as she smiled again, less vibrant, yet still with enough happiness in it. In fact Riley was rather curious to how and what Faye could see from her mind even now. Could she go and prod around in her head for certain things or would it only be the memories she selected? "The way I see it, you're now up to speed with what we've all been through." she said softly, not being proud about it as some of the events were more than traumatic. "Think of it the other way though... Sure you slept it all off, yet what would the alternative be?" she tried to reason with Faye before she couldn't help but adding teasingly "Plus, you wouldn't have your personal nurse to deal with if that were the case." she winked as her fingers pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Riley gently bit her lower lip as she gazed at Faye's features before she let go of her and snapped back to her job at hand.

"Anyway! We need to get back to work ensign!" she stated with a renewed sense of motivation and joy "First off, we'll need to get you out of that patient gown. There's no way I'm letting you walk with that and risk having you lose the garment and trip over it." She stated, her mind quickly jumping to a flash where the scenario played out yet it never got to Faye falling down. The idea quickly cut short by Riley's mind as she realized Faye would be watching along as she imagined Faye suddenly naked as the gown had slid off while she supported herself on the walker. Her full body on display for the bubbly nurse. "Fuck..." she murmured to herself as she closed her eyes and looked back at Faye "Sorry, again..." she muttered "And also, don't apologize to peek in my head... I don't mind, I'm just going to warn you right now that you might see all kinds of weird thing." she smiled before she walked over to the replicator.

"You can pick what you want to wear, standard issue underwear and a uniform or would you rather have something else? Something more easier for therapy perhaps? Just let me know and I'll see what I can get out of the replicator." she said while looking back at Eloi-Danvers. She came to a full stop at the instrument once more and looked over he shoulder at her patient.

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #19 –
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Battle Sickbay | Deck 07 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan 
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Gone in an instant, but briefly there, was the small flicker of amusement that crossed Faye's features as she realized that neither herself, nor Riley, seemed inclined to allow the other to take any kind of blame in the events that had just unfolded. They each seemed to be tripping over their own feet to apologize to the other, and there was something bordering on outragesously funny about the whole thing. Just a brief giggle, then control fell back into place as Faye nodded in understanding.

"I....Yes, its a bit jumbled, but I do know now," she agreed. She knew what they had gone through. And she had intimate knowledge of her 'personal nurse.' At least Riley is taking it well, Faye silently allowed. Not many people would react as calmly - or lets be honest, as playfully - as Nurse Patterson seemed to be. Given the telepaths current state, that too was as much of a welcome balm as having been removed from the main recovery wing.

Seeing the nurse begin to take on a more professional stance again, Faye strived to do the same. She at up a bit straighter, still mostly covered by the sheet and her medical gown, and she lay both of her hands in her lap again, once more cradling the 'new' hand in her original right. Which, when she thought about it, disturbed her. I lost my arm...what's here isn't real... she thought, before brushing the words aside and instead choosing to focus on something fare more pleasent - Riley Patterson. Of course, that proved to be something of a mistake as she got the mental image - crystal clear, this time - of her own bare back. And back side. Oh My she flushed red in response and this time she was certain that there was no mistaking the source.

"Um....Its all right," she quietly told Riley, dry swallowing, and hiding her face behind a curtain of hair that fell over her eyes. "I think you give me a bit more.....credit than i deserve." She was convinced her bum did not look as good as the nurse had imagined. Chewing on her lip, Faye was flattered that the nurse had essentially just given her tacit premission to have free reign in the brunette's mind. Faye was fairly certain that Riley had no idea what that meant to a Betazoid. But it did tease a smile onto her lips as she pondered the woman's gaffe involving Faye and the hover walker, trying to decide which of the two of them was more embarrassed by that prospect.

Noting that Riley had moved to the replicator, the young Ensign swung her other foot over the edge of the bed, and shrugged off the blanket. The standard Federation blue medical gown revealed far more than it concealed, though it did happily close up at the back for the moment. But the diplomat's legs were very much on display, perhaps slightly less toned then they had been when going into stasis, but still holding the rich coloring that the rest of her skin seemed to show - including her replacement arm.

"If I'm supposed to be working out," Faye ventured, meeting those blue eyes again and managing not to look past them into the depths of Riley's subconscious, "I think something abit more practical than a full uniform would be good. Workout clothes, you know?" She found herself nervously rubbing the inside palm of her fake hand with the thumb of her real one, as her legs dangled off the edge of the biobed. "Gym shorts...sports bra, that kind of thing? I'm not really sure what would be best...you pick? Please?"

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #20 –
[ PO Riley Patterson | Battle Sickbay | Deck 07 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Brutus

It wasn't that Riley wasn't concerned or worried about the betazoid going through her mind. It was just the fact that she didn't like keeping secrets. She always disliked dishonesty and figured that if she were to work closely with Faye for now, she might as well bare herself to her on a mental state as well. Of course, she counted on the discretion and self control of the betazoid to keep herself within reason.

As she succeeded in making her patient turn deep red before hiding it up with her brown locks, Riley looked away with a flush of her own as Faye replied that she gave her too much credit of her bare back and backside. She snickered a little before shrugging "Well, you don't have to see yourself short... Either way, I'm pretty sure that I'm not that far off. I've seen nude people quite a bit while on the job." she explained herself for her expertise.

By the time Riley had made eye contact again with the ensign, she noticed her legs hanging loosely from the bed as she dangled them. The smooth skin reflecting a little in the light before Riley pursed her lips as she considered the request of the woman for what she needed to wear. Her mind raced at the different outfits that she could wear, including picturing her a couple of times in diverse underwear and bra outfits before she settled her mind.

"Alright, but you'll have to try and put everything on yourself." she stated as it was part of her exercise in fact. She replicated a sports bra with a matching panty that would easily fit Faye in a colorful cherry color. The next product that got replicated was a hayden tank top that would expose the back of Faye, yet granted her more movement space with her shoulders and arms. This item was produced in a rather ink black color and last but not least she produced a pair of shorts that would reach halfway down Faye's femur. The last clothing piece was black of color and Riley was quick to grab all items and bring them over to the biobed.

She wondered if she had to turn around and let Faye try it on for herself without her peeking at her and letting her eyes roam over her body or if she had to stay and watch so she could help and intervene where necessary. She figured she could ask the young woman herself, however she imagined that by now Faye would have seen the doubt in her mind already. An additional question arising as she needed to voice out questions all the time or if she could just think about them and have Faye hear them like that? Her mind drifting off from there as she contemplated on how easy the mind reading would be when having a bad day with severe throat pain or when silence was forced upon them.

She shook her head stubbornly and sighed "Right... Think these'll do?" she asked her softly before she looked up at Eloi-Danvers. Wondering if she has made the right choice clothing wise and color wise. She never had a certain sense for fashion in her earlier years, so she doubted she grew in that field by any chance.


OOC: For those interested, the clothing and model that inspired the outfit

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #21 –
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Battle Sickbay | Deck 07 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan 
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The red in her cheeks faded someone, settling for a rosy pink instead, that complemented her complexion nicely. She decided that, all things considered, taking the compliment was the best way to handle it, and did her best to keep out of Riley's head for a moment or two, managing not to pick up on the various and sundry bits of clothing that the nurse pictured her in. She looked up though as the nurse began to punch in commands to the replicator, instructing Faye, It made plenty of sense to the young betazoid that Riley would want her to try and dress herself. As good a test of motor skills as drinking that cup of tea had been, if not better. Of course, she'd have to stand up and the like, which would be...a bit more straining than taking a sip from a mug.

She felt eyes on her bare legs as the nurse collected the replicated outfit and turned her attentions back to the diplomatic officer. Faye drew a small circle with her toe against the floor, humming a bit as she let Riley settle her own thoughts again. Impressions drew her attention, and from that her mind delved into Riley's again, on its own accord. Down and down she went, picking up more and more/ Well! i can see she has a lot of questions, she thought to herself, focusing more on the logistics of what the nurse was pondering and not the flattering thoughts about her own person and how much that might be enjoyed.

Faye lifted her false hand up, and ran the thumb of it over her chin, pondering for a moment. It felt real, against the skin along he jaw, but at the same time, knowing it was fake made it seem wrong. Even if she could not tell a tactile difference. It frustrated the darker haired woman, but there was nothing she could do about it now. Or ever. A frown broke out across her brow, but she forced it away by sucking a slow breath through her nose.

"To answer your unasked questions," Faye began, quietly, and carefully, "Betazoids are a very open and honest, though we do our best to respect the boundaries of others." She slowly slides forward on the biobed, until her feet could touch the floor. "There are a lot of share thoughts, and yes, absolutely, its useful when someone has a sore throat. Mother found it infuriating, of course, since she wasn't a full telepath, but to father that kind of thing was second nature." She flashed Riley a small smile, before her face scrunched up in concentration and she put her weight on her feet. They slid a part a bit, and Faye felt slightly wobbly, before she got a sense of balance and straightened up until she was no longer supported by the bed.

"Well, that worked better than i'd feared, " she admitted, adjusting the hem of her gown. "I prefer to talk, if able...unless I'm sure the person I am with is comfortable with a more mental exchange." Faye chewed on her lip, and then, "having full access to one another's mind is an...intimate exchange for Betazoids, reserved for family...lovers...close friends, the like." And with the exception of an actual bonding, taking on an Imzadi two way was impossible between a betazoid and a non betazoid. Without going into those details, Faye did note that, "You wouldn't necessarily be able to hear my thoughts. So...speaking is better."

Meeting Riley's eyes, Faye took one step, then another, towards her nurse, shaking at first, but managing to stagger forward, one step after another. She did not fall, and she did not accidentally lose her gown either. Finally however, she came to a stop in front of the other girl, and grinned. "Well. Didn't fall flat on my face yet." She beamed, her grief and depression momentarily pushed aside by the simple achievement. Holding out her hands for the clothes, she added, "We also don't have any sort of taboo's about being naked in front of others - as a people. Our wedding ceremonies are done in the buff." A shrug of her shoulders accompanied an almost impish smile as she added, "Though knowing someone is checking me out has been known to make me blush."

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #22 –
[ PO Riley Patterson | Battle Sickbay | Deck 07 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Brutus 

When Faye suddenly started talking and addressed her unasked question, Riley felt her own cheeks heat up a little as they left her with a pink shade herself. It left her with more color in her face as she perked up and listened intently to what she had to say. She did however notice that the young betazoid was getting out of bed without the proximity of the walker. It urged a response from Riley to dash forward so she'd be in reach of her should she lose balance or fall down. Riley smiled a little as Faye shared how her mother found it infuriating. She placed her hands each about thirty centimeters away from her shoulders as she balanced herself, feet sliding a bit as she felt wobbly. She didn't intervene yet as Faye seemed to straighten herself without any intervention.

"You're doing great so far Faye." Riley acknowledged her statement that things were going better than imagined. As she adjusted the hem of her gown, Riley pulled her arms back and readied herself to hand over the clothes to her. "Talking works fine for me." she laughed softly and she nodded in an understanding way when she mentioned that having full access would be considered intimate among Betazoids. Riley remembered the mention of it during one of her classes back at the academy, yet it was all just a haze as it was delivered by one of the most boring professors during a far too warm period in the year. If only she had paid more attention then to what he had to say instead of dreaming off about laying on the beach or hanging out with some of the other cadets for a party.

Riley continued to nod slowly at her words while her eyes observed every move she made. She was doing great and it would seem that the walker might not be necessary at all at this stage. "So, did I overstep in that case by telling you to feel free to look in my mind?" she asked her carefully "I mean, it's not like I'm family or a close friend." 'Let alone a lover.' she felt the thought pass by before she looked back up at Faye. "I mean, I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable if it's considered to be quite intimate." she clarified her words before she smiled warmly at her.

In the meantime the good ensign made her first steps, carefully, yet with a good resolve. Riley extended her hands in front of her, should the need arise for her to clasp on to them should she lose balance. It worked out perfectly however for the woman as she came to a stop before Riley and her personal nurse beamed with the same joy and sense of success like she did. "I'd say it was a great achievement so far, especially for being in stasis for so long." she answered her. Her muscles seemed to be less affected than some of the others that she had seen coming out of stasis. Which was great news for the ensign. Riley handed over the clothes to Faye and her own cheeks turned a shade darker when Faye mentioned that there was no taboo about nudity.

Riley did wonder how those wedding ceremonies would go. Would everyone be without any attire? Would it lead to awkward situations at times? She could only imagine a ceremony like that with her family. Some of her nephews would probably show more on display if they saw her nude. With a bit of annoyance, Riley shook her head again as if to rid herself of the mental picture, hoping and wondering if Faye had picked up on it or not.

"Well, humans sometimes have that boundary still... Luckily for you, medical staff are subjected to it regularly so I'm not too embarrassed myself when I'm nude." she offered with a sheepish smile. "As for checking out..." she added teasingly "I'll do my utmost best to remain professional ensign." she answered with a playful wink before she nodded at her "Just let me know if you need any help or if I need to hand you something." she offered as she didn't turn around. The risk of her falling when trying clothes on was possible so she needed to be ready in case something like that would occur.

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #23 –
[ Ens. Faye Lintah Eloi-Danvers | Battle Sickbay | Deck 07 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Nolan
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As more time passed in each others company, Faye quickly came to the conclusion that both of them would take on a permanent pink tinge, at the rate they were going. It caused a tiny giggle to slip out of her lips, and she shook her head ever so slightly, while smiling, standing there in the gown. Riley's enthusiasm was a balm, even if her erratic thoughts were terribly distracting. The fact that the nurse saw her ability to stumble about but not flat out fall as a good sign was a relief. At least for the diplomat. With everything that had happened in the last half hour or so, Faye would take any and all sources of reassurance she could find.

The shake became more prominent as Faye replied softly, "You didn't overstep. As a rule, we don't expect outsiders to understand the customs of our people, and we don't hold it against them in the slightest." She paused, then amended, "Ok, most of us don't, and even the best of us have limits. Especially around male Ferengi." She made a scrunched up face, "Great businessmen but manners...yick." Then flashed an apologetic look over her features, "Not a very egalitarian, Federation opinion to have. I blame it on the stories I hear and - I'm rambling." She shut up promptly, looking a wee bit abashed. For a diplomat, she had blundered just then, and she though about how TharinAlk would scold her - except he'll never scold me again.

A leaden weight settled into the pit of her stomach with that stark realization and she prayed to whatever gods were listening then and there that her face did not betray what she'd just considered. It would be unfair to Riley, she concluded as she kept her features relatively blank. A diplomats face - or a poker players.

It didn't last long however, as Faye took the clothing from Riley, and listened to her words - and thoughts. The later of which had her grinning a bit, and shaking her head, despite the depression that had threatened to wash over her.. She carefully spread the garments out, nodding in agreement with what had been chosen. With more than a little curiosity, Faye ran her fingers over the fabric, getting a feel for it. Should feel good - provided i can get it on without making a fool of myself

For all of Faye's talk about Betazoids and nudity, and Riley's assurances that as a medical professional she'd be unperturbed, there was a hint of modest concern in the back of Faye's mind. So she decided to just get on with it, and kept up the conversation with Riley. Reaching back behind her to undo the clasp on the gown was an outright pain in the ass. Her left arm didnt quite want to get into place properly, so she had to twist about to get her right arm there instead. Fingers bumbled about, but eventually found what was needed, after some grunts, and then it came undone in the back. As Riley was facing Faye from the front, that had to be an amusing sight to see.

"Hate these things," the diplomat muttered as she rolled her shoulder, feeling it slide down, catching the garment with her false hand against her chest. Her cheeks were a bit flushed, and this time it had nothing to do with embarrassment. Distracting herself from her frustration with the bloody thing, before she let it drop entirely, Faye informed Riley that, "Betazoid weddings - when I say in the buff, I mean in the buff. Everyone. Not a shred of clothing on. Its just not seen as a big deal or concern among our people. But it is hilarious when we have guests from other planets join in. We don't mock younger ones, that might not be able to control reactions but well - men are men, what can you really expect, right? I imagine your poor nephews would be having their eyes popping out - among other things." The impish look was back as she bit her lip and removed the rest of the gown. She was, from head to toe, that same golden skin tone - no tan lines visible, though there wasn't much of a tan to her period, simply the natural shade granted by genetics.

The Betazoid was distracted as she gave herself a once over, wobbling with a loss of balance for a moment as she twisted about. Her lithe body was on full display at this point, from her perky breasts, to the small, neatly trimmed patch of dark curls just above her womanhood, all the way down to the tips of her toes - devoid of polish, that left Faye wondering what had happened to it. Her tattoo was still in place, but the nail polish she'd worn on her toes and fingers were gone. She was staring at her arm, looking for some kind of seam, and gently prodding it with her finger. "I...I can't tell where one ends and the other begins..."

Re: Chapter 31: Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow | Day 02 [1315 hrs.]

Reply #24 –
[ PO Riley Patterson | Battle Sickbay | Deck 07 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Brutus

Riley picked in on what Faye said as she was curious about Betazoid customs now that she got assigned to work so closely with one. "I'd like to learn more about your people if you'd be up to it. Like later I mean, when you're all better and such." she answered a bit clumsily before she closed her eyes and straightened her face. Why the hell was it so hard to just behave like a normal person around her?

Her statement about Ferengi made her laugh a little as she shrugged her shoulders "I've not had a chance to have a full on conversation with a Ferengi yet. So I can't judge really." she offered while looking back up in Faye's eyes. "But I'm curious though, what do you mean with manners, strictly speaking as a girl, not as a diplomat." she fished for answers while Eloi-Danvers seemed to zone out for a second before she spread the clothing, inspected it and got a feel for it.

Riley wanted to offer help in opening the clasp, yet it was sort of funny to see Faye pull different kind of faces while trying to open it. Riley was about to suggest to use the arm with the prosthethic enhancement on it, yet just than, Faye opened up the clasp before sharing how much she hated the medical gowns. Riley could only nod slowly as she heard the complaint with multiple patients before. "If it would make you feel any better, at least you managed to get it off without falling over." she teased her with a cheeky smile.

Patterson noted that the gown slipped down before Faye caught it at her chest. A pause visible as Riley bit her lower lip a little before the fabric slid down and pooled down at her feet. Riley bent through her knees and picked up the gown, removing it from the area around her feet. She didn't want the diplomat to accidentally step on it and trip. When she looked up however, her eyes followed the long smooth legs of Faye. They rolled up over her mound which was decorated with the neatly trimmed pubic hair. Riley stood up now, her eyes following over her taut stomach and perky breasts with distinct aureoles before she got back on eye level with Faye. The process only lasting a second as she couldn't help but laugh a little as Faye told her in the meantime about the wedding ceremonies.

"Do you expect people from other planets to participate in it? Or do they wear their own.. 'Traditional' outfits? I mean, I can imagine it would lead to some chaotic situations at mixed weddings?" Riley asked, intrigued by it before she had to laugh a bit louder as her cheeks turned back to the darker shade of red when Faye mentioned her nephews "if they're anything like what I remember them to be... I'm pretty sure something else would pop far sooner before their eyes would. Then again, you've got a point though, boys will be boys." she winked jokingly as she could appreciate the impish smile Faye gave her. "I would like to attend a ceremony like that at some point... In fact, I've always been curious about customs and traditions of other races." she admitted before she glanced over Faye's body in a whole one quick time.

While Faye inspected her left arm and new extension, Riley disposed of the gown and returned to her. She watched her feel up the skin and prosthetic arm, the difference normally not able to be felt. Yet Riley knew where to look and feel, she knew where Nicander would have made his incision to remove the necrosis or damage to the tissue. She looked up at Faye before she stepped closer to her, closing the distance between them as she whispered "Allow me.." her hand reached out and her delicate soft fingers started at her elbow, reaching up almost halfway. She gave the skin a gentle prod before her finger circled around "Right there... That's where he stitched it together..." she said carefully, her eyes looking at the skin before looking up at Faye. "It's all part of you now though... Nobody would even be able to tell the difference. Not even the most closest lover," she assured Faye "Unless you date a surgeon or doctor that is." she teased her.

The temperature in the room they were in was climatized, not overly cold, yet not warm enough to linger around naked for too long. Riley figured it wouldn't be long before Faye's body would react to the cooler air "Come on hun, lets try to get you dressed. We can examine the arm after that too." she encouraged Faye to carry on.
 
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