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EPIL: S [D06|1135] Tearful Reunion

[ Lt. Cross | Corridors | Deck 5 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @trevorvw
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Cross had watched the heartwarming reunion between Blue and Commander Ducote from a distance, a slight smile crossing his features. Blue had been through hell during her time aboard the Versant, and the loss of Ducote had weighed heavily on her. He had been worried about his friend, knowing she was suffering, and to see her alive and reunited with Ducote filled him with a sense of relief. As the two lovebirds had headed off in the direction of the turbolift, Ducote likely taking Blue to sickbay, Cross turned and glanced down the corridor they had been walking along. The doors to the transporter room had hissed back open, and a teal uniformed medical orderly was half dragged into the hallway while trying to support an injured crewman who had just been beamed aboard from the Versant.

The Versant survivor was doubled over, staggering and coughing. As they neared where Cross was standing, the injured abductee stumbled and fell into Cross, who instinctively reached out to catch the man. Cross helped the medical orderly ease the injured man against the wall, leaning him back. It was then that Cross saw the bleeding hole in the man’s chest, the result of one of the Savi’s graviton weapons. Cross’ face remained a mask of calm as he pressed his one hand against the man’s chest, knowing that the attempt to stop the blood flow was futile. The medical glanced at him, likely knowing as well, though he said nothing. The injured abductee coughed again, this time bringing up a disturbing amount of frank red blood, some of which splattered onto the sleeve of Cross’ Savi infiltration suit. Cross continued to hold pressure, but after a moment the man began to convulse, the throes lasting only a moment or two before the crewman finally fell still, his eyes staring past Cross to the opposite wall. Cross heard the medical orderly curse, but said nothing. Remaining silent, he rose to his feet and turned away from the sight of the man who had died so shortly after escaping the Savi. Not everyone was lucky enough to have a heartfelt reunion upon their return.

Cross scowled slightly as he stepped off, wiping the man’s blood off of his hand and onto his Savi uniform as he went, moving slowly towards the turbolifts. He felt tired. The stump at the end of his left arm was throbbing, the pain shooting up his arm with each pulse. The seared and mangled flesh where he had cauterized the wound looked horrible, and Cross was not looking forward to the dressing down about wound care that he expected to receive from whoever ended up treating him. Not that he would be a priority patient, at this point. Between the Versant survivors and the Borg attack, there were enough injured people aboard the Theurgy to crew a bloody starship. The turbolift doors hissed open ahead of him, and Cross glanced up to see if anyone had stepped out.

Someone had.

A very familiar someone.

”Well, fuck.” Cross muttered to himself, a grin slowly spreading over his features as he studied the massive figure before him. There, stepping out of the turbolift, was his old friend Kai Akoni.

Kai, who’s large frame and larger personality had delighted in teasing his dour half-Vulcan friend Cross. Who had been Cross’ first and ultimately closest friend upon transferring to the Endeavour. And who Cross had assumed was dead following the destruction of the Endeavour at the hands of the Borg. ”Kai, is that you?” Cross finally spoke after staring at his friend in disbelief for several long moments, ”because if the Savi have tortured me into seeing hallucinations, I would hope they’d be prettier than you!”

Re: EPIL: S [D06|1135] Tearful Reunion

Reply #1 –
[ Lt. Kai Akoni | Corridors | Deck 5 | USS Theurgy ] @Fife

The turbolift ride from Deck 11 was one of the longest rides of Kai’s life. He thought about his friend and how much Cross had changed from when they both transferred to the Endeavour at the same time. The sour hybrid had quite the hard exterior, however Kai had broken that exterior down a little bit. 

Kai smiled at all the good thoughts and memories of his friend. He hoped against all odds that Cross was still alive. Commander Ducote had said that Cross was alive, but Kai wouldn’t believe it without seeing the grumpy hybrid with his own two eyes.

The turbolift slowed as it approached Deck five and then came to a stop, which was a little rougher than usual, but Kai chocked that up to the damage the Theurgy had received.

The doors slid open and he stepped out on to Deck Five and Kai froze when he saw what, or rather who was standing in front of him.

The man standing in front of him looked like shit. He was dressed in strange clothing, which was covered in blood, both fresh and older. He was missing his left hand, which admittedly looked worse than a lot of injuries Kai had seen during the Dominion War. He also vaguely noticed that Cross’ ridges on his nose were gone and his eyebrows looked full on Vulcan.

”Well, fuck.” Cross said aloud to no one in particular. However it seemed more to himself rather than Kai.

Upon hearing his friends voice, a wave of emotion came over Kai. He felt like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. Kai blinked multiple times in rapid succession to make sure he was actually seeing his friend.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Kai thought to himself as looked at his friend, who looked like shit.

Cross finally broke the silence.

”Kai, is that you? Because if the Savi have tortured me into seeing hallucinations, I would hope they’d be prettier than you!”

This caused Kai to laugh at his friend. A hearty belly laugh that caught Kai off guard. There hadn’t been anything to laugh about for the last while. The large man hugged his friend, which normally Cross would have been against, but given the circumstances, Kai didn’t care.

”Cross! It’s good to see you my friend!!” Kai said and then stepped back and gave Cross a once over with his eyes, ”But geez…you look like shit”

Akoni then stepped to the side and let Cross enter the turbolift. The man obviously needed to go to Sickbay, and Kai would take him there personally.

”Let’s get you to sickbay” Kai said after the two entered the turbolift and the doors closed.

Kai gave their desired deck to the computer and the turbolift began moving to its destination. The two stood there in silence for a few moments before Kai turned to Cross.

”I thought you were dead! What the hell happened?”

Re: EPIL: S [D06|1135] Tearful Reunion

Reply #2 –
[ Lt. Cross | Corridors | Deck 5 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @trevorvw
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Kai let out a thundering laugh as Cross’ comment, tilting his head back slightly as he did so. The motion caused the overhead lights, those that were working at least, to glint of the wetness under Kai’s eyes. The big man had always been an emotional fellow, but this was taking it a bit far, wasn’t it?

”Kai, are you cr…” Cross began, though he was cut off as the larger man wrapped his arms around Cross, trapping his arms at his sides as he pulled Cross into a tight hug. The Vulcan gritted his teeth as Kai hugged him, but uncomfortable with the proximity, and due to the fact that his arm throbbed with the pressure. Cross could have sworn he felt his ribs creak as the big man squeezed, causing Cross to emit a painful groan. ”K-Kai…” Cross rasped, his chest barely able to expand enough to allow him to speak. The big man finally let go, saying something about it being good to see him. Cross gasped, greedily sucking in air after nearly being crushed by his over-enthusiastic friend. ”But geez…you look like shit.”

Despite his discomfort, Cross managed to give his friend a lop-sided grin. ”You try surviving the Savi only to get mauled by a 300lb gorilla and see how you look.” Cross chuckled, wincing and grabbing his mangled arm with his one hand as they made their way into the turbolift. ”Sickbay sound like a good idea. Though one more hug like that and it’ll be the morgue, you blubbering behemoth.” Cross glanced up at the bigger man, still grinning. It was good to see his friend again, alive and well. Or at least in significantly better shape than Cross himself was in. ”I thought you were dead! What the hell happened?” Kai asked, causing Cross to shake his head.

”After Amasov ordered us to abandon ship, we made it to the escape pods. The Savi picked us up after we’d spent a while adrift.” Cross scowled at the floor at the mention of the Savi, the rage at what had been done to himself and the others surging up within him. ”They genetically altered us. “Correction”, they called it.” Cross glanced up at the big man and studied him for a moment. ”It’s a long story, better left for later. What happened to you? We thought no one else had survived, but here you are alive and well!” Cross glanced around the turbolift as it slowed to a halt. ”And how the hell did you end up aboard this ship?”

Re: EPIL: S [D06|1135] Tearful Reunion

Reply #3 –
[ Lt. Kai Akoni | Turbolift | Enroute to Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] @Fife

Correction.

What the..? Kai thought to himself as Cross gave a vague answer. Even with it being so vague, Kai could tell that his friend, and the others that came back, went through an awful lot aboard the Savi ship.

”It's a long story, better left for later. What happened to you? We thought no one else had survived, but here you are alive and well! And how the hell did you end up aboard this ship?” Cross had finished asking just as the turbolift was slowing to a halt at its destination deck.

Kai sighed just as the doors opened to reveal Deck 11, and Kai allowed Cross to step out onto the deck plating first.

”It’s a long story Cross. I was knocked out shortly after the attack on the Endeavour started. Ended up on a runabout with Ducote and we found our way here. Then the usual happened…Klingon attack, Borg attack..you know, all the fun stuff.” he said vaguely enough, but realizing there was more time for stories later.

”We can go over that later, but let’s get you taken care of first” Kai finished as they had rounded a bend in the corridor and he could see the security crew members still stationed in front of sickbay.

Cross seemed to stumble a bit when he stepped on a piece of debris on the deck plating. Kai reacted swiftly in order to help his friend from falling or stumbling any further. He had accomplished that by putting his left arm around his friend momentarily so Cross could regain his balance.

The two reached the entrance to sickbay and entered sickbay to see that it could best be described as organized chaos. Injured crew members were everywhere along with doctors and nurses both giving and receiving orders.

Then, Kai noticed Annika walking towards the two of them. Kai averted his gaze and looked down at the deck plating or suddenly realizing the control panel on the bulkhead was the most amazing thing ever…basically he was looking anywhere but at Annika.

”Name, rank, ship and injuries?” Annika had asked Cross, seemingly not knowing him either.

Cross had given his particulars to Annika while sounding seemingly confused at the same time.

”Thank you, please have a seat Lieutenant” Annika had said as she finished entering the information on the PADD she was holding, then she turned around and disappeared from sight.

Cross settled into a chair, with some apparent uncomfortableness. Kai looked at his friend and saw a quizzical look on his face.

”What? Kai asked, not really wanting to talk about it, Oh that…? Now that’s a long story”

Re: EPIL: S [D06|1135] Tearful Reunion

Reply #4 –
[ Lt. Cross |Sickbay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @trevorvw
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Cross paused as he and Kai entered the Theurgy’s main sickbay, the Vulcan’s pale eyes taking in the scene of utter chaos which lay before them. The sickbay’s medical staff rushed about, the doctors, nurses and orderlies trying desperately to keep up with the influx of patients. The injured from the Theurgy’s fight with the Borg mingled with those from the Versant, the latter easily recognizable by their Savi uniforms. ”We might have time for that story after all.” Cross murmured to his friend, his eyes falling on numerous people in the medical facility who’s needs were far graver than his.

The movement of someone approaching them drew Cross’ eyes, and he found himself gazing at another familiar face. Out of the corner of his eye, Cross saw Kai turn away, looking off in another direction as Annika Van den Berg approached them. Cross wondered for a moment if the two had had some sort of fight or lover’s tiff, but then Annika drew up in front of him.

”Name, rank, ship and injuries?” Annika asked, looking at Cross with no hint of recognition. The Vulcan stared back at her for a moment, confused. He knew he looked a bit different than when last she’d seen him, but hardly so much as to leave him unrecognizable. Still, she showed no sign of knowing him, so he decided to simply answer her questions.

”Cross, Lieutenant, formerly of the USS Endeavour.” Cross informed her, his eyes studying her for and hint of recognition. He found none. ”As for injuries…” Cross held up his left arm, the mangled and seared flesh of his stump plainly visible. ”This would be the main injury.” Cross watched as Annika winced at the sight of the damaged limb but said nothing, instead simply entering some information into her PADD.

”Thank you, please have a seat Lieutenant.” With those words Annika turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Cross bewildered. He took a seat in one of the available chairs, wincing as he did so, then glanced at Kai. After that strange exchange with Annika, someone whom he had known for well over a year, who had been under his command aboard the Endeavour, and who had been his best friend’s better half for much of that time, Cross was wondering what the hell was going on. He gave Kai a questioning look. ”What?” Kai asked, prompting Cross to look at him harder and wonder if he had missed all of what had just transpired. ”Oh that…? Now that’s a long story.”

”I’d <fucking> bet it is! What the <fuck> has been happening here?” Cross muttered, more to himself than to Kai. He looked up at his friend, wondering how the big man was handling the apparent fucked up situation. ”It seems like we’ve got a lot to catch up on.” Cross said, giving Kai a sympathetic look. Cross sighed then, letting his head fall back to rest on the bulkhead behind him. He rolled his head to the side to look at Kai, the back of his skull still resting on the bulkhead. ”I don’t know what happened, Kai, but it can’t be easy for you to see her like that. You don’t have to stay.” Cross gave Kai a weak smile, ”I’ll catch up with you later. There’ll be plenty of time for stories then.”
 

Re: EPIL: S [D06|1135] Tearful Reunion

Reply #5 –
[ Lt. Kai Akoni | Main Sickbay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy ] @Fife

"It seems like we've got a lot to catch up on." Cross had said, which caused Kai to have a mental chuckle to himself.

Understatement of the century right there..

Instead Kai only nodded to Cross' comment, believing there'd be time to catch up and fill him in on all the details later. Kai looked down at his friend and how messed up the man was; not only physically; but presumably mentally as well. However Kai knew that if anyone could bounce back from what the Savi had put them through, it'd be Cross.

"I don't know what happened, Kai, but it can't be easy for you to see her like that. You don't have to stay. I'll catch up with you later. There'll be plenty of time for stories then."

Kai had frowned a little bit when he sort of mentioned Annika and it seemed like Cross was able to see that. Kai decided to talk before Cross could.

"Yeah, I don't know quite what happened there either, but you're right. It's not easy. Anyways, we should definitely catch up when you're out of here. There's...well...there's lots of things to fill you in on." Kai said as he gave his friend a somewhat half-hearted smile.

"I'm going to head out then, I've got some things to do, but make sure we have our chat when you're out of here!"

As Kai started to make his way for the door, he turned back to his friend and almost as an afterthought.

"And don't hesitate to call me...especially if you need a hand" Kai said jokingly as he winked at his friend. It was that moment that Kai realized he truly missed Cross and he foresaw that the two would lean on each other to get through all of this.

"Too soon?" was the last thing Kai said before he burst out in laughter and exited Sickbay to set his plan in motion.




-FIN
 
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