Meld

Posted on Mon Dec 6th, 2021 @ 8:43pm by Commander Samantha Howard & Lieutenant Commander Callie Raven-Grayson & Lieutenant Commander Shoniara T’ghann-Travis Dr

Mission: Sinister Intentions
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Prior to “the memory of evil”

T’ghrek stood looking at Shoniara knowing now why she had found it so hard to resolve the two sides of herself. Her mind must have been ready to fracture to actually try to strangle her crewmate. He looked up as a biobed alarm sounded. “What is taking so much time Doctor?” He asked. “Every minute that goes by we are loosing our chance to bring her back. Where is this Callie?”

At that moment Callie stepped through the door. “I’m right here” She smiled warmly. “Lieutenant Callie Raven-Grayson, Chief Counsellor. I apologise for my late arrival, I was with a patient.”

T’ghrek nodded his head, “Lieutenant I am Valev T’ghrek Shoniara Dex’s bond brother. I realised there was something wrong with her and travelled here as quickly as I could. It seems I am just in time. I can try to reset the two sides of her mind Vulcan and Risan but it is proving to be difficult. Could you please tell me as much as you know about the circumstances of her breakdown and what happened to you? I am sorry if it is difficult for you”

Callie nodded. “I can do better than that, if you’d like I’ll allow you to see my memories of what occurred. That way you’ll get the full picture.”

He looked at her, “do you have any mental problems Lieutenant?”

“Not medical ones no” Callie looked at Sam then back at the Vulcan standing before her. “I’ve recently learned that I was the victim of an unwanted mind meld a few years ago, but I’m not unbalanced if that’s what concerns you.”

“That would concern me yes but the fact that you tell me you had this unwanted meld concerns me more. Have you had this meld treated?”

Callie looked away. “I’ve spoken to someone about it, and Dex said she’d try and help me.” She sighed. “Right now what’s important is Dex, she needs us! Right now I’m all you’ve got.”

He turned to Sam, “Commander would you say say that the Lieutenant is mentally and physically stable for a meld?

Sam looked at Callie cautiously, then ran a tricorder over her for good measure. "I would say so, but I urge caution" she advised as she nodded her head slowly.

“If I meld with you it might have grave consequences it might bring everything you have suffered to the front of your memory or it could push it far back into your mind. I would need your Captain’s or if you have someone in your life their permission. Unless of course you want this.” His eyes bored into hers searching.

Callie looked across at Dex. “It’s not like I have much choice. She’s as much my patient as she is the Doctor’s.” She looked back at T’ghrek, “Just do it.”

“Do you want to monitor her Doctor?” He asked Sam.

"I do, we need to be careful that she is not physically effected by the mental trauma" Sam prepared the necessary equipment that she would need.

He nodded, “please lie down Callie, close your eyes, breathe evenly and count your breaths as you breathe in and out.” He placed his fingers on her neural pressure points. “My mind to your mind”. He pushed his mind into hers, it was so easy. ~ Callie do not be afraid it is me T’ghrek you are safe, I will not let anything hurt you. Show me what happened with Shoniara

~ he saw them talking together and the worry in her eyes, saw her questioning as she looked into the distance. Dex asking her for a weapon and then.._he felt the shock in Callie’s mind as her friend grabbed her by the throat, squeezing, Callie felt the pressure increasing cutting off her supply of air, T’ghrek felt her panic as she thought she was going to die. He saw her vision begin to darken and then her one thought and the kick that released her~

There was a spike of cortisol, a surge of adrenaline and a boost of blood pressure. Something was happening in the meld that was triggering Callie's fight or flight response. Sam.couls do little but monitor and hope that it worked out.

he was satisfied and had almost released her mind when he Felt something else deep and disturbing trying to surface. Callie lying on a bio bed a tall Vulcan male standing by her side a large scar on his right hand. He was caressing her face and body, his hands probing her neural pressure points as he himself had done to enter her mind.

This male was probing Callie’s memories recalling her past and placing himself deep in her mind, he tore her memories from her violating her as he did so. He looked for all her past sexual partners and followed her memories of them. He then did the unthinkable to a Vulcan, he inserted a memory of a physical violation by himself.

T’ghrek’s eyes flew open as he exposed that memory.

Callie’s readings had shot off the scale, now her mind was open to the whole memory of what had happened to her she was re-living the event anew. Her fingers gripped the biobed turning white as white could be with the pressure she was exerting on it.

Sam swore loudly, reading for a number of hypos and a neural monitor. She had to get Callie's levels down before it triggered a system failure.

T’ghrek felt as though he was invading her also so he had to quiet his mind so he would not impress any more on Callie. He thought about leaving her mind as she already was going to process so much, but it could only help to bring it all into the light however difficult.

Through Callie’s mind he attempted to see the identity of the assailant but could not. ~ once back in her mind he followed the continuing assault. The assailant placed a slight memory of his violent attack in her mind so it would invade her dreams. He then exchanged himself with her past lovers, experiencing what they had and replacing them with herself~

With that the Vulcan assailant left her mind. He had begun to walk away from Callie then turned and walked back to her. He looked around to ensure there was no one else. He looked into Callie’s distraught eyes and smiled a rictus grin. T’ghrek then saw through her own eyes as he proceeded to physically rape her.

The Vulcan enjoyed her screams and placed them back into her mind for her to relive when his attack was finally brought forward into her mind. When he had finished he told her to sleep. Her eyes closed and he left her on the bio bed.

T’ghrek wanted to tear himself from her mind as if by just touching it he was infected by the violence of the attack. How she had not remembered it before now eluded him.

~Callie I am going to leave your mind now, you will remember but you will know that this violation was not by your choice and that will give you some peace. Once my sister is well seek her out to help you.~ he slid gently out of her mind and released his hands from Callie’s neural pressure points.

As the meld was broken Callie's vitals began to settle, slowly reversing out of the red zone back towards the amber zone. Sam breathe a sigh of released and regarded the Vulcan with a look.

He looked at Sam, “I am sorry Doctor, I am unable to continue with my sister at this current time. I shall have to meditate to clear my mind. I will return in one hour.” He nodded to both of them and left.

She nodded as he left, leaving her with two patients with trauma. Today was never going to be a boring day.

Lying on the biobed Callie curled up on her side, she knew what she might learn was going to be difficult, but this had brought forward a whole new horror that she wasn’t prepared for. Not just a mental rape, but a physical one too. It was a trauma she didn’t know how to begin facing.

Sam worked quietly and quickly, stabilising and making Callie as comfortable as she could until she woke on her own. The doctor had no idea what had transpired, but knew it had to have been traumatic. All she could do now was wait.

Callie turned to look at Sam, offering a small smile. “Thank you Sam.” Her usual cheery demeanour was nowhere to be seen.

Following deep meditation T’ghrek returned to sickbay. He stopped by to see Callie. “How are you feeling Lieutenant?” He asked.

Callie offered a shrug of her shoulders. “I...don’t know yet.”

He turned to Commander Howard, “Doctor I am now ready to attempt to clear my sisters mind. Please have your resuscitation equipment on hand and monitor her neural output.”

"Of course" Sam busied herself getting her equipment ready whilst keeping a close eye on Callie at the same time.


T’ghrek applied his fingers to her neural pressure points in order to enter her mind. The technique he used was a very old one which offered direct access to the memory centers of the brain. She had erected Barriers to his mind in order to prevent him from exploring the redacted areas. He pushed through into her unconscious mind and felt a spike of adrenaline running through her body elevating her heart rate and respirations to a dangerous level.

Sam's fingers hovered over her tricorder, carefully watching the readings and defining her parameters as to just how far this would be allowed to go..in this instance it would be a case of 'no pain no gain". Without the meld Dex's brain would tear itself apart, with the meld it seemed her body was trying to do the same thing.

Her mind began to show him the horrors of the Breen, throwing visions of torture and experimentation on the children. Then the pressurised vats of skinned tissue. He felt her vomit in her mind as she discovers the body of the Ciatan child, white, perfect and beautiful in her lifelessness. Tears came to his eyes as he mirrored her Risan feelings as the Vulcan side of her managed a measure of control that had to be during the mission.

The Aenar child blind and helpless pouring her feelings into Shoniara’s mind. His face waited for the heat and debris of the explosion to hit them dissipating into the bliss of the transporter beam. Then he felt …… nothing more from her no breathing, no pulse, no heartbeat yet he knew he had to stay in her mind if the doctor was brilliant enough to bring her back he knew he could find her.

The readings hovered between the amber and red zones for all indicators, Sam's fingers curling over the hypospray in an effort to not felt completely useless and helpless.

Dex’s fractured mind controlled her body and she stopped breathing, her heart slowed and stopped. Biobed alarms screamed as she died. T’hgrek struggled to stay inside her mind, Dex’s death would mean his own as his mind was completely enmeshed within hers. It felt rather like being in a huge complex with lights dimming and gradually being extinguished one by one. He fervently hoped that Doctor Howard could come through for both of them.

“Dex!” Callie rose from where she was lying, right now she needed to concentrate on something other than the thoughts of what had happened to her. She moved to stand at the foot of Dex’s bed, putting her mind to watching over Dex and her brother. She wasn’t going to let Dex die.”

This time Sam didn't bother trying to hide her swearing as Dex crashed and T'hgrek's on reading began to fluctuate wildly.

" Damnit Dex I am NEVER letting you off this godforsaken tub again" She swore as she slapped the 'medical emergency' control, sending an signal that she needed urgent assistance. Within seconds a full med team swarmed into the room, the biobed arch was activated, T'hgrek was supported and Sam tried to work yet another miracle.

Within minute Dex was placed on full life support, her body and what was left of her mind being completely cared for by the ship's advanced medical systems. It bought Sam some time to work out what to do next. One thing she did know - if Dex died, T'hgrek would as well. She looked at Callie who was hovering nearby " I'm sorry Callie, I don't know if I can figure my way out of this one"

As she spoke one of the nurses piped up " Life support established, vitals are stablising"

T’ghrek felt life support being established outside the field of her mind and decided to thank Sam Howard properly once he got Shoniara back. He wondered round the corridors of her shut down mind for a while. looking for just a chink of light that would guide him to her. He knew where she would be, her ‘white room’ this was where he had found her seven years ago after her addiction to drugs and alcohol following the death of her family.

He took a chance and wandered down a neuronal passage he had not seen before. He knew she would try to stop him so he hoped that the Doctor was on her game. “Shoniara T’ghann Dex” he called, “there is no need to hide it is Valev, your brother, let me help you out of this place?” There was no sound except for the beating of her heart, the rub of her lungs and the song of her arteries running oxygenated blood around her body.

“Go away Valev, let me be.” He turned towards the sound and followed the echo. The corridor grew smaller so he had to bend down. She would not make it easy for him he knew that.

Her brain tried to immobilize him and outside her body began to convulse in an effort to resist the life support.

" Will you QUIT trying to die on me" Sam retorted angrily and she worked with several hyposprays and attached both the cortical and neural stimulators to Dex's forehead. She was not going to let Dex die without a damned good fight.

T’ghrek finally stood outside the impenetrable white room. Shoniara had to open it for him, after all it was her mind and she had walled herself in. He was silent for a few minutes. “You know Shon if you had been full Vulcan then you would not be in this position.” All was quiet, he knew he had to get her angry enough to come out, appeal to her Risan brain as logic would not help.
“Of course if you had been full Vulcan I would be attending the Ambassadorial ball on Vega IV and not babysitting you.” She swore at him in Vulcan a rather nasty phrase. “Vulcans are unable to do that Shon.”

It was as though she held her breath as she told her brain to stop her heart. The lights wend dark again in her brain as she fought the life support.

"Over my dead body Dex don't you dare" Sam ordered despite the fact she knew the ACMO couldn't really hear her. Every time she thought she was getting somewhere another system would try and fail on her. A few more hypos, some direct synaptic stimulation and a kick from the cortical stimulator was enough to allow the life support to take over again. Sam's hand's started to tremble with the struggle of maintaining the fight.

Callie looked towards Sam, moving closer she offered support. “You’re doing everything you can Sam, but maybe I can connect you long enough to talk to Dex.” She reached out a hand touching Dex, before touching Sam. Her voice was heard mentally rather than verbally. I’m boosting your connection to Dex, so she’ll hear you. I can’t hold it for long so I suggest you be quick!

" What the...." Sam tried to get out before she was in a white room, devoid of anything other than sadness and emptiness. It was truly disconcerting.

"Dex? T'hgrek?" She called, trying to locate either of them.

“How did you get in here Sam? Find your own white room.” Shoniara was sitting cross legged in a corner wearing white blending in like a perfect chameleon.

"Callie worked a little magic, and you kept trying to die on me so I thought I'd better have a little talk to you about how much I need my ACMO and how much her trying to die creates a tonne of paperwork" Sam retorted as she walked over to where the voice was and plopped herself down next to Dex.

“I am not leaving here Sam, this is where I belong, where I am safe from my mind, the two cannot work together when placed in situations directly opposite. I am unable to do my job. Go away Sam and take Valev with you. He likes you you know.”

" Not gonna happen" Sam shook her head "We need you Dex, the Washington needs you, I need you. We've been through too much in this short time to throw it away due to some chemical imbalance brought on by an away mission. Get your ass out of this wallow pit and do your damn job woman" Her tone was one that brooked no argument.

‘THIS IS MY MIND AND YOU WILL LEAVE NOW” a gale force wind blew up immediately strengthening turning the room into a wind tunnel . It blew Sam back across the featureless room. Large cracks began to appear in the walls. The floor became nebulous. T’ghrek appeared and grabbed hold of Sam's arm.

“We have to leave NOW or we will be trapped here” he shouted. “She will either come out now or not.”

"You're willing to kill 4 people just so you can take the easy way out?" Sam threw back as she struggled to regain her footing. " Where's the Dex I know, the kind, caring compassionate Dex who would never dream of risking lives?" Sam was goading her and she knew it. It was a dangerous game to play.

The walls of the room exploded outwards with a tremendous boom and the familiar walls of sickbay appeared. T’ghrek was holding her hand and he dropped it fast. “Now we wait” he said.

TBC