Dénouement

Posted on Wed Oct 26th, 2022 @ 1:14pm by Captain Shran dh'Klar & Commander Jonathan Grayson & Commander Samantha Howard & Lieutenant Commander Shoniara T’ghann-Travis Dr & Lieutenant Commander Callie Raven-Grayson & Ensign T'Plana-hath & Lieutenant Seth Travis

Mission: Time Bandits
Location: Sickbay USS Washington

Sam had finished treating the injured and wiped her hands tiredly on a medical cloth, the bright blood contrasting against the blue of the fabric. She took a breath and surveyed her handiwork, pleased that everyone would recover.

Shon was asleep sitting next to Seth’s biobed as he recovered from his wound. Shasta had been to visit but had left for school. Seemingly fine she just appeared happy to have both her parents back but Shon knew there would have to be ‘conversations’ during the coming weeks. Seth appeared also to be asleep.

Seth's hand reached out for and found Shon's as his fingers interlaced with hers. Shon was okay, Shasta was happy. A slight smile appeared on his face as he whispered, "I love you Shon."

Shon wrapped her fingers round his “Nash-veh ashaya du Seth” she said quietly. She had been talking and remembering more Vulcan, it was as though her mind was opening up. “How are you feeling my love?” She asked.

Seth's smile grew though his eyes remained shut. "Ready to sweep you off your feet and dance the night away." He joked. "How are you my dear?"

“To tell you the truth Seth I am not sure, but you are my main concern. You almost died down there and I couldn’t think of our lives without you. You have to get better, don’t forget you have another two children on the way.” Shon suddenly stood and shouted “ Ri tor yen-tor nash-veh du lesh t'nash-veh katra du heh t’plana” (you and T’Plana now carry my Katra do not forget me) She looked confused and sat down again. “I am sorry I did not know why I did that, my thoughts are chaotic, she began to cry.

Callie arrived in Sickbay to check on Shon and Seth, she’d been checking on Shasta from afar, just to be sure she was alright with recent events involving her parents. She smiled as she walked across not wanting to interrupt Shon and Seth’s conversation.

Seth squeezed Shon's hand tightly. "Everything will be alright my love. You aren't going to get rid of me so easily." Then his eyes opened and he looked intently to Shon's. "Do not cry my dearest. We will figure it out together, for together nothing can defeat us." He stopped as he saw Callie, "Hello Counselor." He greeted Callie warmly.

“Hello Seth, please it’s Callie no need for titles.” She smiled at Shon as she handed over a nearby box of tissues. “Be strong my friend, everything will get better. When you’re ready to talk I’ll be there.”

Seth nodded, Very well Callie, Stay and talk to Shon. I'm a diplomat, I know how to keep secrets." He grinned weakly.

“I will not leave you.” Shon said to Seth, “but I must talk to you Callie. Lodzahl is gone, she died for us for the ship, I feel the space where she was in my mind but I have half of her Katra within me. Callie T’Plana and I have been violated.”

"What!?" Seth exclaimed in shock and confusion. He tried to sit up but couldn't and fell back on the biobed. "What are you talking about Shon?"

Seth’s biobed shrieked in alarm at his sudden movement.
“Etwel kashkau vesh' punekwitau k' tomalak, au invaded t’planad kashek heh yi t'nash-veh” Shon shouted and began to hit her head with her fists , “NO, NO, NO.” She screamed and ran from sickbay.

Sam moved over quickly, tricorder in hand.

"SHON!" Seth screamed out to her as he renewed his struggles to get up. "Shon!" He called out again as she ran from sickbay. He looked at Callie, shock and concern on his features.

Sam looked up as Shon raced out of the room, unable to concentrate on her whilst trying to stabilize Seth.

T’Plana-hath was deep within her mind; using a special healing meditative state she had been taught. She was slowly gathering the threads of her mind and self together and ordering them back into proper state of thought. She felt the remnants of Lodzahl’s katra, it was just an echo; T’Plana knew, one with instructions added to it. She was going to need to be present to help Shoniara T’ghann-Travis come to grips and organize her thoughts. Lodzhal had laid the ground work, but Shon would have to learn to deal with the horrible violation done to her by Tomalak and the ritual mindmeld. She would also need to learn to deal with the grief of loss with the joining of Lodzahl’s katra to hers.

Suddenly T’Plana-hath came awake to the sound of a Bio-bed alarm and a voice; Shoniara’s she believed, screaming in Vulcan. T’Plana sighed inwardly, and sat straight up, just in time to see Shon’s flight from sickbay. Well, looks like Lodzahl left some work to be done in helping Shoniara learn to deal with her Vulcan half. she thought.

Shran was headed to sickbay when he collided with Shon as she came screaming out of sickbay. He steadied himself and then looked to help Shon up, "My apologies doctor. I hope you are alright." He looked at her and could see she had a vexed look about her. "Something troubling you?"

Shon attempted to collect herself.” I am sorry Captain, it was the meld, it was a violation, Tomalak inside our minds, I thought I was fine but I feel confusion….pain at a needless death and anger, so much anger Sir. I do not know how to deal with it.”

"I would suggest speaking with Callie or Eislyn for starters" Shran said as a simple reply. "Death and anger often go together in my experience. You see death as needless, but it had a purpose. You should honor the sacrifice of others. I can't speak to what Tomalak did, but it seems to me that things could not have gone according to plan if they are no longer here and we remain. As for your feeling of violation, I again suggest speaking to a counselor. You have to address your emotions if you wish to master, or so a Vulcan once told me."

“Yes sir I know that, I was just about to talk to Callie but…..” Shon realized that she could go no further with the Captain. “Sir” she intoned and walked off.

"Shon, isn't Callie in sickbay?" he questioned.

“Yes sir, she is” Shon intoned desperately wanting to be with her husband but not see Callie. It felt to her that Callie, as a non Vulcan however much of a friend she was as well as a Counsellor that she would not understand. Shon walked back into sickbay. Returning to Seth’s side she sat down and took his hand. “Sorry” she said.

Seth nodded, "I just want you; I need you to be alright Shon. Shasta needs you; the babies need you and I need you." He said softly as his eyes closed for a moment than opened. "Please Shon, talk to Callie, let her help you."

Shon nodded. “I know Seth and I will try, but, before I can have anyone needing me I need help, be it from Callie or T’Plana.” She kissed him gently. “Are you in pain my love?”

Seth gave her a weak smile. "It's better, I can manage." He lied. "Just knowing you are going to talk to either Callie or T'Plana, makes it easier to deal with."

“I know when my husband is in pain so I shall as Sam for some analgesia for you…and I will talk to Callie as soon as she will see me. Seth I want to forget all this, just go back to being a doctor and having a life with you and our children. We seem to go from one deadly situation to another.” Shon suddenly realized that T’Plana had returned to consciousness as she felt the Vulcan’s mind burst into being once again.

Seth shook his head, "Shon, take care of yourself. I'll be alright." He answered. "We can forget it Shon. go back to being a doctor. It is your first love anyways." Seth agreed with her.

T’Plana remained quiet as she observed the scene happening about her. It would seem no one had noticed her return to consciousness. She observed that Shon had returned to sickbay, good she thought. It will be easier if she is close to her bond mate and perhaps Counselor Callie could help as she was a known friend. T’Plana-hath thought, she sighed as this was definitely outside her purview of expertise; Shoniara really would benefit, as well as her child and unborn children, from a Vulcan Master in these matters. She continued to study the situation, trying her best to decide what approach would work best.

“T’plana harken tor nash-veh, ik katra ik vesh' veh nam-tor i' k'svi on etwel kashkau?” Shon said as she walked passed the other Vulcans bed.

T’Plana-hath smiled sadly at Shon and replied “Rai, du nam-tor experiencing wuh vava t' lodzhal. Ish-veh nam-tor wuh po' daya t' wuh ho-rah. Lu ish-veh katra vesh' hau k' du, she arranged ish-veh kashek tor weh-rom cope k' ish-veh Vuhlkansu ulef. Buhfik i' etek stariben svi' Teraya standard ni wuh vath lau ken-tor { No, you are experiencing an echo of Lodzhal. It is an after effect of the ritual. When her katra was joined with you, she arranged your mind to better cope with your Vulcan half. Best now we speak in Federation standard so the others may understand.}”

Shon nodded, “T’Plana the problem is that I am having a hard time not speaking Vulcan. It is as though I had forgotten my language and it is pushing the other out.” She shrugged and walked over to Callie, “my friend may I talk with you at a time and place of your convenience?”

Callie smiled as she looked towards Shon. “Of course you can Shon, I’m available for you whenever you need me.”

Shran entered sickbay and tried to assess the situation with the scene that lay before him. Seth and T'Plana both laid up, Shon obviously mentally traumatized trying to make sense of things with Callie, and Sam standing wide-eyed at the drama playing out before her in her sickbay. Shran made his way over to Sam, "Every bit as compelling as the theater it would seem" he said with a nudge and a wink. "How are things going down here?"

Sam nodded with a bemused expression "sure is" she replied. "We're not doing too badly, everyone is on the mend and we're catching up on the backlog" she looked around sickbay as if to measure her own words. "What's next?"

"We've been ordered back to Earth. Temporal Investigations wants to have a chat, seeing as we were dealing with a temporal event or events and were present when the temporal wave formed. Not much more I think anyone can tell them that wouldn't already be in reports and log entries, but such is the bureaucracy. On the plus side, gives you and many of the crew a chance to go back home for a few days, even if a portion of that time will be stuck at Command. Medically speaking, is it alright for me to check in with your patients?"

"Be my guest, they're all on the road to recovery, some of course will take longer than others but no-one is beyond a simple conversation" Sam replied with a smile.

Shran made his way over to where the group was gathered. "So, I hope you all are on the mend. Sam says that you all should be released back to your quarters within a day or two. I wanted to check in with you all regarding what happened on the planet. We have been called back to Earth to speak with Temporal Investigations due to the various temporal aspects of what happened. Do any of you know what the Romulans were doing that caused such a large temporal event?"

From his biobed, Seth shook his head, "I don't Captain. I'm sorry. I was more or less brought along to get Shon to cooperate."

Shran nodded. "Very well lieutenant. Shon, T'Plana, what about you? Do you know why they were looking to cause a temporal event? Do you have any idea what it might be? And why they seemed to need you both and along with Lodzahl?"

Shon shook her head, “I am sorry Sir I do not know. I need to clear my mind before I can make any sense of this.” She turned and went back to stand with Sam by Seth’s bed.

T’Plana looked at the captain, “I believe the Romulans were attempting to use a very ancient ritual that involved a group mind meld. To what ends I am unsure, I suspect perhaps to open a wormhole or some other such goal. There is ample evidence in Vulcans past of such mighty psionic feats. I believe Tomalak believed he could open a rift between Romulan space and Vulcan space, again there is some historical evidence this happened in the past that some historians refer to as the Romulan War, which occurred around 1270 in Terran years, Stardate -1052998.832921106. During this period of Vulcan history a wormhole would open unleashing a fleet of attacking spaceships, the wormhole opened irregularly and for varying times. Sometimes an armada came through, sometimes just a single ship for about one hundred years.” T’Plana-hath became quit for a moment, then proceeded “Tomalak thought he was a Mind Master and had a superior mind to that of Lodzhal’s, unfortunately for him Romulan psionic abilities are centuries behind Vulcan’s, Lodzhal tricked him into believing he had succeeded in converting one of the Duv katra into his ritual; in reality it was half of Lodzhal’s katra with the first Duv Katra slipping into Tomalak’s mind, At the apex of the ceremony Lodzhal released all her psychic energy and katra, and the second Duv katra joined the first striking Tomalak’s mind and destroying it; I believe they may have also struck his subordinate Sela.” With a sigh T’Plana-hath looked at Captain Shran “I am afraid the Temporal Investigations department is going to have to deal with Vulcan High Command, the Vulcan Council,” here T’Plana-hath smiled “and T’Pau’s successor T’Lar. I doubt they will get the answers they are looking for.” Looking to where Shon stood with Sam, she spoke in a soft whisper, “Shon is the one who has suffered the most. Lodzhal has organized the chaos of her mind, she now has to learn to cope with her emotions and reconcile her grief. No easy task for a full Vulcan, but as a Ulef Vuhlkansu she will have an even tougher time of it, as well as her children.” Upon saying this Shran could see the sorrow and pain in T’Plana-hath’s facie and eyes. “I of course will have my full report on your desk as soon as I am released from sickbay Sir.”

"Very well. I'll leave you all to recover in the care of Sam and Callie. Take you time to heal, it will be a few days before we reach Earth." With that Shran left, slowly making his way back to the bridge, deep in thought at what he had heard. He entered the turbolift and made his way up, and that is when he found himself speaking with Daniels once again.

"Your crew did an admirable job captain, though not all of them understand the reality of what happened."

Shran turned, surprised to see Daniels. "Maybe you'd like to explain it to me then."

Daniels smiled awkwardly. "Your Ensign T'Plana was correct in her assessment that an ancient ritual was performed, but why it was performed and the result goes beyond what a typical Vulcan would be willing to believe. An event was going to happen in just two years time from now, an event that would forever change the quadrant. A massive supernova that would somehow create a chain reaction of supernovas that would ultimately decimate the Romulans, including the destruction of Romulus. Tomalak and his minions sought to prevent that fate, and in that they were successful. The change is already being seen in my time, and while not all of the changes are good, it has altered time in a way that has created a massive benefit, the aversion of a war. The Romulans no longer have a reason to despise Vulcans as they would have had Tomalak failed."

Shran shook his head, "You are telling me that the Romulans needed to come back in time to avert some sort of disaster and thus save Romulus, and we somehow helped them do that. Is that what you are saying?"

'I understand your hesitancy regarding this captain, but it was for the best. You have to understand, the event that was going to happen, it would have caused several major temporal incursions, caused a rift between the Vulcans and Romulans that could never be healed, and be the cause of a war that would be responsible for the deaths of millions. The Romulans did what they thought they had to do to save Romulus, and they succeeded. They didn't understand that in doing so, they were saving the Quadrant. If it is any consolation to you or your people, Tomalak did sacrifice himself in the end. I can't say the same for Sela, but she will be dealt with by us."

Shran shook his head, "I have no choice but to take what you say as the truth, but I don't like it. Many of my people were injured, people died, and additional repercussions can still unfold. But I will inform Temporal Investigations of all this that you have told me, in hopes that it placates them." As he finished speaking the turbolift reached the bridge and the doors opened, and he slowly, with a solemn look about him, exited.