Surefoot 88: Arcana

"This woman?" Salvo held out a PADD, with a recorded image displayed.

He glanced at it. "Yes, that's her."

"She's been seen at various locations - Argelius II, Rigel IV, Deneb II - with him, though never together, though always during unsolved criminal incidents. Some local records identify her as Simone Latrelle... with no actual verifiable records of such an individual."

Hrelle looked to Latrelle. "Simone Latrelle? Any relation?"

The human smiled. "Twin sister... imaginary. The one I always wanted. The one who could take the blame for any trouble I caused. And when my abilities manifested, so did she. She has an identity, a life of her own."

"And an ego, to boot. She claimed to be a Chaos Goddess."

Now Latrelle held out his arms. "What can I say, Commodore? My sister and I share an undeniable love of theatre."

"And criminal acts," Somerset added crisply. "Your so-called 'twin' is responsible for murder, attempted murder-"

The prisoner raised a finger towards him reprovingly. "No, no, Monsieur, you can't pin such violent crimes on us. I make sure she can never directly kill or hurt anyone-"

Hrelle strode up to him with uncanny speed, smacking the field between them with a terrible shriek of energy feedback that made everyone around him jump back, friend and foe alike. "MY WIFE NEARLY DIED BECAUSE OF YOU! YOUR BULLSHIT WILL NOT SAVE YOU!"

Latrelle stepped back, recovering as quickly as he could, "It's- It's nothing personal, Monsieur, just business!"

The Caitian baked his teeth. "Not to me, fucker. Whatever Zorin and the Bel-Zon are paying you won't be enough!"

Now the criminal smiled. "And how can you stop her, Commodore? You can't imprison or confine a discarnate psionic entity. She can appear anywhere, do anything, appear as anyone she wants. The personal files they supplied us with let us get under the skins of the most powerful... and most vulnerable."

"There are limitations," Masterson pointed out, holding up a medical tricorder. "You're not a full Halanan; your psilosynine and acetylcholine neurotransmitter levels are dangerously low. I reckon you can only let her out for short times now, and short distances, but any more and you risk brain damage."

"And we have security checks in place," Salvo added. "To identify anyone being duplicated."

"Doctor," Masterson offered, "Starfleet Intelligence medical operatives will employ chemical suppressants of areas of the brains of dangerous prisoners to dampen telepathic activity."

Masterson nodded. "Yeah, that'll work, though I'm not all fired up to do that if I can help it." He looked at Hrelle. "Unless I'm ordered?"

Hrelle never took his eyes off Latrelle, who had taken out his deck of cards and was shuffling them nervously in his hands. "Consider yourself ordered, Zeke." To Latrelle, he added, "You might want to consider your options and cooperate with us. Your future looks bleak."

Latrelle chuckled, though it felt forced, hollow. "My future? You should be looking to yours, Hrelle."

He pulled one card out, holding it up to the Captain: a skeletal figure in a cloak, holding a scythe.

"Death is coming for you." Latrelle declared.

Hrelle growled, unintimidated. "Then I'll kick his bony ass after I do yours."

*

"Masterson to Dr Mixx: we need a 100 millilitres of synaptizine and a psychotricorder brought down to the Brig, on the double."

In the Hospital, the Bolian doctor responded, "On its way, Zeke."

Before anyone else could respond, Nurse Georgia Galloway drew up, her eager young face alight. "May I go, Doctor? I wrote an Academy paper in my final year about the use of synaptizine to treat Betazoid patients with uncontrollable telepathy due to Zanthi Fever, and I even developed a sensor algorithm for the psychotricorder to better monitor the level of efficacy of the drug on-"

Mixx waved a beefy hand at her. "Enough, you passed the audition, now go and save all that puppy dog enthusiasm for Doc Cowboy." As he watched her rush off, he shook his head. "I was never that young and enthusiastic. Now-"

"Ziras?"

He looked up, bolting to his feet at the sight of Counselor Hrelle standing at the doorway to the Intensive Care Unit, leaning against the frame for support. "Kami! Holy Hraxor, what are you doing up and about? You only had surgery yesterday!"

The Caitian, dressed in red scrubs, made a sound. "Yes, and I'm certain Zeke might have put some neutronium implants in me, my limbs feel like they weigh a tonne."

Mixx slipped an arm around hers and guided her back towards her room. "Yes, if only someone could invent an item of furniture that postoperative patients could lie down upon and recuperate."

"I'd tell you to save your sarcasm for your nurses, but they wouldn't appreciate it either. I'll go back to bed if you fill me in on what's happening? Where's my family?"

"Well, we're still on Security Alert, because some shapeshifter has been imitating people, including you, spreading lies and mayhem."

"Shapeshifter? Me?" Then her expression sobered. "Cadet Boladede... is he alright? Did they find him?"

"Yes, to both questions. He's recovering from self-inflicted injuries in the Isochamber."

"The Isochamber?"

Mixx nodded. "It's the most secure place to detain him until he recovers enough to face prosecution for what he did to you."

Kami nodded absently. "I want to see him."

"No one sees him: Commodore's Orders. He specifically mentioned that includes you."

She grunted. "We'll see about that."

"See about it back in your bed. Maybe you can call your cubs, as there's no School or Creche while the Security Alert continues-"

"Doctor?"

Mixx turned to see Nurse Galloway standing there. "You were quick, Georgia. There's no prizes for speed in this business."

"Sir?"

*

Hrelle turned to see Masterson's nurse enter the Brig and stride up quickly, preparing the hypospray even as Salvo was dropping the force field to Latrelle's cell, and the doctor was intercepting her. "I'll administer the synaptizine, Nurse, you monitor the activity of his hippo-"

Hrelle's hackles rose, but before he could call out, the nurse shoved Masterson aside and rushed up to Latrelle, the man staring in disbelief as she slammed the business end of the hypospray into his neck, emptying its entire contents into his bloodstream.

Even as Salvo and Somerset tackled the nurse, Masterson followed to catch Latrelle, the other human spasming and stiffening as he collapsed to the floor. "What in Tarnation- Georgia-"

"It's Simone," Hrelle declared, staring at the phantasm, being physically restrained by Salvo even as it morphed into Simone, not looking too aggrieved by being caught... Hrelle turned to see Masterson scan the fallen figure. "Doctor?"

Masterson never answered, instead tapping his combadge. "Emergency Medical Team to the Brig! Bring a Neurostasis Unit and an Overdose Kit!" Now he looked up at Simone in fury. "You gave him pure psilosynine! That'd kill him! And yourself!"

Hrelle turned back to Simone as well. "Murder-suicide?"

Simone met his gaze now, grinning cruelly. "Oh, I'm sure Doc Cowboy will pull him back from the brink, Yippee-Kai-Yay and all that... in the meantime, Simon will sleep deep, his brain amped up with fluid to keep me going - making me stronger than ever, and also free of his inconvenient, hypocritical morality."

Hrelle tensed. "Wait- if you want to kill me, kill me! Leave everyone else alone!"

"Kill you?" She laughed. "My orders aren't to kill you. They're to hurt you. And I know how to really hurt you..."

Then she vanished out of Salvo's grip.

"What did she mean?" Masterson asked.

Hrelle knew, slapping his combadge even as he was racing out. "Hrelle to Security: All available personnel to my quarters!*

*

Misha held up his PADD to show his minder. "There!"

Gyver paused in wiping the porridge from Sreen's muzzle to examine the colourful picture. "Excellent, Master Misha. Your mother will be most pleased to receive it. Now finish your breakfast."

The cub chuckled, returning to his plate of shuris strips. "I protect Mama. I fight everyone."

"I know, Master Misha. You have a Protector's Heart. You would make a welcome addition to my Order. Perhaps maybe you might even become a Caitian Kaetini, like your sister and father-" The equinoid stopped as Sreen pushed aside his washcloth. "Young Miss, I need to clean your fur."

She pointed to the replicator unit in the wall. "Shuris Burger!"

Gyver smiled. "You have already had a nourishing breakfast, and a shuris burger would not be appropriate for you at any time."

She scowled, imitating her father's voice, "You have your orders, Mister!"

Now he chuckled. "Yes, I do, from the real Commodore Hrelle."

"I wanna go see Mama," Misha declared.

Gyver lifted up Sreen and set her down, the infant using her exoframe to let her waddle over to the couch and her toy shuris Babaloo. "If you complete the homework that your teacher transmitted to you this morning, and if the Security Alert is dropped, that might... might be..." He grew still.

Misha looked up now from his breakfast. "What's wrong?"

It's coming... "Misha, take Sreen into your bedroom and hide under your bed."

"Why? Is the Bad Cadet coming back?"

Gyver moved over to his staff, remaining calm, requiring focus. "No. But I need you to please do as I say. You will better protect your sister in there, should I fail. I am counting on you."

The front door chimed.

Gyver pointed to the bedroom doors. "Go, now."

Misha made rumbling, curious sounds, but obeyed, taking his sister's paw. "Come on, Baby Sreen, I protect you in here."

"Shuris Burger!"

"You eat too much, Baby Sreen, you break your exoframe..."

Gyver gripped his staff as he moved to the door, waiting for the cubs to depart and their bedroom door close before responding to the chime. "Open."

The image of a Denobulan woman in a Starfleet uniform in Medical Blue stood there, smiling politely. "Good morning! You must Gyver Timbrel, the children's sitter! I'm Dr Bas Vestri, Counselor for the USS Katana. Commodore Hrelle asked me to interview his son to confirm his emotional state."

Gyver stepped forward. "I must disagree."

The visitor blinked, stepping back out into the corridor, bemused. "You don't believe little Misha might need some Counseling after his ordeal yesterday?"

"Perhaps... but he would benefit more from a real Counselor than the Shade standing before me."

The Shade blinked. "Well, then, there's no use flogging a dead horse. Unless you're the horse."

She struck out with lightning speed.

Gyver blocked the blow with his staff and struck back.

The Shade morphed before Gyver, even as the assault continued, becoming a dark-skinned human female, and then other images - some Gyver recognised, others he didn't - all the while fighting.

Gyver kept up his defences, staying focused even as a part of him became aware of Security crewmen appearing on either end of the corridor, with Commodore Hrelle finally appearing.

Gyver's opponent seemed aware of him too, but continued to fight and taunt the Paladel. "You know I'm only toying with you, don't you, Horsey? I could pop into the kids' bedrooms anytime and turn them inside out."

"Is that truly your intention here? And there is nothing I can do to dissuade you?"

"What, miss out on leaving some tiny corpses for Papa Cat-"

She never finished her threat; Gyver shot his hand out and clasped her forehead, immobilising her, even as his thoughts aligned with hers-

what are you doing you cant do this to me its impossible impossible

Not as impossible as you might think, Shade.

you cant do this im a goddess of chaos chaos CHAOS

You are no Goddess, you are a fragment of thoughts and desires that should never have been allowed to coalesce into an identity of its own. I am sorry, truly sorry for what I have to do.

no no no NO NO NO NO-

*

Gyver's awareness returned to the external, as Commodore Hrelle and his Security crewmen rushed up, the Caitian looking around for the imposter. "Mr Osaka, go into my quarters, make sure it didn't go in there-"

The equinoid raised his hand. "There is no need, Commodore. The entity has been neutralised."

Hrelle frowned at him. "It's a psychic projection from a humanoid in custody, Mr Timbrel, it's not an entity in its own right-"

Gyver gripped his staff more tightly, feeling his limbs ache. "Forgive me, Commodore, but my people and I have experience in dealing with similar phenomena; its host will no longer be able to feel its presence in their mind, or project it to cause more harm. They will need Counseling to deal with such a profound loss."

The Caitian regarded him, as if wondering to believe his explanation, before replying with, "I'll make sure the Federation Penal Colony will provide him with proper Counseling. In the meantime, we can stand down from the Security Alert, and I can collect my cubs and visit their mother."

Gyver nodded, smiling. "Misha has prepared a particularly colourful picture for her."

*

"Station Announcement: General Quarters One will resume at 0900 Hours. Please do not attempt to leave your assigned quarters or workstations, or use communication facilities, before then. Station Announcement: General Quarters One will resume at 0900 Hours..."

Sasha switched off the comlink as she completed the pre-flight checks, listening to Mru moving silently beside her, distant emotionally if not physically. He had been that way since they boarded the Tailless, to prepare for this impromptu rescue mission, wordlessly following her orders, talking only to the others coming along, before they moved to the aft section of her flyer.

This has gone on long enough, you stupid bitch... She closed the cockpit door to the rest of the flyer, turning in her chair to face the Caitian. "Mru..."

He stopped his checks, glancing at her. "Yes, Lieutenant Commander?"

She winced, but knew she deserved that. "I'm sorry, Mru. In the last twenty-four hours I have fucked up more times than I can count, and that's even if I take off my boots and include all eleven of my toes."

She paused, breathing in. You owe him the full truth, no matter how it may ruin your relationship... "After that battle the Katana had, when you were blown out into space and I had to get you back... I realised that I didn't want to live without you. I love you, Mru. I want to marry you, and have cubs with you, and not spend another day risking losing you without telling you all this.

But I wasn't sure what you'd think about this, and then there's my addictive personality. I'm still in the early days of learning to cope with it, and Kami - the real Kami - tried to warn me about that. But then, that night at the club, the Kami Imposter found me, and said..." She swallowed. "She knew the right things to say to shake me to my core. I blame her for that... but I blame myself for how I reacted, by breaking my sobriety, and by taking my anger, my embarrassment, and all the fuck-ups I did after that, on you, the male I profess to love.

And I'm so, so sorry for how I treated you. And... if you want a transfer to another ship, away from me, I can arrange it, with no detriment to your career whatsoever."

Sasha finally stopped, unable to say anymore, unable to do anything but wipe the tears she felt welling up at the sides of her eyes.

Mru sat there, still, even his tail, his eyes taking her in... before answering, "Yes."

She nodded, her mind already thinking ahead to an alternate ship posting for him, the necessary admin work, anything to keep from facing the anguish she knew was there with this-

"Yes," he repeated, "I'll marry you."

She froze now, not quite sure what she heard, managing only, "Huh?"

"I'll marry you, Sasha Brunhilde Hrelle," he declared, more resolutely. "I love you with all my heart, and it'd be my honour, my pleasure, and my privilege to be your partner in life... and father to our cubs. I know that you have issues you're struggling to deal with - as do I - and that if you wish to wait until they are resolved, then I will wait as long as it takes, and help you, as I know you would help me. Seven Hells, I'd marry you now, if I thought we could get away with it without your parents and mine smacking our arses for not giving them warning-"

Sasha jumped up into his arms, barely giving him a chance to rise as well as they embraced with a fierce, undeniable passion and relief.

Outside the cockpit, there was a knock, and the voice of Eydiir seeped through. "Is there a reason for the delay in our departure?"

Still clutching Mru for dear life, Sasha called out, "Give us a minute, Goddammit!"

A pause, and then Eydiir responded with, "There are drugs at my disposal to help you curb your carnal appetites..."

*

"Station Log, Stardate 54013.72, Commodore Esek Hrelle, Recording: the current Security threat has ended, thanks to the combined efforts of the intrepid band of Starfleet and civilian personnel onboard. Simon Latrelle is currently continuing to receive telepathic suppressants despite the assurances of Sre Gyver Timbrel that Latrelle's anarchic alter ego no longer exists, and Cadet Ange Boladede has healed from the injuries inflicted upon him by my son in his defence of his mother.

Lt Cmdr Maraud has recommended that both criminals be transported to Deep Space Twelve to face charges, rather than here, to ensure they are seen to receive fair trials, a recommendation I concur; I will be pleased to see the back of both of them.

My daughter has left on her current assigned mission, with my best wishes; I have full faith in her. And the al-Razi will soon dock at Salem One with Max Zorin's 'rescued' party, and while I would give anything just to have him locked up upon his arrival, I have been assured that we have no evidence to link him to the recent criminal acts committed here, and in the rest of the Sector.

Yet.

Before then, my wife and I are meeting with the Counselor assigned to interview our son and determine the extent of the trauma he has undergone in attacking Boladede.."

*

"Nothing," Vestri offered.

Hrelle blinked, glancing at Kami, sitting up in her bed in Post-Op Recovery, letting her reply with, "Nothing?"

The Denobulan nodded, offering her the PADD in her hands. "I spoke with him, and ran a psychotricorder during the process, looking for the expected verbal, visual or neurological clues that would indicate signs of post-traumatic stress following the incident. There is none."

"I don't understand, Counselor," Hrelle admitted. "Regardless of how necessary it was for him to take the actions he did, there should still be some trauma, some shock. He must be suppressing it."

"Under normal circumstances, Commodore, I would agree with you wholeheartedly. Admittedly, though Lt Mori is one of my patients on the Katana, I'm not an expert on Caitian psychology, and it may take longer to show even the initial PTD signs for him, especially at his age. But on the face of it, Misha has processed what he did with a remarkable level of acceptance. For him, defending his mother is as natural an act as breathing, and he displays no obvious signs of shock, anger, fear, guilt, not even subconsciously. Perhaps you need to consult a specialist?"

Kami kept staring at the PADD, before handing it back. "Perhaps. Thank you for doing this, Bes, and for covering for me in the interim. We'll talk when I'm ready for my own Counseling."

When the other woman acknowledged this and departed, Kami stared ahead, frowning, prompting Hrelle to ask, "What did you see that she didn't?"