STF

Tick Tick Boom The Promenade - Da Mu...when the past doesn't match the future or the present

Posted March 18, 2023, 10:31 p.m. by Commander Heathcliff Rinker (Chief of Psychiatry) (Luke Hung)

(A SNIP)

“Why?” River asked “Why what? Why did I hurt him? Look behind you” River said gesturing to the civilians cowering in fear. Amongst them were children, their eyes filled with tears. “Because I swore an oath to protect them no matter the cost., no matter what I had to do to protect them,” she said her tone truthfully.

“Why should you trust me? Well, so far I’m the only person who hasn’t lied to you or tried to manipulate you one way or the other. I have no desire to hurt you I have no ulterior motive all I want to do, is help you and let my colleagues deal with your friend. If that is not enough then I would ask you to trust me warrior to warrior, soldier to solider, servant to servant. We both serve a higher power and we both have sacrificed much for it.” She said her tone calm, she was talking to Jessa as an adult as River guessed she had been treated as a an adult all her life and never as a child.

“So have I. I claimed you…all of you. I am your Protectorate. They are set to raksha karana.” Jessa’s mental skills were sliding from the clear-headed to being muddled with emotions by the battle drug which tended to amplify what a person was feeling. In a trained soldier like Styxx the drug would have tripled her ability to think tactically and react in any situation. With Jessa, it was allowing her fear, paranoia, and emotional instability to percolate over replacing logical thought and reason. The sights and sounds in the room were beginning to culminate into a blurred picture of blank faces and defeating white noise. “There once was a ship that put to sea,” she began trying to mumble out the song that helped to quell the panic attack simmering just under the surface. Rinker’s drug worked better but how could she trust him not to sedate her like others on the ship had done?

“Band karana,” Zala Tsu snapped out still waving her weapon around at Rinker, Ian and now Styxx. Staring at the woman who had somehow taken down Da Mu, she fired point-blank at Styxx’s chest. She had little faith in the outcome but there was a chance and it would instill fear and panic in the room regardless.

Faster than an eye could ever register, long liquid-like shields materialized as if by a transporter covering Styxx.

“She’s been helping us, if she takes off that armor, the white-haired one is going to snuff us out.”

“You deserve cleansing for your blasphemy Mind Seer,” Zala Tsu snarled at Rinker, “and I will be the one to deliver it.” The longer she was in the man’s presence the more she wanted to kill him.

Da Mu might have seemed as passive and benevolent as a Buddhist monk but River Styxx’s instincts were correct about the man. There was nothing peaceful or humane about the man. As if rising from the dead, a gasp escaped his lips and his eyes shot open grabbing Jessa’s forearm in an iron grip.

“Oh, what the fuquk,” Rinker cursed himself for his stupidity and naivete. “It’s like a Friday the thirteenth movie.”

“It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay,” Jessa immediately focused all her attention on Da Mu repeating the same phrase over and over as she pressed her hands to his stomach wound. This was going to do nothing to help or stop the man dying but it was the natural instinct. Jessa felt her chest tightening and was losing the ability to control her breathing.

Holding her weapon still on Rinker and Ian, Zala Tsu began to look at the situation tactically. Nothing was going to save Da Mu or Rogan but there was still a chance for her. Walking slowly back towards Jessa she had only one exit strategy. Without speaking, Zala knelt next to Jessa, reached out one hand and severed the strap from the satchel. Jessa’s gaze snapped off Da Mu and immediately to Zala Tsu’s with a look of pure panic. “Life is full of tough choices. If you take your hands off him, you will kill him. How bad do you want this,” she held up the satchel. “Is it worth a life?” As the words left her lips, Zala Tsu was engulfed in a transporter beam and evaporated from view.

“Zala…Zala,” she yelled out with a stunned expression. “Don’t leave us. You promised. Jenn you promised.” Jessa no longer cared about the XO’s secrecy or desire for anonymity. He and his female assistant had promised to help Jessa and her friends get free. Why he only took Zala was sending Jessa into panic mode.

“Help us,” Jessa pleaded looking around as if expecting to see someone. “I held up my end of the bargain. Help me,” she begged looking up at the ceiling as if waiting for a beam of light to take her away like it had Zala Tsu.

Lowering his helmet, the armor retracted now showing Ian’s face even though he was still clad in the battle suit. “Jessa, honey you need to call your robots back. Rinker is a doctor. He can help but we can’t get in. Listen to Styxx. You can trust her. I give you my word that we will do everything we can but Da Mu needs medical attention now.” Ian had seen how fast the MECH’s could move. Styxx was tactically brilliant. Not rushing Jessa’s position had prevented her from doing something drastic.

“Can you promise to save him,” Jessa’s voice hitched as her eyes darted between Styxx, Rinker, and Ian. “Rinker can you promise you can save him.” Even without the standoff, the blood was taking on a thick dark red quality and not spurting but oozing indicating a venous bleed. Since the impaling occurred in the abdominal cavity it was only a logical guess that several organs were injured any of which could be the cause for the obviously fatal injury. A team of surgeons probably could not save the man but Jessa was not asking a team of surgeons. She was asking only one man.

“I don’t know, all I can promise is I’ll try my best.” Rinker as a therapist had a rule to never make a promise he couldn’t keep. Destroys trust and all.

Rinker was cautious, but not overly so. Da Mu was well and truly critically injured. He slid over not waiting for the group to finish their negotiations. He was going to be the stupid medical officer and get himself killed trying to triage a critical injury on the battlefield. “I don’t have my medical equipment. Marine, bring me a trauma kit.” He ordered.

Freya looked at River who nodded. Freya took off her backpack and detached a metal box from the bottom of it. “Catch” she said as she threw the kit at Rinker

Rinker actually caught the heavy bag, but it swung about his arm and then struck his back with a thud. It would have been annoying and a painful if not for the Mecha armour about him.

“Well, to state the obvious he’s still alive.” What he wasn’t, was in good condition. “But he isn’t going to make it here.” In fact part of him wondered how he was still alive. The fortunate part was if you were alive when you got to a Star-Fleet sick bay, you tended to stay alive.

Seeing only the legions of security forces around her and not the officers that had promised her help, Jessa reacted in panic. “Raksha karana,” Jessa yelled out causing the MECH’s to instantly moved around Jessa and Da Mu forming an impenetrable dome. They melded together forming a shield just like the one the aliens had erected in Marine Country. It was semi-transparent so Styxx, Ian, and Rinker could see what was happening but for the moment only plan a course of action instead of acting on it.

Jessa Novar

As the shield formed River stood her marines down and they formed around her, already River was coming up with a plan “Freya, you’ll stay here with me. The rest of you begin to evacuate noncombatants and nonessentials from the area. Make sure they get whatever help they need it up until security reinforcements get here. Remember they’re going to be terrified. Understood” River asked as she returned her sword to its sheath, she then flick a small switch and the sheath hummed as it cleaned the blade

“What about them” one marine asked as he indicated to Rinker and Ian

“They’re star fleet officers so there essentials. they stay.” River said simply

“You sure about that, I haven’t seen much proof of that.” One of the other marines snapped.

“Stow it Corporal.” River replied sternly the marine simply nodded. Once she was happy that her marines were doing as they were told she turned her attention to the shield in the middle of the room. During her spout of giving orders, she hadn’t acknowledged either Ian or Rinker. It was only as she neared the shield did, she even nod to them.

Taking the tricorder from her belt she began to scan the shield to look for any weakness. As she scanned, she looked at the kid “You’ve been abandoned kid. Your elders have left you, through one way or another. And the cowards in section 31 won’t risk their necks to save you. But you don’t have to be left abandoned. I can help you. I know what it’s like to lose a lot in one go.” River said her tone warm and calm, well warm for River anyway. “All you have to do is drop this shield and I can help you. I’ll make sure those you don’t want to come near you, won’t” she added checking her tri-corder scans. All the while Freya was standing close by watching the room in a ready stance, but not an aggressive one.

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)

The scans would show the same almost impenetrable energy field that seemed to protect the Elders who were wearing the armor. Aside from targeting them with the photon batteries of the Atlantis’ defense systems, the only way the Marines were getting in was through diplomacy with the one who erected it.

“Really that is what you are going for. Abadone ye all hope,” Ian quoted the line from Dante’s Inferno.

River looked at Ian “While hope is good. Blind hope can be very dangerous. It makes people do stupid and terrible things. As well as making them sacrifice far more than they should” she said simply her tone knowing.

While the shield prevented anyone from entering it, it perfectly allowed the conversation between Jessa and Da Mu to be heard with crystal clarity. “Jessa,” Da Mu’s gurgled speech pulled the girl’s attention directly to him as his grip dug into the soft skin of her arm. Blood splattered from his lips along with some pink foam that began to leak to the corners of his mouth indicating his lungs had also sustained an injury in the fight with Styxx.

“Shush,” Rinker muttered as he worked. Actually the speaking wasn’t having a negative effect on his injury it was a subconscious response from medical professionals. In general talking lead to moving and moving could be very bad. “Be still.”

Ian glanced at Rinker and then Styxx. He had only had basic Academy medical training. Rinker was a doctor and Styxx had better than fair medical training being in combat. “What are we looking at and how long do we have?”

Adjusting in the ever-expanding pool of blood, Jessa slid around a bit trying to kneel next to the Elder. “We do not need the unbelievers. You have the power of life in your own body. Use the battle drug, infuse your blood, and cut yourself.”

“Its bad, I’m guessing 2 minutes before he bleeds out. After that he’s got another 1 minute before I can’t resuscitate the body.” Of course, the little magic trick with the nanites probably worked better than his regenerator in sickbay.

He frowned, the trauma pack was useful but it wasn’t a sick bay. “I can save him in sick bay. If we can get him there.”

Jessa knew exactly what Da Mu was asking her to do. The problem was Jessa wasn’t sure she could do it. Reaching to his neck, Jessa rapidly pressed the disc lodged in Da Mu’s neck desperate for a dose of the battle drug to infuse his system with nanites. When nothing happened, her face took on an ashen color. The grip Da Mu had on her arm made Jessa bend slightly trying to release some of the pressure. It felt like he was going to break her arm.

“You know I only speak the truth. You know my divination can tell when someone is lying. By your own words you admit are a traitor begging for thier help. You have fallen from the path and killed us all. You have forfeited your life but there is a way to save your soul. Cleanse yourself. Give your life to save mine. Everyone here knows what you wont accept. You’ve been abandoned. No one will risk their necks to save you. I’ll make sure those you don’t want to come near you, won’t,” Da Mu parroted back everything Styxx had adding only, “she speaks the truth and is offering you the chance to save your soul.”

Jessa Novar

“I can heal him in sickbay, if you let us out of this force field.” He stared at Jessa. “No miracles from God necessary.”

Rinker

“You are a messenger of God. We don’t need him. You…heal…me.” Da Mu’s only chance was to drain Jessa of her nanites. His vision was narrowing and his ability to speak was becoming labored. Coughing up a large glob of sputum mixed with blood, Da Mu took a ragged breath. They had the Prism. They no longer needed her. He did not have the strength to activate his own weapons. He needed Jessa to slit her own wrist and give him an infusion.

“If I speak the truth then let me talk some more,” Styxx said.

Jessa did not look directly at Styxx as the woman talked but she was no longer talking to Da Mu. Her head was spinning at what to do and who to listen to. Without Zala or Rogan, Jessa had to make her own choices and find the best way to save Da MU. Casting a quick glance at Styxx, Jessa gave a quick nod as if to continue.

“Listen to what he is asking you to do, give up your life for his. Although he has branded you a heretic already. Your people believe in spreading light. So why would you snuff yours out. The life of child with an amazing gift, a gift that could spread your light further then anyone could imagine. Think of all you could achieve if your light continues. Don’t snuff it out in vein for a man who would just be locked up for the rest of his life. There is nothing sadder then a child who’s light never got to shine, never got to grow up and see the galaxy.” As she spoke River’s voice broke ever so slightly.

“Ask yourself what have you elders done for you since you got on this ship. Forced you to fight, to kill, to attack, told you god knows what to keep you in line. They left you. Even now the one remaining is trying to manipulate you for his own self-interests, his own selfish goals. Ask yourself what has Ian done for you, how much has he helped you and welcomed you despite everything, he is still trying to help you, as is Rinker and so am I. Compare us three to your three elders, and think for love of all that is holy think, Who should you trust” River was pleading with Jessa she wanted her to stop to let them do what they do best. She didn’t know everything as she had been on her own mission. But by the way Ian and addressed her, it was clear their bond was far closer then one could see at first. She knew that the kid had been given fairly open access to the ship, a decision that would have to be discussed along with the actually nature of Ian relationship with the kid at a later date. But right now all River cared about was resolving the currant situation.

Lieut Styxx (Marine OIC)

OOC: Sorry I got carried away again. Nathan

Rinker shrugged, what she said was accurate enough, so he didn’t need to add or subtract.

Rinker

“I don’t know,” she replied, “but I know what feels right.”

“Tick toc, we are running out of time. He is dying while we think.” He was now thinking maybe a statis chamber would keep him alive. “Adding adenine to his blood stream might give him a couple of minutes of consciousness, but it will increase his blood flow and thus have him bleed to death more quickly.”

The situation was going on far longer than necessary and Ian wasn’t going to take the chance Jessa was going to juice up the alien in an attempt to save him. “Which is letting Rinker help him,” Ian replied reaching down and taking Jessa’s arm removing her from the alien.

No sooner did Rinker get the chance to treat him, Da Mu’s head listed to the side and his eyes took on a glass expression of death.

Jessa Novar

“Rinker held up his bloody hands. “Now or never.”

An icy wash of fluid seemed to start at the base of her skull and flood her body numbing her fingers, toes, and belly. She looked at Rinker growing ashen. “He’s dead?” It was more a rhetorical question by the tone of her voice than a pronouncement.

Rinker pursed his lips. He didn’t have much to say.

Pulling her arm away from Ian, Jessa began to pace and shake her hands to her side. The battle drug was intended to numb the soldier’s sense of pain, heighten their perception, and increase adrenaline to make one feel invincible, also had the dissociative effect of agitation, delusions, and irrational thought patterns when the nanites were not present to curb the withdrawal effects. She was still wearing her armor but had the helmet retracted so her face was clearly visible. “I killed an Elder,” her voice had a shakey quality and it was more of a monologue to herself than a statement directed at anyone else. Bringing a hand up she ran her fingers through her hair leaving long red streaks of Da Mu’s blood in it from where she had tried to stop the bleeding from the mortal wound with her hand.

“I have to be cleansed for my sin,” she said before looking at Ian, then Styxx, and finally Rinker. Her heart felt like it was going to explode in her chest. The suit had released all three doses of the battle drug into her system: The first was when they started fighting in Marine country and the last two each time she used her body as a projectile to break through the forcefield. Ian and Rinker were much larger in body mass and had only had one dose of the drug when Jessa clad them in the suits of armor against their will. They would also be feeling the effects but at a third of the dosage.

“That is a huge leap. You didn’t cut him or make him bleed out so…” Rinker stared.

“I have to pay the price for my betrayal of the Order but....ughhhh,” she let out a whimper clenching her fists and shaking them out as if it would clear her mind. “I am sorry. I am so so so sorry. I don’t know why this happened? No one was supposed to get hurt. I just wanted to go home. Why did you not let me just go home,” Jessa moved back a few steps looking around for a place to run.

“You need to stop.” She was spiraling down.

Ian was not immune to the battle drugs effect either. His mind was racing but the full dose of nanites he got with it was keeping him from the downward spiral into paranoia and panic Jessa was entering. Moving forward he felt the burst of rage and tension bubble over from the past week. These people had tried to kill his wife, take over the ship, and slaughter the crew of the Atlantis. He probably should have measured his words with the next utterance but he was also running on emotions and not rational thought. “Because Jessa I am your Father and I am not letting you go back to that psychotic hippie you call a mother.”

Jessa Novar

“You are taking more responsibility than you actually have.” Rinker continued. “You don’t solve a new problem by believing you should have made better decisions in the past.” He looked at her.

“That’s why the windows in the front of a ship is bigger than the windows in the back. You should be looking forward not back.” He snapped. “What is the next steps.”

Rinker


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