Posted by Lieutenant Natasha Daye (Doctor) in Knight and Daye: Time to Play

Posted by Lieutenant Natasha Daye (Doctor) in Knight and Daye: Time to Play
Snip

Dante stood still a moment as he looked down at the man. Well, ‘man’ was likely an overstatement. The good looking Erewhonian in front of him couldn’t have been more than twenty three years of age. Before he replied, he just picked up his comm-badge from the nearby table and tapped it.

=/\= Saracen, this is Captain Knight. What’s your status? =/\=

=/\= Captain, this is the Saracen. We are in orbit over the planet and awaiting your call to beam back. We thought you were on holiday for another 48 hours sir? We are just running a few combat simulations and re-calibrating the Phasers. The refit meant power levels are fluctuating slightly, we seem to completely obliterate any target we take a practice shot at so we thought we would take the time to make some adjustments. Are you and Lieutenant Daye ready to beam aboard, Captain? =/\=

=/\= Not yet, Saracen. I was just checking your status. Keep those phasers warmed up and under control, we wouldn’t want an incident to happen over this paradise, now would we. I doubt that would be painless. Knight out. =/\=

Pinning the badge onto his holiday shirt, Dante then casually sat down at the table. “Sorry about that, kid. Just checking on my Battlecruiser. Now, where exactly is Natasha, and you said something about processing, and an incident? I’m quite sure you, sorry, we, don’t have a few hours to wait.” He made a point of avoiding the coffee, it was hot, and the kid did have such a pretty face.

Captain Knight

“Mrs. Knight is being processed for her condition,” the man said calmly. “In situations like this most partners choose to wait which is why I said it might be a few hours. You are not needed so you are free to go if your battlecruiser needs attention.” The man worked to keep a neutral expression. Mr. Knight was not as imposting physically as some men Sunstrom had encountered but he had a presence and demeanor that was far more unsettling. The captain’s gaze never wavered and his actions spoke of a history of people caving when Mr. Knight issued an order. Sunstrom was extremely happy he was not a member of the Saracen crew right now. Mr. Knight was probably capable of all sorts of nasty orders for those he found a dislike for. Luckily Sunstrom was not a member of Starfleet.

Taking a large sip of coffee, Terri attempted to mimic Dante’s sense of calm control. “As for Mrs. Knight she will be released within the hour if the scans come up negative. If the scans come up positive then you knew the rules for coming to the planet. With Mrs. Knight being the chief medical officer I have no doubt she performed the necessary exams required to disembark your ship and come to our surface.” The tone in the man’s voice held a hint of authority to it.

Dante frowned, he had no idea what the man was talking about. Nat had done the scans before coming to the planet, and she was clear of any disease or contagion. Anything she had been infected with must have happened here, but he found his hackles rising in frustration as he couldn’t seem to get a straight answer.

“Now you have two options and we are willing to allow you either one. You can go back to your ship and based on the results of the testing, Mrs. Knight will be returned to you in an hour or so or you can relax here in your room and wait for the results. Either way you will be waiting Mr. Knight.”

Terri Sunstrom

“You know the funny thing about Federation Starship Captains, kid?” Dante asked as he leaned back in the chair and looked out over the balcony and the long drop to the ocean below, “We always have more than one option, whether people are willing to allow us any or not. It comes with the job of protecting idyllic worlds like these. I’ve never been good at waiting, especially when nobody is telling me what the hell is going on. Especially when from what I am hearing, you have taken a Starfleet Officer hostage against her will and intend to perform some kind of medical scan on her for some kind of, condition that she doesn’t have. Now I may not be an expert, I mean I am only a Federation Starship Captain with a Battlecruiser sitting in orbit over us right now, but there are better ways of going about this than kidnapping.”

Captain Knight, CO

“Oh....Oh you misunderstand,” the man let out a laugh that was filled with obvious relief. He even dabbed his brow which was beading with a sweat. Since the room was not hot it could be inferred that the sweat was from intimidation. “You thought we were keeping her here forever. Dante Dante Dante,” the man said his name rhythmically as if they were old friends. “Why would we keep her hostage? She is not Erewhon. The child might be but she is not, therefore, she will be released after the gestational period has elapsed.”

At that, Dante went very, very quiet and cold as his mind tried to process what the man just said.

Letting out a deep sigh and another chuckle Terri picked up his coffee. “Keeping her hostage. That’s a good one. See this is where communication breakdowns can ruin things between friends. We would never keep her here just the baby.”

Terri Sunstrom

“What are you talking about?” Dante asked the man, his voice had grown quiet but where before he had been calm and collected, if a little cold, his tone now held the unmistakable sharpness of a dagger pointed in one very specific direction. He didn’t move or tense, only his tone changed. “Natasha isn’t pregnant, her condition means the chances of that are almost impossible.”

Captain Knight

“Or you are very determined to prove those ovaries wrong,” Sunstrom said as if giving someone a peptalk.

Dante said nothing, he simply raised an eyebrow as he looked at the kid.

Seeing Dante was not finding humor in the situation he cleared his throat as a thought dawned on him. Bringing up a document on the PaDD he entered the room with he tapped it a few times and then gave Dante a quizzically look. “This form was filled out by a Lt. Natasha Daye of the USS Saracen. Are you and Mrs. Knight married or do you have two Natasha’s on your ship? This must be quite a shock to you and I will admit a bit of an embarrassment on our end as well if you are not the father and we have just told you that you are; however, take comfort in that your situation is not unique. This happened before and we do have guidelines to deal with it.”

Terri Sunstrom

Now he leaned forwards, and reaching forward took the PaDD and placed it on the table between them. “Natasha Daye is Mrs Knight, to be. We are engaged, there is no confusion on that part.” No confusion on that part at all, but why now was this kid suggesting he wasn’t the father if Natasha was in fact pregnant? That thought made him pause again as the words ran through his mind. If she was, why hadn’t she told him? It would be something so huge that he doubted she would keep it quiet, but then again, she hadn’t been pregnant when she came to Erewhon, or at least nothing the scans revealed. But there were a lot of attractive young men here, and she was certainly more beautiful than many of the young women that lived here as well. He rubbed his chin with his hand for a moment then look at this Sunstrom again, he and Natasha had hardly spent a moment apart since they arrived so whatever he was hinting at wasn’t even close to what was going on.

“You’re telling me that Natasha, my Fiancee, who had a miscarriage and lost our child and is highly unlikely to have a baby because of the results of that miscarriage, is pregnant and never told me. Where is she, and what exactly are you planning on doing to her?” The words the man had used earlier began to flash through his memory and the coldness was replaced with something hotter. They might have had guidelines to deal with this situation, but he very much doubted they had guidelines that would deal with the type of hell he would unleash if they harmed Natasha or his child.

Captain Knight

“We control everything here but not biology. I can assure you that we”

A beep from what Dante would then possibly notice as an earpiece stopped the conversation for a second as Sunstrom received a message. “Oh dear this is going to be an incident” he added to himself. The only thing to do was get serious and try to control the situation.

“Well the results are positive for Miss Daye,” he said keeping the tone neutral. The last thing he needed was for some irate boyfriend to get into a fight with his girlfriend if she had been a bit more frisky that Dante anticipated. “This is going to change everything from this point forward.”

“What are you talking about now? What changes everything?”

“I am so sorry Mr. Knight but the planetary guidelines for entrance to Erewhon clearly state that any child conceived or born on the planet holds citizenship to our world. This is why we have medical scans before adults are permitted on the world. We can’t just have anyone claiming citizenship rights now can we? Miss Natasha Daye is being held at our clinic. The paternity blur does change things bit. We are willing to allow you to see her but regardless of who the father is not going to change the outcome of the situation. She will remain here and when the child reaches eighteen because it has dual citizenship it will be given the right to leave the world or remain here. Now if you go take a seat I will make a connection on the monitor and you can see her. How about that..hmmm” he said in a chipper voice as if all their problems were solved. “Now how about some coffee…tea?”

Terri

“Cut it out with that ‘who is the Father bull’, she hasn’t been with anyone else.” Dante told the man, standing up. His mind was working quickly. They were saying that Natasha was pregnant, and they were going to keep her here until at least she gave birth to their baby. The only way that Dante could see it ending peacefully at that moment was if Nat had been pregnant before she came to the planet, yet the scan she had done a few days earlier than their arrival had born no hint of it, as far as he knew. Maybe it had and Nat had not told him for some reason?

He moved to the balcony and looked out over the ocean for a moment,then turned around and faced the young man. “Lieutenant Daye is an Officer in Starfleet, and this world is a member of the Federation. You may have your laws and I might need to respect them, but as a Federation member you cannot stop a Captain from seeing a member of his crew, in private. You, Mr Sunstrom, are going to take me to her, right now. Forget the coffee. Now, Mr Sunstrom, unless you want a full diplomatic incident and a review into Erewhon’s membership of the Federation.”

Captain Knight, CO

The review should be about letting hot headed Captain’s on the surface he thought to himself but forced a pristine smile on his face. “If you will follow me we can muddle through this together,” Sunstrom offered gesturing towards the door. “What I do for this job,” Terri muttered to himself as he closed the balcony door.

As Dante headed towards the door with a purposeful stride it would only take a second for him to start to feel a bit lightheaded. Not enough that Dante felt like he was going to pass out but more gradual like when falling asleep for the night. Each breath was more and more relaxing as if he were curled up in a soft bed are ready to catch a few zzz’s. By the time Dante realized something was off he already had the black veil of unconsciousness slip over his head.

===================
Erewhon Medical Clinic

“Are you sure he is properly prepped,” Terri said rubbing his neck. The version on anestine gas they used to control situations like this was extremely effective but not completely foolproof. Gas never was but there was no other way to remove guests that were emotionally charged and not disturb the other guests that were less trouble.

“Yes, his memory has had a total wipe and was replaced with the memory or swimming on a coral reef with Miss Daye. He has no memory of the conversation in the suite. He should wake up happy and relaxed and Daye’s problem. Let her tell him,” the technician said looking at Dante. “We should go now. He will be waking up in the next ten minutes or so.”

TEN MINUTES LATER.....

When Dante woke he would find himself in what could be classified as an underwater hotel. The bed Dante was waking up on had thick fluffy blankets with own feather pillows. The decor was done in a pure crisp white which contrasted beautifully with the dark mahogany wood on the floor and furniture. A large window spanned the room from floor to ceiling. On the other side of the window was a spectacular coral reef. Various animals and fish swam about among the colorful corals and anemone. The filtered light from the sun on the underwater waves created a ripple effect of shadows on the walls making the occupants of the room feel as if they were in an aquarium. If there was one word to describe the room it would be peaceful.

He stretched and yawned in the bed and opened his eyes. For a moment, he lay in a daze and tried to remember what he was doing but everything was foggy. His eyes turned to the side and landed on a large, colorful fish swimming past and he pushed himself up on his elbows and looked around the room.

Judging by the light it wasn’t morning, he must have taken a nap but for the life of him he couldn’t remember going to bed. The room was both strange and oddly familiar, like he knew it but had never seen it before and he frowned slightly as he tried to place it. Those thoughts fell away in the fog however as his eyes landed on a figure in a chair.

In a chair wrapped in a blanket across the room, Natasha sat looking at the fish swimming about waiting for Dante to wake up. She had entered when Sunstrom had left. She was too dazed to do much else than stare at the animals.

Lt. Natasha Daye

“Nat.” He said simply and rolled himself out of bed and to his feet, walking across to her and smiling as he lay his hand on her shoulder. “How long did I sleep for? I don’t remember lying down for a nap. You look comfy,” he said as he leaned down and kissed her forehead gently and brushed his fingers over her cheek, moving them up and curling a strand of hair behind one of her ears. “Do you want coffee? I’ll make us some.”

Captain Knight, CO