Spirits

Posted on Sat Jul 27th, 2019 @ 2:48am by Lieutenant Sandra Adamson

Mission: For Whom The Bell Tolls
Location: Sekat's quarters
2376 words - 4.8 OF Standard Post Measure

For a few nights now, Sekat was finding his sleep restless, as if he were plagued by nightmares. Yet in the morning, when he woke up, he had no recollection of his restlessness.

He sat up in his bed, turning his head towards his still sleeping partner. Smiling, he reached to touch her hair in the semi darkness before sliding out from under the covers. He padded towards the bathroom to have a quick shower, then returned a few minutes later, towel wrapped around his waist like a semi-skirt. He froze in the doorway, as he saw someone familiar sitting on his couch.

"T'Lay?" His voice was a broken whisper as he stepped forwards, the lights coming on as the sensors responded to his presence. He reached for the robe that hung across the back of a chair and slowly pulled it on, tying the sash around his waist before removing the towel. He rubbed his eyes a few times, sure they were deceiving him but no there she was... long sleek black hair tied back in a neat bun, a creamy dress hugging her slim figure. "How is this possible. T'Lay, what are you doing here?"

While his expression was one of confusion, there was a certain joy within the way he spoke the name.

Sandra woke up to the voice of Sekat in the other room. She then noticed the low light. "Sekat?" She called as she pulled the blankets back. She was wearing a pink top and white shorts. She dropped her feet to the side of the bed. Her eyes moved around to the dark corners. She took a deep breath and then said, "Computer turn up the light." She slipped in the slippers next to the bed and then walked out of the bedroom. "Sekat? Who are you talking to?"

The Vulcan's eyes remained fixed on the couch. "My wife," he answered softly, pain clear in his voice. "How can she be here?" He lifted his hand, feeling unsteady without his cane, and pointed at the couch. "She is right there, staring at me. Wearing her favourite dress, the one she wore the day before our bonding." He turned his head, forcing himself to look at Sandy. "Are you seeing her?"

Sandy looked at the couch, but there was no one there. "Ehm, no I don't. Are you alright sweety?" She walked to next to Sekat and put her hand on his shoulder. "I know your wife died, but you never talked about her." She wasn't sure what to say. She was kind of feeling uncomfortable.

"I never do, do I," Sekat murmured, "I was not certain if you wanted to hear about her." He flinched as she suddenly touched him, but he leaned into her touch anyway, using it as an anchor. "I can see her as if it has been only hours since I last saw her, instead of years. I do not understand why, or how." He reached out, expecting to be able to touch his dead wife's ghost.

The woman's expression was devoid of any emotion, impassive as a trained Vulcan's would be. Yet her eyes spoke volumes, beckoning him as she lifted a hand to meet his. "This is impossible," Sekat whispered. "Are you sure you are not seeing her? But if you are not, then why am I?"

"There must be a logical explenation for that," Sandy said, "I will get my tricorder. Should I help you on the couch, maybe next to the image of your dead wife? You have to tell me where about she is."

Slowly, Sekat nodded, accepting her offer of support. "It has been five years, since I lost her," he said, watching the woman shift to make room for him. "There was an accident in the lab, they contained it but she was trapped inside. She did not suffer long, though it was not a peaceful death. I felt her pain as keenly as if it were my own. I thought I had reconciled myself with it." Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked up at the woman he loved now. "This must hurt you," he murmured, grasping her hand. "I must apologize, I do not wish to hurt you Sandra."

She would be lying if she said it didn't. It stung a little. She took his hands as she held her tears back. "Not as much as it hurts you still. You're older than me, you had a life before me. I am not dreaming of replacing your wife. Ever. And I understand the connection between two Vulcan mates is very deep. So losing her, must've hurt you very much. I am just going to see if there no medical explanations for your wife appearing. And if there is nothing, we can assume that it's psychological of nature. I can tell you haven't fully recovered from your wife's loss."

"I am not certain one can ever fully recover," Sekat answered, holding on to her hands for dear life. "At least I got to say goodbye before she died. I was prepared for the loss, but yes it still hurts." He looked up, releasing one of her hands to reach up and wipe a tear from her eye. "I do love you Sandra, and trust me, you would not replace her. You are my mate now, even if we are not yet bonded." He released her other hand, so she could get her medical equipment. "I want to know why I am hallucinating."

Sandy nodded and got up, as she dried her eyes and walked to the bedroom where she found her tricorder on the night stand. She picked it up and walked back outside. She sat down next to him and started to scan him. She looked on the tricorder. "Your brain chemistry is off. I am detecting electrical magnetic waves. Could be a receiver of some kind. We may have to go to sickbay."

"Are you saying someone or something is making me see her?" His eyes widened, the colour of his eyes darkening as anger surfaced. "Who would do such a cruel thing?" Of course they would go to sickbay, he was already halfway up when his leg gave and he fell back. "Ow..." he murmured, struggling to get back to his feet, reaching for a cane that wasn't there.

"I think your cane is in the bedroom, I will get it," Sandy said, "Wait here." She walked to the bedroom and quickly returned and then helped him get up. "And to answer your first question, I do believe so, but I can't be certain unless I do more tests." She let him lean on her shoulder. She then stopped a moment and looked him in the eyes. "I know I am your mate, you are mine," She said smiling. "I hope we could get bonded someday." She then nodded to the door. "Let's get you to sickbay."

"We will, whenever you feel ready," Sekat promised, offering the smallest of smiles. "Seems I am to be your guinea pig yet again, am I not?" He glanced back over his shoulder a final time, towards the otherwise unseen woman sat stately on the couch. "Goodbye T'Lay," he whispered, "I will never forget, but I have a new life. I must move on." He turned back, resting his head against Sandra's. "I am ready."

"Guinea pig?" Sandy said. "Don't be silly," She said as she went to the door and she opened. "Sekat, I love you, I am really concerned for you well being. I am not taking unnecessary risks with you."

"It was a manner of speaking," the Vulcan answered as they made their way to sickbay, "you need to run tests, and you do not know which tests to run so you will need to experiment." He tilded her face up towards his and kissed her. "I trust you, implicitly," he promised.

She kissed him back and said,"That makes sense." They walked in to sickbay. She helped him to the biobed. "Glad to know you trust me." She smiled.

Settling, though feeling far from relaxed, Sekat offered a small smile. "Who else would I trust?" he said, "will this hurt?" Though how much more hurt could he be? He was reliving the pain of losing his wife, reliving the darkness that came afterwards. but he wasn't alone now, he had someone to trust, to share it with. If she allowed him to. "Do what you need to, no matter what."

Sandy smiled. "I am trying not to hurt you, but if I do, please let me know." She softly stroke his ears and then helped him lay down on the bed. She turned on the bed monitors and started to make scans. "I think I found something. It maybe small. But there is something latched on to the cerebral cortex." She tried to enlarge the image. "Have you seen anything like that?" She showed it to Sekat.

Turning his head, the other doctor glanced up at the image. "No, I have never seen anything like that before. Can you remove it?" Anything attached in or on his body, that he never consented for there to be placed, he wanted removed. He didn't like the idea of somehow having undergone some kind of surgery without him knowing about it at all. "We should remove it, and hand it to engineering or security, perhaps they can determine its origin."

"Well, since I don't know what it is, and given its location, I would like engineering to look at it first," Sandy explained. "In terms of its size I can remove it, but seeing its location and what the device does, I want to make sure I can remove it savely. It's also from unknown origin, which makes this tricky. And I don't want to cause you brain damage or anything."

The Vulcan frowned. "Can you at least disable it?" He asked, clearly not keen on an alien device monitoring him and whatever else it might so to or with him.

Sandy looked at the device on the screen. "I still have to discuss it with Engineering, but we could bombard it with an em charge, see if it disables. But I don't want to knock out any systems in the process. But that is what I could do. Would that be acceptable to you?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation, only a touch of fear. "I do not want it able to control me."

She nodded. "I shall contact Engineering and report to the captain. I think this is something she needs to know about."

"What do we do in the mean time? Sekat sat up on the bed. "What if I see her again? I am not certain I will be able to deal with that."

Sandy took his hands. "I will be here with you. I don't think I can sleep right now, anyways. And if you don't mind, you could tell me about your wife."

Sekat briefly closed his eyes. "it would be better if I showed you," he said softly, "I would never be able to do her justice by just talking about her."

She nodded. "Are you suggesting a mind meld?"

"Only to show you, to do her justice," Sekat explained, "your thoughts are safe, I will not go there. Will you trust me?"

"I was just wondering," Sandy explained, "Of course I trust you. Maybe we should get comfortable?" She pointed to her office.

Sekat nodded. "It would also ensure some privacy," he added, carefully sliding off the bed and grabbing his cane. He wondered just how much of this would be monitored by the implanted device Sandy found. The very idea of his most private memories being seen by someone other than those he intended to see, was frightening.

Sandy sat down on the couch in her office and she helped him next to her. "Now I don't know much about this, even though it was mandatory material back in the academy." She took his hands, "But I trust you."

Nodding a second time, Sekat closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths in an attempt to center himself. Then, he reached out and settled the tips of his fingers against the katra points on her face. "My mind to your mind...". He whispered, allowing her to see into his deepest and most cherished memories of his wife, and even his family.

She sighed and smiled as the images passed her by. For a moment she was reminded of her own family. The few memories she had of her parents who weren't home most of the time. A tear rolled down her cheek at feeling so much love, she realized she missed a lot in her youth. "Sekat?" she whispered. "Thank you."

Pulling his hand back, Sekat looked her in the eyes, reaching back to wipe the tear from her cheek. "Now you know," he whispered back, "I have no secrets for you. What you and I have, will never compare to what I had with her. It is different. But never doubt my feelings for you." He cupped her cheek, eyes never leaving hers. "I am yours. Now, and always."

Sandy swallowed and somewhat bowed her head down and smiled through the tears. And for a moment she wasn't sure what to say. Then she said softly, "I never doubted your feelings for me. I love you...and I am yours..." She then leaned forward to him, putting her arms around him. "Thank you..." She whispered again as she kissed him gently, and leaning on him.

Wrapping his arms around her so they wouldn't fall, Sekat returned the kiss. "Do you want to go back to bed?" he asked her softly, though he wasn't sure he could go back to sleep now.

"We're up, no one's in sickbay yet, lets stay on this couch for a while," She replied. "Preserve the moment. Just you and me on this couch." She sighed satisfied.

"As you wish," the Vulcan replied, shifting a little to be more comfortable with the extra weight on top of him.


Lieutenant Sandra Adamson
Chief Medical Officer

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Lieutenant Sekat
Medical Officer
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