<USS Banshee> "Guardians of the Mind"


?Guardians of the Mind?
by Lieutenant Joshua Asper
& Lieutenant JG Heather Mclouson



Heather was lying in the biobed trying with all her might to tell Josh who 'they' were, but something was preventing her. Every time she tried to get it out a pain shot through her head and she felt as though something was pressing on her vocal cords preventing her from uttering anything but grunts and groans. Her face contorted in a look of frustration coupled with pain she looked up her eyes pleading at Josh to just pull the information out of her pounding head.

His hands lay harshly on the sickbay console. His eyes dropping ever so subtlety from time to time to watch the ongoing racing of her vital signs. Josh shook his head as he watched her from afar, trying to decide just how much pain she was in and attempting desperately to find out what was tormenting her inner soul. His mouth opened once and closed, unsure of the words to say to her troubled mind. So, there he stood, and watched her without a word.

"Why don't you believe me?" She asked almost accusingly. "I should be in a cell right now, guarded. You can't protect that innocent man if I'm not locked up!" She wanted to say more but was cut off again. "That?man?"

Josh blinked and stepped closer to her. "Innocent Man?" He tilted his head, remembering nothing of any man besides muffled grunts and cut off sentences. "Tell me about this man...? He let his voice trail with flailing of hand gestures and nodding of his hands. He pulled a stool close to him and sat next to her bed, staring deep into the abyss of her eyes. So much pain, so much confusion...

So little time...

She was practically choking on her words as she tried to speak. "Important man, he's...important. Powerful?in Starfleet?" Gasping she stopped and tried to regain her breath. 'They' may be trying to keep her from talking about them but she would get the information about her crime out somehow.

Overjoyed as he felt the stone of momentum begin to roll, Josh placed a hand on her own and looked into her eyes more. "Powerful? An Admiral? A Fleet Captain?" Josh had to contain his overactive mind from running rampant through the books and books of questions that he had littered in his mind. There were so many unsolved mysteries, loose ends, and shady events. There was obviously more.

Heather's eyes lit up, "Admiral! Yes. Opp?opp?opposing issue..." Damn, she lost it, ?Slave?labor?powerful?opposition." That caused a shot. Like a bullet searing through her brain, "God damn it!" Well they hadn't put a block on her normal speech.

Watching the pain incinerate her caused Josh to wince himself. He took a breath and stood, putting his arms behind his head. He'd already removed his overshirt, the bluish-gray undershirt shining not so brightly. He didn't want to cause her agony; he didn't want to hurt her at all. Observing her fight for a breath, battle to get words out, and struggle to get a calm moment tore him up inside. Sitting down again, he returned his eyes to her. "Slave labor. Where?"

She was glad that he kept pushing, she needed this to be out so 'They' could be stopped. "I don't know, far away from Earth." Her eyes fell, "Where I was. But I don't know where that is." Apparently since she didn't know, 'They' weren't worried about it.

Shifting tracks, Josh tried to keep her mind working and going. "Do you remember the name of this Innocent Man?" His eyes kept calm, and he traced a soothing hand down her arm.

She thought for a moment trying to 'see' into the fog that was shrouding her memories. "G?g?gr-ay?Graysome" Her neck felt stiff as a board as she tried to get the name out, "Ha-ha-rold Gr-graysome."

Bolting over to the computer console, Josh's hand slammed onto the cold surface and began to pick away at the keypad. His hands dashed and moved like lightning, but he finally managed to access Starfleet's database on all Admirals. His eyes sifted through mounds and mounds of data pouring in from all over known-Federation space. Bolians, Trills, Humans, Betazoids, all were kept neatly organized in the database. "Graysome, Graysome, Graysome..."

Josh kept repeating himself as his eyes danced merrily about the material. He figured he wouldn't find anything until it leapt off the screen and smacked him in the face with a wet noodle. "Harold Graysome." He opened the file. Josh's eyes darted over to Heather and then back as he began to read. "Prominent figure and adversary to the selling of goods in the Federation that were produced by slave labor."

Heather nodded frantically, "That's him!" She could almost jump off the bed and hug him. "Try cross referencing..." She dug way down looking for any tidbit she could get, "Mac?MacTowen. Owww?MacTowen Man?Manufacturing."

Nodding without looking back his hands moved and cross-referenced the words spilling from Heather's mouth. Opening the industrial business file he saw it immediately. "MacTowen Manufacturing." His eyes scanned quickly through the contents, picking out random things and things that might have sounded more important, "Based on Letras. Supporting panel of lawyers in a debate with Graysome."

He turned, looking to Heather wearily. "This them?

Heather started to say something, "Y- ouuuuch." She had said way too much and a full-blown blast went through her already hurting head. It was more than she could take and she passed out exhausted. She couldn't do any more for now but she was more grateful to Josh than she could tell him., and hoped he would rest as well.

Practically sprinting across the room Josh grabbed her hand, and then peered over at the console to make sure she wasn't dead. She was fine, just exhausted from her mental struggle. Josh sat down on the stool. He'd wait until she awoke and he'd help her regain her strength and fight this invisible enemy. He knew now, after watching her pain that he wanted to be with her. Josh would stand by her until she was ready.

Ready again to face life without fear and pain.

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