[ussgeorgetown] "Somnambulist" by McKay, 5 of 12 and Aigremont
- From: Elizabeth Bethell <ejbethell@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Georgetown <ussgeorgetown@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2005 12:42:22 +0100
Somnambulist
by Lt. Aileas McKay, 5 of 12 and Sergeant Major Vincent Aigremont
"I must regenerate." 5 of 12 stared into the mirrored surface of their
office windows. "You cannot stay awake any longer. Our body will not survive
another day without rest."
"You can be awake when you regen, can't you?" There was desperation in
Aileas's voice.
"No. You should know by now that the cycle will induce REM sleep." Her
exhaustion was almost complete. Neither of them knew if they could even make
it back to their quarters without falling over. "Please Aileas. We will be
of no help to anyone if we continue like this."
"Okay, okay," she said with defeat. "Go, sleep. But you know what will
happen, don't you?"
"Perhaps it will be different this time. We are both so very tired, perhaps
that is all our body needed to let it rest properly."
"Aye, perhaps." Aileas yawned and stretch as she dragged her weary body out
of their office and down to their quarters. The Regen Unit stood looking at
her, waiting for her to go to it, like a spurned lover. She took a few
faltering steps toward it, 5 of 12 pushing for the distance to close. "In my
own time."
"Please, now." Reaching out, 5 of 12 punched in the codes like a man dying
of thirst grabbing for that glass of water. The embrace was complete and
renewing. Sighing, they leaned back into the unit and relaxed.
"Lieutenant? Er... Is there something I can help you with, sir?"
"Wh-what?" Aileas jerked awake. The sudden disorientation collapsed her
knees and she ended up on the floor at the feet of an ensign.
"Holy fuck," he said as he bent down to scoop her back up. "You okay, sir?"
"I-I-I" Shaking her head, she reached up to touch her temples. "Where am I?"
"Main Engineering, sir. Don't you remember coming in?" His honest, earnest
face frowned down at her.
"Of course I do. I was just walking, that's all." Trying to force a little
arrogance into her voice, she stepped away from the ensign. "Felt a little
faint. Thank you for your assistance." Turning on her heals, she marched
away.
A quick check of her chronometer told her that it had barely been an hour. 5
of 12 shifted restlessly in her mind. They needed to rest.
"If at first you don't succeed," she said as she surveyed the Unit once
again. Stepping onto the pad, they drifted off.
The smell of newly brewed coffee assaulted her nose and she wrinkled it.
People came into focus, milling around, walking, talking. No one payed her
any mind. Sweet. And fruity. What the... Swallowing, she realised that she'd
been eating. Glancing down in front of her, she saw a pile of blueberry
pancakes and a mug of that coffee. Aileas coughed violently and spat what
was left in her mouth onto the plate.
"I hate blueberries!" A yeoman glanced over at her outburst so she grabbed
her mug and the plate and tossed both into a recycler.
This time they'd been asleep for two hours. Five needed at least six hours
to regenerate properly. The trouble was, she had no idea how long they'd
spent in the unit.
"Third time lucky?" she told the Regen Unit as she practically crawled into
it.
"Lieutenant! Lieutenant?" A French voice drifted into her dreams. "Chief?
Sir?"
"Who..." She knew that voice, she was sure of it.
Vincent reached out to touch her face very gently. "Aileas?"
The hand that grabbed him around the throat was merciless. It squeezed
tighter, his choking weakening with each passing moment. He clutched at it,
futilely trying to prize it off. She gripped. He croaked. She dug deeper. He
tried to scream.
"Aileas! I can't breathe. Five? I-I can't... I..."
In shock, she dropped him and he clattered to the floor, wheezing. Reeling
at the sudden change, she took a staggering step backwards and tripped over
a chair, falling to her knees once again.
"Oh God, Vincent, oh God. I didn't mean..." Crawling forward, she reached
toward the red faced Frenchman. "I didn't know... I swear."
"How long," he croaked, "have you been sleep-walking?"
She shrugged as she leaned her back against a table leg. "A week, maybe
more. Ever since this case started. Maybe a little after that. I try not to
sleep at all now."
"You can't do that either, you know." He was managing to get his breath back
but barely. "You'll have to tell the CMO, you know that, don't you?"
"NO!" She'd had more than enough of doctors for one lifetime. "I can deal
with this."
"And what if you don't stop next time? What if the next person you assault
dies?" He took ahold of her hand, rubbing his thumb over the back of it. "As
much as I am abitious, I would rather not get promoted because one of my
superiors is being prosecuted for murder. We've got quite enough of things
like that as it is."
"Why are you still here, Vincent? Your shift ended with mine."
"Ah, well, I got a call from a friend of mine at Starfleet Headquarters. I
sent him a scan of the blood taken from one of our vicitms. He said that he
might have a match for the drug that is paralysing the delegate."
A little hope brightened her. "And?"
"And he said he'd get back to me." He gave her hand a squeeze. "But there is
hope in this."
Nodding, Aileas pulled herself to her feet. "And there is more work to be
done. Let us get to it, Sergeant Major."
"Yes sir."
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