<USS Avalon> "Give Away the Baggage, But Keep the Magic Penny" (Skyler, Moreya)
- From: "Jamie Lawson" <ayeshalan@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: avalon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2007 13:11:52 -0800
Give Away the Baggage, But Keep the Magic Penny
Skyler, Moreya
2007:12:13
"Lieutenant? Lieutenant Moreya, are you all right?"
Moreya blinked several times, and drew a deep, reflexive breath as she
forced her attention back to her present surroundings. She offered the
young human standing beside her a little smile as she raised the sensor hood
back to standby. "Yes, Ensign Herta, I'm fine. I was just indulging in
some heavy thinking."
"It looked pretty heavy to me, all right. I couldn't tell if you were even
here, if you know what I mean."
"I do, and I'm not sure I was here, to be honest," she said as she stood
up. "But I'm fine now. When we are back underway, I want the sensors
focused on the area around Centaurus as we approach. Make a thorough survey
of the stability of the space-time fabric around the planet. If there's
anything that looks the least bit out of the ordinary, write it up and flag
it to me immediately. Understood?"
Herta nodded. "Yes ma'am."
"I'll leave you to it here." Moreya stepped out of the Stellar Cartography
labs and tapped the nearest companel. "Locate Captain Skyler."
"Captain Skyler is in her ready room."
"Moreya to Skyler."
Sitting in her ready room, Skyler was still in shock over seeing Tery. She
was the last person on earth she had expected to ever see, let alone back on
the Avalon. As she sat contemplating this development, her comm unit went
off. "This is Skyler. What can I do for you, Moreya?" *~Just what I need.
Tery and Moreya.~*
"Captain, I have been able to do some research on the disaster at the
Cochrane Institute, and I think you should see what I've found at the
earliest opportunity."
"I am very interested in seeing what you have discovered. Please come to my
ready room and you can explain it to me." Skyler didn't know how she was
going to mask her emotions. Perhaps she shouldn't try -- Moreya would
notice it anyway, and with the bond they shared she really didn't feel like
hiding it.
Moreya wasted no time in getting to Skyler's ready room. When she entered,
her eyes opened a fraction wider. Her friend, who had seemed over the past
few days to have achieved a moderate degree of calm, was once again deep in
turmoil. "What's the matter, dear one?" she asked.
Looking at her friend Skyler knew she couldn't hide anything, yet for a
moment she tried. "What makes you think anything is wrong -- oh, who am I
kidding? You know me better than I know myself." Getting up she walked to
the replicator and ordered to glasses of tea. Taking the tea she handed one
to Moreya letting her hand linger for a moment on the science officers and
then sat down on the sofa.
"It appears that Tery is back. Without notice.....just as she left." She
paused for a moment and took a sip of her tea. "I ran into her when I went
aboard the station to talk to the JAG officer about Captain Phillips.
Moreya, to be honest I don't know what to do or if I should do anything.
Since being with you I have been content. Even if it can't be monogamous or
permanent it is more than enough. Even a chance encounter with you whenever
it should happen seems to be enough. Something I thought I would never
feel....I know that doesn't make sense. I'm not even sure I understand
it." Holding the glass in both hands it took all her energy to keep herself
from shaking on the outside the way she was inside.
Leaning against the edge of Skyler's desk, Moreya took a long pull on the
glass, for once barely tasting the contents. Then she set it down and faced
Skyler squarely. "Forgive me, my dear, if what I say comes forth as blunt.
We haven't time to be anything but absolutely direct. Whatever unfinished
business you have with Tery -- and you do have unfinished business with her,
as I have no doubt she does with you -- it must be settled, and
immediately."
"I know, but I don't have the energy right now to deal with it. I don't know
that I want to. It is just too painful."
Moreya frowned. "I know it hurts. I know how torn you are. Were I you, I
know I would be too. But please, I beg you, listen to me. We have a
mission. We are on our way to a place where over a thousand people died at
a stroke, to find out why they died. I have what may be the first clue to
that mystery. And I tell you now, we dare not try and unravel that mystery
when we are divided and distracted in our minds." The Deltan's voice was
pitched low, and not loud, but the urgency was as clear as if she had been
shouting.
Skyler bristled, as if her friend had just yelled at her. Skyler
knew Moreya cared and wanted what was only best for her, but right now she
didn't want to deal with Tery. "Are you trying to say that I can't do my
job unless I deal with this other problem? My duty to this ship and this
mission come first. I would never let anyone or anything distract me from
that. I would hope you would know me better than that." Getting up she
moved to sit behind her desk, willing herself to remain calm. "Now tell me
about this information you have discovered."
Moreya sighed. "I do know you better than that. I have not made myself
clear. It is not just that we have a mission. The information I have
gathered says to me that this is not just any mission. Our minds are at
risk. Our very souls, if you believe in such things."
Skyler could see the concern in her friends eyes. "So what am I to do? Drop
everything and work things out with Tery when we have this whatever it is
you say we have in front of us? I can't.....no I won't do that. I will do
whatever it takes to make it through what lies ahead. Now please tell me
what you know or suspect."
Moreya drained the glass of tea, then started to pace slowly. "I can also
compile all this into a full report for yourself and the Admiral," she
said. "But in brief: you know that the incident began with a warp field
experiment, that apparently went wrong in some way, and ultimately destroyed
the entire Cochrane Institute complex. There are two things I have found
that I think are the most important to know. It is very tempting to assume
they are connected, but it is of course possible they are not." She
continued to pace as she said, "The first thing you need to be aware of is
that this was not a warp field experiment on the same technology track as
the Federation has been pursuing until now. Rather, it involved opening a
gateway to another, parallel dimension."
"A parallel dimension? Not an alternate universe? Are you sure of this?"
Skyler took a deep breath and tried to imagine what a parallel dimension
would be like and how it would affect the dimension they were in now. Warp
mechanics were not her strong suit for sure. "So how did you come to this
conclusion, and just to make sure I understand it, what is the difference?"
"Not an alternate universe in the way you would usually think of it, like
the Mirror Universe," Moreya said. "I'm talking about a parallel dimension,
akin to the subspace we use for communications. Rather than warping the
space-time continuum in which we now exist in order to travel at faster than
lightspeed, the new experiments would open a portal to this parallel
dimension, where the distances are not the same. One could conceivably
enter this alternate dimension, travel one parsec, and exit to our
dimension, a hundred or even a thousand parsecs from where you started."
"How is this dangerous to our minds and souls as you so adamantly suggest it
could be? I am not doubting you; I just don't understand why Starfleet
would be trying such an experiment." Sighing, Skyler leaned her head back
against her chair. *~I guess I don't understand a lot of things lately.~*
"Well, I don't think anyone realized just how dangerous it was going to turn
out to be," Moreya said with a shrug. "That's where the second thing I
think you need to know comes in. As I said before, it is possible -- though
I think unlikely, if for no other reason than Occam's Razor -- that they are
not connected." She crossed the room to the replicator, and threw her empty
glass into the recycler with just a shade more force than was necessary.
"You are aware that all the buildings of the Institute were destroyed,
though much of the grounds remain intact. That argues against a single
explosion centering on the warp test facility. The warp test facility
building was destroyed by the test core exploding. The rest --" Moreya
took a deep breath. "The rest, were destroyed by the people inside them."
It didn't take the throwing of the glass for Skyler to realize how upset
Moreya was. Skyler moved over to Moreya and led her to the couch. "Please
have a seat and try and calm down. I know how this is upsetting you and for
that I am very sorry. Why would the people in the test facility want to
destroy everything else?"
"I do not know," Moreya said, allowing herself to be guided to a seat. "But
I was able to locate communications from portions of the complex -- people
trying to reach the outside world, as well as security cams, and so forth.
It isn't the same in all the buildings. In some cases it could be argued
that it was mass murder; others, mass suicide. Sudden, mass insanity, in
any event."
"All those people. It doesn't make any sense. I can't believe Starfleet
would just allow this to happen. It has to be a mistake." Skyler sat on the
couch and held her head in her hands. She couldn't stop thinking about all
those people killed for no good reason.
"Whatever happened, it came so quickly that Starfleet didn't even know about
it until it was over," Moreya said. "They are doing the only thing now that
can be done -- find out what happened, so it can be prevented from
happening. That is our job, Captain."
Skyler knew Moreya was upset, especially since she had used her title to
address her. She hated seeing her friend so upset. "Moreya, in this office
there is no rank. We are friends and you may talk to me as such. Not as your
superior officer. I don't consider myself to be such. I know how deeply you
feel this monstrousity and I promise you that we will find out what happened
and prevent it from happening again."
Skyler brought Moreya a glass of hot tea from the replicator and sat down
beside her. "Drink this up and then we can figure out the best way to
approach this." She held the cup out to Moreya. Once she had taken it,
Skyler held her other hand for a moment. "Please don't let yourself get all
upset. I don't like seeing you this way."
The Deltan closed her eyes, breathing in the scented steam from the tea.
Finally she chuckled. "You batter at the door of the wind, my dear," she
said, looking up at Skyler. Seeing her friend's expression of worry shift
to one of confusion, she added, "I believe the human expression is, 'the
shoe's on the other foot now.' In any event. Do you see now why I said you
should not leave unfinished business? This mission has more than enough to
disturb our hearts and minds, all by itself. If we bring extra baggage --
any at all -- with us, as I did just now, we weaken ourselves."
She took a long drink of the tea, then set down the cup with a sigh. "I
think the first thing we should do, while we are still inbound, is research
this thoroughly. Very little that happens in the universe has not happened
before, and if something like this has happened somewhere in the Federation
or within Starfleet, it will give us a valuable clue."
"Whatever I can do to help I will. You will have full access to anything you
require. As for unfinished business, I am not sure how to go about it. I
don't know how I feel about Tery. I am not sure what to do about us -- or
rather how I feel about us. I know you are not extra baggage for me. I
wouldn't change anything for the world. Any time spent with you is a
pleasure and I won't deny it. I couldn't even if I wanted to." She knew she
probably shouldn't have, but she held Moreya's hands in hers and brought
them to her lips. She kissed them gently, moving from each finger to the
next.
Moreya closed her eyes, drawing a deep breath, enjoying the touch while
working to maintain her focus. When Skyler was done, the Deltan said, "For
us, it seems to me quite simple. If you wouldn't change anything for the
world, then there is nothing *to* do. Why worry about it? But for Tery ...
for your sake and hers, you need to talk to her. We can talk to her
together if it would help."
"You would do that for me? Even though you already told me we can't have a
monagamous relationship? Even though you know how much I want to be with
you, want you in my life in more ways than one?" Skyler remained holding
Moreya's hands, not wanting to let go of them. Enjoying the feel of her skin
against her own. "Oh my friend, what am I to do?"
"Of course I would. You are my friend, first, last and always," Moreya
said. "Trust me."
"I do trust you Moreya. More than I trust anyone. So where do we go from
here?"
"As soon as we're back underway -- or when Tery returns, if it is sooner --
call her. We can talk here, or better, in your quarters. Until then, I
believe I should continue my research."
Skyler lowered her head. "Tery is back aboard the ship, in her quarters or
back in engineering. Before we talk to her, I need to know one thing. Just
where do I stand with you? An occasional fling when the timing is right? Or
something more serious? I know what you said, but is that how you really
feel? That we can't have a monagamous relationship. Can you tell me that you
don't enjoy my touching you? That our being together doesn't mean as much to
you as it does to me?" Skyler so desperately wanted to hear that Moreya felt
as she did. However something told her it might not happen.
"Skyler. Dear one." Moreya closed her hands around Skyler's. "Look at
me. And listen. You are my dearest friend. There is nothing this side of
death itself that can change that. *That* is where you stand with me. For
we Deltans, sex is a fundamental part of any healthy adult relationship. As
I told you when we were in the holosuite version of my home, for us,
communicating and making love are part of the same thing. To suggest that
what we have shared, both on that day and the day before yesterday, is 'an
occasional fling' is to gravely underestimate the significance of it -- for
both of us. And that is why I have stressed that I *cannot* be sexually
monogamous with you. Do you know what would happen if you put yourself into
a sensory deprivation chamber -- where you could see, hear, feel, touch
nothing? You would eventually go mad, and then die. That is what would
happen to me if I tried to be sexually monogamous with you, or anyone. Do
you understand? It is not because I lack any degree of love for you."
Skyler looked at Moreya. "I don't mean to underestimate or make light of
what we have had and hopefully will have in the future. I know you love me
as I love you." She knew what her friend was saying was true. She didn't
necessarily like it, but she understood it.
Moreya nodded, keeping her eye contact with Skyler. "Now then. As for my
enjoying you touching me, and how much our being together means to me, you
already know the answer to that. Think back to the night before last. To
the holosuite. Did you not feel how much pleasure I took in your touch, in
all its aspects? The joy I have in your flesh as well as your soul -- for
we shared both? I do not make a habit of lying, Skyler. And I *cannot* lie
when I'm in bed. If there is a Deltan who can, I have not yet met him -- or
her. But if you must hear the words from my mouth as well as from my body,
then so be it -- Skyler, I have enjoyed your touch as much as I have ever
enjoyed anything. Our being together is a part of my life I would not give
up."
She sighed, ever so faintly, threads of ire melting away into sorrow. "Why
are you so afraid about this, Skyler? What have I done -- or failed to do
-- that makes you doubt me?"
Taking Moreya's hands and kissing them again Skyler had a tear in her eye.
"You have done nothing and I don't doubt you." Pausing for a moment, Skyler
tried to gather her thoughts. "I don't know how to explain what is wrong. I
am scared. I don't like being alone -- I am afraid of being alone. Everyone
I have ever loved has left me. I love you so much it hurts. To be honest, I
don't want to share you with anyone. I know that is selfish of me but that
is how I feel."
"I understand. I have known you, and I know what you feel -- the grief, the
loss, the fear. You must try to have faith -- in me, but most of all in
yourself. That you will live, and love, and thrive, no matter what has
happened to you. You must try to remember that the only way to hold on to
love is to share it. There is a song, from Earth, that speaks of this.
Have you heard it?"
"No, but have heard the saying, 'If you love someone let them go, if they
don't return they weren't yours to keep.' That is what I am so afraid of,
Moreya. However I don't doubt your love for me and I do have faith in you.
You are the only one I completely trust with my soul, my heart, my love and
my life."
Moreya reached forward, cradling Skyler against her chest. "It's just like
a magic penny," she sang softly, "Hold it tight and you won't have any, Lend
it, spend it, and you'll have so many, They'll roll all over the floor --
for -- Love is something if you give it away, you end up having more."
Skyler couldn't help but cry as Moreya held her and sang her song. It was
not intentional but she couldn't help it. She was in the arms of the woman
she really loved with all her heart and she didn't know what was in their
future.
["Magic Penny," by Malvina Reynolds.
http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/MALVINA/mr101.htm]
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