JP: Cmdr. Karrod Niac & Lt. Jg. Nolen Hobart - What We Signed Up For (Part 1)

[Karrod Niac]

((Conference Room, Deck 1, USS Arrow))

Karrod felt himself bouncing on his heels as the Guardian finally arrived for this last and, according to Deriah, most unusual part of his Zhian’tara.  In fact, Deriah had gone on at length in her insufferably polite way, at how irregular it was that Karrod had in her words caused Niac to ‘pick up a stray.’  He’d tried explaining that it was hardly that simple, wasn’t remotely his fault, and wasn’t like it was something he’d intended.  All those protestations had gained him was an affronted sniff and a piteous headshake from the woman who now stood behind him with a faint but unmistakable scowl.  

Deriah:  Karrod, zhian'tara vok... Tu Niac, zhian'tani ress... Zhian'par, Adriana Morgan garu'koj…

It was unusual for several reasons but none was bigger than the first. Commander Adriana Morgan, Betazoid communications specialist formerly of the USS Excalibur, was’t Trill.  Through no fault of her own she’d ended up briefly inhabiting his body when an alien technology swapped the consciousnesses of everyone aboard the Excalibur.  While Karrod’s brief sojourn in her body hadn’t had any long term side effects for her, he’d returned to his own body to discover that Niac had a fully formed impression of the woman stored away within itself.  It had been a bizarre and embarrassing discovery to make but to her credit, Commander Morgan had taken the entire situation in stride and they’d become fast friends.  Karrod still teased Niac about it sometimes, accusing it of being willing to Join with any consciousness that happened to be around, and Niac continued to be wonderfully irritated by the scandalous idea.  When he came to he had a faint smile on his lips.  The Guardian lowered her hands but her expression was curious and hard to read.  

Deriah:  Are you feeling alright, young man?  That felt..different, somehow.  

Lieutenant Junior Grade Nolen Hobart’s eyes blinked and Adriana Morgan peered back at the Guardian from behind them.

Morgan:  He’s fine. Mostly. But… are you? Did it feel… bad?

Deriah:  No, not bad, just different.  Each consciousness I’ve transferred over the years has been unique but they all shared...harmonies.  Tones.  A music that was separate but similar each time.  This was…something new. 

Karrod looked to the Guardian in concern as she took a breath and fanned at her face, some redness coming to her cheeks.  

Niac:  Are you all right, Guardian?    You’re looking a little flushed.  

Nolen’s eyebrows jumped in bemusement. 

Morgan:  First time for everything.

Deriah:  No, no, I’m fine dear, I just guess that was a little overwhelming.  Something so new, at my age..::she laughed as she composed herself::...goodness, I’ll have a lot to tell the symbiotes back home about!  I feel like a young woman of barely a hundred!  

With a new spring in her step the Guardian left the room and Karrod had to shake his head to stop staring as the door slid closed behind her.  When he finally looked to Mr. Hobart, his features were wearing a sly grin he’d come to know only too well aboard the Excalibur.  

Niac:  Adriana?  

Morgan:  Fancy meeting you here.

Karrod chuckled and nodded to one of the chairs at the table, taking the one adjacent and turning it to face ‘her.’  

Niac:  This is very weird.  I just saw you…I mean, the other you…you know.  I just saw her yesterday, she gave me a report on the comm system overhaul we’re performing.  And she had that exact same grin.

A chuckle slipped from the Engineer’s lips.

Morgan:  I promise it’s not nearly as weird as me seeing the other me.

Nolen’s arms stretched and shifted strangely as they settled down on the table. The hardest thing about adjusting to life as a permanent part of Karrod’s menagerie of personalities was the noise. Not louder, just different. Different from being around people and their telepathic imprints. Inside Karrod, there were no signals from the outside world except through his senses. The only minds she read were those of the previous Niac hosts. And Karrod’s own.

Niac:  I’m sure.  I asked her if she wanted to be part of this today and she just said ‘she’ll already be here, so what’s the point?’  ::Karrod smiled and leaned back in his chair::  I guess she figured one of you is enough for any room.  

She leaned in, resting an elbow on the tabletop as she twisted Nolen’s body to face her host. For the first time in a long time, she got at least a rudimentary sense of what Karrod’s mind felt like from the outside. Not quite the same as she remembered, but then again she was only in half a Betazoid body now.

Morgan: So. The last one. Should I be flattered you saved it for me? ::warm, crooked grin:: Tell me, are you glad you finally did this?

She could sense the trepidation in his mind as he thought back. She inhaled deeply as Karrod began to speak.

A flip answer died on his lips and Karrod found himself trying to really think about all he’d experienced in the past week.  The Guardian had warned him it would be a lot to take in and she’d been right on that point but it was so much more than just processing his feelings.  He stood and turned towards the windows, looking for an answer somewhere beyond the viewport.  

Niac:  This experience has been…profound.  It’s hard to admit that but I’d be a liar if I said this didn’t have an impact on me.  But I’m still piecing together exactly what that impact is.  I feel like my bond with Niac has grown more complicated or intensified somehow.  

She gave him a sideways glance. He was wrestling with this whole experience, perhaps his whole existence. It was not something most people ever had to endure. Or enjoy, for that matter.

Morgan: I wasn’t sure your relationship with Niac could get more complicated. Is that a bit of regret I’m picking up?

Karrod shook his head but kept looking at the stars beyond.  

Niac:  No, it’s not a bad thing, it’s just…I think, even after everything we’ve gone through since the Joining, Niac and I had established a kind of distance between ‘ourselves.’  We’d found a balance that worked for the both of us.  Now..I don’t think that distance exists anymore.  

Morgan:  Niac’s not just a passenger, now. And you’re not just a… wild-eyed, hairy-faced bus driver.

He turned and leaned against the bulkhead, not really seeing the room or this iteration of Adriana at the table a few meters away.  His attention was turned entirely inward.  

Niac:  I’m honestly not sure what it means but I suspect the slug and I are going to have to redefine our partnership a bit.  

She leaned back in her seat for a moment, as Karrod talked half to himself. A queasy unsteadiness filled the room. It felt familiar to Adriana, but distant at the same time. Like feeling your way around a darkened room, with gloves on. A silence lingered. She wasn’t sure what her role was, here. She wasn’t sure of herself, either. She was an imprint, an echo of the past. Somewhere out there, Adriana Morgan was living her own life, growing, changing. Here, in this room, Adriana Morgan was just a piece of Niac’s history. And maybe that’s what this was.

Morgan: You’re going to die someday, Karrod.

[TBC]

================================

Lieutenant Junior Grade Nolen Hobart

Engineering Officer 

USS Arrow (NCC-69829)

A240001NH3

&

Commander Karrod Niac

First Officer

USS Arrow - NCC-69829

Captain Randal Shayne, Commanding

V239509GT0