JP Lieutenant Commander Toryn Raga & Lieutenant Commander Lael Rosek - You Deserved That, Part II

[Lieutenant Commander Toryn Raga]

((Holodeck 2, Deck 6, USS Atlantis, Standard Orbit over Illara Prime, Par’tha Expanse, Beta Quadrant ))

{{Time Index: Shoreleave Day 11}}

He expected her to attack him, winds knew he wanted her to. To give him that last little push over the edge to cut loose and unload all of that anger on Lael Rosek. And yet, he felt her arms wrap around him. Not aggressively. Compassionately. And then he sensed her mind, her walls lowered completely. His own took barely any effort to fall away as well and as he sensed her mind for the first time in a while. He broke. The anger, while substantial, melted away as the Al-Leyan leaned on Lael, his arms weakly wrapping around her in a hug. His body shuddered against hers from the violent tears pouring from his eyes as so much heartache, pain, loss, and more burst within him like a breaking dam. 

Rosek: ~ Tiel obstina. Estas pli ol unu speco de amo. (So stubborn. There’s more than one kind of love.) ~

She pulled back from the embrace and met his gaze, a wane smile crossing her lips. Anyone else looking at them might well have gotten the wrong idea. But there was history between them and there was no escaping that. They knew each other intimately, which only made trust harder.  

It was strange having full access to his mind after so long. She had to be careful that she didn’t trigger the psionic connection again. The Vulcan healer had worked meticulously to sever those strings so she didn’t drag him through her painful healing process. And yet, it wasn’t any trouble for her to sense that something wasn’t quite right. As though something was missing.

Her brow furrowed. As curious as she was, she didn’t want to break his trust again by delving further. She recalled all too well how it had felt when Lenik had forced his way into her mind...the pain as she fought against him. She’d vowed after that experience never to force herself on anyone that way, particularly someone as vulnerable as Toryn was now.

Raga: ~ Mi scias. Sed tia amo estas la sola, kiun mi mankis.  (( I know, but that kind of love is the only one  I had been missing. ))

It was an odd sensation, feeling her mind as he was. It was both instantly familiar and vastly different. He could feel it. That absence. Whatever psionic connection that had formed between them, was gone. His brow furrowed slightly as he caught a glimpse of something else. Pain on par with what he’d endured in captivity. Toryn hesitated. With things being so uncertain between them at the moment he didn't want to delve but he also couldn’t help but pick up on things close enough to the surface. A name. Lenik. Toryn gasped as he felt, everything. A seething rage sparked back in him, but this time directed at a dead man. His hands clenched, but he was mindful not to treat Lael like a table. 

Raga: I’m sorry, Lael. Lenik…

He trembled as he experienced what she had and in doing so, felt his own experience as a ‘guest’ of the Consortium drawn to the surface of his own mind. Three months of agonizing, pointless torture. The cold, yet seemingly enjoyment in the RoLF that had subjected him to an experience no manner of training, or class lessons at the Academy could prepare one for. The psychological torture, as well as physical, where they made him believe that Atlantis had been destroyed trying to rescue him. Even having replicated Serala’s ritual dagger. And other ‘proof’ of their destruction. Toryn’s legs grew shaky at the full memory and he let go of her so as not to drag her down with him when he sank to the floor, sand being kicked up by his sheer mass alone when he landed. 

It had been painful enough to relive the memories of Lenik, her back snapping ramrod straight as she used her mental training to separate herself from the emotions that surged forward at the memories. They were old enough that she could simply experience them as a detached observer just as she’d done many, many times before. 

But when memories she didn’t recognize joined the onslaught, she found herself struggling to remain standing, only able to do so out of sheer force of will. She distanced herself from the emotions she was receiving for fear that the emotional feedback loop would put either or both of them in a coma if she didn’t. 

Through it all, she fumbled for some physical part of Toryn to anchor them both. It was a Herculean effort to keep them both grounded while keeping their minds far enough apart to reduce the emotional surge. Only when the memories had played themselves out did she allow herself to go back through and analyze them objectively. 

When she returned to awareness, Toryn was on the ground and her knees were shaking violently, like any minute she’d join him. Her chest heaved, her breaths heavy and shallow as though she’d just run a marathon or faced off against an army of Klingons. It took her a few moments to get her bearings.

Toryn weakly managed to bend his legs, resting his arms on his knees and sitting up as straight as he dared. Like Lael, his chest heaved from the intensity of the emotional, telepathic feedback loop they’d just shared. His voice was raspy, parched. 

Raga: Sorry...I always make things worse. I shouldn’t have kept my walls down. 

The words reached her and her gaze dropped to his, her expression softening. Exhaling slowly, she dropped to kneel beside him and studied him for a long moment. The corners of her lips twitched slightly upward as though wanting to form a smile, but she suppressed it. Cautiously, she reached for his mind, though this time, raising her mental shields enough that she only touched the surface.

Rosek: ::murmurs:: You’re fine. ::smiles slightly:: I’m not as practiced as I would like to be, but High Master Sorom is a skilled teacher. ::gaze drops:: Besides… ::lifts her gaze to his:: I’ve endured worse. 

Toryn took a moment to catch his breath, looking up at her when she knelt beside him. His expression softened, though he didn’t smile either. There was still a lot of pain and complicated emotions between them. At least, he knew now he didn’t have to fear a repeat of himself and Serala after she was married to Stevok. The two, admittedly while under the effects of the Jenatris Cloud gas, ended up sharing a kiss in the cargo bay after a mission to rescue a Korri convoy. At the time, there had still been some lingering connection between him and his best friend. He didn’t feel that with Lael. Which was a pleasant surprise. Ishka certainly had captivated his heart enough that she’d helped him heal more than he thought. 

Raga: I see. ::He grunted and rose to his feet slowly:: You’ve already lost enough of your holodeck time because of me. 

A crooked smile crossed her lips and she tilted her head slightly to one side. Strangely, with the tension gone, it felt like a weight had been lifted. A nervous chuckle bubbled up and she was unable to stop it from turning into a full blown laugh. Every time she thought she had herself reeled in, she would start again. What they’d just experienced was anything but funny...and yet, it was either laugh or cry. And she’d shed enough tears for a lifetime. 

Toryn’s brow raised high when that chuckle began and led into a near Wyla Avae laughter. It was unexpected to be sure and he tilted his head slightly. 

Raga: Are you alright? ::He asked, someone concerned:: 

She took and released a few deep breaths, forcing the laughter down, her gaze locking with his, a wide grin that revealed the slightest hint of teeth crossing her lips. 

Rosek: We just barely survived one of the more intense emotional feedback loops I’ve been a part of and you’re worried about my holodeck time?

Toryn stared at her for a long, long moment once her laughter managed to subside enough for her to give him a reply and he couldn’t help but grin slightly. When she put it that way it did seem quite absurd. Toryn chuckled and placed his hands on her shoulders.

Raga: I’ve never been through that before. And this wasn’t exactly an easy..you know you can be so infuriating? 

Rosek: ::smirks:: Likewise, Raga. ::bumps his shoulder with hers:: With all that pent-up emotion, it’s no wonder there are so many requisition requests in the Engineering queue.

Feeling the shoulder bump he chuckled and shared her smirk, though her comment caused him to widen his eyes a bit. Giving her a certain, you dare look. The smirk turned into a grin and Toryn quickly grabbed Lael by both the shoulder and hip and in a quick turn of his hips he picked her off the ground and slammed her on her back in the sand, hard. Toryn couldn’t help but laugh at the spontaneous reflex. 

Raga: You deserved that. ::Grinning:: Not going to lie, that felt good. 

As practiced as she was in self defense, the move had been the last thing she was expecting. She yelped loudly, the sound cut off by the air whooshing from her lungs as she made hard contact with the ground. She gasped for air, struggling to regain her scattered senses. When at last her brain was getting enough oxygen to form a rational thought, she narrowed her eyes at him and responded in kind, flipping him onto his back in the sand.

Rosek: ::breathily:: Not as good as that did. Arrogant @$$.

Toryn was laughing enough that when she used the reversal move on him he offered little resistance and grunted when he hit the ground beside where he’d taken her to ground with a loud oof. 

Raga: Worth it, you obnoxious azeno. 

Rosek: ::glares playfully and punches his shoulder:: Ne premu vian bonŝancon, Raga. (Don’t push your luck, Raga.)

Raga: ::chuckles and grunts from the strike:: You clearly haven’t been here long enough, all I do is push my luck. 

Toryn sat up, grinning at her as he grabbed her shoulders and yanked her face first into the sand, then used her back to vault himself onto his feet. Where upon landing, he quickly rushed towards the Arch. Laughing quite loudly.

Spitting out sand, she rose to her feet and brushed the sand from her workout outfit, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. 

Rosek: ::calls after him:: May I remind you that my department controls your plumbing?

Toryn stopped and turned around, grinning like a Wolfcat. 

Raga: May I remind you that I’m the Second Officer? 

END

----

Lieutenant Commander Lael Rosek, Eng.D.

Engineering Officer

USS Atlantis, NCC-74682

I238110RH0

&

Lieutenant Commander Toryn Raga 

Mission Specialist/Second Officer

USS Atlantis NCC-74682

PodCast Team Member

Training Team Member

Atlantis Staff Member

Writer ID: A239410TR0

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