Lt Karen Stendhal - Groundhog Day on the Twotwofour

[KRN STDL]

((Deck 14, Psychiatric Ward | DS224))

Counselor Karen Stendhal blinked once, steadying herself as the sterile lights of the Psychiatric Ward came back into focus. For the briefest moment, just a flicker and no more, she could have sworn she was still in the turbolift, the air tight with tension and urgency. But the sensation dissolved as quickly as it had come, leaving behind only a faint echo of confusion.

She exhaled, grounding herself. She’d only recently returned from her leave of absence; perhaps her mind hadn’t quite caught up to the pace of a starbase life again.

Before her, strapped to the biobed, lay Ensign Braya wide eyed, trembling, lost in a storm of panic and memories Karen didn’t yet understand. The rhythmic beeping of the monitor filled the room, sharp against the heavy silence.

Karen straightened, softening her expression as she stepped closer. Whatever momentary disorientation she felt could wait. Right now, this young woman needed her fully present, steady, and unshaken.

Braya: ::Hoarse and panicking:: What? No! I reset it. I reset!

The heart monitor spiked into a frantic tempo, its sharp beeps echoing through the room as Braya’s pulse surged. Karen watched the young woman’s breaths quicken rapid, shallow, the unmistakable pattern of panic. Braya strained weakly against the restraints, her exhausted muscles quivering before she collapsed back onto the rigid bed, drained.

Braya: ::Raspy, dry mouthed:: Where am I? Where’s Sparks an’ Lex?

Stendhal: You’re safe, Braya. You’re in one of the secure treatment areas of the sickbay. You were brought here because you  needed help. Take a breath if you can, just one. I’m right here. I'm not sure who Sparks or Lex are. I haven't been in service for a while. Can you tell me again what happened? ::Karen genuinely didn't know.::

Braya: ::Shakily:: I’ve ‘splained it before. Every time we tried t’get back from th’future, I’d die, or we all wound. And the loop reset t’the Bounty’s bridge. It happened so many times, I can’t count ‘em all. Each just a little different. ::Choked:: Years. I’ve been in this loop. Those same few minutes… ::Trailing off:: For years. Over. And over. And over.

Stendhal: Braya... I can hear how much this has taken from you. Whatever happened out there, it sounds like you carried it alone for far too long. I wasn’t with the Eagle on that mission, so I don’t know the full picture yet... but I’m here now and you are with me. What kind of loop we're talking about?

Braya: We made it back this time. Alive. My chance t’break the loop. And they stole it from me. The loop has to get broke. Ya’ get that, right? I…I can’t live my whole life, and wake up back on Bounty again when it ends. ::Gulping back another sob:: Ain’t no point o’ livin’ that way. I got t’fix it.    

Karen gazed at Braya with her big eyes wide open, as Braya was actually talking like Cmdr Rustyy from SB 118, yeah same slangy tunes.

Stendhal: I hear how important this is to you, Braya. Help me understand… when you say you had a chance to break the loop,  What does breaking it look like from your point of view?

Braya: Response?

Stendhal: I want to know more so I can help you. What was your plan to stop the loop? What needed to happen, in your view, for it to finally end?

Braya: Response?

Stendhal: It's a shame that Lieutenant Yinn is back on Bolarus; she was great at this kind of thing. She and I even traveled to the future once, and we ended up on some kind of Orion-Betazoid disco moon. Terrible stuff! ::Karen was tryng to distract Breya from her looping.

Braya: Response?



Tags/TBC

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Lt. Karen Trisha Stendhal
Counselor  
USS Eagle

ID: C239604KS0
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https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php?title=Karen_Stendhal