Ensign Miaxdiso Avoi - The Last Lonely Lighthouse
D. Finch
((Primary Sickbay - Deck 7, USS Gorkon))
Oh, how dreadful it was inside that man’s mind! Climbing through his chaotic thoughts had been horrible, harrowing and oh so hideous. Doctor Taeval had managed to smoothen things out with just a sprinkle, and for that Miaxdiso was ever so grateful. But then she had started to understand the echoes of Keibren Denshar's voice more, the regret lacquering his once vibrant spirit.
Avoi: There's a…a place. He was there. ::She paused.:: It's…It's New Cyndriel.
Ruwon: Did he do something there? Something he regrets?
Avoi: I, ::her lashes fluttered,:: I think that it’s connected.
Taeval: Response
New Cyndriel wasn’t a sickly sewage green, in his mind, but beautiful as it had once been. She could see a town of some variety, dressed in decorations. And there were so many gleaming colours, there, in the tattered image flashing between them. The gold of a bright sun, the speckled teal and silver of wonderful oceans. And streets…lined with interesting buildings, dotted with balconies, in a sort of...old town. She wasn't sure.
Ruwon: He saw the beginning of this, perhaps?
Taeval: Response
As if underwater, the sound of muffled chirps out of combadges tickled at her eardrums. She could feel Ruwon beside her stirring in a bit of a deluge, and Taeval in his own, the men and their own priorities muddying her telepathic link a touch. It was the most dreadful feeling, trying to navigate a dying mind, and one that she was just simply not equipped for. There were no shelves for her to organise, no arrangements or bookings to manage, no speech to prepare; telepathy wasn’t physical, she couldn’t hold it in her hands or type it down into a PADD. That’s why she needed her sister Reidaxmi there in that moment!
But no, she wasn't there, so Miaxdiso really had to concentrate now—Keibren’s thoughts were dimming.
Ruwon: The teams are returning. Taeval, can we keep him awake long enough to compare data?
Avoi: No, I don’t think we can. He’s suffering so much.
Miaxdiso said disconsolately.
Taeval: Response
Ruwon: Avoi…New Cyndriel. What did he see?
The blonde Betazoid turned to Ruwon now, struggling to hear Keibren at all. She could feel the ebb and flow slowing down to a quiet whisper. The vibrant, lively and flashing images of the place he had been on New Cyndriel dissipated too, replaced by darker shades. Shadows reaching into corners like caressing tendrils. Tragic. So devastating.
Avoi: I’m losing him. All that’s left is the oh so terrible, overwhelming regret, and…
Then she saw him there, faintly, briefly, like a bird passing by, not exact or very clear to see but in silhouette, a figure she was certain could only be one person.
Taeval: Response
Ruwon: Push, Avoi. Let him repent.
She couldn’t…the lighthouse guiding her through his mind was gone, and Miaxdiso exhaled so heavily it probably could have been felt across several timelines and universes.
A quiet held there for a moment like one of her shimmering pink tapestries, as the dust settled. The terror in her spirit simmered and bubbled, though she did her best to regain some modicum of composure. Even if she wanted to run out of there and sob endlessly, she wouldn't. She had an image to maintain, but more importantly, a role to play like they all did.
So, with a ruffle and a primp of the end of her curly hair, and a brushing with the back of her finger of the almost-tears begging to fall out of her dark eyes, she turned to Ruwon, with her usual musical voice slightly crispier than normal.
Avoi: Ruwon, I think I saw him…that man. I think I saw…the Commodore.
Ruwon, beside her, sucked in a surprised breath, knuckles white on the PADD he held. She watched as the medical machines changed their music, alternated their sounds and patterns, and she gripped the edge of the biobed one last time.
Taeval: Response
Avoi: Such an unendurable fate.
Taeval / Ruwon: Response
Avoi: The work that the both of you do is so vital.
Taeval / Ruwon: Response
Avoi: Khnai'ra¹, Doctor Taeval, Counsellor Ruwon.
Taeval / Ruwon: Response
Miaxdiso blinked her eyes at the Romulan men, truly grateful—though she did feel utterly siphoned by the whole situation. She straightened out her crimson uniform and within seconds her shining turquoise pocket-mirror had been pulled out and pushed in front of her face for her to correct all of the maladies. They would need to check in with their team leader as soon as he and the rest of the team returned, too, she thought to herself.
Just whatever the blonde Betazoid expected her career to be, this certainly was not it—and yet with Ruwon's help, they had discovered key information that she never expected to find, and that she believed was going to prove eminently important to helping them all get back to where they belonged—like the City of Idridi, and her family. Her mother, her father. Her sister Reidaxmi, her brother Cigris.
Goodness, this was the difference. This was how it felt! Not to be just a Diplomatic Officer.
But to be a Starfleet Officer.
fin
¹ Romulan: Thank you (semi-formal; formal, between equals).
Diplomatic Officer
USS Gorkon NCC-82293
Simmed by
Assistant Chief Engineer
USS Gorkon NCC-82293
C239809SH3