Ensign Lyra Voss: The Ones Who Help
Sarah Terry
((San Francisco District - Starbase 118))
The rain and wind were reaching a fever pitch as they pushed toward the highlighted confluence of ferroniobium, calls to sickbay, and energy modulations on their map. The group of them huddled together in the street like a parade of drowned rats.
Voss: ::yelling over the wind:: It’s around here somewhere! ::trying to look at the buildings on either side of the street:: So… either Cosmos Canvas or Brew Continuum?
Wethern: Brew continuum has Fairhug commentative mugs currently and I could kill for a coffee.
Lyra could feel Drex’s incredulity like a slap in the face.
Drex: Coffee? Here? Now? ::A brief pause:: Maybe even the doctor’s starting to be affected… forgetting why we’re out here in the first place.
Lyra was fairly certain it was more likely a combination of the strange coffee madness so many people seemed to have and Dr. Wethern’s rather dry sense of humor, but at this point, Four only knew what the hell was going on.
Anethra: ?
Another tree branch went hurtling by and Lyra jumped out of the way just in time to see a swirling tower of wind down the block. Her eyes went wide.
Voss: We better make a choice real quick!
Wethern: You know where my vote lies.
Drex: We need to get out of the street! oOThis is stupid, Drex!Oo
Anethra: ?
If it looked familiar to Anethra, that was going to have to take precedence over anyone’s caffeine addiction. They ran to the art gallery’s door and thankfully found it unlocked - presumably how Anethra had left it when she wandered out. The moment they were all inside, Lyra slammed the door shut and activated the deadbolt. She spared one small, terrified glance for the… yeah, her brain did not want to acknowledge that there was a *vecking* tornado out there… but the Very Bad Wind Thing was still eating into trees down the block. She turned her back to the door and slid down it with a heavy sigh.
Voss: Four help me… two hours ago, I was in *bed!* This place is crazy.
Still, her tricorder beeped and she pulled it back out of its little side bag so she could look at it.
Wethern: Have we struck gold? Or Ferrombionum?
She had to wipe more water out of her eyes to even read the display, but once she did, her shoulders slumped in relief.
Voss: Looks like we made the right call. This is the waveform we were tracking.
With great reluctance, she managed to stand up so she could bring the tricorder over to the rest of the group to show them.
Anethra: ?
Wethern: It's that frequency again but multiplied. How you all feeling?
The reaction from Drex was sharp and immediate. He rubbed his arms, trying vainly to restore a bit of warmth to them.
Drex: ::his tone harder than usual:: Cold. Wet. Miserable. And completely useless.:: He glanced at the others, with irritation :: This isn’t our fight. We’re not trained for it. We should be calling station security, letting people who actually know what they’re doing handle this. Not us… trudging through rain like this!
She could feel the flush of his frustration as if it were her own. After all, she was just as cold and miserable, just as… well. As useless? Maybe. It was the strangest thing. Since she’d “woken up” here on the station, she’d been playing at being a science officer, playing at being that thing she’d always thought she wanted to be, but… it didn’t feel real. It wasn’t real. Because she’d given it up, hadn’t she? Decided she couldn’t do it, couldn’t handle the pressure, couldn’t work well enough with other people, couldn’t drown out their thoughts and their feelings that battered and buffeted her as badly as that stupid tornado outside. She’d given up.
His feelings compounded with her own were too much. She could feel tears fill her eyes, and when he slammed his PADD down on the table, she jumped as if he’d hit her with it.
Anethra: ?
Drex: Every spike, every reading… It’s just a signal. Noise. Nothing we can control out here. And for what? To prove we can wade through a storm?
Every word grew more disdainful than the last - it was like tripping down a staircase that spiraled into darkness.
Anethra/Wethern: ?
His voice turned bitter and biting.
Drex: ::To Wethern:: This is totally stupid. You should make contact with other real officers. Or you forgot how to do it? Are you sure you’re in the right decades?
This was too much. The signal that had overloaded her mind had cut her telepathy wide open. It was like being tuned to pick up the heartbeat of a mouse only to have someone come screaming at you instead. She took a few halting steps back from the table. It felt like she could barely breathe.
Anethra/Wethern: ?
Drex: No, I call myself out. This isn’t my place, and it sure as hell isn’t my time. I’m not risking my life like this.
The Denobulan shoved a chair back from the table with a sharp scrape that made her flinch. Her hand flew instinctually to her collar, trying to make space for more breath.
Drex: ::muttering, almost to himself:: Let the trained people handle it. Not me. Not like this.
But then her hand found that damn pip. That stupid little speck of metal and the proof it carried. Felt it against her fingertips, as real as any other part of her. And she set her jaw and turned to Drex.
Voss: Enough! ::her voice cut across the room:: We’re *all* wet, and we’re *all* miserable, but we’re here! So you don’t remember being a science officer - fine! I don’t either. But we made it here anyway. Because, whether you like it or not, some part of you knows this is who you are. This is who you chose to be. A person who shows up and does whatever the hell they can to fix things. Even when it absolutely *vecking* sucks and it’s pouring rain and we’re cold and frustrated and tired. Because people need our help and we’re here. And… even if you don’t remember, isn’t that who you want to be?
Hard to say who she was really yelling at, but it tumbled out of her mouth all the same. And when she was finished, the silence in the room rang in her ears. But she knew it was right. She wanted to be the person who showed up and helped, no matter what it took.
Anethra/Wethern: ?
Her voice was shaky when she spoke again, but her back was straight.
Voss: So… I’m going to track down this signal. If you want to sit there, go for it. But if you want to come, we could use your help.
Drex/Wethern/Anethra: ?