Lieutenant Nera Ay - Once I Rose Above the Noise and Confusion
Jonathan
((Dresden Point Set, Studio 9, USP Quantum Containment Realm 5))
Ay was stuck, and he’d completely lost track of how long for. It felt like years; he had enough memories to fill 19 of them. 19 years, or seasons, of Fearless. Endlessly driving from one little place to another, endlessly fighting fears made manifest, with no end in sight, and no way out. He loved TV, but he just didn’t want to be stuck in it.
What friends he’d made in this show, if they were even real, had been taken away just as quickly by the writers, or directors, or whoever was overseeing Fearless. The same for anyone they’d tried to get him really close with, to evoke a little romance. He’d quickly found that the moment he allowed himself to feel something, the person was eaten by an abomination, or met some other grizzly end.
The only constant had been Morro. But perhaps that was about to change.
They, and another driver, had been run off the road by a shadowy something. The driver, as it turned out, was none other than Savantha Saa, complete with a strategically torn wedding dress and suspiciously artistic wounds.
Another real person at last. If his medical brain hadn’t kicked in, he’d probably have hugged her.
The medkit, or duffel bag stuffed with whatever they could find, was kept underneath a selection of small explosive balls that seemed especially effective against Tulpa. Logical place to keep one's medical supplies.
After waiting a respectful length of time, he rejoined them, pulling out supplies and setting to work, cleaning out scrapes and abrasions efficiently, applying bandages as and where needed. He’d always enjoyed historic medicine, a more hands-on approach; he just hadn’t expected he’d need to patch people up quite so often.
Tulpa hunting was dangerous.
Nera: Where have you been all this time?
She seemed to be thinking for a moment about how to answer. Probably a good thing; the listeners didn’t like too many references to Starfleet, or breaking from character too much. Ay and Morro were usually rewarded with something extra unpleasant.
Like blowing up the bar they’d started frequenting. It had been a safehouse for other Tulpa hunters, reduced to a smoking ruin because they’d briefly discussed how to escape. He’d liked that bar.
Saa: In a luxurious gilded cage full of fake people with fake titles and fake friendships. ::Simultaneously:: ~~The Real Matriarchs of Betazed Revival~~
He perked up a little when her thought came through. He loved The Real Matriarchs of Betazed. He’d binged whole seasons before. The people were fun to watch, but he didn’t think he’d be able to spend any real time with them without pulling his hair out.
As she’d said, they were fake. Too many pretty smiles hiding a conniving personality beneath.
Caras: How did you escape?
He packed the remaining medical supplies away and leant against the ruined car to listen.
Saa: I know it's hard to tell considering this clothed state…::gesturing to her tattered outfit:: but I’m a runaway bride.
He smirked briefly, shaking his head. That much he’d gathered already. Why else would a bride be driving in the middle of nowhere, in her wedding dress no less?
Caras: Maybe you can help us, We’re heading to a small town called Dresden Point. Our friend Rat Boy gave us a call.
Ay picked up where he left off, recognising the train of thought. Find a way to integrate her into the world of Fearless. Make her a part of the story.
Nera: There’s been a recent string of deaths in town; Rat Boy thinks it’s Tulpa-related, wanted us to take a look. He’s weird, even I think he’s weird, but he’s got a good sense for this. Come with us, we can give you a ride into town, and at least find you something else to wear.
Tattered wedding dresses were not the most practical of clothes. Once upon a time, Ay had taken every chance to change out of his uniform into something else; now, he almost missed it. Jeans, leather jackets, and cheap suits day after day were getting tiring.
Nera: What are you doing out here, though, of all places?
Runaway bride to the new Fearless guest star. Quite the turn.
Saa: Wasn’t my idea. ::She looks around:: You know, I just kept having this recurring dream where I’d run away. I’d run through beautiful fields of flowers until I reached this dark, dreary city full of neon lights and fast cars. Each time I stopped moving or crashed, I’d wake up in front of that mirror again on my wedding day.
It was almost affectionate, that pat. The car wouldn’t move again, but that wasn’t a problem. The Black Pearl seemed to have an endless series of lives; she’d get them to Dresden Point. He knew it was an object, but listening to Morro coo over it day after day had its effects. It was still an object, but it was now a gendered object.
Saa: I guess today it wasn’t just a dream… What about you two? ::Sizing them up:: You all look like you mean business. ::noticing:: is that a gun?
Ay had put the gun down briefly to tend to her injuries, but it was now back in his hand, safely, vaguely reassuring. One of their innumerable acquaintances in the world had identified it as a Heckler & Koch Mark 23 Model 0. He’d hated phasers when he first enrolled, but somewhere during his Borgverse year, he’d become a stickler for carrying one on away missions, and still was. Now, in Fearless, he was almost never without some form of firearm.
He still didn’t like using them, but this show forced it on them. If it wasn’t guns, then it was something sharp and pointy, or good for bludgeoning. Occasionally explosive. They seemed to spend a lot of time inflicting violence upon creatures that were predominantly not defeated by violence. The logic was flawed.
Caras: Look, I know it’s been awhile since you’ve seen us but we’re not those little boys playing pretend anymore. We’re workmen, and these are the tools that come with the job. But the primary thing is still being f….. Being the thing I mentioned earlier.
The answer was strictly in universe. It would have been good to talk properly, but breaking character was frowned upon.
Nera: We’ve had to grow up quick and fend for ourselves. This world is full of monsters. These ::lifting the gun briefly:: Might not stop the monsters fully, but they help.
If only there were some way to condense not being afraid into bullet form, with a symbol or a particular material; that would make their job so much easier.
Saa: …I see
She seemed to be looking around the area, and then at herself.
Saa: Guess I’ll just need to be…
Oh no. She was going to, wasn’t she? Ay braced himself for the ensuing thunder.
CUT TO LATE TITLE CARD
FEARLESS
The thunder rumbled above, and whatever strange invisible cameras there were shifted to the title card. Better than following him around or hyperfocusing on him in the shower. It was almost always the shower.
Saa: ::Speaking hushed:: So that word does draw the cameras away from us… good to know.
He couldn’t help answering the mischievous smile with one of his own. They had to be careful not to do it too often. But timed right, a good distraction.
Saa: Oh, did you two see what I hit?
Caras: We tried looking for it, but nothing. It didn’t even leave any blood or fur. It seemed shadowy so..
There had been no traces on the cars, just the initial impact spot, and no tracks of any sort in the ditch. Adolescent Tulpa in all likelihood, just coming into its power, ready to take form for the first time.
Nera: So, no definitive form yet. Still just thought, trying to take shape. So..
This finishing each other's sentences thing had become a signature. Ay wasn’t sure where it had started, but they kept doing it. One started a thought, the other finished it.
Caras: Yep so it’s probably …
oO Cue dramatic reveal in three…two…one..Oo
Professor Gibbs (tulpa): Boys, how could you do this? How could you leave me to die?
Caras & Nera: :simultaneously:: A tulpa
And there he was. Again. Professor Gibbs, making yet another triumphant return, in the same dark suit with the same salt and pepper hair, and the same haircut. Short sides, a little bit longer on top. The show portrayed him as some sort of father figure, who’s raised little baby Ay and little baby Morro, teaching them the ins and outs of the trade.
Unfortunately, most of his memories about the Professor were from the flashbacks that played at the start of the episodes, or from Tulpa encounters. When had his life been split into episodes with title music and “previously on” montages?
Caras: Really this one again? This is all you could come up with?
Mimicking the move, Ay raised his own gun, aiming it, putting a little distance between himself and Morro. Harder to get both of them that way.
Nera: This is getting old. You’ve thrown this image at us again and again. It doesn’t work anymore.
Old fears meant no new inspirations. That was good, weirdly enough. They could handle old.
Professor Gibbs (tulpa): Idjits! You left me! You could have saved me!
Saa: Response
Morro fired a few times, hitting the Gibbs wannabe squarely; it rocked in place, more perturbed by the impact than anything, then dashed behind a tree.
Caras: Look please don’t mention the pee blanket again. That was when I was a child, my earliest fear; Trying to suffocate me is still a pretty bad memory though.
Ay would have been quite content if the pee blanket wasn’t mentioned ever again. Seeing a damp blanket lunge aggressively at you across the floor, slopping as it went, was a disturbing enough thing to see, without the odour.
It reappeared a moment later in a swimsuit, resembling a sporty blonde. This one wasn’t new either. The fact that it had shrugged off another shot and had actually deprived Morro of his weapon? Not good.
Ay continued circling to line up a better shot.
Sabamtha (Tulpa): What about now Morro, think you could hurt your fiance?
Caras: Look you should know I finally got over Sabamtha’s death six years ago, when I found peace with her mother and performed the candle burning rite. I also had to shove off advances from her sister. It’s all water under the bridge.
The ceremony had been beautiful. The advances had been…disturbing.
The Sabamtha thing looked around, locking onto a new, fresh face. Savantha. Ay shot it twice for good measure, not that it did anything.
Sabamtha (Tulpa): What about you, pretty girl? Who are you?
Caras: Be careful what you tell them.
Sometimes the best option was just to keep quiet. If you said something that didn’t fit the script, the world either shifted around, adapting or removed the intrusion with brutal efficiency. Those few they’d encountered who were willing to discuss life outside the show had met unpleasant endings.
Saa: Response
It lunged at Morro, trying to grapple him or pull at his clothes. Ay was having a hard time working it out at this point. Its approach lacked any form of subtlety.
Sabamtha (Tulpa): Well well, Don’t we make quite a little pair. Me and Morro, does that make you jealous?
Ay muttered a few colourful phrases under his breath and shot it again in the back.
Nera: You’re not as clever as you think you are.
Not good though. Had the directors picked up on the not-so-subtle dynamic between Morro and Savantha? Regardless, they needed to get rid of the Tulpa before it found something more substantial to latch onto.
Saa: Response
Caras: All of my fears are old news by now. You should really get a new imprint on me, but just know, we sleep on an overlooked schedule, But it doesn’t matter because we’re f… we’re not scared anymore. You’re going to starve.
The face morphed, forming a twisted version of Sabamtha, an over-exaggerated expression of fear and pain.
Sabamtha (Tulpa): We’ll see about that.
It retreated then, returning to hide behind the trees again. Ay watched the shadows while Morro gathered himself, waiting for it to emerge again.
Nera: This one’s really persistent. Inexperienced or desperate, probably.
He took a firmer stance, bracing himself. Now it had cycled through Morro’s highlights with no luck, it’d try a different tactic, which would likely mean Ay was up next.
Saa: Response.
Flashes of movement in the trees, a rustle here and there, followed by some unidentifiable sound.
Caras: No, it’s becoming one of Nera’s old fears. His are… Sometimes.. a lot worse than mine. We have to get to the car… Run.
He watched them go, nodding briefly in answer to Morro’s nod. So very manly of him.
Nera: You make me sound like a walking bundle of trauma ::his gaze flicked to Saa briefly:: Don’t get any ideas.
Never admit to fears or traumas when a counsellor was around, it was a surefire way of landing yourself in the office for a long therapeutic talk. He could hear the squelch of wet leaves underfoot as the pair dashed away
Saa: Response
He stood and waited, poised. This wasn’t the first time he’d had to face down his fears, and it wouldn’t be the last. It was in the show’s name, after all. The bushes rustled again, a thin red beam of light lanced out of the darkness, followed by a heavy step, then another, and another, each accompanied by a mechanical hiss.
Ay was very familiar with that sound.
Drone (Tulpa): We are..
He fired towards the source of the light, hearing the bullet hit something metallic, not giving it the chance to finish.
Nera: No. Not going to work. You’re a bad copy. Bye now.
The light disappeared a moment later.
Caras / Saa: Response
He glanced back briefly to see where the other two had gone, and then refocused on the gently swaying trees. Waiting to see which other memory was going to be drawn forth and recreated. Movement again, as the Tulpa stepped into view again; tall and slim this time, male, with eyes as white as snow, and a nasal voice Ay could recognise anywhere.
Alexander (Tulpa): Hello again Ay. It's a pleasure to see you. It’s been so long. Where’s your little green friend? That dear brother of yours? Do I have you all to myself? Goodness. How will we pass the time?
Oh, the writers had really gone digging this time around, dredging up a face from the earlier years. Or seasons. And not one Ay particularly enjoyed seeing again.
Nera: That’s low ::muttering::
He shot twice, hitting it both times, though it kept on walking. Slow and deliberate.
Saa / Caras: Response
The writers of Fearless had worked out he was a doctor, and thought the most entertaining thing to do was craft an arc where that training was put to use in an inverse fashion. Captured by Tulpa, forced to help them make people more susceptible to fear, to make feeding easier. If he didn’t follow the script, someone from the Syren’s Song or the Janaran went to the Burnout.
The face this one had adopted, Alexander, had led the group. To add to the twisted humour, Alexander had been modelled on someone’s phobia of a childhood doctor.
Nera: We put the real Alexander down. Pretending to be him won’t do anything; I’ve moved past that.
Still, he took a step back, as the Alexander copy got closer.
Alexander (Tulpa): You can't run Ay. Not from me. I'm inside that angsty little head of yours, even if you won’t admit it.
Saa / Caras: Response
Tags/TBC
Lieutenant Nera Ay
Chief Medical Officer
USS Thor
G240106NA2
He/Him/His (Player/Character)
Lieutenant Nera Ay
Chief Medical Officer
USS Thor
G240106NA2
He/Him/His (Player/Character)
