Mission 5

[Amanda Rose]

OM
T'Pani looked at the Betazoid with a flat emotionless face. "He said that freedom is the right of all sentient beings." She answered, the chair between her and the Betazoid woman who had apparently contributed the genetic material for her creation, if that was to be believed.

Camille smiled at T'Pani, "We will debate that after we have cleaned out your mind of all its previous programming. Just lay down, relax, and watch the screen above you."

O'Connor shouted, "Don't do it, T'Pani."

NM
"I want to ask you some questions first as I won't have these questions when you are finished. First, why are you doing this? What is in it for you?" T'Pani asked softly.

[Tags]

[Amanda Rose]

Shikiri looked at Pendragon and inquired, "Why would you want to be neutered, my dear?
How would we have cubs?"

Brian couldn't answer – the two halves of his mind had started a small war with each other. I love her – I'm allergic to her – I want her – I'm afraid of her – This is so right – This is so wrong... his thoughts chased each other around his brain.

Tegau held Brian's gaze, seeing the suffering in his eyes as the information set in. "Thank
you, T'Pruk. I would like to talk with you, later on. Right now, Brian, we're going to give you
a sedative and do a thorough brain scan. We'll run some tests and find out what's
happened...Thank you, Bokd. Go ahead and sedate him."

Brian put up no resistance as the Tellarite applied the hypospray. In fact, as darkness descended, he welcomed it.

[Amanda Rose]

T'Pani looked at the Betazoid with a flat emotionless face. "He said that freedom is the right of all sentient beings." She answered, the chair between her and the Betazoid woman who had apparently contributed the genetic material for her creation, if that was to be believed.

Camille smiled at T'Pani, "We will debate that after we have cleaned out your mind of all its previous programming. Just lay down, relax, and watch the screen above you."

O'Connor shouted, "Don't do it, T'Pani."

"I want to ask you some questions first as I won't have these questions when you are finished. First, why are you doing this? What is in it for you?" T'Pani asked softly.

Camille started laughing out loud. "Always questions with you! Such a curious creature. But you know what they say happened to the human's curious cat, right? Do not strain yourself, T'Pani. Just trust your mother. As the Captain is finding out, the process is unnecessarily painful if you do. Just lay down, relax and watch the screen above you quietly. When you wake up, you will feel much better, I assure you and all of these questions will disappear."

tag - T'Pani

[Amanda Rose]

Finally, she focused on Pendragon. "Alright, let's get to the bottom of this, since all of you apparently have so much vested in the Lieutenant here that you invade SickBay en force. Lieutenant, have a seat."

Brian obediently took a seat, marveling at how Delaney's eyes flashed when she was cross, like twin pulsars, bright and firey....

Then T'Pruk gave her explanation. "...Lieutenant Pendragon himself believed that was odd and wondered about it slightly. I then directed him to sickbay to make sure that he was healthy. However, it is apparent that he did not remain here."

"Hey - they were busy," he interrupted. "Lieutenant Myers' health was more important than you getting paranoid about me..." but T'Pruk continued unabated. As he listened, Brian grew more worried - what she was saying was making sense, but he was still certain he hadn't seen the Captain.

Shikiri caught his eye and stretched. She looked magnificent when she did that, so sleek, so.... He sneezed. Delaney passed him a cloth without taking her eyes from T'Pruk. Gratefully, he blew his nose. Drat that cat allergy.

Hang on. Allergy? If he was allergic to cats, then how did he and Shikiri manage to... well... surely that would have set him off, to the point of stopping breathing..?

It was true. T'Pruk was right. Someone had given him fake memories. Had given him feelings that weren't really his. Relationships that were pure fiction. What had it come to if he couldn't even trust himself?

Close to tears, he looked at Delaney. "Fix me. Please."

Bokd couldn't help but snicker in the other room. He could almost see Pendragon on the verge of breaking down after the efficient breakdown of the events by T'Pruk. It also helped that the Vulcan wasn't exactly keeping her voice down either. Bokd could sense what was coming next. He grabbed the hypospray and the proper sedative module.

Doing the intense and sensitive brain scans would be better if Pendragon weren't awake through them. No telling what he'd do.

He came out of the medication room with the hypospray in hand. He stood beside Delaney as if demanding the request that he knew was coming.

~Blame me for being a Tellarite later~ he thought to himself. ~Let's see what's so bad that it's gotten stuck in a Vulcan's craw.~

Shikiri looked at Pendragon and inquired, "Why would you want to be neutered, my dear? How would we have cubs?"

Brian couldn't answer – the two halves of his mind had started a small war with each other. I love her – I'm allergic to her – I want her – I'm afraid of her – This is so right – This is so wrong... his thoughts chased each other around his brain.
Shikiri looked at Delaney, wondering if she could get up and cuddle against Pendragon, however, she could clearly see that would not be allowed. She growled, "This is utterly absurd. Rearranging memories.... It was fate, that avalanche...."
Tegau held Brian's gaze, seeing the suffering in his eyes as the information set in. "Thank you, T'Pruk. I would like to talk with you, later on. Right now, Brian, we're going to give you a sedative and do a thorough brain scan. We'll run some tests and find out what's happened."

Bokd was already there, already ready, and she smiled at him. "Thank you, Bokd. Go ahead and sedate him."

Trusting Brian to the crewman, she turned to Shikiri. "Ensign, it's be best if you underwent the same tests. Then we can find out exactly how absurd this all might be."

Brian put up no resistance as the Tellarite applied the hypospray. In fact, as darkness descended, he welcomed it.

Tegau caught Bokd's eye, hoping he would catch the hint to sedate the feline Ensign next.

Shikiri knew that Delaney was much higher ranking that she was. She was, after all, the 2XO. If Delaney wanted her to have an exam, she was going to have an exam and that was it. Shikiri growled, "If you insist, I will submit. Just remember, he's mine."

tag - Delaney/Bokd

Shikiri stuck her arm out and once the hypospray was applied, she too fell asleep.

Delaney ran her brain scan. What she found was astounding. Apparently, both Shikiri and Pendragon had implanted memories that came from psychic traumas inflicted upon them. Worse, the parts of the mind associated with the memory seemed to have been branched so that there was a disassociation with their normal personalities. Surgery would a risky option because of the synaptic entanglement of the two personalities. Delaney knew that a mind meld could have a chance of sorting the two out, perhaps quicker and possibly combined with surgery, could disentangle and sever the implanted personality permanently.

tag - all

[Amanda Rose]

OM
O'Connor shouted, "Don't do it, T'Pani."

"I want to ask you some questions first as I won't have these questions when you are finished. First, why are you doing this? What is in it for you?" T'Pani asked softly.

Camille started laughing out loud. "Always questions with you! Such a curious creature. But you know what they say happened to the human's curious cat, right? Do not strain yourself, T'Pani. Just trust your mother. As the Captain is finding out, the process is unnecessarily painful if you do. Just lay down, relax and watch the screen above you quietly. When you wake up, you will feel much better, I assure you and all of these questions will disappear."

NM
"No Camile, I don't intent to cooperate with you on this. I only allowed you to take me here cause I felt it was my best chance at getting to my captain." T'Pani replied as she glanced at the screens above them, a second later they tremored, then cracked before shattering.

T'Pani glanced back at Camile and her brow narrowed in concentration.

"Yield..."

[Tags]

[Amanda Rose]

Camille started laughing out loud. "Always questions with you! Such a curious creature. But you know what they say happened to the human's curious cat, right? Do not strain yourself, T'Pani. Just trust your mother. As the Captain is finding out, the process is unnecessarily painful if you do. Just lay down, relax and watch the screen above you quietly. When you wake up, you will feel much better, I assure you and all of these questions will disappear."

"No Camile, I don't intent to cooperate with you on this. I only allowed you to take me here cause I felt it was my best chance at getting to my captain." T'Pani replied as she glanced at the screens above them, a second later they tremored, then cracked before shattering.

T'Pani glanced back at Camile and her brow narrowed in concentration.

"Yield..."

Camille frowned. "Don't make me destroy you, T'Pani. It would be unmotherly." Her eyes narrowed and T'Pani could feel pin pricks poking at the back of her brain.

T'Pani steeled her resolve and her mind, like a prison cell, simply closed and the feelings vanished. T'Pani looked up, her face an emotionless mask, one that was more Vulcan then Romulan. "What does a woman who sold her genetic material care for a thing birthed in an iron womb; more importanly ye should be asking yourself, what do I care of you?" She replied softly. The table on which the captain was held trembled and her bonds simply clicked open.

"I'm learning now, I know what it is that you want to accomplish Camille, but no matter how many times you mind wiped me in the past, you couldn't hide the power's manifestations. Now your control is slipping entirely."

O'Connor was about to move when T'Pani noticed that the Captain fell totally limp. "There will be no more distractions. You were not birthed in an iron womb. You came out of me. You know the truth of that if you will allow it. However, you cannot defeat me. My powers are still stronger. All you're doing is delaying your fate."

"Then time is on my side." T'Pani said as she walked around the table towards Camille. "What hold do they have over you or is this moral trespass something defect bred into you?"

Suddenly, the scenery changed. T'Pani and Camille were in a room that had no doors and no windows. The scenery was entirely white. "You are dreaming, T'Pani. Let your mind relax. The struggle will be over."

T'Pani continued to advance. "The sad thing is that my time amongst the cadets, as a cadet, made me actually yearn for a parent, someone to hold me as illogically as that sounds; now, I'm insulted to think that we are even related. I will not submit to you." T'Pani replied and the white walls rippled as the illusion was stressed. Seams of space leaked through. She continued to advance.

"What do you think you're doing, T'Pani? You're only ripping apart your own mind. That's where we are." There was no hint of deception in her statement or face.

"Then it's mine to destroy," T'Pani whispered. "And when the mind dies, then so does the body and this nightmare finally ends."

"As you wish." Camille stepped aside, showing her hand to the areas of blackness that were increasing.

"But I"m taking you with me!" T'Pani whispered as bars seemed to fall around them. "Your mind is here within me. When I die, so do you."

Camille laughed. "You can't contain me." The bars around Camille melted. "I told you and you continue to refuse to believe. I'm still stronger that you."

T'Pani wondered what options she had left, if she at least killed herself, assuming that was possible, then she could deny them their prize, but what prevented them from simply just reviving her or cloning her? She wondered, what would happen if she allowed herself to slip into a meditative deathlike coma? Would it be enough to fool someone like Camile? She decided it would not and induced a cerebral hemorrhage within herself. "Bye Camile," the cadet spoke before collapsing in the real world, her mind dead to the world, her pulse non-existant.

Camille frowned. She had to act quickly to repair the damage and erase the code of the most recent T'Pani. Camille started repairing the neural synapses and immediately stopped the hemorrhaging with her mind. She started the heart pumping and could feel life coming back into T'Pani. She was saved. Now, it was time to erase her memories. The work was no less intricate than fixing T'Pani's mind. She sighed. _What a waste. The safe code is still there. God, I'm tired. I must see Mnheia. I have forgotten what T'Pani's next mission is._

[Amanda Rose]

Shikiri knew that Delaney was much higher ranking that she was. She was, after all, the
2XO. If Delaney wanted her to have an exam, she was going to have an exam and that was
it. Shikiri growled, "If you insist, I will submit. Just remember, he's mine."

"Of course," Tegau said, and gestured to Bokd to sedate her. "Everyone else who is not a
patient or medical staff, please leave SickBay now," the doctor ordered sternly.

Shikiri stuck her arm out and once the hypospray was applied, she too fell asleep.

Delaney ran her brain scan. What she found was astounding. Apparently, both Shikiri and
Pendragon had implanted memories that came from psychic traumas inflicted upon them.
Worse, the parts of the mind associated with the memory seemed to have been branched
so that there was a disassociation with their normal personalities. Surgery would a risky
option because of the synaptic entanglement of the two personalities. Delaney knew that
a mind meld could have a chance of sorting the two out, perhaps quicker and possibly
combined with surgery, could disentangle and sever the implanted personality
permanently.

"T'Pruk, please report to SickBay again," Tegau asked over the comm. She sounded
worried. She looked over the scan again, her fingers pointing out problem areas. "I want to
have the best vulcan mind-meld-ist do a mind meld, and then do another brain scan after
that. Do you see this part of the left pre-frontal cortex? It's impossibly tangled, in both of
them. If we do surgery now, we could irreparably damage their core personalities. Look at
the connections between the prefrontal cortex here and the amygdala. They're exactly the
same. Someone not only altered their memories, they constructed a specific personality,
as well. The variations are in how they responded to the changes." It was unclear whether
she was talking out loud to herself, or to Bokd.

When T'Pruk arrived, Tegau smiled at her. "T'Pruk, thank you for being prompt. The brain
scans revealed intense entaglement in the brain in a few specific spots for each of them.
There's no doubt in my mind that this was a constructed phenomenon. The problem is
that the neural nets are so tangled that surgery risks destroying part of the underlying
personality. A mind-meld is likely to work much better, so I need the most skilled Vulcan
on the ship at mind-melds, or perhaps two- one for each of them."


Lieutenant Tegau Delaney
CMO
USS America

[Amanda Rose]

Shikiri knew that Delaney was much higher ranking that she was. She was, after all, the
2XO. If Delaney wanted her to have an exam, she was going to have an exam and that was
it. Shikiri growled, "If you insist, I will submit. Just remember, he's mine."

"Of course," Tegau said, and gestured to Bokd to sedate her. "Everyone else who is not a
patient or medical staff, please leave SickBay now," the doctor ordered sternly.
+++
T'Pruk obediently left. However, she said, "Lieutenant Wells, I can fill you in on the details if you desire."

tag - Wells

^^^^

Shikiri stuck her arm out and once the hypospray was applied, she too fell asleep.

Delaney ran her brain scan. What she found was astounding. Apparently, both Shikiri and
Pendragon had implanted memories that came from psychic traumas inflicted upon them.
Worse, the parts of the mind associated with the memory seemed to have been branched
so that there was a disassociation with their normal personalities. Surgery would a risky
option because of the synaptic entanglement of the two personalities. Delaney knew that
a mind meld could have a chance of sorting the two out, perhaps quicker and possibly
combined with surgery, could disentangle and sever the implanted personality permanently.

"T'Pruk, please report to SickBay again," Tegau asked over the comm. She sounded
worried. She looked over the scan again, her fingers pointing out problem areas. "I want to
have the best vulcan mind-meld-ist do a mind meld, and then do another brain scan after
that. Do you see this part of the left pre-frontal cortex? It's impossibly tangled, in both of
them. If we do surgery now, we could irreparably damage their core personalities. Look at
the connections between the prefrontal cortex here and the amygdala. They're exactly the
same. Someone not only altered their memories, they constructed a specific personality,
as well. The variations are in how they responded to the changes." It was unclear whether
she was talking out loud to herself, or to Bokd.

When T'Pruk arrived, Tegau smiled at her. "T'Pruk, thank you for being prompt. The brain
scans revealed intense entaglement in the brain in a few specific spots for each of them.
There's no doubt in my mind that this was a constructed phenomenon. The problem is that the neural nets are so tangled that surgery risks destroying part of the underlying personality. A mind-meld is likely to work much better, so I need the most skilled Vulcan
on the ship at mind-melds, or perhaps two- one for each of them."
T'Pruk answered simply. "I am not aware of other Vulcans on the manifest. I can check if you would like. The only other one I knew was Cadet T'Pani. How am I to assist in this? Or am I on my own?"

tag - Delaney/Bokd

[Amanda Rose]

OOC: This is what I get for watching a Brit and a Windy City girl post. I end up editing and posting! How's this fair?

ON:

T'Pruk placed both of her hands on either side of Brian Pendragon. She knew that she would need a lot of focus for this task. "My mind to your mind...."

The mind meld obviously worked. T'Pruk found herself in a blank space. She walked for awhile and called out, "Lieutenant, Brian Pendragon. We are one. Come to me."

"Right here, sweetie," came a voice from behind her. She turned - there was Brian, a strangely mischievous smile on his face. "You should have said you were dropping by, I'd have decorated."

T'Pruk raised an eyebrow. "That seems illogical, Mr. Pendragon. What purpose would that serve?"

"Why does everything have to have a reason, T'Pruk. Haven't you ever wanted to do anything just for fun?" Brian's eyes narrowed as he looked her up and down. "I used to be like you, but I'm better now."

"I am a Vulcan, Mr. Pendragon. I am not illogical like a human. I have no need to waste time in illogical pursuits."

"Sometimes illogical pursuits are what make life worth living." Brian grabbed T'Pruk's hand and whirled her around. "Dance with me, T'Pruk."

"Let go of her," a quiet voice came from the darkness. "She doesn't want to dance."

"She might if she tried it. And what would you know anyway," Brian called over his shoulder. "You've never tried it either."

"I certainly wouldn't with someone who doesn't want to," came the voice.

T'Pruk looked at the Brians. She had not known either Pendragon long but she suspected that the one trying to encourage her into dancing was the Pendragon "virus." She spoke, "I am only here for one purpose and that is to assist in the removal of the implanted personality."

"Wonderful," said the first Brian. "He's been driving me mad with his prattling. Sooner he's gone the better!"

"What?" the second Brian was still somewhere in the darkness. "He's the fake! I've been stuck here unable to move since he arrived."

T'Pruk looked for the second Pendragon. "I'm afraid that I cannot see the other one of you. Feel free to come out of the darkness. I have not made a determination at this time."

"I can't move," came the reply. "If I could, I'd have got rid of him myself."

"You see - the poor wretch is just a shadow of the real me," the other Brian taunted.

"If he is just a shadow, then you have nothing to fear, do you?"

"But I'm not afraid. Not like him. He's afraid of everything. Poor pathetic shadow...."

There was a moments silence.

"Listen, T'Pruk. It doesn't matter about me," the voice came from the darkness. "I don't matter. You have to rescue the Captain. She was down on the planet. I saw her. She's being held captive by..."

"Shut up," the dancing Brian stopped. "You've already endangered the ship just by existing and now you're trying to send them off on some wild goose chase?"

"... Shikiri and I saw her, near where we beamed down. It was a trap. T'Pani's under some kind of control too - maybe she's got one of these..."

The other Brian glowered. "I'm warning you...."

"I don't care. You can do what you like. T'Pruk - get out of here. Save the Captain!"

T'Pruk told the dancing Brian, "Perhaps it is time for that dance."

"Now you're talking, gorgeous," he took her hand again and pulled her close. "Glad you saw sense at last."

"T'Pruk..." the voice in the darkness was sounding weaker.

T'Pruk got close to the dancing T'Pruk and then placed her opposite hand against his head and commanded, "Disperse."

The dancing Pendragon could feel his vitality and form fading.

"Noooooo..." his voice faded with his image, protesting as it went until there was only an echo left.

Another Brian, tired and drawn, staggered into the light and collapsed at her feet.

T'Pruk looked at the Pendragon at her feet. "Does that suit you better, Mr. Pendragon?"

He managed to summon enough energy to attempt to smile. "Yes. Yes it does. Thank you... but I meant what I said. I'm not important - we have to help the Captain." He pulled himself back up to his feet. "If I tried to remember what I saw... would you be able to see it to?"

"I should," T'Pruk responded simply. "Your memories should be clearer, now. I do not know how much they are compromised. We could search together to determine that."

"Right, but under the circumstances, I think you could call me Brian." He took a deep breath. "It all started when we beamed down..."

[Amanda Rose]

Captain O'Connor woke up groaning. She looked at T'Pani crumpled on the floor and approached her. She noticed that T'Pani was breathing and decided to shake her. "Wake up, T'Pani."

The girl's eyes fluttered open and slowly glanced about. "Where am I?"

"You're still a prisoner here with me in the Romulan compound."

T'Pani's eyes took in the woman's features. "Who are you? A captain, judging from the uniform and pin. And what Romulan Compound do you mean?"

"What do you mean, who am I?" O'Connor inquired. "What did she do to you?"

Just then the door opened. Camille came in dragging a body in a Starfleet uniform. It was Yeoman Mattison.

"She?" T'Pani arched an eyebrow in typical Vulcan fashion. "I have no memory of this place or of you, fascinating."

Camille asked, "Ah, both awake, are you?"

T'Pani glanced over as she sat up. "Fascinating....a Betazoid with a Starfleet yeoman."

Camille smiled. "Yes, it is. Isn't it?" She smiled at T'Pani. "And I'm afraid that I'm going to have to leave this little suare. It seems that there is going to be a serious case of global warming here soon."

"The statement has no merit as the location of here is unknown." T'Pani replied.

Camille laughed. "I'm sure that your Captain will explain it in greater detail." She seemed to tap something on her wrist and a moment later, she dematerialized.

T'Pani just arched an eyebrow and glanced back at the captain. "Why did she address you as my Captain?"

O'Connor furrowed her brows, "Because I am, T'Pani. Look, I don't have time to explain everything. We need to get out of here: you, me, and my yeoman, Mr. Mattison there. And if her statement is to be believed, there's some sort of device in here that's going to explode."

"Your statement is logical, but wouldn't it be prudent to scout out the facility we are in and attempt to ascertain the origin of said explosive and possibly defuse it? Assuming this isn't some psych test for second year cadets captain."

"This is no test, T'Pani. Can't you remember anything about this place?"

T'Pani shook her head. "Negative ma'am."

"You carry Mattison and follow me. Hopefully we can find the control room to either stop the explosive device or contact America."

"Is that your ship?" T'Pani asked as she effortlessly picked up the yeoman.

"Our ship. I'll have to get you to Delaney when we get back." She started darting down the corridor in one direction.

TBC