A Stark Reminder Of The Otherside Of The Mirror

Posted on Mon Jan 1st, 2024 @ 9:33pm by Leiddem Kea (*) & Delaney O'Callaghan

Mission: Fractures
Location: SS Mary Rose - Padt
Timeline: 2393 - Past
3482 words - 7 OF Standard Post Measure

For reasons Delaney supposed were entirely understandable, they'd not been allowed to leave Sickbay. Normally, being confined to a space was something that she handled okay as long as she had something to keep her occupied, that much had become abundantly clear during their close shave with failed systems and a decent attempt at freezing themselves to death. This was different. Not only did Sickbay not present any type of distraction, they were in a situation that demanded answers and yet they were being actively side-lined whilst a bunch of doppelgangers determined their fate. She knew it wasn't that simple, and could grudgingly see the sense in not risking them interacting too much with these people who seemed familiar and yet obviously weren't, but curiosity was eating away at her.

What had happened to her?

And where was Leiddem?

Left alone to hypothesise, sat in one of the diagnostic chairs in a cross-legged slouch that adequately conveyed her compounding frustration, Delaney couldn't see how the answer to either of those questions was overly positive. For Liha to be in charge, something had happened to Gregnol, and if that was the case then Leiddem would have been first on the chopping block by dint of self-nomination. She loved it about him, even if it also terrified her. Did that mean she'd met a similar fate though, or had the loss sent her packing? Unable to decide whether to grieve or berate herself, the redhead frowned, lost enough in her own thoughts that she'd been blocking out the quiet voices around her for the past few minutes.

Leiddem has been quietly talking to Curtis before the man had left them alone as Cassie had disappeared in front of them. He had needed to tell Liha in person , as there was very little communication systems Leiddem supposed. “Hey…” he said quietly before leaning out to poke at her arm to bring her back. “Where were you?” He questioned sitting beside her his knee against hers.

"Where are any of us?" The question was quiet, her tone subdued in a way that was far from typical. Delaney had a thoughtful side though, and the man beside her had been witness to it more than anyone else on board. Drawing one leg up so that her cheek could rest on her knee, Laney turned her head towards the Betazoid and fixed him with worried eyes. "I'm okay," she reassured him softly. "Just a bit spooked. This isn't exactly the future I had in mind."

“Me either.” He admitted wishing that he knew others were also safe and with him. “This might not be fixed.” He added trying to add some type of levity. “Cassie disappeared so maybe we will too and get back.” He hoped she had gone back but he really did not know that it was the case.

"I know." Normally an optimistic soul, Delaney hadn't yet submitted to the melancholy of abandoned hope. That was Curtis' domain and not a mindset she was in any hurry to take up. It was sobering, nevertheless, to be confronted with the possibility of plans gone awry. More than anything, her heart hurt for the perceived loss of the man sitting next to her and what that might have cost her counterpart, assuming she had survived to be aware of his demise. With any luck, Delaney found herself grimly hoping, they had gone out together. "If I didn't believe that, I'd be locking you in a closet for the rest of forever." Her half-grin was weary but genuine, her fingers slightly chilled as they reached across to wipe a smudge from his cheekbone.

"Ah me in a small space would not be a good thing. Caged animal and all." He commented trying to sound bright despite his mind going through everything that it needed to, to work out what was going on. It stood to reason that things were not set in stone yet, free choice and the fact he had never considered this as one of his future choices. He had always assumed that he would settled down and have a child or two and get a bit more responsible about his own safety.

The observation earned him a huff of tired laughter. There was no point arguing that at least he'd be an alive animal stuck in its cage, mostly because Delaney didn't really believe that preservation of life warranted extinguishing whatever flame made it worth living. Everything that she loved about him, or at least a very significant part of it, stemmed from exactly the kind of behaviour that increased the likelihood of him dying a hero's death. Changing that would have meant changing him in ways that ultimately wouldn't work for either of them. Gently, her palm settled across his cheek and she sighed. "Then I guess you'll just have to start carrying a bigger gun."

“Won’t lie moments like this are why I miss being a marine and having a bigger gun.” He admitted. He did not mention his former marine life often but when he did it was a flashing moment of nostalgia in a tough situation that would have been made so much easier or fixed with him having a better weapon or equipment.

Given that there was nothing they'd been given permission to do other than wait, Delaney slipped her hand into his, pulled his arm around her and simply tucked into his side. Under normal circumstances, outside occasional boredom that lead to their playful competitiveness instigating spontaneous workplace challenges, the pair tended to keep their affection confined to banter and, in Delaney's case, the occasional exaggerated kissy-face when he was trying to concentrate. Physical contact was less common but she was struck by the sudden need to make sure she stayed close. If there was any small mercy in all of this, it was that they'd been taken together by whatever force had flung them this far in the first place.

Leiddem closed his eyes for a second breathing in the familiarness of her and everything she stood for in his mind. Friendship, love, family, passion, joy and laughter were everything he associated with her which was why when he opened his eyes, he jerked away as he noticed they were no longer in sickbay but engineering sitting near the warp core. “Looks like physical contact works in keeping people together when the time shifts.” He whispered slowly rising to his feet holding her hands to keep them together.

It was like having the wind knocked out of her. That was the best way Delaney had of explaining the sensation of temporal shifting and what it did to her equilibrium. Having blasted through most of her life with barely a sniffle, it was disorienting to be momentarily left struggling, her free hand pressed flat against her chest as she fought to focus on her breathing and not the ominous semi-warning from a future that had seemed to be utterly devoid of her presence. "Where are we now?"

"Engineering." The man said in a hiss as he indicated the other side of the warp core and started to move around it. He had no idea where they were in time but he was fully aware they were in Engineering. "But for as to when I am not sure. Pre refit and Burnie I want to say." The place had always felt cleaner and tidier after Burnie had come onboard. But it did not overly narrow it down enough for him.

"How does it keep dumping us somewhere else on the ship?" In a situation where time travel seemed an actual problem, it might have been an odd thing to fixate on, but traveling back and forward through a timestream felt like something that should still have some rules. Moving from Sickbay to Engineering made absolutely no sense, especially as they'd been pulled from the Security offices in the first place.

“Not a scientist so not a clue.” Leiddem was just relieved he was not being dumped somewhere unbreathable or outside of the ship. He was just not questioning it at all, he was lucky and not sure at all sure how much longer that luck would last. He crouched down as he heard voices. “Let’s listen.” He whispered.

During her year and a bit on board, Delaney had experienced enough to cover a few campfire stories and yet she knew it was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what the Mary Rose had actually experienced. The scope for what her potential-future might entail was so vast and intimidating that it was starting to dawn on the redhead just how serious this current phenomenon could be. Being flung into a version of Sickbay had been disorienting and inconvenient but it hadn't exactly felt threatening. This was another matter entirely, forced to huddle in an imperfect hiding spot because they couldn't predict who was about to round the corner nor what their overall disposition might be to finding old crewmates on board. Delaney was no coward but even she didn't protest as she felt Leiddem tuck in behind her protectively.

Leiddem winced as the familiar black uniform came into view and he realised exactly what and when this was in the ships history. It was the time the ship had been taken to another universe where everything had been dark and twisted and where he had seen several versions of friends who were just as dark and twisted and this version of Dixoho Saa was the worst. She had been the one who had allowed the ship to be taken pretending to be her doppelganger. “I know someone is there.” A voice called out. And Leiddem peeked out to see the woman looking in a different direction to where they were hid.

If ever there was justification for her boundless inquisitiveness, Delaney might have argued this was a prime example. Though she hadn't experienced the hostilities first-hand, she'd poked and prodded different versions of events from various members of the crew and, though she didn't immediately understand which of the many adventures this woman represented, she was aware enough of Leiddem's posture and the ripple of anxiety potent enough for even her to pick up on to keep her mouth shut. More than that, she resisted the urge to join Leiddem in visual surveillance, despite the potency of her own curiosity. Leiddem hadn't stepped out of hiding and that was enough to indicate the necessity of caution.

Leiddem sighed and rolled his neck for a moment before he bolted up and stood there across from the woman as she whipped around hearing the noise. "I am here Saa." He declared looking at the woman properly now. She was nothing like Dixoho in his universe but this was like looking at what Dixoho could have been if she had been healthy. She raised a phaser at him and smirked.

"Ahhh the medic." She laughed.

"Not been that for a while." He murmured to himself before nodding. "Yeah that was... is me." He said watching as she slowly started to walk over. The Betazoid did not glance down at the woman crouching hidden for now but kept his gaze on the redhead.

And thus, Delaney faced her first dilemma. She was not typically the type to hide, at least not when confronting a problem was also an option, and she was definitely not a huge fan of being shielded at another person's expense. She was at a disadvantage, however, having no context and very likely no recognisable identity to blunder her way through impersonating. Her presence, more than Leiddem's, was bound to highlight an immediate problem and so she frowned, carefully shifted herself as far into the corner as possible and kept her eyes glued on Leiddem lest he start getting any funny ideas about leading threats away.

“And you do not scare me in this dominatrix outfit. More annoyed that you fooled us all pretending to be our Dixoho to fool us and get here.”

“Was not exactly hard. A few flirts here, a couple of favours there and Robinston was easy to fool. Whatever she sees in him, I do not know. Nothing like the version I know.” She snorted as only a console was between the pair now. Leiddem did not move or glance down at the woman but he did make a step forward.

“So what happens now? You have won so what happens?” He asked always having wondered what would have happened to him if they had not been able to get away.

What happened, Delaney thought to herself, was that she strained an eye muscle rolling them and then spent a ridiculous amount of energy trying to muster the restraint not to punch the smug woman in her conniving face. At the same time, she was losing patience with her own body, palm pressed to her chest as a twinge of discomfort reminded her that stress wasn't likely to be helping matters. She'd be damned if she was going to let Leiddem act as the dangled carrot for much longer though. Tolerating his hero complex when it was for the benefit of others was one thing, an endearing and admirable quality that she understood and wouldn't seek to change even if it terrified her. The one caveat was, she wasn't about to sit by and let him suffer on her behalf.

Very carefully, she pushed with a foot to sit up straighter.

“Breeding camp. Betazoids are just stock… delicious…” She savoured the word and smirked as she heard another noise and glanced around but the man did not react at all to it. “…but just breeding stock for the Empire. You do not exist in my universe as far as I know so there is no issue with… complications.”

Whilst jealousy was not her style, indignation was something Delaney could muster without breaking a sweat. Betazoids are just stock... Glancing around and wishing, not for the first time, that fate had thought to send her off traveling with a weapon, the redhead pressed a clenched fist into her thigh in frustration and, very carefully, started to shift herself from her backside to a crouch. It didn't take telepathy to predict that, if it came to it, Leiddem would allow himself to be taken to preserve her anonymity but he was enough of a telepath, particularly one who knew her as well as he did, to have little hope Delaney would actually play along.

Leiddem knew time was running out on his girlfriend’s patience for the situation. It was the more worrying thing about it other than the other Dixoho’s watching him like he was a piece of meat. “That won’t work for me. Committed relationship and not entirely sure the universe is ready for my children.” He commented in a blasé way as Dixoho pointed her phaser at him.

“I did not say you had a choice here.” Dixoho commented making the man laugh. “Breeding camps or dead. No in between I am afraid.”

"Please, for the love of God, tell me this doesn't pass as witty repartee in the future."

At some point, Delaney reasoned, the temporal phenomenon would have to kick in and send them somewhere else. If she employed convenient logic, she could rationalise it being far more important that they attempted to stick together, having a working theory that it mattered for them being taken to the same point in time. She had no desire to go traipsing around the ship's history without Leiddem, nor was she sure she'd even get out of the room in one piece if she attempted to navigate a situation she had no first-hand experience with. Blowing her own cover was a stalling tactic, especially as she chose to remain hidden to force the tedious harpy to seek her out.

“There is someone else here.” Dixoho narrowed her eyes as she tried to work out where the voice was coming from. It was like an echo chamber in Engineering.

“Maybe.” Leiddem said moving forward as Dixoho looked around and knocked her to the floor before she could shot at him and more importantly Delaney. He had no issues with hitting a member of the Terran Empire especially when it was the one who had sabotaged the ship it the first place.

Delaney, who had no problems letting him, scooted forward in a somewhat awkward duck waddle to peer around the side of the console she'd been taking refuge behind. An incredulous frown almost passed as sympathy and she rose, stretching back her shoulders to relieve some minor cramping. "I thought you said they were brilliant tacticians who really gave you a run for your money." Moving to stand beside Leiddem as he retrieved the displaced phaser, the human's hands found both hips as she smiled down at the scowling woman. "Less of the grandstanding next time, monologuing never did any villain any good."

“They aren’t villains. They are just us with a different view point.” Leiddem commented as Dixoho tried to come to her feet but the man indicated that he would shoot if she tried and they both knew there was no stun option.

A sideways drop of her head saw Laney shoot her boyfriend a pointed deadpan. "I'd be worried if you shared the same point of view." Turning back to glare at the crouched woman, the redhead folded her arms across her chest and spoke from her usual rock-solid moral centre. She was, it had to be said, the decidedly more black-and-white of the pair. "Sympathetic origin stories don't excuse abusive behaviour. You'll forgive me," she added sarcastically, addressing Dixoho directly, "if I don't find the prospect of having my future children ripped from my arms particularly appealing."

“Like you’d ever get a chance to breed with him. Weaklings do not flourish.” Dixoho spat before Leiddem kicked her hard and watched the mirror universe version of his friend fall unconscious.

“My sympathies only go so far.” Leiddem commented.

It was only a grim sense of satisfaction that held Delaney's tongue for a moment. The necessity of self-defense didn't translate to an enjoyment of combat, and whatever her firm beliefs might have been, Delaney wasn't much of a fan of revenge. Folding her arms across her chest, she frowned down at the stricken woman and then glanced upwards towards the door. "If they're all over the ship, we're probably better off staying put until we disappear again." Which she had no firm proof would even happen, just a slowly escalating hope that the first couple of times hadn't been a fluke. Consideration of current theories saw her drop her arms then, one reaching out to hook through Leiddem's so that if they did get yanked away, hopefully it took them both to the same time and place again. "Any ideas yet what all this is?"

Leiddem shook his head. He truly had no idea what was going on what caused them to go to the current time and place at all. “Yeah most likely best to stay here for now if my vague memory of all of this clear then here is good especially as she is out now.” He glanced over at Dixoho and let out a long deep breath. “Betazoid children huh?”

"Hey, we're being yanked through a whole heap of different dimensions. If that's an actual thing, anything is possible." Delaney huffed with quiet laughter, nudging sideways with her hip to buffet him gently.

“My Betazoid children…” he grinned wiggling his eyebrows at her as she nudged him. He was teasing her rotten but it was the only way he knew how to get through everything that had been brought up.

"I figure the odds are pretty good." With twinkling eyes, his girlfriend glanced sideways at him. "I seem to be surrounded by them, after all." It was a meaningless tease, they both knew perfectly well that there was only one Betazoid she'd be crazy enough to start a family with, even if Delaney kind of hoped they had a bit more time up their sleeve before that became a discussion. Leaning up, she pressed a lingering kiss to the side of his mouth. "Be a brave women tried to shove you in a breeding camp. That whole universe might need to learn just how annoyingly persistence I am."

“No one is shoving me anywhere especially a breeding camp.” He winced at the term for a moment before shaking it away as a feeling of weightlessness came over him and he gripped the woman’s arm harder. He did not want to lose her where here they ended up next.