Admissions

Posted on Wednesday June 15th, 2022 @ 11:11pm by Lieutenant Finchley Kerr & Lieutenant Commander Niali Deval Dr

Mission: EPISODE 1: SHAKEDOWN
Location: Commander Kerr’s Quarters.
Timeline: Current.

(The content of this post takes place immediately after the post ‘A Little Bloodwine)

::ON::

Niali awoke it seemed like hours later. Finch looked to be sleeping soundly. She slipped out of the bed and put on the shirt she had borrowed from him to cover herself. She quietly scanned his head to check on his injury and found happily that the swelling had reduced. Closing the tricorder she padded softly over to the bathroom and washed her face. Looking up into the mirror as drops of water slipped from her face she wondered who was really behind her eyes. She thought of contacting her aunt at the Trill Symbiosis Comission and ask that the symbiont be removed. She had not been ready for Korial, he was too strong, his will had begun to overpower hers. She went back to the bed and sat with her head in her hands.

Finchley woke, he felt much more rested and clear minded. Looking down the bed, he saw Niali sitting their with her head in her hands. Sitting up, he reached for her and gently said “Hey, what’s up?”

Niali jumped, “sorry Finch did I wake you? I can’t sleep, every time I rest I see him, if I look in the mirror it is him staring back. He’s too strong or me Finch, maybe I should report into the Commission and say I am unsuitable to host him.”

“You can’t let one former host do that to you Niali” Finchley said firmly “You are the one in charge, not them, you have to fight this.”

He was quiet for a moment, then said “I wish there was a way I could talk directly to him, I’d give him a piece of my mind to feast on, and he’d better be hungry because it’d be a large portion!”

I think there might be Finch but it involves you going inside my mind and then you would be inside his. I’ve heard of it done but it’s not recognized practice anywhere. It might be that you cannot get out or that my mind is compromised.

"Whatever it takes Niali, whatever the cost if it stops you feeling the way you do about Korial" Finchley replied "I'm willing to try, just tell me how we go about doing it."

“Do you know any Vulcans on the crew?” She asked.

"Yeoman J'nal" Finchley replied That's the only one. Should I contact them?"

“You would have to know that there would be a risk to you Finch, your mind would be transferred inside my consciousness. I would know everything you are and everything that ever happened to you, you would have no secrets from me, also Korial could alter you mind if you are not strong enough and subsume you. The risk to me is that this is highly illegal in Trill symbiosis. If I am found out then Korial would be removed from me immediately and I would never again be able to be joined.”

"The decision is yours Niali" Finchley replied "I have nothing to hide from you, I know I've done some wrong things in time, a lot I'm not proud of but got the missions completed. I believe I'm strong willed enough to cope, but if this goes against what you think is right, and you think the commission would find out, then you have to decide if the risk is worth it."

Niali sighed. “If I don’t do something Finch then I am going to have to go to the Commission myself and tell them I no longer want the symbiont and I do not want to do that. I am willing to do this but this will join us in ways I do not yet know, if we are in this relationship for the long haul then yes, let’s do it.”

"I'm in it for the long haul" Finchley smiled, taking Niali's hand "Whatever it takes for you to feel better."

J’nal may not have the skill and some Vulcans are opposed to this, but contact him if you are willing to go through with this?”

"How about we contact them just now, and get them to come for a chat?" Finchley suggested "You don't have to go into specific detail, just roughly outline why you're asking them if it's possible they could help us."

She put her arm around him, “I think that would be a great idea Finch. Problem is it would take some time to facilitate and there would be a problem if there were to be an emergency on board as it would be dangerous to bring us out of the ‘exploration’ we could call it, suddenly. But we will not know unless we ask?” She kissed him. “You must love me to offer to do this for me.”

He put his arms around Niali and said "I don't know how much time it would take to set something like this up, but I'm thinking J'nal would" Finchley replied "and if there was an emergency, they'd just have to cope without us."

He looked deep into her eyes "You do know I'm just a gigolo don't you, and have a hareem of women at my beck and call" he answered, almost managing to keep a straight face before the corners of his mouth turned up and he grinned stupidly at her.

“Well” she looked serious, “initially I would be happy to apply to be one in your harem, just in case you looked at me occasionally. Then I would want more, to be your number one woman, then number one wife and, then I would have to poison all the others so you see, you would be in a shit load of trouble all because you looked at me.” She burst out laughing.

Finchley put his finger under his chin and looked thoughtfully at Niali "You'd make a great criminal Mastermind you know that."

"However, we digress" he said, then tapped his COMM badge "Commander Kerr to Yeoman J'nal, can you report to my quarters now please."

A reply came back, saying "Yes Commander, on route now, J'nal out."

[5 minutes later]

The chime on Finchley's door sounded, and he called out "Enter."

The doors opened and Yeoman J'nal entered, saying "You asked me to report to report to you Commander.

"Yes" Finchley replied "what we're all about to discuss is private, not to be shared with anyone else, am I clear?"

"Perfectly Sir" J'nal replied and added "it will be treated in the strictest of confidence."

"Good" Finchley replied, then turning to Niali said "This is you last chance to back out Niali."

“No, no backing out unless Ensign J’nal will not do it. Ensign we haven’t met yet, my name is Niali Korial and I am the Chief Counsellor in board. I am a joined Trill and am host to just one symbiont. I am new at this and am finding it difficult to host him, His name is Ansu Korial and he was a Trill intelligence operative with, shall we say a questionable career. I need to allow Commander Kerr to access both my and Korial’s consciousness. Ordinarily this would be performed on Trill but I cannot wait.” She looked at Finchley and then back at him. “I….we need to get the Commander’s consciousness inside my mind so he can interact with Korial. I have heard that Vulcans can do this, do you have the ability and would you be able to do this for us?”

"I can, Vulcans do have the ability" J'nal replied in an almost stoic manner "though that is the limit of my participation" he added "I cannot become a part of anything that then happens. I can remain, in part, to help facilitate a re-imergance back into the here and now. I will require an hour to prepare myself for the meld, so if you wish to continue, I will prepare myself now."

[1 hour later]

"I have completed my preparations" J'nal said to Niali and Finchley as he returned to them both "Please make yourselves comfortable and we can begin the process" he added.

Finchley invited Niali to sit in one of the two chairs he'd prepared for them and then sat down in the other. J'nal stood between them and placed his fingers on the sides of their heads, and closed his eyes.

"Your minds through my mind, both your thoughts into one thought" he began "Allow yourselves to transition to that place where you can meet with Ansu Korial" he said.
|
To Niali time seemed like a mist that roiled around her taking her places she had not been. As the mist cleared she began to see the room she was in. The walls were black and some parts were stained with something that she knew to be blood. A long low table with leather straps and cuffs sat in the middle of the room. A large carved wooden chair sat on a small Dias covered with fine thigh curtaining. A table contained fine wine and pastries on a crystal platter as a hand reached out from the chair to pick up a fine flute filled with the wine.

“Hello Niali girl,” A rich voice emanated from a rotund Trill male who occupied the chair. “Why are you here, do you want to practice? I am sure I can find somebody suitable, with some secret for you to discover.” He laughed and she shivered. “I have someone who wants to meet you Ansu.” She stepped back.

Finchley stood and studied the man in the chair. He wasn't exactly what he'd visualised in his mind Ansu would look like, rotund, seemingly care free by the sounds of how he spoke to Niali, and...happy.

"Not exactly the villainous looking type then?" Finchley said.

Ansu turned in his chair with a little difficulty to regard Finchley, his eyes dark under his heavy lids, his thin lips curled in a smile. “And you are?”

“The one saying you’re not very villainous looking” Finchley replied. “You know, you spend all day and night in Niali’s head, yet you don’t know who I am. It doesn’t say much for the Trill Intelligence section, does it.”

His lip curled in distain all pretence at jollity gone. “I know who and what you are Finchley Kerr, Commander and XO of the Polaris, but do you know who she is, what she is capable of? She is frightened to let you know what she has done. Ansu looked at Niali. “My girl was doing so well, I thought she would take over from me but then……how delicious she has not told you. Would you like to see Finchley Kerr, what the woman you love is capable of?”

Niali crouched in the corner muttering.

"Well, you don't know everything Ansu" Finchley said "I'm not XO of Polaris, I was Commander of the squad, so this proves there's gaps in your knowledge, and it appears not everything carries over from me to Niali and by default, to you. In regards to Niali, I realise that as a joined Trill, your deeds and memories carry over to her. I doubt there's anything Niali could do that would surprise me or cause me to question her morals or honesty" he finished.

“Morals, honesty, you know nothing of my girl,” he looked over to her, “does he my proud one, come over here and tell this man what you have done. “

Niali walked over to Ansu as if in a daze. “I am sorry Finchley, this I wanted to hide from you, hide from myself.” There was a sudden moaning behind him. A woman sat in a chair shackled round her neck, wrists, knees and ankles. She was Vulcan, or at least had been until she had been broken. Niali stood there smiling. “You WILL tell us where the rest of the tri cobalt explosives are and I will enjoy making you tell me!”

The real Niali uttered a cry and put her hand to her lips. “No, please Ansu, not this!”

Ansu smiled bitterly. “Niali girl you are still my killer, that is why they put me inside you, they knew you were weak and that I could continue our work.

"Niali, explain what's happening!" Finchley said sharply.

She stood. ”I do not want to carry on with this” she said looking at Finchley.

"That's your choice Niali" Finchley replied "but if you come out of this now, I don't know if we'll be able to get it done again anytime soon. We're close to the commencement of the next mission, and time may not allow it. What's your wish?"

“My wish is that this had never happened. I don’t know why she died, I didn’t kill her yet she died.” She walked over to Ansu, “what happened to me that night. I have a space where I was here but then not. Did I kill the Ambassador? If I did then it is time to admit it.”

Ansu took her hand and stroked it. “Of course your method of questioning killed her Niali, she was a traitor.”

“But she did not deserve to die Ansu.” She screamed at him.

"What was the purpose of this Ansu?" Finchley asked "Why were you, a Trill Intelligence operative, torturing a Vulcan Ambassador?"

“Ansu stood and walked over to the Vulcan woman and casually stroked her arm. “Because we were asked too of course. She stole tri cobalt explosives and gave it to the ‘Foundation’ a break away sect on Trill. It was time sensitive and we needed to find them before they used it.” He smiled enjoying telling the story.

“I was not only an operative of course but the Chief interrogator as well. Niali girl was my trainee. Does that surprise you.”

Finchley looked at Niali, and answered Ansu "Yes, it does, considering the person I've come to know. There's a dark side to her, I won't deny it, we all have it, but this...torturing people, that is a surprise. However, I have to ask, did you coerce her into doing it, did you have something on her that meant she couldn't say no?"

Ansu laughed. “Of course we did, but not of our doing.” He looked at Niali, “Tell him my dear, go on.” He said in a low voice.

Nialli stood and looked at Finchley. “Both my parents were in the Foundation.” She whispered.

Finchley turned to Ansu and said “So you wanted Niali to betray her own Parents?”

He laughed, “everybody betrays somebody they love, doing it for love you see.”He tapped the side of his nose. “Take our dear Ambassador V’rull here, she was doing it for love, her son was also a member of the Foundation. She came to us willingly to save him but, of course we wanted all she knew, not just the weapons. And, of course Finchley Kerr you are doing this for love.”

“I am truly sorry Finchley.” Niali said without looking at him. “I did not kill her, Ansu needed someone to take the blame and I was promised my parents back if I agreed.”

“That’s all I needed to hear Niali” Finchley replied. Turning to Ansu he said “You see, your not the only one who can look to dissect people and situations…did you get that J’nal?” he asked.

A ghostly reply came back “Indeed Commander, the Trill Commissioners heard as well, their deliberations took merely seconds.”

“Bring us out please J’nal” Finchley said.

“Aye Sir, you’re consciousness will be back in your bodies momentarily” J’nal replied.

Turning to Niali, Finchley said “I’ll explain this very shortly my darling Niali.”

The darkened room faded around them.

Niali tried to claw her way out through the dark as Ansu reached out to her, she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t see and then, she saw Finchley looking at her with concern in his eyes.

“What was that!” She exclaimed.

"Can you be a little more specific Niali?" Finchley asked.

“I was pulled out too quickly, what is going on Finchley?” she asked.

"No Niali, I pulled you out at the right time!" Finchley said harshly, "You wanted help, well I'm giving you it to you. Now, you've been shit scared of this Ansu ever since you mentioned him to me. I'd already spoken to J'nal before we met up and discussed the possibility of just such a happening as we've gone through. I didn't want to say anything to you because then Ansu would know. Do you remember when J'nal said he needed an hour to prepare, he kind of stretched the truth a little, yes, he had to mentally prepare, but that only took half an hour, the other half an hour was getting through to the Trill Commissioners and getting them on COMM's to hear what would happen during our mind meld. He had a small transceiver in his ear which was linked to his auditory nerve and that was linked into the meld as well. Everything that was said by us and Ansu, they heard. The Commission, on the conclusion of what they heard, decided that a neural block could be introduced into your system so that 'if' Ansu re-emerged asking or looking to make you do something you didn't want to, you could activate it and that connection would be blocked till you stopped the blocker yourself. The downside of it is that the blocker can't be can't be used continually or it'll become ineffective. NOW do you understand why I pulled you out?"

She nodded, “yes I do but I still have so many questions, mainly for the Trill Symbiosis commission. Why are you angry with me?” She asked.

"You just questioned me on getting you out, you were in to deep and you couldn't control the situation, you were loosing it and Ansu was taking you over" Finchley replied "I did this to make sure you were safe."

“And I thank you for it, I really do but I did not know what was happening so your anger was misplaced, now I understand. Where do I obtain this ‘neural blocker’?”

"The Trill Symbiosis Commission will send someone here in the next twelve hours" Finchley began replying "they'll talk to you about how they'll insert the blocker and how you use it. There's no one hundred percent guarantee that this will forever stop Ansu trying to re-emerge and take over, but it's working rate is fairly high, and it's definitely better than having nothing at all like now" he finished.

She smiled, “you may have made my life a little easier, I can only say thank you.” she kissed him gently.

"Well, it wasn't just me, but I did my part" Finchley replied, kissing Niali back.

Lieutenant Commander Finchley Kerr
Executive Officer
USS Oberon

&

Lieutenant (JG) Niali Korial Dr
Chief Counsellor
USS Oberon