The helper and the helpless.

Posted on Sunday June 26th, 2022 @ 9:21pm by Lieutenant Commander Niali Deval Dr & Lieutenant Finchley Kerr & Lieutenant Steven Edgeware

Mission: New Worlds
Location: XO's Office/Sickbay
Timeline: Current

Niali arrived at Finchley's office and pressed the chime.

Inside, Finchley looked up at the door and said "Come in."

The doors opened and Niali walked in and over to Finchley's desk "Commander, you said I could come back to you with any questions I have regarding my duties as Second Officer, so I'd like to ask you to tell me what they are please."

"Certainly Lieutenant" Finchley replied "You'll learn the ropes of what it is to be a Command Officer, specifically the role of an Executive Officer. If for any reason the Captain is incapacitated, as XO, I step up to temporary CO and you fill in as temporary XO. If I am incapacitated, again, you'll step up to temporary XO to help the CO out. You'll also take your turn as Senior bridge Officer in the 'Big Chair', mostly on Charlie shift, or 'through the night' in old terms. Once the Captain decides you're competent enough, you'll get moved up to running Beta shift a few times, to make up more Command hours and experience. Should the Captain and myself be required to go on an Away Team together, and you remain onboard, you'll be the Senior Officer, defacto 'Captain'."

“It sounds a very dedicated position but of course I will accept it. I love my counselling as you know but I have always felt destined for more since my medical career was cut short.” Niali wiped her cream moustache off. “When do I begin?” She asked.

"Immediately Lieutenant" Finchley replied "Consider yourself now on Charlie shift to begin your training" he added.

Niali snorted her coffee too late realizing that she should not have Chosen a beverage. “Yes Commander..you mean now…on my own?”

"No, Lieutenant Junior Grade Keplar will help you, he's currently Charlie shift Senior bridge officer, he'll help you, he's been on the Command track for the last two months, but he's a good sort, he's very helpful" Finchley replied.

“Very well, let’s get to it. Before we start though Commander.” She paused, “definitely smoking hot!” Niali smiled, her eyes making a promise for later.

"I'll talk to the Lieutenant about you coming on to their shift" Finchley replied.

She nodded and waited. She loved Finchley when he was like this, he was a completely different person than when they were together in the privacy of their quarters. Suddenly she had a thought, Finchley and Brutus would be spending the night together, alone. What the ramifications of that would be she no doubt see it in the morning.

"Is everything ok Lieutenant?" Finchley asked "you've gone rather quiet."

“I am fine Commander, are you?” Niali had noted he seemed to be far away, looking at something else. She touched his arm, Finchley?” She asked.

The doors to his office opened and Finchley looked up to see Sargent Cortez come in. Cortez placed a piece of paper on Finchley's desk saying “A message for you from Major Banx Sir. He then stepped back and saluted.

"Thank you Sargent" Finchley said, watching nodding his thanks, then watched as he left.

“Finchley, COMMANDER, please, talk to me it’s Niali?” She shook his arm.

Finchley blinked a few times and looked at Niali, "Yes...yes, I'm fine, Cortez just gave me this piece of pape..." he began replying, looking down at his desk...to see nothing there.

Niali became even more concerned. Finchley there has been no one in here apart from you and me. I am calling Dr Edgeware.”

Finchley stood up, “No, wait, that can’t be right…he was just here, he spoke to me, told me it was a message from Major Banx” he insisted.

“Finchley I insist that you sit down. There is no Major Banx on board the Oberon.” She walked over to the replicator and ordered a cold water and took it back to him. “Where were you?” She asked.

Sitting down again, and accepting the glass of water with a “Thanks”, he continued “ I was right here, with you, in this office…”

His office doors opened again, though this time, instead of the wall in the corridor being a smooth bulkhead. It was rough hewn rock, like an underground passageway.

Cortez looked at him and asked “Did you wish to send a reply back to Major Banx Sir?”

Looking down at his hand, Finchley once more saw the piece of paper from before. He swallowed hard “Emm…just a moment Sargent Cortez, I’ve been a little busy to read it.”

Opening it up, Finchley read ‘High ridge, Sector 3, taking Alpha and Bravo squads to attack. Follow up with Charlie and Delta squads, 1 hour, Banx’

Finchley looked at Cortez and said “Send back, message received, following, 1 hour, Kerr’. Once it’s sent, assemble Charlie and Delta squads, light travel, weapons only.”

“Yes Sir” Cortez replied, then was gone.

Niali knew that Finchley had ‘gone’ again. “You might have been here with me in person but your mind was somewhere else. I am taking you to sickbay now.” She stood up and waited for him.

Finchley looked round at Niali "The squads will need to be quicker than an hour, it'll start to be getting light by then, we should go in half an hour, I need to tell Cortez to change the reply."

Niali pressed her comm =/\= Lieutenant Korial to Chief Karadis please respond=/\=

"Karadis here Lieutenant, how can I help you Sir?" Karadis responded immediately

“Please can you come to Commander Kerr’s office immediately, something bad is occurring with him” Niali hoped the Klingon had noted the fear in her voice.

"On my way immediately!" Karadis ended, turning and sprinting out of the Intelligence office. Within a couple of minutes she literally battered her way through the doors before they could open properly.

"What's happened Niali?" she asked breathlessly.

Finchley saw Karadis come into the office in a bit of a rush, but ignored it and said "Ah good, Karadis, you're here. You'll be taking Delta squad when we go out to meet up with Major Banx teams, get the men ready."

Karadis looked at Finchley with puzzlement "To meet up with Major Banx Sir?" she asked, almost incredulous, "Commander, Major Banx died on Thessus four years ago."

"This is no time to mess me around Karadis" Finchley said, looking slightly annoyed, "Just do as I asked, less of the talking, more of the doing!"

Niali looked at her worriedly, “you see what I mean, my next stop is sickbay. You obviously know what he is seeing?”

"I will in a moment Sir, I just need to to have a very quick word with the Lieutenant" Karadis replied to Finchley.

"Make it very quick, we need to get going quickly!" Finchley said to her.

Karadis nodded and took Niali’s arm , taking her away to one side "He can't be allowed to remember Thessus Niali, he just can't!, When did this start happening, what's he been doing?"

“About twenty minutes ago, we were conversing about me taking bridge watch tonight and he just began to talk like this. Does he have a neural blocker Karadis?”

"What about recently?" Karadis asked "has he done anything out the ordinary, something that would push him to his absolute limits?"

“Possibly Karadis, I have been having psychological problems with my symbiont. We had a Vulcan open my mind and place Finch’s inside it. He was able to see and deal directly with Ansu. My symbiont Korial turned out to be a torturer for intelligence information. We returned to our own minds and Finch mentioned a neural blocker that I could use. He had already cleared it with Trill and about an hour ago now injected me with it.”

"Oh Wa'Joh'a', he went through a torture scenario!!!!" Karadis said loudly, throwing up her arms in despair "and YES, he had a neural...for good reason, that's why he can't afford to remember Thessus!"

“So what the fuck do we do. I love him Karadis and am not about to loose him. So he needs a new neural blocker, what about mine, can we remove it, shall we get him to sickbay, maybe sedation would help?”

"No, we can't use your neural blocker because they're made specifically to fit the subject they are to be fitted to, but, we can remove his and have a cursory look to see if anything has gone wrong with it However, it's getting him to agree to have it checked, he won't go to the CMO, and even as Chief Counsellor, he'll find a way to stop you having him removed from duty."

She snapped her fingers "I've got it, I know how to do it!"

Niali grabbed Her arm, “if I can help I will do anything, it is my fault this has happened to him. I will love you forever if you can save him.”

Karadis turned to Finchley and said "Commander, can we see you for a moment?"

Finchley sighed and walked over, "Yes. what is it?" he asked.

Karadis, who was standing side on to him, swung her arm back and upper cut Finchley with all her Klingon might. Finchley was lifted off his feet and thrown back a yard or so then hit the floor, out cold. Turning to Niali she said "Get me a Med kit, now."

She ran to Finchley’s desk and retrieved a medkit and gave it to Karadis. What can I do?” She asked.

Sit on his chest and hold his head to the side whilst I make an incision to remove the blocker" Karadis said.

Niali was about to say that as a physician she should be able to do it but she recognized Karadis knew much more than her. She did as she had been asked.

Taking the Med kit, Karadis removed the laser scalpel and made a small incision behind Finchley's ear. Taking the tweezers, she eased the neural blocker out and looked carefully at it, turning it over and over to see if anything was wrong with it. As she worked, she asked Niali "What kind of torture are we talking about, and did Finchley see any of it?"

“It’s…..complicated. I had the memories of torturing a Vulcan to death for information. She was there, broken, bleeding, murmuring to herself. I was a trainee intelligence operative, my handler had invaded my mind to let me think it had been me. He did not see any active torture, no. He managed to trick Ansu into admitting it had been him. It was all pretty intense. I wish I had never gotten him involved.”

"Well it's a little to late for that" Karadis said a little more harshly than she meant to, and she suddenly stopped her investigation of the blocker. Taking a small magnifier from the kit, she closely examined one part of it.

"Your pips, they're made of gold, take one out and give it to me" she said, holding out her hand to Niali.

She unclipped one of her new pips and handed it to Karadis remaining quiet now to let the Klingon work.

Taking the gold pip, Karadis cut the smallest sliver off with the laser scalpel, and let it drop onto the neural blocker where she thought there was a problem.

"Right, that's a temporary fix, but I'm not going to insert it back in, I don't have the skill, we need someone who can do this properly, suggestions Niali?" Karadis asked.

“We need to get to sickbay, I am sure Dr Edgeware would help.”

"You trust him?" Karadis asked, a very serious look on here face "Baring in mind how this looks."

“I cannot be one hundred percent sure but yes, I think he would understand and help. We should do a site to site transport, we don’t want any crew members witnessing this.”

"Agreed" Karadis replied, "I have one other question, and I know it's almost inappropriate to ask right now, but when you said 'I will love you forever if you can save him', did you mean..." and she left it open ended.

Niall tapped her comm =/\= this is Lieutenant Korial emergency Beam all personnel from Commander Finchley's office to sickbay=/\= a second before their molecules disassembled Niali said “both of you forever.”

It seemed like no time at all that they were in sickbay. “Help me get him up on a bio bed Karadis.”

Karadis helped get Finchley onto the biobed, then looked at Niali "There's something you need to know, about Thessus and why he has the neural blocker, but when I tell you, you can't tell anyone, you've got to promise me Niali!"

“You know you can trust me Karadis don’t you?” Niali looked the Klingon woman straight in the eye. “Tell me now!”

Karadis sighed heavily, it wasn't that she was betraying a friend by telling Niali the truth, but it's how she felt, but Niali had the right to know.

"Towards the end of the Dominion War, our company was sent to Thessus, it was one of the last remaining pockets of Dominion resistance in Sector thirty three" Karadis began "Finchley and I, we'd both served under Banx throughout the two years of the war, and we trusted him completely. When we arrived, we were told there wouldn't any back up, we were it, nobody else would be coming so it was a 'do or die' mission, we either took them out, or they'd take us out. Everyone in our company accepted that, we knew the risks, a number of us were even crazy enough to realise this was the end one way or another. The fighting was fierce, but became bogged down and we ended up in a war of attrition almost, neither sides making gains. Major Banx decided on one last push, to try and take the Dominion troops stronghold, so he split the company into four units Alpha, Beta, Charlie and Delta.
His plan was a night time raid, taking Alpha and Beta units along the high ridge and attack, Finchley was to follow up later with Charlie and Delta, mop up any of the Dominion forces who were left...that or try and rescue any of the first two units soldiers if it had gone wrong."

She paused for a moment, unusually for Karadis seeming to gather herself "Whilst we were still at base, a not from Banx arrived, it read, ‘High ridge, Sector 3, taking Alpha and Bravo squads to attack. Follow up with Charlie and Delta squads, 1 hour, Banx’. I know this because Finchley showed me the note as I would be Delta unit leader, he was taking charge of Charlie. Finchley realised it could be a mistake to wait an hour because it would be daylight by then and we'd be seen coming along the high ridge. He halved the time and we set out. We followed the path that Banx and his unit's had taken, and we made it past the high ridge, but something was wrong, there was no sign of fighting, none. We got to within four hundred yards of the Dominion stronghold and Finchley called a halt. He spoke to me and said that only one of two things could have happened, either Banx and his units had deserted or...and that's when it happened, Banx and his units, plus the Dominion soldiers surrounded us, we'd been led into a trap...by Banx!"

Karadis punched the biobed so hard she left a small indentation "That BASTARD had betrayed us, but that wasn't the end of it, oh no. We were all taken back to the Dominion stronghold and Finchley and I were taken to meet with Banx. He told us, and this was the first of it to hit Finchley hard, he was a double agent, and had been for the two years of the war. He'd sold out the Alliance, telling the Dominion of our companies orders, good soldiers we'd served with had died because of him and he laughed about it. But that wasn't all, he'd hated Finchley, I mean really hated Finchley because he was a stand up soldier who followed orders to the letter, never once deviating from them even when Banx had told him to. However, Banx couldn't afford to get rid of him or to many questions would have been asked, so, he bid his time and when the Thessus mission came up, he knew that's when he could finally get his revenge on him. He ordered me to beat him, but I refused, so they brought in three of our Charlie unit and told me that unless I did what I was told and beat Finchley, they'd be killed. I still refused, so Banx had two of them beheaded right in front of us. Finchley ordered me to beat him as I was told to and even though I begged him not to order me to do it, he stood firm in his resolve and ordered me to. Banx stood beside me and told me that if I held back, the third unit soldier would die slowly. I beat him Niali, I beat him so hard and do you know what, every time he managed to raise his head, he smiled at me and said it wasn't my fault and to carry on. For an hour, I punched, kicked and butted him, and every time he passed out, they threw a bucket of water over him to wake him up and I did it all again and again and again."

She stopped talking one more time, twisting this way and that. not knowing what to do with herself. Finally she looked back at Niali "But that wasn't what pushed him over the edge, what did that was that they made him watch as they brought in each unit soldier from Charlie and Delta and they tortured them horribly, Banx being the one to finally kill them all. Eighteen of his company died in front of him and it broke him Niali...it broke him!!!
Banx was a sadist though, he didn't kill Finchley or me, he left us alive when they shipped out, Banx and all his traitors from Alpha and Beta units, they'd all been paid off. Two days later a rescue team came for 'our company', Banx had sent a false message to Starfleet Intelligence to say they'd finally beaten the Dominion stronghold but had taken heavy casualties, could we be picked up. Finchley was in a bad way, I mean, a real bad way, it took him six months to recover, but in the first few days a neuro surgeon was ordered to put an neural blocker in to stop Finchley remembering what had happened to his company. I was ordered to remain with him in case just such an occurrence as this happened. You may ask yourself how it didn't effect me in the same way, I guess because they weren't 'my company', I was just one of them makes it a little easier, perhaps I have a stronger will power to push it out of my thoughts, I don't know, but I 'am' able to cope. When Finchley recovered, a cover story was made up so that it covered what happened, hypnosis was used to plant new memories that he the company did indeed attack the stronghold, and Major Banx was killed in the attack and Finchley was badly injured hence him not remembering a whole lot about it. He seemed to accept that, but now, now, I don't know what'll happen. Unless this neural blocker is fixed and put back in, he's in serious trouble."

Oh God Karadis” was all Naili could say as tears ran down her face. She pulled the Klingon towards her and held her tight. “There’s a possibility we could place him in stasis until we can get hold of another neural blocker, would that be possible Doctor?” She looked towards Steven.

Steven was still trying to get over people suddenly beaming into Sickbay. He looked at Finchley’s file and shook his head.

“ No need we have replacements. We can fit him a new one as soon as you wish. But what I want to know is why it was removed without the Chief Medical Officer being informed first.” Steven said.

Niali nodded in contrition, “we panicked and in the moment we were unsure as to whether we could trust you. This could bring down Finchley’s career and it is not his fault.”

"Also Doctor Edgeware" Karadis began "I was there when the surgeon placed the Neural blocker into Finchley. He told me in no uncertain terms, that as the one watching over him, if there was ever a time when the blocker broke down, extracting it was paramount because a damaged blocker could become detrimental to his health. I was shown how to extract it, but not how to replace it. If you feel slighted at not being informed before I extracted it, comfort yourself with the fact that had I done so, an waited on you being available, the chances are, you'd have been extracting it from a corpse. I'm not sorry for what I did, I would do it again every time, now, are we going to stand around and debate who should have been informed, or are you going to fit a new one?"

“ I am sorry that if it looked like I was a child having a tantrum over not being informed. But Starfleet medical has strict medical guidelines for a reason.” Steven said then he pointed to some numbers on Finchley’s bio bed monitor.” Like this for instance. His brain wave levels are all over the place. We can’t fit a new one until they settle down. We can sedate him for now. It will have to be light we dare not give him anything to heavy. I don’t think he is a flight risk.”

Niali placed her hand on Karadis sleeve. “We are sorry Doctor, we did what we thought was best at the time, in fact we used one of my new pips so you may need to remove it.” She sighed, “I was trying to delay informing the Captain but it looks like this is going to take longer so I will have to. I will just inform him he has been taken ill and is unconscious.” She looked down at the pale body lying on the biobed kissed his cheek and smoothed his hair out of his eyes. She then looked embarrassed. “I apologise Doctor. Karadis can you stay here whilst I find Captain Trensu?”

"Yes Lieutenant" Karadis answered.

“ I need to visit the Bridge also. There is something I need to check and I cannot do it from here.” Steven said

Finchley listened to the conversation but kept his eyes closed. It seemed like the soldiers were planning on keeping him in the room so that their Senior Officer could be informed of his capture...he wasn't having any of that.

Opening his eyes ever so slightly, he looked around as best he could to see it's layout. He was on a raised bed, the door to the room wasn't far away and the two Dominion soldiers were off to his right. He took a deep breath the leapt off the bed, forearm smashing the taller of the two on the back of the head. They went down with a grunt and didn't seem to be getting back up. Turning to the other he said "Move and I'll kill you, understand. Now, I'm getting out of here, and if you try and stop me or come after me, again, I'll kill you!"

He turned and made for the door and it opened for him so he ran through.

Lieutenant Commander Finchley Kerr
Executive Officer
USS Oberon

Chief Warrant Officer Shr'Nesh Karadis
Intelligence Specialist
USS Oberon

Lieutenant Niali Korial
2XO, Chief Counsellor
USS Oberon

Lieutenant Steven Edgeware
Chief Medical Officer
USS Oberon