The Fine Line Between Dreams and Nightmares

Posted on Fri Jul 9th, 2021 @ 10:48am by Commander Arrianna Salannis an Vantar & Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson & Vice-Consul Josephine Carlyle-Cragen

Mission: Darkness Rising - A Phoenix Lalor Sub Plot
Location: Kate's Room
Timeline: MD - 16 0120 Hors
649 words - 1.3 OF Standard Post Measure

*Dream Sequence*

Kate suddenly walked up to the Rising Phoenix and stepped inside. Her heart ached once again for her Love. Walking through the yacht she stopped at where Josie fell unsconscious.

"Arri..." She thought she heard Josie behind her.

Josie was sitting on the floor of the shuttle, naked, hands bound before her. "Arri..."

"Josie... hold on, let me remove these. Ascendants." She tried to remove the binds.

"You can't. They have me bound. You need to get to safety. I can handle this. "

"No Josie, I'm so sorry. I couldn't handle the pain. Please forgive me." Arri continued trying to open the binds.

"Arri, go. Go, run, I love you. I can take this. I can handle this. I am stronger than you think." Josie begged softly. "Run love. Save yourself!"

"No... Help me find you... Help me.... I can't go on without you. NO!!!" She began yanking on the binds.

"You won't find me. You need to go, stay safe. Its the only way I will survive. They will kill me if you try...love, run and do not look back.' Josie began to fade.

Arri bolted up from her bed. "JOSIE!!!! DON'T FADE!!!!!!! DON'T LEAVE ME!!!!" She woke up in a pile of her own sweat. In the center bedroom. She left the bedroom and proceeded to the bathroom. "I'll never... ever give up on you... Even if I have to throw my communicator away and burn my uniform, Become Kate Daniels fully, I'll never give up on you."

There was a knock on her cabin door.

"Ent....ter...." Arri stated breathing rapidly. Her bed covers thrashed on the ground.

Lily entered and paused, took in the bed and then turned to the bathroom. "Kate?" She asked.

"Yes Lily..." She alked out of the bathroom and wiped her face... She looked at the painting. "I'm coming for you, my love... Just a little more... Hod on... I'll never stop.... I do not stop nor surrender... Ever..."

Lily studied her. The door shut. "Bad dream?" She asked lightly.

Arri nodded solemnly. "Josie was in it. I'm talking about them with the crew, I'm not bearing this suffering along..." Arri noted. "They've been so understanding.. So supportive... And I've been working tirelessly with Kara to find a treatment to the slaves' conditioning... We'll need it... to free all of Cragen's slaves.. Including the ones Flossi was responsible for."

Lily pulled out a small hypo and handed it to Arri. "Here." she said. "It will knock you out. I .. The Doc gave it to me after the Mirror Universe mission. It works really well. No Dreams."

Arri picked it up and pressed it against her neck. "I came for you, Phoenix... Because I wanted you to live... Go home to your twins... I'm glad you came for me. I even tried my best to lessen your pain, but the thing that tortured me... was I couldn't yet free you." Arri noted. "You've endured so much in your life." She layed down. "We've endured so much... and here we are still pushing forward. " She covered herself. "I had to come for you during that time Phoenix. I had to surrender... If I didn't; the cost would have been my soul." She began to slip back to sleep. "Will I dream of the good times with Josie?

Phoenix smoothed out the covers and tucked Arri in and then sat beside the bed and stroked her hair. "Yes, yes you will dream of happy times." she said softly. "Sleep Arri, sleep."

Arrianna fell asleep wanting to dream once again about the times she spent with Josie... Or a reality where there just wasn't the things between them... She fell asleep.

Phoenix sat for a while then slowly picked up the hypospray and left the cabin, heading back to her own bed. This was not the way things should be going..