Dropping off the meals
Posted on Wed Nov 24th, 2021 @ 8:41am by Captain Mattias Richardson [Reece] & Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson & Commander Arrianna Salannis an Vantar & Lieutenant Commander Kara Starr {Kelea-Salik}
Mission:
Darkness Rising - A Phoenix Lalor Sub Plot
Location: Kate's room
Timeline: MD 36 / 1830 hours
1941 words - 3.9 OF Standard Post Measure
By this time, Arrianna had fixed Josephine's painting. It wasn't too difficult to repair the damage to it. Once again the young woman was painting. unfortunately there was now a cold and untouched meal on a table nearby. And she was working on another painting. This one was of a young woman fighting a tyrant, with another woman in a nearby cell. The Tyrant looked very much like Kyle Cragen. A wretched form of him.
It was Mattias's turn to bring Kate her dinner. He still hadn't forgiven her for betraying Phoenix like she had. While he wasnt as irate as earlier, he was still angry. "Dinner," he said as he slid the meal in through the new slot in her door.
Arri walked over and slid the meal out. She then went back to her painting. "Wait.... I know how to solve this. I know how to make everything right. I know how to get her back. Just the way it was. Just the way it should be."
She picked up a PADD. "When they let me go, I'll head back to the VOID. If I take a different course than before. I should arrive several months before we rescued her. I will then kill him in 1663. Now... how to kill an El-aurian. Ill have to use poison. No Cragen. I save her. Events happen the way they should. I and Josie go on leave. Phoenix continues her cloak and dagger. Everything is better, everything is right!!!!. It has to be."
Mattias slid the tray back inside. "Eat the food, Kate. Unless you rather we shove a tube down your throat and forcefeed you?"
"You'd like that too much wouldn't you? If I never saw her again. You are the others weighed my life and Josephine's against the mission and chose the mission." Arrianna noted. "I am going to find him in the past... And erase that bastard from history. That will make everything right."
"You'd also erase my sister, both of her babies. I think not, Kate. You will do nothing to further change the timeline. Don't make me get Phoenix down here. Eat your damn food!"
"Even if it cost me everything? I have nothing Mattias.. No point in my existance.. Someone will always want to take everything from me. Someone else will then have everything.. It's enraging to think about it." Arrianna noted. "Go finish your mission. It's clear only I can take back what's left of my life... and if I have to be completely ruthless in that pursuit, I will."
"And here I thought the Alindari were supposed to be all high and mighty, evolved above us mere mortals," Mattias was done with her pity party. "Is what Cragen did reprehensible? Yes. Does that mean you are given permission to destroy other lives just in an attempt to fix yours? Hell no, it does not!"
"Go... Enjoy your wonderful life with Phoenx. I'll endure my miserable life for all it's worth. I want it all back.. Everything. If I have to torture Cragen I will. If I have to break Matthew Highlaw.. And make Evelyn Mountbatten watch. I will. If I have to burn it all.. I will. You've never lost everything. You have no idea how white-hot my rage is right now!!!" She sat down and began eating the food. "We should have annihilated those meddling El-Aurians!!!!"
Mattias grew angrier with her. "How dare you. I have no idea?! You have no fucking clue! My wife, Saundra, was murdered. My son," his voice cracked as emotion started to break through. "My sweet little baby boy, Charlie, butchered! They were stolen from me! Don't you ever think you have a monopoly on pain, you FUCKING BITCH! I WILL DROWN YOU IN THE GRIEF AND ANGUISH I CARRY EVERY FUCKING MOMENT OF MY LIFE!!!"
"Warlord..." Arri stated after Mattias forcibly knocked sense into her. She bowed her head.. "And their warring came without end... Wars... Endless cruelty... Alindar burned under their endless hatred of each other... Dark emotions flooded the Warlords... as she was tested in the Alin desert... and the suns burned Tirielle's hatred away..." Arri shed tears.. "I've become a warlord.. My own worst enemy. I'm shamed!!!! I'm Shamed!!!!!"
Mattias couldn't stand by and listen to her pointless whining anymore. He turned and left her to spin into insanity.
Arri flew into a rage and began to break things smashing and raging. She then grabbed the sheets off the bed and flung them over a pipe in the room. Tying them sturdily. "Curse this life, CURSE THIS LIFE. BASTARDS Everyone!!! DEATH IS BETTER!!!!!!!"
Hearing the crashing, Mattias paused. He was so very angry. He wanted to destroy something, anything. He want to curl into a ball and weep. Instead, he turned back and headed back to her room.
She slammed a chair under the makeshift noose and climbed onto it. Making sure the Noose was tight, She jumped off the chair and began to strangle.
When he got back to her room, he saw her hanging there, her body already convulsing as it screamed for oxygen. "FUCK!" He slapped the comm panel next to her door. "Medical emergency, Kate's room!" He then busted in, and after supporting her with his left arm, his right hand moved to the small of his back and he yanked out his ka-bar, swinging it up and slicing through the sheet as if it was a hot knife through butter.
She felt air in her again and screamed at Mattias. "WHYYYYY!!!!" She began to sob. "WHYYYYYY!!!" She cried. "It hurts so much... I'm sorry Mattias... It just hurts... Hurts..... I'm sorry... I'M SORRY!!!! I'm sorry I betrayed, I lost myself."
Tossing her back onto her bunk, he ripped the sheet remnant from around her throat. "You don't get off that fucking easy!" He the started tossing everything from her room, as his sister and Lily ran up.
Kara raced into the room her medical kit slung over her back. Noticing the marks around Kate’s neck she could only imagine what Kate had tried to do. “Kate! What have you done?”
Lily raced in after Kara and stared. This was getting out of hand.
Mattias looked at both of the women of his life. "She has refused to eat, accused me of....of not knowing what it feels like to lose everything, then, afterwards, when I was storming off after telling her to go fuck herself, she tried to hang herself." He was still very angry as he spoke. So much so, that he was vibrating. "I cut her down and started to toss everything out of her room." He looked at Phoenix, indescribable pain in his eyes. "I'm done with her." He then walked out of the room and left the three women alone.
Kate just layed on her bed. "Leave me... Just leave.. I'm not worth anything. I am utterly worthless. Go away. Leave me with Josephine. And I'm sorry if I betrayed and hurt any of you.. Go complete your mission." She referred to the painting, and began staring at it. "Captain, Keep me sedated.. I"m not right, and I might try to kill myself again. Keep me out, Captain. Just... please help her. But I cannot count on that, all you care about is the mission. Put me out until you can transfer me to a Starfleet Counselor. Then I can move on with my life."
Kara loaded up a hypo, right now she couldn’t help but agree with Kate. “Listen to me Kate, if we’re going to get Josie back then we need you! She needs you!! If you’re dead then how are we supposed to bring her back?” She rested a gentle hand on Kate’s arm before pressing the hypo to her neck. “This’ll help, just relax and let it calm you.”
"How? Do I? Save her... I'll do anything, anything for her." She began to drift off to sleep.
Kara sighed as she stood and looked at Lily. “She should sleep for a while now. I need to talk with Matt, I’ll be back..” with that she headed out to find Mattias.
Lily nodded. "I'll be right behind you shortly." And she began stripping down the room to barebones.
Walking along the base corridors it didn’t take long to find Mattias. “Matt! Wait!”
He had made it a few hallways away, and had crumpled to the floor, sitting with his back to the wall. His arms were hooked around his knees and his head hung down low. It was clear by the movements of his curled form, that he was sobbing and trying to do so quietly.
Appearing around the corner Kara walked over to her big brother, slowly taking a seat next to him on the floor. As he’d done for her many times before she gently hugged him offering some sisterly love. “I’m sorry Matt, I know how painful that must have been for you. Kate’s in a bad place right now, I’ve sedated her.”
Leaning into the embrace of his baby sister, Mattias allowed some emotion to flow out. "I...I can't believe...she...she fucking...threw that in my face!!"
Kara gently held him as she let him speak. “I don’t think she really knew what she was saying” Kara sighed. “I’m no counsellor Matt, but in my opinion Kate is teetering on the edge of a breakdown. I’m not making excuses for her though, she shouldn’t have said what she said to you.”
Matt said nothing, he just stayed close to his sister and wept quietly. He had so much pain inside, with both her help and Phoenix's help and love, he had started to gain a better handle on his rage. What Arrianna had just done, unintensional or not, had hurt him deeply.
Kara gently lay her brother’s head on her shoulder, and put on of his hands on the now bigger bump she was developing. “Let this developing life inside me comfort you, I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll be the most fantastic, protective uncle in this entire universe and beyond!” She smiled as she ran her fingers through Mattias’ hair comfortingly.
A soft smile threatened to break through his grief at that. "I love you, Kara. You're the best baby sister a guy could ever have!" His voice was quiet and raw with emotion.
Footsteps paused nearby and Lily leaned against the wall. She watched with a smile.
Mattias saw Phoenix down the corridor. Seeing her smiling face warmed his heart greatly. After thanking Kara again, he stood up, then helped her up to her feet as well. After hugging her warmly, he whispered to her that he was going to go to Phoenix.
Kara smiled and nodded. It made her happy knowing that Mattias had Phoenix to look out for him, and to love him.
After the siblings released their embrace, the Marine moved to the woman that was most important to him. While Kara had helped to calm him, his face was still streaked with tears and filled with heartbreak. "My love," he said as he wrapped his arms around her.
She merely snuggled into his arms and held on. "I will fix this" she whispered.
Mattias said nothing. He didn't need to. This woman knew his heart almost better than he did. He knew that she would protect him while he was in this weakened state. He simply held onto her as if his life counted on it.
~OFF~
