The Trial (Part I of III)

Posted on Fri Mar 25th, 2022 @ 8:28am by Lianej Derani & Lieutenant Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen [Taylor] & Lieutenant JG Heather De La Rosa {Kelea-Salik}
Edited on on Fri Mar 25th, 2022 @ 8:30am

Mission: Tales from the other side of the Mirror
Location: "Safe Harbour"
Timeline: The day after 'Calm before the Storm'
1649 words - 3.3 OF Standard Post Measure

A few hours ago, the Ships surgeon had arrived at their door to announce that they had made it to Safe Harbour, and the captains would meet later that afternoon,

Now the time approached, and Savar & Heather waited to be escorted to their "trial".

Heather sat waiting for the inevitable armed escort to take Savar and herself to face whatever fate awaited them. She was feeling much better now the reaction to the surgery meds had gone, she'd been eating well making up for what nutrition she'd lost.

"You know what I hate about this?" she looked at Savar as she held onto his hand, "The fact that I can't feel you in my mind anymore. It feels as though I've been cut off from everything."

With one hand, Savar held Heather's hand with the other he gently stroked her cheek. "Do not feel like that, you can see me and you can hear me, and we will continue to draw strength from each other. We will be strong together and face this 'trial" united in our strength." He leaned forward and lightly kissed her cheek.

Heather smiled as she gently caressed Savar's cheek, touch had become all the more important to her now she couldn't share their connection anymore. "I'm going to need you Imzadi, for a Betazoid being cut off from your senses is like losing a very large chunk of who you are. I'll need you to teach me how to live life without my senses, for however long my life will be."

"Heather, my love, I look forward to showing you how to use your other senses, like being able to look at someone and know their mood. To your sight where you will learn to pick up on facial expressions and other facial quirks. You will come to rely on them as you did your mental senses." Savar assured her.

Heather nodded. "I'm looking forward to it Imzadi, but right now we have to face this trial. I can only hope I'm strong enough to face it."

Savar looked at his wife, his soulmate. "Heather, you do yourself an injustice. You are one of the strongest women I know. You have the strength to face this 'trial' I am certain of it." He replied confidently. He wished he was as confident about the outcome of the trial and their fate.

Heather was about to respond when there was the usual sound of arrivals at the door. "Looks like it's time ..." She took the chance to lovingly kiss Savar, letting it linger for a few moments before leaning back.

"Indeed. We will face this trial and whatever the outcome is together Heather." Savar answered as he returned Heather's kiss and waited for them to be escorted to the place of their trial.

Without warning, their room door opened, and the ships's captain gave them a curt, "Time to go." She walked off without waiting to see if they folllowed, but her quartermaster beckoned them on. Outside the room several of the crew of The Serpents' Tooth, all armed, were waiting to fall in around them.

Heather looked at Savar then towards the Captain. "Is the armed escort really necessary? We haven't caused any problems since we got here."

"Heather, it is alright. It is the way they feel most comfortable with after all we are viewed as the enemy." Savar replied as they walked with their 'escort'

Mal frowned, his own long coat tucked behind his hip holster. "Just trust me. Its better this way."

"Of course Mr. Garrison, It is what you and the others are most at ease with. We understand." Savar commented as the walk continued.

Heather held onto Savar's arm, having spent most of her adult years with her abilities to be without them was a frightening experience. Being amongst so many people and yet not sensing anything was making her more and more uneasy. She kept walking until her knees gave out and she sank to the floor. "Please I just ... need a minute." She sat trying to catch her breath as she suffered her first ever panic attack.

Savar knelt beside her instantly. "Heather." he said calmly then again said "Heather look at me. I understand you are frightened, that not having your senses makes this entire situation harder for you but I am here with you and will be throughout this entire situation. We will face this together." He helped her up. "Lean on me my love. Show them the strength I know you have within you."

Heather looked up into Savar's eyes, slowing her breathing she took a moment before nodding and taking his arm again as she got up. "Alright ... let's go."

Savar squeezed her arm. "Indeed, let them see the strength we have, We will not wilt in the face of adversity."

Once Heather was upright and steady again, they walked swiftly to the transporter room, and beamed deeper into Safe Harbor.

Safe Harbor was not a planet. It wasn't even a space station. It was made from other ships, or bits of other ships, welded together at all angles. The market that the crew of the Serpent's Tooth pushed them through was roofed over by the curved dome of a Terran Empire's saucer section, the name scraped away. The back wall was a patchwork of deep green from plates of Klingon and Romulan construction, and the rest were made up of the greys, whites, browns and reds of a hundred other vessels.

At the green end of the market, they were ushered through the salvaged loading doors of a Ferengi freighter, and into a bare lobby. Lianej Derani kept walking, dissapearing through another sets of doors ahead, but the rest of party didn't follow, drawing to the side in a loose circle. Mal gave a worried glance to the doors his captain had vanished through. "All right. We've got eight captains. Some are more involved in harassing the empires, some less so, but that won't make you any less the enemy." He started pacing back and forth, whilst he thought through "Just answer the questions they ask, don't embellish, don't hesitate, don't answer back."

"Mr. Garrison." Savar answered with absolute calm. "We understand our position here and what is required of us. We will answer the questions put forth to us."

Mal kept pacing. "You don't have a lot to offer, try and focus on what you can do. Don't insult anyone. Don't patronise anyone. Don't look the Ferengi in the eye. Or lobes. He's sensitive."

"I believe to the contrary Mr. Garrison otherwise you would have executed both of us when were first captured nor would you have treated Heather." Savar replied placidly.

Mal stopped pacing, "As I said before, Lianej is soft. And if you think we'd refuse medical treatment to the sick. Well. Fuck you." He started pacing again. "Craite, the denobulan. Watch him. He likes to set traps."

Savar said nothing he just smirked slightly. Garrison was easy to excite especially now that he knew how to rile the man. As Garrison finished speaking he simply nodded.

"Malecho, the Hekaran, is your best bet. She's not easy to sway, but if you can get her on your side, she's very hard to talk down."

"Understood." Savar replied as he listened and filed away the information Mal was providing to heather and himself.

Mal turned to Heather. "Feeling okay?"

Heather looked at Mal. "No .. try imagining yourself deaf, and blind. Then you might have some idea how I feel without my abilities. I'm terrified ..." she looked at Savar then back at Mal. "But I will not go down without a fight!"

Savar raised a hand and gently stroked Heather's cheek. "It is no shame to be scared Heather. However, do not let the fear control you. You are stronger and better than that."

Heather nodded remembering when they'd first become a couple and how afraid she'd been of him at that time. Afraid that she'd never have love in her life, how wrong she had been. "You taught me to be strong Imzadi, and I will be strong."

Savar shook his head, "It was inside you all along Heather, I just helped you recognize it."

One of their escorts made a dramatic and theatrical retching sound, and several of his crewmates suddenly became very interested in the walls and the floor as they all fought back laughter.

Heather spun around looking at the comedians in the room. "Keep laughing and I'll forget our reason for coming here, without us your friends in Terran hands don't stand a chance."

The aborted laughter evaporated and a chill tension filled the air. The orion loomed over Heather. "Our friends in Terran hands all died, you self-absorbed cunt, so stop bleating."

"Okay, okay, okay," Mal slid between the Orion and Healther. "Let's chill." He gave the brute of a man a warning look. "She's not worth your share."

Savar turned on the Orion. "Careful what you say my brutish friend, or you may find yourself having your next meals through a straw." The words were spoken evenly and calmly but there was no denying the seriousness of the message.

"Put 'em back in your trousers, boys." Lianej's voice broke through the tension. She stood, hands on hips, in front of the open doors to the chamber beyond. "If anyone's swinging the biggest prick in this room, it's me."

"Fucking him on the regular too," commented one of the other crew, and there was genuine, good natured laughing.

"Hey," Mal feigned outrage. "I resemble that remark."

Lianej nodded to the two Terrans. "You're up."

Heather looked at Savar and took a deep breath. “Let’s get this over with.” She looked towards Lianej. “Lead the way.”

"Precisely Heather." Savar favored Lianei with a glance, "Lead on."

To be Continued…

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