Cold turkey

Posted on Wed Jun 1st, 2022 @ 3:02pm by Lieutenant Marina Tanger & Lieutenant Commander Robert Hendon & Lieutenant Kasey Tanger

Mission: The Riixian Insurection
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: 239504.24

{ON}

Marina strolled into Sickbay, her usual calm demeanour and tidy looks, replaced by clenching fists and hair that was sticking to perspiration drenched skin. She’d hung on as long as she could but she needed help and the sooner the better.

“Lieutenant ...” She approached Hendon. “I need your help.”

Robert turned around and looked at her. He could see something was wrong. Taking her arm he led her over to a bio bed.

“ What happened?” He said looking at the very worrying readings. From the probe he ran over her head.

"Nothing happened" She paused "It’s the ... lack of control infusion that the Caliphate uses on its members.” She sat on the edge of the biobed, her eyes darting around Sickbay looking for supplies of whatever she could get. “You need to ... restrain me, and use an inhibitor.” She shivered. “I suggest ... you hurry!”

Hendon did not want to do that. But after the mind quake incident. He had no choice Robert ordered a nurse to get an inhibitor and fast. Placing her arms and legs in restraints a nurse nodded at Robert. She handed him the inhibitor. Setting it he placed it on Monroe’s forehead.

“ Any change?” He asked her.

Marina nodded. "Yeah I can't sense a damn thing!" She offered a brief smile. "I don't want to .. end up hurting anyone this time. I had a small supply of the treatments the Caliphate used with me when I came onboard." She shivered. "I ran out."

Robert knew what this meant. He gave a sigh as he checked her readings.

“ Ok. Your going through withdrawal symptoms. Now we can give you a top up and enough treatments for you to carry on or…… you could go Cold Turkey. Which means ride out the withdrawal symptoms. Then you will be free of them for ever.” Robert said

“No more drugs” Marina sighed. “I want .. to be free, and clean.”

LT Kasey Tanger arrived in sickbay as he had something to talk to Dr. Hendon regarding his sister and knew she was there, so he felt it would be the right time.

"Doctor, I came to talk to you regarding Marina's treatment." Kasey replied. "She and I have talked and we would like to preform a Betazoid ritual that will help her overcome the withdrawal symptoms while working to also strengthen her mental state for overcoming the affects of the Caliphate. Over time this ritual would eventually allow her to resume a normal Betazoid lifestyle and her mind would be free of the mind control and such. We would even be able to form the bond we should have formed as children."

“That’s if you’ll permit it” Marina offered the best smile she could given how she was feeling.

Robert checked her bio bed readings.

“ If it will help then by all means. Yes. However what time frame are we looking at here.The withdrawal symptoms are going to start to get a lot rougher for her and soon.She could overwhelm the inhibitor and if that fails. What hit us all last time she had a mind quake. Will be a lot more violent this time.” Robert warned

“I ... won’t let that happen again!” Marina looked at Robert. “If you consider me ... a danger, then put me in a coma! I can’t hurt anyone that way!”

Robert did not like putting people in comas. The idea of being incapacitated , but still aware of your surroundings. Scared him to the core. Plus he was not sure putting her in a coma would help. Her subconscious could do just as much damage. Perhaps even more if she was in a coma.

“ No. A coma would not stop you. Your subconscious would be free to wreak havoc. Without your conscious mind to control it. Kasey’s idea seems the most viable.” Hendon informed them.

"I agree, with the Vulcan teachings I have learned and the traditional Betazoid rituals, I could harness her mind and help you arrange the mental barriers needed to help her keep a better control of herself. However, I would recommend that she be allowed to meditate for two days while also fasting. This would be best for her to be secluded with limited interruptions. A holodeck program is in the ship's file for such a situation as I have done it before and it works great for helping refocus one's labyrinth that is one's mind." Kasey replied. "I would limit the interruptions to only Medical Personnel, The Captain and myself."

Marina nodded. “How ... do we do this?”

Hendon took out a padd and began typing.

“ We will need to set up a room. With a dampening field around it just in case things don’t go to plan. That should be ready in thirty minutes. Time is of the essence here.

Time. If only a warning sign of this had appeared 24 hours ago when Marina had come on for her check up.

"Good, The program can be started and I would need to join her in the program to get started and likely due to her mind, would need to remain a good deal of the time as well to keep her anchored. Her mind would be undergoing a complete refit so to speak and my mind would be the engineer doing the work to help her get stable. This would be the best for her and the whole of the ship. The dampening field would be advised along with a level 7 bio-inhibitor force field. This would help keep outside thoughts from getting in to us and allow me to fully focus on keeping my mind contained while I work to arrange hers." Kasey added.

Robert began taping instructions on a padd. Which were downloaded to the computer. After what seemed like a long time. A bleep sounded and Hendon nodded.

“ Ok. We are ready. The quarantine suite has been prepared. I would like to be on hand if that is ok?I could either be just outside or in there with you.” Hendon replied

"Doc, you are welcome to be in the room, as I know I am able to mask your thoughts from Marina during the ritual." Kasey replied. "I would appreciate you in the room just in case. I have only done this once before and was successful with it but that individual was not at unraveled as my sister. The program will make you as part of the background so you will not be seen by Marina or myself during the process but I will be able to hear your thoughts and speak to you. You will still be able to interact with tricorders or such as we undergo the rituals."

- Quarantine suit -

Robert walked into the room and took his place. It was an odd feeling to be invisible. He hoped all these preparations would work. The last thing anyone needed was another mind quake. Only this time it would be worse and crew could die. In a very unpleasant way indeed.

Marina sat where she’d been taken, just trying to hold herself together right now was proving extremely difficult. Her fate was now well and truly in Kasey’s hands.

The program had started and Doctor Hendon blended into the background. The scene was of a Vulcan meditation platform on the edge of a gorge deep in the desert of Vulcan, however, there were elements of Betazed included. The breeze was cool and relaxing and the scent of the flora was strong as well. This was all to help Kasey get in the frame of mind to reconstruct his sister's mind.

In Vulcan, Kasey was starting to chant the expression, "Your mind to my mind, your thoughts to my thoughts, my mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts." He did this about fifteen times and then he knelt down directly in front of Marina and leaned towards her as he moved his arms out to help her lean in to him. Their foreheads touched and the connection was established.

"Marina, you are now a passenger in your own mind. My mind will move about with yours to start to restructure the mind to a means to allow you to regain your freedom from what was drilled into you." Kasey stated to his sister and in this this connection the voice was aloud and telepathic.

The structure of Marina's mind was a scrambled mess and by helping her, Kasey would be able to help her see segments of his memories of their parents that she never knew. He was helping her conscience focus on the memories as his conscience worked to rebuild the blocks of her mind into a firm foundation to allow her to take her place in the crew and society.

After about an hour, Kasey chanted in Vulcan one more time. "Structure is firm, thoughts are free, mind over matter, family over self. Emotions are free and emotions are controlled. My thoughts are my thoughts and your thoughts are now your thoughts. Your mind is yours and my mind is now mine." Then Kasey leaned back from his sister and the program shutdown. Doctor Hendon came back into view of Kasey.

Kasey stood up, and looked to Doctor Hendon. "Doc, she will be like this for about thirty more minutes. She is fine but her mind is now reflecting upon what new structure is in place and she will remember all she had been through and know that all is behind her. She will move on in a new frame of mind that will allow her to be her best self. along with knowing the Caliphate were wrong and that she is free to be herself. Any questions, Doc?"

“ All the boxes are ticked in my view.” Hendon replied


~ 30 minutes later ~

Half an hour later Marina finally started showing signs of returning to normal consciousness. She took a deep breath and blinked a few times before looking around feeling a whole new sense of self.

"Hey sis. I am glad you are okay. Do you feel different?" Kasey asked of Marina. "You will need a little adjustment time but in a day or two you will feel like you did before the Caliphate."

Marina smiled as she looked towards Kasey. “I definitely feel better, more clear headed than I was, and definitely no craving for those drugs. Thank you Kasey.”

Hendon checked her health readings. They were a little low but steadily rising.

“ Well. Your readings are as they should be considering. Do you feel like eating?” He asked

Marina nodded. “I am totally famished! Though I guess I shouldn’t stuff myself right away.”

Robert shook his head.

“ Nonsense that’s a good sign your hungry. I can rustle you up something in no time. The replicator does a passable cheese sandwich with salad. That actually tastes like one.” Robert said

Marina grinned. “Then who am I to refuse? Yes please!”

"I am glad you feel the difference. You will have memories of the past but you will not feel the emotions tied to them. The emotional status of your time with the Caliphate have been neutralized but your memories of Aurora and others you truly cared for will remain. You will now begin to grow as a Betazoid who is free to use her mind as her own." Kasey replied. "Eating will help you more than you know right now. Go for it."

Kasey then turned to the doctor. "Doc, can you get her to take a day or two to reflect upon what happened to her? And keep her off-duty for that time. It will help her so much."

Hendon looked surprised but smiled.

“ I was going to suggest the very thing. I think taking into all that has happened two days , would be best.Now what about you sir. When your your last meal?” Hendon asked.

"Well, doc. I had fasted for the last two days as a means to allow my mind to monitor Marina's." Kasey replied. "I do plan to go and do a mild meditation to disconnect my mind from hers and thus shower and then I will allow myself to have a meal. Should take me about forty-five minutes. Would you want to meet me in the mess to get a bite then?"

“ Yes. Oh dang I promised Alice I would be back early. Maybe another time.” Robert said

Marina smiled warmly as one of the nurses passed her over the offered cheese sandwich and salad. She politely tucked in as Kasey and Robert talked.

"Sis, you need to really rest now and let your mind have the time to align itself properly and do what the medical staff suggests." Kasey stated. "I am going to finish my part of the process and do a disconnection meditation and then clean up and eat something myself. I will be back later to check in on you but know I can always sense you in my mind if you need me."

Marina nodded. “Thank you Kasey, I’ll rest that’s a promise.” She looked towards Hendon. “Thank you too, I’d imagine all this has been something of a nightmare from a medical viewpoint. I aim to make your life a little easier from here on in by doing as I’m told.”

"I am glad you are already feeling better." Kasey replied. "I am certain you will enjoy more of what is ahead of you in life."

“I’m sure I will” Marina nodded in agreement. “Now I just have to follow doctors orders.”

“ Which is rest and a good meal. Your be up and about in no time at all.” Robert said with a smile.


{OFF}

Lieutenant Marina Tanger
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Leto

&

Lieutenant Commander Dr Robert Hendon
Chief Medical Officer
USS Leto

&

Lieutenant Kasey Tanger
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Leto