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Down the Rabbit Hole: Part 1

Posted on Wed Dec 31st, 2014 @ 3:22am by Lieutenant Commander Rosaleen O'Donnell & Commander Andrew Matheson

Mission: Bloodpath
Location: USS Bettina

Kathleen sealed the door behind Jeh as she exited the room, ensuring that they would not be disturbed. She made her way back to where Andrew stood, and sat on the gurney that he had moved there. "This is going to be...well, I don't know what this is going to be. I've never even contemplated doing this before. But I do know that I need an anchor to this place. You are the only one strong enough. That and..." She paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "Having your presence here will facilitate returning Rosaleen to us. She...well, she has a connection with you."

Andrew nodded. "I'd suspected something of that nature when we were out at the lake. I was wrapped up enough in my own... personal issues... at the time that I may not have seen all the details. It's not a mistake I intend to make twice." He looked over to Kathleen. He was virtually certain that the room was being monitored, and he also didn't know who knew what about the commodore, so he deemed it prudent to switch to telepathic communication.

~As far as the anchoring concept goes, there are multiple ways for a person to make and maintain telepathic contact with another person. Some involve probing far deeper into the psyche and memories than others. I'll use only the techniques necessary to maintain our contact, and Rosaleen's contact, but I'm ethically and professionally obligated to inform you that I intend to use any and all of those techniques I deem necessary to help get the two of you back - within the scope of any orders you give to that effect.~

"Do what you need. I trust you." She moved her legs around to lay on the gurney. "May fortune favor the foolish" She closed her eyes, trying to relax...a task which she was finding quite difficult. A thousand thought's were running through her mind, the foremost thought being that she really did not have a clue as to just exactly how she was going to accomplish something that she was ill prepared for. She focused her attention on Rosaleen. Kathleen knew she was out there somewhere, but how to find...well, maybe she didn't need to find Rosaleen, but instead entice her to come to..no, that's not how it works.

Her eyes snapped open. "I can't...can't clear my head enough to concentrate." A lone tear escaped from her left eye. "I don't know that I can do this."

He pulled a chair over next to the gurney. "You can do anything you put your mind to. I know it sounds trite, but for this sort of thing there's really something to it. Focus on Rosaleen, ma'am. If you get in contact with her, I'll get the two of you back."

He picked up the tricorder Jeh had left behind. "I'm setting this to scan for temporal variations and anomalies, nothing more. On the off chance we ever have to do something like this again, it would be useful to see what's going on."

Kathleen simply nodded her head and closed her eyes once again, then started to mentally count backwards from one hundred, concentrating on only the numbers. Slowly the peripheral sounds and sensations started to fade. By the time she reached fifty, she was no longer concentrating on the numbers; they simply were. Her body relaxed as she proceeded, and soon she became aware of other...she couldn't describe it. It was as if...

Andrew reached out with his consciousness and caught Kathleen's countdown. He used that to form a subtle connection and started counting down along with her, strengthening the link while doing everything he could to stay in the background.

As Andrew watched, Kathleen's figure slowly took on a strange shimmery appearance, and the room started to feel a bit warmer. Then, in the span it takes to blink, she was gone. But only for a few seconds. She winked back into phase with their world, but her appearance had changed greatly in that time. She looked...well, worn out. Like she had been involved in an extremely strenuous activity for an extended time.

Tugging unconsciously on the collar of his uniform as it got warm, Andrew felt a form of pressure starting behind his temples and working into his brain. As she winked out, his thoughts started to race faster and faster. He put a larger part of his energy into continuing to concentrate on Kathleen's psychic presence; after a few seconds, he started processing things at normal speed again as she winked back in. She looked about like he felt. He ignored the warning signs of the headache he knew he was going to have later and kept quietly concentrating in case she needed to phase again.

Kathleen's eyes snapped open, but she did not move. "Wrong direction...I think. I don't know. But the faster I...I moved things forward, the further everything...including Rosaleen's essence...drifted away." Her breathing was ragged, as if she had just finished running a marathon.

Andrew nodded. That made sense from what Rosaleen had shown him that first evening. "Try going the other way then. Slow things down as much as you can mentally and see what happens. I'm not having a problem staying with you yet."

This just wasn't going to happen. She knew it. She just didn't possess the ability to move like Rosaleen did. It's so simple...all it takes is focusing on a specific point. Just letting yourself go to where you want to go to, but it just wasn't something she was good at. Really, it's that ridiculously simple. Just focus on where you want to go. Just focus...

just focus.

focus.....

-------------------

The sun warmed her bare shoulders as she walked along the side of the pond, colorful butterflies fluttering past her as they moved from flower to flower. The air stirred lightly, causing the sundress she wore to flare out slightly, while bringing the smell of honeysuckle and...

'Where am I?'

The wind gently swayed the upper limbs on the surrounding trees, causing the limbs to creak lightly. Startled at the sound, she turned a full 360 degrees, but other than the butterflys and the errant bird, she was alone. And yet...she wasn't.

-------------------

The forest lining the path was finally starting to thin out. It was quite a relief, as Rosaleen felt as if she had been walking for days. Long gone were the thoughts of the paths divergence and the strange lights in the storm. Everything seemed to be progressing as it was supposed to be...at least she thought so. And it looked as if her journey would soon be at an end. Just a bit further...

-------------------

It was odd. Kathleen knew she was alone, but at the same time she could feel the presence of somebody else. It was if she were linked to somebody. Like somebody was holding open a doorway to somewhere else. But she could not figure out where that doorway would lead to. Shadows and whispers were all that greeted her when she tried to concentrate on that point of existence. And while her surroundings were strange to her, they somehow felt right. She belonged here. There was no reason for her to be anywhere else. She just needed to close the door...

-------------------

Andrew felt his perceptions start to slow down as Kathleen went back into her meditative state. He sighed in frustration to himself. He didn't dare reach out to make physical contact because he had no idea what would happen if she winked out while that happened; however, if his brain kept slowing down while trying to maintain contact with Kathleen, he had no idea what would happen in that direction either.

As he focused on Kathleen's perceptions, he noticed a flickering overlay image that kept popping into view. He felt the echo of what he thought was Rosaleen's psyche pulsating with the overlay image. I think you two might be close to each other. Stay with me and keep looking for each other...

It was at that moment when he noticed Kathleen's stray thought about closing the door. Oh. HELL. No. I am NOT letting you make me make that report to the captain without a fight... He closed his eyes and focused on his psychic connections to the women. He might not have a Vulcan's formidable mental disciplines, but he also didn't require physical contact to enter into telepathic contact. Besides, he didn't have any other idea on what the hell to do.

"My mind to your minds. My thoughts to your thoughts. Our minds are merging. Our minds are becoming one. My mind to your minds. My thoughts to your thoughts. Our minds are merging. Our minds are becoming one..."

As he chanted, he focused on sending Kathleen's perceptions towards Rosaleen's presence and vice versa. Meanwhile, he thought: This is your path to friends and home. Follow the path...

-------------------

"Hello."

Kathleen spun at the sudden voice behind her, discovering an older woman who had mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. The woman seemed very non-threatening, standing there with a warm smile on her face. Sensing no threat from the newcomer, Kathleen allowed herself to relax." I'm sorry, you startled me." Out of reflex, she looked around her once again. "Who...where am I?"

"Oh, we have plenty of time to discuss that. Please, have a seat." A bench was suddenly just...there. As if it had always been so. Kathleen moved to the bench and sat. "I just don't get it...you all are always in such a hurry. There is plenty of time. There is all the time."

That was an interesting statement...

"You seem to have me at an advantage. I'm not quite sure how I ended up here." She thought on her words for a moment. "Actually, to be honest I'm not even sure where I came from."

"That is not important. Where you have been is non-relevant. It is only a choice now."

-------------------

'...It is only a choice now....'

Andrew growled under his breath. "Yes, it's a choice now, Commodore. You can give up on Rosaleen and let her remain lost who-knows-where-and-when, or you can get off that bench and keep looking for her. With all due respect, ma'am, get up."

Rubbing his temples, behind which his brain matter was seeming to throb ever more mercilessly against his skull, he tried to lock in on Rosaleen again. "Rosaleen, if you can hear me, Kathleen and I need your help. She's looking for you and I don't know how much longer I can hold the doors open for you two. I'm trying to open a direct path between you now."

He rested his elbows on his knees and cradled his head in his hands. If what they're doing is willing themselves to alternate realities, maybe I can will those realities to come together. They're both in my head, so I might be able to bridge them there. The trees don't look that different... He projected an image outward.

An image of Kathleen sitting on the bench by the pond with the old woman. An image of Rosaleen coming to the end of the path, overlooking the pond and the bench. An image of the two women seeing and recognizing each other.

The image on the computer monitors showed a much different scene. Andrew was becoming cool and clammy, his respiration slowing, his pulse lowering by a beat or three each minute. Not that his conscious mind was aware of the autonomic slippage; his conscious mind was far too busy trying to reach outward to notice what was or was not happening inside its boundaries and using every synapse it could get at to do so.

-------------------

The old woman suddenly stood and moved to the edge of the pond. The sound of thunder carried across the field, and off in the distance storm clouds were suddenly gathering. "No...no, this is all wrong." She took a few steps in the direction of the pond's edge. "What do you think you are doing?"


To be continued...

-------------------

Commodore Kathleen O'Shea
Commanding Officer
Starbase 80

Lt Commander Rosaleen O'Donnell
Commodores Personal Assistant
Starbase 80

Lieutenant Commander Andrew Matheson
Chief Diplomatic Officer
Starbase 80

 

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