Judgement – Summer Arrives Early This Year
by Commander Chelsea Dunham & Commander Richard Dunham
Post Details
ON:
In the corridors at the edge of the Promenade Deck on level 143, Erica Dunham was following carefully, trying not to be seen by Chelsea and her sister.
Creeping along behind Erica, turning a corner Summer Adams suddenly found herself facing the sharp end of a phaser in Erica's hand. "Who the hell are you and why are you following me?" She stepped out of a recessed doorway.
"Wait, dont you remember me?" the woman asked Erica.
Erica's eyes widened as the light bulb of recognition came on in her head. She put the phaser to her side and stood at attention. "Sorry Ma'am. Didn't recognise you Ma'am" said Erica to her superior officer."
"At ease Commander." Summer replied. "I take it your brother sent you to take care of my girl?" she guessed.
"urrrmmm yes Ma'am" said the starfleet officer rather sheepishly. "But I have not been given the situation report yet Ma'am, only that I am to keep an eye on her." Erica didn't mind though, she did have a husband that she had not seen in some time to get back to, as well as a daughter who Erica was hoping to spend more quality time with. She wondered very briefly if they had time before the wedding to go on holiday as a family? In fact if Rick hadn't've said this was a family matter she probably would've turned it down.
"I'm glad you are. You're going to be invaluable. I need your help if I'm to deal with this without anyone getting hurt and I couldn't have asked for a better team-mate. Someone i can trust and who will keep her head. This is going to get messy, Commander. I know you can handle that." Summer explained a little cryptically and began to walk further down the corridor with Erica at her side.
Erica followed closely by the side of her superior officer. She tried to contain her query as to what was going on, she was simply going to find out later but now, now her old boss had turned up, so Erica just couldn't contain herself any longer "Sorry Ma'am.....just what the heck is going on?"
"What has your brother told you so far?" Summer asked.
She shook her head slowly from side to side "Not a thing Ma'am...just to keep an eye on her"
"I see, well it's a long story, but if you're going to risk your life to fix it, you have a right to know what you're facing." Summer went on. "Before Chelsea was born her father: Soran, Jalen, was married to a Bajoran woman who was very religious. They had two children, a boy and a girl. The girl, who you may have met as Annie was the eldest and the boy was two years younger. A mysterious illness beset the boy, Aarred, and he died horribly. There was an inquest but it was without conclusion so accidental death was recorded. Naturally the parents were bereft. Not long after that, the wife, Aanak, died apparently of a broken heart. Apparently, her heart just stopped suddenly with no physical explanation." Summer took a breath and peered around the next corner, indicating the coast was clear she moved on, beckoning Erica to come with her.
"Jalen took care of his daughter who was a very happy child and I came along, long story short, we married and remained a happy family until then Chelsea was born. I noticed odd things happening to Chelsea as a baby but I was an intensive, hands-on mother and I had her at the medical centre almost all the time. I was beginning to be labelled as having a problem myself because of it and 'Munchausen's by Proxy' was mentioned but before that had time to develop I noticed strange behaviour from Annika and searched her bedroom." Again she paused as they rounded another corner and she checked if it was safe to go on.
"What I found there alarmed me so I went to Jalen who would not believe at first that his little girl could have any faults, I didn't blame him for his loyalty, especially in view of his losses, but when I found Chelsea in her cot, blue, with Annika nearby hiding a cushion I revived her, packed up and left him, taking my child home to safety on Earth." Summer stopped and listened. Then she took out a scanner and located a red blip which she began to follow.
"We've lost them visually but I have this..... " they went on again and Summer continued. "I learned soon after that Jalen had died 'horribly' under 'odd' accidental circumstances and that Annika had been adopted by relatives. It was my turn to be bereft. I had loved that man with all my heart. I just thought he'd come to his senses, I never dreamed she'd hurt him. I left Chelsea safe with my parents and went back to find a trail of death and destruction following that child around. I made a point of hunting her down and got a Vedek and a Kai to assist. We found out that she had been possessed by a Pah-Wraith. We managed between us to trap her eventually and take her back to the Firecaves and perform a ceremony that banished it back to the fire or so we thought. The child was saved and we believed her to have been exorcised but when she was reported dead in a fire a few years later. I went to try to identify the body but could not because of the burn damage. Cynically, I couldn't risk that thing getting free again so I continued to try to hunt it down but the trail had gone cold."
She sighed. "It seems it was too clever for all of us. I have spent all my spare time for over thirty years searching for people dying according to the same MO that was used on Jalen and Aared, and I have managed to track that thing all across the Universe but it keeps slipping away just as i think i'm closing in. Now - whoever that is with Chelsea - seems to know too much for it NOT to be either the same child, now grown up, or at least the same wraith in another Bajoran woman's body. It's here for Chelsea and for revenge on me! I have to stop it and you are free to leave me to do this alone if you wish, I do not hold you responsible and I will not order your help either. However, I would value it very much if you were kind enough to assist me?"
Erica had what her husband fondly called a pragmatic soul and now that pragmatism combined with training and see of facts had stopped her dead in her tracks. She was frowning slightly. "Ma'am I'm a starfleet officer, they had me travel all over two quadrants doing this job, I've followed you as my superior officer in starfleet intelligence through thick and thin, and in that job I've seen a lot of weird stuff, but I'm finding 'possessions,' 'wraiths,' and 'exorcisms a little hard to swallow....but I will help....were going to be family soon, and the Dunham family sticks together."
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USS Haganon: Science Lab 1
"Gentlemen" said Captain Dunham, Matriarch of the Dunham family, in her best Captains voice. "My chief science officer does not appreciate being shanghaied out of his own science lab, even if it is by my son and my husband....." she raised one eyebrow quizzically "One of whom is a starfleet officer and should know better."
Rick turned around on the spot standing at attention smartly "Sorry Ma'am...I'ts" but he was interrupted by his farther.
"Its family business Margaret....we need to help Chelsea."
The Captain of the USS Hagnon physically relaxed. "Ok" she said softly. She turned to her son. "Situation report Lieutenant Commander" their was a slight hint of pride in her voice as she said the rank for the first time.
"In a nut shell...Chelsea's sister is possessed by a Pah'Wraith"
"Is that possible?" said the Captain
Rick shrugged they both looked to Rick's Dad.
"How the hell should I know! I'm a temporal physicist" he said rather despondently
TBC:
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In the Corridors of Deck 144 - Promenade - DS5
Summer and Erica came to a doorway behind which, the scanner in Summer's hand indicated they would find the person tagged with whatever was emitting the red dot.
Summer pulled out a phaser and silently signalled to Erica that on the count of three with her fingers, they would break in.
Erica pulled out her compact phaser from inside her jacket pocket. She set the phaser to stun, and watched the finger countdown on Summers fingers like a cat watching a mouse before it pounced. She was honed and ready to go.
The countdown ended and Summer slapped the door opening panel which immediately withdrew the door. The two officers leapt in and scattered in opposite directions, taking cover and peering out to see why they weren't being shot at.
The room was empty. Summer swore and moved towards the centre, motioning Erica to stay back in case it was a trap. In the middle of the floor there was a packing case and on it was a tiny micro-monitoring device, almost too small to see but something that Summer knew immediately and realised it was there to taunt her.
"The damn thing knew I was tracking it. We've lost them!" Summer stormed, kicking the box over in her frustration.
Erica pressed the comm button inside her civilian clothed jacket. =^= Lieutenant Commander Dunham to Lieutenant Commander Dunham =^=
On board the Hagnon Rick couldn't help but smile just a little at that =^=Rick here go ahead =^=
=^=I'm sorry Rick I've lost them =^=
Rick paled visibly at the news. But his Dad was already on it and replied with his own comm. =^= Don't worry I'm already using the Hagnon sensor to scan for temp....=^= he stopped what he was saying as he eyed Rick briefly =^=I mean wibbly wobbly energy. I'm locking on, will beam you there =^=
=^= Two to beam there, if you please? This is Captain Summer Adams, I'm here with Erica and I'd appreciate a lift too. =^= Summer realised they might not know she was there. =^= And, by the way, pleased to make your acquaintance Commander, we'll talk when this is successfully resolved =^= she added quickly as she didn't want to slow things down at such a vital stage.
=^= Roger that =^= came Rick's professional reply, but in the background of his communication response Captain Dunham's muffled voice could be heard. Saying something along the lines of I knew that women would get my children into trouble again.
But the two field officers were already being teleported to their new location.
As the materialised they were ..... well they had no idea where they were and if the Pah Wraith had seen their blue shimmering as they re-appeared, then they were toast.
"Were the hell are we?" whispered Erica in the dark gloom. In the distcance the the sound of dripping water on metal could be heard from somewere in the gloom.
"...no idea." Summer replied, more a mouthing than audible words. She looked around until her eyes got used to the gloom. She indicated by the usual signals that they should split up and that Erica should go left. They were both still holding their phasers ready and crept as silently as only Intel officers can do, around the edges of the bay they were in.
Suddenly hearing a voice, Summer froze and looked over to see that Erica had done the same. They listened.
"I don't understand Annie..... what is this about? Why are you doing this?" It was Chelsea's voice.
"Silence. Your mother can explain it to you when she rushes in to rescue you, little Terran fool." The response was female but it sounded strange and harsh.
"What happened to your voice. My mother isn't here and trust me, she won't come. If you thought taking me hostage would attract my mother then you're going to be bitterly disappointed, trust me." Chelsea's tone on those last two words was that of someone who had tasted that disappointment she was describing.
"I don't even know if I'd recognise her if she were here right now." she finished with a lump in her throat that brought a similar one to Summer's throat too.
But Summer Adams wasn't the sort to be overcome by regrets, she was incensed by the sorrow in her child, blaming the pain that had been caused directly at the feet of the wraith that had murdered Chelsea's father. This whole vendetta had been to avenge him and prevent others suffering his fate. Adams wasn't going to fail now that her life's work was so close at last. From her belt she withdrew a communicator and pressed a button that linked her to her ship which was docked at the station. It fired up a cell of chroniton emitters, in readiness to receive a delivery.
Summer signalled to Erica to call Rick.
As Erica went to press her comm link, the comm suddenly went off =^= This is captain Dunham, be advised we have a solid and established sensor lock on both targets we are free to beam any time. I will have them beam to the USS Hagnon =^= This being the obvious choice to the Captain of the star ship.
To the open-mouthed surprise of her daughter and step-daughter, Summer Adams emerged from the gloom, phaser raised, accompanied from the opposite side of the room by Erica Dunham, equally armed and both training their sights on Aneka.
Summer tapped her comm badge as she walked forward menacingly.
=^= Adams here, beam them to the USS Soran, Docking bay 135 - Registry: NCC 78632 - I have a holding cell armed with chronitons on board designed specifically to hold and extract the pah-wraith =^= Summer replied quickly, face to face with 'Aneka' by now.
"Mother!" Chelsea gasped, having been wrong about not recognising Summer.
"I'm the one you want, Mkragh-Tra" she addressed it by the name she had come to believe it had once gone by. "Let my daughter go now I have come to you, this is between us.... or are you too scared to face me without a hostage to hide behind?" the challenge was perhaps brave, perhaps foolhardy but a mother protects her young no matter what age they have grown to and Summer's intention was to goad the creature into letting Chelsea go to prove it didn't need her to defeat her last remaining parent.
Chelsea in the meantime was finally catching on to what was wrong with Aneka and more, much more. Her mind was overloaded with it all but she thought fast. As the wraith-possessed Aneka was intently staring at Captain Adams, so Chelsea kicked out and threw herself and the chair she was tied to, sideways. This distraction took the wraith's attention for a second and at that moment it left an opening for Erica too.
Erica saw the opening and managed to dive and roll across the room. This situated her between the two sisters, so she was able to guard Chelsea. She however had no time untie Chelsea or she would have to take her eyes off the target so Erica quickly shot her phaser at the robes to cut them.
With all three women on all sides of her moving about at once, 'Aneka' spun from one to another, pointing her disruptor at each in turn, growling in anger, she eventually fired at Chelsea but before she could aim carefully the other two were on her, knocking the weapon up. The beam seared past Chelsea's cheek and scorched it slightly but she was missed in every other sense.
Just as the two Intel officers were wrestling the immensely strengthened Bajoran form of Aneka toward the floor, so the transporter beam began to envelope them all and they re-appeared in a heap, Chelsea a few feet away, still bound at the wrists and ankles but minus the chair she had been thrown from as she hurled herself aside a few seconds earlier.
The whole incident had happened within less than a couple of minutes and everyone was full of adrenalin and confusion as they all rematerialised.
"Activate the containment field" said the familiar authoritative voice of Captain Dunham.
An energy barrier appeared around the newly materialized possessed sister. Captain Dunham turned to Captain Adams "I took the liberty of preparing things on your vessel for your arrival Captain"
"Thank you" Summer breathed, much relieved to have been supported at this time as the strength of the Pah-Wraith had been overwhelming even for two such highly trained, fit and active officers.
With Captain Dunham were Rick and her husband, Eric. Rick Rushed to Chelsea's side with a medical kit. While Eric monitored the readouts coming from the ships sensors.
"Fascinating"
Chelsea looked gratefully at Rick and all the family around her. "I didn't need a new sister, I already have one." she said as Erica came over too. "Thank you." As she was freed and Rick ran the regenerator over the raw skin on her wrists where she had tried to get free and the bruises and cuts to her forehead,elbows and knees where she had thrown herself and the chair sideways in a diversionary crash dive.
She was sore and a little overcome by it all. "How did you know about her?" she asked Rick in a quiet voice, humbled by seeming to be the only one who didn't realise there was something weird about her half-sister.
Rick smiled reassuringly, and looked deeply into her eyes trying to comfort her "coin an old phrase, my spider sense was tingling"
Sitting up and rubbing her ankles a little Chelsea seemed subdued as the two Captains were taking charge of the matter. She looked at Margaret and remembered both of the ways she had seen this powerful woman, before and after the timeline changes. She wondered if those timelines had also changed her own mother's realities but doubted it.
Looking at her own mother, Chelsea was overcome with a mix of powerful emotions. The little girl in her recognised the curls of her mother's hair and wanted to bury her face in them as she had done back then. The woman in her recognised a widow who had dedicated herself to seeking out her husband's murderer and the officer in her recognised a professional Intel officer with a secret identity and agenda. But in amongst all that the daughter in her resented her own abandonment for all of those recognised reasons, despite understanding her mother, Chelsea couldn't fight off the hurt.
Rick and Erica both huddled around Chelsea. Getting on their knees, they knelt down beside and both gave her a hug.
Eric was now at the forcefield that stood between him and the possessed Anika. He was taking scans with his tricorder, and shaking his head lightly from side to side with a small smile on his lips. Often when it came to the more dangerous moments of science such as this, even when people were at risk he found himself enjoying it. "ready for the chroniton radiation Captains?"
"Never been more ready!" Summer replied and then remembered her manners. "Sorry, Summer Adams. Pleased to meet you...... ?Captain Dunham?" she guessed he'd be a starship captain too, just wildly trying to imagine who would appeal to Margaret.
"Not any more....retired." Said Eric taking a Summer's hand and shaking it vigorously "And can i just say you're brilliant. My wife has told me so much about you."
Summer looked pleasantly surprised, shocked even. "Why how nice! THANK you" she smiled, something of the pink-cheeked looked that was so appealing about Chelsea when she smiled at a compliment too. Summer looked at Margaret in a different light, her head tilted quizzically to one side. "I was always convinced that I had never made a good impression on you Margaret.... unless your charming husband is being kind to me.... perhaps it would be better not to ask." Again that smile.
"I would like to see if we could rescue my step daughter, if there is anything left of the poor child in there." she changed the subject before anyone could be too frank and honest.
"Oh no captain, your the best competition a woman could ask for." Said Margaret in her own awkward way. She was trying to ease her fellow captains mind and perhaps ease her mind a little, or at least distract her enough from the possible horror ahead.
"Ok are we ready everyone...." Eric looked around the room getting everyone's attention. He then looked at Rick and Chelsea who were still on the floor hugging, he tutted comically. "Put him down Chelsea you don't know were he's been...." he shook his head and smiled wryly. He looked at their mothers. "I don't know these kids today its like they were getting married or something." He looked back to the two on the floor, "Come on, your going to miss my amazing powers of science"
Smiling they all assembled closely to see what Eric was up to.
"Ok....." Eric stretched the word over about ten seconds as he worked the controls. Then began to talk quickly, the way he did when excited. "Now in theory, this is a tried and tested method of removing a Pah wraith from the host.....however, those were in incidents with a 'possession' that had only lasted under a matter of hours. This poor girl has had this pah wraith much longer. Sooooooo being the amazingly intelligent person I am I have added a little something into the cocktail." He pressed the activation button.
Chelsea winced instinctively and squeezed Rick's fingers, wound around her own for support.
"Can he do this?" she whispered, worried.
Rick just shrugged. When it came to his father and science, it was always difficult to tell, most of the time his ideas worked without a hint of a problem......but sometimes.....just sometimes, his ideas went very, very wrong. Rick whispered a quick prayer to any god that may be listening that this was not one of those moments that it
went very wrong. He squeezed Chelsea's fingers tightly.
Chelsea returned the pressure on his fingers too, holding anxiously onto his hand and leaning in against his shoulder for support. Her wrists still hurt and her shoulders ached from being forced back. She was still confused with who had done what and where her mother's connection with Erica had come from.
A yellow gas, with what looked like flecks of gold in it, began to fill up the small containment area. The Bajoran began to scream. This scream at first sounded human, but soon turned into a un-earthly howl. The woman raised her head up screaming to the ceiling. A red fog then poured out from her mouth. It began to mix with the flecks of gold....
Horrified, the onlookers watched in fascination. All except Chelsea who buried her face in Rick's shirt, trying to shut out the scream from her ears by forcing her fingers into them and singing loudly, a song from her childhood, subconsciously chosen and forced out between sobs.
Rick clung onto the horrified Chelsea as if her life depended on it. He hugged her tightly and tried to say soothing things as he stroked her hair. But soon as quickly as it had started it was over. The cloud of gas had hit now lay like a blanket just below the ceiling it sparked with electricity and their was the occasional shimmer of a force field everytime it tried to move. Eric opend the containment unit and pulled out the Bajoran women who seemed to be out.....
As her sister's voice had screamed it had brought back sounds that she didn't understand from deeply buried memories hidden within her subconscious from her childhood. It terrified her now just as it had done when she was little but as her adult sister emerged, in a state of collapse, the adult Chelsea was able to re-surface and the doctor came back to the fore again as she hurried to kneel at the slumped woman's side, snatching up a med-scanner to take some readings.
Eric Dunham, oblivous to the poor woman's state when scientific discovery was at hand, had also rushed into the now cramped containment area he was looking up at the force field around the now corporeal P'ah wraith. He had a smile on his face and a look of awe. "Oh you are beautiful", he said whipping out a tricorder and and taking readings. He shook his head to himself as the information scrolled across the little screen of his tricorder "nah I mean it....amazing"
Chelsea applied a mix of Corticoadenalin and Sterolide anti-biotic compound to her sister's neck and some painkiller too. Annika began to open her eyes. Chelsea held her head gently. "How do you feel?" she asked tentatively. "Does anything still hurt?"
The Bajoran women shook her head softly and gently from side to side, she smiled up to her sister.
"What just happened? I have this feeling of dread and nightmare but i don't remember big patches of what just happened. That keeps happening to me, all my life i just seem to have gaps in my memories....." Anni said, a little dazed.
Eric Dunham finished his inspection of the imprisoned Pah wraith, "What am I doing with this thing?"
"I'll take care of that." Captain Adams stepped forward. The Prophets in the Wormhole will know what to do with it. Justice will be served for all the murder and harm it has done.
"Welcome home Annika" she added, hugging her step-daughter.
Once the two had released one another, Summer looked at Chelsea. She had a strangely emotional look on her face.
Summer Adams did not *do* emotional. Not since her husband had died, 30 odd years ago.
"Chelsea...." she said hoarsely. "I am *so* sorry. I hope I have enough time left to me to make this up to you. If you can forgive me now you know what happened?"
Chelsea stood up and looked into her mother's eyes. "No-one can make it up to a *mother* who suffered from having to be separated from her child and spent 30 years knowing she had to miss all the milestones of her daughter's growing up. I do forgive you but do you forgive yourself? It's clear that Annie needed you more than I did and what you did for her was heroic. I always had Gramps and Granny to stand in for the trivia that got missed" she opened her arms and hugged her mother.
"Thank you for saving my sister. I know it cost you more than anyone should ever have to be asked to sacrifice. Is there a way perhaps that we could try to make it up to *you*?" she suggested.
Summer was moved. Speechless she just hugged Chelsea and held on tightly. "Gramps and Granny did a fantastic job of raising you. They did us both proud." she whispered emotionally.
"Yeah they did... they raised you too!" Chelsea replied, returning the hug tightly.
Annika was confused and sat looking on, trying to piece all this together. She looked up at Rick.
"I missed something really important, didn't I? Rick isn't it? I didn't forget that....." she frowned, wondering.
"Urmmm yeah" said Rick a little uncertainly, but with a smile on his face. He helped Annika off the floor. "Its a pleasure to meet you gain." Rick was interrupted by a loud 'SMACK' noise from behind him. He turned around to find that his sister Erica had just clipped her marine husband around the back of the head with the flat of her hand. Erica was wet eyed from the emotion in the room. The marine was rubbing the back of his head. "hey what was that for?" he asked. "For not getting emotional..." replied his wife with a smile at the large marine.
Chelsea, Summer, Margaret and Eric all laughed. Annie still looked confused. Paul, Erica's husband, looked hurt and held his head with his huge hand, putting on a look like a large eyed puppy that had been told off.
Captain Dunham smiled again, she slapped her hands together at a job well done. "Ok everybody, back to the USS Hagnon for a well deserved cup of tea and a debrief"
OFF:
The Dunham Family
Played by Lt Cdr Rick Dunham
CAG
&
"The Adams Family"
(No.. not *THE* Addams Family)
Played by Cmdr Chelsea Adams
CMO & 2CO - DS5
by Commander Chelsea Dunham & Commander Richard Dunham
Post Details
| Title | Summer Arrives Early This Year | |
| Mission | Judgement | |
| Author(s) | Commander Chelsea Dunham & Commander Richard Dunham | |
| Posted | Thu Jan 20, 2011 @ 10:55pm | |
| Location | Corridors in the Promenade Deck | |
| Timeline | SD36 - Approx 16.00 |
In the corridors at the edge of the Promenade Deck on level 143, Erica Dunham was following carefully, trying not to be seen by Chelsea and her sister.
Creeping along behind Erica, turning a corner Summer Adams suddenly found herself facing the sharp end of a phaser in Erica's hand. "Who the hell are you and why are you following me?" She stepped out of a recessed doorway.
"Wait, dont you remember me?" the woman asked Erica.
Erica's eyes widened as the light bulb of recognition came on in her head. She put the phaser to her side and stood at attention. "Sorry Ma'am. Didn't recognise you Ma'am" said Erica to her superior officer."
"At ease Commander." Summer replied. "I take it your brother sent you to take care of my girl?" she guessed.
"urrrmmm yes Ma'am" said the starfleet officer rather sheepishly. "But I have not been given the situation report yet Ma'am, only that I am to keep an eye on her." Erica didn't mind though, she did have a husband that she had not seen in some time to get back to, as well as a daughter who Erica was hoping to spend more quality time with. She wondered very briefly if they had time before the wedding to go on holiday as a family? In fact if Rick hadn't've said this was a family matter she probably would've turned it down.
"I'm glad you are. You're going to be invaluable. I need your help if I'm to deal with this without anyone getting hurt and I couldn't have asked for a better team-mate. Someone i can trust and who will keep her head. This is going to get messy, Commander. I know you can handle that." Summer explained a little cryptically and began to walk further down the corridor with Erica at her side.
Erica followed closely by the side of her superior officer. She tried to contain her query as to what was going on, she was simply going to find out later but now, now her old boss had turned up, so Erica just couldn't contain herself any longer "Sorry Ma'am.....just what the heck is going on?"
"What has your brother told you so far?" Summer asked.
She shook her head slowly from side to side "Not a thing Ma'am...just to keep an eye on her"
"I see, well it's a long story, but if you're going to risk your life to fix it, you have a right to know what you're facing." Summer went on. "Before Chelsea was born her father: Soran, Jalen, was married to a Bajoran woman who was very religious. They had two children, a boy and a girl. The girl, who you may have met as Annie was the eldest and the boy was two years younger. A mysterious illness beset the boy, Aarred, and he died horribly. There was an inquest but it was without conclusion so accidental death was recorded. Naturally the parents were bereft. Not long after that, the wife, Aanak, died apparently of a broken heart. Apparently, her heart just stopped suddenly with no physical explanation." Summer took a breath and peered around the next corner, indicating the coast was clear she moved on, beckoning Erica to come with her.
"Jalen took care of his daughter who was a very happy child and I came along, long story short, we married and remained a happy family until then Chelsea was born. I noticed odd things happening to Chelsea as a baby but I was an intensive, hands-on mother and I had her at the medical centre almost all the time. I was beginning to be labelled as having a problem myself because of it and 'Munchausen's by Proxy' was mentioned but before that had time to develop I noticed strange behaviour from Annika and searched her bedroom." Again she paused as they rounded another corner and she checked if it was safe to go on.
"What I found there alarmed me so I went to Jalen who would not believe at first that his little girl could have any faults, I didn't blame him for his loyalty, especially in view of his losses, but when I found Chelsea in her cot, blue, with Annika nearby hiding a cushion I revived her, packed up and left him, taking my child home to safety on Earth." Summer stopped and listened. Then she took out a scanner and located a red blip which she began to follow.
"We've lost them visually but I have this..... " they went on again and Summer continued. "I learned soon after that Jalen had died 'horribly' under 'odd' accidental circumstances and that Annika had been adopted by relatives. It was my turn to be bereft. I had loved that man with all my heart. I just thought he'd come to his senses, I never dreamed she'd hurt him. I left Chelsea safe with my parents and went back to find a trail of death and destruction following that child around. I made a point of hunting her down and got a Vedek and a Kai to assist. We found out that she had been possessed by a Pah-Wraith. We managed between us to trap her eventually and take her back to the Firecaves and perform a ceremony that banished it back to the fire or so we thought. The child was saved and we believed her to have been exorcised but when she was reported dead in a fire a few years later. I went to try to identify the body but could not because of the burn damage. Cynically, I couldn't risk that thing getting free again so I continued to try to hunt it down but the trail had gone cold."
She sighed. "It seems it was too clever for all of us. I have spent all my spare time for over thirty years searching for people dying according to the same MO that was used on Jalen and Aared, and I have managed to track that thing all across the Universe but it keeps slipping away just as i think i'm closing in. Now - whoever that is with Chelsea - seems to know too much for it NOT to be either the same child, now grown up, or at least the same wraith in another Bajoran woman's body. It's here for Chelsea and for revenge on me! I have to stop it and you are free to leave me to do this alone if you wish, I do not hold you responsible and I will not order your help either. However, I would value it very much if you were kind enough to assist me?"
Erica had what her husband fondly called a pragmatic soul and now that pragmatism combined with training and see of facts had stopped her dead in her tracks. She was frowning slightly. "Ma'am I'm a starfleet officer, they had me travel all over two quadrants doing this job, I've followed you as my superior officer in starfleet intelligence through thick and thin, and in that job I've seen a lot of weird stuff, but I'm finding 'possessions,' 'wraiths,' and 'exorcisms a little hard to swallow....but I will help....were going to be family soon, and the Dunham family sticks together."
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USS Haganon: Science Lab 1
"Gentlemen" said Captain Dunham, Matriarch of the Dunham family, in her best Captains voice. "My chief science officer does not appreciate being shanghaied out of his own science lab, even if it is by my son and my husband....." she raised one eyebrow quizzically "One of whom is a starfleet officer and should know better."
Rick turned around on the spot standing at attention smartly "Sorry Ma'am...I'ts" but he was interrupted by his farther.
"Its family business Margaret....we need to help Chelsea."
The Captain of the USS Hagnon physically relaxed. "Ok" she said softly. She turned to her son. "Situation report Lieutenant Commander" their was a slight hint of pride in her voice as she said the rank for the first time.
"In a nut shell...Chelsea's sister is possessed by a Pah'Wraith"
"Is that possible?" said the Captain
Rick shrugged they both looked to Rick's Dad.
"How the hell should I know! I'm a temporal physicist" he said rather despondently
TBC:
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In the Corridors of Deck 144 - Promenade - DS5
Summer and Erica came to a doorway behind which, the scanner in Summer's hand indicated they would find the person tagged with whatever was emitting the red dot.
Summer pulled out a phaser and silently signalled to Erica that on the count of three with her fingers, they would break in.
Erica pulled out her compact phaser from inside her jacket pocket. She set the phaser to stun, and watched the finger countdown on Summers fingers like a cat watching a mouse before it pounced. She was honed and ready to go.
The countdown ended and Summer slapped the door opening panel which immediately withdrew the door. The two officers leapt in and scattered in opposite directions, taking cover and peering out to see why they weren't being shot at.
The room was empty. Summer swore and moved towards the centre, motioning Erica to stay back in case it was a trap. In the middle of the floor there was a packing case and on it was a tiny micro-monitoring device, almost too small to see but something that Summer knew immediately and realised it was there to taunt her.
"The damn thing knew I was tracking it. We've lost them!" Summer stormed, kicking the box over in her frustration.
Erica pressed the comm button inside her civilian clothed jacket. =^= Lieutenant Commander Dunham to Lieutenant Commander Dunham =^=
On board the Hagnon Rick couldn't help but smile just a little at that =^=Rick here go ahead =^=
=^=I'm sorry Rick I've lost them =^=
Rick paled visibly at the news. But his Dad was already on it and replied with his own comm. =^= Don't worry I'm already using the Hagnon sensor to scan for temp....=^= he stopped what he was saying as he eyed Rick briefly =^=I mean wibbly wobbly energy. I'm locking on, will beam you there =^=
=^= Two to beam there, if you please? This is Captain Summer Adams, I'm here with Erica and I'd appreciate a lift too. =^= Summer realised they might not know she was there. =^= And, by the way, pleased to make your acquaintance Commander, we'll talk when this is successfully resolved =^= she added quickly as she didn't want to slow things down at such a vital stage.
=^= Roger that =^= came Rick's professional reply, but in the background of his communication response Captain Dunham's muffled voice could be heard. Saying something along the lines of I knew that women would get my children into trouble again.
But the two field officers were already being teleported to their new location.
As the materialised they were ..... well they had no idea where they were and if the Pah Wraith had seen their blue shimmering as they re-appeared, then they were toast.
"Were the hell are we?" whispered Erica in the dark gloom. In the distcance the the sound of dripping water on metal could be heard from somewere in the gloom.
"...no idea." Summer replied, more a mouthing than audible words. She looked around until her eyes got used to the gloom. She indicated by the usual signals that they should split up and that Erica should go left. They were both still holding their phasers ready and crept as silently as only Intel officers can do, around the edges of the bay they were in.
Suddenly hearing a voice, Summer froze and looked over to see that Erica had done the same. They listened.
"I don't understand Annie..... what is this about? Why are you doing this?" It was Chelsea's voice.
"Silence. Your mother can explain it to you when she rushes in to rescue you, little Terran fool." The response was female but it sounded strange and harsh.
"What happened to your voice. My mother isn't here and trust me, she won't come. If you thought taking me hostage would attract my mother then you're going to be bitterly disappointed, trust me." Chelsea's tone on those last two words was that of someone who had tasted that disappointment she was describing.
"I don't even know if I'd recognise her if she were here right now." she finished with a lump in her throat that brought a similar one to Summer's throat too.
But Summer Adams wasn't the sort to be overcome by regrets, she was incensed by the sorrow in her child, blaming the pain that had been caused directly at the feet of the wraith that had murdered Chelsea's father. This whole vendetta had been to avenge him and prevent others suffering his fate. Adams wasn't going to fail now that her life's work was so close at last. From her belt she withdrew a communicator and pressed a button that linked her to her ship which was docked at the station. It fired up a cell of chroniton emitters, in readiness to receive a delivery.
Summer signalled to Erica to call Rick.
As Erica went to press her comm link, the comm suddenly went off =^= This is captain Dunham, be advised we have a solid and established sensor lock on both targets we are free to beam any time. I will have them beam to the USS Hagnon =^= This being the obvious choice to the Captain of the star ship.
To the open-mouthed surprise of her daughter and step-daughter, Summer Adams emerged from the gloom, phaser raised, accompanied from the opposite side of the room by Erica Dunham, equally armed and both training their sights on Aneka.
Summer tapped her comm badge as she walked forward menacingly.
=^= Adams here, beam them to the USS Soran, Docking bay 135 - Registry: NCC 78632 - I have a holding cell armed with chronitons on board designed specifically to hold and extract the pah-wraith =^= Summer replied quickly, face to face with 'Aneka' by now.
"Mother!" Chelsea gasped, having been wrong about not recognising Summer.
"I'm the one you want, Mkragh-Tra" she addressed it by the name she had come to believe it had once gone by. "Let my daughter go now I have come to you, this is between us.... or are you too scared to face me without a hostage to hide behind?" the challenge was perhaps brave, perhaps foolhardy but a mother protects her young no matter what age they have grown to and Summer's intention was to goad the creature into letting Chelsea go to prove it didn't need her to defeat her last remaining parent.
Chelsea in the meantime was finally catching on to what was wrong with Aneka and more, much more. Her mind was overloaded with it all but she thought fast. As the wraith-possessed Aneka was intently staring at Captain Adams, so Chelsea kicked out and threw herself and the chair she was tied to, sideways. This distraction took the wraith's attention for a second and at that moment it left an opening for Erica too.
Erica saw the opening and managed to dive and roll across the room. This situated her between the two sisters, so she was able to guard Chelsea. She however had no time untie Chelsea or she would have to take her eyes off the target so Erica quickly shot her phaser at the robes to cut them.
With all three women on all sides of her moving about at once, 'Aneka' spun from one to another, pointing her disruptor at each in turn, growling in anger, she eventually fired at Chelsea but before she could aim carefully the other two were on her, knocking the weapon up. The beam seared past Chelsea's cheek and scorched it slightly but she was missed in every other sense.
Just as the two Intel officers were wrestling the immensely strengthened Bajoran form of Aneka toward the floor, so the transporter beam began to envelope them all and they re-appeared in a heap, Chelsea a few feet away, still bound at the wrists and ankles but minus the chair she had been thrown from as she hurled herself aside a few seconds earlier.
The whole incident had happened within less than a couple of minutes and everyone was full of adrenalin and confusion as they all rematerialised.
"Activate the containment field" said the familiar authoritative voice of Captain Dunham.
An energy barrier appeared around the newly materialized possessed sister. Captain Dunham turned to Captain Adams "I took the liberty of preparing things on your vessel for your arrival Captain"
"Thank you" Summer breathed, much relieved to have been supported at this time as the strength of the Pah-Wraith had been overwhelming even for two such highly trained, fit and active officers.
With Captain Dunham were Rick and her husband, Eric. Rick Rushed to Chelsea's side with a medical kit. While Eric monitored the readouts coming from the ships sensors.
"Fascinating"
Chelsea looked gratefully at Rick and all the family around her. "I didn't need a new sister, I already have one." she said as Erica came over too. "Thank you." As she was freed and Rick ran the regenerator over the raw skin on her wrists where she had tried to get free and the bruises and cuts to her forehead,elbows and knees where she had thrown herself and the chair sideways in a diversionary crash dive.
She was sore and a little overcome by it all. "How did you know about her?" she asked Rick in a quiet voice, humbled by seeming to be the only one who didn't realise there was something weird about her half-sister.
Rick smiled reassuringly, and looked deeply into her eyes trying to comfort her "coin an old phrase, my spider sense was tingling"
Sitting up and rubbing her ankles a little Chelsea seemed subdued as the two Captains were taking charge of the matter. She looked at Margaret and remembered both of the ways she had seen this powerful woman, before and after the timeline changes. She wondered if those timelines had also changed her own mother's realities but doubted it.
Looking at her own mother, Chelsea was overcome with a mix of powerful emotions. The little girl in her recognised the curls of her mother's hair and wanted to bury her face in them as she had done back then. The woman in her recognised a widow who had dedicated herself to seeking out her husband's murderer and the officer in her recognised a professional Intel officer with a secret identity and agenda. But in amongst all that the daughter in her resented her own abandonment for all of those recognised reasons, despite understanding her mother, Chelsea couldn't fight off the hurt.
Rick and Erica both huddled around Chelsea. Getting on their knees, they knelt down beside and both gave her a hug.
Eric was now at the forcefield that stood between him and the possessed Anika. He was taking scans with his tricorder, and shaking his head lightly from side to side with a small smile on his lips. Often when it came to the more dangerous moments of science such as this, even when people were at risk he found himself enjoying it. "ready for the chroniton radiation Captains?"
"Never been more ready!" Summer replied and then remembered her manners. "Sorry, Summer Adams. Pleased to meet you...... ?Captain Dunham?" she guessed he'd be a starship captain too, just wildly trying to imagine who would appeal to Margaret.
"Not any more....retired." Said Eric taking a Summer's hand and shaking it vigorously "And can i just say you're brilliant. My wife has told me so much about you."
Summer looked pleasantly surprised, shocked even. "Why how nice! THANK you" she smiled, something of the pink-cheeked looked that was so appealing about Chelsea when she smiled at a compliment too. Summer looked at Margaret in a different light, her head tilted quizzically to one side. "I was always convinced that I had never made a good impression on you Margaret.... unless your charming husband is being kind to me.... perhaps it would be better not to ask." Again that smile.
"I would like to see if we could rescue my step daughter, if there is anything left of the poor child in there." she changed the subject before anyone could be too frank and honest.
"Oh no captain, your the best competition a woman could ask for." Said Margaret in her own awkward way. She was trying to ease her fellow captains mind and perhaps ease her mind a little, or at least distract her enough from the possible horror ahead.
"Ok are we ready everyone...." Eric looked around the room getting everyone's attention. He then looked at Rick and Chelsea who were still on the floor hugging, he tutted comically. "Put him down Chelsea you don't know were he's been...." he shook his head and smiled wryly. He looked at their mothers. "I don't know these kids today its like they were getting married or something." He looked back to the two on the floor, "Come on, your going to miss my amazing powers of science"
Smiling they all assembled closely to see what Eric was up to.
"Ok....." Eric stretched the word over about ten seconds as he worked the controls. Then began to talk quickly, the way he did when excited. "Now in theory, this is a tried and tested method of removing a Pah wraith from the host.....however, those were in incidents with a 'possession' that had only lasted under a matter of hours. This poor girl has had this pah wraith much longer. Sooooooo being the amazingly intelligent person I am I have added a little something into the cocktail." He pressed the activation button.
Chelsea winced instinctively and squeezed Rick's fingers, wound around her own for support.
"Can he do this?" she whispered, worried.
Rick just shrugged. When it came to his father and science, it was always difficult to tell, most of the time his ideas worked without a hint of a problem......but sometimes.....just sometimes, his ideas went very, very wrong. Rick whispered a quick prayer to any god that may be listening that this was not one of those moments that it
went very wrong. He squeezed Chelsea's fingers tightly.
Chelsea returned the pressure on his fingers too, holding anxiously onto his hand and leaning in against his shoulder for support. Her wrists still hurt and her shoulders ached from being forced back. She was still confused with who had done what and where her mother's connection with Erica had come from.
A yellow gas, with what looked like flecks of gold in it, began to fill up the small containment area. The Bajoran began to scream. This scream at first sounded human, but soon turned into a un-earthly howl. The woman raised her head up screaming to the ceiling. A red fog then poured out from her mouth. It began to mix with the flecks of gold....
Horrified, the onlookers watched in fascination. All except Chelsea who buried her face in Rick's shirt, trying to shut out the scream from her ears by forcing her fingers into them and singing loudly, a song from her childhood, subconsciously chosen and forced out between sobs.
Rick clung onto the horrified Chelsea as if her life depended on it. He hugged her tightly and tried to say soothing things as he stroked her hair. But soon as quickly as it had started it was over. The cloud of gas had hit now lay like a blanket just below the ceiling it sparked with electricity and their was the occasional shimmer of a force field everytime it tried to move. Eric opend the containment unit and pulled out the Bajoran women who seemed to be out.....
As her sister's voice had screamed it had brought back sounds that she didn't understand from deeply buried memories hidden within her subconscious from her childhood. It terrified her now just as it had done when she was little but as her adult sister emerged, in a state of collapse, the adult Chelsea was able to re-surface and the doctor came back to the fore again as she hurried to kneel at the slumped woman's side, snatching up a med-scanner to take some readings.
Eric Dunham, oblivous to the poor woman's state when scientific discovery was at hand, had also rushed into the now cramped containment area he was looking up at the force field around the now corporeal P'ah wraith. He had a smile on his face and a look of awe. "Oh you are beautiful", he said whipping out a tricorder and and taking readings. He shook his head to himself as the information scrolled across the little screen of his tricorder "nah I mean it....amazing"
Chelsea applied a mix of Corticoadenalin and Sterolide anti-biotic compound to her sister's neck and some painkiller too. Annika began to open her eyes. Chelsea held her head gently. "How do you feel?" she asked tentatively. "Does anything still hurt?"
The Bajoran women shook her head softly and gently from side to side, she smiled up to her sister.
"What just happened? I have this feeling of dread and nightmare but i don't remember big patches of what just happened. That keeps happening to me, all my life i just seem to have gaps in my memories....." Anni said, a little dazed.
Eric Dunham finished his inspection of the imprisoned Pah wraith, "What am I doing with this thing?"
"I'll take care of that." Captain Adams stepped forward. The Prophets in the Wormhole will know what to do with it. Justice will be served for all the murder and harm it has done.
"Welcome home Annika" she added, hugging her step-daughter.
Once the two had released one another, Summer looked at Chelsea. She had a strangely emotional look on her face.
Summer Adams did not *do* emotional. Not since her husband had died, 30 odd years ago.
"Chelsea...." she said hoarsely. "I am *so* sorry. I hope I have enough time left to me to make this up to you. If you can forgive me now you know what happened?"
Chelsea stood up and looked into her mother's eyes. "No-one can make it up to a *mother* who suffered from having to be separated from her child and spent 30 years knowing she had to miss all the milestones of her daughter's growing up. I do forgive you but do you forgive yourself? It's clear that Annie needed you more than I did and what you did for her was heroic. I always had Gramps and Granny to stand in for the trivia that got missed" she opened her arms and hugged her mother.
"Thank you for saving my sister. I know it cost you more than anyone should ever have to be asked to sacrifice. Is there a way perhaps that we could try to make it up to *you*?" she suggested.
Summer was moved. Speechless she just hugged Chelsea and held on tightly. "Gramps and Granny did a fantastic job of raising you. They did us both proud." she whispered emotionally.
"Yeah they did... they raised you too!" Chelsea replied, returning the hug tightly.
Annika was confused and sat looking on, trying to piece all this together. She looked up at Rick.
"I missed something really important, didn't I? Rick isn't it? I didn't forget that....." she frowned, wondering.
"Urmmm yeah" said Rick a little uncertainly, but with a smile on his face. He helped Annika off the floor. "Its a pleasure to meet you gain." Rick was interrupted by a loud 'SMACK' noise from behind him. He turned around to find that his sister Erica had just clipped her marine husband around the back of the head with the flat of her hand. Erica was wet eyed from the emotion in the room. The marine was rubbing the back of his head. "hey what was that for?" he asked. "For not getting emotional..." replied his wife with a smile at the large marine.
Chelsea, Summer, Margaret and Eric all laughed. Annie still looked confused. Paul, Erica's husband, looked hurt and held his head with his huge hand, putting on a look like a large eyed puppy that had been told off.
Captain Dunham smiled again, she slapped her hands together at a job well done. "Ok everybody, back to the USS Hagnon for a well deserved cup of tea and a debrief"
OFF:
The Dunham Family
Played by Lt Cdr Rick Dunham
CAG
&
"The Adams Family"
(No.. not *THE* Addams Family)
Played by Cmdr Chelsea Adams
CMO & 2CO - DS5