Deception: The lesser part of Valour – Finding Mercy
by Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC) & Commander Chelsea Dunham
Post Details
Old:
...............Yes, he adored, respected and loved her, but as she spoke to him, he could not understand what she was saying, instead taking the decisive path and kissed her, stopping the verbal utterances as she responded. Her arms tightened around his neck, pulling him close as he did to her.
New:
ON
Without warning, the dim cool of the forest turned to a murky shadow as the pain in the back of his head made him lose consciousness with the sound of a cruel cackle from behind ringing in his ears.
He fell forward, pinning Mercy beneath him.
Mercy felt the dull thud as it reverberated through Bryan, transferring some of the shock of the blow to her body too, knocking her breath out of her for a few seconds of horror. As she reeled she found herself caught beneath Bryan's body which had slumped unconscious.
Fearing the worst, Mercy screamed and began to panic. "Bryan? Oh God, please don't be dead.... " she begged him, tugging at his shirt with her one free hand as she tried in vain to get herself free from beneath his weight. With an enormous effort she managed to get her other arm free but her torso and legs were pinned helplessly.
The Bolian swayed above them, drunkenly attempting to focus on the tangle of arms, legs, heads and bodies that seemed to have merged into one blurry and rather confusing push-me-pull-you of parts that looked to him as if there had been a serious transporter accident that had reconstructed them all into one person with double extremities at all angles.
"Dat's MY wumman!" he drooled, placing his huge feet further apart to stop himself toppling over forwards as he peered into the merged being, hoping to find a part that was clearly Bryan's with the intention of attempting to lift him away from the prize... i.e. Mercy.
"I am NOT *your* anything! Least of all your woman! You great disgusting lump of drunken moron!" Mercy ranted, furious that this blue intruder had hurt Bryan and terrified that perhaps he'd done even worse! She checked Bryan's neck for a pulse and was so relieved to find it strong that she could have wept with joy.
"I TOLD you I was with my boyfriend. Why can't you leave us alone?" she tried to get through the drunken haze that had enveloped the Bolian but she might as well have been talking to him without the universal translator. His features were blank and registered no sign of comprehension at all.
At that moment, Bryan began to stir. "Bryan?" Mercy spoke his name very softly, still desperate with worry about his injuries. As far as she was concerned, he had become injured twice now, both times because of her. She felt awful but right now the danger that the Bolian posed was more pressing.
"Lie still darling. Please don't do anything too quickly, you might have concussion or anything!" she whispered, more afraid for his welfare than her own.
As his eyes fluttered open, her words of comfort soothed gently upon his numbed brain, but the word 'darling' gave him the most satisfaction. His fingers went to the back of his head searching for the point of contact and feeling a slight damp warmth of blood and the beginning of a lump starting to grow beneath his hand, he grimaced at his own touch. The stirrings of anger began to build from within, as he struggled to find purchase on the leafy compost beneath his hands and knees as he straightened up.
He turned his head, focussing on his assailant and seeing the blue skinned clot who had been pestering Mercy a few minutes ago standing there with a gnarled piece of log in his hand, already raising it to strike another blow.
Instinctively, Bryan lashed out with his foot, catching the Bolian directly upon the knee, the drunken sot fell to floor, unable to maintain his own balance.
Bryan stood, also trying to balance himself whilst reaching for Mercy's hand and keeping his attention upon the groaning Bolian, who rolled over onto his side and began to vomit.
He felt her hand take his own and he pulled her up, grunting at the effort as his head began to pound. Bryan pulled her close, slipping his hand around her waist, in a way that he never envisaged doing with his colleague.
"Lets get the hell out of here!" He remarked, turning away from the now semi conscious Bolian, "We have a few months of catching up to do." Bryan smiled, his hand gently caressing her arm, then stopped, turned and refastened her broken shoulder strap, patting with a gossamer touch. "There. You look perfect." He commented, ignoring the pain in his head.
Despite how frightened she had been and how bad she felt, even despite how worried she was about that wound on the back of Bryan's head, Mercy couldn't help but find that image funny.
A smile began to creep over her lips and soon she was giggling. "That was such a chivalrous thing to say!" she grinned up at her hero. "I just *knew* everything would be okay if you were here! Didn't I tell you?"
More than happy with having his arm around her waist, Mercy snuggled closer and linked her fingers in between his.
"Hey! If we start catching up for the past few months, then by the time we're up to the present, it'll be several months' time... we could be playing catch up for ever! That could be fun!" she grinned mischievously as they made their way back out of the gardens.
He smiled back to her, seeing her in new light, as though he was seeing her for the first time. She looked beautiful, despite the dirty patches on her face and the two scratches across her cheeks and the redness in her eyes. He leant to her and placed a light kissed on the end of her nose.
"I am all up for fun." He grinned, with a squeeze of his hand.
As they emerged back onto the Promenade, looking decidedly dishevelled, she noticed people looking at them. "Er.... we should go to sickbay..... shouldn't we? Or shall we just go back to my quarters and get cleaned up and hope nobody asks any questions?" she asked, checking out his head wound. "I think we ought to get that lump on your head looked at.... " she hesitated.
Though the odd glances thrown at them made him feel a little uncomfortable, he didn't care. His heart was racing, his mind was filled with stupid thoughts and he felt as though he were on cloud 22.
"Sickbay, then your quarters." Bryan grinned, giving her playful push with his elbow.
Mercedes feigned shock. She was totally made up as the realisation dawned that despite what she had first thought, it seemed that Bryan *did* like her after all. She couldn't stop grinning like a Cheshire cat.
Returning the squeeze of his hand she played up to the joke and put her other hand against her forehead, palm outwards, pretending to be feeling faint at the prospect of such a shocking suggestion. Actually, she was feeling a bit light-headed but not with shock, but with a tidal wave of total happiness that had come on her suddenly.
After having already been devastated and then frightened and hurt, now she felt the opposite extreme of euphoria and it was all a bit much within one short hour. Acting out the pretended drama of the joke, Mercy leant on Bryan and the extra steadying influence was helpful.
"Should we tell somebody where to find that Bolian?" she asked Bryan hesitantly. She had no desire to ease that idiot's situation considering how it might have worked out if Bryan hadn't been there and she shuddered at the thought.
Bryan looked at her strangely as she shivered and she guessed he must be wondering what had caused her to do that.
"It's not that I've forgiven him or anything!" she said, her face serious and that frown returning from earlier. The one she almost never wore.
"I just wouldn't leave a wounded animal where no-one would find it, so I guess I'd feel guilty if we just left him.... is that weird seeing what he did to us?" she looked quizzically at Bryan, hoping he could explain it because she'd confused herself.
Mercy was living up to her name even though she didn't even realise it.
Bryan nodded, not in agreement about the Bolian, but for her reasoning about wounded animals as that was more of an accurate description than he could find the words for.
He pulled her close and lay his lips upon her forehead.
"I never knew you were so sensitive. When we get to sickbay, we'll inform security. How's that?" He offered, with a cheeky grin as they stepped inside the car, heading to the nearest sickbay.
Mercy nestled against him. "Okay" she agreed, hugging her arms around his waist and walking a little bit crablike so she wouldn't have to let go as they walked along.
Realising how silly she must look, she laughed. "Wot?" she challenged as he looked at her a bit sideways aswell.
She knew what his expression was saying, but she didn't care. She'd waited too long for him to let her show any affection towards him and she was making the most of every second in case he changed his mind in the morning and turned back into a pumpkin.
He shook his head and grinned and he wanted to say something funny, as he usually would, but he forced his lips to remain shut. He did not want to risk offending Mercedes, not now.
"Bryan?" she asked, rolling his name around her lips quizically. "Can I ask you something?"
As they approached the medical station, he stopped, taking her hand from his waist turning to face her.
"Of course you can darling. I expect you have many questions and if I can, I will answer you honestly." He gazed into her eyes, wondering what was on her mind.
"I was just wondering... did you.... do you.... " she blushed and stopped. "This is hard to ask, perhaps I'm not ready yet" she began to make an excuse to back down and not ask afterall.
His eyes searched into hers, not understanding what she was saying. Had she become frightened of what was happening, was it all to fast or had she come to her senses and concluded that Bryan was not for her after all!
"If your not ready, I won't push you. If you need more space or time, or if you think this is a mistake then just say the word." He began to choke as his throat tightened, losing her before he had truly found her. He took a half step back, sliding his hands with a gentle sweep down her cold arms to her thin wrists and taking her slender hands in his own, as he cocked his head to one side.
Mercy's heart lurched as she realised how he had taken her hesitation.
"oh NO!" she said with a really worried look on her face. "NO. I didn't mean *that* at all. I was just.... well.... " she realised she had to ask now, or hurt his feelings, so she summoned all her courage and went for it.
His heart leapt as she reacted with shock, understanding now what she had said. He blinked.
OFF:
Chief Warrant Officer 2nd Class Mercedes Denoublier
Played by Chelsea
Chief Warrant Officer 2nd Class Bryan Surzchenko
Played by Tasha
CPO Ed McBain
Senior Nurse - NPC Played by Jools
by Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC) & Commander Chelsea Dunham
Post Details
| Title | Finding Mercy | |
| Mission | Deception: The lesser part of Valour | |
| Author(s) | Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC) & Commander Chelsea Dunham | |
| Posted | Wed Dec 24, 2008 @ 1:34pm | |
| Location | Medical Post | |
| Timeline | SD3 21:25 (Backpost) |
...............Yes, he adored, respected and loved her, but as she spoke to him, he could not understand what she was saying, instead taking the decisive path and kissed her, stopping the verbal utterances as she responded. Her arms tightened around his neck, pulling him close as he did to her.
New:
ON
Without warning, the dim cool of the forest turned to a murky shadow as the pain in the back of his head made him lose consciousness with the sound of a cruel cackle from behind ringing in his ears.
He fell forward, pinning Mercy beneath him.
Mercy felt the dull thud as it reverberated through Bryan, transferring some of the shock of the blow to her body too, knocking her breath out of her for a few seconds of horror. As she reeled she found herself caught beneath Bryan's body which had slumped unconscious.
Fearing the worst, Mercy screamed and began to panic. "Bryan? Oh God, please don't be dead.... " she begged him, tugging at his shirt with her one free hand as she tried in vain to get herself free from beneath his weight. With an enormous effort she managed to get her other arm free but her torso and legs were pinned helplessly.
The Bolian swayed above them, drunkenly attempting to focus on the tangle of arms, legs, heads and bodies that seemed to have merged into one blurry and rather confusing push-me-pull-you of parts that looked to him as if there had been a serious transporter accident that had reconstructed them all into one person with double extremities at all angles.
"Dat's MY wumman!" he drooled, placing his huge feet further apart to stop himself toppling over forwards as he peered into the merged being, hoping to find a part that was clearly Bryan's with the intention of attempting to lift him away from the prize... i.e. Mercy.
"I am NOT *your* anything! Least of all your woman! You great disgusting lump of drunken moron!" Mercy ranted, furious that this blue intruder had hurt Bryan and terrified that perhaps he'd done even worse! She checked Bryan's neck for a pulse and was so relieved to find it strong that she could have wept with joy.
"I TOLD you I was with my boyfriend. Why can't you leave us alone?" she tried to get through the drunken haze that had enveloped the Bolian but she might as well have been talking to him without the universal translator. His features were blank and registered no sign of comprehension at all.
At that moment, Bryan began to stir. "Bryan?" Mercy spoke his name very softly, still desperate with worry about his injuries. As far as she was concerned, he had become injured twice now, both times because of her. She felt awful but right now the danger that the Bolian posed was more pressing.
"Lie still darling. Please don't do anything too quickly, you might have concussion or anything!" she whispered, more afraid for his welfare than her own.
As his eyes fluttered open, her words of comfort soothed gently upon his numbed brain, but the word 'darling' gave him the most satisfaction. His fingers went to the back of his head searching for the point of contact and feeling a slight damp warmth of blood and the beginning of a lump starting to grow beneath his hand, he grimaced at his own touch. The stirrings of anger began to build from within, as he struggled to find purchase on the leafy compost beneath his hands and knees as he straightened up.
He turned his head, focussing on his assailant and seeing the blue skinned clot who had been pestering Mercy a few minutes ago standing there with a gnarled piece of log in his hand, already raising it to strike another blow.
Instinctively, Bryan lashed out with his foot, catching the Bolian directly upon the knee, the drunken sot fell to floor, unable to maintain his own balance.
Bryan stood, also trying to balance himself whilst reaching for Mercy's hand and keeping his attention upon the groaning Bolian, who rolled over onto his side and began to vomit.
He felt her hand take his own and he pulled her up, grunting at the effort as his head began to pound. Bryan pulled her close, slipping his hand around her waist, in a way that he never envisaged doing with his colleague.
"Lets get the hell out of here!" He remarked, turning away from the now semi conscious Bolian, "We have a few months of catching up to do." Bryan smiled, his hand gently caressing her arm, then stopped, turned and refastened her broken shoulder strap, patting with a gossamer touch. "There. You look perfect." He commented, ignoring the pain in his head.
Despite how frightened she had been and how bad she felt, even despite how worried she was about that wound on the back of Bryan's head, Mercy couldn't help but find that image funny.
A smile began to creep over her lips and soon she was giggling. "That was such a chivalrous thing to say!" she grinned up at her hero. "I just *knew* everything would be okay if you were here! Didn't I tell you?"
More than happy with having his arm around her waist, Mercy snuggled closer and linked her fingers in between his.
"Hey! If we start catching up for the past few months, then by the time we're up to the present, it'll be several months' time... we could be playing catch up for ever! That could be fun!" she grinned mischievously as they made their way back out of the gardens.
He smiled back to her, seeing her in new light, as though he was seeing her for the first time. She looked beautiful, despite the dirty patches on her face and the two scratches across her cheeks and the redness in her eyes. He leant to her and placed a light kissed on the end of her nose.
"I am all up for fun." He grinned, with a squeeze of his hand.
As they emerged back onto the Promenade, looking decidedly dishevelled, she noticed people looking at them. "Er.... we should go to sickbay..... shouldn't we? Or shall we just go back to my quarters and get cleaned up and hope nobody asks any questions?" she asked, checking out his head wound. "I think we ought to get that lump on your head looked at.... " she hesitated.
Though the odd glances thrown at them made him feel a little uncomfortable, he didn't care. His heart was racing, his mind was filled with stupid thoughts and he felt as though he were on cloud 22.
"Sickbay, then your quarters." Bryan grinned, giving her playful push with his elbow.
Mercedes feigned shock. She was totally made up as the realisation dawned that despite what she had first thought, it seemed that Bryan *did* like her after all. She couldn't stop grinning like a Cheshire cat.
Returning the squeeze of his hand she played up to the joke and put her other hand against her forehead, palm outwards, pretending to be feeling faint at the prospect of such a shocking suggestion. Actually, she was feeling a bit light-headed but not with shock, but with a tidal wave of total happiness that had come on her suddenly.
After having already been devastated and then frightened and hurt, now she felt the opposite extreme of euphoria and it was all a bit much within one short hour. Acting out the pretended drama of the joke, Mercy leant on Bryan and the extra steadying influence was helpful.
"Should we tell somebody where to find that Bolian?" she asked Bryan hesitantly. She had no desire to ease that idiot's situation considering how it might have worked out if Bryan hadn't been there and she shuddered at the thought.
Bryan looked at her strangely as she shivered and she guessed he must be wondering what had caused her to do that.
"It's not that I've forgiven him or anything!" she said, her face serious and that frown returning from earlier. The one she almost never wore.
"I just wouldn't leave a wounded animal where no-one would find it, so I guess I'd feel guilty if we just left him.... is that weird seeing what he did to us?" she looked quizzically at Bryan, hoping he could explain it because she'd confused herself.
Mercy was living up to her name even though she didn't even realise it.
Bryan nodded, not in agreement about the Bolian, but for her reasoning about wounded animals as that was more of an accurate description than he could find the words for.
He pulled her close and lay his lips upon her forehead.
"I never knew you were so sensitive. When we get to sickbay, we'll inform security. How's that?" He offered, with a cheeky grin as they stepped inside the car, heading to the nearest sickbay.
Mercy nestled against him. "Okay" she agreed, hugging her arms around his waist and walking a little bit crablike so she wouldn't have to let go as they walked along.
Realising how silly she must look, she laughed. "Wot?" she challenged as he looked at her a bit sideways aswell.
She knew what his expression was saying, but she didn't care. She'd waited too long for him to let her show any affection towards him and she was making the most of every second in case he changed his mind in the morning and turned back into a pumpkin.
He shook his head and grinned and he wanted to say something funny, as he usually would, but he forced his lips to remain shut. He did not want to risk offending Mercedes, not now.
"Bryan?" she asked, rolling his name around her lips quizically. "Can I ask you something?"
As they approached the medical station, he stopped, taking her hand from his waist turning to face her.
"Of course you can darling. I expect you have many questions and if I can, I will answer you honestly." He gazed into her eyes, wondering what was on her mind.
"I was just wondering... did you.... do you.... " she blushed and stopped. "This is hard to ask, perhaps I'm not ready yet" she began to make an excuse to back down and not ask afterall.
His eyes searched into hers, not understanding what she was saying. Had she become frightened of what was happening, was it all to fast or had she come to her senses and concluded that Bryan was not for her after all!
"If your not ready, I won't push you. If you need more space or time, or if you think this is a mistake then just say the word." He began to choke as his throat tightened, losing her before he had truly found her. He took a half step back, sliding his hands with a gentle sweep down her cold arms to her thin wrists and taking her slender hands in his own, as he cocked his head to one side.
Mercy's heart lurched as she realised how he had taken her hesitation.
"oh NO!" she said with a really worried look on her face. "NO. I didn't mean *that* at all. I was just.... well.... " she realised she had to ask now, or hurt his feelings, so she summoned all her courage and went for it.
His heart leapt as she reacted with shock, understanding now what she had said. He blinked.
OFF:
Chief Warrant Officer 2nd Class Mercedes Denoublier
Played by Chelsea
Chief Warrant Officer 2nd Class Bryan Surzchenko
Played by Tasha
CPO Ed McBain
Senior Nurse - NPC Played by Jools