Forcing the Point

[Annabelle O'Halloran 0]

Sitting in her office, Anna scrolled through the report she’d compiled per McQueen’s orders detailing the two locations the Reaent had been assigned to carry cargo to. Corianis was a dilithium mine that was also part of the Federation's penal system. It had been in continuous operation for the past sixty-eight years except for a seven-month period almost fourteen years ago when it shut down for retooling before reopening as a prison facility under contract to the Federation. The standard sentence was twelve years. Crystal output and processing had apparently increased tremendously since the change. It sounded like a fairly depressing place to her, albeit efficient.

 

Tethys sounded a lot more interesting; an undersea Federation colony, the planet was mostly water with very limited land mass above the surface. The colony’s main focus was geothermal research, and it had a plethora of underwater volcanoes and an amazingly diverse ecosystem. The colony had been established forty-three years ago and was home to researchers, support staff and the families of both. Normally, she would have been over the moon with anticipation at the chance to visit such a place but her head hurt and all she wanted to do was file the report and get today’s shift over with.

 

* * * * *

 

It was official. Will Tomlinson hated paperwork. No wonder his wingmate and best friend Tabor Nansk didn’t want the job of CAG. Getting buried alive in PADDs positively sucked. The good news was that he was nearly done for the day. He rubbed the back of his neck and then grabbed another PADD to see what was on it.

 

* * * * *

 

Entering their quarters, Anna called Will’s name as she headed for their bedroom, but the answering silence and the empty room just confirmed what she’d half-expected -- he was working late again. It had become the norm since he’d been officially named CAG but tonight it was more disappointing than usual -- she’d been feeling the need to talk to him about her conversation of the previous day with Debbie and Caroline and then the later dinner with Caroline that had become a confrontation. She supposed it would keep.

 

She stripped off her uniform and threw it into the recycler before changing into workout clothes. She didn’t want to eat alone and wasn’t really hungry anyway. She would head down to the gym and work off some of this frustration and maybe it would help chase away the headache which had faded once again to a dull throb. Turning to leave the bedroom, her eye was caught by Jon's sword sitting propped in the corner of the room. She’d practiced with it a few times since that first time she’d discovered her newly acquired ability. It had started to be a little frightening though and so she’d decided against working with it again and had planned to return it to Jon as soon as she had a chance.

 

“One last time...” Picking it up, she was surprised as always by its heft and unconsciously smiled with anticipation as she walked across the living area to the door. The sword was uncomplicated and when she wielded it, her coordination, newfound prowess and an instinct that she knew wasn’t her own combined in a feeling that was so exhilarating it became a type of freedom and that was what was so frightening about it. She didn’t have to think...she could just be. She truly felt one with the weapon in a way that she knew the bracelet’s owner had felt when she had fought with the sword called Hani. It wasn’t normal.

 

* * * * *

 

Will took a deep breath as he put down the last PADD. He rubbed his neck and then smiled when he thought of his Anna. “Computer, locate Lt. Anna O’Halloran.”

 

“Lt. O’Halloran is in a training room in workout gym one.” The computer replied.

 

Will quirked an eyebrow at that and his smile grew a bit wider when images of her in her workout gear came to his mind. Shutting down his computer, Will quickly left the Flight Office and nearly ran to their quarters. He changed out of his uniform and into his own workout clothes and made it to the gym in nearly record time. He carefully checked the training rooms, not wanting to tip his presence off to Anna just yet. He finally found her and quietly watched as she worked with the sword that Shamor had lent her. He found himself fascinated at her apparent skill with the blade and his gaze fixed on to the bracelet she was wearing. He had made a point not to talk about it over the past few weeks, but he’d watched closely and noted the changes in her behavior and habits.

 

Watching her swinging the sword around gave Will an idea. He slipped out of the room and went to the nearest replicator and requested a bat’leth. He swung it around a little and nodded at the balance. His father and and an uncle of his had taught him a lot about the Klingon culture when he was growing up and Will ended up learning quite a bit about Klingon melee weapons and tactics. These skills would help him here. He came back into the room and this time made no attempt to hide his presence. He watched Anna, content to wait until she noticed his presence in the room.

 

As she turned, sword raised high, preparing to bring it down and through the offending limb of a phantom enemy, Anna cried out, Will’s sudden appearance startling her as she was bringing the sword down right where he was standing. She managed to stumble back far enough that the blade hit the decking in front of him instead of through him, the ringing sound seeming to echo in her ears as she stared at him in disbelief for several seconds, the reverberation of the blow causing the grip to vibrate in her hand.

 

“Will, what the hell are you doing?” she finally burst out, terror at how close she’d come to hurting him transforming almost immediately into anger.

 

Will merely smirked at her though he had to admit the blade had come rather close. He figured correctly that she wouldn’t hurt him intentionally so he shrugged and replied casually, “Watching a beautiful woman working well with a sword. And since you seem to have some skill with it, I thought that I’d get in a little sparring session with you, if you think you can handle it.” He stepped closer and brought his bat’leth to the ready position. “Want to play?” he asked with an element of challenge in his tone of voice.

 

Some skill? She gave him a disbelieving look. It was damn preternatural. “It’s not a game,” Anna snapped back, irritated at the challenge in his tone, her brows drawing down into a deep frown as she finally noticed that he was holding a bat’leth in a way that indicated he knew what he was doing with it. “I could have seriously wounded or killed you just now just by accident.”

 

Will merely smiled and stepped into his ready position. “Perhaps, but I don’t think that would have happened. Now lets see who is better skilled with the blade, shall we? En Garde!” Going to the balls of his feet, Will swung the bat’leth around a bit before bringing it up high and then down hard and fast in a lightning strike toward her head to gauge her response.

 

Reacting instinctively, Anna raised her sword to block his attack and automatically braced for the impact of the bat’leth’s rounded blade against the edge of her broadsword. Shocked at how forceful it was, she glared at him -- he’d meant business! Gritting her teeth, she tightened her hands around the grip and brought it down, forcing his weapon with it before flinging the bat’leth away, attempting to dislodge it from his hands. “Will, I haven’t had any training,” she all but spat at him, all of the agitation and frustration she’d managed to work off coming back with a vengeance.

 

Will went with the momentum that Anna had built up and as she stepped back, so did he, twirling the bat’leth to bleed off the momentum so that he didn’t lose complete control of his weapon. He came back to ready position and nodded, “And yet you wield a blade like someone who has had years of experience.” He slowly approached her. “No more talk or worry Anna. I won’t hurt you and I don’t believe you’ll hurt me,” he said soothingly, trying to relax her. “Just let your worries go and follow your instincts.” He approached her and began to twirl the bat’leth once more before taking a swing at her midsection.

 

“I can’t make you the same promise,” Anna retorted, nimbly hopping back to avoid his strike and countering without thinking by bringing the sword up to catch the bat’leth at one end and twisting her arms to bring the sword and it down so that they stood, their weapons entangled. “Why are you doing this?” she asked, genuinely bewildered.

 

Will smiled at her. “Because I want to see how good you are with that sword.” He twisted his grip so that their weapons came apart. He briefly came back to ready position before engaging her once more. He came on with a moderate attack not wanting to push her yet but still wanting her to get into this sparring session. Come on. I can see you love using the sword; let yourself go and enjoy the fight, Will thought to himself as he continued his flurry of attacks on her.

 

Infuriated by his casual attitude in the face of the inexplicable and still unwilling to go on the offensive, Anna allowed him to back her halfway across the room, easily parrying his strikes before she’d finally had enough -- he wasn’t going to quit. She knew Will and how stubborn he could be -- and she also knew she didn’t always understand his motivation but she trusted him. Trusted him enough to take him at his word.

 

“You want to know how good I am?” She grinned suddenly, and just like that was done being on the defensive. “Let’s find out.” Without thinking about it, she changed her stance and her grip before lunging at him, easily catching him off balance as she came at him from the opposite side, her blade easily sliding past his defense before slapping him with the flat side across his hip, hard enough to leave a mark no doubt but nowhere near the right angle to break his skin.

 

Not entirely prepared for the sudden change, Will found himself on his heels desperately fighting off a flurry of strikes. The speed and precision was incredible. Suddenly a sharp pin hit his hip and he became aware that a swing got past his defense. Hopping back, he swung his bat’leth in a figure eight in front of him to break contact with her. He brought it back to ready position and gave Anna an almost feral smile. “Good. Now let’s see what you can really do.” As he came at her again, it was an all out assault. This time he wanted to push her defense to the limit and see if he could score a hit or two. If he could, he knew that he would tilt the blade enough for a glancing hit or a flat blade hit but nothing that would cause serious injury.

 

“Don’t push me, Will!” she retorted as she swung high and so fast it dislodged the air with a hiss before clanging against his blade, the leather grip feeling like an extension of her hands as she brought the weapon down and sideways, turning and sidestepping him before swinging again and landing another flat bladed blow against his ribs. “I don’t know what I can really do,” she warned him, before leaping back, easily avoiding his own blade. “You’re good with that thing, hon but you’ve never actually fought in battle with it.”

 

Will nodded, thinking her choice of words was very telling -- Anna had never fought in a battle before, either. “You’re correct but I need to see your skills for myself.” He came at her hard and fast again trying to provoke a full response from her. He was betting everything on the fact that Anna loved him so much and the one in the bracelet had known that same kind of love -- Anna’s dream in which a man named Tjarn died was proof of that. He hoped that would be enough to keep her from killing him as he came in for a final attack that he was sure he was going to lose.

 

“You’re testing me? I don’t understand,” Anna said, bewildered until it hit her and then all she felt was a sudden flare of rage, realizing he’d come here just to provoke her, to spy on her...probably so he could then go and report back to Debbie and Caroline. “I trusted you!” she snarled and then gripped the hilt of the sword as the headache that had been building all day and escalating throughout this horrible spar finally reached its zenith just as she lifted the sword to fend him off, having decided that this was the final strike -- she would take that bat’leth from him and throw it across the room and then tell him he could go straight to hell. Her eyes rolled back as she brought it down.

 

She was fighting! It took her only seconds to realize what was happening and in a moment she had him pinned beneath her, the odd weapon with the intriguingly curved blade at his throat. An enemy’s humiliation was complete if they were dispatched with their own weapon.

 

“Prepare yourself,” she told him, feeling puzzlement while trying to recall why they had fought. What had he done to provoke her? Perhaps he was just an enemy of the Clan. He must have followed her and hoped to take her unaware. It would be his last mistake.

 

Will looked at her calmly. He’d seen the change in her demeanor before he heard the strange speech and known that Anna was no longer in control. This was the moment he’d been waiting for. There was no fear in his eyes whatsoever as he spoke. “Before you do, tell me your name warrior woman. Please tell me the name of my conqueror,” he whispered to her in a tone that held only awe and respect for her.

 

“I am Eydis,” she told him, wondering if he’d somehow managed to get a blow past her defenses so much did her skull ache. “I will make it quick and leave your head--you will go to the underworld intact.” She pulled back the blade, ready to get this over with. She had no memory of their battle or of this place. He must have damaged her head. She would find their healer Bryndja when this was finished.

 

Will’s jaw tensing was the only outward display of fear he showed as she raised the bat’leth for her kill shot. He’d never heard the unknown language before and was forever thankful that the universal translator managed to pick it up and translate it quickly to him. If they hadn’t been able to communicate, he’d probably be dead right now. Will spoke to her again, keeping his tone even. “I believe Lady Eydis that you will find it most difficult to kill me. Is there something inside you right now? A feeling that is screaming for you to spare me? A desperate feeling of want and need at this very moment?” Will sure hoped so, otherwise he was done.

 

She hesitated, fingers clenching around the unfamiliar weapon, the waves of pain beating against the inside of her head making it difficult to even think let alone understand what he was saying. He was doing this! He must have some sort of power -- perhaps he was a demon! Exclaiming in anger tinged with fear, she drew back, eyes on the vein beating strongly at the side of his neck.

 

Confused to find she was holding the bat’leth over Will while pinning him to the decking with her knees on his arms, Anna looked at it in disbelief before keeping her promise to herself and throwing it across the room, before turning to glare down at him. “That’s what I think of your ‘test’,” she bit out, struggling to maintain her anger so she didn’t dissolve into tears in front of him for how deeply hurt she felt by his betrayal. Feeling defeated, she didn’t look at him as she tried to recall exactly how she’d ended up straddling him. “Doesn’t matter,” she muttered and started to get to her feet. “You’re lucky I didn’t kill you.” She couldn’t bear to think about it.

 

It broke Will’s heart to see her this way. He was sorry that he’d done what he had but he’d felt he had to do it and he had come away with what he wanted. As soon as his arms were freed, he quickly hugged her to him. He felt her struggle a little, but he held her firm. “I’m so sorry Anna, but please understand that I had to do what I did. I did it because...” He took her arm so that the bracelet was between them. “...I wanted to know who this is.”

 

“Who who is?” Anna asked impatiently, pulling her arm back. “What are you talking about?”

 

With her slightly confused look, he explained, “You don’t remember the last moments of our sparring, do you? One second I was coming at you, the next you had me pinned, with the bat’leth at my throat. That’s because she...” He pointed to the bracelet, “...took over. Her name is Eydis and this is her bracelet.”

 

She didn’t remember the last moments of the spar but was that so surprising with how her head had been hurting? And he’d been goading her... Anna looked at him for a moment before quietly asking, “Did Debbie put you up to this?” What he was describing was a lot like what Debbie claimed had happened down on the planet.

 

Will shook his head, “No! I swear to you that I have not spoken to either the Doctor or the Counselor for several weeks now. I’ve been waiting and watching you, Anna. I’ve seen that you’ve changed and was sure that the bracelet was the reason. This was the only way I could think to find out more about the bracelet and its previous owner. In the end, emotional damage notwithstanding, it is what you wanted isn’t it? To find out more about the bracelet and its previous owner? Well, now you have a name and a sample of her spoken language. The universal translator had to translate for me when she spoke it and it should be flagged in the UT now.”

 

Will eyes softened, “I am so sorry that you feel I betrayed you and I desperately hope that you’ll forgive me ” His eyes went down from hers in shame as he finally let go of her so that she could get up and leave if she so desired.

 

She recognized the truth when she heard it and gently laid her fingers against his jaw, waiting until his eyes met hers before saying, this time with no anger, only a thin thread of anguish,”I could have killed you!”

 

Will brought his hand up to her cheek and rubbed it affectionately, “You would not have; you love me with all your heart and I think that Eydis knew that same love with Tjarn. I believe that love stopped her from killing me and allowed you to regain control. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have told me her name and would’ve killed me without hesitation.”

 

Leaning into his hand, Anna closed her eyes, not wanting to contradict him -- he’d met this Eydis in a way that she hadn’t after all, but her blood ran cold at the terrible risk he’d taken -- for her. “I do love you and I don’t know how I could have survived if I’d hurt you or worse.” She felt the hot sting of tears, both of fright and relief, and whispered, “You can’t ever scare me like that again, Will. I know what your job entails and I live with that but you have to promise me that no matter what happens, you’ll talk to me in the future instead of deciding how to deal with it on your own.”

 

Will wiped away her tears as he spoke soothingly. “You have my word on it, Anna.” He brought her head down and kissed her deeply for the longest moment. When they came back up for air, he whispered to her, “From this moment on, never again without talking to you about it first.”

 

Anna leaned her head back and searched his expression, before nodding slowly, a smile of wry acceptance crossing her lips. Will’s promise was sincere but she knew him and had a feeling that his experience with behavior modification was limited. He was always going to react protectively and do things his way. They would no doubt have this conversation again.

 

She stretched against him, managing a teasing grin in spite of a persistent feeling of dread, no doubt the result of the very narrow escape he’d had --at her hands and kept her voice light, not yet able to process everything that had just happened. “Even though it turned out to be a tag team event on my side -- I still beat you. Did we ever decide what the winner got?”

 

Will pretended to think about for a moment before answering, “No, but in some ancient cultures, since you won and spared my life, my life would be yours to do with as you please. Which means that any desire you had for me, I would be obligated to fulfill to the utmost of my abilities.”

 

Anna smiled, the odd stones of the bracelet catching the light as she moved to frame his face between her hands. “I like a man that takes his obligations seriously,” she murmured before bending her head to kiss him. She would have to talk with Debbie and Caroline -- she owed them both a huge apology -- and the bracelet would have to come off -- but it could all wait till tomorrow.

Edited January 19, 2012 by Annabelle O'Halloran