And there was laughing...

[Erich Jaenke 0]

And there was laughing...

Keb and Erich, a log in a dream in a minute...

 

The bridge lost all hint of color before everything froze in place. No bridge sounds. No pulsing indicators. Space, out there beyond the viewscreen, froze. In the Einstein world of sub-light velocities the stars held their ground.

 

"Ha... ha ha ha," went a familiar voice in a less than desirable situation. The laughter continued as if caught in an eternal reaction to a punch line. Then the laughing stopped.

 

"Keb. It worked," Erich spoke calmly. "T'Prise and I shared minds. She wanted to know what I felt at the meeting."

 

Keb’s thoughts were cold, a little hurt. “So you’ve been sharing with everyone but me? Letting me worry?”

 

He smiled. "No, there were far too many minds to share with, this melding was not of my choice. Doctor Abbingdon hypoed me asleep, then moments later T'Prise entered my mind. It was...weird. I could my time like a recording. She has control I lack."

 

“You’ve been keeping things from me since you took control of the ship.” The pained accusation hadn’t left her tone; her arms were crossed over her chest and her eyes flashed at him. “I know you didn’t have your medicine, but...you didn’t trust me, either.”

 

More color left the frozen scene on the bridge. "Yes, the Admiral's mind was quite insistent on Harris, and my actions left me..." He stumbled on his words. "making choices with little forethought."

 

He’d been thinking to Atragon, too, then. Hot, jealous tears blinded her to the frozen grey scenery. “You didn’t trust me when the Admiral asked me to confirm it was him. You haven’t trusted me enough to tell me anything since. And you know I’m me. This isn’t like with those faking petaQs. It isn’t like I can keep secrets from you.”

 

"Oh you actually can keep things from me. Some people leave their emotions out the in open. I follow the trail to see where it leads me." The room view bent a little, the temperature dropped a little. Erich bent down beside her, now close in their shared vision. "Things are not always a matter of trust Keb. I had self-proclaimed duties that put us all at risk. Me, my fellow engineers...and you. Reading everyone throughout the ship when my medicine was running out put me...in a slightly altered state. Aggression, tension..." He shook his head as he panned to the floor.

 

Keb looked at him, softening slightly but still clinging to the core of her anger. She’d known it would be hard for him to deal with the chaos, especially without his medication, and she’d seen his face when the admiral was trying to explain the situation with Harris. Still, all the excuses her mind had come up with to explain his silence toward her over the past few hours crumbled against the idea that he had been happily communicating with T’Prise, A9, and who knew who else all the while--while she’d been left worried and lost on the bridge, just trying to hold things together.

 

“You could have done more to reassure me,” she reproached. “You could have let me know what you were planning. You could have let me help.”

 

"Yes...I should have. I'm sorry." A light drizzle started on the bridge, coating stations and the deck alike.

 

For the first time, Keb seemed to become aware of their surroundings. “What’s happening? What are you doing?” she asked, distracted from her cooling anger.

 

"My feelings are leaking out into the dream. I don't have the same control as Vulcans. Forget about me, how are you doing?"

 

Her concern had shifted to the rainy, gray bridge and she didn’t answer him. “Are they okay?” she asked, gesturing to the still figures around them.

 

"Oh, them? We are in a shared dream. You are on the bridge so much the image here is clear, as main engineering would be. I think we've stopped time..or slowed it down. How much time do you think has passed?" He asked with a smile, thankful his faux pa was not the subject.

 

“You can’t stop time,” Keb gasped in disbelief, rising up and taking his hand between both of hers. “They’re trying to decide the fates of all those people on the other ship. You can’t just...make it stop.”

 

"Nah, nah, I mean just for us. We are talking much faster than everyone around, at the speed of thought. This is fascinating though, perhaps if the situation was not so perilous we could..." He thought for a moment how to best use the time they have. "What can we do? I'm not entirely sure how much trust we can put in Harris. What if they are waiting in ambush on the other ship?"

 

“We have to trust A9,” Keb said, with a loyal but doubtful glance at his frozen figure. “And...if that doesn’t work, we take matters into our own hands to protect the ship and the crew.” She didn’t consciously say it, but the thought was there--Helm is locked to my voice command. Erich had no trouble picking it up, and she felt it in the blue air between them. No secrets.

 

"You know the engines have been repaired for a while. We could have orders to leave any moment." Erich squeezed her hands, though they were not really her hands. "Your loyalty for the Admiral is being tested, and, for that matter, trust in me." He stopped, released her hands then embraced her tightly. "We'll get through this and I'll keep in contact."

 

She melted into his embrace for a moment, then pulled back. “Promise not to shut me out?” she asked.

"Yes, promise, but make sure to keep calm if you feel something distressing from me; don't show it." He looked into her eyes, but furrowed his forehead. "Ah," he called out in what appeared to be discomfort, "I don't think I can hold this for much longer." The Admiral started to slowly walk forward.

 

“We should talk about the rest--later,” Keb suggested, her anger abated, but not gone. There was more to say--just not now. The dream faded away, and they were back on the bridge--in living color.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Erich Jaenke