Stardate: 61107:2232
Title: Bad Dreams, Part 2
Author: Captain Deadilus
Time: After "Bad Dreams, Part 1" to current
Scene: Kah'Leel


Captain Deadilus sat in the stark debriefing room with Ted. Unlike Vaebn, Ted had had no formal charges levelled against him; instead, his debriefing consisted of questions about his sexual relationships in the past in an attempt to make him think about what he had done. The charge of 'aiding and abetting known felons' had been dropped at the request of Senior Administrator Valia (who, it appeared, carried some weight in the debriefing process as well), although by all accounts the debriefing agent, Henry, had made sure to bring it up.

"So, what aren't you telling me?" Ted asked the Captain.

Deadilus paused, knowing that the CMO could read him a lot more than most people, and Ted started to look a little more worried.

"Vaebn's standing accused of murder" the Captain started. "I don't know the details at the moment, but Dathan's with him and I expect a full debrief when he is out. The interesting thing is the Som-Nyan's use a kind of 'neural rewriting' to erase the offending personality and replace it with a more docile, subservient one. It's their most severe punishment but it sounds like they intend to use it against Vaebn."

"Do you think he is guilty?" Ted asked.

"He's Romulan; things are done differently in their culture, and he's from a different universe, so whether or not he is guilty of murder in that universe bears little weight in this one. That's the problem with this kind of 'criminal assessment' - they use their own laws and morals to judge everyone."

"Sound like you have something in mind..."

It was an apt choice of phrase. In fact, it was Scott's mind that he hoped could hold the key; with a completely natural resistance to telepathic intrusion he had been unable to undergo the dream chamber experience. However, he wondered now what it may have shown from his own past and how playing on what the Som-Nyan's could not know could help Vaebn.

"I think I might have an idea..."

~

With no charges to be levelled against the Chief Medical Officer the Som-Nyan authorities released him into the custody of the Captain and under orders to return to the Horizon.

They walked in almost silence back to the beam-out coordinates, wary of discussing anything together until back in familiar surroundings. And as they stepped up onto the platform, Scott slowly surveyed the surrounding area before giving the signal to beam the two of them up to the ship.


=/\= Horizon - A Short While Later =/\=

The Ready Room doors closed behind the Captain as he walked onto the Bridge. The subspace communication with Admiral Foster had been brief and was not the auspicious first contact they had hoped for. She had not told Deadilus how to proceed with the trial against Lt. Kehn, for they both knew that anything said could be construed as an order in a subsequent hearing; she would not tell him to break their laws to retrieve him, but neither did she expect Scott to allow the 'personality reprogramming' to occur. She had also prepped and was ready to send a diplomatic envoy to assist should it be necessary.

As the Captain went to take his seat, the Yeoman informed him of an awaiting shuttlecraft ready to transport their new Engineering Officer. Deciding a brief walk would help him clear his mind a little he headed to Transporter Room 1.

~

Before Ensign Farris and the Captain had departed the transporter room to head in their different directions they had briefly exchanged pleasantries before moving on to more pressing matters. The Horizon had left Starbase 9 with only a minimum of crew and the Captain therefore did not expect the new arrival to be fully up to speed. However, he needed him to assist Ensign Ralari with the analysis of the dream chambers. Giving him a proverbial 'heads up' to the situation the Captain left the new Ensign to sort out his department before calling on him again.

~

Perhaps it had been there earlier, perhaps not, but the Bridge seemed to carry a more ominous tone than before.

Moving about the Bridge once more, the Captain walked over to the new Science Officer.

"Ensign Ralari, welcome aboard. How are you finding everything?"

The Trill turned to the Captain.

"Thank you, Sir. Everything seems to be fine and we are currently running the requested scans of the dream chambers and nearby complexes. All low power scans so nothing should raise any eyebrows." The Trill smiled.

"Good work. With the Admiral now informed I need to head back to the planet to see if we cannot get the administration to waive the charges due to rather unique circumstances. In the meantime, you might find this useful."

The Captain handed the tricorder Doctor Matthews had scanned his own dream chamber with to Ensign Ralari, hoping the data would prove useful.

"If you find anything, let Lieutenant Falls and my Yeoman know." Scott checked the ship's chronograph. "And if Lt. Commander L'Cir contacts the ship or returns tell him I have had to return to the planet. He's currently with Vaebn right now but I need a full report on my desk when I return..."


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Captain Scott Deadilus
Commanding Officer
USS Horizon
NCC-72400
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