The Wrong Sam (part 4)

Posted on Mon Nov 7th, 2011 @ 2:02pm by Commodore Samantha York & Colonel Damon Raine

1,025 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: The Race for the Lost Treasure
Location: Starbase Typhon

ON

[OLD]

It was like seeing and hearing everything in stereo. Identical thoughts, identical actions, identical lives. Until college. A trip to Betazed, with catastrophic results. A decision to leave the Republic. Love. Loss. Choices. Two Republics. One Orion. Finally they began to pull away, but the mirrored thoughts made it hard to tell which thoughts belongs to whom, and how to separate the two.

[NEW]

Bennett sat next to his Sam, holding her hand gently. He had never seen her perform quite this kind of thing before. Chewing his lip in consternation, he stared off into space, hardly daring to breathe lest it throw them both off. He waited, impatiently, to see the results and to know she was OK.

Damon finally looked over to Bennett and shook his head. "It shouldn't be taking this long. We need to do something."

~Damon?~

Damon wasn't really sure what he could do. All he knew was that Sam was using him as an anchor to her reality. Damon reasoned that the two Samantha's must have known that there would be at least some passive thought transfer.

So with a deep breath, Damon closed his eyes and concentrated on Sam. He thought of the last two years, both on the Orion and Calypso. He thought of all the little things that made him fall for her almost from the first day they had met. Memories of the little things, like her stubborn facination with caves or her ability to diffuse him with a simple look. He focused on the good times and even the bad, the mistakes they had both made. He focused on how they were together, despite it all. No matter what was thrown at them, he knew they would be able to weather it if they stood united. Above all else, he focused on how much he loved her and how much he needed her to come back to him.

Sam slowly became aware of Damon's thoughts. They shone through like a light in the darkness. Sam came back to herself and hugged Damon, trembling. She buried her head on his shoulder. "I'm not a clone," she whispered.

When the link was severed, Commander Sam hugged Curzon. "That was..." she shook her head. "Like finding my way through a hall of mirrors."

He looked at her lovingly, 'So long as it wasn't those mirrors you find at the fair' he cracked feebly, 'you're OK though, right? Nothing went wrong?' There was the slightest quaver in his voice.

"It's a very peculiar feeling to see everything in stereo. Disorienting. I've never experienced anything like it. Up through the first year of college, our lives mirror each other." She spoke softly, holding on to Curzon for strength and support.

"And then my family died and everything changed," Captain Sam replied.

"And she focused more on school. More drive. She loves being a Captain," Sam turned to Curzon. "And I love being your XO."

Captain Sam took a deep breath. She was still shaky from the experience. Both of them were. It was weird being inside the mind of someone who was essentially her twin. More than a twin. A copy of herself. "Something happened on the Orion. I don't know what. There's a feeling of dissonance. Like our lives mirrored each other -- with a few notable exceptions - and then there was something. I only noticed it when we were mirroring our lives. After that point we diverged and have taken verydifferent paths."

Commander Sam nodded. She'd sensed it, too. Although not as keenly as the other Sam. "Curzon, do you know of anything that happened with the USS Orion?"

Bennett shook his head, 'nothing other than she's a Galaxy-class ship. Refitted is that right?' He directed the question to Captain Sam.

Sam nodded. "On her maiden voyage we ran into a pirated Nova-class ship. It had a potent weapon." She looked at Damon in case he remembered more. "I don't know what it was. We were lucky to get away intact."

He frowned, 'well ... this seems like a temporal problem. Are there any objections if I call a few TI personnel I know?'

"Please do. I'd love to get this figured out."

'Excuse me a moment,' Bennett lingered to give his Sam a significant glance, before huddling in a corner and accessing a console. 'Ah. Agent Bassett, ... No it's not regarding our meeting ... no, something else entirely. Yes, at once if possible ... yes.'

He cleared his throat and addressed those assembled, 'Temporal Investigation Officers will be here shortly. Hopefully they'll be able to answer our questions.' He slipped back into place with his Sam.

Damon thought over what he had heard and felt like it didn't add up. "Temporal?" He asked. "I'll admit, of anyone here it is likely I have the least to offer when it comes to science. Still I have to ask; you both made mention to Sam's family dying. The way you two said it, however, has me questioning." He looked at the 'Commander' Sam. "Is your family still alive?"

She nodded. "My family didn't take a trip to Betazed my second year in college They're still living on Earth."

"What's funny," Captain Sam said, "is we have different middle names. Similar, but different."

'Interesting, Captain, very interesting. It might be the beginning of the divergences in your lives,' a voice from the door said. Agents Laysbury and Bassett were stood there in matching nondescript suits and with identical briefcases. They stepped inside, and the older Laysbury continued, 'Captains, Commander, it is most agreeable to see you.'

Bennett arched an eyebrow. Apparently they had an override for the door.

Walking to the table, Bassett quickly and efficiently placed his briefcase on it, and snapped it open. Retrieving a tricorder from the its innards amongst other devices placed in snug recesses, he proceeded to scan both Yorks.

(To be continued...)

Captain Curzon Bennett
Commanding Officer
Unassigned

Agent Laysbury [NPC]
Senior Field Agent
Temporal Investigations [Portrayed by York & Bennett]

Agent Bassett [NPC]
Field Agent
Temporal Investigations [Portrayed by York & Bennett]

 

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