They Want You (Chapter Seven)

Posted on Dec 24, 2018 @ 6:58pm by Ambassador Xana Bonviva
Edited on on Dec 24, 2018 @ 6:58pm

Mission: Blue Planet

"THEY WANT YOU (CHAPTER SEVEN)"

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Location: USS BENAZIR BHUTTO
Scene: Sickbay


“I’m a politician not a doctor but even I know the man is dead,” Xana said as she stood in the Sickbay, which looked like every other ship Sickbay.

Siobhan glared at her friend as they stood above the very much deceased body of Leonard Jacoby. “Your stunning medical analysis aside--”

“You’re welcome,” Xana replied.

The red-haired CO looked up to the ceiling hoping for divine intervention, guidance, or some other interference. When none came she continued. “Do we know why or how he died?”

“I can provide the how.” The Emergency Medical Hologram walked over and passed over a PADD as he stood on the other side of the biobed. Tapping a few keys he pulled up Leonard Jacoby’s file, which had been recently updated. “He had a subdermal implant; a nasty little cocktail of sodium thiopenal, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride. All really old chemicals but just enough to render Mr. Jacoby unconscious, cause severe muscle paralysis and respiratory arrest and finally stop his heart.”

Looking up from his notes, the EMH continued on, “However, to answer your other question Captain, as to *why* Mr. Jacoby died, as he left no note; well then that seems to be a philosophical question and not a medical one and therefore outside the parameters of my programming.”

“I know, you’re a Doctor not a Philosopher,” Siobhan sighed as rubbed her eyes.

The EMH nodded as he covered up the deceased. “Quite right; an Emergency Philosopher Hologram would not do you much good I think.”

“You mentioned the chemicals that killed Mr. Jacoby, but not *what* kicked them off. How was he able to kill himself,” Xana asked.

“That wasn’t a bad question,” the EMH conceded as he wandered towards the back of Sickbay.

Smiling as she stood up a little straighter. “Thank you.”

“For a politician,” the EMH finished off.

“Did you include a snark program?” Xana whispered to Siobhan.

Before the CO could respond, the EMH came back out, holding a small capsule. “As I said earlier, he had a small subdermal implant. If you review the Security cameras you’ll see it was activated when a codeword was said.”

The CO was able to finally get in a word edgewise. “Codeword?”

“Goodbye,” the EMH said. “Mr. Jacoby said ‘Goodbye’ before he died.”

=/\=

Scene: Guest Quarters
TI: That night


It wasn’t the first time she had seen a dead body. The unfortunate reality of her life was that it was the she had seen many; loved ones and people whose names she had not known. People who she had taken to their deaths and people who she had wept over; sometimes those people she had taken to their deaths and then wept over were one in the same.

Why was looking at Leonard Jacoby keeping her up? It wasn’t like she killed him. Gods, she didn’t even know him.

Throwing down the PADD she was reading, Xana got up from the small couch and wandered over to the small sink and mirror. She was about to clean herself up when she stopped for a moment to stare at herself. Normally getting ready in the morning was a mad rush, whether it was a home with the kids running around, or if she was traveling she was more utilitarian in her approach in getting ready. Hair up, makeup on to cover herself up, and off she went.

Here standing in the half-light and half-shadows of the BENAZIR BHUTTO she paused and looked into the mirror. Her eyes, which had always been large, were sunken with dark blue-purple rings under her violet eyes. As she lifted up her hands she saw, rather than felt, the shaking. They were ashen, almost gray in areas, where the artificial caught them, not ghostly, just subdued.

Looking back in the mirror Xana had the dawning realization of why seeing Leonard Jacoby bothered her so. It wasn’t that he was dead that bothered her. It was that she was alive and that there wasn’t much that separated her desperate clinging to life and his wispy descent into death.

=/\=

Scene: Quarters*Conference Room
TI: Next Day


There was no sun to wake her, just the gentle chimes of the alarm telling her that it was 0600 somewhere.

“Computer, stop alarm,” she yawned. Blindly she tapped around on the nightstand for the hypo that she kept next to her and having reached it, jabbed it into her left thigh. Same way she did every morning. Xana moved her mouth around, her tongue heavy and dry in her mouth. She felt around for a drink and she realized she didn’t have one this morning because Benito wasn’t here to give her one like he did when she was home. Rubbing her face with her bony fingers, she slowly, achingly sat up blinking so that the crust eventually left her violet eyes. Leaving her bed would be more difficult, she knew this. Moving first thing in the morning was always difficult; she had a hard time feeling her legs, nevermind getting them to move in the direction she wanted.

It took some time, but she was able to haul herself up, and into the shower, got clean clothes on, all in the name of making herself presentable. By the time she made it to the mirror she was hit with the same realization as last night. There was not much physical difference between her and a dead person.

Standing there, looking in the mirror, she felt...empty.

Eventually she made her way through the ship, bobbing her head when various crew members acknowledged her. It was all she had the energy for; even when Sio’s Executive Officer, the Ktarian woman who had arrested Leonard Jacoby met her by the turbolift and tried to engage her in conversation. Xana, who knew she was supposed to *know* this woman’s name, for the life of her couldn’t, nor could she summon up the desire to even try to remember or care. Instead nodded along with the conversation, murmuring at the appropriate points; she may have even said something; the Bolian/Human woman wasn’t sure.

Mercifully, the turbolift stopped and the Councilwoman walked out, wandering down the corridor. She opened up the doors to the Conference Room and thankfully it wasn’t in use. Not terribly surprising as she ensured to get here early. Walking around the table, so she was near the windows, she sat down and pulled up a terminal.

Wincing at her reflection made by the light hitting the screen she instead tapped it and entered in her codes. After several moments, a long list of her messages popped up; council business, messages from BOLARUS IX that needing attending; the list went on. She tapped the screen several times, sorting the messages various ways with no real aim. She eventually saw a message from her children. Something nagged her internally that she should pay attention to this but it took several moments to get going to respond.

Opening up the message, she was surprised to see her home in Venice, Italy but to see her eldest child, Gavi, before the screen. {{Hey Mom,}} he said. {{I got a break from FIERCE,}} he said referring to the Federation Intergalactic Emergency Response Echelon, the humanitarian organization arm of the Federation that he worked for. {{I wasn’t too far away so I thought I’d--}}

Suddenly a blonde young woman with a Bajoran nose swept in. {{STOP sounding so damn self-righteous and tell Mom about that guy and girl I found hanging on you when I met you in NY!}}

Gavi looked over at his sister. {{Sure, Erika. You go first. Tell Mom about your new tattoo and piercings.}}

Erika, who lived in NY now but clearly was in Venice with her siblings said as she waved her arms dramatically around, {{I am an *artist*. My body is just another canvas.}}

Suddenly an “oof” came from both Gavi and Erika as Ben came running over and flopped over Gavi. {{Tell Mom I said ‘hi’. And I fed the Tribbles like I was supposed to.}}

{{The vid is running, you tell her,}} Erika pointed out as she pointed to the screen. {{And I can’t believe you still have all those Tribbles from VULCAN,}} she said to Ben.

{{Make that your next tattoo; it can be part of your canvas,}} Gavi snorted.

Suddenly Dahlia appeared above the fray but still in camera range. {{Hello, Mom. Don’t forget to call Jake. No blood on the carpet, but the odds are increasing by the minute.}}

Ben looked up at his siblings. {{I’m hungry,}} he whined.

{{You can feed a Tribble, you can feed yourself,}} Erika pointed out.

Gavi rolled his eyes, playfully tossed Ben aside. {{I’ll make something, come on,}} he told the boy as both males left.

Erika turned around to Dahlia. {{Why is Mom calling Jake? They got divorced awhile ago. Something wrong?}}

Clearly both sisters forgot the vid was still running as Dahlia flopped down on the chair that Gavi had just vacated. {{Nah, just part of the new normal. I sent my messages, Ben didn’t. Mom got wind of it, got kinda annoyed but it reminded her that even with Jake being away we should still see him. We pointed out that he’d probably respond to her. I dunno, maybe it’s a custody agreement thing, but she finally agreed. But I know Mom, she’ll forget. She’s been forgetting a lot so I thought I’d remind her,}} Dahlia shrugged.

{{It’s not a big deal, he could come here. Or she could go there. Mom did it all the time when my Mom was deployed,}} Erika pointed out, referring to the late Daisy Davidson Bonviva.

{{Yeahhh, not the same situation,}} Dahlia replied. {{That whole divorce thing, remember?}}

Erika gave a look as she tossed aside her long blonde hair. {{I know you want to go back to the PHOENIX but are you trying to run away again?}}

Dahlia rolled her golden eyes. {{No. Mom is fine but Jake is way cooler. He doesn’t check in on school all the time and I get to fiddle around with stuff from Engineering that he brings to the quarters.}} Leaning back in her chair she said, {{Besides it’ll be better for Ben.}}

{{He hated being separated,}} Erika pointed out. {{He’s not even thrilled about it now.}}

{{Well life sucks. He can build a wormhole and get through it,}} Dahlia shrugged. {{But he shouldn’t be Mom’s hypo-nurse. Wait till she gets home, you’ll see. He runs into her room every day with her hypos. She can get it herself but she lets him do it.}} Looking past Erika she asked, {{Did Gavi make paninis?}}

{{Oh, we should get some,}} Erika agreed. Bouncing up she yanked up her sister with a laugh and they wandered off.

For a few moments the screen was still running but no one was on it. Then one of the Tribbles came into view, and purred as it sat.

{{Ben, I can’t find the last Tribble,}} Gavi’s voice came from off-screen.

{{They have names! And we can’t find Sir Giggles-A-Lot,}} Benito explained. Suddenly her youngest appeared and jumped up joyfully as he grabbed his Tribble hugging it. {{Sir Giggles-A-Lot, you had me worried and--GAVI! Does the red light mean the vid is still running?}}

Gavi came back in view. {{You know that. Wait? Mom’s vid has been running? So she’s been watching your Tribble this whole time? She’ll love that. Say ‘Bye’ Ben.}}

Ben held up the Tribble. {{Bye, Mom!}}

=/\=

NRPG:
The conclusion to "It's You They Want" coming up next!

=/\=

Sarah Albertini-Bond
~writing
for~
Councilwoman Xana Bonviva
BOLARUS IX