Subject: Grail: "The Great Brightness"; "In the Air"

<OOC: I'm moving onto the next chapter after this.>

"In the Air"

by: Lt. Kait Brennan.

<<Stardate 47307.30 - 21:00>>

Kaitlyn awoke from a long, but not very restful sleep. She had been

sleeping on and off for an eternity. She would not have done that had she

another choice, but there was nothing to motivate her to expend enough

energy to even attempt to find a way to get up. She felt like she was

rooted to the biobed. But now, the motivation was from the fact that all

the muscles in her body, most particularly her back, were aching from the

severe lack of movement that she had endured through only gods knew how

long. It seemed like forever, yet her dreams had been few and far between.

It was evident that she had slept a long time, but she could only hope

that it did not match the longevity of the sleeping time that had become

customary for her lately. Kaitlyn was sleeping 12-14 hours at a time,

which was really unusual, considering that previously she would sleep only

6-8 hours, sometimes less if there were stressful tasks to be taken care of.

For now, though, it wasn't as if there were any essential tasks to be done

or anything. For some reason, Kait had been so rushed and determined to do

so many things before going to sleep, and now she could not think of a

single thing that she wanted to do. All the anger that she had once felt

was rubbed out by the abrasively unwilled dormancy of her mind and psyche.

She was forced to go hours on end without a release, and all her anger had

turned to ashes by then. All that remained was a slight aching in her

heart from the guilt of the rash actions that she had taken.

Kaitlyn was kicking herself now more than ever for what she had done. She

closed her eyes, feeling shame and distress at her situation. It had taken

her so long, too long, to get off the high that she had been on. No one

seemed to help her in that matter. The visual memories of the fight that

she and Epic had in the observation lounge called up the empathic memories

of his hurt and betrayal beneath all the anger. It would have been enough

to gain her compassion had she not gained so much bullheaded momentum that

she couldn't stop all of a sudden and wonder at what she was doing.

Epic had provoked her anger farther, and what had Janice, her superior,

done? She brought Kaitlyn in for a scolding, like a little kid, which had

been demeaning rather than reprimanding. It hadn't made Kaitlyn feel bad

for what she had done, it had only continued her anger.

Then, after remembering what had happened in Sickbay, Kaitlyn realised that

she was far worse off than she had imagined. Her temper had been such a

major problem today, she was surprised that no one had asked her if she

woke up on the wrong side of the broomstick that day.

She felt guilty about the confrontation with Epic, felt indifferently about

the one with Janice, and the one in Sickbay, she could still feel the anger

for the injustice of it all well up inside of her. Maybe it was the way

time worked with her. Her anger dissipated through time.

Three strikes you're out, Kait could still hear. It was an old saying that

had been used in the Academy, and its origins were said to be from an old

Earth game, baseball. She had struck out three times today, and it was all

coming back to her. No, she hadn't gotten any official reprimands, but the

guilt that came from it was her retribution. Having a conscience was not

always the most beneficial thing to Kaitlyn. Or maybe it was, because it

was certainly encouraging her to do something that she needed to do.

Kaitlyn allowed her guilt and shame to take over so that she might have a

driving force to leave here, and see Captain Terrakian, no matter what the

obstacles. She sat up in her biobed, shaking away the dizziness, and

looked around for a doctor. There was some other specialist, this one

male, who was pacing back and forth as if he were a prison guard. Still,

Kait refused to allow this to discourage her. As he walked back towards

her, Kait took the chance to grab his attention by saying in a good-natured

manner, "Sir? May I take leave of here for a little bit?"

The boyish specialist gave her a thoughtful look then said decidedly, "I

wouldn't suggest that."

"Please, sir?" Kait pleaded.

"I'm sorry, I can't allow that," he said more resolutely.

Kaitlyn turned around and buried her face in the biobed, as if to hide her

sobbing. She was hoping to gain sympathy. It worked, but not in the way

that she hoped. The specialist approached her from behind and placed a

hand on her shoulder. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked. "I mean, I

could get you something to eat," he offered.

"No, I'm not hungry." Kait continued to sulk.

"Nonsense," he declared, "You need to eat some food."

"Oh, alright!" she conceded, in a whiny voice. Kait had already proved

herself to be not the best patient in the world.

The specialist extended his hand to her and said, "My name is Sam."

Kait shook it reluctantly, and he then walked away from her. Kait rolled

her eyes at his effort, and then turned back around to lay stomach-down on

the biobed. It was several minutes before he returned with a plate of

food, which consisted of chicken, mashed potatoes, and squash. Kait

glanced at it, then took it from his hands with a thanks. She ate all of

it, except the chicken, being the finicky eater that she was. The

specialist tried not to be in the way while she ate, but once she was done,

he came over and took the plate from her.

It felt peculiar to get such attention, but everyone else in sickbay was

unconscious, and Kait was probably the only company available. They talked

for about an hour or so about the families that they had left behind. Kait

had to guard herself against talking about herself too much because she

wanted to give Sam plenty of opportunity to express himself. As was

apparent from the amount of talking he did, he obviously enjoyed the activity.

It was generally pleasant to just talk, not having to do any work, and

having no one to serve as an interruption. Eventually, though, the

conversation died, and Sam reported that, while he enjoyed talking to her,

he had some actual work to do.

Kait turned to a console near her biobed and used it to access the ship's

personnel files. She flicked through them rapidly, only looking at the

pictures. She stopped upon reaching a service record with the picture of

the lieutenant who had been sitting acrost from her in the staff meeting.

The name Francois DeMontigny was at the top. Kait hadn't even realised

that the man had been French, but somehow she found that revelation rather

intriguing. Other than that, the man was like any of the others. His

record, though it would have been a quirk if looked at from aboard any

other ship, it was the same old monotony here. Kait was probably one of

the few who had a "clean" record. That fact hadn't gotten her anywhere,

though. Those on the Armstrong might have well as put it on her record.

Maybe she could talk to the captain about that. Having a bad record was

almost a badge of honor here, and Kait wasn't about to be left out.

Kaitlyn occupied herself, still, with the computer at her side, calling up

Epic Terrakian's record. It was annoying to have only the limited version,

but she didn't feel much like rigging the sickbay computers. Despite this

fact, she started working on the computer, hoping to give her higher

access. Sam gave Kait some suspicious glances, or maybe it was simply

Kait's paranoia, but either way, nothing was done.

Sam had merely asked one time, "What are you doing?"

Kait had replied innocently, "Oh, the computer is broken here, and I'm

trying to fix it. Don't worry. I'm an engineer, I can handle this."

---

Kait made a grunt out of annoyance at the console. She was losing her

touch. Then, just as she was about ready to call it quits, a light on the

console flashed, reading, "Security authorization cleared."

Kaitlyn felt a short-lived excitement. The file read the same thing as

before. The only authorization she had now, was the same one she had

before. Damn Starfleet for constantly changing the programming in their

systems. The only excuse that Kait could give for her lack of success was

that it was because she was working from Sickbay instead of Engineering.

She stared at the the console's output, taking special notice to Epic's

picture. She had never gotten a chance to take more than a glance at him,

because she would risk his attention, but she could stare all she wanted

now. It was almost eery looking at the picture, because she half-sensed

him that way, but gone was the animation that made him so distinctive to

Kaitlyn.

She put the console back together, and adjusted it so that she could see it

while laying down on the biobed. As she laid down, she continued to stare

at his picture, and then fall asleep...

--------

A while later, Kait woke back up. It was obviously mid-day as was

evidenced by the increased intensity of the lights. Kait attempted to sit

up, but she felt like she was rooted down to the biobed. The actual fact

was that there was a restraining field placed on all unconscious patients

for the bumpy trip through the Great Brightness. Still, Kait felt it

unnecessary now, and she was getting fidgity laying there.

As she laid there, contemplating her predicament, the lights in Sickbay

began to flicker. Kaitlyn's curiosity was peaked at this unusual

occurence. Just then, the lights to Sickbay went completely dark.

Where was the back-up power? The back-up power should've replaced the

once-lost luminosity with a somewhat dimmer version of the previous

setting. As she was thinking about this, she realised something else: the

restraining field was no longer operative.

Since Kait had little coordination left, she rolled herself off the biobed,

and stifled a groan at the piercing pain she felt upon contact with the

floor. No one had heard her, right? Kaitlyn focused her sense of hearing

on any possible movement, but there was none. Kait used the side of the

biobed to lift herself up to a standing position. She held her waist with

her right hand, hoping to ease the pain there and in her upper leg. While

thinking of suppressing the pain, a sound caught Kait's attention. Someone

was in Sickbay, and had made a sudden movement

=/\= "Ramin to engineering, I've got all the main computer's databanks

down! What the hell's going on?" =/\

The person obviously wasn't responding to her movements. Kaitlyn was no

longer the engineering side that he was conversing with, anymore. It felt

rather odd. She got back up on the biobed, not wanting to get into any

trouble. She laid there with her senses attuned to the environment around

her, but it was becoming an awkward situation to be doing that.

Still, Kait continued to lay there, trying to observe all that was

happening, but lacking the focused concentration that she needed to do so.

She weaved in and out from consciousness, until she became distinctly aware

of a barrage of voices talking worriedly and some groaning, presumably from

the other patients. It was a confusing collage of emotions in Sickbay now,

and it was all Kait could do to not give up to the confusion.

"Kaitlyn..." a voice called out to her.

"Who's there?" Kait whispered.

There was no reply. The voice only continued to beckon her: "Kaitlyn..."

Kait sat up and looked around Sickbay. She could barely see in the

dimly-lit room. The patients were either still laying in their biobeds, or

sitting up like Kait was, wondering what was going on.

"Hello?" Kait asked. No one turned their heads, not even any of the nearby

patients.

"Kaitlyn..." the voice said for the third time.

Now it was becoming a nuisance that needed to be taken care of. *I'm

coming,* she thought. Kait walked around Sickbay, taking a look at each of

the patients. None of their faces revealed anything about the voice she

had heard.

Then, Kait came upon Kestra Prynne.

"Kestra?" Kait whispered.

Kestra's eyes fluttered open. That action spooked Kait so much that she

nearly lost her balance. Kait tried to shrug it off, by assuming a

nonchalant posture, and asking in a thick English accent, "You called,

m'lady?"

Kestra groaned in pain, not able to enjoy such humor.

"I'm sorry," Kait whispered. Kestra merely responded by reaching out for

Kait's hand. Kait gripped Kestra's hand reassuringly.

Kestra managed a half-smile before saying, "I'm not going to make it, cousin."

"Don't speak that way!" Kait demanded.

Kestra said nothing more. She simply closed her eyes, and slowly allowed

herself to return to sleep. How long it would be until Kestra woke up

again, Kait was afraid to ask.

"Kestra..." Kait said while shaking the girl. "Kestra, can I heal you?"

Kestra did not stir in the slightest.

"Kestra!" Kait said more worriedly, shaking the girl more violently.

The decision was made then. Kaitlyn focused her mind, imagining a blue

mist forming around herself, which represented Kait's personal spiritual

energy. Kait focused the energy until it became denser and gained greater

momentum as it spun around her. Kait directed the spiritual energy towards

Kestra, aiming it at her heart. Kestra's eyes opened again, and she

uttered something which Kait could not understand.

Kestra took greedily of the energy, which caused Kait to feel an almost

physical pulling downwards. Kaitlyn began to feel the effects from the

loss of energy, and was slowly sinking towards the ground. Or was the

ground reaching up to her?

Kaitlyn laid on the ground listlessly. She was far from able to pour any

more energy into Kestra. Kaitlyn closed her eyes, and saw a bluish-green

mist coming towards her. It came nearer and nearer until it seemed to be

inside of her. Kait could feel the energy surge in her, and she opened her

eyes and stood up.

The voices in Sickbay protruded through her cloud of concentration. There

were doctors giving urgent directions. Someone was seriously hurt, Kait

could tell, because there was so much tension, worry, and pain 'in the

air'. Kaitlyn Brennan stood up and walked back towards where she had come

from... back to her own biobed. Despite that the energy had re-entered her

body, she was thoroughly exhausted.

She attempted to induce sleep once again, hoping that the horror, fatigue,

and worry would be gone by then. Whether or not sleep was something to

take that away, Kait would never know, because she remained awake the

entire time, laying there without physical movement but with plenty of

mental motion. She could only wait until it was all over, but with the

sense of foreboding in the air, she almost didn't want to be there when it

would be all over.