Unsettling Dreams

Posted on Mon Feb 9th, 2009 @ 3:53am by

1,195 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Restricted Independent Operations
Location: Kevin Larkin's Cabin
Timeline: current

[Dhindara's Cabin]

Dhindara was woken up, in the middle of the night. Normally nightmares didn't bother her. Those of the others, that was, but this ship was new, and these people and their minds were new to her. She had picked up on one. Her mind was searching until she found the source. She got up from her bed, quickly put on a black, long dress and gave her raven hair a handful of brushes, then left her cabin, making straight for the source of the nightmares which she was still feeling even though she knew the man had woken up. She pressed the doorbell to his quarters.

[Kevin Larkin's Cabin]

Kevin Larkin slowly looked up from his computer screen, and stared at the door apprehensively. He couldn't help but think of the dream. He'd been sitting at this desk when someone had arrived at the door. It took several moments for him to summon the courage, but he finally replied to the chime. "Um...come in?" His voice cracked as he spoke.

To his relief, the woman who stepped through the door was about as far from the ghostly figure of Commander Daniels as someone could get. He recognized her as one of the Archimedes' scientific crew, but he hadn't been on board long enough to be able to recall her name yet. "Hi, is there something I can do for you?" Larkin was more than a little curious why she was here so early in the morning.

Dhindara smiled. "Funny", she said, "I was going to ask you that question. You were dreaming. Your dream was very intense, and it stayed with you after waking up. I was worried." She walked into the cabin and approached the younger man. She bowed slightly. "I am Dhindara Vrel."

Larkin stared at the woman, thoroughly confused. It took a few more seconds for it to dawn on him that she was Betazoid. It took him longer to think through things shortly after waking up. "Oh, right, right, I'm sorry. I remember now." He paused, trying to come up with a tactful way of avoiding explaining as much about the dream as possible. "Yes, I did have a bit of a bad dream. It's nothing serious; I have them from time to time. I'm sorry I woke you, and thanks for checking on me," he paused awkwardly. "That was very kind of you..."

Dhindara smiled. "Your dream was stronger than those of most people", she said, "it lingered with you even after waking up. I could feel your fear. Fear is a strong emotion, and like love and anger most people can't shield it, and it flows through the ship."

Larkin was somewhat at a loss for words. This was certainly turning out to be a strange morning. "Well, yes, the dream did have to do with some pretty strong memories, or actually, rather, the lack there of. But, that's a rather long story, which I'm sure you're probably not interested in hearing." His speech was broken and repetitive. Dhindara's presence didn't bother him, but their topic of conversation did. He wanted as few people as possible to know about the Dragoon, not to mention the fact that it was not something he particularly enjoyed thinking about. "I mean, besides, I'm sure this dream wasn't all that special. Everyone has the occasional particularly poignant nightmare, right?"

"No, not at all", Dhindara replied, "it is quite the exception." She noticed he was uncomfortable with the topic but she had to ask anyway. "So you're dealing with repressed memories. Have you tried to bring them back to the surface?"

Larkin sighed a little. He could tell that he wasn't going to get out of this one. "Yes, I've actually tried quite a few ways of bringing them out of hiding." The man began to stare at nothing in particular, leaned back in his chair, and cupped his hands in front of his face. "I even took part in a Vulcan mind-meld, but nothing has ever brought anything up. In fact, up until a few months ago, I was starting to suspect that they might not even be in there. Since then, I've had a couple of dreams that made me think otherwise. Honestly, I'm not sure what scares me more: the idea that I might never remember, or the idea that I might." He suddenly snapped out of his trance, realizing that he'd said a little more than he'd wanted.

Dhindara nodded. "I can see what you mean. Your dreams may be a sign that whatever block exists in your mind is coming free. Have these dreams increased in intensity?"

"Well, that one was pretty intense," Larkin paused. It was probably the most intense dream he'd ever had, but he wasn't really sure he wanted to admit that, to Dhindara or himself. "But, to be fair, that was the first one I've had in quite a while. Maybe it was more of a backed up pressure, um..thing..." He had no idea what he was talking about.

"It seems like you have to keep watching where this is going for a while", Dhindara replied, "and I guess so will I, if I want to or not."

"Sorry about that. Is there anything we can do about it, or..." Larkin was ridiculously far outside of his area.

"Help you recover your memories, eventually", Dhindara said.

Larkin looked up at her, and forced a weak smile onto his face. "Oh, great..."

"Is there anything I can do for you now?" Dhindara asked.

"Uhh... I'm not really sure. I mean, I can't think of anything, and I am feeling better, but I'm not really even sure what you could do for me." Larkin wasn't really sure what to think of all of this. He wasn't very familiar with the extent of a Betazoid's abilities, and he wasn't even sure if she was referring to them.

Dhindara walked over to the replicator and retrieved a glass of hot chocolate mixed with honey. Milk with honey was nasty. Add chocolate and it became one of the most wonderful drinks in the world. She handed it to him. "Here, this should help you go back to sleep", she said, "I should do the same."

Larkin tasted the drink. It really was quite good. "Thanks," he said. "I'm sorry, I know I can be a little difficult to deal with on this issue. I do appreciate your concern, though, and sorry again about waking you up."

"It's not your fault", she said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "And now I recommend you go off to bed, and I'll see you in the morning."

Larkin continued to sit at his desk for a time after Dhindara left, sipping at the drink she'd given him. She didn't fully understand what she was suggesting. Kevin had almost been relieved when his previous attempts to regain his memories of the Dragoon had failed. He wasn't sure that he wanted to know the truth, as there was always the remotest of possibilities that he had been somehow responsible for its destruction, and he didn't know if he could live with that.

 

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