Parallels

Parallels by Bina C. copyright © 2001 Page 2 Captain’s Log, Stardate 47568.7 We are on our way to the planet Keralia where the people there have made a bid to join the Federation. 2 days after Captain Picard made the ship-wide announcement of Ensign Sito Jaxa’s death, Lt. Sam Lavelle sat at ops feeling empty inside. He expected to see Sito walk onto the bridge from the turbolift. He had no clue that she had been on a secret mission. Everything was so hush-hush. Alyssa and Taurik had known something; Lavelle had seen the sidelong glance then quick aversion between the two. Alyssa reminded him that as Starfleet officers, they weren’t allowed to discuss the situation. While Ensign Sito had guarded sickbay, Nurse Alyssa Ogawa had assisted Dr. Crusher in treating the Cardassian informant, who had crossed the border. Ensign Taurik had assisted Lt. LaForge in damaging the shuttle’s hull in preparation for the return. Lavelle just wanted to know why Sito was sent into Cardassian space. She was Bajoran! What were they thinking? The turbolift doors swooshed open. Lavelle caught himself before he turned his head. “Alpha shift is relieved,” announced Cmdr Riker. Lavelle swiveled in his chair and got up. He glanced at tactical on his way to the lift. That would’ve been her station, Lavelle thought to himself. The lift doors opened and he stepped in stating, “Deck 10.” Counselor Troi, aware of the lieutenant’s emotions, worriedly watched him leave. Riker noticed her reaction and remarked, “He’s still taking her death hard.” Troi replied, “I better go and talk with him, Will.” He nodded and Deanna left the bridge. As the turbolift doors opened on Deck 10, it triggered a memory in Lavelle. A few days ago, he had been getting out of the lift and was surprised to see Sito with Captain Picard. Lavelle had looked at her puzzled; but Sito’s face was beaming with anticipation. Lavelle smiled to himself remembering. He went to 10-Forward, signaled a bartender for a drink, and sat at a solitary table in a corner. 1Up/Back At Starfleet Academy, Cadet Wesley Crusher entered his room. His new roommate, Harry Kim, looked up from playing his clarinet then resumed. Crusher straightened up his already immaculate room and glanced at Harry’s side; he was pleased to see it clean as well. Wesley’s old roommate had dropped out of the Academy. Harry’s ex-roommate, Nick Locarno, had been Wesley’s squadron leader. Locarno had persuaded his squad to perform a prohibited flight maneuver resulting in the death of squad member Cadet Josh Alberts. Locarno was expelled; Wesley and Sito repeated the year. Harry noticed the extra tidying. “Expecting someone?” he asked. Wes was about to answer when the intercom chirped. “Cadet Crusher, please report to Captain Longshore’s office. The cadets looked at each other. “Wonder what that’s about?” Wes remarked before he left the room. Harry continued playing his clarinet until the doorbell chimed. Slightly annoyed by the interruption, Harry called, “Enter!” A tall brunette walked in and looked around. “Is Wes here?” Kim’s eyes widened and he stammered, “Libby, hi! Uh no he was paged to Longshore’s office.” Libby looked disappointed and started back out. “Tell Wes to call me when he wants to reschedule our lunch.” ask her Ask her Ask Her “Uh, Libby,” Harry cleared his throat, “Mind if I join you?” Libby smiled warmly, “Sure, that would be great.” Yessssssss! Harry thought to himself. 1Up/Back Elsewhere, in an underground spacious cavern, two Cardassians dragged in a struggling Bajoran girl. They brought her to Gul Nador. "We beamed this one off the escape pod before we destroyed it." The Gul smugly replied, "Excellent," as Sito Jaxa stared mutely back. "Take her to the labor camp." Though Sito tried not to show any reaction, Nador glimpsed the fear in her eyes and relished in his superiority over the Bajoran. A frisson of terror rippled through Sito as she was taken away. Nador stared at the girl's back. Why does she look familiar? The slightly disheveled bunned hair and the innocent face beneath the bruises nagged his memory. He turned to his computer and browsed through files until he found what he was looking for. The info was actually somewhere other than where he originally searched. This Bajoran girl wasn't in the terrorists’ file…it was in the Starfleet files. Two years ago while the Cardassians were in a secret plot w/ Admiral Kennelly of Starfleet to get rid of Bajoran terrorists, Gul Nador helped himself to other Starfleet files as well. One of the borrowed files mentioned a foolish stunt at their Academy. Apparently this captured Bajoran was a Starfleet cadet in-volved in that stunt. The question was: has she quit Starfleet since then or is she a Starfleet spy? Sito was set up to work in the mines. She noticed that the workers used ancient 20th century tools such as picks and shovels. A few hours later, calluses were already forming on Sito’s palms and fingers. After a while the mining became so repetitive that she let her mind wander. The Enterprise would be gone by now believing she had been killed. If only she could get a message to Joret Dal, he might be able to save her somehow. Lost in her thoughts, Sito didn’t notice that a Cardassian officer was scrutinizing her. Strength of character. That phrase went through her mind; she needed that strength more than ever. Definitely more than when she repeated that year in Academy. Sito flashbacked to those days after the Nova Squadron hearings. All her friends wouldn't talk to her and avoided eye contact. Students would stare at her and whisper behind their hands. Some people even made audible comments that were “supposed” to be whispers between the gossipers. At the mess hall when Sito sat down at the end of the table, one by one cadets would leave the table, leaving her all alone. She half-expected this reaction from them…but the faculty too? The teachers that had been friendly to her now kept conversation minimal and their glances were uneasy; whereas the teachers that she didn't know would talk to her coldly with an icy stare. More times than she had counted, she wished she could turn invisible or that the ground would swallow her up…till there was Sam. 1Up/Back In Ten-Forward, Lt. Lavelle shivered suddenly. “Are you all right?” A female voice from behind him asked. Startled, he turned around quickly to see Counselor Troi with a concerned look on her face. “Yes, fine. I just felt cold all of a sudden.” Troi smiled as she sat down across from him. “As you humans say, ‘somebody’s walking on your grave.’ Lavelle grinned in response. “Yeah, and Sito says…” he broke off as he lost his smile and corrected himself. “Used to say..” He fought the urge to cry by biting the inside of his cheek. Troi said, “It will take a while to get used to her being gone; as well as the hurt and the emptiness.” Sam took a gulp of his drink and stared silently at the glass. After a few seconds of silence, the Counselor tried to draw him out. “Tell me, how did you two meet and become friends? You were originally a class behind her.” Lavelle explained to Troi that he had been friends with Josh Albert. When the truth finally came out that the squad had attempted the Kolvoord Starburst, Lavelle was angry at Locarno for lying about Josh. He was glad Locarno was expelled. Irrationally, Sam couldn’t get over his resentment toward Cadet Crusher. After all, he was the one to finally tell the truth. But still he could have confessed earlier in the hearings instead of the last minutes before the verdict. Lavelle had noticed that Crusher and Sito were having a tough time at school after that. He felt Sito didn’t deserve it; she could have been killed as well in the accident. Lavelle saw her one day in the mess hall; Sito was sitting alone at a table, trying not to look miserable. The people sitting at nearby tables were looking at her and muttering among themselves. With his tray in hand, Sam walked straight to her table and sat down across from her. Sito had looked up startled. Sam had given her a lop-sided grin which she returned with a grateful smile. 1Up/Back Cadet Crusher knocked on Captain Longshore’s office door. “Enter,” a voice called out. The door opened; Crusher marched in and stood at attention in front of Longshore’s desk. The captain did not acknowledge him right away, which gave Wes time to observe him. Captain Longshore was a gray-haired slim man in his mid-seventies. He was a strict, all-business type of officer. The walls of his office were partially covered with ribbons of awards that he had earned. Wes wondered what he did to receive those awards. There was a model of a ship behind him sitting on a desk. He noticed there weren't any holopics of his family; unlike Admiral Paris who had holopics of his son on his desk. He had heard rumors that his wife and son were killed. Finally Longshore looked up from his datapad; Crusher snapped out of his musings. “At ease,” Wes widened his stance and put his arms behind him. Longshore started, “I have a copy of your midterm grades.” Wes thought sourly, Oh great, here we go. “You’re doing excellent in algorithms, quantum chemistry, and astrophysics, but you need to work on your Leadership class. That’s a main requirement of graduation, Cadet. You won’t be able to graduate with this low grade.” Crusher had no reply. “I’m actually surprised because both your parents did well in this class, especially your dad. Wes thought, Well that was them, I’m not them, I’m me. I hate being compared to other people. I’m tired of trying to be like them. “Anyway if you study for Leadership the way you do for your other classes, you’ll be able to raise your grade.” Wes hid a smile. “Thank you sir.” The captain didn’t know he had skipped his chemistry and physics class to go to the playroom and play domjot and poker. “Dismissed,” Longshore waved him off. “Aye, sir.” Wesley stood at attention, stepped back with his right toe, swiveled on his his left heel, and marched out. Wes gritted his teeth on the way back to his room. Kicking pebbles along the sidewalk, he vented his frustration. A large stone skipped into the flowerbed. “Hey! Watch it!” Wes turned and glared. Then he cooled down a little. “Sorry Boothby.” Wes sighed and squatted down to his level. Boothby looked up from his troweling. “Bad day?” Boothby asked. Wes snorted derisively, “Bad life.” Boothby just watched him and waited patiently for him to continue. “Sometimes I wish things were different. You know if I hadn’t failed the entrance exam the first time I took it, I could have been a lieutenant by now. I missed another opportunity when I missed the transport the next year. Cmdr Data and Cmdr LaForge probably would have figured out how to save Cmdr Riker and Counselor Troi.” Wes shook his head in remembrance. “Captain Picard even ordered me to go to the transport.” He sighed, “I loved being on the Enterprise as ensign. It didn’t seem like much at the time but compared to now? HA! Ok, I went along with something I knew was wrong. But I told the truth eventually. After that,” Wes picked up a handful of dirt, “I get treated like dirt. Dealing with attitudes from students and faculty. It’s been 2 years. 2 YEARS!!! I’m just so tired of school. In most of my classes, I’m the oldest one, not only because of repeating the year but also because I started later than most of the others. Sometimes I feel like I’m in stasis and life is just warping by. And some of these captains and admirals love comparisons. Comparing me to my mom or my dad. I can’t…it just bugs me. I never knew my dad. When I was little, to please my mom I wanted to be like him. I don’t want to anymore, I want to do what I want to do.” Wes took a deep breath and looked up into the sky. Boothby replied "You remind me of another boy who was a cadet here years ago. He too failed the entrance exam on his first try. At that time he was older than you even." Boothby looked at Wes and leaned toward him in emphasis, "He was 17" Crusher's eyebrows shot up. "2 years older than I was, wow. I wonder if he had a harder time than I am." Boothby answered, " It was tough for him, but he survived just as you will too." Wes sighed, " I hope so." He frowned slightly trying to recall a similar story. "Who was he?" Wes asked. The old gardener smiled, "None other than Jean-Luc Picard." Wes remembered, " I think he told me a little of that when I was just about to start the Academy. Boothby advised," Don't let them get to you. In their own way, they are trying to encourage you to do better." Wes sat in silence as he thought about this. Suddenly his head whipped up. "Damn, I'm late for lunch with Libby. Wes scrambled to his feet, "Hope she's not too mad. Thanks Boothby." Before Boothby could open his moth to reply, he was gone. "You're welcome," he said to himself. Wes got to his room to find it empty. He heard someone across the hallway. “Hey Lindsay, have you seen Harry?” Crusher asked. Cadet Ballard replied over her shoulder, “Am I your roommate’s keeper?” Unable to resist the grin she hid, Lindsay turned to Wes,” Actually Harry went out with Libby.” Crusher smiled at the news. “Really! Hmm I wonder how long she waited.” Lindsay inquired, “Do you mind if I wait with you to see how it went.” He motioned her to come in; Lindsay entered and made herself comfortable. 1Up/Back A loud commotion stirs Sito from her reverie. She looked up to see Cardassian soldiers coming toward her. The little hairs on her neck stood on end; she had a bad feeling about this. One of them had a long stick which he poked at her leg. Sito felt an electric shock shoot up her leg and through her body turning her muscles into jelly. She collapsed to the ground then the others pulled up her lifeless body and dragged her away. The watchful soldier slipped away unnoticed. When Sito regained consciousness, her arms were asleep. She tried wiggling them but only could move her fingers. Also her feet were not on the ground. She pried open her eyes, and found herself in the cavern again. Sito heard footsteps behind her; before she could turn her head, he walked in front of her. “You almost had me fooled, my dear,” Gul Nador said deceptively sweetly. “The bruises on your face looked convincing,” he said as he reached up and softly touched her above the eye. She pulled back instinctively. Nador stepped away and continued, “No doubt the handiwork of Dr Crusher.” Sito stiffened He knows but how? He might be bluffing; trying to make me show my hand. Show no emotion. Be a Vulcan. Be like Taurik. Sito closed her eyes to shut out the pang of emotional pain as she thought about her friends on the Enterprise. She took a deep breath steeling herself before opening her eyes. Nador was still rambling. “I’m surprised the high and mighty Picard would have you on his precious Enterprise considering that little stunt of yours at the Academy.” Nador perused her face for any reaction. Ugh! Does the whole quadrant know about that?!? Although her face didn’t change, the Gul noticed a slight flaring of her nose and her mouth tightened. “So what were you doing in Cardassian space? Who was the other passenger?” Sito stared ahead silently. “This silent act is growing wearisome.” He turned away signaling a guard who strode forward. She braced herself as he swung his hand and hit her above the eye making the fake bruise very much real. Sito held back a cry of pain. Instead she retaliated; before the guard could react, Sito lifted her legs into a curl to her body and kicked the guard in the jaw and the chest, knocking him backwards breathlessly. She sensed movement behind her. Attempting to gain more momentum, she pushed herself further a bit before using all her weight to swing back. The alert guard knew what to expect; he evaded her feet then elbowed her in the head from behind knocking her unconscious. The dazed guard quickly got to his feet and glared at the other guard who merely raised an insolent eyebrow. To vent his humiliation and frustration, he backhanded her slumped face. The Gul watched in amusement but then sobered quickly and briskly ordered, “Prepare her for the implantation.” 1Up/Back Lavelle rubbed the back of his head and yawned. “I’m going to my quarters and try to get some sleep.” He got up from his chair. Troi looked up to him, “If you want to talk anytime, you…” “I’ll call you.” Sam cut her off gently with a weak smile. “I know. Thank you.” He turned away and left 10-Forward. Deanna signaled a waiter and watched the lieutenant leave. He wasn’t letting himself grieve. He had attended the memorial service and resumed his regular duties after that. Keeping busy was his way to fill (or ignore) a void left by her death. The waiter set a bowl of chocolate ice cream in front of her. She gave him a smile. Was it gratitude or the chocolate that made her smile so big? She tried to stop but couldn’t! Deanna picked up her spoon, scraped the top and took a bite. Momentarily she closed her eyes as she savored the taste. She put aside the small morsels to save them for last. Mmmm maybe just one for now. She scooped the side and was about to put it in her mouth but stopped mid-motion. “Are you planning to stand there and watch me the whole time or are you going to join me?” the counselor asked. Will came from behind her; he lifted his leg above and over the back of the chair and sat down. “I wasn’t sure if you two wanted to be disturbed.” He indicated the dessert. Will raised his brow enquiringly. Deanna put her thoughts together before replying. “I think he needs time to grieve. There’s no set time limit unless it is complicated grief. From what he shared I don’t think that’s the case though.” Riker nodded at her assessment as he looked down in thought. He grinned slowly as he looked at her, down to the ice cream, and back at her. Deanna sighed with mock exasperation and rolled her eyes. Nevertheless, she scooped up a spoonful of ice cream. They didn't notice the door opening nor see Lt. Worf come in. Worf walked toward their table, but slowed to a stop as he watched Troi feed Riker her dessert. He clenched his jaw and glowered; he turned around so fast that his braided hair swung in front of him. He sat down on a stool at the bar. The bartender came to get his order. "Prune juice," Worf growled with a menacing glare. The intimidated bartender hurried to fill the order without comment or expression. He snuck a peek at the Klingon from under his eyelids; nope, with that mood he smothered a small smirk that threatened to escape. For a long time, it seemed that Sam was the only friend that Sito had at school. Because of that, cadets and faculty had given Lavelle odd looks when he walked and talked with Sito. Many of his friends avoided him too. Though he tried to brush it off carelessly as if it didn't matter, Sito guessed intuitively that Sam felt stung by their abandonment. Yet when Wesley Crusher tried to join them or start conversation, Sam usually scowled and his jaw tightened. She even came out and asked Sam why he disliked Wesley so much. He shook his head and gritted "Don't ask." Lavelle opened his eyes in the darkness of his quarters. Did he say that aloud in his sleep? Odd. That dream seemed so real; not just the memory of it. It seemed as if he went back in time and relived it. He tried but failed to go back to sleep. So he got out of bed and headed to sickbay for a sleeping aid. No one appeared to be there but he saw a light in Dr. Crusher's office. Alyssa was sitting at the desk holding a tricorder and intently tapping the main computer. She looked up when she sensed someone in the room with her. "Sam, hi!" What are you doing up?" She tried not to let her concern show. Lavelle shrugged and answered, "I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep." He walked into the room and perched himself on the corner of the desk. He leaned over to see the screen, inadvertently knocking over an object. Sam picked it up and looked at it. It was a holophoto of Wes. Out of respect for Dr. Crusher, he placed it out of the way; instead of throwing it across the room as impulse would have him do. 1Up/Back/Page 2