(Test Run) Waking Up After a Very Long Night

[tasha_yar]

Normally, she awakens quickly from habit. Today, she feels foggy...like she's been dried out from some weird drug. Damn it, she hasn't felt this bad since the day after the Tsiolkovsky incident. That's not worth examining while she has this head and body ache.

What happened this time? she thinks thickly. And how bad is it going to get?

She blinks a few times slowly. There was this dream. Deanna in a crashed shuttle and this...oil slick? Maybe. The damn thing laughed. Taunted them. Blocked their path to Troi and the injured crew. She tried. What did she try? Whatever it was she was floating afterwards, or flying through the air; like the dream shifted or something.

"The landing wasn't smooth," she murmurs with little mirth, rubbing her head.

She must have fallen asleep in her uniform again. Her head will clear with some coffee and food. Then, her sense kicks in. If she had been drugged, she needs to go to sickbay with as little intervention to herself as possible. If she's having a new form of intense nightmare then she needs to check in with Deanna. A large part of her wants to know she's okay anyway after that weirdness.

She chooses to forgo the shower in the same spirit as forgoing food and head out of her bedroom to check in with the first place her feet take her.

Comments

For potential "WTF are you doing in my quarters?" roommate situations:

[tasha_yar]

For Sickbay

[tasha_yar]

For Deanna or any of the normal crew not in sickbay

[tasha_yar]

ooc: I hope this is okay! So sorry it took me so long to tag, busy week. :(

[tea_earlgrey_hot]

It is not every day that one is gifted with new opportunities to encounter lost colleagues. For as far as Starfleet and, indeed, humans on whole have come, death is still the last unconquered enemy; so to call Captain Picard surprised to see Tasha would be a rather large understatement.

"Tasha," he breathes, the shock self-evident. For some time he cannot but look at her, as if she may evaporate at any moment.

The hallway hums softly, the usual activity coming and going around them.

Sorry. Got my ass kicked. Returning from the dead now.

[tasha_yar]

She examines her captian with only light confusion. Calling her by her first name in clear public view isn't something he does, or at least, it's not a habit she's noticed.

"Yes, Captain." There's the smallest of pauses. "Is there something wrong, sir?"

For random people in the hallway

[tasha_yar]

[just_be_quiet]

Andrew is trying to find his way back to his quarters. He is a bit mixed up as everything looks the same to him. He knows he is on the right deck he just isn't so sure about the section.

He could ask the computer for directions but the nice blonde woman in the Starfleet uniform might be a good option. She has some interesting feelings coming off of her but he isn't going to comment on them.

"Um. Excuse me?" He tries out a smile. It comes off as a little shy. "I seem to be a little lost, ma'am."

He looks like a typical nine year old human boy. Maybe a little paler than normal but aside from that he really isn't all that remarkable.

[tasha_yar]

"You came to the right place," Tasha replies, summoning her most professionally friendly smile from somewhere in her aching body. He must be new and she's just not recalling whom his parent or parents are. That's...not like her. Damn headache.

"Where is it you need to go?"

[just_be_quiet]

She gets a slightly concerned glance from Andrew. Is she really okay? Something about her reads like the nights following a case that went weird on his Uncle John. When he breaks out the stuff his Aunt calls 'paint thinner' even if it really isn't.

"Section Four, room 742." She may recall that those are guest quarters. That means the by must be visiting the ship with his parents, right?

No one would leave a young boy unattended.

[tasha_yar]

No. No, she's not, but she fakes being completely together very well.

People need to take better care of their children. They're insanely careless. Not that she lets that show. It's often not worth arguing with self-absorbed or work-obsessed ambassadors.

"Right this way." It's not too far away.

[just_be_quiet]

"Thanks," he says in a false-bright tone. Her mood is kind of battering against him. He doesn't know why she is irritated, just that she is.

"I'm still not really used to the ship. It's..." He pauses trying to find the right words. "A bit much for me."

He can't get over how big the ship is sometimes.

[tasha_yar]

She's irritated because she's not at her best. There is a nightmare to shake off, a healthy dose of pain she's covering for, seeing children alone sets her teeth on edge and it's better, at least in her mind, to latch onto irritation rather than fear. Anger isn't always useful, but it can pull you through quite a few fights.

"That's alright," she admits. "It took me awhile to settle in, too."

More than a week to mentally map everything down to the Jeffries Tubes. Dealing with people was always harder.

[just_be_quiet]

Andrew isn't able to pick up on the full range of feelings that Tasha is dealing with. He would have no idea she was in pain. Just that her feelings might just be more complicated than most people allow themselves this early in the day.

"I wasn't even supposed to be here," Andrew sad feeling a good a proper sulk trying to work it's way forward. He doesn't say why he shouldn't be here he just moves right along.

"Summer vacation. It just started back home." Which tells Tasha very little. Just that the boy isn't in a happy place right now.

[tasha_yar]

"Maybe you can convince your parents to take you to the holodeck." Yeah, right. She tried not to envy the kid. Summers when she was his age meant the blessing of more wild food to potentially gather from the encroaching foliage of parks and abandoned homes. It meant less need to stay in bulky clothing that protected you, but made movement slightly more difficult. But it also meant many of her hiding places underground became flooded with spring runoff mixed with some sort of toxic sludge which burned her nose just getting near it.

She found herself visibly shaking off the memory. Great. She was doing that again. She was looking...Well, obviously different.

"Or you can reserve time to go have a summer in there. Just ask the computer to schedule you."

[just_be_quiet]

That is the moment when the wind is knocked out of Andrew's sails. He doesn't really have parents anymore. He can pick up on feelings of envy but really, he has no idea why anyone would envy him. His Dad doesn't really care about him anymore and he isn't even sure if he will ever see his mother again.

"I don't have parents." There is a faint crack to his voice. "And... I'm one of the people Q kidnapped. I'm sure you remember. A bunch of people swept up by a weird.... prank? All of us stuck on your ship."

He doesn't cry or sniffle. He is sad though because he misses home. "I'm from your past. Kind of. He's been yanking people from all over time and space."

He gives Tasha a sad glance finally. "All I have from home is my dog Bernie. I miss my Uncle John and... my Aunt. I don't think even the holodeck could fix that. It can't really simulate how a farm really smells."

[tasha_yar]

That shocks her into a kind of battle mode that may be hard for Andrew to process. It's almost feral, but well-trained and honed to a point sharper than diamonds. Why the hell did Worf or Lt. Collins wake her if Q was here?! Her phaser slips into her hand.

"Where is he? Where is Q now?!"

Because, no, she doesn't remember this happening. Not a thing.

[knight_2000]

Kitt was on his way to Ten Forward, hoping to take advantage of that wonderfully large viewing window again. He missed his home, he missed having a sense of purpose, he missed long empty stretches of road that spooled out before him into infinity.

The viewing window offered him the chance to lose himself in the majesty of deep space, instead. A fair enough trade.

He doesn't recognize the woman coming toward him, but he notices a few things about her. Though she's wearing what he's learned is a Starfleet uniform, it appears to be of a slightly different style than that of the other crew members he's met. More than that, his passive scanners are telling him that she's agitated. He doesn't intrude further than that, but he does offer her a smile as she approaches.

"Hello."

[tasha_yar]

Her eyes narrow. There's a new person on the ship and she doesn't recognize them. At least he's being friendly for the time being. Also, her instincts tell her something about his inflection is "off."

Just like millions of others in the Federation, Tasha. It's called an "accent."

She makes her tired and sore body relax, though her senses are as sharp as she can make them.

"Can I help you?" she asks, hoping that was friendly enough while her eyes continue scanning him.

[knight_2000]

An accent, yes. They'll go with that, for now.

"Oh, no, thank you. I know my way by now. I have a working map of the entire ship." He taps his temple a couple of times, but then his face takes on a hint of concern.

"I don't mean to pry, but are you well? You seem... what is the colloquialism? 'Under the weather'? Are you in need of assistance?" He cocks his head, relying only on the normal human spectrum of vision to try to determine her condition.

[tasha_yar]

She frowns at him. "Thank you but that's not your concern." She barely know how to handle those who use their extra senses on her politely. Even Deanna doesn't always get her most well-behaved self even when she knows the Betazoid only has the best of intentions.

She's about to walk off, but some nagging feeling stop her. She remakes eye contact with the stranger. "Why?"

[knight_2000]

"No, I suppose it isn't." His voice sounds almost sad, but if that's the way she wants to be, there really isn't anything he can do about it.

He nods a cordial farewell, ready to resume his course to Ten Forward, but her question stops him, catching him off-guard.

"Why?" He blinks at her, a mix of both curiosity and a deer-in-headlights look on his face. His next comment is out before he even has a chance to think about what he's saying, or how he's automatically started scanning her despite himself.

"My scanners indicate that your stress levels are high. Your blood sugar is low, and there is tension in your muscles. Is is as if you are on alert, yet there is no external threat that I am aware of." He pauses, eyeing her critically. "Is there something that we should know about?" He's seen this before in the humans he's worked with, and it's almost never a good sign.

[tasha_yar]

Her stomach falls. "Scanners?" No. It couldn't be. He looks...

It would not be the weirdest thing he's done. she reminds herself.

"Data?"

[knight_2000]

He's still looking at her askance, but now some confusion and genuine concern is creeping in. He mentally assigns it to her physical condition, but he answers carefully.

"... Yes, I used the data I acquired in my scan of you to come to this conclusion. Are you sure you're all right? Perhaps you should allow me to accompany you to Sick Bay, Miss."

[tasha_yar]

Her eyes narrow. "Is this some kind of joke?" She's pretty sure it isn't. The android-speak means jokes might very well be lost on this man.

He can see her shift slightly into a more defensive stance. "Who are you?"

[knight_2000]

He's well aware of what jokes are, but this isn't one of them. He takes a step back, trying to keep his own posture open and non-threatening as he watches her.

"My name is Kitt. I'm a guest on this vessel, brought here by Q a few weeks ago. I assure you, I mean you no harm." He doesn't feel the need to tell her anymore than that, not yet.

[tasha_yar]

Her eyes narrow. She presses her com. "Yar to Bridge."

Nothing.

She tries again.

Still nothing.

Q.

"I'm sorry, but until we get this sorted out, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me to Sickbay." The tone in her voice makes it clear this is not a request.

Sickbay is close by, will definately have communication lines open to somewhere, a roster of crew and passangers, and - well, if something is wrong with her, they'd have the best chance of sorting it out.

[knight_2000]

If the look on his face is one of utter bafflement, that's because he is utterly baffled.

"I'm not sick. Unless you're requesting some accompaniment for yourself? Are you unable to make it on your own?" That would make more sense, but his scans, while worrisome, weren't absolutely alarming. Still, who was he to judge how she was feeling?

[tasha_yar]

She doesn't answer verbally, but her body language is about as clear as he's ever seen on a human indicating which direction they need to head towards.

(And I think this is a around a good cut off. Thank you.)

For anyone not covered by the above

[tasha_yar]