Chapter Text
Panic. La’an woke up, and Maya was nowhere to be found. Not asleep, not hunched over the computer console, not using the ‘fresher. Nowhere.
“Stupid, stupid girl,” La’an mumbled as she quickly dressed. There was a great risk to herself to go wandering the ship, but a greater risk to Maya to be left to her own devices and her poorly planned schemes. Before she left, La’an skimmed the computer console to look for a clue of where Maya might be. She had been looking at shift rotations before she left, maybe trying to catch someone as they finished their day’s work? A little more digging and she could probably guess who, but the last shift ended four hours ago. That was too long to be gone just to meet someone for a chat.
There was a chime on the door. La’an sighed. She didn’t have time for this. “Come in.” She turned to face the door, and when it opened she saw her Terran double standing in the door frame.
“You will stand and salute me, La’an,” she demanded as she stepped inside and the door closed behind her.
“Forgive me for forgetting my manners, Admiral.” La’an did stand up, but not because it was demanded of her. Rather, she wanted to address her alternate eye to eye, as an equal. “It’s the furthest thing from my mind when I’m deeply concerned for the safety of my companion.”
“And that’s what I came here to talk to you about.” The Terran La’an moved into the room with long, powerful strides, filling the space with a powerful presence. She stopped by the computer console and glanced down at the screen. “Whether its due to youthful bravado or a sense of arrogance from having an altered genome, one thing both Mayas have in common is a frustrating aversion to planning their actions.”
“What happened to her?” La’an’s heart raced, her face began to feel hot, and she clenched her fists. An urgent sense of danger began to creep in as she began to see the other La’an as a direct threat.
“Not to worry, She should be relatively safe. She said that you had nothing to do with her escape attempt, and while I have reasons to believe her, I won’t leave any stone uncovered.” Her attention went back to the computer, skimming through the shift rotations before flipping through a few other documents that Maya had recently read. “Especially when it looks like you’ve been using my credentials to access every file on the ship.”
“I won’t say a word until you tell me what happened to her.”
“Nothing she didn’t deserve.” The Terran La’an didn’t look up, still searching through the computer’s history. “But it was a mistake to trust the two of you to stay together. She will be spending the remainder of our journey with her counterpart. Believe me, they've taken a liking to each other.”
La’an didn’t like that answer, all this dodging and avoiding a direct answer left her mind free to speculate, and she didn’t like the dark place her mind wandered off to when she tried to guess what might have happened.
“Look at me!” She shouted, grabbing her Terran counterpart by the shoulder and forcing her to turn to face her. “Look at me and tell me what you’ve done to her!”
Choosing an aggressive strategy proved to be a mistake. The Terran La’an broke free from her counterpart’s grasp and with a fluid motion grabbed La’an by her shirt to pull her close and turned La’an so that her back faced her, drew the knife from her belt, and held the blade of her weapon to La’an’s throat. “Allow me to remind you again that you are in no position to make demands. My plans might require you to act as my double, but I can alter them if I must.”
La’an had escaped, unarmed from a knife fight before, she knew what to do. She smashed the back of her skull into her Terran counterpart’s head. That wasn’t enough to knock her opponent off balance, so she also thrust her elbow back to strike her opponent in the abdomen. The two women were perfectly matched in strength, experience and technique, but La’an earned herself a slight advantage, enough to take hold of the Terran La’an’s wrist and push her knife arm inches away from her throat.
The two were locked in a stalemate, equal forces pushing in opposition but making no progress until La’an stole an advantage by stomping on her opponents foot. The Terran La’an had the same high pain tolerance that she did, but the unexpected move caught her off guard just enough that her strength wavered for just a moment, long enough for La’an to twist her counterpart’s arm into an unnatural angle that forced her to loosen her grip on her weapon and gave La’an the opportunity to wrestle the knife from her hand.
She had to move fast, well aware that the Terran La’an still had a phaser. Just as the Terran La’an had done to her when their altercation began, La’an grabbed her counterpart’s collar and yanked her around to hold the blade against her throat. “Now who’s in a position to make demands? Tell me what you’ve done to Maya.”
“Unimaginable pain, but no bodily harm. I don’t know if you have that technology in your world.”
“We don’t need it where I’m from. Is that all you did to her?”
“That’s all I did to her. I don’t know what happened after, but I have reason to believe my Maya’s intentions were on pleasure rather than pain.” As the Terran La’an spoke, La’an could feel her opponent’s arm begin to move, the arm that was closest to her phaser. La’an didn’t give her the chance to reach it, swiftly pulling the knife away from her throat and thrusting it into her lower abdomen. Her intent was only to injure, not to kill. She held her opponent still and let her bleed out until she was sure that the Terran La’an would be weakened enough to not pose a threat.
La’an let go, and her Terran double collapsed to the ground on all fours, weak and shaking. She bent down to take the communicator and the phaser from her belt. “La’an to Doctor T’Ralia. I am in my counterpart’s quarters.” She had to pretend to be the Terran La’an in case she was overheard. “We had an altercation. She needs immediate medical attention and sedation. I want to keep her alive for now.”
The Terran La’an gasped for air. “Go ahead and kill me. At least grant me the dignity of a clean death.”
“If that’s what you want, then I am less inclined to grant it.” She knelt beside her Terran counterpart. For all of the time she had faced death herself, the first time as a young child, seeing her mirror image hanging onto life by a thread stirred up an uncomfortable reminder of her own mortality. No matter how cruel her counterpart might be, she couldn’t stomach the thought of watching her die.
“Coward. Give me back my knife and let me do it myself rather than live with the shame of defeat.”
“Absolutely not.”
The door opened without the courtesy of a chime, and Doctor T’Ralia rushed in. She didn’t offer any pleasantries before she knelt beside the patient and began to work, first with a hypospray full of sedatives and then with a dermal regenerator to repair the stab wound. “I see I reached the correct conclusion that you were the La’an from the other universe, and this woman is the Terran?”
La’an nodded. “Is it only that she’s wearing a Terran uniform that gave it away?”
“No. It is highly unlikely that a Terran with a brutal sense of ambition like La’an would spare the life of an opponent. I trust that you had good reason to spare hers.”
“A number of reasons. It seemed as though I was watching myself get killed, I’m afraid of having too much outside influence on your world, and I don’t want to lose any knowledge or information she might have.”
“Your first appeal is purely emotional, the second is a moot point because you have already interfered, but your third point is logical.”
“Can you keep her sedated indefinitely?”
“A safer, more secure option would be to store her in the buffer of sickbay;s emergency transporter.”
La’an had heard that strategy before. “Perfect. Whatever it takes. Get her out of here, and as far as anyone else is concerned I’m her and she’s dead.”
T’Ralia took a moment to process La’an’s convoluted explanation. “Understood, Admiral Noonien Singh.”
As soon as T’Ralia left with the patient. La’an bolted out the door and down the corridor. She was too late to save Maya from the worst of the suffering, but damned if she would let her endure another moment of it. She walked as quickly as she could without breaking into a run, ignored the crew who she passed as they offered a respectful Terran salute, but was stopped by an unexpected yet familiar voice that called out to her from behind.
“Admiral Noonien Singh. The Terran uniform suits you.”
La’an turned to face the male Q. “I don’t have time for this.”
“Don’t you, though? Take a turn around the corner and you'll see an ensign frozen mid-stride. Time has stopped, no one can hear us, and any sense of urgency is nothing more than a product of your own mind.” Q clasped his hands behind his back as he walked closer, studying
La’an carefully. “I think the gold of an Emperor’s regalia might suit you even better.”
“I have no intention of taking my alternate’s place, I thought that would have been made clear by the fact that I didn’t kill her when I easily could have.”
“But of course, a beautiful glimpse of compassion from a descendant of one of Earth’s worst fascist dictators. At least, that’s what it looks like on the surface. Maybe you want to kill her but pragmatic reasons, not alturism, are holding you back.”
“And maybe I don’t give a damn about these games you’re trying to play.”
“Dear Admiral, you’ve been playing in my game from the start. This whole universe is my game. You are poised to become the Terran Emperor. Your whole life you have denied your legacy, maybe it’s time to embrace it.”
“Whatever you seem to know, you don’t know my heart. I’m not like him. Maya isn’t like him, and if you think something will make either of us snap, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.”
“Don’t be so sure until you’ve spoken to her yourself.” With a flash of light, Q vanished.
La’an began to walk again, slowly and uncertain. She breathed a sigh of relief when she turned the corner and saw the ensign Q had mentioned, walking normaling, and only stopping to give her a Terran salute, which La’an actually returned. If she was going to convince anyone else that she was the other La’an, she had to put some effort into it.
Soon she stood outside the door to the Terran Maya’s quarters. She took a deep breath before she rang the chime, bracing herself for what she might see on the other side of the door. No response. “Maya. I need to speak to you immediately.”
“Just a moment. I thought you were going to give me more time.”
A wave of panic and nausea hit La’an. “Now, Maya!”
A few tense moments panicked before the doors slid open. The Terran Maya stood just on the other side in a silk nightgown, her hair wild and tousled. “Why so urgent? You didn’t change your mind about taking part, did you?”
“What?” a moment of realization. La’an wrinkled her nose in disgust. “No, no. absolutely not!” She pushed the Terran Maya out of the way as she rushed into the room. “What have you done to her?”
The Terran Maya recovered her balance and glared at La’an with narrowed eyes. “You aren’t the right La’an. I’ll call for Captain Conroy…anyone…they’ll put you in your place.”
La’an gritted her teeth and tried to remain calm as she drew her phaser. “I’m the only La’an now, and if you make one wrong move then she’ll be the only Maya. I normally wouldn’t use lethal force unless absolutely necessary, but I noticed that Terran phasers only have one setting: vaporize.”
The Terran Maya’s shoulders were hunched forward, and she held her hands up in front of her as a sign of retreat, but she still tried to stand her ground. “You’re bluffing. The people from your world are too soft for that.”
Without hesitation, La’an aimed her phaser at the ground beside Terran Maya’s feet. She jumped frantically to the side as the spot on the ground burned, twisted, and melted into a blackened mess. The Terran Maya stared at the scorched, smoldering spot on the floor before looking back to La’an…who had her phaser aimed back at her.
“Are you willing to test that theory?” She demanded. The Terran Maya simply shook her head. “Good. Get on your knees.”
The Terran Maya complied, hands still up and open as she lowered herself to kneel on the floor. La’an kept her phaser aimed at her as she came closer and walked behind her. At the very last moment, La’an holstered her phaser, only because she needed both hands to tear a length of fabric from her jacket to bind the Terran Maya’s hands behind her back.
Her opponent, however, took advantage of that moment of vulnerability. She dived down to roll away, but La’an acted quickly enough to tackle her. The Terran Maya had the advantages of youth and advanced strength and speed, but La’an had decades of experience and well-practiced technique. Still, the Terran Maya had the strength to wiggle her way free and get back to her feet, but La’an grabbed her ankle, pulled her down, and she fell to the ground face down. Once she was down. La’an drew her weapon again and kept it aimed at the Terran Maya as she rose back to her feet. “We can keep playing this game, but as long as I’m the one with the phaser, it’s a game you’re going to lose.”
“Maybe if you weren’t afraid to use it.”
La’an placed one foot on the Terran Maya’s upper back, right between the shoulder blades. She didn’t press hard enough to cause injury, just to hold her down. “I don’t want to use it, but I will if you force my hand.” Now that she was sure her opponent was secure, she finished what she started a little while ago. She holstered her phaser, finished tearing the strip of fabric, and knelt down (one knee still holding down the Terran Maya) to tie her hands tightly behind her back. Once she was done, La’an grabbed her communicator and flipped it open.
“Admiral Noonien Singh to Doctor T’Ralia.”
“Go ahead.”
“Can you store another person in the transporter’s buffer?”
“No. The data storage and energy resources are already approaching their limit.”
Damn. that would complicate things. “Understood. Come to Maya’s quarters anyway. She needs a trusted doctor.”
“Understood.”
La’an looked up and took a moment to regroup and think of an alternate, and unfortunately less ideal, plan. “Admiral Noonien Singh to security.”
“Go ahead.”
“I need three of your best men to come immediately to Maya’s quarters and detain her. She’s been behaving erratically and can’t be trusted”
“Understood, Admiral. On our way.”
“And I cannot stress this enough, do not use lethal force. I need her to win the favor of the augments, and I believe I can convince her to see reason.” No response. “This is a direct order from an admiral, do I make myself clear?”
“Yes Admiral.”
La’an dug her knee harder in the Terran Maya’s back and still kept her phaser aimed in place. “I’m going to great lengths to preserve your life. Don’t be stupid enough to force me to use my weapon.” She turned her head just enough to see the bed A human shaped form hid under the covered with a tuft of dark hair sticking out at the top. “Maya…I’m not ignoring you. I just need to take care of her first.” La’an heard a soft, pained moan. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved to hear a response or heartbroken to hear one that was so anguished and pitiful.
The security team arrived soon. There was no chime at the door, the three men burst in and rushed toward the Terran Maya. La’an rose to her feet, wincing because her joints ached and creaked, a reminder that she really was getting too old for this. The trio rushed toward the Terran Maya, one restraining her on each side while the third watched and was ready to offer backup if needed. La’an clasped her hands behind her back and watched with a stern look on her face. “Be gentle. I still need her.” From what she saw, however, the Terran Maya wasn’t giving them much of a chance to treat her gently. She struggled like a feral animal, kicking, biting, and screaming. La’an stood still and kept up the demeanor of the stern admiral until the door slid back closed behind them.
“Maya!” In that moment, her tough exterior broke down and she rushed to the side of the bed to kneel beside Maya. “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry. I don’t even want to ask what happened.” She rested a gentle, comforting hand on Maya’s head, but Maya flinched and rolled away.
“Don’t touch me! And I didn’t endure anything that I didn’t deserve. I broke the rules, I brought this on myself.”
“No…Maya, no. Whatever they told you, this wasn’t your fault.” She looked down. Words were so hard to form. What could you even say to someone who had every reason to be inconsolable? “Anything you need as far as help and comfort, I will be happy to do it. Doctor T’Ralia is on her way.”
“I don’t need a doctor. I don’t need anything but space.” Maya slowly sat up, still covering herself with the blanket. Her eyes were half open, and her head was hung heavy. “Let me get dressed.” La’an walked away and turned her back. “I know you and her and different people, but I can’t stand to look at you. I don’t think I could stand to look at my own reflection either.”
“I understand.” La’an was quiet and distant, memories of her own horrific trauma creeping back. A bit of empathy and common ground would help, but not if meant she couldn’t stay present.
“Do you, though?” La’an turned to look back to Maya, who was dressed again and perching on the edge of the bed. “Why didn’t you kill her?”
“Didn’t you tell me you agreed that we should minimize our impact on this world?”
“That doesn’t matter. I don’t care about what happens to this world anymore.”
“I can’t blame you for feeling that way, but killing for revenge is barbaric. The Terran Empire may be stuck in violent ways, but Earth, the Federation, we’ve moved on to a more humane way of life, and I can’t stand to abandon that.”
“Damn. Then that proves it, doesn’t it?” Maya stood up and walked to the window to watch the stars fly by. She still looked weak and unsteady and leaned against the wall. “I must be just as heartless and barbaric as my father and every other augment from Ceti Alpha V. All this time I’ve taken secret pride in the fact that no one who hurt me is still alive to tell about it, but now there are two survivors. You must think I’m a monster”
“No, not at all. I’d feel the same way if our roles were reversed. They’re the monsters, not you.”
“Yet you’ve got out of your way to let them live.”
“I’m trying to be bigger. Doctor T’Ralia will be here soon. I think you should at least talk to her.”
“I can’t stand to be in this room another moment.”
A very reasonable request. “La’an to T’Ralia.”
“Go ahead.”
“Stay put. We’ll meet you in sickbay instead.”