Chapter Text
While Suzette Ling was off dealing with the imposter Maya from the other universe, Katya was tasked with freeing the Terran counterpart. Of course, she couldn’t do it on her own, Reese accompanied her to the brig to add some Terran authority to her demands. Katya had questioned what authority a helmsman had on matters of security, but Reese assured her that a few firm words and a phaser were sometimes all the authority that a person needed. They moved quickly past the other prisoners, their pace steadily increasing with each step. Both wanted to lead the way, both too proud to follow.
The same guard from the last time Katya came down here was on duty. He glanced from Katya to Reese and back to Katya before he spoke, and he predicted what she was going to ask. “The answer is still no. Orders came from the admiral, and unless I hear directly from her, I’m not changing my mind.”
“Lieutenant,” Reese began. “We have reason to believe that the admiral has been compromised and can no longer be trusted.”
The guard widened his stance. “And until I see proof of that myself I’m not disobeying orders.”
Reese drew his phaser and aimed it at the guard’s chest. “Would you rather disobey those orders or die?”
The guard didn’t flinch. He drew his own weapon and aimed it at Reese, looking the helmsman dead in the eye. Katya let her self-preservation instinct override her pride and backed up a few steps to stand behind Reese.
“You really think I haven’t had a phaser pointed at me before? I’ve probably faced death more times than you have, helmsman. What is it you do all day, sitting safely on the bridge and making the ship go? Why, I bet you’ve never…”
Reese fired his phaser, and with a sudden burst of energy the guard vanished. No struggle, no corpse…what an elegant way to get rid of a person. “Should have shot me instead of rambling.” Reese stepped over to the console and punched in some commands. The forcefield to the Terran Maya’s cell deactivated, and Katya rushed to her lover’s side and knelt beside her.
“Maya…” she whispered as she ran her fingers through her lover’s hair, but there was no response. Katya helped ease Maya up to a sitting position, but her body was limp. She was only lucid enough to try to lift her heavy head to look at Katya. “We’ll get you set right soon. They’re going to pay for this.” She turned her head to speak to Reese. “She needs to get to sickbay. With any luck, Suzette will have already taken care of the imposters.”
“And maybe the Vulcan too,” Reese added.
Katya supported Maya around the waist and lifted her from the floor as she stood. They were close in size, with Katya a bit taller and leaner. The weight was not a struggle for her, but controlling a limp human body was more of a challenge than she anticipated.
Reese rushed over and came to Maya’s other side to help support her. “Here. I’ve got her.”
“Don’t insult me!” Katya snapped. She took all Maya’s weight herself and held Maya’s motionless body in her arms. Even though she was handled roughly, she was still barely alert. Her only response was to moan softly. “I’m much stronger than you.”
Katya carried Maya all the way to sickbay on her own, and even carrying the extra weight she kept a brisk pace, always a few steps ahead of Reese. Inside sickbay the imposter Maya sat on a biobed talking with Doctor T’Ralia. They both turned to look over to the sudden and unexpected interruption. Maya was wide eyed and alert, and while T’Ralia’s response was less pronounced, clearly she was still surprised.
Reese drew his phaser and aimed it at T’Ralia. “Tell me, has Suzette Ling been here yet?”
T’Ralia remained calm as she answered, and she held her hands up with her palms open to show that she meant to pose no threat. “She has, and she has left already.”
“Curious that she let you live.” Reese narrowed her eyes. “I won’t make that same mistake.” He fired his phaser, and after a burst of energy, T’Ralia was vaporized.
In that same instant, Maya leapt up from the biobead and let out a guttural scream. She began to breathe rapidly as she stared at the empty spot on the ground where T’Ralia once stood. Her knees began to shake, and she doubled over and gripped the edge of the bed for support.
“Shall I take care of the imposter too?” Reese asked Katya.
Katya shook her head. “No, our Maya is quite attached to her, let it be her call, and she might have some information for us.” Katya gently laid the Terran on a nearby biobed and walked closer to the other Maya. She stood with her shoulders back and her hands clasped behind her back. “Tell me what happened when Suzette was here.”
“Nothing happened.” Maya was still doubled over. She forced herself to turn her head to look at Katya as she spoke. “I had trouble with my shoulder, T’Ralia wanted to consult with her. They spoke, T’Ralia treated my shoulder, and Suzette left.”
Katya narrowed her eyes. “You’re hiding something. Where is La’an?”
“Which La’an?”
“Both.”
“I don’t know.”
“Liar!” Katya heard movement from the biobed where the Terran Maya lay. “We’ll get to the bottom of this soon.” She rushed to her lover’s side. The Terran Maya propped herself up on her elbows, and Katya leaned in close and placed a hand behind her upper back to help support her. “Careful, you’re still under heavy sedation. Can you speak?”
The Terran Maya nodded, her head heavy. “I last remember…” Her speech slurred. “La’an, the other one…”
“Shhh…” Katya kissed the top of her lover’s head. “This isn’t urgent. You don’t need to explain anything until you’re feeling more yourself.” Katya looked up toward Reese. “Unless you can tell me a good reason for you to stay, I’d like for you to leave us.”
“I should be getting back to the bridge soon, anyway.. Vasquez is captain now, and I haven’t decided where he stands with us.” With that, he turned to go.
Katya perched on the edge of the biobed and sat in silence with the Terran Maya for a few minutes. She held her lover’s heavy head to her chest and stroked her hair.
“You should go,” Maya mumbled, her speech still slow and slurred. “You should go. I don’t like that you can see me in this state.”
“I don’t think any less of you. You’ll be back to normal soon once everything wears off.” Katya kissed her head again.
Katya nodded and glanced over at the other Maya. She was still doubled over, breathing heavily and shaking. “What should I do about her?”
The Terran Maya craned her neck to try to look around past Katya’s shoulders to catch sight of her counterpart. “She doesn’t matter. Let her stay, we’ll deal with her later.”
Katya kissed the top of her head once again. “I’ll be back in an hour.” She eased her lover back down to lie on the biobed and gave her one last kiss. “Rest well.”
After Katya left, a few still, silent minutes passed before the Terran Maya moved. She tried to prop herself up on her elbows again, but could only stay in that position for a moment before she collapsed back down on her back. Though she had poor control over her limbs, she outstretched an arm and beckoned her counterpart to come closer. “Come here,” she called. “Don’t worry, I’m in no state to do anything to you.”
The other Maya stood straight up and stared at her Terran counterpart, but she did not move any closer, frozen in fear. Only her eyes moved, a quick glance to the jar on the desk where the Ceti eels skittered around the inside searching for an escape. She took a deep breath, her eyes fixed at the creatures in the jar. She felt as though she was reliving the final moments before she killed her brother, the only moment where she would have enough of an advantage to take action and rid herself of her tormentor. This time, though, she felt more hesitation. To break the mind of a woman who wore her own face and carried parallel memories, and to cause that same person to die a horrific death…the thought of it, the fact that she was even entertaining the idea made her feel as if she was literally betraying herself.
But this was her only chance to act. T’Ralia was gone, the crew would be taking the steps to ensure that the coup was seen to completion, but if they controlled both the Terran Maya and Suzette they would control the augments. Maya picked up the jar and forceps and took another deep breath. She had to blink a few times to keep tears from forming in her eyes, and she walked toward her Terran counterpart, hiding the jar behind her back. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, just to herself.
The Terran Maya’s eyes were closed. Maya walked to her bedside. She shifted the jar and forceps to one hand and used her free hand to stroke her counterpart’s cheek. “I want you to know that I forgive you.”
The Terran Maya opened her eyes and smiled. “I knew you would. I could tell you enjoyed every minute, too ashamed to admit it.” Her speech was clearer. Maybe it was too late.
“You’re right.” If the Terran Maya wasn’t still partially sedated she might have seen through the lie. It hurt Maya to take this strategy, but this was temporary. “I think it’s time I took care of you.”
She tried to keep the jar out of a direct line of sight and she climbed up onto the biobed and straddled the Terran Maya. The Terran Maya gave her a heavy-lidded look before closing her eyes again. Maya acted quickly, removing the lid to the jar and reaching between the eel’s armored plated to pluck out a small larva. She was able to work quickly, but not silently. The Terran Maya’s eyes snapped open, and the moment she saw what was happening she began to fight back.
She still had poor control of her body, but she bucked and flailed to try to knock the other Maya off of her. Maya gripped her Terran counterpart’s body tightly with her knees, and let go of the jar holding the mature eels to hold the Terran Maya tightly by the throat. She placed the eel just below the Terran Maya’s ear and held her still as the tiny creature crawled inside.
The Terran Maya let out a scream so loud that it must have been heard throughout the whole ship. Her anguish lasted less than a minute before her screams abruptly stopped. She was still and pliant, no sign that she had felt any pain.
The other Maya hopped down off the biobed, her breathing still heavy, head still spinning.
“What have I done?” she whispered. Maya looked away and began to blink again, but this time she couldn’t stop a few tears from glistening in her eyes. “Katya will be back in an hour. Tell her…” Damn. Maya was a terrible liar even if her mind wasn’t weighed down. “Tell her that La’an is…dealing with me.” That might send her off searching for La’an, but La’an was better able to handle herself.
Maya glanced down to the empty jar that fell to the ground, and her heart sank. She picked up the jar and began to frantically search sickbay for the missing eels. One she found under a biobed, which she plucked up by the tail and contained safely back in the jar. The other…she searched and searched, but it was nowhere to be found.