From sagatech@one.net.au Sun Jun 28 00:45:26 1998 Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 19:50:11 +1000 From: sagatech To: Josh Young , Alton Reich , Alton Reich , Alexs Thompson , Gabrielle Blair , George Harmon , Janis Hill , Jeff Uribe , Kristine Berg , Les Chappelle , Vicke Denniston , Vicke Denniston , Pat Shumacher Cc: Dana Loeblich , Jeff Jenkins Subject: USS YAMATO: Cleansing [The following text is in the "ISO-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly] > Connor finishes up in engineering. > * Connor to Mara. Lisa, it will be about 14 hours till we hit OMEGA. Will that be enough time to come visiting? * Lisa smiled in the dark of her room. She can hear the nervousness in his voice. * Sure, it will take me a while to get things organised. I can let you know when if you like. * * Sure, I'll be waiting. * * Do not drink too much, I do not handle alcohol well. * Alex laughed, * Sure. * Lisa signed off. The first thing to do would be to provide some lighting. Easing up the brightness to where she could see, Lisa reached under the chair for her herbal tea. Sipping the warm, calming liquid, she tried to compose herself. It was getting harder all the time. It was good that the end of the mission had come before the point of no return. Finishing the tea, she rose gracefully to her feet. Everything felt like moving through molasses. She could use the preparation time to work the sedatives out of her system. Walking across to her sleeping area, Lisa reached under the bed. Her hand brushed the smoothed edge of a box. Sitting down, she drew the box onto her lap. Lifting the lid, she sifted her hands through the contents. Memories played across her face. Gradually she drew out her blade and some candles. Returning to the main room, she moved all the furnishings to the walls. Placing the candles in a circle, she placed the blade in the centre. Now to dress. A shower helped clear more of the cobwebs from her mind. The wardrobe provided a sheer iridescent toga-like outfit. Brushing out her hair finished the toilet. It was one of the few times Lisa regretted cutting her hair. Brushing the waist-length strands used to be a favourite way to relax. Now she was ready. Seating herself within the circle, she thought of Alex. ^ Now, my one. ^ Alex lifted his head. ^ On my way. ^ 'Via Ten Forward." He thought. There he found a hunched figure at the bar. Jules lited his head as Alex slipped into a seat next to him and ordered a drink. "So its almost time hey. I know that look." Jules smiled wryly into his drink. When are you going in?" "What do you mean?" " I don't know if I should envy you or thank my lucky stars. Its one hell of an experience. My advice is just to try to go with the flow. The real bastard is, it would be a lot easier on us if you could just get plastered before you go in, but her system can't take the alcohol. It goes straight to her head. You ever seen a drunk Shaytonian?" Jules paused and then answered his own question. "No, no-one breathing has. Not all of the dead ones died unhappy though." He grinned at Alex. Then the thoughtful look returned to his face. "One hell of an experience." "You mean you have done this Tenshyon thing before?" "Yup, but you can't do it twice. Its like if you're married if you do it twice. Mine was back in the Academy. She knew it was coming. It is pointless trying to coach you though, its like being in a car crash, either you survive or you don't." "Great." "Sorry mate. Don't listen to me. I'm just broody. Sometimes I think it wouldn't be bad to be the guy, you know, but then, I don't think I could handle it. Her family is nuts." Later Connor arrived at Lisa's quarters & dismissed the guards. He took a deep breath. The door opened to reveal a room in semi darkness. In a circle of candlelight, Lisa sat cross-legged on the floor. The flickering light from the candles reflected in her dress bringing the curves beneath in and out of shadows. ^ Be seated and relax. ^ ^ What do I do? ^ ^ Relax. Close your eyes. I need your mind to be open to me, to just accept the flood and let it flow around you. Trust and belief that these feelings are not yours. They show only the past. ^ Lisa gestured again for Alex to sit. Once he was settled, she reached for his hands. Stroking them for a moment, she raised them to cup her face. Alex felt the warmth of her skin, felt the smile grow. She guided his fingers to touch her forehead. Slowly, her mind sought his. ^ Mind. ^ He felt her fingers on his own face. Gradually the link deepened, gently probing deeper without forcing. Alex tried to relax, tried to let her in. Aloud he echoed, " Mind. " Her hands dropped to his shirt. Her nails traced the seams and Alex sensed it fall away. A gentle pressure tingled across his chest. Her fingers pressed. ^ Body. ^ Lisa looked into his eyes, then gently lowered her eyes to her own chest. Alex reached forward to ease the shoulder strap apart. The toga fell in folds around Lisa's waist. " Body. " The briefest of nods showed he was doing well. He let out a breath he wasn't aware he had been holding. He could feel Lisa's mind burrowing deeper into his. It was tapping into something primal, into his Being. He could feel emotions raging behind his eyes. It was if he was reliving every emotional moment of his life. Dimly, he became aware of hands moving down his stomach, fingers resting, a thought, ^ soul ^. His own hands moved, almost of their own volition. "Soul." The wave engulfed him. Anger, fear, jealousy, mistrust. He could hear someone screaming. A roughness in his throat proved the scream his own. Faces appeared. He saw moments he was "remembering". A year's pain was flowing through his mind. He felt Sulak's regret at betrayal, a mother's agony at being separated from her children. Dying men screamed their defiant rage, a child held back a sore finger. Large and small, the emotions that Lisa had been fielding washed over him. She had been unable to absorb, unable to release, until now. Now it all came flooding through Alex's mind. His body reacted. Adrenaline flowed, endorphins filled his bloodstream. There are a thousand physical and chemical reactions that the human body uses to cope with stressful situations. All these things Lisa's system lacked; all these things battered at her defenses. Things she must have because she chose to live with these emotional beings. At last, just he could take no more, the eye of the storm. Alex felt Lisa's lips on his. The kiss tasted salty. Sweat and blood mingled. Then her lips moved once again to his throat. The storm renewed. Nothing bad, just intense, all those, 'funny' feelings that were neither pleasurable nor unpleasant, merely there. Again, his mind watched what she had seen, his body supplied what she needed. Again the kiss: the salty taste. Again the tide surged in. This time all those feelings of joy, relief, pleasure, laughter. He could see his own face, and others. Smiles, laughter, climaxing cries, all became a swirl of intense ecstasy. It all became the sharing, her life, his whole. Blackness. Alex awoke to find himself still in the circle, but the candles gutted out. Lisa lay beside him, breathing shallowly. "Lisa?" He touched her face gently. Lids fluttered as she stirred. Her eyes opened and looked up at him. "Good morning. I am famished. How do eggs sound?" Updated 16/6/98 home page Now With Discussion Group at http://www2.one.net.au/~sagatech e-mail sagatech@one.net.au