I Need Your Help

Posted on Fri Jan 6th, 2023 @ 6:31pm by Lieutenant Xavier Leiko

Mission: Character Development
Location: Xavier's Quarters
Timeline: After "Sleeping Beauty"
682 words - 1.4 OF Standard Post Measure

Xavier watched as the stars streaked past as the Athena hurled its way through the blackness of space. The colours were hypnotic and he had no idea how long he had been standing there; minutes? Hours? Days? Absolutely no idea, time was irrelevant right now. He was happy to be relieved from sickbay and grateful for the peace and quiet his quarters gave him. He needed time to gather his thoughts and prepare for the worst.

They had been out of the nebula for a few hours now and from all accounts, the ship's telepaths were slowly returning to normal. Ki had said that he could remove the cortical inhibitor whilst he was still in sickbay, but Xavier hadn't liked that idea very much. At best, the young Betazoid would become overwhelmed again showing his complete lack of control to the entire crew, not a pleasant thought. At worst, Xavier would have nothing to lose control over, pure silence. That idea scared him more than anything else and he didn't want to have to put on a brave face in front of people, not right now.

So he stood alone in his quarters, his hand braced on the inhibitor fingers poised to deactivate the small device. Whatever the outcome he would be brave, he had to be. His trembling hand found the button and after a deep breath, he pushed it.













Nothing.

Xavier let out a breath as slowly as he could, now wasn't the time to panic, just like his unplanned spacewalk, he needed to stay in control. Maybe his brain was adjusting to the inhibitor's after-effects. Maybe he just needed to kick-start his senses. Maybe...

It was no good, unfortunately, this was a sensation he was all too familiar with by now, his telepathy hadn't returned. Whatever had affected the crew in the nebula was long gone and so was everything that made the hybrid a true child of Betazed. Now he was just a regular human, locked inside his own thoughts unsure of the entities around him.

So much had happened in such a short amount of time, it was hard for him to catch his breath. The thought brought back the memories of dying in space, dying alone with so much gone undone and unsaid. He had wished more than anything he had more time to correct all of the wrongs in his life, a dying man plead that he never had to fulfil. But now he wasn't dying, he was very much alive and those pleas buzzed around his head, not allowing him to forget or waste any more time. It was time to make amends and build some bridges. He needed help and this was the best time to ask for it, after all, how often did the ship return back to the very heart of the Federation?

"Computer lights," he ordered. The room came alive. It was as though someone had unpaused his life, not only turned on the lights but also the volume too. The room was alive with a buzz of sounds, he had made a decision and now he could see, and hear, in colour.

"Computer, open a subspace channel to Betazed, the office of Admiral Edarna Leiko, priority one." He moved over to his desk as the computer worked through his instructions. It was time to make good on his dying promise and it was time to fix his broken body, once and for all.

As he straightened his uniform, the face of a stern-looking woman appeared on his computer terminal. She was sat in her office, her elbows on her desk and her fingers interlaced under her chin. Her mousey brown-grey hair was pulled back in a bun and her eyes showed no sign of happiness at seeing her youngest son on the screen. "This had better be important Xavier," she said, no warmth in her voice or tone.

"Admiral, mother," he corrected. Though he had used a priority one Starfleet channel, this was a family matter and he had to speak to her as such. "I need your help."