Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead. Everything belongs to whoever owns them, my wishful thinking aside.

Authors Note #1: For nocturnallly who wanted Tobin to get all the love when the fandom was upset that people, including Carol, might want a piece of tol, nice and handsome.

Warnings: orgy (for real-real), multiple pairings, sexual content, nudity, mild language, dub-con but not really (I swear that actually makes sense), twist ending.

Phosphenes

Chapter Two

Aboard the Starship Alexandria, a frustrated dead silence was the common denominator as the bridge crew watched Extraction Specialist Tobin Adams' brain waves revert back into the code of the alien program.

"Damnit," Sub-Commander Walsh growled. Not bothering to ask if they could get him back as Ensign Kendal and Ensign Basset hunched over the controls, fingers flying.

"I don't care what you have to do. We have our door, now tear down the wall!" Sub-Commander Walsh insisted, running a frustrated hand through his closely shorn hair. "The idea was to get the survivors of the USS Atlanta, the USS Drifter and Lifepod Greene out of there. Not trap another of our own inside the program. Specialist Tobin has the training, he's one of the best. We can reach him. The longer we wait-"

He was cut off mid-sentence when the telltale whoosh of the ready room door cut through the rising murmur of conversation.

"Status report," Admiral Monroe opened. Striding onto the bridge as Commander Horvath, Doctor Greene, Mrs. Grimes and Extraction Specialist Nicholas Trayvor followed in her wake.

"Admiral on deck!" Acting Ensign Noah Revorn announced, jerking to his feet with a small wince as he forgot his bad leg. Still dealing with the injuries he'd suffered when the USS Grady had sustained heavy damage after a run in with what they believed to be the same hostile species that had planted the virus in the USS Altanta's computer matrix.

"At ease," she allowed, red uniform pristine and pleated smartly to the right as she joined Commander Walsh by the view screen.

"We had him, ma'am," Commander Walsh answered, visibly frustrated as Doctor Candace and Edwin Jenner indicated to the display that showed the spike. "For a full five seconds his brain waves altered out of the program's coding. He started to question things, then-"

"What went wrong?" Admiral Monroe asked.

"The virus adapted," Lieutenant Jacqui Delong answered simply. Giving the man an unimpressed look when Combat Specialist Merle Dixon snorted dismissively from the corner.

"The man simply saw no reason to leave is all. He had a good thing going and both his upstairs and his downstairs brain decided to run with it," the man cracked, leaning up against the bulkhead as he surveyed the room with a cocky edge – still wearing his USS Atlanta uniform and body armor. Clicking his tongue with an exaggerated sound before knocking a sloppy salute to the Admiral like an afterthought. "Ain't no one going to second guess a windfall like that."

Sub-Commander Walsh opened his mouth to reprimand him – tensions high - but the Admiral only held up her hand for silence. Turning back to the three of them before motioning them to continue.

"We are only just beginning to understand what this thing is capable of. Think of it like a defense mechanism – this was the virus' way of keeping its host under control," Doctor Edwin Jenner explained, tapping at the readouts of the people still stuck in the simulation and scrolling pointedly through.

"Essentially what happened when Captain Grimes entered the simulation to rescue those trapped inside, the program rewrote itself down to its basic code. So instead of having a couple dozen people stuck in the same auditory and visual hallucination across Holodecks one through twenty-five, it used Captain Grimes as a focal point to center the narrative, thus strengthening the illusion. He connected everyone under the same arc," Doctor Candace Jenner added, skimming through the data and vital signs from everyone still trapped in the Holodecks as it appeared in real time.

"It was why we almost lost them when we tried to interject a new scenario when we took on the survivors of all three vessels. Creating the "Alexandria Safe Zone" in the hopes that we could nudge them in the right direction. Get them thinking. The only problem was that despite the chip from Bio-Engineering, as soon as Specialist Tobin, Rear Admiral Monroe, Lieutenant Commander Aaron Lessen, Lieutenant Eric Raleigh and the rest of the rescue party connected to the simulation, we lost control almost immediately," Lieutenant Jacqui Delong stated, eyes tired as the steady beep of Tobin's life signs – low and gentle with sleep – echoed depressingly across the bridge.

"I understand. Hell, I was there. But where does this leave us?" Admiral Monroe questioned, looking at the group ringed around her. "We all know self-ejection from the simulation is possible, as unfortunate as the method usually is. But Specialist Tobin was sent in with the same orders as all of us, to attempt a mass ejection of the entire simulation, instead-"

"We got a rerun of love city with-"

"Yes, thank you Mr. Dixon, that will be quite enough," she answered crisply, not bothering to look at the man in question but not quite willing to kick him off her bridge either. They were all in this together now, after all. And Dixon did have valuable insights – as sparingly as they came. But more importantly, his brother, Sub-Lieutenant Daryl Dixon from The USS Atlanta's Engineering sector, had been in the simulation from the beginning. He'd been running a repair program in Holodeck fourteen when the alien program had infected their key systems. And if there was anyone that knew a way to get to his younger brother, it was Specialist Dixon.

"In a sense, it shows the adaptability and perseverance of the human spirit," Commander Horvath commented, rubbing at the scruff on his chin with a faraway expression as the main viewer showed the system's only sun, A5-678-Beta, haloing across the hull in an arc of golden light. Perhaps remembering his own brief time in the simulation as a shadow fell across his craggy features.

"The horrors we are willing to accept and overcome as a group, to look at and face without flinching. Yet it is often our belief in our own self-worth, our desirability - physically or otherwise - that brings up that niggle of self-doubt. What does that say about us as a species? The terrible things we're willing to go through and accept because we think we deserve them?"

The silence that followed the observation was uncomfortable and heavy.

"We need to get them out of there," Sub-Commander Walsh gritted, glancing over at Mrs. Grimes before looking pointedly away. "The longer they're connected to this thing the worse they are going to be coming out. Those from the USS Atlanta especially. Things have already gotten complicated enough."

"I am well aware, Sub-Commander," Admiral Monroe returned, allowing herself a beat to send her husband a steady smile before turning back to the matter at hand. Leaning up against the railing as she fixed Walsh with a look that broached no argument. "Our oldest son is still in the simulation, Sub-Commander. Along with some of my best crew and the survivors from three different vessels, all now under my responsibly. So believe me when I tell you, I know."

"Tensions are high," she allowed, raising her voice an octave as she looked around them, addressing the Bridge at large. "I know we are all worried about our loved ones, our colleagues and friends, but this back and forth is wasting time. We need to work together to get our people home. They've suffered enough and they are counting on us now."

She let that sink in before turning back to the officers ringed around her. Keenly aware of the awkward rustling taking place behind them as half a dozen officers and crewmen adjusted themselves in their seats and got back to work.

"We've been briefing Extraction Specialist Nicholas Trayvor on his ejection from the program," she informed them, turning to the man in question as he gave the group an assenting nod. Looking a far cry different from his last moments in the simulation with his hair slicked back, uniform pressed and pristine. Clearly back in his element despite the trauma he'd suffered and the lingering awkwardness that still existed between Acting Ensign Noah Revorn and her youngest son, Aiden. "So far, his ability to disassociate from the virus's programming is our most promising lead."

Doctor Hershel Greene cleared his throat, looking up from his data pad as he took the silent cue to expand on the conversation.

"The data we gained from that event has been invaluable. In what amounted to a day on the program, from start to finish, his readouts were all over the place. Accumulating in enough conflicting signals to cause him to-"

"Eat a bullet?" Dixon offered, leering over at them as Nicholas shifted in discomfort.

"If you insist on putting it bluntly," Doctor Greene allowed, but not looking particularly pleased at the addition as he gestured towards his pad. "Specialist Tobin's brain waves were beginning to edge towards the same patterns, but far less violently. It is, I believe, accurate to suggest that if given a fresh angle we could coax Tobin back into the same mind-set now that that question – that doubt - has been planted. If we are successful in achieving a gradual realization, the ability for him to spread these suspicions, the truth about the program to the others, is a distinct possibility."

"That would ideal, the best case scenario," Nicholas remarked slowly, squaring his shoulders in fractions as she nodded for him to talk openly. "Truth is, I might be out of the program, but I don't recommend my mode of extraction. This program isn't like anything we ever trained for. It gets into your head. I was barely lucid for parts of the last day, despite Glenn's- Ensign Rhee trying to get through to me. It felt like I was being pulled apart – mentally, physically, emotionally – eventually I couldn't handle the dissonance. The feeling that something wasn't right. That the ground wasn't the ground and the people around me weren't the people I thought they were – they thought they were. But I tipped off the edge too fast. I didn't have time to adjust and I burned out. I just wanted out – I wanted it to stop."

She rested a gentle hand on his shoulder, feeling a burst of sympathy and solidarity as she remembered her last moments in the program. Firing down the hallway at the stumbling crowd of walkers. Then waking up suddenly in the Holodeck on a medical bed, still screaming as the phantom fission of pain from aching joints and tearing mouths coasted through her nervous system like a thousand spiraling echoes.

"Until we can replicate what Specialist Trayvor did, we need to play every advantage we have," she finished firmly, nodding to the Sub-Commander. "Where do we stand on that currently, Lieutenant Delong?"

"At this point we're still trying to find ways to interject a realm of impossibility into the narrative in the hopes that it will call the simulation itself into question," the Lieutenant answered, sharing a look with Doctor Candace and Edwin Jenner as the latter sighed and typed a string of code into the latest update from Medical.

"Speaking of which," Sub-Commander Walsh interjected, leaning over the console to fix Lieutenant Commander Andrea Harrison with a look as she pried a control panel off the rear compartment where they'd patched main Holodeck controls through. "When I said any way you can stir things up, this wasn't what I had in mind."

"I had nothing to do with it," she grunted, throwing her hand out for the hydro-spanner as Crewman Axel Temple handed it to her. Not really acknowledging the man hovering over her save for a discomforted twitch in her cheek. Like she was angry about something she wasn't sure how to express as the answer came from further down the console.

"No one did. It was a group consensus, sir," Crewman First Class Oscar Ward added, tall frame perching awkwardly in his chair as he pointed at the display. "Their feelings for Tobin, ah- Extraction Specialist Tobin Adams, were genuine. They wanted to bring him into the dynamic. And save for no prior history of- um- what happened, it was completely organic. Apparently the rest didn't need an explanation, just like his relationship with Carol. The group's brainwaves are still unanimous, weird as it sounds, it was a natural progression. He's likable – easy – safe. He just fits, sir."

"You know, if this was one of those old TV shows they used to make back on Earth I would be hella confused," Junior Lieutenant Theodore Douglas grumbled from the corner console. Staring blankly at a live feed of the sleeping pile.

"Honestly, this is ridiculous," Ensign Amy Harrison agreed, throwing up her hands. "First him and Master Chief Petty Officer Carol Peletier? Now this? There was no development! Just- bam. The logistics alone, and what? We're expected to just swallow it? I mean you can't deny Specialist Tobin isn't- uh… impressive. But-"

The Admiral tuned them out, leaning up against the railing of the main bridge as Reg came to join her, bumping shoulders companionably as their standing orbit kept A5-678-Beta more or less in view. Thinking about what she'd said to Specialist Tobin privately after the meeting in the Briefing Room before they'd been hooked up to the simulation.

"We are stronger together than we are apart."

Her lips curled into a small, half smile when she remembered his response.

So different from the usual "yes, ma'am's," that made up the majority of her interaction with the rest of her crew.

It had been realer than that.

Better.

A gentle sort of affirmation that elevated itself from the rest.

It was the same feeling she'd felt in the simulation whenever he was nearby.

Comfort.

That was what the man exuded. Broadcasting goodwill to the world at large like he had light-years to spare. And more than anything, that gave her hope. Because if that feeling could pass into the program with him, that was proof enough that anything could.

Hope was the only virtue they had left to stand on now.


A/N: Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think. – This story is now complete.