12. Unexpected
Constance felt like she was having an out of body experience. It had been two days since she had spoken to Ambassador Soval and she was still reeling from what he had revealed to her. It was hard to wrap her mind around the fact that she was so intimately connected to a Vulcan. She found some relief while she worked; she was able to temporary forget about the existence of their connection. However, as soon as she was back in her quarters she found herself touching the bond whenever she was alone. She was drawn to its presence as though it was a chipped tooth. She could not help but prod at it. It glowed faintly in the back of her mind. It was alien and familiar at the same time. Sometimes she thought she could sense emotions passing through it, but she could not be sure. Most of the time it simply maintained its silent presence in her mind.
In an effort to take her mind off of what transpired she threw herself into her work even further devoting long hours reviewing every communication to and from the Embassy. She had even started reviewing security footage. However, her distraction was slowly becoming an obsession.
She looked for all footage that captured Stel. She found that he had been conducting a security evaluation of the United Earth Embassy in an effort to assure that it was safe in light of the amount of Vulcans who passed through each day. It still seemed odd to her. It was as though it was a guise for some other nefarious purpose. She could not shake the feeling that something was not right. She looked at the clock. It was late. She realized she could no longer put off what she so desperately was trying to avoid.
When she returned to her quarters that night she found herself once again drawn to the bond. It pulsed gently in the back of her mind. She thought about Ambassador Soval. Her feelings for him were changing from indifference to something deeper. She had barely noticed it before as it had been happening so gradually, but she now realized she cared for him. In the time that they had spent together she found that she had prematurely passed judgement on him. She had judged him based her preconceived notion of Vulcans. It was exactly what she hated people doing to her. She realized that beneath his austere façade he treated her with respect and also with a gentle patience he seemed to reserve only for her. He was the one out of his comfort zone trying to accommodate her human tendencies. Perhaps she should at least acknowledge what was happening between them instead of trying to avoid it.
After her sparring session the following night she returned to her quarters to shower and change. By the time she had finished it was nearly seven-thirty in the evening. She knew Admiral Forrest had returned to the Earth Embassy that morning and had an appointment with the Ambassador that evening, but perhaps she could speak with the Admiral afterwards. She desired his opinion. He had worked with the Vulcan Ambassador for many years and knew him far better than anyone else she knew. Perhaps he could shed some light on her predicament.
As she finished combing her hair she heard a deafening boom followed by low rumbling. Her room shook as the lights flickered and shut off. The picture of her parents fell from the nightstand and clattered to the floor. The glass inside broke, spreading shards across the floor and under the bed. She nearly fell but managed to retain her balance as she ran to the door. The door open button did not respond. She slammed her palm against the emergency release and manually pulled it open. It was heavy. The rumbling got louder and the ground continued to shake. It was almost like an earthquake. The lights in the corridor flickered and chucks of ceiling and wall began to fall and crumble. Looking down the hall she realized it was missing. It was simply gone. As the dust began to dissipate she could hear shrieks of people screaming.
A ceiling tile above her fell and before she could move it hit her hard on her left shoulder and she fell to the ground. She smacked her face against the floor and cried out. As she slowly pushed herself up she rubbed her shoulder and the realization of what happened dawned on her. Standing slowly she looked for the nearest stairwell. She took a step. She was unsteady on her feet, but it did not matter. If her assumption was correct then Admiral Forrest was in trouble. She prayed that he was not in his quarters at the time. Sprinting down the steps she headed for his office.
Soval's ears were still ringing when he came to. He blinked. Only moments prior he and Admiral Forrest were in the midst of conversation when a thundering explosion erupted around them. He was now lying on his side on the floor. His face stung; he quickly suppressed the feeling of pain. He coughed. There was rubble and dust all around him. Something heavy was on top of him. When he tried to sit up he realized the heavy object was Admiral Forrest. He sat up gently pushing Admiral Forrest over. His eyes were closed. There was a deep gash on the side of his head and dark red blood was flowing from it readily. It was running down his face and soaking his uniform at the collar. Debris from the explosion must have hit his head. Soval could hear that his heart still beating, but it was very faint. He ripped the hem of his robes and balled the fabric in his fist. He pressed the cloth against Admiral Forrest's head in an effort to staunch the bleeding. He looked around. There were crumpled shapes of other people lying in the rubble, but he detected no movement.
"Help!" He called out. "This man needs immediate assistance." Admiral Forrest's face was ashen. Soval was aware his condition was very serious. Blood was slowly soaking through the makeshift bandage. Admiral Forrest's breathing was very shallow.
"Hold on, Max," he whispered. After what seemed like many minutes had passed he heard footsteps. Three medics appeared out of the dust. They were climbing over smoldering broken glass and downed walls crunching their way over to them.
"Are you alright?" One of the medics asked arriving first to their location.
"Yes, my condition is of no concern at the moment. This man needs immediate medical attention," he said trying to keep the edge out of his voice. Admiral Forrest had just saved his life. It was imperative that they get him to the medical bay as soon as possible.
The medic looked at Admiral Forrest and immediately motioned for the other two to come over. "We need to get this man to the Med Bay. He is losing a lot of blood," he said with urgency. The other two medics unfolded a field stretcher and loaded Admiral Forrest onto it.
"This is Medical Officer Teller to Med Bay. We have two survivors from the lobby. One is in critical condition. We are on our way. Please remain on standby," said Officer Teller into his communicator. The other two medics were already navigating quickly through the debris with Admiral Forrest. Officer Teller helped Soval to his feet. He glanced at Soval's face.
"We'll need to take a look at that laceration in the Med Bay," Teller said. Soval nodded following him through the far doors. He had no time to think about his own injuries. As he followed the medics he saw that there were several bodies lying around them. A few of them were Vulcan. The devastation was extensive. Looking up he could see stars. It took him a moment to realize the ceiling and floors above were simply missing. It was a strange sight. A massive, gaping hole that extended from the entrance through all the upper floors was now in place of what used to be the front of the Embassy. Dust and debris floated down from the now exposed floors above. It appeared that their proximity to the corridor protected them from the worst of the explosion. What was once the lobby was now a smoldering pit of destruction. If it was not for the far door of the southeastern corridor it would have been difficult to discern exactly where he was.
The lift was damaged in the explosion and emergency lightening lit the corridor. The medics rushed to the stairwell. Sliding the door open manually they began carefully navigating down the steps. They were headed down two floors to B level. Soval's ambassadorial robes were dragging behind him. They were slowing him down. He had shredded them beyond repair when he had ripped them earlier to use as a makeshift bandage. He stopped on a step and carefully pulled off the robes. He wore a plain black tunic and pants underneath that were now covered in dust and ash. Free of the heavy outer garments he was able to descend down the steps with ease. He held onto the handrail; his shoulder smarted where he had landed on it.
When they reached B level the medics began running toward the double medical bay doors at the end of the corridor. Soval followed quickly behind. Their increased urgency suggested Admiral Forrest's condition was grave.
"Get me the cardiostimulator, Stat!" Officer Teller yelled. The medics placed Admiral Forrest on an empty bed and were tearing open his shirt. He was no longer breathing. Soval looked around. The Med Bay was filled with people scrambling to help the injured. He did not know exactly where to stand. He opted for a position by Admiral Forrest's head out of the way of the medical personnel.
"Charging to 300 millijoules. Clear!" Officer Teller bellowed. He placed the device in the center of Admiral Forrest's chest. Unlike Vulcans, the human heart was located between the two lungs just below the sternum. Soval heard an electrical hum and Admiral Forrest's chest raised violently in response. The heartrate monitor still alarmed in flat line. "Charging to 350 millijoules. Clear!" screamed Teller. Admiral Forrest's body jumped in response to the electric impulse, but the heartrate monitor still registered no activity. The steady drone of the alarm filled the air. It seemed as though it was the only thing Soval could hear. Officer Teller cursed. He interlaced his fingers and began pumping his chest in an effort to manually stimulate Forrest's heart. "Come on," Teller pleaded through grit teeth. Several minutes passed. Teller eventually stopped and wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his lab coat. He glanced at Soval giving him a grim look before addressing the other medic across from him. "Please note time of death at 2023." Teller angrily ripped off his gloves and flung them into the biohazard chute next to the bed before moving on to the next patient.
Soval stood there looking at Admiral Forrest. He looked as though he could be sleeping. Maxwell Forrest had saved his life. His sacrifice was not lost on him. It was illogical that Forrest had jumped on top of him when he had every opportunity to save himself. Soval could not make sense of it. The monitor continued to alarm. When a female medic finally shut it off it broke his internal reverie.
"Come on, let's get you cleaned up, Ambassador," she said gently. She guided him to an empty bed nearby. He watched as other medical personnel began covering Admiral Forrest's body with a sheet. Soval wondered why they did this. It was as if they thought covering the body would change the state of it. Admiral Forrest was still dead whether he was covered or not. He continued to watch them as the female medic began to gently clean his lacerations with something that smelt vaguely antiseptic.
Suddenly the Med Bay doors flung open and Soval heard shouting. He recognized one of the voices. It was Officer Corcoran. She looked disheveled. Her clothes were covered in soot and her bottom lip was split and bleeding.
"Ma'am, please calm down," one of the medics said gesturing for her to sit. "We need to have a look at you."
"How many times do I have to tell you I'm fine? Where is he? I need to see Admiral Forrest. I was told he was brought here," she said looking past the medic. She must have spotted them covering his body on the bed nearby. She pushed past the medic and ran to the bed.
"No, no, no, no, no," she chanted. She ripped the cover back from his face. Her own crumpled. Her hands shook as she gripped the sheet. She stared down at Admiral Forrest. Tears silently poured down her cheeks. They made track marks through the soot and ash that covered her face. She touched his face gently. One of the medics gently grabbed her arm and tried to lead her away.
"Let go of me!" she hissed as she violently ripped her arm out of the medic's grasp. She continued to stare at Admiral Forrest's face. Soval could feel her anguish through the bond. He walked over to the bed and stood next to her. Officer Corcoran looked up at him, but her eyes were unfocused. He gently led her by the arm to a nearby chair. She did not fight him. She slumped down. The tears had stopped. Her face was blank. Soval noticed over the years that even humans attempted to suppress their emotions when they became too overwhelming. Constance wiped her face with the back of her hands. One of the medics was using a portable device to scan her for injuries.
"Stop, I'm fine," she said, trying to wave the medic away. She could be so stubborn. She finally seemed to focus and looked up at Soval after a moment. "You are alright," she stated quietly when the medics were out of earshot. They had not spoken since he revealed their connection. Seeing her so upset brought back the familiar feeling of possessiveness, but Soval pushed it aside. It was illogical to think of personal interest at this time.
"Admiral Forrest saved my life," he said. She looked up at him and back at where Admiral Forrest was lying under the sheet.
"I have to alert the Vulcan authorities and the High Command," he said. "The embassy is considered Earth soil; no doubt Starfleet has already been alerted. The High Command will apprise Starfleet of the details in the absence of Admiral Forrest," Soval stated. He looked over at Admiral Forrest's body. They had just been discussing the possibility of joint fleet operations. It was difficult to accept that that reality was now unlikely. Soval felt anger flare up inside of him. It was such an unnecessary waste of life. Constance looked up at him again. Her face was unreadable.
"We have to find who did this," she said as her face darkened. It was as though a cloud had passed overhead. He could feel her emotions seething with anger across the bond. They were not unlike his own.
"Yes." Soval answered as he set his teeth. A mutual understanding seemed to pass between them. She nodded. He swallowed as he turned and left the Medical Bay.