Chapter 11: Beyond the Mirror
Having spent the last three days on Ceti Foxtrot VII, M'Ress had started feeling refreshed and calm. It was a semi-aquatic world with most of the world's landmasses consisting of archipelagos and large islands. Her mission had been to recalibrate the automatic communication sensor towers that the Federation had placed there. It was an uninhabited world, so Starfleet used it as a subspace communication buoy. It was also a popular shore leave location, but this visit had been all business.
Still, work hadn't stopped her from appreciating the crystal-clear waters and deep green of the flora. It was a shame she couldn't have enjoyed it with anyone else. The communication towers were isolated from the shore leave resort destination on the other side of the world and Dodge had deemed the mission a solo operation. They had dropped M'Ress off to complete the task on her own before returning. And time was just about up.
"This is the USS Hood to Lieutenant M'Ress," Dodge's voice came on over the commination channel M'Ress had left open, "You ready to come home yet?"
"Just about, Captain," M'Ress responded. "I have a few more systems checks to make before I can call it good."
"We have the transporter on standby to beam you up as soon as you finish, Lieutenant," Dodge said. "So just give us a ring as soon as you're done."
"You sound like you're in a hurry," M'Ress teased. "You didn't want to stay and file for some shore leave?"
"Trust me, I'd love to stay and work on my tan, but engineering is getting early signs of an ion storm moving in and I'd like to avoid the brunt of it. Also, there are some of us on board who can't wait to get our Caitian Communicator back."
M'Ress smiled and played dumb, "I'm shocked Novo would express such eagerness to have me in her company."
Dodge chuckled. "Oh yeah, her emotional outbursts have been out of control. Oh, and uh, there's some mopey second-in-command clown who's been in low spirits, but I don't think you'd care much about him."
"I have not been mopey," came Noon's voice.
"You've been mopey," Vedra's voice contradicted.
"I haven't been mopey!"
"Commander Noon," Dodge interjected, "I order you to get your mopey behind down to Transporter Room 2 and welcome our communications officer back on board."
"Yes… sir," Noon said. And then quickly: "See you soon, Lieutenant."
M'Ress, who had remained quiet, enjoying hearing her comrades' banter again, just said, "You as well, Commander."
"Captain?" It was the voice of the transporter chief.
"Go ahead, chief," Dodge said. "What's going on?"
"Nothing too concerning, sir. It's just that the ion storm is starting to interfere with my station and if we hold off any longer, we'll have to wait for the storm to clear before I can transport the Lieutenant."
"Miss M'Ress, you catch that?" Dodge asked.
"I did," M'Ress responded, flipping a few switches and finishing the last diagnostic. "And I am just… about… done now." She closed the panel on the tower and gave it a triumphant bump with her paw. "I'm ready for transport now, Captain."
"You hear the lady, chief. Whenever you can."
"Acknowledged, sir, energizing now."
"See you soon, Miss M'Ress," Dodge said.
"Likewise, sir," M'Ress said, beginning to feel the transporter take her up to the ship.
As M'Ress energized onto the ship, she took a deep breath of the air on the Hood. She was glad to be home. She rubbed her neck to work out some stiffness she had been feeling the last few hours in Ceti Foxtrot VII… but found her paw blocked by a thick metal collar.
She blinked in confusion and looked down to get a look at what was on her neck. It wasn't just her neck. Her entire outfit had changed. Her uniform was completely missing its midriff… and she was wearing a damn pair of boots. M'Ress stumbled around, trying to make sense of what happened, maybe some kind of transporter malfunction? A practical joke?
"The hell are you doing?" snarled the transporter chief. M'Ress looked at him and saw that his uniform was also different. No exposed midriff, but it was definitely not a Starfleet enlisted uniform. It looked similar, but… did they change up the uniforms while she was away?
"I…" she said, choosing her words carefully, "I… just got turned around is all."
"Whatever," the chief said, going back to his station. "Don't need to be wasting my time on you, anyway."
That was a little more disrespect than what M'Ress would typically tolerate, but as she was about to reply, the doors opened. She looked at who walked in but didn't quite believe it.
It was Commander Noon. Only… not. He wore another non-Starfleet uniform along with a… knife on his belt? When did they… and then the shadows cleared over his face and M'Ress had to suppress a gasp.
Across his face were four thick diagonal scars. They were healed, but the marks were highly noticeable. The way he held himself was different, the way he looked at her was off-putting… cold and calculated. This was… different.
Something was incredibly wrong. Mind-altering drugs? Alternate reality? Clones? The possibilities buzzed in her head.
"So," Noon said coldly, "Here. You are."
"Here I am," M'Ress agreed, keeping her voice as flat as possible.
Clearly that was the wrong thing to say because Noon then became visibly annoyed.
"Is that all you have to say after everything I went through to get you down there!?" he spat. "I sent you there to learn something from those whores, and you don't even express gratitude!"
M'Ress blinked and straightened herself up. This was beyond a joke or prank. Something truly weird was happening and she decided it was best to play along until she figured out what it was.
"I… sorry, sir," she said, playing along. "I'm still… adjusting."
"Well adjust quicker," he said. "It's unbecoming of a consort to act the way you are." His gaze became dark as he took a step closer. "Do I REALLY have to use the agonizer on you already? Is that what you're going to make me do?"
M'Ress had no idea what an agonizer was, and she didn't care to find out.
"No, please," she said, trying to sound panicked and apologetic. "Please, I'm truly sorry! Really, I am!"
"You better be!" he scolded her. "Despite what you may think, hurting you does not bring me pleasure." He then thought it over and shrugged. "Okay, it does, but I'm not in the mood. Follow, pet." He turned on his feel and exited, M'Ress followed close behind.
The ship was something like a house of horrors. Everyone stopped to give Noon a strange salute, the logo of the Federation was dismal, and in the distance, she could hear screams. In her mind, she began to lean towards this being some kind of broken reality.
"What's that sound?" M'Ress couldn't help but ask.
"If you don't want to find out," Noon said, "I suggest you shut your mouth and keep walking."
M'Ress, begrudgingly, did as she was told. Eventually the two were at the entrance to Noon's quarters. Whatever… this was, M'Ress was at least thankful that the layout of the ship remained the same. Even though so much else had changed.
"You will go inside and await my return from duty," Noon commanded. "If I hear you have been roaming about the ship, I will punish you. Am I understood, pet?"
"Yes, sir," M'Ress said.
Noon scoffed. "Sir. I think it's funny you're trying to act like a member of the crew, but please: 'master' will suffice."
"Y-yes… Master," M'Ress corrected and entered Noon's quarters.
"Good slave," he said and swatted her rear before she could fully enter, making her jump slightly.
The doors closed and M'Ress immediately took off the boots, throwing them aside. She had a feeling her "master" would not mind her wearing less clothing anyway. She then hopped over to the computer console. It was time to find out answers.
"Computer," M'Ress said. "Access the complete history of the Hood and recount its service history."
The ISS Hood (NCC-1703-A) is a Constitution-class Imperial battle cruiser currently captained by Kenneth Dodge. The Hood was commissioned—
"Computer," M'Ress interjected, "explain the… history of the Empire."
The Terran Empire was founded on Earth during the early formative years of the species. Since the first confrontations with the Vulcans, the Empire has spread across the stars, conquering the Denobulans, Andorians, Aenars—
"Computer, what is the status of the planet Ferasa in regard to Terran control?" she asked.
No planet is known to exist by that name in the Terran database.
M'Ress rolled her eyes. "Computer, what is the status of the planet Cait in regard to Terran control?" Clearly this Empire did not allow worlds to go by more than one name.
Planet Cait is under the control of the Terran Empire.
"And how does the Caitian population contribute to the Empire?" M'Ress asked.
Its population is largely utilized for slave labor in the nearby dilithium mines as well as being used as personal consorts on board Imperial vessels.
M'Ress rubbed her temples. She had clearly somehow ended up in a world that was wrong. The history was wrong. It was an alternate history… an alternate timeline of events. The Humans she had grown to respect, who wanted nothing more than to explore and unite the galaxy in friendship, have been perverted into savage conquerors. Her own people: subjugated and broken.
"Oh, hell," M'Ress swore to herself.
This was a nightmare and she had to escape.
But how did she even get here? There was no sign of anything different when she spoke to the Captain. None of the disrespect she had been shown since… arriving on the ship. The transporter. Something had to have gone wrong in the transporter. But how—
The ion storm.
She couldn't even begin to understand how an ion storm could have deposed her in an alternate timeline, but that's what made the most sense. Barring some sort of interference by a third party, at any rate.
It almost sounded farfetched, but she had to believe that. The alternative was accepting that this was her reality now, and that was unacceptable.
Then another thought crossed her mind. If an alternate Noon and Dodge existed here, surely there must be an alternate version of herself. This was clearly where her alternate version was supposed to be, but if she's not here, then she's either hiding down on the planet or, more likely, she ended up in M'Ress's timeline. On M'Ress's Hood. It would explain how she ended up wearing the wrong clothes. Something got crossed in the transporting.
She just hoped that her own crew was dealing with this and maybe trying to find their own solution to fixing this disturbing mess.
As Noon walked to the transporter room, he thought about the best way to greet M'Ress. A quip? Something genuine? Staying formal? He decided it would be best to allow M'Ress to lead. Whatever she was most comfortable with.
It would probably be a quip.
He smiled to himself as he entered the transporter room. He spotted M'Ress immediately and she looked… kind of lost. She had her back turned away from the door and was looking at the room like it was covered in polka dots. Noon made eye contact with the transporter chief and cocked an eyebrow. The chief shrugged and went back to work. Noon cleared his throat loudly.
M'Ress quickly spun around and saw him. Her eyes widened in horror and confusion. She looked at him as if he had grown five heads.
"Wh-what…" she began, almost shaking with fear, "What is this?"
Noon gave her a look.
"First of all: welcome back," he said with a hint of humor in his voice. "It's good to see you too. Second of all… what's what?"
"Th-this… what… what is this? What are you doing?" M'Ress asked, slowly backing away further onto the pad.
"What do you mean, what am I doing? I'm standing here, talking to you. You seem kinda… unnerved, Lieutenant? Did something… spook you?"
"Lieu…? Is this… a test?" she asked meekly, finally getting her back against the curve of the transporter wall. "Because if it is, I admit I fail. Please end this, Master! This is… too cruel."
The transporter chief looked up and gave Noon a playfully quizzical look at the word 'master.'
"No!" Noon insisted. "Chief, this is not even remotely close to what you're… Lieutenant, I don't know what you're doing, but you need to stop."
"I… I don't…" M'Ress stammered. "I would, I just don't…" she started to tear up and slide down to the ground. Up until that point, Noon had been starting to get annoyed, thinking it was a game, but her reaction seemed far too genuine. He had seen her act in several plays by this point, and while she was talented, her acting was never this good. Noon put up his hands and walked towards her slowly.
"Hey… M'Ress," he said softly. "It's okay. You're safe."
"I'm so confused," she said as she gripped her head in her paws and tears streamed down her face. "I don't understand, please, I'll take any punishment you wish for me! I'll walk naked through the halls again, or service the crew, or… just stop this… please… I don't like this test."
Noon walked onto the transporter pad and stepped very slowly towards her.
"I'm not going to punish you, I need you to relax," he reassured her. "M'Ress. Look at me."
Her eyes shot up and looked at his face. But that only seemed to make it worse as she started to hyperventilate and fall over, curling up into a ball.
"Please…" she continued to mutter, "Please, I just want this to end…"
Noon knelt down next to her and tried to pat her arm, but she flinched, so he took his hand away. He took out his communicator. "Noon to medical."
"Sick bay here," Chen said.
"Doc, I need you to Transporter Room 2. There's something wrong with Lieutenant M'Ress."
"Is she sick or injured?"
"Neither… I think she's having a… a panic attack?"
"I'll… be right there," Chen said confused.
Noon closed his communicator and looked at M'Ress. She was now shaking and muttering something to herself.
He thought about what he should do, to try and get her to relax. He then thought about the things she had said.
"M'Ress…" Noon said. "The… the test is over?" She stopped shaking and wiped her face. She turned over tentatively and looked at him, still confused and slightly scared, but open to talk at least.
"It… it is?" she asked, sobbing slightly.
"Yes," Noon said unsure.
"Did… did I pass, master? Did I pass the test?" she sounded almost desperate. "I know I begged you to stop, but that must've been part of the test too, yes? I passed, didn't I? Yes?"
"…Sure. You passed. Congratulations."
M'Ress wiped her eyes and hopped onto her knees.
"It was… a very clever test, master," she said, but then softly, "…But it was cruel. And I still don't understand how you changed the room and the clothes and what kind of make-up you put on your face and… it's a confusing test, master."
Noon blinked, trying to piece together what was going on. Did she have some sort of mental breakdown?
"Umm… M'Ress? How did I change the room and our clothes… and my face? Exactly?"
"Oh… if this is part of the test, then… the logo of the Empire is absent from the wall, the underling did not give you the proper salute when you entered, your uniform is completely different, the marks of honor upon your face are gone, my clothes are all changed, my collar—" she panicked and felt around her neck. "My collar! Master, my collar is gone! Where is it!? I'll put it back on, I just need to—"
Noon grabbed her paws gently and lowered them, calming her.
"It's okay, it's okay. Don't worry about that right now. You mentioned… an Empire?"
But at that moment, Chen entered the transporter room. M'Ress looked over Noon's shoulder and her face fell. She tried to back away further.
"N-no, please!" she begged, her eyes starting to well up again. "Y-you said I passed, you said I passed! Why is he here, how did I fail you!?"
Chen and Noon exchanged a look.
"She seems tense," Chen said.
"Yeah, she was doing better a second ago," Noon said. "Maybe, give me a second here. M'Ress?"
"Y-yes, Master?" she said, her eye full of fear.
"Now… you seem scared of the doctor there, but… he's not going to hurt you."
She looked at Noon with apprehension.
"Would I ever let anyone hurt you?" he asked her, hoping that would help.
"Only… only if you were playing a game," she admitted. "But you never had him play before."
"…Okay," Noon said, disgusted with the fantasy version of himself that had infected M'Ress's mind. "Exactly. And I'm not going to start now. He's just going to take a scan of you. That's it."
"Y-yes, Master," M'Ress said. "I'm sorry I keep being frightened, I know it displeases you, I'm just… so confused."
"It's okay, I understand. Doctor?" With that, Chen walked up slowly and started to run a scan of M'Ress.
"I swear," Chen muttered to himself. "If this is some kind of sick joke between you two…"
"Doctor?" Noon said testily. "I am not in the mood. Something is wrong. Find out what."
"Understood, sir," Chen said, continuing his scan.
M'Ress stared at Chen with fear, but she quickly crawled towards Noon and hugged him tightly, burying her head in his chest. Noon awkwardly patted her head and let her be.
"Relax, M'Ress. You're gonna be okay" he said. "We'll find out what's wrong… I promise."
The More M'Ress learned about the Terran Empire, the more disgusted she became.
Slavery, forced poverty, endless wars, legalized assassination, torture… this horror show spat in the face of everything she believed in the Federation. Her one regret is that she'd never get the opportunity to scrub this reality from the face of existence. She'd have to settle for escape. But how? Even if she could get to the transporter room unnoticed and (quite possible literally) unmolested, she'd need to get someone to work the controls for her. Finding an ally here seemed far out of the question.
Or was it?
M'Ress couldn't be the only mistreated person on this ship. The Empire of Nightmares had institutionalized servitude and slavery. She doubted she was the only slave. M'Ress brought up the personnel logs and scanned through, trying to find a hint to a potential ally. Then a name stuck out to her.
Novo.
Not Lieutenant Novo. Just Novo. Assigned to the quarters next door. The captain's quarters. M'Ress grimaced in disgust and turned off the computer. She went over to the entrance to the quarters and let the doors open slowly.
She took a few peeks up and down the corridor. Empty. M'Ress booked it to the captain's quarters, opened it without chiming, and let the door shut behind her.
Someone stirred in the sleeping room. M'Ress held her breath, hoping it wasn't whatever twisted version of the captain lived in this hell dimension.
"Captain? Have you returned…?" From around the door frame came Novo and M'Ress partially relaxed. She still had no idea what to expect from this version of the Lieutenant. Catching sight of M'Ress, Novo became visibly confused. "M'Ress? This is highly irregular. What are you doing here?"
"I need your help," M'Ress said, walking across the room towards the Vulcan.
"What have you done to earn your master's ire?" Novo asked with just the slightest hint of curiosity in her voice. "You are usually well-behaved enough to avoid the bulk of his rages."
"It's not anything I've done, it's who I am!" M'Ress said. "I don't belong here!"
"That is incorrect," Novo said. "You are the property of Commander Atticus Noon and therefore belong wherever he wants you. In this case, on board the Hood. You are acting most illogically."
"No," M'Ress retorted, "I am not the M'Ress you think I am. I'm from… someplace else. A parallel world, one that has a separate history where there is no Empire, no slavery! Where we're both equal members of this crew! And I need your help getting back."
Novo stared at her, thinking over her words.
"I believe the consorts on the planet have taught you some very odd tricks, M'Ress," Novo said.
"It's not a trick!" M'Ress exclaimed. "It's the truth!"
"Truth can only be ascertained through proof. Do you have any proof of what you say is true?"
"Of course I don't! I got thrown here through the transporter. There might be a way to see an error occurring, but I don't know how to get it to tell us that I came here from a parallel world!"
"Then there is no way to verify if what you are saying is true," Novo concluded. "Please leave, I tire of this game."
"No, wait!" M'Ress tried. "There has to be something I can say to make you BELIEVE ME!" She threw up her paws in exasperation, claws out in instinctual frustration. Novo looked at her paws in sudden surprise.
"Fascinating," Novo whispered.
"What?" M'Ress asked, wondering what exactly was so fascinating.
Novo just started at her for a few moments, taking the Caitian in before saying, "Tell me your whole story. From the beginning."
M'Ress smiled. She wasn't sure what she did, but she was really glad she did it.
"So how does she look, Doc?" Noon asked.
It had taken a little longer than usual to get M'Ress down to sickbay. The entire time she shook with fear and trepidation, unsure of everything and everyone around her. And it took even more time to get her to relax around Chen. She was still convinced he would do something unspeakable to her, but Noon reassured her that it was just a simple examination. Clearly she was still scared, but she did as her "master" instructed her.
"Aside from a few… oddities, she's in perfect physical health," Chen explained.
"Oddities?" Noon asked. "Like what?"
"First and foremost? She's been declawed."
"What? Who the hell did that to her?"
"According to M'Ress… you did," Chen said.
Noon blinked.
The Doctor continued, "She said she used to misbehave regularly, but then after an incident, she claims you took her claws and it sounds like you 're-educated' her, put her through some sort of mental conditioning and torture. At least that's what I was able to gather."
"Doc, I didn't… this is… I don't even…" the words just couldn't come to Noon. The suggestion that he could be capable of torturing anyone, let alone M'Ress, was laughable, aggravating, insulting, and horrifying all at the same time.
"It's alright, Commander," Chen reassured him. "You're not the only one who's been acting like a real scumbag. According to her, I'm some kind of mad scientist. She's told me some of the things I've apparently subjugated the crew to, and I am thoroughly disgusted with myself."
"She's admitted to mental reconditioning," Noon went on, "I didn't do it, but maybe someone did?"
"There is evidence of that from her mental scans," Chen said, "but you said she was acting completely fine over the communicator?"
"That's right, when we talked to her earlier, she was completely normal. She didn't act anything like…" he gestured over to where M'Ress sat in the next room. She saw him gestured and waved back meekly.
"H-hello, Master!" she called out. "Would you like me to return to your side?"
"No, no," Noon told her. "Just stay there and… relax. Okay?"
"Yes, master," she said and laid down in a relaxed pose. Noon pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Well," Chen said, "I'm a little out of date on my mental torturing procedures, but I'm pretty sure you can't do this amount of damage in the ten seconds it takes for someone to transport from a planet's surface to a starship."
"Then how else could it have happened, Doc?" Noon asked.
"That's what we're going to find out," Dodge said, strolling into the medical bay. "I have Vedra looking over the transporter and Banks scanning the area for any abnormalities other than that blasted ion storm. I need you to tell me everything that Miss M'Ress has told you, Commander. Not just the notes."
"There's honestly not that much to tell, sir," Noon said. "She's told us about how we supposedly act, like we're all monsters wearing Human skin, working for some empire."
Dodge looked at Noon curiously. "Empire? What Empire?"
Noon shrugged. "The Terran Empire. She told me on the way to sick bay. Apparently, we're intergalactic despots, conquering worlds, enslaving populations, assassinating our superiors… we're a real friendly bunch."
The color drained from Dodge's face.
"Aw, hell," he whispered. "Not this crap…"
"What crap are you talking about, sir?" Noon asked, not sure what was going on.
Dodge quickly shut and locked the doors to the medical and looked around, making sure it was just the three of them.
"What I'm about to tell you two is classified. Understood? I only know about it because I'm drinking friends with one of the admirals this information was reported to. And I am swearing you BOTH to secrecy on this. Not a word gets out about it unless I tell you two. Got it?"
Both Noon and Chen exchanged a look but gave their word.
"Good," Dodge said, "Now. If what you're telling me is true, then this situation just became a full-blown mess because… this isn't the first time a someone has reported the things M'Ress is saying."
"What?" Noon said, shocked.
"There have been incidents reported by a few starships over the years of coming into contact with a brutal and savage 'Terran Empire,'" Dodge continued. "But this Empire doesn't exist in our universe. It exists in a separate timeline. An alternate universe. And the method of transport between our universe and this other universe has involved transporter malfunctions during an ion storm."
Noon wasn't sure exactly what to say.
"Sir," Chen said, "you do know what you're saying sound insane, right?" Noon figured that just about covered what he wanted to say.
"Of course I do. But look at the line of work we're in. A month ago, a race of sentient lights invaded our ship and hunted us for sport."
"Sure," Chen said, "But that can be explained with science. And a really bad understanding of interspecies ethics."
"And so can this, Doctor," Dodge said sternly. "Our M'Ress is now stuck in that alternate universe while we… have theirs."
Noon looked over to M'Ress, unsure of the captain's words.
"Commander," Dodge said. "It's the truth. And that's the assumption we're going with moving forward."
"Okay, Captain," Noon said, still unsteady. "If we're working from that perspective, that our M'Ress is stuck in some parallel universe where…" All the things Noon had been told by this M'Ress came back to him in an instant and images of her being subjugated to said horrors flashed across his mind. "How do we get her back!?" He finished quickly.
"That's the easy part," Dodge said. "All we have to do is send this M'Ress back through and ours should just appear back in our own universe."
"How do you know that?" Chen asked.
"Because the last time this occurred, when the crew returned from the other universe, their doppelgangers disappeared. It's been surmised that they went back to where they belonged."
"So that's it?" Noon said, sounding relieved. "All we have to do is send back this M'Ress and we'll… get ours… back…" the energy died from Noon's voice as he trailed off, staring vacantly over where the other M'Ress laid down.
"Commander?" Dodge asked. "What's wrong?"
Noon looked at the captain, his face crossed with pain and worry.
"Sir…" he said. "We can't do that."
"Care to explain why?" Dodge asked, not following whatever logic he was on.
"Just look at her, Captain. She's an abuse victim. We cannot send her back to suffer whatever hell she came from."
Dodge sighed knowingly, the picture now clicking in his head.
"That is an extremely good point, Commander," Dodge admitted begrudgingly. "The last visitors from that universe were perpetuators of that horrible system. This… she's a victim. A part of me wants to weigh the cost of my Lieutenant against this M'Ress. This M'Ress isn't a part of my crew, isn't a citizen of the Federation, or even a native to my universe. I have no real responsibility to safeguard her from the potential dangers of her own habitat, or even to get involved in the internal workings of this… so-called Terran Empire."
Silence collected in the room as everyone evaluated the Captain's words.
"But…" he continued, "that argument isn't going to hold water. Interference in other universes, governments, or people I have no responsibility over be damned. I'll never be able to live with myself if I send a slave back into slavery."
Chen nodded silently.
"Plus," Noon continued off the Captain's words, "If I know our M'Ress… she may have already figured out what's going on and is looking for a way out. She wouldn't consciously doom another person to slavery, but… if she comes back and doesn't know that she's sending back her duplicate…"
"Well… damn it," Dodge spat, pulling out his communicator. "Banks, Vedra, this is the Captain."
"Go ahead," Vedra responded.
"I'm going to need you two to report to the science lab on the double."
"We're on our way," Banks said, "But is there any particular reason why?"
"Yeah," Dodge said, "I'm gonna need you two to break the laws of reality."
"…Oh," Vedra said. "Any particular law or do you want us to tear up the whole rulebook?"
"I'll fill you in when I get there. Dodge out." He turned to Noon. "Grab your Caitian, Commander. We have to assume we have no time to work with."
"Right away," Noon said. "And she's not my… right away, sir." He figured in this case it was best to not argue over semantics and hurry. Because he knew he was right. They had no idea what their M'Ress was doing, if she even can escape. But if she does? She's going for it.
And now the race to save her doppelganger was on.
"That son of a bitch declawed me!?" M'Ress exclaimed.
"More accurately, this universe's version of you," Novo corrected.
"Bastard," M'Ress swore.
"Indeed," Novo agreed. "And since your species cannot regrow their claws once removed in that fashion, that only leaves two options: someone surgically replaced them or that you are indeed from a parallel universe. And under the circumstances, the latter is more probable."
"Are you tell me it's more likely that I'm from another plane of existence than it is that someone just… helped me?" M'Ress asked.
"Indeed," Novo confirmed darkly.
"This universe is terrible," M'Ress said. "No offense!" she added quickly. "At least… I hope so. You will help me, won't you?"
"I will," Novo said. "You do not belong here. Your presence is upsetting this universe's natural order. As damaged as you may believe it to be, this is the way things are. You, every part of you, disrupts that order. You must be returned."
M'Ress gave a little hop of joy and hugged Novo affectionately.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed. "Thank you so much!"
"Yes, well," Novo muttered, slowly pushing the Caitian away, "I have much to do and, if your assumption about the ion storm being a factor involved, little time to do it in."
"What can I do to help?" M'Ress asked.
"Nothing," Novo said flatly. "As the captain's consorted officer, I am allowed to freely move about the ship as I please. You are not. I suggest you return to your quarters and await further instructions."
"If you're sure…" M'Ress began.
"I am. But there is an issue. The current shift is about to end, which mean Commander Noon will be returning to his quarters for the evening. I can prepare you for your return to your universe, but you will have to find a way to incapacitate the Commander so you can make your escape."
"Right," M'Ress agreed.
"Let me clarify. By 'incapacitate,' I mean to get him unconscious without him becoming suspicious," Novo said. "We do not want to risk alerting him or anyone else to our plans."
"Sounds like I could use some Romulan Ale," M'Ress mused. "It that legal here?"
"It is. It is not legal in your universe?"
"Nope."
"A pity. But there is one other issue we should discuss: the M'Ress of this universe."
"Right…" M'Ress hadn't really thought too much about that issue.
"I believe it would be best if she remained in your universe," Novo said.
M'Ress started to say something to counter that but stopped herself. She thought about the kind of life her double would have had. Enslaved, abused, tortured… It wouldn't be right to send anyone back to that, let alone herself.
"That… sounds right," M'Ress finally said. "But are you sure? If there isn't a M'Ress on this ship and you helped one of them get away—"
"Please. I am fully capable of handling my own affairs. Releasing you is my own choice and I fully accept the consequences of my actions."
"You could come with me," M'Ress suggested.
"The thought had crossed my mind," Novo admitted. "But my place is here. I am not a slave as you are. I have freedoms that you never could."
M'Ress smiled in appreciation. "I would have thought you would say that because the other me doesn't belong in my universe, you would demand her back. Since that's your logic for why I should go back."
"That also crossed my mind. And even though it does bend logic, I do not gain pleasure from the torment of other. If I can lessen that torment, then I shall."
"You know," M'Ress said coyly, "With how broken everyone else is around here, I'm surprised you're as well-adjusted as you are."
"Thank you. I am actually pleased to hear that Vulcan logic seems to be a trans-universal constant." M'Ress could swear the ghost of a pleased smile seemed pass across her emotionless face. But just as quickly as it happened, it was gone and Novo continued, "But now it is time for you to go. I shall signal when I am ready for you."
"Understood," M'Ress said and turned to leave. But before leaving, she turned to her newfound ally and said, "Be careful." The Caitian left the room and hurried back to Noon's quarters.
Now came the most difficult part of all: the waiting.
M'Ress prepared the best she could. It was time to seduce harder than she had ever seduced anyone before. She called up three bottles of Romulan ale and laid herself out across the table in a sultry position. The time ticked by slowly. Agonizingly slowly. Novo said the shift would be ending soon. Just how long—
The doors opened and the scarred Noon stepped into the room. He seemed distracted, frustrated with something, then he spotted M'Ress spread out across the table, and a smile broke out across his face.
"Well well well. Look who's being a good little pet," he said.
"Of course, my dear sweet Master, mrrrrrrr…" she purred. "I live to please you in every way I can~"
"This is quite the change from earlier," he said somewhat suspiciously.
"I was nervous earlier, Master," M'Ress said. "I wasn't sure how I should show you all the fun things I learned…"
"Oh, oh, oh. I see," he said, walking over to the table, pulling out a chair and sitting on it like he was the coolest piece of shit that ever surfed a toilet bowl. "In that case, my little tramp, why don't you show me all that you have learned."
"Mrrrwwww… gladly," she whispered and stood up from the table. She poured a glass of ale and gave it to Noon.
"Now that's more like it!" he exclaimed and gave her behind a firm slap. She winced but kept on with the act. She circled around behind him and started to sensually massage his shoulders.
"Mmmmm… you like this, Master?" M'Ress whispered.
"Oh, yes!" he spat out between mouthfuls of ale while throwing his feet on the table. "You're finally useful! In fact, I should use all of you now…" he tried to stand, but M'Ress held him down.
"N-no, wait! I want you to relax fully first, Master! Please!"
"No, I think not. This bores me," he whined.
"Then… should I tell you a story?" M'Ress. "Or you could share one of your many, many exploits with me! Master!"
"Like what?" he said, peering into his glass before taking another swig.
"Like… uhh…" M'Ress couldn't be sure this Noon shared the same complete history as her Noon, so she had no idea what any of his exploits could have been. Except… "Tell me the story of how you got your scars!"
Noon seemed to freeze in place.
"What?' he said coldly. "You want to hear… how I got these scars?"
"Y-yes?" M'Ress tried, gambling desperately.
Noon drained his glass and slammed it down on the table.
"What an excellent idea!" he exclaimed cheerfully, pouring himself another glass. "I'm actually rather surprised you'd want to hear it. I thought you hated that story."
"No, not at all!" M'Ress said. "I find it most… heroic! A grand achievement of my handsome Master!"
"Huh," Noon said off-handedly, taking a sip. "A surprising attitude. You wouldn't think someone would find the tale of how their father was killed heroic, but hey who am I to judge the value of a savage beast."
M'Ress felt like her heart froze over. She tried her best to keep up the massage.
"Anyway, so there I was, looking to claim my own slave from, the savage wilds of your disgusting little world. A huge honor that only someone of my skill could properly, PROERPLY! Pull-off," he said, his words beginning to slur. "I came upon a meadow and there stodd your father: tall, prud pruish proud creature he was! And there were you, cowering by his side. I thought to myshelf: now there! THERE! Rought there is a creature worth possessering! SHhhoo I took acreful aim and shot him with my phas-eur, but the damn sights were-off and I missed! So then the beast charged me, RIGHT AT ME! Right at me, so then he—I! So then I took aim again, but hewuz quiKK! Got me across my face! But Iiiii didn't quite I shob him again! That time, that time got him! He wen down and I gave him another shot! And another! Eventually he just vanished…POOF! Like a weakling. But then there you were, screaming and crying, clawing at where he wuzzz… begging me to bring himmmm back…"
He erupted into drunken laughter at that point. "Oh… stupid, stupid, kid. I had you for the first time in that field…" he was beginning to drift off. "Yous just… crying and begging… but I had ya… I'll always huv-ya… ya…" he slumped down and the glass fell from his hand and onto the floor.
M'Ress released her clenched fists, feeling the drops of blood that dripped off her fingers. She wasn't sure at what point she had stopped giving the massage, at what point she had removed her paws from him because of she hadn't she would have killed him and put her plan of escape in jeopardy, but the hot flash of murderous anger slipped away as she came back to her senses.
He isn't worth it, she kept telling herself. Her escape was more important than avenging a version of her sire that wasn't even technically her own sire.
But the memories of the past came through hard. Walking together through the woods of her home, exploring dark caves, fishing at Alkin Lake, falling asleep on his chest as he read her favorite stories… had the other M'Ress experienced the same joys? Felt the same love she felt for her sire?
Every fiber of her being burned with vengeance, but she couldn't give in to it.
Instead, she sat down on the nearby couch and stared at the farce in front of her, imagining all the horrible things she wished she could do.
She was disgusted by him. What an utter fool. But not a noble fool like her Commander.
…Like her Atticus.
The real Atticus. His sharp wit and kindness. The way he always found a way to comfort her in her moments of weakness. The way he knew when he was drinking Romulan ale and could effectively manage his intake, so he didn't end up sprawled out like a buffoon.
She missed him. Looking at his terrible, horrendous reflection made her realize how much she deeply missed him. Missed having his presence around her. Without that presence, she felt like a part of herself was missing. Like a section of tail had been removed. The sooner she left, the better.
Luckily, she didn't have to wait for long. The nearby computer beeped quietly and M'Ress jumped over to the terminal. There was a message:
Coffee is ready to go, come now, best flavor in the universe.
It read like something foolish, but M'Ress knew better. If the other Noon were still conscious and had read it, it wouldn't have meant anything. Maybe an error of some sort. But it was clear to her. She left the quarters immediately, not looking back for an instant.
The automatic lighting had the ship on night hours, so she didn't run into anyone on the way to the transporter. Her trip to the room was a blur as she tried to hold in her raw emotions.
She turned the corner and entered the transporter room, ready to leave this godsforsaken universe behind her. Novo was already at the transporter station.
"Hurry," Novo said. "There is some time left, but I do not wish linger here."
"Right," M'Ress responded, stepping onto the pad. "Any problems?"
"None. Though after a quick analysis, I can confirm that there was only enough residual matter transference energy from your own universe to allow only one passenger."
"Wy are you telling me that?" M'Ress asked.
"Earlier, you seemed emotional over the subject. I wanted to make sure you had no regrets."
M'Ress smiled. "Thank you, Novo. For everything. I hope… I hope things get better for you. For… all of this. There's a better path, a better way."
"Perhaps," Novo said. "But that will have to come later. For now…" she looked at M'Ress for a moment, thinking to herself about something. And then, slowly, tentatively, gave her the ancient Vulcan salute. "…Live long and prosper."
M'Ress gave it in return. "Peace and long life," she said.
Novo cocked an eyebrow. "If I had any doubts before… they are gone now."
"Why's that?"
"Because while some Non-Vulcans may know the first half, none but my people would care to know the proper return. You obviously must have learned that from someplace far away from here…"
"I learned it from a friend," M'Ress said, smiling.
"Indeed," Novo said, nodding. "Energizing."
M'Ress heard the telltale whir of the transporter pad turning on and then… she was away.
But where she once stood on the transporter pad, her clothing remained. Only her body beamed away. Her clothes floated in the energized air for a moment, seemed to energize for a moment themselves, then re-formed around a false body that appeared in M'Ress's place. Novo walked over to the dummy and saw there was a paper note attached to it. She reached out and took the note, opening it slowly and read what it said.
Dear Terran Empire Assholes,
We're keeping her. If you come looking for her, you'll only find a fight you can't win.
Love, Captain Kenneth Dodge and all your Better Halves of the United Federation of Planets.
Novo cocked an eyebrow.
"Fascinating."
Reality came back into focus slowly. The first thing M'Ress caught sight of was Vedra looking fairly surprised. Almost shocked, actually.
Then M'Ress realized she was naked and tried her best to cover herself. But it was too late, Vedra had already seen everything.
"Sir," Vedra said over the comms, "She's here, but don't come in. She's… naked."
"What?" said the captain's voice over the communicator. "Why is she naked?"
"That is a very good question," M'Ress agreed.
"Well, it isn't like there was a uniform waiting for her on this side of the matter transference. And we didn't really account for that in our estimations. Although I guess this means this is a good sign our other girl is still here?"
"Yep," Banks's voice said, "Her read-out is showing steady life signs and—"
Just then the doors to the transporter room opened and Noon ran in. He caught sight of M'Ress and a huge grin spread across his face.
"M'Ress!" he shouted. "You're okay!" He ran over and pulled her into a warm hug. "God, I missed you!"
She chuckled and awkwardly tried to return the hug.
"Commander, I'm naked!" she exclaimed.
"No one's perfect," he said.
M'Ress's heart melted and she felt tears welling up in her eyes.
"I missed you." She whispered desperately. "You have no idea how disgusting you were a moment ago."
Oh…" Noon said with some trepidation. "I have some idea." He released his hug and pulled off his uniform overshirt. "Here you are, Lieutenant. Go ahead and make yourself somewhat presentable."
She took it and slipped it over herself. The shirt was too big for her, but that helped in successfully covering up her nether region from view.
"Thank you, Commander," she said. "Shall I return to duty now?"
"No…" he said with a grin. "I think I can maybe convince the captain to give you the evening off. All things considered."
They shared a quiet moment.
Then Vedra cleared her throat loudly.
"Commander?" she asked.
Noon took a few steps back from M'Ress and cleared his own throat.
"Yes, Vedra?" he said professionally.
"If there's nothing else, I think I'd like to take fifteen minutes. I just spat in the face of trans-reality physics, so I think I deserve the break."
Noon nodded her off. "Go ahead."
"Thank you," Vedra said, sauntering out of the room.
"Commander?" Dodge said over the communicator. "I'd like you to finish making sure the Lieutenant is decent. Everyone go take a breather and we'll debrief in a few."
"I'll meet you then, sir," M'Ress responded.
"Excellent. Good to have you back, Lieutenant. Dodge out."
Noon and M'Ress shared another quiet moment before stepping off the pad together and heading for the door.
"Uhh," Banks said nervously over the comm, "This is Banks! Commander Noon, I'm sorry, but she kinda got away from me, I was trying to hold her, but you should probably prepare—"
The transporter room doors slid open and M'Ress almost had a heart attack as she ran into herself.
"Master, I… oh," her duplicate said, catching sight of M'Ress. The double looked about as surprised as M'Ress felt. "What… what you've been telling me… it's been true."
M'Ress blinked at herself. There were small differences, but it was like looking in a mirror. She reached out a paw, but her mirror-self pulled away slightly… before leaning back in and holding out her own paw. They touched. Hesitantly. Then they interlocked their fingers. And their grip held firm.
Just then Brooks slid into view down the hall and he stumbled to his feet, catching his breath as he jogged over to the transporter doorway. He saw that the two M'Resses were holding paws and groaned out a sigh of relief.
"Oh good," he huffed. "You didn't explode."
The M'Resses pulled away quickly.
"That could've happened!?" said the Prime M'Ress.
"Maybe?" Banks said, still catching his breath. "This whole thing was weird and slapped together with a prayer, M'Ress. I'm surprised we didn't all end up the wrong gender or something."
"What was slapped together?" she asked, still studying the Mirror M'Ress closely.
"Well, we heard about how this kind of thing happened before and when it did the duplicate vanished and went back to their own universe. We couldn't let that happen to our guest here, so we had to rig up a way to fool reality into thinking it had pulled her back."
"You… fooled reality?" M'Ress said, impressed. "That doesn't sound possible."
Banks shrugged. "I guess so. We scanned her and noticed she had a different matter frequency to our own. Like some kind of universe signature. We copied that, rigged it up to a dummy that had her same chemical and bio-electrical components, placed it onto the transporter pad, and sent it to the same pad as we were receiving you. Like I said, I'm shocked it work. But now we have two of you. So… yaaaaaaayyy?" Banks finally had his breath back and stood up tall. "I'm going to go have a heart attack now before we debrief. If that's okay with you, Commander?"
"Sure, if that's what you'd like to do," Noon said. "I'll… take care of this."
"Uh huh," Banks said, walking away, "Thank you, Commander."
Noon watched him go and turned his attention back to the M'Resses. They were looking at each other, not saying anything.
"So…" he said. "M'Ress? This is M'Ress. Say hi, M'Ress."
"Hi, M'Ress," the two said in unison. They flinched, but then smiled at each other. Noon chuckled.
"Oh, wow," he said. "What did they used to call it? Stereo? Would… would you two like to be alone, or…?"
Prime M'Ress grabbed his arm and held it tightly.
"No," she said sternly. "I would like you to accompany me to my quarters. Please. Sir."
Mirror M'Ress grabbed his other arm and held it just as tightly.
"And wherever my Master goes, I follow!" she said with force. Then she nuzzled him and purred loudly. "I love my new kinder, gentler Master…"
Prime M'Ress gave him a look.
"Can't imagine how you could have missed me. I can't seem to keep myself off you," she said slyly.
"As if this was my idea!" he exclaimed.
"Oh be quiet and escort us back to our quarters, please, sir," Prime M'Ress said. "I'd like to change into a proper uniform."
Noon sighed. "As you wish," he said and walked the two twin Caitians back to their quarters.
The debrief didn't take long. Some plans were discussed about what to do, but nothing was certain. It mostly consisted of scientific talk about the ramifications of having two of the same person in the same universe simultaneously. The entire time, Mirror M'Ress held onto Noon while the Prime M'Ress begrudgingly sat respectfully in her own chair. After the senior staff broke, Prime M'Ress insisted the three of them head back to her quarters to discuss their own future more privately.
It was a mostly uneventful walk back to M'Ress's quarters. While there, Noon tried to excuse himself to allow the ladies some privacy to change into sleeping clothes, but Prime M'Ress insisted that he wasn't going to see anything he hadn't already and Mirror M'Ress demanded he should stay as close to her as possible. So he gave the two Caitians as much decency he could. Afterward, he tried excusing himself to his own quarters again, but he was stopped.
"Don't go, please," Prime M'Ress asked. "This is a weird enough situation. I could use something familiar."
"I thought you two would appreciate some alone time to talk things through," Noon said. "It feels like I'm intruding on something personal."
Prime M'Ress grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight.
"You're not," she assured him. They shared a smile briefly before Noon was tackled from behind by Mirror M'Ress, who jealously pulled him away from the Prime M'Ress.
"I don't want my kind master to ever leave my side!" she exclaimed, holding him tight.
Noon patted her arm softly and pulled away, sitting her down on the bed.
"Maybe it's important that I stick around and help establish what your life is going to be like now," he told her. Mirror M'Ress blinked in confusion.
"What do you mean? I'll stay with you!" she insisted. "I want to be with my master!"
"M'Ress," he stated firmly. "You don't have a master anymore. Not me, not any version of me, not anyone. You are free to go wherever you want and do whatever you want."
"It's a big galaxy out there," Prime M'Ress assured her. "Caitians are respected across the Federation. No one will treat you like a slave again."
Mirror M'Ress looked down at her feet and squirmed in thought.
"If… if I can go anywhere," she said, "Then I choose to stay here! With my master!"
Noon sighed and shook his head. "I don't think that's a possibility," he said sadly.
"Why not!?" Mirror M'Ress demanded. She shot a dirty look at her counterpart. "Is it because of her? Is it because I'm inferior!"
"No!" Noon said, calming her. "No, God no. This is an exploratory vessel. Everyone is trained to be here. And even if you did join Starfleet, it would be years before you could be on the same ship as me. And even that isn't a guarantee."
The anger faded from Mirror M'Ress's face and was replaced by a hopeless desperation. Her eyes welled with tears as she began to panic.
"But I… I don't…" she tried to speak. "I'm lost here, and I don't know where else I could…"
Prime M'Ress took a seat next to her counterpart and took her paws in her own.
"Hey," she said reassuringly. "You'll be okay. No matter where you end up, you'll be okay. I know that better than anyone."
A slideshow of emotions passed over Mirror M'Ress's face. Confusion. Anger. Envy. But then it faded away and she pushed her head into Prime's M'Ress chest and sobbed quietly. Prime M'Ress placed a paw on the back of her head and stroked her hair.
Then she did something Noon had never seen her do before.
She sang.
Never fear, for I am here, we are together below the stars.
The sky is bright with my love for you, the day is over and long gone.
So rest your head, my little one, never doubt our bond.
You will be safe, below the moons and the shining stars above…
The Mirror M'Ress coughed out a laugh and wiped her eyes.
"That was my favorite verse," she said. "From the lullaby mother would sing to me."
"It's my favorite too," Prime M'Ress said with a smile. But then the smile faded. She recalled how her counterpart's home life came to a crashing end. Prim M'Ress grasped her counterpart more securely and leaned in close to her ear.
"…He's alive," she whispered. "Our sire still lives."
Mirror M'Ress's head shot up.
"Wh-what!?" she whispered desperately. "Are you telling the truth?"
"Yes, of course! I would never lie to myself."
The Mirror M'Ress looked panicked and worried. "It has been years since I've been… it wouldn't even be my home, I lost everyone, not just my sire… everyone could be different, what if they do not love me because I am not their daughter, or…"
Prime M'Ress shushed her gently.
"They are… difficult at times, but when I tell them about you, they will welcome you with open arms like you were their own. Because, and look at me… you are their own."
Mirror M'Ress began to tear up again.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much."
Prime M'Ress smiled ruefully. "But there is something you have to do first."
"What's that?" Mirror M'Ress asked.
"On the planet below. It is a paradise world of vacation and leisure. But there are also facilities to help those who have suffered trauma. I think you should stay and get help."
Mirror M'Ress looked hurt. "But… but I could go home, I should see what family I have here and…"
Prime M'Ress quieted her.
"I assure you that when I tell our parents that they have another daughter, they will come to you. And it will not take them long, but until they do, you should receive professional help from a trained medical counselor."
Prime M'Ress rubbed her counterpart's face gently.
"You have been hurt. Maybe it doesn't feel like it where you're from, but you have. And I cannot in good conscious pass up the opportunity to get you the best help I can at the moment. And that would be the counseling services on the planet."
Mirror M'Ress looked desperately to Noon. He had taken a few steps back to allow the two to speak.
"Please…" she pleaded. "Please, do not send me away, Master, please."
Noon walked over to her and placed a reassuring hand on her leg.
"No one is going to force you to go," he told her. "But you should go. There are kind people down there. We will make sure you are left in the care of someone we trust. I would never allow any harm to come to you. Ever."
As he comforted her, Prime M'Ress felt a brief stab of jealousy. But that was quickly washed over by a wave of shame. She cleared her head and went back to caressing her counterpart. Those feelings were completely uncalled for.
"I'm… I'm frightened," Mirror M'Ress whispered. "But… but I think I can do it. On one condition."
"Anything," Noon said.
Mirror M'Ress met his eyes, hoping shining deep in her soul.
"Sleep with me."
That stab of jealously returned to Prime M'Ress, only now it was deeper and harder to control.
"W-what?" Noon balked. "That is the LAST thing you need right now, given what you've been through and the type of—"
"I do not mean mating, Master," Mirror M'Ress said, smiling shyly. "I apologize for the confusion. I meant for you to sleep with me. I don't want to be alone."
"Uhh…" Noon was unsure of what to say. He looked to his M'Ress for help. That deep stab of jealously subsided as her counterpart clarified. It sounded innocent enough. And besides, she had no reason to doubt Noon's honor or integrity. Even if she was an exact duplicate of herself.
"I think it would be okay," Prime M'Ress finally said. "And I'll find some empty quarters if you wish to sleep here or—"
"I want you here as well," Mirror M'Ress said. "He is your master as much as mine. I do not want to come between you two. So please stay and share this night with us."
"He is not my…" Prime M'Ress started to correct her but decided against it. It wasn't important. "Very well." She turned to Noon. "Strip and lay down."
Noon became a little flustered.
"Look, I'm not just going to—"
"Strip," Prime M'Ress repeated, "And lay down. Now."
Noon knew that tone in her voice. He sighed and did as he was told. Mirror M'Ress was taken aback.
"Maybe you really aren't her master…" she said.
"Relationships in this universe," Noon explained, "are more of a 'give and take.'"
"Agreed," Prime M'Ress purred. "I give it and he takes it. Mrrrowwrr."
"Oh really?" Noon said, continuing to remove enough of his clothes to be comfortable to sleep in. "Because I recall a few times where the opposite was most definitely the case."
Prime M'Ress leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "Only because I allowed it. That's good enough. Come. Computer? Lights off." She then grabbed Noon and pulled him onto the bed, between the twin Caitians. Noon found a comfortable enough spot and was then joined on either side by a M'Ress. Mirror M'Ress grasped him more tightly, refusing to give up an inch of intimacy. His own M'Ress was more familiar, loose, but no less intimate. He stretched his arms around them and laid back, basking in their combined warmth.
"You know, I—" he started, but Prime M'Ress flicked her tail up and lightly tapped him on the head.
"No," she said, "No talking. Just sleep."
"Yes, ma'am," he said with humor in his voice and closed his eyes.
Noon felt like he was awake for hours, laying between the two Caitians. Maybe they were awake for the same amount of time, but he couldn't tell. Eventually he drifted off, thinking he was one of the luckiest beings in the galaxy.
For Prime M'Ress, all she could feel laying there was unbridled joy and contentment. Being next to him, her Human… her mate. That word felt so much stronger now. So much more powerful. She curled up closer to Noon and began to purr, hoping that the morning would never come.
For Mirror M'Ress, she felt something within herself she had not felt in years. She had forgotten the word for it, but she felt it. Agony released from her heart, tears fell freely from her eyes, and she was finally, truly happy.
So I think that was kinda nice, huh? Not any real action, but still. Nice. Not every encounter with the Mirror Universe has to be fist fights and Malfoy's Dad doing some heinous shit. In and out, and M'Ress and Noon learn a little more about their feelings for each other. Plus now there's TWO M'Resses running around in the galaxy. Honestly, this chapter is an absolute win. I feel good about writing it.
In other news, I've marathoned all of Lower Decks now and yeah, Doctor T'Ana is kinda the best. I may have to do something with that. I started this endeavor because I felt like M'Ress deserved some more love. T'Ana is definitely in that same boat. A 'Next Generation' sequel may be in order. We'll see what the future holds.
As a final bonus, her outfit & personality in this version of the Mirror Universe wasn't based off this design, but it's still a very nice piece of art from E621:
/posts/2148124?q=parent
No artist as far as I can tell. I'd give some credit otherwise. If anyone knows the artist, please let me know and I'll update the description. Until then...
NEXT TIME ON THE CAITIAN'S PAW:
With Captain Dodge gone on other business, Noon has been given temporary command of the Hood. With the authority of the ship now his, he finds himself being given an intimate congratulations by his communications officer.
"THE HEAD THAT WEARS A CROWN"