Chinook Regional Hospital
Child's Care Ward
Lethbridge, Alberta
Earth
─•~:~•─
Exhausted as she was, Rain ran through the hospital, fully prepared to kill anyone who even thought about trying to stop her. But thankfully, her own Squirrels and Five Tribe cleared the corridors, and Rain threw open the door to Kayla's room.
She ran to her side and seized her daughter in a tight hug, never wanting to let her go, "Oh my God! Little One, I'm so sorry!"
Kayla returned her hug, "I'm okay Miss Rain, but can you stop squishing me? That actually kinda hurts."
Rain released her, and instead took her hand, with tears filling her eyes, "I'm just so worried about you. I'm so sorry, Kayla. If had been there—"
But Kayla stopped her, "You weren't there, Miss Rain, you can't be mad at yourself about that, okay?! Kailyex helped me, and so did Governess Evelyn, and so did Uncle Mark and the Marines. You can't be everywhere at once, so stop trying. And this guy helped me too, he says he's a friend of yours."
From the other side of the room, Julian Bashir appeared and smiled at Rain and Kayla, "Hello again, Rain. I thought I might take the chance to meet Kayla in person. She's a rather capable child, reminds me a little of myself at that age."
Bashir ran a tricorder over Kayla, "And how are you feeling, Kayla."
"I'm alright. A little tired. And I think Evelyn's gonna be upset because I didn't finish History Studies today. Miss Kailyex wanted me to go with her to New Romulus, and we were gonna take Comrose too, but Miss Kailyex died."
Rain still found herself in tears, "I know, Little One. But I promise, we'll make sure you get to New Romulus. Why don't you get a little rest? I'll have someone bring you some ice cream later."
Kayla shifted and closed her eyes, "Kay. You get some ice cream too, Miss Rain. You look tired as well."
Rain made sure that she was asleep before she followed Julian out the door. Once outside, she covered her face with both hands and took a deep breath, "Good God, I haven't even told her about Zelina yet…"
Julian gently placed a hand on her arm, "Children are very resilient, Rain. I think she'll be alright, just as long as she knows you love her."
Rain calmed herself, looked up, and took another deep breath, bracing herself for worse news, "I called you here to not only finish our conversation, but I have to know. What did they do to her?"
"She's fine, physically, besides exhaustion. But the Marines allowed me to read the AAR about where they found her, so I took the chance to run some scans. I'm afraid…" Julian said, trailing off.
"Out with it. It can't be any fucking worse than what I've dealt with already today," Rain replied, trying to control her rage.
Julian raised his PADD, "As near as I can tell, they've begun the first phase of the same process they started with you. But it's not identical. There's certain… improvements that have been made. Better cognition, reflexes, sight. If I had to guess, they were preparing her for a second series, likely to do with mental conditioning to avoid whatever problems they had with you."
"Fortunately, she was able to escape. But within a year, perhaps less, she'll start to notice the changes if she hasn't already. Likely, by the time she's thirteen, her abilities will rival your own, Rain. And by the time she's your age, you and I will be dinosaurs compared to her."
Rain sighed, fighting the temptation to put her fist through a wall, "Those bastards. I swear to you, Julian, I'll kill every last one of them myself. Can we do anything to help her? I won't let them turn her into me."
Julian sighed in turn, "If we had been faster, I might have been able to reverse the treatments. Unfortunately, the ambi-plasma infuser has already bonded to her T-Cells. To reverse the effects would be a death sentence. The only path forward is to at least finish the first series, and then try to help her cope with her abilities."
"And I'm happy to help do that. And more. This PADD contains everything I know about 31. You'll need it in the coming days. And I'll appoint myself as the Kaimeao family physician, and I'll help look after Kayla. It's the least I can do."
Rain, finally, allowed herself to smile, "That's… kind of you, Doctor Bashir."
"Julian," he corrected.
"Well, Julian, if you approve of it, I'd like to take my daughter home now. We have ourselves a dinner on New Romulus to get ready for. And I'd like to invite you to Beaufort next week," Rain said, holding up the PADD, "There's a meeting underway of a new special group the FMC will be forming. I think you'd make an excellent contribution to this group."
"I'd be happy to do so, Major. What's your new group called?"
Rain smiled yet again, "Task Force Grave Digger."
─•~:~•─
USS Tirpitz
Sovereign Class Capital Cruiser NCC 84937
Deck 4, Officers Quarters
In Orbit Above Earth
Ginny tried to straighten her blouse at the same time she was trying not to stumble on the heeled boots that Rain had lent her.
One part of her mind was furious that she was wearing feminine clothing, the normal part of her mind.
But the more powerful part – the part that now made her like Star – simply didn't care. She was trying to cope with everything around her now.
Seeing everything.
Hearing everything.
Feeling, everything.
She pushed it all down, and forced herself to focus back on the present moment.
I've got a date with Cyron.
Ginny hit the door chime to her quarters, and Yue's voice answered, "Come on in!"
As Ginny walked in and sat down on Cyron's couch – brushing apart piles of PADDs and engineering parts – Yue simply stared at her in amazement.
"Wow. You look incredible. Why didn't I ever think of getting shot in the stomach to get a date with you?"
Ginny rolled her black eyes, "Oh come on, Yue. Don't make feel even more guilty about that."
Yue smiled and joined her on the couch, "It's a joke, Ginny. Relax. How are you doing?"
"I don't know that I've got words for this, Yue," Ginny sighed, "I'm so past everything I was before. I'm still Ginny, at least I think I am. But I'm not Human anymore. I'm…"
Yue took her hand, firmly, and though she shivered at the coldness, she still offered a smile, "Hey, don't start thinking like that. As long as you're still Ginny, that means we're still friends, alright? I'll help you in any way I can."
"Thanks Yue… that, that means a lot to me. So, uh, does this outfit work? Major Kaimeao kinda has this thing about making me into a real woman."
Yue's trained eye looked Ginny over, "She's got superb taste. I should meet her. I'd only change one thing."
"What?"
Yue laughed and put her hand on Ginny's forehead, "Purple doesn't really go well with black eyes. We need magenta for your lashes next time."
After what seemed like forever, Ginny laughed. She then asked a related question, "Where's Cyron anyway?"
Yue looked over at the washroom, "You doing okay in there, Cyron?"
Cyron shouted back, "DON'T LET HER PEEK! YOU'LL RUIN THE SURPRISE! THIS HAS TO BE PERFECT, YUE, I ONLY GET ONE DATE TO MAKE HER FALL IN LOVE WITH ME, AND IF SHE PEEKS, SHE'LL RUIN IT!"
Yue simply laughed in turn, "She's putting on a Blue Qipao, the same as I got you. But don't tell her I said that. She should be out in a minute. You two have a great night, and let me know how it goes?"
Ginny nodded, "I will. Thanks, Yue."
Yue squeezed her cold hands as she left, "And in complete transparency, I'm absolutely fucking jealous. So Cyron had better get at least a peck on the cheek, or I'll force you to scrub plasma coils for a month, Major Tatum. That's an order."
Ginny stood up and saluted as Yue left the room. Finally, Cyron called out from the washroom, "Okay, I'm coming out. Close your eyes, and don't open em' till I say so. And no weird Star powers either!"
Of course, Ginny could now move forward at any point in time, and view Cyron's entire life, right up to the point where she would eventually marry Colonel Mor's daughter and become the first Bajoran to be the mistress of a Klingon Great House. She could also completely alter Cyron's form, or force Cyron to fall madly in love with an amoeba, or any number of effects she wanted.
But she had made a promise, so instead, she held her hands over her eyes, waiting until Cyron joined her in the living room.
"Okay, you can open 'em'. Do you like my new dress?"
Ginny lowered her hands and admired her date, in a form fitting Blue Qipao with her long, red hair done up in a perfect bun, and delicate green makeup applied perfectly to her Bajoran face.
Yue did a hell of a job.
"You look great, Cyron. Couldn't have asked for a better looking date."
Cyron started blushing, "O-oh. Y-you think so? I told you I was getting Yue's prettiest dress."
Ginny couldn't help but smile, "It works for you. So, what your plan for tonight? Dinner? Dancing? Walk on the beach? Paddle Boat rides?"
Cyron suddenly pulled Ginny to her feet and held tightly onto her hand, racing out the door into the corridor, "All five! I only get one date, so this is literally going to be the best date ever! Let's Go!"
