Title: Losing it All
By: Ti'kara
Summary: Ishaia is a 15 year old girl living on a starship, when her family is killed, who's gonna come to the rescue?
Abruptly the ship shook again, knocking me into a wall; a panel behind me exploded. "Ow," I cried out, my hand throbbing where I had hit it against the wall. Cradling my injured hand to my chest I continued down the hall. Suddenly I heard a cry of pain in my head. Freezing, I focused my mind outward, trying to find the source of the cry. The pain in my wrist was distracting me, I couldn't focus.
Ishaia, I told myself, you are going to have to block the pain out of your mind. I sat down against the wall and ignoring the pounding going on around me, concentrated on my hand. I focused my mind on finding and blocking the pain receptors in my brain. Slowly, using my mind, I blocked those receptors from being able to receive the pain signals. This accomplished, I turned my mind outward, searching for the person who was in so much pain. Finding the mind, I broke out in a cold sweat. The pain was overwhelming. Concentrating, I blocked out the pain and focused on where the person was. The cargo bay, I saw. Getting up, I started to go to the cargo bay only to realize that I didn't know where it was.
I hesitated, wondering what to do. Finally, I reached out with my mind. Where are you? I felt the puzzlement of the person. I tried again. Where are you? I saw the cargo bay in my head again. I frowned, I already knew that. Where is the cargo bay? I sent. Still nothing. Frustrated, I decided to ask Chakotay. I wouldn't ordinarily interrupt the Captain in the middle of a battle, but someone was injured an in trouble. I pressed my comm. badge, "Ishaia to Chakotay."
"Not now, Ishaia." Chakotay replied tersely.
"Sir, someone is badly injured in the cargo bay, and I don't know where it is."
"Yuri," Chakotay ordered.
"Where are you?" A voice I assumed was Yuri's asked me.
"I'm just down the hall from the mess hall," I answered.
"Continue down the hall and turn right at the next intersection. There will be some stairs, go down them. Take the next left and the cargo bay will be two doors down on the right."
"Thanks," I signed off.
"Report when you get there, Chakotay ordered, knowing that with her growing up on a starship with a captain for a mother she would know what he meant. "And be careful."
"Yes sir," I acknowledged. I found the cargo bay without any trouble, except for staying on my feet. Entering it I looked around, reaching out with my mind and searching with my eyes. I felt the presence of a person in pain and wound my way around the cargo containers. There he was or I should say she for it was a woman. Several containers had fallen on her and she couldn't move. I knelt down beside her. "Hi," I said, "I'm Ishaia." The woman looked at me, pain in her eyes.
"B'Elanna," she whispered. I nodded, smiling.
"Ishaia to Chakotay"
"Go ahead."
"B'Elanna is trapped under some cargo containers. I can't tell how badly she's hurt." I reported.
"I can't spare anyone right now," Chakotay said. "I'll send someone down as soon as possible."
"That's ok, I think I can handle it," I said.
"Good, I'll send someone to help when I can."
"B'Elanna, where do you hurt?" I asked her.
"All over," she responded her face gray and wet with sweat. I looked at the cargo containers.
"I think I can get these off you," I told her. "Just don't try to move."
"They're heavy. You're going to need help," she gasped.
"Sh, don't try to talk." Looking at one of the containers, I cleared my mind, breathing deeply and focusing. Concentrating, I raised one of my hands lifting the container slowly off B'Elanna, using my mind. I was glad that telekinesis was one of my abilities. Not all Inari had the capability. After making sure it was far enough away from B'Elanna I moved my hand in a sudden gesture and the container went flying. Carefully I repeated the procedure with the remaining containers. B'Elanna watched me with a shocked expression on her face.
"How'd you do that?" She wondered.
"I said don't try to talk. You don't obey orders very well, do you?" I said, winking at her. Anyway, to answer your question, it's called telekinesis. I'm actually pretty good at it. Now I need to find out where you're hurt."
"You'll need a Medical Tricorder. There sho…" B'Elanna started. I interrupted her quickly.
"I said don't talk. Now hush. You want me to report you to the Captain?" I spoke as sternly as I could. "I don't need a Medical Tricorder," I continued. "I wouldn't know how to use it anyway, now hold still while I see what's going on." I put my fingertips together or at least as together as I could with this darn splint on, pointing them toward the ceiling, my palms facing each other. I closed my eyes and concentrated. Looking back at B'Elanna I placed my hands a few inches above her head and slowly moved them over her body.
"What are you doing?" She asked me.
"Sh!" I continued concentrating on seeing her injuries in my mind. Letting my mind travel slowly through her bodies systems, looking for any injuries. I wasn't very good at this. I would never be a healer. Healers had to have a lot higher empathic healing rating than I did. Also, I didn't know how her biology was. I assumed it would be different from mine at least some. She didn't look human, although that didn't really matter, as I didn't know human biology either.
There, three broken ribs and a punctured lung. I continued down her body. A bad laceration on her thigh, good, nothing too serious. I should be able to heal them without too much trouble. The ship rocked as weapons fire hit it again. The lights went out, and emergency lighting came on. B'Elanna started trying to get up. "What do you think you're doing!" I shouted, trying to push her back down. "You're hurt and need treatment. Lie down."
"The ships under attack," she growled. "Chakotay needs me."
"A lot of good you'll do him in the shape you're in," I scoffed. "Let me treat these first then you can really help."
"Leave me alone. You don't even belong here, don't try to tell me what to do." B'Elanna said angrily.
Pressing my comm. badge, I said, "Ishaia to Chakotay."
"Chakotay"
"Captain, B'Elanna isn't cooperating." Up on the bridge, Chakotay smiled, even while struggling to evade the Cardassian cruiser. Why wasn't he surprised?
"What are her injuries," he asked.
"I'm fine," B'Elanna stated, categorically.
"I didn't ask you," the Captain responded, "I was talking to Ishaia." B'Elanna glowered.
"Three broken ribs, a punctured lung and a bad laceration on her leg," I reported.
"Can you take care of it?" He asked.
"Yes sir," I responded.
"Then do it and B'Elanna stop fighting her and do what she says."
"But…"
"That wasn't a request that was an ORDER!" The Captain said, leaving no room for doubt. He meant exactly what he had said. B'Elanna fumed.
"Well hurry up then," she spitted.
"Lay back, relax and be quiet," I ordered her. Putting my fingers together again I concentrated, centering myself, preparing for the task ahead. Carefully I placed my hands over her injured ribs, seeing her punctured lung in my mind's eye. A warm yellow glow started forming at my fingertips. Gradually it formed into a ball and flowed over the injured area. Focusing on the lung, I sent my life force toward the injury. The yellow glow spread, entering her body. Visibly, B'Elanna relaxed, feeling warm. I watched the lung heal and when I was satisfied switched my attention to the broken ribs. Watching them heal, I then moved to the cut on her leg. When that to was healed I placed my hands over her heart, using my life force to strengthen her and finished by placing my hands over her head. Finished, I sat back and the glow faded.
I was exhausted. Healing took a lot out of me. For a fully trained healer, those minor injuries wouldn't have taken much, but, for me, well, I wasn't as strong. My healing abilities were really quite weak. B'Elanna sat up, looking at me in surprise. "How'd you do that?" She asked me.
"Empathic Healing," I replied. It's not my strongest talent; however, I know enough to treat basic injuries. It just takes a lot out of me."
"Well, thanks,"
"You're welcome. Now don't you think you'd better report for duty?" I said grinning. She stood up, smiling, and left the room.
"Ishaia to Chakotay"
"Chakotay"
"B'Elanna's fit for duty," I reported.
"Already?" He asked surprised. "How'd you manage that?"
"I'll explain later, when you're not so busy, sir," I replied. Getting up I left the cargo bay and headed for my quarters. Lying down on the bed I looked at my hand. Last night I had tried to heal my hand, but I had been too upset. I couldn't calm the turmoil in my mind. My concentration was non-existent. Maybe now I could take care of it. It would certainly help to have this splint off my hand. Focusing, I sent my mind looking inward to the damage in my hand.
On the bridge, Chakotay was fighting to keep The Liberty in one piece and out of the line of fire. B'Elanna bounded onto the bridge. "B'Elanna, get me some more speed," he ordered. B'Elanna took over engineering and started punching controls.
"I can't give you anymore speed, we've suffered a hit to our plasma relays." She responded crisply.
"How about more power to shields?"
"Give me a second."
"Statistically speaking, we don't have much more than a second before The Liberty is too badly damaged to continue this fight," Tuvok stated calmly.
"There," B'Elanna said, ignoring the Vulcan. "I've increased shield strength by 10%. That's the best I can do."
"Transfer all but basic life support to the weapon systems," Chakotay ordered. She looked at him with a questioning look.
"Chakotay, that might blow the power relays."
"Just do it!" He ordered. B'Elanna pushed the necessary controls.
"There you have everything except the kitchen sink." She told the Captain. Chakotay brought the ship about, somehow avoiding the withering weapon's fire from the cruiser. Dipping and swerving the little ship barreled toward the Cardassian ship.
"Load forward torpedo bays and lock all weapons onto the engine core," Chakotay ordered. "Fire on my mark."
"Weapons locked" Tuvok reported.
"FIRE!" The photon torpedoes flashed across the view screen headed for the cruiser's engine core. There was an explosion. Immediately Chakotay ordered, "Fire phasers, and keep firing until I order you to stop." Tuvok fired the phasers. Pure energy assaulted the Cardassian ship.
"Weapon systems are beginning to overload," B'Elanna reported.
"Maintain," he ordered.
"They're close to meltdown, Chakotay." B'Elanna said.
"Keep firing."
"Meltdown in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2…" Suddenly the Cardassian cruiser erupted into an enormous fireball.
"Cease fire," ordered Chakotay. Tuvok stopped the phasers just before the entire weapon system would have melted into a big lump of metal. "Report"
"The ship has been destroyed," Tuvok reported.
"Survivors?"
"None"
"Damage report"
"Extensive damage to ship's propulsion, and weapon systems. We have some power outages in minor systems," B'Elanna told him.
"How long to repair, B'Elanna?" Chakotay asked.
"At least six hours, if we have help."
"Help?"
"There's too much damage, we're going to need help." She replied.
"Contact the Peregrine," he told Tuvok. "Tell them we need them at these coordinates ASAP."
"Aye sir," Tuvok responded.
"Keep up continuous long distance scans of the area. I don't want to be surprised by anymore Cardassian ships, or anything else for that matter." Chakotay ordered.
"Aye Captain,"
"I'll be below. You have the bridge, Tuvok."
"Aye sir."
"Chakotay," B'Elanna said. "This girl, Ishaia, she's kind of strange."
"Oh? Strange in what way?" He asked.
"Well, she just looked at those containers that were on me, waved her hand and they went flying off me. Then she sat down, placed her hands over me and this sort of yellow glow came out of her hand. It flowed over me and I felt all warm and relaxed. The next thing I knew all the pain was gone and I could move. I mean the cut on my leg wasn't even bleeding anymore. It was freaky."
Tuvok raised an eyebrow. "Moving objects with one's mind is not freaky," he told B'Elanna. "It is called telekinesis. As for healing your injuries with a yellow glow as you expressed it; I have never heard of such a phenomenon." Chakotay nodded and left the bridge.
The door chime sounded. "Come in," I called. The door opened and Chakotay came in. "Hi," I said, standing up and placing my hands in the same position I had used in preparing to heal B'Elanna. I bowed in the traditional Inari greeting.
"Hi, yourself," he responded.
"I see the red alert has ended. I guess that means we're staying in one piece for a while longer." I smiled.
Chuckling, he said, "What did you expect with me at the helm."
Shrugging my shoulders, I replied, "I don't know. After all I don't know your abilities, or that of your crew." Sobering, He nodded.
"I know," he stated. "Now how about a complete report on what happened in the cargo bay. First, I thought I had told you to go to your quarters."
I nodded, "I know, and that was where I was headed when I felt someone get hurt. With the way the ship was pitching and rocking I didn't think you had time to do anything, and I knew the person was in trouble. I tried contacting her with my mind, but I guess she didn't understand. So, I contacted you. I didn't know what else to do. I didn't go to the cargo bay until you told me to, and I came straight here after B'Elanna was ok."
"Ishaia, I wasn't criticizing. I was just curious about how you knew someone was injured without being in the cargo bay. Are you able to receive the thoughts from non-telepaths without actively searching for them?" He sat in the only chair motioning me to the bed.
"Ummm, yes," I answered. "Strong emotions or very powerful thoughts can break through my shields. I can make my shields strong enough to block out all thoughts, even other telepaths, but it is exhausting to maintain for very long."
"That's very interesting," Chakotay said, leaning forward. "How did you heal B'Elanna so quickly? There wasn't enough time for you to have gotten medical supplies from the infirmary."
"I didn't need any medical supplies. B'Elanna suggested a Medical Tricorder, but I wouldn't have any idea how to use one. We don't have such devices."
"Then how do you find out what's wrong with a person."
"We use our minds. By directing our thoughts into the person's systems and focusing on the injuries we can see the injuries in our mind. Basically, I scanned her with my mind to determine the extent of her injuries." I explained.
"O…k. B'Elanna said that you used a yellow glow to heal her. Will you please explain that to me?" He asked me, grinning.
I smiled back, "Well, we call it empathic healing. It's what our healers use to cure illnesses and heal injuries. We don't really have many medicines or medical equipment. We use our minds for that too. I'm not very good, though. My empathic healing rating is really quite low. I can handle relatively minor injuries though, and if someone is critically injured I can strengthen them by transferring some of my life force to them. It can buy some extra time, maybe allowing them to make it to medical help.
"You know, Ishaia, your species is very interesting. I would really like to get to know more about your people." He told me. "Is telekinesis another ability of the Inari?"
"Not all Inari, but some have that ability." I responded.
"Like you?"
"Yes. My telekinetic ability is really very high. In fact it is one of the highest ratings ever-recorded in Inari history. My telepathic ability is also extremely high. In fact no other Inari has ever been rated as high. However, my empathic rating isn't much, in fact it's practically non-existent. I can sense very strong emotions, but not others." I explained.
"Tuvok to Chakotay"
Chakotay pressed his comm. badge, "Chakotay here"
"The Peregrine has responded to our sub-space message. Estimated time to arrival two hours and 12 minutes."
"Understood, keep me posted." He ordered. I reached up with my hand brushing some of my auburn hair out of my face. Chakotay noticed my hand and his eyes widened. "You took the splint off you hand. Why?"
"I didn't need it anymore." I told him.
"But your hand."
"I healed it. I would have done it sooner, but I was too upset and couldn't focus. After dealing with B'Elanna's injuries successfully, I decided to try again. I had a little more success, although it still hurts. I guess I'm still having trouble focusing." I made a wry face. "You should see Manua! She can block pain that you wouldn't believe while still giving orders and then heal them no matter what had been going on a little while ago. Boy, can she focus. I still have a lot to learn and I need a lot more practice." Suddenly my face clouded as I remembered that Manua was dead.
Chakotay looked at me quietly a moment, before asking softly, "who is Manua?"
I blinked the tears from my eyes, "my mother," I whispered. "Manua is Inari for mother." I couldn't keep the tears back and they started running down my face. I turned my back as much as I could while sitting on the bed, and tried to surreptitiously wipe them away. But, Chakotay wasn't fooled. He got up and walked over to the bed, sitting down.
"Ishaia, why do you try to hide your tears?" He asked me tenderly. "Your mother has just been killed. Crying is part of the grieving process and believe me you need to grieve." He put a hand on my shoulder turning me back around toward him. Smiling slightly, he continued, "I have a very good shoulder for crying on. Why don't you try it?" I looked at him through my tears.
"It's just that I feel like…Oh, I don't know," I wailed, "it's so hard to put into words. I'm so used to just sharing mind to mind. I…" I trailed off.
"Ishaia, go on, you're doing fine," Chakotay encouraged me. "I want to know what you are feeling, and unlike you, I can't read minds."
"I feel like I'm being a great big pain. I'm constantly bothering you when you have more important things to do. I know I've just been thrown into your life. You didn't have any say and…" I trailed off again, looking down at my hands.
"Ishaia," Chakotay said firmly, "look at me." I continued to stare at my hands, I couldn't face him. "Ishaia, I said look at me." By the tone of his voice I could tell he meant it. I looked up at him. He had a very stern expression on his face. "I told you that you were not being a bother or a pain…"
"I know you said that, but…" I cut in.
"NO buts," he interrupted, "I told you that you were not being a bother or a pain, didn't I?" I looked away feeling all churned up. I couldn't stand it if he was mad at me. Chakotay reached over and took me by the chin and turned my face back toward him. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, Ishaia." He said commandingly. "Now answer me."
"Yes sir," I whispered, choking back the sobs.
"And didn't I also tell you that I would never lie to you?"
"Yes sir," I sobbed.
"Well then?" He asked. " Why don't you believe me?"
I threw myself into his arms, sobbing wildly, "please don't be mad at me, Chakotay. Please!"
His face softened as he put his arms around me, holding me close. "I'm not mad at you, Ishaia. I'm just exasperated that you don't trust my word. I want you to trust me. I will help you in anyway I can. You are not bothering me when I have more important things to do. When we were attacked, you did exactly what I told you to, and you didn't bother me. You reported a situation to me that I needed to know about and then proceeded to handle it, and you handled it extremely well. I'm proud of you."
"You are?" I mumbled against his chest, surprised.
He smiled, "yes, I am. Despite being in the middle of a battle you were able to focus on taking care of a member of my crew. Even after all you've been through, you put it aside and focused on helping B'Elanna. I want to tell you how grateful I am and of course I'm proud of you. I believe your Manua would have been proud too. Also, what you said about my not having any say in your being here. That simply is not true. I make the decisions on this ship. I decided to answer your distress call, knowing that would mean rescuing any survivors. And I don't have to take care of you myself. As Captain, I could delegate that to one of my crew. I'm here because I care. As I already told you, I will always be here for you, all you have to do is ask. There will be times when I have to handle situations on the ship and you will have to wait. However, I will be there if you need me as soon as possible. I also expect you to obey my orders as you would have obeyed your mother's. Do you understand?"
I nodded my head against his chest, not wanting to move. It felt so good to be held. "Will you trust me?" He asked. I nodded again.
I trust you," I said softly.
"Good, now I want you to go to bed and get some sleep."
"Maybe I cou…"
"No maybes, I told you to go to bed and that's exactly what I meant." Chakotay said, accepting no argument.
"Yes sir," I answered meekly.
"That's better," he responded.
"Chakotay?"
"Yes."
"May I still call you if I need to?"
"Of course you may. I told you that you could call me any time, and Ishaia, I don't say what I don't mean. Now get some sleep." He rose to go, "I'll come check on you later."
"Good night, Chakotay."
"Night, Ishaia, sweet dreams."