By Nyassa Kaiba
Notes: ((Symbiont speaking to Rachel.))
))Rachel speaking to Symbiont((
Chapter 9- Feralae
(Chapter known also as "Rachel Breaks out in Spots, Literally!")
I waited in the small room off of sickbay. The other Animorphs were with me. Tobias was pacing. Dax watched us, talking quietly with Counselor Troi. I played on my harmonica, Cassie smiled, singing softly, "And if you want me to come with you, then that's alright with me, cause I been goin' nowhere, and anywhere's a better place to be." It was one of our songs, and I found the melody and the lyrics comforting when something happened.
The tension was so palpable in the air you could cut it with a knife. Tobias was the most pissed. He was afraid of losing Rachel again. Suddenly he said, "I'm going with you." He told Dax.
"You'd have to get permission." Dax pointed out.
"Permission be damned. I care about Rachel and I'm not about to lose her again."
Cassie listened, still singing. "And I wish that you'd come with me, when I leave for home, cause we both know all about loneliness and living on our own. And the little man, looked at the empty glass in his hand, and he smiled a crooked grin, he said 'I guess I'm out of gin, and I know we both have been, so lonely, and if you want me to come with you, then that's alright with me, cause I know I'm going nowhere, and anywhere's a better place to…"
"SHUT UP!" Tobias growled. "Just shut UP! Rachel could be walking right into death a SECOND time right now and you're SINGING?"
"It's not a deathtrap Tobias." Dax told him, miffed. "Being joined is an honor, and only one human has ever done it."
"Tobias unless you want to offend a senior crewman of the Defiant I'd suggest that you shut up RIGHT NOW!" Erika growled. She took a long sip of root beer. Guinan had given the Animorphs a bottle each to drink while we wait. She'd served Dax and Deanna as well. "The Trill aren't yeerks! You have to remember that!"
Tobias sank into his chair. "Sorry… I… I just… I lost Rachel once, and if something goes wrong I'll never forgive myself."
Jake shook his head. "Tobias, you don't think I feel guilty too?"
"Shut up Jake! You were the reason why Rachel died in the first place." Tobias growled.
Jake looked like he'd been slapped.
"Tobias take that back!" I snapped. "You think Jake doesn't know that? Doesn't regret that with all his heart and soul? He could have captured Tom and starved the Yeerk out, but there was no way to get onto the Pool Ship without his Yeerk, and he would have turned on us."
"And we had to get on to save Feralae from…" Craig smacked a hand over his mouth. "I'm sorry Feralae. I didn't mean to bring that incident up."
I sighed. "That's okay Craig."
"Nice work Craig." Erika said, rolling her eyes. Erika had been deafened in an accident. The Morph technology had healed her wounds and made her able to hear again. It was almost ironic that she had been asked to stay with an El-Aurian 'listener' like Guinan. Erika had a sort of a serene personality, and a mystical outlook on life that gave her a good grasp of timewarps such as Sario Rips and Time Paradoxes. It was not as good as Cassie's natural tendency to break up alternate universes, but close.
"You know what this whole episode reminds me of?" I asked. "Remember that old song 'Sniper' by Harry Chapin?"
"How could we not?" Marco asked, rolling his eyes. "With you Chapin CRAZY all the time."
"Well it reminds me sort of, of the line at the end, 'I was, I am, and now, I will be.'"
"Zia is actually a young Symbiont." Dax said. "I looked up the records. Zia's only had two hosts before this. Most of the joined that I've met have four or five lifetimes under their belt."
"Then Rachel makes number four right?" I asked.
"But Zia won't be staying with Rachel, not permanently." Jadzia pointed out. "So I'm not sure if she counts."
"Okay, three then." I pointed out.
The door opened, and the nurse poked her head in. "It's done, Dr. Crusher just has to clean Rachel up a bit."
"FINALLY!" Tobias shoved angrily past her. "And once they make it back from Trill I'm going to tell her that if she ever pulls a stunt like that on me again I'll…"
&&&Rachel&&&
It was dark. But I still felt Zia making contact, felt the rush of memories. INCREDIBLE!
The Symbiont chuckled into my mind. ((Thank you for giving yourself to me Rachel.))
I sighed, ))You're welcome. This is going to be some adventure huh?((
((You bet it will.))
I felt so serene, so calm that it was odd. I never felt a sense of peace until, until my death. And now that I had been revived, I didn't fear death as much as I used to. I smiled sadly. ))'And the look on her face as she opened the door, was like an old joke told by a friend. It took ten long years, but she found her smile, and I watched the corners start to bend'(( I quoted.
((I beg your pardon?)) Zia asked.
))Feralae, a friend of mine, she quotes this old singer all the time. One of his songs, 'Sequel' is about dreams. The woman in the song, Sue, gave up her dream of being an actress, and when she did she felt so peaceful. I ended up dying once, and strangely, I don't fear death anymore. When I was revived on the Enterprise I felt just as peaceful and serene as Sue did.((
((Yes, I see your memories now. You were very brave.)) Zia commented. ((I do not fear death either, having experienced it during my hosts' lifetimes. I don't like it, but I do not fear it.))
And with that a future friendship was cemented, provided that we both survived the journey back to Trill of course.
Our eyes slowly opened. The other Animorphs were waiting. "Hey, some party this is huh?" Zia asked, with a small smile. "You guys all look like somebody died. Did I break out in spots or something?"
Dax laughed. "Zia you have such a sense of humor!"
"Thanks Luitenant." She sighed.
"BAD joke." Stated Marco. "VERY bad joke."
"Right, Zia as soon as you're able we need to get going." Tobias told me. "I got permission to come with you to Trill."
oh great. Tobias couldn't have a prejudice against the trill could he? Or was he just being over protective of me?
((I can't tell, I'm not a telepath.)) Zia pointed out. "Well," Zia said as she sat up. "We'd better get going…"
Dr. Crusher scanned us. "I think you'd better be off your feet for a bit. I'll arrange a site to site transport to the runabout you, Dax and Tobias are to use." She pulled back a bit, talking to somebody on the communicator.
Sure enough, the warning came via the communicator. "Site to site transport prepared."
Dax replied for us. "Energize."
The world faded out around Zia and me.
Dax powered up the little ship and began the preflight checklist. "Ready to go you two?" She asked.
"You bet!" We chorused.