Chapter Fifteen: Closet Skeletons
"There are some of us, Jetallans that is, who have certain abilities," Vedrann began. "We call it Lakatti-feh, or translated roughly to 'listening touch'. It is only a small segment of Jetal's worldwide population but the entire population knows of it. To explain it is difficult but describing it in simple terms would basically mean a telepathic connection through the contact of skin to skin. But it is much more than that, those with the ability not only can speak mind to mind through touch but can retrieve memories and plant thoughts in others heads if one is not too careful."
Serea listened to Vedrann's words as she kept her gaze on Naetharr across the room in the Infirmary where Bithar kept a close watch over her. Sleeping soundly, the Chief Engineer did not hear a word being spoken from her surrogate brother. Serea herself had been roused in the middle of the night by Dr. Senecal by the sudden event of Naetharr's strange health problems. The doctor had thought it best that when Vedrann offered information into Naetharr's illness that Commander Serea hear it as well. Rilar and L'Nara also joined their company since they had been nearby during the incident and Raleigh had been called to join them as well.
"Why did Starfleet not hear about this before or notice it on bio scans of Jetallans when the Federation came in after the Cardassians left?" Serea asked.
"No one says anything about it to outsiders so that we may protect those with the differences," Vedrann explained. "Normal medical scans do not see anything but thorough study reveals the small differences in genetic makeup between Jetallans who have Lakatti-feh and those who do not."
"Did the Cardassians know about this ability?" Raleigh asked suddenly.
Vedrann sighed heavily, "Yes, they did. They discovered it not long after their first attempt to occupy our world. Our last defensive tactic against the Cardassians was an attempt to mind control with those who had the ability. It failed and many perished for it while others were taken prisoner for torturous studies, surgeries, and procedures."
"What exactly is wrong with Lieutenant Naetharr then?" Senecal asked; she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up when she heard Vedrann mention the dishonorable medical practice use.
"She is one of the few who survived such tests," he said. "And I am one as well except she endured much more than I did from their madness."
Vedrann felt all eyes upon him as he let his own secret come out. L'Nara was the first to speak since she was unfazed by his statement.
"What did the Cardassians attempt to do to you and Lt. Naetharr?" she asked out of her scientist curiosity.
"The Cardassians wanted to harness our power somehow or even enhance it. They wanted us to be some sort of new invasion and occupation force for their military demands. But they did not have the technology to do so until after the Dominion joined with them," Vedrann said with a shake of his head. "I was lucky that I escaped before much more could be done to me. One naturally born with Lakatti-feh can control it so that they do not overwhelm others with small contact. Syrreiya and I do not have that capability because of the Cardassians. Syrreiya has a stronger enhancement than I do and she can be a danger to others if she is not careful. She sometimes would have bouts of strong occurrences and other times where she would have no affects at all. I am not a threat to anyone but I avoid contact with everyone else."
He held up his gloved hands as proof and it suddenly became clear to those who had wondered about his habit. But a strange look came upon Serea's face as she looked upon him and then to Naetharr.
"Why does she not wear gloves as you do if she has a stronger unhindered ability?" she questioned.
"I believe that leads us to where we are tonight," Vedrann said, his voice low. "When she attended the Academy, I believe she discovered a drug that obstructed many of the harsher portions of her Lakatti-feh and she became dependent on it. When she returned here, Bithar held a position to her advantage in accessing what she needed. I believe the drug is having some unforeseen side effects."
"What is her status now?" Serea asked, turning to Senecal.
"Her bio-signs have returned to normal and I've started her on a treatment to wean her nervous system off of the metichloridal. I will release her in a few days from the Infirmary once she has finished the treatment and shows no sign of withdrawal."
"Thank you, Doctor," Serea said with a nod. "As for the rest of us, I'd like to keep this quiet, we do not want the Jetallan population to become alarmed that we have discovered this. I do not want them believing we might do the same as the Cardassians did once their secret was learned."
"Yes, ma'am," the crew murmured in response.
They began to disperse and leave the Infirmary to go back to their quarters for the night. Serea remained as she watched Senecal return to her patient and check Naetharr's vital signs while Vedrann stayed at his adopted sister's side. Raleigh, who had not left, remained leaning against a far wall of the room, his face showing him deep in thought.
"What do you make of this?" Sera asked him, suddenly appearing beside Raleigh without his noticing. He looked at her a little surprised but returning to his usual calm expressionless face.
"What makes you think I am on to something?" he said with a twitch of his lips.
"I know you well enough that there is something you believe is connected to all this," Serea said referring to Naetharr's condition.
"You're right," he said after a slight hesitation. "I was just thinking about how Vedrann mentioned the Cardassians passing the information on to the Dominion after siding with them at the beginning of the war."
"And you believe the information was also given to someone other than the Jem'Hadar or the Founders?" Serea said with an upturned eyebrow. "Perhaps another of their allies?"
"The Breen," Raleigh answered nodding his head as he realized she was thinking exactly what he had been. "Which might lead into why the kidnappings are happening. It's an odd connection but too much of a coincidence."
"We do not know if those kidnapped had the Lakatti-feh Vedrann has spoken of," Sera answered. "But we cannot be sure unless we investigate it. I also do not see why the Breen would want the Jetallans who will obviously go unwillingly to work for them. There must be something else connected that we do not understand quite yet."
"We might just have to wait this one out and see what develops," Raleigh said solemnly. "That might be our only choice for the time being."
"I do not want to see more kidnappings occur," Serea said. "But if this is our only course of action, so be it. I would like you to discuss this with Commander Rilar and Vedrann as well. I would like to see what insight they will give as to protecting this sector, especially this station and Jetal. Otherwise, speak to no one else about this theory. I will talk to Starfleet Command and see what they can do for us."
Serea made to leave but was halted by a small chuckle from Raleigh.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said, a small smile on his lips. "It is good to see you haven't lost your touch."
He then moved away from the wall and went on his way back to his quarters.
A few hours later...
Syrreiya Naetharr felt herself steadily awakening from the fog that surrounded her consciousness. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the blurriness of the Infirmary around her and she grappled inwardly with her memories to remember what had last happened with her. As she opened her eyes wider, she found Vedrann sitting next to her bed reading a padd. He was not alone however; Bithar sat at the far end of the room at the main console desk. Her limbs and body felt stiff and heavy as she became more aware of her surroundings and she attempted to lift herself up but groaned as she felt the lack of strength available for such a feat.
"I see you are awake," Vedrann said as he noticed her movements. "You need to lie still and rest."
Naetharr glanced at him as she took a deep breath, "What happened?"
"You had a reaction," Vedrann said. "To that drug you have been taking from the Academy."
Naetharr grumbled to herself as she realized the mess she had just gotten herself in. "Did Bithar contact you?"
Her voice was hoarse and dry but she was able to manage speaking coherently enough.
"No," Vedrann said as he cupped her face and brushed away her disheveled raven locks. "Doctor Senecal did."
Naetharr winced as she realized the Starfleet doctor had also found her crumpled on the doorstep of the Infirmary. This could be a problem…I hope Bithar stopped her from saying anything…
"They know," Vedrann suddenly said.
Naetharr realized he was not wearing his gloves and had heard her thoughts as he touched her.
"They would have found out soon enough anyways," Naetharr explained. "Someone else was figuring it out."
"Who?" Vedrann asked with a little surprise.
Naetharr flicked her mind to the conversation she had earlier that day during lunch. She watched as Vedrann's face changed to understanding.
"I see," he said simply. "There is not much you can hide from strong telepaths like Betazoids."
"I have nothing else to hide from her anymore," Naetharr said as she attempted to roll onto her side. "The entire station knows by now."
"No, Commander Serea has seen to it that word will not get out and that no one is to speak of this," Vedrann assured her. "If someone speaks about this, she does not seem the type to hold back punishment worthy of not following orders. She did not like the fact that Bithar was helping you with your sneaking around taking medications. Though, she does seem concerned about your well being so I do not she will be harsh on you or Bithar."
"That is good to know," Naetharr said with a huff and shifted her position to one more comfortable. "And I can assume they will be keeping me in here for a time."
Vedrann nodded slowly, "For now, you need to rest and gain your strength back. I also do not want you to do anything drastic like taking that medicine anymore."
She rolled her eyes and sighed deeply as she attempted to roll back onto her back, still unable to find a comfortable part of the bio-bed. Vedrann shook his head and stood to leave.
"We will talk more about this later when you are feeling more like yourself," he said. "For now, rest well."
Author's Note:
Sorry about the long delay in posting updates but my job has taken more time than I thought they would. I will try to keep up some more for you all, especially since the plot is thickening. Hope you enjoyed! Sorry about the format... I'm not too happy with this new quickedit/preview feature... takes away all my fun little tiddleys and asteriks.
TQ