Chapter 31

Once Sweet, Now Bitter


On board Deep Space Nine

September 4, 2377

5am

Anna Sheridan was sedated on the bed, and Dr. Julian Bashir had already found out the hard way what happens when Anna woke up. Even with the force fields in place, she still was a holy terror to deal with. Despite all the precautions they took, she still had managed to try to merge with the station's computer twice. She had been moved from the infirmary to a special facility built on the station. Dr. Stephen Franklin had taken charge of monitoring her, and he had noticed a few things.

"First off, there's clearly been some improvement in the wetware that was installed by the Shadows. It could have developed from her interaction with the Eye on Z'ha'dum, but my hunch is that the Ragendora are behind this somehow."

Dr. Bashir scratched his chin, thinking about what Dr. Franklin said. He had studied the readouts all night long, trying to find a way to counteract the effects of the Shadow programming with no luck. He had also read up on Dr. Franklin's work with them, and he was relieved in a way that he wasn't the only one failing to come up with answers.

"Dr. Franklin, what do you propose to do with her? I mean, it's impractical to keep her here on the station for much longer."

"Julian, the best thing I can think of is sending her to Earth...your Earth...and see what Starfleet Medical can do. I'll be more than glad to assist them."

Hollifield and Sheridan chose that moment to walk in, and Anna suddenly woke up. She looked at her former husband, and hatred filled her eyes. Sheridan and Hollifield were talking to the doctors when Anna slid off the bed and stood up on her legs. She walked over to the force field and tried to stick her hand through.

The four men jumped back at the surprise, stunned that she was awake. "I thought you said you sedated her, Doc," Sheridan said to Bashir a little heatedly.

"I did. The dose I gave her should have lasted another four hours at least," Bashir countered.

"KILL YOU!...I...MUST...KILL...SHERIDAN," Anna cried out, angrily calling out to her husband. John Sheridan stepped back at the look of fury in her eyes. He remembered all the times they had together before she was cruelly taken away from him, only to return as a tool of the Shadows to get to him.

"Remember John, it's not the real her. It's the programming. Guys, step back, I'm going to try something.," said Hollifield, who began to walk slowly towards Anna.

He reached out to her mind with his psi abilities. Anna, it's me. Garrison. Are you still in there? Are you still alive?

I'm still here! Why is he here? He murdered me! He murdered so many Shadows!

You're wrong, Anna! He tried to save you, but the Shadows had too tight a grip on you! We can still save you now, if you are willing to help.

No! I will never betray the Eye! The machine is in my mind! I am the machine!

Hollifield broke off the communication, but only after reaching into her mind to cause her to go to sleep. Once she collapsed onto the floor, Bashir turned off the force field and used a hypospray to further sedate her. Hollifield rubbed his temple, feeling a headache coming on at the intensity of the effort.

He motioned to Sheridan to walk outside with him. "I'm sorry, John, but I couldn't get through to her. The Shadow technology is too firmly implanted inside her."

Sheridan was lost in thought for a while, and Hollifield soon joined him. They remained silent for a long time, each with their own thoughts.

Flashback Boston, Mass.
February 14, 2237

Before John met Anna, Garrison and Anna were a couple. Anna was attending MIT, while Garrison was attending Harvard in pursuit of a Masters of Business Administration. Garrison and his wife were having problems, and had a falling out. She moved out and he commiserated with his usual friends at his favorite hangout, which was once the subject of a television series for some inexplicable reason.

"This place may be called Cheers, but the atmosphere seems anything but tonight.," said Garrison.

Anna took a sip of her Samuel Adams lager, then responded, "Well, the Red Sox's main starting pitcher just went down for the season because of a blown knee, and both the Celtics and Bruins lost to their New York rivals tonight. Your wife must be happy."

"Yeah, she's happy because I'm miserable. I've never known someone to be so selfish before. She gives only so much, then wants so much more in return. I could have stayed at Carolina and gotten my MBA there, but she supported my idea of moving up here."

"Well, she's made her choice, Garrison. It's her career over you, and that's not fair."

"I dunno. It seems like that her bad side has long since eclipsed her good side."

"Have you considered seeing if she'll see a shrink?"

Garrison shook his head, "Tried and failed. She doesn't want anyone messing around with her head. It's a shame, because someone needs to get inside there and fix things."

Anna finished her lager, and took Garrison by the hand. They went out into the Boston night, and enjoyed themselves. It was a Friday night, and those who weren't sports fans were having a good time nonetheless."

Late that night, they stopped at a local hotel and checked in. After getting inside, they made love to each other. Anna didn't know where this would lead, but she was going to enjoy it for as long as she could. She loved the fact that Garrison gave so much of himself when they made love, and their intercourse lasted well into the night.

Early in the morning, she was resting her head on his shoulder, feeling satisfied. "So when do you think you'll talk to her again?"

"I dunno. She's not due back in Beantown for another month, if she comes back at all."

"Do you think she'll come back to you?"

"I just don't know. And I don't know what to do about us if she wants me back."

"Well, we'll think about that when that time comes, but for now..." Anna made her way down his body.

"For now..." Garrison said as he lay back and enjoyed Anna's pleasuring.

On board Deep Space Nine

September 4, 2377

11am

Hollifield and Sheridan were eating breakfast at the local replimat. It wasn't anything special, just something to keep the belly full.

"You know I was thinking. If Victoria hadn't come back, I probably would have never met Anna. You two were very close for a while there," Sheridan said.

"Yeah, we had some good times, but I just felt more for Vicki than I did for Anna. Sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice."

Sheridan sighed, "Well, they're all lost to us now. Anna may be alive, after a fashion, but the woman we both knew has long since passed on."

"Damn Shadows! I had heard about the mission, but didn't find out where it was going until the Shadows had already captured Anna and the rest. I had heard from my sources in the Minbari government that the Icarus was on Z'ha'dum, but it was too late to do anything."

"It's not your fault, Garrison. I used to think it was mine, but I realized that she left on that mission because of her curiosity. I never did forgive General Lochschmannan for that surprise inspection."

Hollifield nodded, "Yeah, and it wasn't a surprise that he chose Clark's side in the civil war. I remember when he was a colonel, adajent to General Waiko, and it was the general who had to do the restraining in that relationship."

Bashir came into the replimat, got his food, and then came by their table. With a wave, Hollifield invited him to sit at their table. "Morning, doctor. Any news on Anna?"

"No, sir. I wish I had something better to report, but everything is the same as before. I did have an idea, though."

Sheridan asked, "What is it?"

Bashir told them the idea, and both Sheridan and Hollifield were taken aback by it.

"Are you sure this is wise, Doctor? We just had the Borg come over to our side, and asking them to help with Anna is asking for trouble.," said Sheridan

"I know, but it may be our best hope to revive her. I'm just saying that we should talk it over with Picard and the technomages and see what they think. Maybe there is a way to help her out without unduly exposing them to her programming."

Hollifield sipped at his synth coffee. "You have to admit, it's a good idea. The only question is, do we risk the technomages and the Borg because of it?"

Sheridan leaned back in his chair, looked at the ceiling, and let out a long breath. "I guess we have no choice."

Bashir tapped his comm badge, "Bashir to Kira. When can we meet to discuss an idea I've had about Anna?"

Kira's voice responded, "Right now, if you want. I don't have any other appointments until late in the day."

"Good. We're on our way. Thank you, General."