Location: Albatross Transporter Room
The transporter beam took a while to coalesce, but eventually Zal materialized and immediately collapsed to the ground coughing. The boy was covered in scorch marks that indicated just how close he'd come to being fried to a crisp by the angry Akritirians. He still carried his weapon, but many of his ammo and grenade pouches were empty. He looked like he'd just gone through hell.
"Did you enjoy yourself?" A stern voice inquired.
Startled, Zal looked up and saw his father's face looming over him. "Ummm... did... I..." He began.
"Get up. Let me look at you." Zoss ordered. Zal complied meekly.
After a quick inspection, Zoss patted his son's shoulder in satisfaction. "I watched the firefight. You did well."
"Th-thank you." Zal replied sheepishly.
"But the fact that you were down there at all was a dumb idea." Zoss gestured for Zal to follow him. "And you let Roquel become injured. You should not have been the distraction. You should have protected them."
"I- I know now..." Zal looked down at his feet.
"But it doesn't matter. What's done is done and everyone is still alive." Zoss continued. "Now that I've seen what you can really do, it's time for us to move on to a place that will challenge you even further."
"Where's that?" Zal asked, brushing off some flaking parts of his tunic.
"I'll tell you when we get there." Zoss replied. "Captain Noluk has given us leave to depart as soon as we reach the next port."
"Oh. Ok..." Zal was disappointed. He was starting to get attached to the crew.
"Relax, Zal." Zoss said reassuringly. "Someday we might return. And all will be as we left it."
"Hope so, dad." The boy smiled.
#
Location: Albatross, Medical Bay
Karbo looked over the unconscious women with his data pad. Roquel had nearly died and was brought to Klingon for care. The medical tricorder showed what ever was effecting her was psychological as there was no visible wounds, but he he was able to pick up psychic energy. It was the same that had been affecting blue berry when they landed.
Though Roquel had been stirring while still semi-conscious, she hadn't had any awareness of herself or her surroundings. Slowly, her eyes opened and she squinted at the brightness of the room. She didn't know where she was. The last thing that she remembered was the searing panic of the Raeldra as it burned its way into her head.
"Morning" The Klingon said.
"K...K...Karbo?" Roquel sputtered nearly incoherently. "Am...I on the...ship?" She held up her arm to partially shield the lights, while still trying to get a good look at him. "What happened? Where's Icmod?"
"Yes, yes, you passed out and he is investigating what made you pass out."
"I remember...intense pain." Roquel said flatly while she grappled for the details of the memories. They weren't hers. "The Raeldra."
"According to my readings it is some sort of psychic attack," Karbo said showing her his medical tricorder.
Roquel wasn't a medical expert, but she could see her typical brainwave pattern displayed as a baseline for her good mental health. The flats, spikes and valleys that were recorded on her arrival aboard were very different than the normal sedate one. The flat lines were the most concerning, because they were fairly long. "Is that...brain death?" She asked fearfully.
"If that was case I would have had to use my ceremonial knife," Karbo told her "I almost did but I managed to find the necessary equipment to block the signals."
"I came so close." Roquel cried despairingly. "Icmod and I ... we almost... it was almost over before it started." She collapsed back onto the table under the weight of the thought that life and love could be so easily lost. "Karbo" She sniffled. "Am I going to recover fully?"
"As soon as we leave this planet you should be fine in a few weeks," Karbo told her.
Lying there, Roquel looked up at the Klingon. "Thank you, Doctor Karbo." She smiled weakly at him, then closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall asleep. She would dream of Icmod and their future together. She knew it before she went under, and better yet, it was true.