Warning : see chapter 1
July 6, 2006
The assistant storms into Kate's room. The psychologist yawns as she sees her assistant's panicked face.
"Kendra ? What's going on ?" the psychiatrist asks.
"It's Lieutenant Kenmore... I think he's a specter... " replies her assistant.
The doctor gives nothing away. Kendra frowns as she realizes she knew about the secret.
"You knew..." she murmurs, dumbfounded.
"Michael's case is special, Miss Lloyd, it requires special attention," the doctor confides.
"I can understand that. You're afraid he'll harm the town, should he guess his condition." Kendra concluded the situation with a sigh.
The psychologist laid a hand on her shoulder, Kendra crossed her arms over her chest, worried about what was about to happen.
"Can I ask you a favor ?" her boss asked.
"I already know what you were going to ask me, I won't do anything to jeopardize the city of Atlantis," she assured.
"I'd just like you to befriend him. We're conducting an experiment with the aim of developing his abilities and thus enabling him to adapt among us. Get to know him, see if he likes things, make sure you earn his trust," explained Kate.
"Isn't that manipulation ?" Kendra wonders.
Kate gave a reassuring smile. She took her assistant in her arms. Kendra stifled another sigh. She squinted her eyes, pondering the current situation. She had to reveal her biggest secret.
"Doctor, I have to tell you something..." the young woman whispered.
"I'm listening," said Kate, inviting her to sit down in an armchair overlooking the whole city.
"Michael saw my memories and I saw his. Our connection established a psychic link between him and me as you know. But, there's something you don't know about me." Kendra spoke shyly.
"Tell me, you know nothing comes out outside this room," the psychiatrist evoked.
"I'm not from planet Earth. I'm from the planet Tarion and my real name is Kyara. I'm a host for an alien named Lyra. She's an ophidian, a subspecies of the symbionts you call Goa'uld," she revealed.
The doctor opened his eyes wide. She put her hands to her lips, frowning. This news had the effect of a bomb. She had never expected such a confidence from her assistant.
"I imagine it's not what you expected... "Kendra whispered.
"Indeed," confirmed the psychiatrist. "How did you get to our planet ?" she asked in pursuit.
"I was a victim of the Goa'uld Nirrti's experiments. She exterminated my people after studying our abilities. This parasite tortured me for weeks, as I watched my family and fellow human beings being slaughtered one after the other." recounted the young woman.
Tears rolled down her cheeks. Kate winced as she offered a comforting hand.
Kendra sighed and wiped her tears with a tissue. She cleared her throat as she continued.
"One of your teams arrived on my planet. And I became Major Lloyd's adopted daughter," she concluded.
"I'm glad you opened up to me. It's rare that we have this kind of conversation. I'm sorry about what happened to you. However, about the story with your host, I'll have to talk to Dr. Weir." Kate admits hesitantly.
"You want to know if my host represents a threat to the expedition," guessed the assistant with a grimace.
"I'll only inform Doctor Weir and make it clear that she's not to tell the others. The Brotherhood has already attacked us because of Colonel Caldwell. We must avoid any further problems," Kate informed.
"If I had been a threat to you, I would have killed you long ago without hesitation, Doctor. Don't think about taking away my symbiote, it keeps me alive. I've lived with it since childhood. She's never tried to control me, and she's not evil. She always opts for peaceful methods," describes the young woman with a certain coldness.
"I find you quite agitated. This is the first time you've put so much emotion into talking about your loved ones. Which makes me think you're empathetic, thanks to... Lyra. You don't feel any emotion without her, do you ?" Kate wondered.
"When you spend several months being tortured physically and psychologically, it destroys you from the inside. That monster stole my emotions. But, when she realized this, she created Lyra and implanted me. I felt like I'd come back to life. I felt emotions. But I only felt them. They come from Lyra. She sees through my eyes and we are one life". Kendra explained.
Her eyes sparkled.
"Hello, Doctor Heightmeyer, I'm Lyra, Kendra's sister," the symbiote introduced herself.
Lyra's courtesy disconcerted Kate for a moment. The psychologist quickly forced herself to smile.
"Pleased to meet you, it's the first time I've chatted with such a pleasant symbiote," she shook hands with her new interlocutor.
"I apologize for my sister's rudeness. Our upbringing on Earth has taught us to conceal our emotions and put up the defenses necessary to confront our enemies. As our father used to say, 'a good weapon is always when you have to defend what's dear to you'," she quotes with a smile.
"You introduce yourself as his sister. It's the first time I've seen a symbiote qualify a relationship with its host on the same social scale. With the exception of the Tok'ra," declares the psychologist.
"I think people would find it hard to understand our relationship," Kendra murmured.
A sigh escaped her pink lips.
"You have abilities... what are they ?" questioned Kate.
Her assistant's eyes sparkled again. She put on a withdrawn face as she didn't answer. Kate understood that this was a sensitive subject.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable..." murmured Kate.
"It's nothing, Doctor Heigtmeyer. But, I think you should forget everything I just told you about who I am," Kendra assured, squinting her eyes.
"Excuse me...?" questioned the psychologist.
Without time to react, Kendra captured the doctor's cheeks. The assistant rested her forehead against the doctor's.
"Forget it..." whispered Kendra.
A slight electric short crossed Kate's forehead. She fainted suddenly. Kendra laid her back in bed before leaving her quarters. She had erased their entire conversation. Kendra eventually returned to her apartments. She preferred to keep her secret in order to protect her boss from her own demons.
The young woman hid many secrets in her past. She knew that everything was slowly falling into place. As she lay in bed, Kendra curled up, trembling. She had the ability to suck the emotions out of others. She'd done it on Kate's fear. The after-effect was to feel that emotion more intensely.
July 7, 2006
Dawn breaks as the city slowly awakens. It was barely six o'clock in the morning as Kendra went for her morning jog. All she had on was a gray hoodie, black fitness gloves revealing her fingers, a light gray jogging suit and tight sneakers. It was raining outside. She couldn't stop running, having had nightmares of her past last night.
She ran up the stairs, climbing the steps to get to the gym. She opened the door, sweating and breathless from her run.
She sat by the window as she spotted Teyla and Ronon practicing with wooden sticks. Sheppard watched them, leaning against the wall near the door. She rested, doing some meditation and stretching exercises. Sheppard watched her out of the corner of his eye, clearing his throat as he concentrated on Teyla and Ronon's fight.
To his surprise, Teyla got the better of the Satedian. Ronon stood up, noticing the young woman. He frowns, disturbed by her presence. Something about this woman disturbed him. Teyla raises an eyebrow as she turns her head towards the assistant. Kendra finishes her backward cartwheel movement by standing up.
"Doctor Lloyd ?" called the Athosian.
Ronon and John exchanged a glance. Kendra turned back to the athosian The assistant loosened her hair before quickly making a bun and rolling up the sleeves of her sweater.
"Ah that's right, Teyla, Ronon and Colonel Sheppard," declared Kendra.
"Yes ! Doctor Heightmeyer told us you'd arrived, not long ago," Teyla evokes.
"Well, I'm just the doctor's assistant. I don't hold the title of doctor," she confessed this detail.
"I didn't know Dr. Heigtmeyer had such an attractive assistant," John declares with a charming smile;
Teyla rolls her eyes and smiles. Ronon scowls as he puts the wooden sticks away. His gaze met the young woman's. He frowned as something disturbed him. Behind his scowl, he hid the tingling he felt in his neck. For the first time in his life, he felt danger through the assistant's eyes. He felt like he was prey and she was the hunter.