Queen of Denial

Posted on Fri Jun 28th, 2019 @ 3:31pm by Petty Officer 3rd Class V'Nus Wil'I'Ams & Jaeih Dox-t'Aan & Petty Officer 3rd Class S'Rina Wil'I'Ams & Death & Az'Prel

Mission: Fractured Fairy Tales
Location: Mudd's Labs on the Artan Fortress
Timeline: 2396 - Continued from "Stella Doesn't Fall Far From the Mudd"

"My name is Az'Prel. I am your mother," she said as calmly and as softly as she could. "Your name is Stella, correct? I'm here to rescue you."

The young woman in the cell’s eyes widened at those words, shock and surprise clearly evident on her face before a cloud of suspicion settled in once more. Somewhat unwillingly, she curled up a bit tighter in the corner. It was clear that while she wished to believe what she was told, she had been tricked too many times before, and was unwilling to accept the tableau before her.

Az'Prel nodded and instead of pushing the issue, she pulled a fruit and nut bar out of her pocket and popped it open, taking a bite of it thoughtfully before offering it to the caged woman. "I am with Starfleet now. They have food and medicine and you can live how you wish. I just ask that you come with me for now, ok?"

As Az'Prel spoke, Jaeih held her hands to her sidesnand gestured lightly to the two armor clad Klingon's, taking two steps back. Whispering, the still suspicious Romulan added, "Let's give her a bit more room, ladies. Not too much, but enough to be a smidge less intimidating. Low ready stance, secured weapons, I think."

With a look of reluctance, S'Rina and V'Nus complied. It wasn't an order as much as a suggestion, but they followed it for the moment, stepping back to Jaeih's position.

There was clearly a battle raging behind the dark eyes of the slender young woman, as she eyed the food, eyed Az’Prel, eyed the two armored Klingons and the Romulan agent. But slowly, hesitantly, she reached out for the ration bar, and, finger shaking, she touched it, feeling the texture with her dirty fingers before snatching it from Az’Prel’s hand.

“Are you a new model?” she asked in a raspy voice unaccustomed to speaking. “A new trick Mudd wants to play on me? My mother is dead,” she spat as she shoved the ration bar entirely into her mouth, as if she were afraid that someone would take it away from her.

The Vulcan woman was slightly taken aback for a moment as she processed those words. 'Are you a new model?' Mudd certainly had a penchant for biosynthetic androids, but she hadn't expected to be mistaken for one herself. "No... I am not an android, I am Vulcan. My blood is green, unlike the uninspired novelties he produces. I am indeed your mother, and as you can clearly see, quite alive, contrary to his best efforts. If you desire proof, you may come with me and ask him yourself. We have him in custody for his crimes."

At those words, the girl's eyes opened wide, then narrowed again in suspicion. Swallowing the ration bar with some effort, she peered into the eyes of the inscrutable Vulcan, as if weighing the truth of what she said. "I... yes. I desire proof. Show me that you have Mudd in custody for his crimes. I would ask him if you are..."

As she spoke, mirroring Az'Prel's words, the similarities in tone could be heard a bit clearer, and as she slowly and somewhat unsteadily rose from the floor, it was a bit clearer that she was indeed her mother's daughter. While the matted hair covered her pointed eartips, the Vulcan eyebrows and facial structure were unmistakably similar to that of Az'Prel. And despite her slender build, it was clear that she still had a surprising figure beneath those rags. As Az'Prel rose with her, the young woman's eyes searched the face of the Vulcan woman she had never laid eyes upon her entire life.

It was painfully clear that she wanted to believe, although it was just as clear that she was waiting for this to all turn out to be a trick or a mind game.

"Then we will return to the Hera. You will have food, medical treatment, and your proof." Nodding to the younger woman, Az'Prel looked to her Romulan friend, a strange look of almost hope and joy barely peeking through her Vulcan features. "I fear we may be far too deep in the fortress for transport, so we will likely be required to return the way we came."

For her part, Jaieh could read the slightest of emotions on the conflicted Vulcan's face with the easy of a master poker player and it made her own heart happy to see, even though their situation was vexing. "Fantastic. With our luck, there are somehow as many traps leaving as there are..."

But Jaeih was cut off, as Petty Officer V'Nus stepped over to interject. "While my sister and I would relish razing this infuriating maze to ash and cinder on the way out, it will be unnecessary. Our EVA suits are designed to function as advanced Transport pattern enhancers. Even this deep in the station, we have remained in full transporter lock with the Hera the entire time. Simply stand between us and we can beam out now."

Guided easily into position, the stoop-shouldered Vulcan girl looked up at the EVA suited Klingons with fear of the unknown plainly written across her face. As V'Nus retracted her helmet and silently encouraged her sister to do the same, she looked down at the wretch. "We are Starfleet. We come to help. With honor."

The timid girl still withdrew a bit from the Klingon, backing instead into Az'Prel. Jumping at the contact and whirling about, she calmed herself, then her lips pursed and her face took on a curious expression. "What is 'Starfleet' ?"

Az'Prel mulled the question over for a moment before replying. "In this universe they are the military and exploration force of the Federation, a governing body comprised of thousands of races joined together diplomatically in their love of peaceful coexistence, which was founded by Humans." Pausing a moment, she continued. "Once you meet Commander Paris you will understand better. She is... Unique..."

"Humans? You mean Terrans?" the ragamuffin asked as the transporter effect took hold. Rematerializing in Transporter Room 2, the young woman shrank back again, taking in the sight of the clean and expansive transporter room. Looking for a corner to hide in, the curved back of the pad platform frustrated her for a few seconds.

"The Humans here are polarized opposites of our Terrans," Az'Prel replied patiently. "They are also a vast minority here."

S'Rina moved to block off the wretched girl from one side, then V'Nus cut her off from the other. Looking around in something of a panic, the young woman clutched at Az'Prel. "You... you said custody, you have, you have custody of Mudd? And that you..." the young woman's face contorted as if she were afraid to say the words, for fear of them possibly being true. "You are my, my mother, and he said you were dead but he's, he's here, you said you have him, custody, he's in custody so he can't get at me but he's here and I can, you said I can ask him myself?"

"We need to get clearance first, which will take a little time. For now, please allow us to provide medical care while we wait. It won't take long." She was trying to be as patient as she could, but it was obvious that Az'Prel had little to no idea how to deal with children, her own daughter, or the situation she had been presented with.

Watching the situation begin to unravel, Jaeih was becoming concerned not just for the disheveled young woman, but for her conflicted and increasingly emotional mother. And while she thought of her own skills as a mother as woefully inadequate, she had to try and help one of the few people in the universe she considered a friend.

Turning towards V'Nus, the calmer of the two mountainous sisters, Jaeih took a significant risk considering her lack of actual rank. "Miss Wil'l'Ams. Please back off. The security fields in the corridor can secure the chamber without terrifying the girl. Give her space and contact medical and the Commander and appraise them of the situation."

Then, not waiting for a reply, the elder Dox turned towards Az'Prel's daughter, standing shoulder to shoulder with Az'Prel, her hands open and turned palms up at her side as she struggled to find words to try and help calm the increasingly panicked young woman.

"Hello, Stella. My... Uh... My name is Jaeih. I'm a friend of your Mother. I know you're frightened. This is a lot to try and understand all at once, but I promise you that everyone here is just here to help you."

Her voice dropped to a soft but raspy whisper that the Klingon's would have to struggle to hear, but that Vulcan ears could hear easily that was more comfortable and hopefully, calming. As she did, she glanced over to the transporter control podium and saw an opportunity. Gesturing with her head, she motioned for the chief on duty to step away.

"Here... Do you want to come and sit down over here? It's nice and quiet and we can all talk. Me, you, your Mother. I know she would like to talk to you." Jaeih stepped back a few steps, towards the podium where she took a seat on the floor on the side of it, one of the only slightly darker corners in the room.

Looking around, the girl's eyes narrowed. "This WAS a trick! No no no, put me back in my cell! You don't have him, this is all another one of his games, but if I'm back in my cell when he gets back it'll be okay and he won't be mad!" Waving her hand in the general direction of the control panel, she started crying. "Make it work, send me back!"

"Calm yourself child!" The Vulcan woman had lost her patience and raised her voice, the sound echoing off of the transporter room walls. Taking a deep, calming breath, she centered herself. These events were certainly testing her emotional control. "If it is amenable to everyone, we will go to the brig now, and meet with the chief of security there. Once there, if we are allowed visitation... We will visit with your... Father..."

Standing back up, Jaeih straightened her uniform in frustration at her failure and waited.

Tapping out messages in the visor of her HUD while sending sensor feed through HERAnet, Petty officer V'Nus got her orders. "The Commander agrees. Beam us to main detention," she instructed the transporter technician, who moved back into position, the order confirmed on his panel.

Already on the pad, the confused and frightened young woman looked around as everyone stepped back onto the transporter pad with her.

"Are we going back?" Mudd's daughter asked as the transporter effect took hold, and they materialized in the central secured area of Deck 11, the outer portion known as main detention. Transmitting her orders, the tall yet slender Klingon sister moved with elegance and grace in the sealed environmental suit she wore. Bringing up the rear, her burlier and somewhat shorter sister S'Rina followed, her sensors active, prepared for trouble and coordinating with the incoming chief of Security.

Passing through checkpoints, they made their way through a series of guard stations, man traps and clearance points until they arrived in maximum security, where behind forcefields dwelled Harry Mudd and the bridge crew of the HMS Bloody Rose. As they entered, none of the prisoners particularly reacted, until they reached the cell that held Doctor Davos Mudd.

Looking up with disinterest, Mudd's expression changed immediately as a mask of rage overtook him, and he hurled himself at the forcefield. "YOU! What are you doing here! You're not supposed to be here, I told you to hide or they'll get you! Why are you here?!?"

"I have a right to my own daughter, Terran," Az'Prel shot back, the Vulcan superiority in her voice and expression as plain as day to anyone in the room. "Or will you admit that truth?"

Stepping over to the cell holding the mad scientist who had raised her all of her life, the dirty and disheveled young woman held up her hand to the forcefield, her finger tapping off of it to cause it to flare with a lavender light. "Is... is what she says true? You told me my mother was dead, but this woman says she's my mother... is this true? Is this woman my mother?!?"

Sighing, Mudd shook his head then raised his hand to the forcefield where his daughter's hand hovered. "I'm afraid so, blossom."

Which was when her hand slid into the forcefield, the field around it turning a bright orange light around her form as she took his hand to stroll into the cell. Behind her, there was a clunk as something ejected from within her, as if she were laying an egg. A second after it hit the deck was when the zero point energy grenade went off. A bluish energy aura covered each of the four who had fought their way through a miserable trap-filled sewer just to rescue the young woman, who now looked quite different on the other side of the forcefield.

Still she was slender, but not a malnourished waif. The dirty rags reorganized like nanomachines, transforming into a tight, stylish grey minidress, while her pile of dark brown hair unmatted itself and wove itself like a crown of serpents into an elaborate beehive- precisely the same style as worn by her mother. Her abused and scarred skin reorganized itself into a smooth and flawless complexion. Her delicately tapered ears were now visible, and her resemblance to Az'Prel was both clear and striking. Save in the eyes, which were not the honey color of Az'Prel's own, but the dark brown eyes of... Mudd.

"I have to say, Daddy, she was an AMAZING disappointment to meet in person, really. From your stories, I thought she was this ruthless and patient murderess who dealt in cold logic, not... " the dismissive and haughty young woman waggled her fingers at the paralyzed and helpless Vulcan freedom fighter outside the cell. "Whatever this hot mess is. Amateur hour, I swear. Okay, internal sensors indicate the forcefield's only shifting through seven frequencies, here comes ours. Ready to get gone Daddy?"

The brig door began to cycle open, as more security personnel moved to intervene. Mudd grinned at Az'Prel and shot 'gun fingers' at her. "I'm so glad you survived, sweetheart. It's always good to have an ex who wants you dead. Keeps you on your toes!"

As the daring duo began to disappear in swirls of controlled matter conversion, Az'Prel's daughter, somehow, impossibly, an adult who was raised by Davros Mudd, offered her mother a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "The name's Cleopatra Mudd, momsie. Next time get it right..."

As a squad of Security personnel burst into the maximum security wing of the brig, the twinkling lights died down, and the Mudds were gone, even as the zero point energy trap ran out of power.

Released from the energy of the trap, Az'Prel took several gasping breaths before she pulled out the one thing she had painstakingly recreated from her old universe and kept hidden at the small of her back once she knew that Doctor Davos Mudd was still alive. The small bioceramic dagger she had used for covert assassinations.

Having had been pushed past her limits, she abandoned her emotional control and slowly raised the small ritualistic dagger and both hands over her head. "Davos Mudd... Twice now you have escaped me... You have used my own daughter to do it both times... By all the stars... If your path ever crosses mine again, I swear by the God of Death, your life will be mine!"

Having sworn her passionate oath, she sliced open her open hand, letting the green blood trickle on her face and into her eyes. Beside her, the manifestation of Death who kept a room on the Hera noted the oath, then moved on about her duties.

As the coldly furious Vulcan swore her vengeance, both Klingon sisters manifested blades in their hands, and both joined Az'Prel in the shedding of blood and wearing of an oath, as both cried the Klingon word for 'Vengeance' to the overhead, "BORTAS MUDD!!!"

For her part, Jaeih simply stood back up off of the floor where the zero-point energy had pinned her just moments before. Her face was flushed green with rage, but she kept it contained behind eyes that seemed colder than they had since joining the Hera. She adjusted the top of her uniform and cricked her neck as the pent up frustration built in her.

This was, in her eyes, a failure on every level.

There had been countless signs that all was not as it seemed and she overlooked them in a desire to help her friend. She pushed aside her doubts and suspicions in favor of the cancer that was hope, and all was almost lost for it. She had forgotten who she was in trying to be what she thought her own daughter needed her to be and she had failed as a result.

"P'tned-pra'krsh hlun." Jaeih muttered under her breath in her native Rihan... 'Never again.'


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=953PkxFNiko