Never Giving Up

Rahel was tending to the wounded on the Baltimore as the ship rocked from enemy fire. ODN relays popped and sizzled. Lights flickered. She was frantically trying to save the Chief Science Officer.

"Clear again !" She shouted for the fifth time.

But it was obvious that he was dead . . . Only, as she looked at his face, it wasn't the Chief Science Officer from the Baltimore. It was the Chief Engineer of the Taurus !

Instantly she jumped back a step from the biobed, her heart in her throat. She looked around at the damaged sickbay and realised suddenly that this was indeed the Taurus's sickbay . . . But she was sure she had just been in the Baltimore's sickbay !

"Doctor ?" A nurse called out to her. "Doctor Kahfre ? What are you doing ?"

But she couldn't respond. Her head was spinning out of control. What had happened to the ship? Had the Proktolans come all this way for them ? Or had the rogue Jem'Hadar ship found them and decided to really do some damage . . . What was going on ?

"Doctor! You have to save these patients ! You're the only one !"

The only one . . . It had happened again . . . She was the only one. Everyone was going to die ! She was going to be the only one left !

Suddenly, there was another large explosion. Rahel grabbed onto a biobed by pure instinct. Anyone who hadn't grabbed onto anything was jolted into the bulkheads with force. Her nurses and medics lay on the floor motionless . . . blood covering them . . .

"NO !!!" She screamed out. "NO !!!!!!!!"

Suddenly, she found herself in bed as her eyes flew opened. Her heart threatened to beat itself out of her chest and she felt like her breath was restricted. She took several long, deep breaths . . . nice and slow . . . until she was able to bring both back to normal. But she knew that that was it for sleeping. Getting an assessment of the time she found out she had slept for only two hours. She needed another one or two to be at her most efficient.

As she sat up, she rolled her shoulders and head until she was relaxed trying to decide what to do next. But at that given time, there was really only one thing to really do . . .

Crew Quarters : Ashraf Kahfre

Lieutenant Ash had awoken with the distinct feeling that something was unsettled. He could feel his sister and knew that her nightmares were still lingering. Getting a sense for what she was doing, he pulled on some casual clothes and went to find her.

Holodeck one was in use and Ash had one bet that Rahel was using it. As he entered, he was surprised that there weren't bodies littering the ground. That's usually what she did to burn off her anger, fear and frustration with her nightmares. But instead, she was sitting against a tree facing the temple on Ferona II. She had a PADD set to the side that she had apparently tried to read some, but had given up on the idea. Instead, she seemed to just sit there and stare at the temple.

"Hey, Sis." He smirked as he approached her. "What are you doing awake ?"

"Oh, I bet you know the reason." She replied without missing a beat and not breaking her stare at the temple.

He knelt down beside her. "To be honest, I expected to walk in here and find a bunch of dead bodies. I hardly expected to find you starting at the temple on Ferona II."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I figured I needed peace of spirit. Not a fight . . . There's been enough of that . . ."

"You're referring to our dead and injured crewmen ?" Ash asked gently. "Maybe you should put back in for a transfer to a Station or better yet, back to Starfleet Headquarters."

"And then what, Ash ?" She looked at him sceptically with her green eyes on him. "Die of boredom ?"

He sighed as he gently touched her shoulder. "It's just that…."

"I know. You're worried . . ." She replied. "I can feel it. But one way or another I'll be fine. It'll just take some time. That's all." She tried to sound more confident that she felt and she knew he saw right through her.

*Being telepaths and never blocking one another was a certain disadvantage when you were trying to convince the other you were all right.* She thought.

"But how much time ? And how long can you keep functioning like this before you short circuit yourself." He asked seriously.

"I can keep this up for as long as it takes." She replied defiantly. "I did it on the Baltimore. I certainly do it here !"

At her intensity, he leaned away from her for a moment, but just as quickly she softened.

"Ash, it's not that I don't appreciate the concern. Believe me, this hasn't been easy for me. I wanted to be back on a starship. I just didn't realise I was going to be thrown into a similar situation so quickly . . . None of us did . . . But that's the life of a Starfleet Officer . . . We cope and go on. That's what I'm going to do. I'm not going to give up just because things seem rough. I have to see this through." She said. "And I have advantages here that I didn't have on the Baltimore. You and Logan."

Immediately he took her in a warm embrace. "And I'll be there to back you up all the way . . . Just don't destroy yourself in the process, okay ? What would I tell mom and dad ?" He suddenly smirked.

At that she laughed. "They'd probably kick your butt for letting me get hurt ! Hey ! Maybe I should just to get you into trouble !" Her green eyes were suddenly alight with laughter.

"You would too, wouldn't you !" He replied with a laugh.

"You bet !" She winked.

"I'll have to get you for that !"

"Only if you can catch me !" She replied as she quickly jumped up and ran to the temple leaping up onto the second floor. As she turned around, she saw Ash shift into a Black Panther and make the jump, via a fallen-down log. She laughed as she dodged his efforts to leap on her. She ran around and then down into the courtyard. Suddenly, the sound of the holodeck door opening caught her attention. With that, she was suddenly pounced upon and knocked to the ground, Ash pinning her.

"Got you !" He laughed.

Quickly and with little effort, she reserved the pin. "Are you sure ?"

"Now this is a cute sight." Replied a voice in the shadows of the temple.