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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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2020-11-04
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Unwanted Gift

Summary:

Summary: Dureena comes across some powers she doesn't want and isn't sure she can handle.
Disclaimer: Dureena, Crusade, The Excalibur and all related names and trademarks are property of JMS, WB, TNT, and many other letter-groupings.
Warnings: This things gonna be LONG. Not sure how long, but it'll probably be approaching "epic" size by the time it's done.
Rating: FRT for now. It'll probably go up by the time it's done.
Archiving: WWOMB and Crusadefic archive. Anyone else, please ask ...
Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated!!!

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

Unwanted Gift
by Iocane
iocane@crosswinds.net

 

Note: The following symbols are used throughout the story to indicate thought and mental imagery.
[Brackets] indicate deliberate telepathic speech.
//Double slashes// on either side indicate mental imagery.
[[Double brackets]] indicates a persons inner thoughts, not deliberate telepathic speech. (Things in [[double brackets]]
*can* be picked up by telepaths, it's just not intended for them.)

 

Now onto the good stuff ...

Dureena wiggled through the tunnel, seeing that it opened shortly. Sliding into the room, she found she was able to stand up straight. She looked around, her eyes cutting easily though the darkness. The room was small, she could stand up, but barely. It matched Eilerson's hypothesis about the original inhabitants being shorter than standard. The walls were smooth and blank except for one door. Over the door was some writing she couldn't make out. She took a picture of the writing for later translation.

Dureena examined the door carefully, looking for a way to get it open. She ran her hand over a small impression in the door, and it slid aside. Peering cautiously into the darkness, she saw only what appeared to be another room.

It was a small room, like the last one. Given it's location, it was probably a type of sanctuary. The flashlight shined on a small desk, with a small skeleton in a chair behind it. The skeleton didn't look like any race Dureena had ever seen - obviously it was a native of the planet. [[Dr. Chambers would love to get her hands on this, I'll bet]] Before touching it, she photographed it carefully, in case it was merely well placed dust. Indeed, before Dureena was close enough to touch it, the bones crumbled into so much dust.

Moving carefully, she began to search the desk. There was a neat, square pile of dust that Dureena assumed was once paper. As she went through the drawers, she could tell there was a secret compartment. In short order, she found it, beneath one of the drawers.

After a bit of tricky finger work, she was able to coax a small box from the hidden space. Dureena pocketed it and, seeing nothing else of interest, left the rooms behind.

Back at the base camp the crew had established, she went into her private room, setting the camera on the table. Sitting down, she pulled the box from her pocket, examining it carefully. It was small - fitting easily into the palm of her hand. On the top and sides were some carving. Dureena couldn't tell if it was decorative or functional. [[I'll leave that up to Eilerson.]]

Remembering the door, she ran her fingers lightly over the seam of the lid. She found the correct spot and the lid popped open, letting some noxious fumes escape. Dureena closed the box quickly, but it was too late.

[[ ... getting tired of this ... ]]

[[Why is it always me?]]

[["Damn!"]]

[[I wonder if Diana's free tonight.]] //A man and woman, naked together.//

[["... did this?]]

[[...ut up, moron.]] //A woman banging a cartoon man's head against a brick wall//

[[It's fascinating to think ...]]

[[...thing medical yet, but this is interesting ...]] //A jumble of alien lettering.//

Dureena's head was suddenly filled with disjointed thoughts and images. She realized they weren't hers and screamed.

Gideon was approaching Dureena's room when he heard her scream. Breaking into a run, he found the thief on the ground, clutching her head in pain, moaning. Gideon thought he could hear her whispering "Go away." over and over again.

"Matthew." Galen appeared beside his friend. "I suggest you bring Lieutenant Matheson down here at once."

"Why is that?"

"Because he is the only one who can handle her now."

"What do you mean by that?"

The technomage looked at his friend as though to say "Be a good boy and do what your big brother tells you to."

Gideon sighed and activated his com-link. "Gideon to Excalibur. John, we need you down here."

"Aye, captain. I'll be down shortly."

"We'll be here. Gideon out." The captain turned to Galen. "Now will you tell me why I need him down here?"

"Because if I'm right, our resident tunnel rat has become a telepath."

=======

Lieutenant John Matheson stepped off the transport and glanced around. Seeing his captain standing with Galen and Dr. Chambers, he approached the trio. "You wanted to see me, Sir."

"Ah, Lieutenant, welcome down. We have a problem that ... seems to require your unique talents." The captain glanced sideways at Galen.

"I see, Sir. What's the situation?"

"Well, we're not entirely sure. Galen, you're the one who wanted him here, why don't you explain?"

The technomage nodded shortly. "It appears that Dureena has suddenly developed telepathic powers. Dr. Chambers has sedated her, but we can't very well keep her sedated indefinitely."

Matheson nodded in agreement, shifting his attention to Dr. Chambers. "Do you have any of the sleeper drug on board?" A small part of him feared the answer.

"Yes, we do. For emergencies. It's specially designed for the widest range of races. The only problem is, we don't know if it will work for Dureena."

"I see. You know I can't scan her, captain. This doesn't fall under allowable use under the new rules for telepaths."

"I know that, and I wouldn't ask you to. However, I've heard that one telepath can ... shelter another."

Nodding, Matheson continued. "Yes. All telepaths have mental shielding against the thoughts that mun- that non-telepaths project naturally. Sometimes a telepath loses these barriers, or in Dureena's case, simply doesn't have them, another telepath is able to muffle the incoming thoughts. For a short time at least. Doctor, do you think it would be safe to try the sleeper drug on her?"

"Well, I know it won't kill her, other than that, I don't know what kind of reaction she'll have."

"Okay. When should she be awake?"

"Actually, she should be coming out of it within half an hour."

"All right. Why don't you take me to her now, and I'll get ready for it."

"She's right in there." Chambers pointed to Dureena's room.

Matheson nodded, parts of his mind already preparing. "Captain, I suggest you clear the area as much as is practical. We don't want anyone being accidentally scanned. I'll do what I can to shield her, but I can't garnet anything. I'm only a P-6"

"Sure thing Lt. Good luck." Gideon went to relocate the teams.

"I'll be right here if you need anything Lt." Dr. Chambers told him.

"Thank you." Matheson glanced around for Galen, but as usual, the technomage had vanished. "Doctor, I'll let you know as soon as she's ready for the sleepers."

Slowly, John Matheson entered Dureena's rooms, looking around. They were standard issue camp rooms, no modifications. He saw Dureena's still form on the cot in the back. Approaching slowly, he could 'hear' her at the edge of his thoughts. The sedative also had the effect of dampening telepathic abilities, but it was beginning to wear off. Her face and body were tight with unknown internal pressure.

Carefully, trying very hard not to scan her, Matheson sat beside her cot, laying a hand on her bare arm. The murmur of her dreams was instantly louder, but he was able to block them. He could 'see' that she had no shielding whatsoever against the thoughts of anyone near her. Working slowly, he extended her shields around her, muffling the thoughts.

Immediately he saw her face and body relax, as though a great pressure had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Lieutenant.?"

John looked down to see Dureena blinking sleepily. "What happened to me? I feel ..." She tried to sit up, but soon fell back, one hand on her head. "It's quiet." She looked at John, then at his hand still on her arm. Dureena knew instantly what he'd done. "You made it stop." The gratitude in her eyes was unlike anything John had seen the practical thief express before.

"I didn't stop it, I'm just trying to keep it from reaching you. Do you know what happened?" His brows were knit in concentration and Dureena could feel his arm tighten -barely - on her arm as he shielded both himself and her.

"I ... I was ..." //Dureena in the tunnel. The skeleton falling to dust-//

As soon as the flow of images began, Matheson pulled his arm away. A second later he realized his mistake when he saw Dureena curled up, as if in pain, holding her head. He quickly took her arm, wrapping his shields around her. "I'm sorry, Dureena."

"Why did you let go?" Dureena was hurt and confused, and not a little angry.

"I'm sorry. I was seeing what you were seeing. It's very difficult for me, with telepaths being so guarded now ... " He looked away, knowing shame was radiating from him. "For a second I was afraid that they would ... Think I scanned you without permission."

"Oh. Lieutenant. Please, I ... I don't know what's happened to me except all of the sudden I'm getting what other people are thinking. I don't like this. I'll do whatever it takes to make it stop."

Matheson nodded slowly. "It's never easy finding that all of the sudden all the voices in your head aren't your own."

Without realizing it, he sent her a thought image.

//A young John Matheson being hit in school for telling something he'd seen in someone's mind without even trying to.//

Dureena's hand covered John's when she saw the image. "At least there's someone who knows what I'm going through."

John nodded, slightly uncomfortable. "Can you tell me - or show me - what happened before this started?"

//Dureena in the tunnel again, finding the room. The desk, the box in the hidden compartment. Bringing it back to the room. Opening it-//

John turned to the table, spying the box. "I'd like to have Dr. Chambers and Mr. Eilerson take a look at that box, see if they can make anything out of it."

Dureena nodded. John kept his hand on her arm and activated the link bracelet. "Dr. Cambers? Can you come in here for a moment, please?"

"I'll be right there Lieutenant." A second later the door opened, revealing Dr. Chambers.

"On the table, Doctor, there's a box. Dureena had just opened it when this happened."

The doctor nodded and retrieved the box. "Having any luck, Lieutenant?" She asked, glancing at the young man.

"I think so. Be careful with the box, Dureena had just opened it when she developed the telepathy. Also, I'd like to have Eilerson take a look at the etching on the outside, it might have some clue as to the box's origins."

"Sure thing Lieutenant." She nodded to both of them. "Good luck."

 

End Part 1 ...

Notes:

This orphaned work was originally on Pejas WWOMB posted by author Iocane.
If this work is yours and you would like to reclaim ownership, you can click on the Technical Support and Feedback link at the bottom fo the page.