Trekkies United: Going Boldly

"oh, I don't want to hear another word out of that old worrywart!" she blurted suddenly, a scowl on her face and a quick stomp of her foot. "he won't let me do anything on my own! I had to beg and plead for permission to even bring you along today!"

once they reached medical, she had fallen back to a disconcertingly mute silence and was clearly only putting one foot in front of another because he was escorting her. there was almost the strange sensation of someone else using his eyes and ears, besides him...

Matrix paused briefly, shifting on his feet uncomfortably as her mannerisms suddenly changed, and he looked away momentarily, swallowing, before squeezing her hand a little again and resuming his path toward Medical. "Come on," he murmured softly. He really didn't want to have to call her counselor, especially if he was that stringent with her - this would, certainly, only make things worse in that regard - but something wasn't right, and that was more important.

By the time they reached Medical, he was even more sure of his internal musings; there was a strange feeling about him, even stranger than before. The only thing he could correlate it with was the human feeling of being watched... but it was as if it were from the inside out. Regardless, it was very uncomfortable, and, as such, he'd grown rather jumpy.

When he nurse appeared, Matrix quickly informed her of the situation and then asked her to call Brianna's counselor. The nurse nodded and disappeared briefly into the other room to make the call.

she sat down on a bed when he moved her to do so and seemed quite alarmingly hollow, a clear symptom of the shock that was beginning to worsen. her skin was pale- well, paler than normal- and a little bit clammy and cold. her eyes and expression were blank, but her consciousness seemed very alert and close to his, clinging to him almost physically, like it had before. Mat? I'm scared...I feel like I'm having an out of body experience... her voice whispered to him. in a sense, though she didn't know this, she was having such an experience, because she was looking more through his eyes than her own.

the counselor wasn't really a worrywart at all, but he had known how dangerous this particular dive into the subconscious could be and had only barely conceded that using her Imzadi as an anchor should, at least in theory, work as well as using him.

(Who do you want to play the counselor? Are you waiting for me, or? xD)

Matrix looked her in the eye, his gaze full of concern. He felt like she was having an out-of-body experience - he could only imagine how weird she must feel! I know, he murmured back, trying to soothe her while the nurse examined her and they waited for the counselor to arrive. It's going to be alright. Just... hold onto me, okay? Don't let go. He wasn't sure what could happen if she did, but he felt it probably wasn't anything good...

Brianna watched herself nod rather absently at his words, moving only as the nurse directed her to. she felt rather cold and was soon bundled up to aid her temperature. "talk to her, he'll be here any minute," the nurse ordered Matrix, before pausing and adding "out loud, I mean. get her out of her head as best you can."

(you can, or I can, doesn't matter much.)

(I'm not sure I really feel confident enough in what's going on to play him... ^^')

Matrix nodded at the nurse's instruction before turning back to Brianna. "Don't worry, Bri - we'll get this sorted soon," he reassured her, squeezing her hand again. "Why don't you tell me a little more about where you grew up? Can you do that?" He wasn't sure if she had the cognizance to even speak herself, but it was worth a shot.

(I'm just making it up)

"..." she opened her mouth and nothing came out for a few moments. she closed her mouth, swallowed, licked her lips, and tried again. "...well...we lived in a little white farmhouse..." she began slowly, and the feeling of being watched receded as her eyes seemed to clear. 

the counselor finally arrived. "all right, sit her up. come here, cadet." he stepped up, pulling up a stool, and then put his fingers on her temples.

Matrix nodded encouragingly as she began to speak, feeling cheered as he felt her awaken a little and saw her eyes clear.

When the counselor finally arrived, he gave a slight jolt, relief flooding over him. He stepped back just a little to allow the counselor room, but kept Brianna's hand for as long as he was allowed, watching the proceedings carefully.

after a moment or two, brianna jerked as if an electric shock had gone through her whole body, then her eyes flew back open, nice and clear. "you dove too deep. you see, this is exactly why I wanted you to only do this exercise with me, Brianna." she scowled at him a bit as he removed his hands. "I'll arrange for you to have a day off classes. you too, cadet. you are to stay with her at all times, within reason, for the next twenty-four hours, and I want hourly EEG scans and any other behavioral statistics you deem relevant. the more data to sift through, the better, but please prioritize it to things you know are out of the ordinary for cadet Dhaki. understood?" this was likely the first time Matrix had directly interacted with this counselor, and while he was brusque and businesslike in the moment, he was clearly kind. he was only asking him for so much because he knew of a certainty that the android cadet was capable of delivering what he was asking for, and probably far more than he needed. "you are bonded, and she needs such an anchor until I'm certain she's stabilized. if you see any of the specific symptoms I'll send to you shortly in writing, notify me immediately, regardless of the hour, please."

Matrix, too, jolted ever-so-slightly as Brianna did, able to feel the shift within her mind. As the counselor turned to him, he straightened a little, listening carefully and nodding once he was finished. The counselor reminded him just a tad of Captain Picard with his brusque but well-intended nature. "Aye, sir. I would be happy to," he assured, already thinking about everything he would need to keep an eye on.

Brianna tried to protest while the man was there, but couldn't seem to get any words out, then stammered in incoherent offense as she was escorted back to her room by Matrix. finally, she got out a "hey! you don't have to babysit me, I'm fine now!" once he had her in her quarters and sitting in her favorite chair. "really, go find something to do, I don't need nannied." she crossed her arms and pouted a little, turning her head away from him so her cheek was facing rather than her nose.

Matrix was faintly amused by her incoherent stammering and obvious offense as he led her back to her room, but he said nothing, just got her inside and settled down. Once she finally managed to speak, he just stared at her with wide-eyed innocence, tilting his head a little. His amusement increased as she started pouting, and he gave a light huff of laughter, though it was clear he was still concerned for her. "I am sorry, but my orders were to keep a very close eye on you. You were in psychogenic shock, Brianna - this is very serious."

she looked sharply back at him, then sighed and relaxed a little, uncrossing her arms and letting her hands flop to her lap. "I know it is, Mat. but still. I don't like it when people fuss over me, you know that." not that he was usually as bad about it as the average human was, but still...she just didn't want doted on or fussed over at all.

Matrix raised a brow at her sharp look, though he dropped it again when she relaxed, his shoulders loosening a little in turn. "Yes, I know," he said softly, sitting down in a chair nearby and regarding her with concern once more, "but it's only for a day, and I promise I won't fuss any more than is necessary."

"you'd better not," she muttered, looking at her lap and blushing faintly. "um...how about a game of 3d chess or something? terrace?" she suggested. neither strategy game was winnable given their vast difference in true intellect and memory, of course, but it was always interesting to watch his strategy change as she made random moves in the hope of throwing off his careful algorithms.

Matrix shrugged. "Well, if you'd like, though I can't imagine it would be much fun - for you in particular," he said with amusement, standing up and moving over to set up the board (I guess we'll just say she has one in her quarters... xD). "I wish I could shut off my extra abilities, but I can't. ...I suppose I could turn off my sense of balance. That might make things interesting," he added with a giggle.

"why would turning off your balance make things interesting? I doubt making you clumsy will stop you from winning effortlessly like you always do," she teased. "you know what we need? a game that relies at least equally on luck as well as skill. that would be fun. because then, if I lose, it could just be bad luck, and not an insurmountable gulf of skill between us."

"No, but at least I might provide some entertainment whilst I knock over the entire set," he giggled back. At her suggestion, he brightened, nodding. "Yes, that's a good idea. Perhaps a game of poker, or something. Commander Riker's an old pro. My father learnt well from him, and he taught me." He paused. "Unless you have something else in mind?"

"no, poker sounds acceptable. only I don't have cards to play it with. we'd have to get some." she helped him position all the pieces and then smirked. "you get white, so you go first. I know that can create a slight disadvantage, at least."

"Well... I suppose we'll figure out a way to get some after this, then," he agreed, smirking slightly in return. "That's fine. Anything to make it at least slightly interesting is always good." He spoke witheringly, shaking his head at his own vast intellect. Sometimes, being so smart and skilled really wasn't much fun at all.

"oh, don't beat yourself up over it. you can't help how you were made any more than I can, mat." she eyed the whole board, knowing full well there were only a few pieces she could move at the outset. she chose to free a castle with her first move, wondering idly to herself if that had really been done before considering it was reasonably such a poor starting strategy. she almost couldn't help her curiosity, and a little tendril of her mind seemed to brush against his, like a finger flicking through the tabs of a filing cabinet.

Matrix frowned a little, setting down his piece and looking up at her. "I'm not - it's just that... many things in life would be a lot more interesting and enjoyable if I weren't made the way I am... that's all." He watched her move curiously, frowning just slightly at her strategy, before deducing the most logical next move and reaching for his chosen piece. Just then, however, he felt the tiniest something brush inside his mind, as if reaching for something... searching... "Are you attempting to cheat?" he asked her abruptly, half-puzzled, half-amused.

the faint sense immediately recoiled as she flinched and went bright red. "what? no!" she insisted. "I-I was just...um..." she grabbed the next piece and moved it quickly. "sorry..."

Matrix was a little surprised by the ferocity of her reaction, and his eyebrows twitched up in surprise. "It's alright. I wasn't even certain you were aware of it, or even if I was actually feeling anything at all, to be honest," he tried to reassure her. Feeling a little awkward, he looked to the board for a moment before making his next move. "Sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you."

"oh, no, it's just...well, I guess I wasn't really aware that I was doing it, I was just sort of curious and it happened before I had noticed..." she admitted, remaining a striking shade of red with embarrassment. she made her next move, clearly acting randomly, moving another pawn