Tags: Telepathy, psychic trauma, mental trauma, physical injuries, aliens and stuff Word Count: 4139 Notes: Parts of this may feel thrown together. Because they are. I meant for there to be way more Teshima & Kinjou conversing here, but. What can you do. Maybe I’ll revisit this later
The antique ship smells stale, with the tang of sun-baked metal stinging Teshima’s nose.It's so old and run down; Teshima, not for the first time, starts doubting the mission. The whole ship was halfway into a massive gorge. They'd had to fish it out part of the way with shuttlecrafts before they could even get started on the external hull. It wasn't nearly on solid footing enough for Teshima to feel secure, but the old thing was too delicate to be moved much further safely. Was this thing even a Federation ship when it was in service?
Not initially, Aoyagi thinks. Commissioned in the 2140s. Last of Earth-Kzin War battleships. It was reclassed after the war and the formation of the Federation. Miki said so.
Teshima laughs slightly to himself at the last bit. It’s added on hastily, as if Aoyagi wants to make it very clear he did not learn this of his own volition. In the back of his mind, Teshima can vaguely hear Lieutenant Commander Kanzaki chattering excitedly into Aoyagi’s ear. Mostly about the ship and the condition it’s in (the phrase “museum quality” has come up at least once). Aoyagi says nothing, but luckily Miki expects no reply. She’s worked closely with them so long, that she’s one of the few that understand the Miradorn pair’s dynamic.
Teshima instead busies himself with taking in the rest of the sights. Which isn’t much. Lieutenant Commander Tachibana leads her security crew in front of everyone else, all of them fanning out, threatening any ghosts that could be lurking around the next corner. Teshima doesn’t expect they’ll find any. This ship went down about a century ago, and the locals seem to pay it no mind. Which is likely for the best. They have enough trouble without poking around irradiated ghost ships.
Teshima knows it’s irradiated, because Ensign Naruko has spoken of nothing else since the landing party stepped foot on the ship. Through Aoyagi’s ears, Teshima can still hear him muttering darkly about it as the scans on his tricorder get progressively worse. Teshima very much wishes Doctor Tadokoro could have accompanied the landing party instead. His protests are always much more interesting, even when they’re not being heeded.
Teshima turns his attention back to the front of the group. Just behind the security detail, Captain Kinjou strides confidently, a phaser slapped to his hip as if it belongs there. Not everyone in the away team wears it so confidently. For example, a phaser fits into Ensign Onoda’s hand the same way a dead fish might. Still, Teshima’s sure he’d figure it out in a firefight, if it came to it.
Guess that’s the kind of thing they teach you on Alpha Centauri, Aoyagi thinks, and Teshima laughs out loud. They’ve made an inside joke of the Ensign’s supposed origins. They may not be geniuses, but even they can put together than not all the strange things about the young helmsman can be explained just from his offbeat birthplace.
Teshima composes himself quickly. No one seems to have really paid attention anyway. Miki may have noticed, but everyone else was wrapped up in other things. The captain is still engaged in conversation with Commander Makishima. That doesn’t mean he didn’t notice, of course. Teshima knows all too well that if anyone so much as sneezes on his ship, Kinjou is the type of captain that already knows about it. And if he doesn’t he would like a report about it on his desk by 0800 hours, thank you very much.
Someone, at some point, has probably told Kinjou that captains aren't supposed to go on away missions. Teshima can just about imagine how that conversation went. Kinjou is an old hand, back from the Command Gold days, where the captain always lead their crew on the ground, through whatever came their way, be it diplomacy or firefights. Teshima imagines Kinjou must have been unstoppable in those days. Not that he isn’t now.
Aoyagi thinks something, slightly less than words, about this train of thought. It’s vaguely rude, but also teasing. Teshima does the mental equivalent of glaring at him.
“This is it,” Makishima says up ahead, snapping shut their tricorder. “Main engineering. Looks like the door is sealed.”
“The radiation is stronger here,” Naruko pipes up. “I’m gonna guess something sprung a leak.”
Makishima tests the crack in the door, pulling at it experimentally.
“Do we need to blast it?” Tachibana asks, and Teshima is quite certain there’s a hint of hopefulness in her voice.
Makishima shakes their head. “I don’t think so. We need to try not to damage the ship more than it already is. I think the door is just a little off track. I’m pretty sure I can get it. Maybe with a bit of help. Ensign Onoda?”
“Aye, sir.” Onoda hands off his phaser to Naruko, and joins Makishima at the door. They push and pull at it until eventually it starts giving way.
They must teach super-human strength on Alpha Centauri too, Teshima thinks wryly, to Aoyagi’s amusement.
The two science officers eventually pull the door open, and in the same moment Makishima sways slightly. Kinjou, quick as always, reaches out a hand to steady his friend. “Makishima. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Makishima says, leaning some of his weight against the door jam. “I don’t know what it is, but. I just. Suddenly got really dizzy when the door opened.”
Naruko is already scanning him before anyone can suggest he should. “I’m detecting some anomalous readings in your paracortex.
Makishima laughs bitterly, wiping a hand over their forehead and through their hair. The slightly pointed ears that are usually always covered by the thick hair are visible for just an instant before the hair falls back over them. “There are always anomalous readings in my paracortex, Ensign. One of the perks of being a hybrid.”
Naruko nods. “Right. It could be nothing, but I’d still recommend we proceed with caution.”
Kinjou nods at that, and waves for the rest of the team to move into engineering. He steps to the side, staying close to Makishima. Teshima steps around them and into engineering. The first thing he notices is how oddly pristine the place looks.
The second thing he notices is complete, deafening, silence.
It hits him a moment before he feels the sharp pain like a cold icepick being lodged in his skull. He mentally calls out to Aoyagi, to ask if he’s okay, if he feels it too. And that’s when he realizes why everything is silent.
He can’t hear Aoyagi in his mind.
“Teshima!” he hears Aoyagi shout, and it must startle everyone as much as Teshima, because that seems to be when everyone realizes something is wrong.
“What’s happening?” Kinjou barks.
Naruko shakes his head. “I… I don’t know. Both of their paracortexes are out of whack. I don’t know –”
“There!” Kanzaki shouts. She’s pointing at something up on the ceiling.
“What is it?” Kinjou asks.
“Shoot it,” Kanzaki says, without explanation. “Cut the lines on either side. Low, two second bursts.”
Kinjou doesn’t hesitate in pulling his phaser. Tachibana looks to him and they nod to each other before following Miki’s instructions.
The pain in Teshima’s head lowers to a dull throb. He looks up at Aoyagi, who’s giving him a wide-eyed look as well.
Are you okay? Teshima thinks.
Aoyagi smiles brightly, and Teshima feels the happiness fill his mind as well. Yes!
“You fixed it,” Teshima says aloud. “Or broke it. Whichever.”
“What is that thing?” Tachibana asks.
Makishima is glaring at it openly. “Kanzaki, please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”
“I’m afraid it is,” Kanzaki says. “They used to call them brain busters. They’re crude telepathic inhibitors.”
“Crude, but effective,” Makishima says. “Not to mention cruel. These things were outlawed back in the Treaty of Rigel. The only concession Earth made.”
“How come we didn’t notice it until now?” Kinjou asks.
“These were only installed in sensitive areas of the ships, back during the war with the Kzinti Patriarchy,” Kanzaki explains. “They were worried about Kzin telepaths getting access to the ship by mind controlling officers in key positions. Since Kzin are only mid-range telepaths, they would have had to be in the same room for the tactic to be effective.”
“That’s probably why it had a more pronounced effect on Teshima and Aoyagi,” Naruko says. “Miradorns are also mid-range telepaths. But since Vulcans are primarily touch-telepaths, it had a less severe effect on Makishima.”
“I still wouldn’t recommend it,” Makishima mutters.
“But the radiation in this area has gone up,” Naruko says.
Kanzaki nods. “I was afraid of that. The lines I had you fire at were just the lines to the transmitters. Firing at the device itself would be too dangerous, since it’s independently powered. But it’s so old, the shielding might have been compromised a bit just by the nearby phaser fire.”
Naruko is rummaging around his medkit. “Well, I can give inoculations to anyone on the team sticking around for a bit. But I wouldn’t recommend sticking around long.”
Kanzaki frowns, looking at her tricorder readouts. “Well… It could take a while. If we follow procedures.”
“What do you mean?” Teshima asks.
Kanzaki smiles. She shows her tricorder to Aoyagi. Teshima laughs in amusement at the readout. “Don’t you worry, Captain. We’ll have this bucket running in no time.”
“Are you sure?” Kanzaki asks. “I was afraid the telepathic inhibitor might have limited our options.
Aoyagi is nodding before Teshima can even think his questions. Teshima’s grin widens. “We can handle this.”
“What are we talking about here, exactly?” Kinjou asks, looking at Teshima.
“This is a Gemini Class ship. Twinned warp system,” Teshima explains. “They were pretty efficient for their time, but not many of them were ever made because they’re more of a pain than anything. Instead of having a single warp core like modern ships, and even most ships of its’ time, there was basically one core in each nacelle.” He runs a hand along the engineering console, grinning. “Very powerful, but the downside is they’re basically impossible to perform maintenance on outside of dry dock.”
“Why not?” Kinjou asks.
“The twin warp cores can’t fall out of sync by even a millimeter,” Kanzaki says. “If they do, the whole system can collapse. Anything done to one core must be done to the other the exact same way. They used to have to run days and days of tests after any maintenance to make sure that everything was completely the same.” She smiles. “But if we had two officers that are constantly in sync with each other…”
Kinjou’s smirk is just barely there. “Are we sure the telepathic inhibitor won’t cause further issues?”
Kanzaki shakes her head. “I’ll get a few members of my work crew on that to make sure it gets completely disassembled. We’re spread a bit thin, but we can manage. Teshima and Aoyagi will also need at least one other person with them to assist in the repairs, but…”
“We’ll see what we can do to get you more hands,” Kinjou says. “Tachibana, once your security detail is done securing the ship, coordinate with Kanzaki to see what your crew can do to lend a hand.”
Tachibana nods at him before turning away and signaling to her crew.
Kinjou turns to Makishima. “Once Naruko is done handing out inoculations, take him back to the colony. I want both of you working with Tadokoro and the others to get the colony ready for evacuation once we have this ship running.”
“What about you?” Makishima asks.
“I’ve got nothing to do in the colony,” Kinjou says. “I figured I might as well lend a hand.”
Makishima laughs. “You’re getting sick of being cooped up on the bridge all the time?”
Kinou ignores him and turns to Onoda. “Ensign. How do you feel about sticking around and assisting Aoyagi?”
“Aye, sir!” Onoda says with a nod.
Kinjou then turns to Teshima. “If you don’t mind, I’ll assist you in the other nacelle.”
Teshima feels Aoyagi smirking in the back of his mind. “Of course, sir.”
FILL: TEAM FUKUTOMI JUICHI/KINJOU SHINGO, T [part 1/2]
Word Count: 4139
Notes: Parts of this may feel thrown together. Because they are. I meant for there to be way more Teshima & Kinjou conversing here, but. What can you do. Maybe I’ll revisit this later
The antique ship smells stale, with the tang of sun-baked metal stinging Teshima’s nose.It's so old and run down; Teshima, not for the first time, starts doubting the mission. The whole ship was halfway into a massive gorge. They'd had to fish it out part of the way with shuttlecrafts before they could even get started on the external hull. It wasn't nearly on solid footing enough for Teshima to feel secure, but the old thing was too delicate to be moved much further safely. Was this thing even a Federation ship when it was in service?
Not initially, Aoyagi thinks. Commissioned in the 2140s. Last of Earth-Kzin War battleships. It was reclassed after the war and the formation of the Federation. Miki said so.
Teshima laughs slightly to himself at the last bit. It’s added on hastily, as if Aoyagi wants to make it very clear he did not learn this of his own volition. In the back of his mind, Teshima can vaguely hear Lieutenant Commander Kanzaki chattering excitedly into Aoyagi’s ear. Mostly about the ship and the condition it’s in (the phrase “museum quality” has come up at least once). Aoyagi says nothing, but luckily Miki expects no reply. She’s worked closely with them so long, that she’s one of the few that understand the Miradorn pair’s dynamic.
Teshima instead busies himself with taking in the rest of the sights. Which isn’t much. Lieutenant Commander Tachibana leads her security crew in front of everyone else, all of them fanning out, threatening any ghosts that could be lurking around the next corner. Teshima doesn’t expect they’ll find any. This ship went down about a century ago, and the locals seem to pay it no mind. Which is likely for the best. They have enough trouble without poking around irradiated ghost ships.
Teshima knows it’s irradiated, because Ensign Naruko has spoken of nothing else since the landing party stepped foot on the ship. Through Aoyagi’s ears, Teshima can still hear him muttering darkly about it as the scans on his tricorder get progressively worse. Teshima very much wishes Doctor Tadokoro could have accompanied the landing party instead. His protests are always much more interesting, even when they’re not being heeded.
Teshima turns his attention back to the front of the group. Just behind the security detail, Captain Kinjou strides confidently, a phaser slapped to his hip as if it belongs there. Not everyone in the away team wears it so confidently. For example, a phaser fits into Ensign Onoda’s hand the same way a dead fish might. Still, Teshima’s sure he’d figure it out in a firefight, if it came to it.
Guess that’s the kind of thing they teach you on Alpha Centauri, Aoyagi thinks, and Teshima laughs out loud. They’ve made an inside joke of the Ensign’s supposed origins. They may not be geniuses, but even they can put together than not all the strange things about the young helmsman can be explained just from his offbeat birthplace.
Teshima composes himself quickly. No one seems to have really paid attention anyway. Miki may have noticed, but everyone else was wrapped up in other things. The captain is still engaged in conversation with Commander Makishima. That doesn’t mean he didn’t notice, of course. Teshima knows all too well that if anyone so much as sneezes on his ship, Kinjou is the type of captain that already knows about it. And if he doesn’t he would like a report about it on his desk by 0800 hours, thank you very much.
Someone, at some point, has probably told Kinjou that captains aren't supposed to go on away missions. Teshima can just about imagine how that conversation went. Kinjou is an old hand, back from the Command Gold days, where the captain always lead their crew on the ground, through whatever came their way, be it diplomacy or firefights. Teshima imagines Kinjou must have been unstoppable in those days. Not that he isn’t now.
Aoyagi thinks something, slightly less than words, about this train of thought. It’s vaguely rude, but also teasing. Teshima does the mental equivalent of glaring at him.
“This is it,” Makishima says up ahead, snapping shut their tricorder. “Main engineering. Looks like the door is sealed.”
“The radiation is stronger here,” Naruko pipes up. “I’m gonna guess something sprung a leak.”
Makishima tests the crack in the door, pulling at it experimentally.
“Do we need to blast it?” Tachibana asks, and Teshima is quite certain there’s a hint of hopefulness in her voice.
Makishima shakes their head. “I don’t think so. We need to try not to damage the ship more than it already is. I think the door is just a little off track. I’m pretty sure I can get it. Maybe with a bit of help. Ensign Onoda?”
“Aye, sir.” Onoda hands off his phaser to Naruko, and joins Makishima at the door. They push and pull at it until eventually it starts giving way.
They must teach super-human strength on Alpha Centauri too, Teshima thinks wryly, to Aoyagi’s amusement.
The two science officers eventually pull the door open, and in the same moment Makishima sways slightly. Kinjou, quick as always, reaches out a hand to steady his friend. “Makishima. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Makishima says, leaning some of his weight against the door jam. “I don’t know what it is, but. I just. Suddenly got really dizzy when the door opened.”
Naruko is already scanning him before anyone can suggest he should. “I’m detecting some anomalous readings in your paracortex.
Makishima laughs bitterly, wiping a hand over their forehead and through their hair. The slightly pointed ears that are usually always covered by the thick hair are visible for just an instant before the hair falls back over them. “There are always anomalous readings in my paracortex, Ensign. One of the perks of being a hybrid.”
Naruko nods. “Right. It could be nothing, but I’d still recommend we proceed with caution.”
Kinjou nods at that, and waves for the rest of the team to move into engineering. He steps to the side, staying close to Makishima. Teshima steps around them and into engineering. The first thing he notices is how oddly pristine the place looks.
The second thing he notices is complete, deafening, silence.
It hits him a moment before he feels the sharp pain like a cold icepick being lodged in his skull. He mentally calls out to Aoyagi, to ask if he’s okay, if he feels it too. And that’s when he realizes why everything is silent.
He can’t hear Aoyagi in his mind.
“Teshima!” he hears Aoyagi shout, and it must startle everyone as much as Teshima, because that seems to be when everyone realizes something is wrong.
“What’s happening?” Kinjou barks.
Naruko shakes his head. “I… I don’t know. Both of their paracortexes are out of whack. I don’t know –”
“There!” Kanzaki shouts. She’s pointing at something up on the ceiling.
“What is it?” Kinjou asks.
“Shoot it,” Kanzaki says, without explanation. “Cut the lines on either side. Low, two second bursts.”
Kinjou doesn’t hesitate in pulling his phaser. Tachibana looks to him and they nod to each other before following Miki’s instructions.
The pain in Teshima’s head lowers to a dull throb. He looks up at Aoyagi, who’s giving him a wide-eyed look as well.
Are you okay? Teshima thinks.
Aoyagi smiles brightly, and Teshima feels the happiness fill his mind as well. Yes!
“You fixed it,” Teshima says aloud. “Or broke it. Whichever.”
“What is that thing?” Tachibana asks.
Makishima is glaring at it openly. “Kanzaki, please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”
“I’m afraid it is,” Kanzaki says. “They used to call them brain busters. They’re crude telepathic inhibitors.”
“Crude, but effective,” Makishima says. “Not to mention cruel. These things were outlawed back in the Treaty of Rigel. The only concession Earth made.”
“How come we didn’t notice it until now?” Kinjou asks.
“These were only installed in sensitive areas of the ships, back during the war with the Kzinti Patriarchy,” Kanzaki explains. “They were worried about Kzin telepaths getting access to the ship by mind controlling officers in key positions. Since Kzin are only mid-range telepaths, they would have had to be in the same room for the tactic to be effective.”
“That’s probably why it had a more pronounced effect on Teshima and Aoyagi,” Naruko says. “Miradorns are also mid-range telepaths. But since Vulcans are primarily touch-telepaths, it had a less severe effect on Makishima.”
“I still wouldn’t recommend it,” Makishima mutters.
“But the radiation in this area has gone up,” Naruko says.
Kanzaki nods. “I was afraid of that. The lines I had you fire at were just the lines to the transmitters. Firing at the device itself would be too dangerous, since it’s independently powered. But it’s so old, the shielding might have been compromised a bit just by the nearby phaser fire.”
Naruko is rummaging around his medkit. “Well, I can give inoculations to anyone on the team sticking around for a bit. But I wouldn’t recommend sticking around long.”
Kanzaki frowns, looking at her tricorder readouts. “Well… It could take a while. If we follow procedures.”
“What do you mean?” Teshima asks.
Kanzaki smiles. She shows her tricorder to Aoyagi. Teshima laughs in amusement at the readout. “Don’t you worry, Captain. We’ll have this bucket running in no time.”
“Are you sure?” Kanzaki asks. “I was afraid the telepathic inhibitor might have limited our options.
Aoyagi is nodding before Teshima can even think his questions. Teshima’s grin widens. “We can handle this.”
“What are we talking about here, exactly?” Kinjou asks, looking at Teshima.
“This is a Gemini Class ship. Twinned warp system,” Teshima explains. “They were pretty efficient for their time, but not many of them were ever made because they’re more of a pain than anything. Instead of having a single warp core like modern ships, and even most ships of its’ time, there was basically one core in each nacelle.” He runs a hand along the engineering console, grinning. “Very powerful, but the downside is they’re basically impossible to perform maintenance on outside of dry dock.”
“Why not?” Kinjou asks.
“The twin warp cores can’t fall out of sync by even a millimeter,” Kanzaki says. “If they do, the whole system can collapse. Anything done to one core must be done to the other the exact same way. They used to have to run days and days of tests after any maintenance to make sure that everything was completely the same.” She smiles. “But if we had two officers that are constantly in sync with each other…”
Kinjou’s smirk is just barely there. “Are we sure the telepathic inhibitor won’t cause further issues?”
Kanzaki shakes her head. “I’ll get a few members of my work crew on that to make sure it gets completely disassembled. We’re spread a bit thin, but we can manage. Teshima and Aoyagi will also need at least one other person with them to assist in the repairs, but…”
“We’ll see what we can do to get you more hands,” Kinjou says. “Tachibana, once your security detail is done securing the ship, coordinate with Kanzaki to see what your crew can do to lend a hand.”
Tachibana nods at him before turning away and signaling to her crew.
Kinjou turns to Makishima. “Once Naruko is done handing out inoculations, take him back to the colony. I want both of you working with Tadokoro and the others to get the colony ready for evacuation once we have this ship running.”
“What about you?” Makishima asks.
“I’ve got nothing to do in the colony,” Kinjou says. “I figured I might as well lend a hand.”
Makishima laughs. “You’re getting sick of being cooped up on the bridge all the time?”
Kinou ignores him and turns to Onoda. “Ensign. How do you feel about sticking around and assisting Aoyagi?”
“Aye, sir!” Onoda says with a nod.
Kinjou then turns to Teshima. “If you don’t mind, I’ll assist you in the other nacelle.”
Teshima feels Aoyagi smirking in the back of his mind. “Of course, sir.”