Night Terrors

Posted on 06 Aug 2019 @ 11:54am by Lieutenant Commander Aidan Datari & Lieutenant Emmony Safford

Mission: Mission 1 - In the pale moonlight ...
Location: Aidan and Emme's quarters
Timeline: MD 06 06:00 Hours
1342 words - 2.7 OF Standard Post Measure

The tiny robots that were the nanites coursed through his veins, controlling his muscle movement, controlling his sight and occasionally his speech. The AI's voice, soothing and menacing at the same time, spoke to him, telling him exactly what he was about to do. What he was to do, and could do nothing against. He was powerless against the powerful entity.

Drenched in sweat, Aidan bolted upright in his bed, screaming, wrenching his eyes shut and clapping his hands over his ears. "No!" he cried out frantically shaking his head, "No I won't do it, I won't do it!"

"Aidan!" Emme said, wrapping an arm around him while trying to pry a hand away from his ear so she could speak into it. "You're dreaming. It's just a nightmare." Emme had been in a pretty deep dream herself. She'd had it almost every night this week but had been interrupted before the dream finished and so she didn't remember much. She'd been wandering a corridor with an uneasy feeling following her. She'd met no one on her walk and that just wasn't right.

Feeling her comforting arm around her, he opened his eyes and looked at her, his expression one of pure terror. "Are you sure? It's speaking to me," he whispered desperately, "she is speaking to me...."

"Who is speaking to you?" Emme asked, beginning to stroke his hair. She wasn't quite sure he was actually awake despite his eyes being open.

"The AI..." His voice trembled, as if the very name caused him fear. After a few seconds, he leaned into her touch and turned his head to face her; it was an indication he was awake. "She said fighting was useless..." He knew she knew of these nightmares, he had them almost constantly after he had been freed from the nanites.

"The AI is gone Aidan. It can't hurt you anymore. And fighting wasn't useless, we proved that." Emme cuddled up as close to him as she could get, planting little kisses on him. "You're safe with me."

"I know," he murmured, still panting for breath though his heart rate seemed to be slowing a little. "But it still plagues me. It's like with each night the dreams are getting worse, like the ante is being upped. Are you having any weird dreams?"

"Yeah. I dream I'm wandering around the ship and I can't find anyone and I feel like something is watching me but I don't want to seek it out as if it's after me. I never get very far in the dream though. Something always wakes me up before I've had a chance to get where I want to go. I'm not even sure where that is really. I just see a corridor and a door at the end of it that I want to go through."

Shifting to sit up against the headboard, he gathered her in his arms. "Do you know why there's no-one there? Is it always the same dream?" he asked, grateful for the opportunity to shift his attention to something else. Do you know what's behind the door?"

"No, yes and no." She smiled. "I almost want to find out what's going on but I'm also really scared of what might be there. But it's just a dream, it doesn't necessarily mean anything." She assured him.

"No, it doesn't," he agreed, and while that was the truth, he wasn't wholly convinced either. "Just why do we keep dreaming the same thing? Though I had a different dream the other night, equally terrifying..." He bit his lower lip, shaking his head. "Just remember Em, you're not alone. You're never truly alone." He shifted his hand to her belly. "You have me, and you have our Peanut."

"I know." She smiled at him. "You would never leave me willingly. Peanut?" She said almost laughing. "Nicknamed already and we don't know if it's a boy or a girl."

"Hence the nickname," Aidan smiled, "I'm sorry I haven't been able to go with you to your check-ups. You don't seem to be stricken with morning sickness like most Human women seem to be...why is that?"

"Relax dear, you missed one appointment, I think I'll forgive you. And I've been a little queasy, it's not stopping me though. Mostly I'm just tired but I'm told that's pretty common. I haven't asked for anything but I'm about to decide that I require extra cuddles from you," Emme grinned at him.

"Oh you don't ever have to demand those Em," Aidan answered, tightening his arms around her, sliding down the headboard a faction so she could better lean against him. "And you can ask anything you want, you know I'd do anything for you." He nuzzled her hair. "I even went to sleep on the couch the other night, because I didn't want to wake you. I went to see the counselor too."

"Oh so that's where you disappeared to. You were getting out of bed when I woke up and you never came back. I thought maybe you'd gone to work early for some reason. And I know you would, you're seriously the best husband in the universe. I have no idea how I got so lucky."

"Me neither," he teased, "but I certainly had to revise my opinion about fate. I'm the happiest man alive, and it's all your doing." Turning her face up a fraction, he leaned down to kiss her. "I truly think you bewitched me."

"Well I have no idea how, it really wasn't intentional." That made her laugh. "I had no idea what I was doing, still don't. I'm just following you around and going with the flow of things."

"I'm just teasing Em. I'm very happy with you and I have no regrets whatsoever. I'm scared as hell about becoming a father, but I know we can do this. Because we have each other." He hugged her again. "Want to try and get some more sleep? Or shall I go and get breakfast?"

"Really? I thought you would be much more confident about this than I was. We seem to have switched roles. I'm not really scared, I think we'll do fine. Ugh, no breakfast yet for me. Takes my stomach a bit to settle down in the mornings. But you can eat if you want. I don't think either of us is going to be able to go back to sleep."

"Might be some innate thing in women," Aidan mused as he slid out of bed. "From what I've seen it's not real for a man until he holds his child. It's not unreal to me, trust me...it's just daunting. I never expected to be a dad, you know given my ah...nature. But I am very happy to become one. I just hope I'll live up to all the expectations, I don't have experience with having a real dad myself. Thelev did his best but he wasn't dad, you know?"

"I thought it was something you'd always wanted?" Emme said slipping on a robe and some slippers after climbing from the bed. "Coffee sounds good," she suddenly mused as if she hadn't said or asked him anything moments before.

"Wanting something, and getting something are two things. I know there are ways, but I think this way is much better." He went to get some breakfast and a coffee, and returned with them to the dining table. "And not just better, I'm happy this way." He put the coffee in front of her, then sat down. "Are you sure you don't want anything to eat with that?"

Emme shook her head, "Not yet. I'll get something when things settle down, I promise." Emme stood up again and leaned over to kiss Aidan. "I'm glad you're happy."

"I'm glad we both are happy," Aidan replied, kissing her back.

Lieutenant Emmony Safford
Science Officer
USS Andromeda
pncp by Keading

●● Lieutenant Aidan Datari
Chief Science Officer
USS Andromeda