Walking in a Winter Slumberland

Posted on Mon Aug 28th, 2023 @ 3:41pm by Lieutenant Sophie Xiong & Lieutenant JG Ryland Dedeker

1,896 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Season 1 Interlude II (E5.5)
Location: Shared Dreamscape / Epsilon-Ceti Outpost
Timeline: ID 6

Passed out once again, Ryland and Sophie had a meeting of the minds through the shared mycelial infection that had swapped back and forth to one another. For some reason, it was difficult for Ryland to locate Sophie, like she was dreaming within a dream. Once again, there was no one else nearby, perhaps as a result of a treatment being introduced down on Risa.

"Hey, sweet thing," Ryland said. His appearance was more clean-cut than usual--no facial stubble, Starfleet uniform without wrinkles, even polished boots. The sight made him stand out like a sore thumb in the wintry landscape he found himself. "Figures your fantasy is being a Snow Queen." He gave her a teasing wink. "As frosty as you like to get."

In fact, Sophie was dressed in the cutest of cute little white ensembles, consisting of white leggings- lined with faux fur to keep her warm- a white winter coat with a faux fur trim, white boots also with a faux fur trim, and to top it all off, a white earmuff band that indeed had a tiara attached. “I like winter,” she defended. “Once I got used to the cold, I realized there’s less sun. Less sun means more time outside.” She eyed him for a moment. “If you ask me for Turkish Delight, I’ll wallop you,” she promised.

"Whatever you say, dollface." Ryland shrugged, not having the slightest idea what she was on about. "So... I'm actually under medical sedation right now. Took a pretty tongue-wagging to get them not to inject me with the cure for whatever infected us down in the caves. I said this was the only way we could track you down. Ben-Avram almost didn't believe me." Looking around at the gently falling snow and hugging himself against the cold, Ryland asked, "So... where the hell are you? Out there, I mean."

Sophie had to think for a moment. Her brain felt like it was wrapped in several layers of yarn and the thoughts couldn’t get through. “Some outpost,” she said finally. “Epsilon… something. It wasn’t far from Risa.”

"Epsilon-Ceti," said Ryland. "I know it. Sometimes swanky, often filthy pitstop for anyone who wants to avoid Risa itself. Diplomats avoid it now but criminals don't." He frowned. This wasn't a good development. "Can't believe they got you off-planet. At least you're still in the trinary system. If they traffic you onto a warp-capable vessel..."

“…I’ll blow it up,” she promised.

"No!" Ryland protested. "No! We're coming to save you. I already promised that." He looked around, eyes darting everywhere except at her. "I'm not letting you go. Not without a fight."

“I can take care of myself,” Sophie insisted. “I just… forgot I was supposed to escape, that’s all.”

Ryland looked patently unconvinced. "Uh-huh. Keep your ass safe long enough for me to save it." He softened a bit. "Please, Soph."

Sophie sighed. “Fine,” she relented. “I don’t know why you’re so intent on saving me. I’m not that important.”

"Fuck you!" Ryland blurted and then immediately regretted it. "You're important to me, so... just don't do anything stupid." He smirked a bit. "Don't do anything I'd do."

“That leaves out almost everything,” she huffed, only half joking. “It pretty much leaves ‘obey the rules,’ if my math is correct.”

"Whatever..." Ryland rolled his eyes and huffed a stifled chuckle. "Just... watch yourself." Sighing at her impetuous and stubborn nature, he let the chuckle all the way out. "So... do you know whereabouts the outpost they took you? It's a big place, a maze in some ways. Anything you can tell me might help."

“I have no idea,” she replied. “They’re trying to sell me, so nowhere good, I’m sure of that.”

"All right..." Ryland rubbed his chin. "Nowhere public. Close to the docking area. Probably an outer maintenance area with low security." He squinted as he tried and failed to dredge up memories of the place. "Damn. It's hard to know without being there." Only then did he look her in the eye. "Are you sure there isn't anything else? Something you saw, heard, whatever?"

“Just that the buyer is the black Nagus, but I told you that last time,” she replied. “Oh! You could scan for my ID chip. I’d be the only Jane Doe for sure.”

Ryland's face perked up at that. "They didn't dump your resort pass? That's..." He threw his head back and laughed. "Fuckin' Pakled stupidity. That... that just might do the trick."

“Yeah, they’re idiots,” she agreed. “Plus, I keep it in my bra, so I doubt they’d have thought to look there.”

"Seriously? That's the first place I'd look." Ryland waggled his eyebrows. "Second and third places only get funner from there."

She rolled her eyes. “You’re disgusting, Dedeker,” she informed him.

"You love it." The coy look on his face suggested he knew otherwise.

Sophie ignored that remark, though, instead looking out over the snow covered land. “So what do we do now?” she asked after a long sigh. “Just wait until we wake up? What if they sell me before I wake up?”

"Then we'll have to test the range on that resort pass you kept." Ryland covered his worried expression with a devil-may-care grin. "If nothing else, just annoy the shit out of them. Maybe they'll change their minds about keeping you."

“Or I suppose I could make good on my promise to kill them,” she muttered. “I just haven’t figured out how to do that and escape with my life.”

Ryland held up his hand and stammered a bit. "Lookit, I won't lie and say your badass mentality isn't a huge fuggin' turn-on for me, but would it kill ya to lay low?" He closed his eyes and groaned. "Alright, bad choice of words. Just... be safe! We're coming to get you!"

“That’s what you said last time,” she pointed out. “And yet now, I’m unconscious in a crate.”

"Yeah, so it's even more true now than before, ain't it?" Ryland smiled so hard the tip of his tongue poked through his teeth.

Sophie rolled her eyes. “Why do I feel like that’s an innuendo?” she asked.

"It wasn't supposed to be," Ryland said with a sly shrug, "but I like your creativity. Say more."

“Grow up, Dedeker,” she ordered half-heartedly. “Have you got a plan?”

At first Ryland said nothing. He didn't want to admit he was winging it here. "Yeah. I'll tell you when I get there."

But Sophie was too used to him by now. “You are so full of it,” she accused. “Just don’t get yourself killed, okay?”

"Sure thing," Ryland said. "I'll live forever. You know that."

“Mhm,” replied Sophie, looking doubtful. “I suppose that depends on how you define forever.”

Ryland shook his head. "Dammit, woman, why do you always gotta' be so contrary and shit?"

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, so sorry,” she replied sarcastically. “You’re the safest person I know and never take risks that could get you killed.”

"That's not better," Ryland muttered. "Damn it but you can be infuriating." A sly look overcame his face. "If it wasn't so frigid right now I'd say we should knock a piece off until wakeup time."

She gave him a disgusted look. “Is that all you think about?” she demanded.

"What if it is?" Ryland countered, hiding the hurt of her disgust behind a wry grin. "Not like you complain when it counts."

She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to say something, then hesitated. “No, that’s true,” she said finally. “I’ll give you that.” She glanced around. Yes, it was definitely too cold to fool around. “Do you want to build a snowman?” she finally asked.

"What the fuck is that?" Ryland blurted out. He had been born on a freighter and raised in the galaxy's shipping lanes until he joined Starfleet. As a space through-and-through, he had barely seen snow, much less a figurative man made from one.

Sophie’s eyes widened substantially. “You’ve never built a snowman?” she asked incredulously. “Okay, so that’s what we’re doing. Also, remind me to take you to a planet with snow sometime so we can do this for real. And we’ll have to build a snow fort and have a snowball fight, too.”

Ryland could not have been more incredulous as he watched Sophie gather snow into balls. "Uh... alright?"

“Are you going to help or what?” She asked. “We need three different sizes, then we stack them, biggest to smallest.”

"If... if you insist..." This was not the first ridiculous thing Sophie had asked of him. And, if things went south in the rescue attempt, it might be the last time Ryland might ever see her.

The balls of snow were rolled and stacked together in descending order of size. Just three featureless spherical snow lumps.

"Doesn't look much like a man," Ryland observed.

“That’s because he needs a face and arms,” she informed him. Here’s where they would find out if Sophie’s ability to control her dreams was still in effect. She closed her eyes and said, “I’m going to turn around and find a Snowman kit, complete with everything needed for a snowman.” She then opened her eyes and turned around. “Still got it!” she declared triumphantly, opening the box and taking out a top hat. “This part goes on last. Because, you know, it might make him come to life and shout happy birthday.”

"Wh-what?" Ryland was so confused. The likeness of a human was still tenuous at best. But the thought of it coming to life was more than he could handle. Before Sophie did more than attach arms and features, the snowman came alive and let out a feral growl. "What the FUCK!" Ryland gave the snowman a hard kick with his boot right to its torso. The head suspended in air for a brief second, snarling all the while until it fell to one side of the larger base and rolled to the ground. "Fucking weird ass shit!" Ryland turned the feral head to powder with a single stomp. He was breathing heavy now from the surge of adrenaline.

“Oh good grief, Dedeker!” complained Sophie, rolling her eyes. “I can control the dream. I could have shut him up. It’s probably my fault in the first place for thinking about him coming to life. But now we have to make a new head.”

"How do you know it wasn't me?" Ryland pressed. "Maybe I can control dreams too." Closing his eyes, he said, "I'm going to open my eyes and..." Put on the spot, Ryland came up creatively dry. "Forget it." Then his face brightened. "Oh, I know! When I open my eyes, we'll be out of this damned tundra and inside a cozy cabin with a roaring fire and a barrel of spiced rum!"

When he opened his eyes, they were indeed inside a cabin. However, the barrel of rum was inside the fireplace with flames flicking up along its edges. "OH SHIT!"

“Dedeker!” yelled Sophie. She squeezed her eyes closed and tried to wish it away, but she was not quick enough.

BOOM!

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