Jaesa was standing back in her Sanctum, rushing there right after she'd set off the alarm, waking the crew. She was busy sifting through the data streams of the Perseus, struggling to find out what Korsa had been up to and what she was doing. It had taken her a few minutes of searching, but she'd found the relevant data streams.
After looking them over a little, Jaesa's eyes widened at what they implied.
What is Korsa doing? I need more information!
she thought to herself. Digging further, she found the message that Korsa had left behind on the datapad before she went under.
"You are the boldest and bravest woman I have ever encountered," Jaesa said to herself. She continued to isolate more data streams to give her a broader picture of what the Khontaran woman was up to. After going over everything, she arrived at one final conclusion and it wasn't good. At the same time, it wasn't bad, but she knew that the rest of the crew wouldn't be pleased to hear this. Especially Natalya.
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The monorail sped along the track, with everyone having been rousted out of bed by Jaesa's alarm. The mood of the lot of them was slightly sour, but it was tempered by the apprehension that hung in the air. The shipboard AI had been very vague about what exactly had happened to Korsa. It was enough to where they needed to get there ASAP as Jaesa was still searching through the Perseus' mainframe for answers.
Natalya was sitting on pins and needles as she waited for the cart to arrive at the Med Bay. Flustered and jittery, she burrowed back into Alex, seeking the comfort and solace his arms offered. Though worried, she was also tired and allowed herself a moment to drift off in her lover's embrace.
Alex pulled her in close to him, having a very good idea of what she was going through. As Nats was snuggled on his right, Kasumi had attached herself to his left and was snoozing. He looked down at both women in his arms and could only sigh to himself. Alex couldn't believe that they had both women lying next to him a quarter hour ago!
From what he understood, they were looking to make this a regular occurrence, and he was more than OK with that. He could tell that they were both bone tired as they had all only gotten to sleep less than an hour ago. Alex was still having a tough time understanding that the Commander had been burning for him and he didn't even notice! Was he really that dense? He thought he might have been, but shook away that negative feeling, focusing only on the positive.
As he smiled down at both women, he took a gander around the cart and saw that the others were somewhat occupied. Except for Inari. She was looking at him curiously and the women he held in his arms. She raised an eyebrow at him in question and he responded by drawing both snoozing women into him more tightly. His embrace wasn't one of possessiveness, but of tender, loving care.
Inari smirked then, seeing that his feelings for the women he held were genuine. Her look still had a measure of inquisitiveness to it, but there was also acceptance there. Alex could tell that Persian woman had questions she wanted to ask, but she moved her lips in a silent response. 'We'll talk later,' she mouthed, and he nodded once in response, understanding her intent.
His eyes flicked to the other women in the cart, but he needn't have worried. Luminia, Taal'ani and Priya were just as tired as the rest of them and lost in their own thoughts. Judging by the looks on their faces, even if they had been looking right at him, they likely wouldn't have understood the exchange between him and Inari.
The cab suddenly slowed, jolting both Natalya and Kasumi out of their slumber. Natalya popped to her feet in an instant while everyone else was just realizing that they were stopping. Nats was standing by the door as the cab ground to a halt. Once the doors opened, she was off like a shot, racing out of the station.
"Nats, wait!" Alex called after her, but she didn't hear him, or didn't listen. The rest of the crew hopped to their feet and was right behind her, with Alex at the front of the pack. They were maybe a few meters behind Natalya, but she stayed ahead of the lot. They all tore into the hospital wing, seeking to find her adoptive mother.
Nats was first at the room where Shazza was being kept but found that both women were not in the space. She then went to the room where Luminia had her scans done and found that one vacant. In this bit of searching, Alex and company finally caught up to her and stopped Nats in her tracks.
"Get out of my way!" she growled at the assembled crew.
"Nats, slow down!" Alex tried soothing her.
"You don't understand! She's all the family I have left! Let go of me!" she shouted as she tried to squish past them but found herself being pulled into Alex. Natalya fought against him, her fists pounding his massive chest as she tried to get past him. Seconds later, she broke down crying, bawling her eyes out, as Alex clung to her.
"Nats, we'll find her. You can't go rushing off like that, because you don't know where you are going. We need to find where exactly she went, and we can do that, right here," Alexander explained.
To demonstrate, he activated a nearby wall panel; the hologram flaring to life. Entering a few sequences, the hospital wing became the primary focus. A few more entries saw the most recent activity that had happened. As of twenty minutes ago, a large amount of energy was being drawn to power something in the Psychology wing. The power levels were constant and still active, narrowing their search considerably.
"That's likely where she is, so let's go," he intoned gently. Nats nodded, seeing that there was no point in rushing off like she had. Korsa had drummed many mantras into her as a girl. The most important of which was resounding in her head at the moment;
Never rush into a situation without thinking first. If you don't think before you act, you may just find yourself doing more harm than good.
Natalya couldn't believe that she'd done exactly the opposite of what she'd been taught. But it was Korsa! Korsa had always been the immovable rock, the implacable wall, the goddess of war. Nothing could take that woman down and anything or anyone that tried wound up being destroyed. She always saw Korsa as being indestructible and now, she was worried about the implications of what had happened.
They arrived at the psychology branch several minutes later and came upon Korsa almost immediately. Seeing her adoptive mother hooked up to the machine was too much for Nats. She cried out in despair and ran to her, seeking to disconnect the Khontaran woman from the Spock.
