Messages From Beyond

Posted on Thu 30th Nov, 2017 @ 5:19am by Commander Mikaela Locke & Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Lieutenant Commander Andrew Eberstark & Lieutenant Commander Alora Baro & Commander Jasmine Collins-Keller & Lieutenant Anjohl Gaden MD & Lieutenant Adam Keller & Carlo Rienzi & Purulence Addams

1,210 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: A Phaser as Deadly as a Candlestick
Location: The Addams House
Timeline: Halloween Night

Chlamydia entered the dining room and looked around with a smile. "Fire burn!" she instructed, and the logs in the fireplace situated between the dining room and the parlor obediently caught fire. It was a holographic flame, of course, but the heat was real -- energy imparted to the molecules of the air by the fields within the fireplace. "Candles light!" At the command, dozens of candles around the room caught fire as well, their wicks giving off light and heat. Chlamydia approached the dining room table, covered in a black velvet cloth and overlaid with a white tatted lace shroud. Near the center of the table stood a crystal ball, and close by, the Bajoran duranja set up earlier in the evening.

"Please," Chlamydia said, "be seated." She took her place at the head of the table. "Some of you are unfamiliar with Terran customs. Even most of you who are from Terra have never attended a séance before. The word comes to us from one of the minor languages of our planet, French. It means, simply, to sit, which we are now doing. However, in Terranglo, the language which forms the basis for Federation Standard, it means more than that: it means an attempt to contact those who once lived, but have now passed beyond mortal cares. As we have no medium present...?" Chlamydia glanced around the table, inviting disagreement.

Gaden, who had already taken a seat, was impressed by the theatrics, but he knew that they were, at least for the moment, just that, theatrics. Having only a cursory understanding of Terran culture, he was unfamiliar with the term séance. He was, to say the least, skeptical of the concept. But being Bajoran and believing in the Prophets meant he was not ruling out the possibility that there might be something to it. He continued to look around him, but remained silent.

Jasmine had argued with Adam that a séance for talking to the dead was not always for entertainment but a highly believed-in ritual of many on Earth. Her great-great-grandmother had been a practicing spiritualist on Earth and on the day of her own birth, her grandmother had declared that she had a 'third eye'. Although that statement had always sent Jasmine running to a mirror, she came to understand what was meant by the statement as she grew up. She, however, never saw any proof to support her grandmother's claim. Adam had given in to his bride to be, and the two now entered and took a seat at the table each with their own expectations.

"Quite the light show," Paul said to Purulence Addams as they seated themselves. She seemed to have inherited all of the skin pigmentation and extra weight that her sisters lacked. Paul thought she looked a bit thinner than she had several weeks ago, however.

"Chlamydia's wonderful with the special effects," Purulence said. "I really ought to do a painting of her in that pose and call it, Fire, Burn."

"Do! I would love to see it," Paul told her as they joined hands.

Jade sat about half-way down the table, putting her glass down on the white lacy cloth which she realized, on closer inspection, might be a burial shroud. It was pristine white, so she decided it was not one that had been used yet. If the fire-lighting was an example of the evening, she thought she'd enjoy herself. Without a doubt, her dead were long passed through to another level, and would not be here this evening.

Looking up, she saw Lieutenant Eberstark looking for a place to sit. "Andrew, come sit by me." It was an invitation, even though it sounded like an order.

Mikaela Locke had taken a seat next to Horatio, just opposite Lantz and Eberstark. While she maintained an air of confidence, she couldn't help feeling a little out-of-her comfort zone. Mostly, she kept an open mind to all possibilities, but even she had to admit to feeling skeptical about the notion of communicating with the dead - at least through this kind of ritual which seems to be more smoke-and-mirrors than any actual science.

Lanis sat near the duranja that he had brought. He had never been one to believe in talking to the dead. He'd seen and dealt enough death to not expect the dead to converse with him. If they were so inclined, surely they would have spoken to him long before now? He did, however, respect them, even the Cardassian dead.

"Lady knows how to do it in style," Carlo said to Reon, regarding Chlamydia. "D'you think she's Wiccan? Like, could she really part the Veil?"

"She's something authentic, but I don't have a label for it," Reon whispered back.

"Lacking a medium," Chlamydia said again, "we shall ask the spirits to express themselves through the crystal ball; to show us what they would have us know." She nodded at the forty-centimeter crystal ball in the center of the table. "Computer, lights down, please." The computer beeped, and the lights faded until only the candles and the fireplace remained alight. "Please, join hands, friends."

Ischemia reached for Dr. Gaden's hand, but encountered something else she recognized. "Thing!" she said in irritation. "You may not be involved in the séance. You know you throw everything into the realms of chaos! Now let go and slink off somewhere." She shook her hand and Thing dropped off and scurried down the table leg.

"Sorry about that, Doctor," she said, offering him her hand.

Seated next to Jade, Andrew gave a look to his left and right to actually confirm that everyone was doing as per request. Taking in the last few moments, he started to think just what exactly he got himself into. Glancing again to his side, he noticed Serena and tried to get her attention but she seemed focused on listening to the instructions. Raising an eyebrow and turned again to Jade, Andrew could do nothing but abide by the woman's request and see what happened next.

Jade reached a hand out to either side, Andrew on her left and her recent friend, Alora, on the right.

Alora wasn't entirely sure poking at the spirits of the dead was wise but elected to trust the Addams' family that this was either A-All in good fun and/or B-They had things under control. She held out her hands to the people on either side.

Lanis took Alora's other hand and that of the person on his right. At least there were a couple of other Bajorans here; that made all of this a bit less strange.

Chlamydia smiled and closed her eyes. "Sing, oh spirits! Harken, all souls! Every year on this date, we offer a clarion call: from generation to generation, our beacon to the beyond!"

Next, Purulence spoke. "Let us ransom you from the power of the grave. Tonight, oh Death, let us see your shades."

"Spirits within our home, I call to you from the dark. Ceoli couris, ferimani botani ... Come forth and speak!" Ischemia said in her turn. Eyes closed, she gave the final call, "I feel your strength, but if you cannot speak, knock three times!"

 

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