A Moment for the Lost

Posted on Mon Mar 2nd, 2020 @ 11:16pm by Lieutenant JG Rachael "Ripcord" Yamaguchi-Cullen & Grand Admiral April Yamaguchi

Mission: Mission 49: The Stars Look Down
Location: Various Locations - Starbase 12
Timeline: 2200Hrs - November 9th, 2391

Warrant Officer Rachael Yamaguchi blinked as she had only started to process the memories that she had received from Lasarra, as the turbolift she was in sped towards its destination, she blinked her eyes rapidly as if trying to clear something from them. "Gods..... what the hell happened to her.."

She couldn't reconcile the two separate versions of April Yamaguchi, her aunt. One of them had always been loving and nice while the other one was capable of unspeakable evil, even against her own family and kin. "I need to see Aunt April.." Rachael repeated herself for the twentieth time in the last hour.

Meanwhile April Yamaguchi was at home, the children were all in bed as April herself was wearing civilian clothing rather then the Admiral's uniform she was used to wearing and thoroughly detested. "Franklin should be back in the morning... then he can take the kids camping for a week..." she sighed as she lifted her right hand to her shoulder as she gently began to rub her skin, trying to work out a kink that had developed over the last few days.

She rotated her shoulder before she felt a pop. "Uhhhmm.." April gasped involuntarily. A moment later her door beeped at her. April frowned. "Who on Earth could want to see me at this time of night.?" she shrugged her shoulders in a manner that said she was helpless rather then her not caring. "They also serve who only stand and wait.." she paused. "Enter."

Rachael was expecting her aunt to be busy like in the shower or out with the kids so she was surprised when she paged the base computer and found out that her aunt was at home. She heard her aunt permitting entrance so she gently taped the door release.

The door slid open as April stood waiting for whoever her visitor was, she was not expecting her niece. "Rachael.."

"Aunt April... I wanted to... see you to reconcile the differences between you and... well you..."

April was confused, the look on her face said as much. "Rachael. You're not making sense... Come in... " she paused as she could see that her niece was not unhappy, scared or lost, she however could see that she was enraged, angry beyond words and she was also suddenly terrified of something, April quickly realized that her own niece was suddenly terrified of her.

"Rachael, what happened?"

"This is going to be a lot for you to process all at once.... but...." she paused as she went over to the replicator, while keeping her distance from her aunt. "You recall my double, the one who is me in every sense of the word?"

"How could I forget her..." April could see her niece was acting as a trapped animal would. "Rachael... Its gonna be okay..."

"No... If you knew what I had seen ... what she shared with me then you'd know... that you are only the way you are by sheer chance and chance alone." Rachael waved her hand. "All you have done up to this point is only because of who you are in this reality..."

"Ahh... This isn't about me then... this is about the other me from her native reality... Well go on. Rachael... share it with me."

Rachael shook her head. "No..." she responded with a whisper. "I can't share this with you.... not like that..." as she paused before she took a moment to pull herself back together. "That April Yamaguchi sin't fit to call herself human... She's not even an animal.... She abuses people, uses them and yous with them and discards them whenever she goes bored with them.... Lasarra was never accepted into her Yamaguchi clan because of April... and her ... father.. Jake."

"Whats Jake got to do with this?" April almost demanded.

"This has nothing to do with Dad.." Rachael snapped loudly at her aunt, her statement was delivered with unyielding ruthless force.

April actually took a step back at the surprise with the vehemence of Rachael's angry tone. "Rachael... What did she share with you.... that's left you like this?"

"Her father.. and My father are one... and the same... except they both grew up in separate realities... In her universe, James Leyton's coup was successful and the Dominion War was not fought.. instead they fought the Klingons and that war lasted eight years... April... that is the other April, not you... sent Lasarra and her family out on some of the most dangerous assignments I'd ever heard about... They did succeed in conquering the entire empire and now they are at war with the Romulans when they attacked the.. Empire."

April listened as Rachael poured her heart out about the story, shock at first was etched upon her face followed shortly by disgust and later contempt. "I can't believe a version of me exists who could do... and act like that.."

Rachael regarded her aunt, she inhaled softly before she let it out. "Memory has always been a tricky thing, its always being edited subconsciously and changed all the time..." she paused. "Now...I can share this... because... I am calmer.." but before April could stop her. Rachael made her move.

Rachael placed her right hand on the left side of her aunts face, her base of her hand touched April's lips while the thumb covered April's nose, the rest of her hand just grazed her left eye which was the right eye from Rachael's point of view. "Believe." as she shared those memories with her aunt, of her duplicate, her double, her counterpart or whatever term one wished to use about the evil twin.

April's eyes went wide as she watched all of the events sequentially, they played at frightening speed yet April remembered it all, when Rachael's hand parted from April's face. The older woman's face turned a shade of deep red as she gasped. "Oh my god." she whimpered. "I.." she stopped.

"My father..." Rachael. "The greatest friend I've ever known, my cheerleader, my mentor and teacher.... He was a monster.." she whispered. "I don't know how I'm going to get over that one." she simply shook her head. "I don't even know-"

"Don't try... Your father is still your father, same as he is my brother." April responded as she threw caution tot he wind, she pulled her niece into her arms. "It's gonna be okay... I am not her and I will never become her... I have too many people relying upon me, I have my own children keeping me honest and my husband keeping me on the straight and narrow... granted I fall off the ball from time to time but... I am still a Fleet Admiral in this woman's Starfleet, I am still your aunt and I will not turn you away or anyone else called Yamaguchi... I have never turned my back on family... and I never will..."

"Because that we do for family.." Rachael responded. "We look out for them and we protect them.... and never turn our backs..."

April smiled as she gently rubbed Rachael's shoulders. "Exactly." she responded with a soft smile. "I've seen some really strange stuff in my career, experienced some real horrors too... But this..." she paused as she let out a sigh. "I think I'm going to want to talk to a counselor about this... I recommend you do the same sweetie... but also... Talk to that fiance of yours..." she then smiled. "If... you want someone to officiate your wedding... Please let me know.. I will make myself available to handle it."

Rachael smiled, she sniffed as she had to fight to not burst into tears, her emotional control had been overloaded enough for one night and she didn't wish to add more problems to al already overwrought situation with her aunt. "I'll mention it to Ennis."

"Alright..." April responded.

"I'd best go... Its been a long night already... and I need to go home to my babies.."

April nodded her head, in a jerky fashion. Her emotional control was as fried as burnt toast. She watched in silence as Rachael turned and departed in silence, she made no move or sound to stop the younger woman from leaving as a stray thought went through her mind. "You will never know peace so long as I exist."

"We shall see about that.... my evil copy... For you are just my dark shadow, nothing more... and I will quash you." April said aloud softly, she sat down gingerly on the sofa as if in great pain for she knew that sleep would not come easily to her this night.