Get Too Close to a Black Hole and it Will Crush You

Posted on Sun Feb 23rd, 2020 @ 8:32pm by Lieutenant JG Rachael "Ripcord" Yamaguchi-Cullen & Ensign Paul Harrison
Edited on on Sun Feb 23rd, 2020 @ 8:33pm

Mission: Mission 4: Flashover
Location: Various Locations - Starbase 400
Timeline: 1030Hrs - August 16th, 2388

Rachael Yamaguchi was sitting in the living room, on
the floor wearing a pair of jean shorts and a light grey
shirt with an emblem of a fiery skull on the front of it.
She was visiting as Paul was off somewhere else in the
quarters, doing something she ignored but she could
hear him rattling around, doing whatever it was that he
was doing.

She was practicing reaching out with her mind as she
could feel outside of the base and around the local area,
where the dozens of ships came and went about their
normal routines as if nothing was amiss.

She could also sense the two Starships patrolling around the base as well as a new sensation from another ship which had just arrived from an unusual spacial aperture which she had no name for. it looked whiteish blue and swirled like water going down a drain. "As my great-great-grandfather used to say... Cool."

She smiled as she felt Captain Alex's Harrison's mind
among those of the crew but what happened next would
stay with her for the rest of her life.

She reached out as if to touch the older woman when she found herself under the gaze of a flashlight. No... a
blowtorch... No a lighthouse, the psionic power that was hitting her was like nothing she had ever known and just like that, it stopped.

The sensation was overwhelming and she had no idea when,
she started screaming or when she stopped but when she
realized what was going on, she was lying on the floor with
Paul next to her, looking down at her as she could see the
concern radiating in his eyes as she heard the last echoes of
a painful and terrifying shriek bounce off of the walls.

As she came back to herself, she found that she was curled
up in a ball as she sought to stop the white flash of agony
from pervading her mind but she had about as much chance
of succeeding as stopping water from cascading over the
Niagara falls on Earth.

"Paul was very concerned, "Racheal, what's wrong? Are you
okay?"

"I'm okay... I think...No... crap!" she rushed to her feet as
she dove for the bathroom, just making it before her last
meal wanted out of her system. "Your..." she got out before
she threw up a second time, thankfully she did not miss
either time otherwise she would have had a hell of a mess
to clean up.

"Rachael.?" He didn't know what was going on.

"Your mom is home... I think... I reached..." she paused as she felt the tears streaming down her face. "Out to touch her... forgetting that she's not psionic... when I felt like I
was caught in a neutron star's flashlight." she sighed. "I've never felt anything like that..." she paused. "Or the agony..."

Twenty minutes or so later, Rachael was sitting on the sofa as she tried reaching out with her new abilities but she couldn't sense anything. "Must be how you feel..." she said. "I can't feel a thing..." she paused. "Psionicly I mean...."

The doors to the quarters opened and in walked two personnel.
One of them was Alex Harrison and the other was a large,
the muscular officer whom she did not know but what she did
know was that he was the source of the Psionic wave that
had hit her.

Lee walked in behind Alex and saw the source of who had reached out to Alex and Lee thought it was an attack since he didn't know the person. He had lashed back out.

Alex saw the look on Racheal's face. She was just as in the
dark as Paul was.

Rachael sat up on the sofa as she regarded Alex with a smile but her issue was with the massive being next to her, he wore his uniform well but he also seemed like the easygoing kind,
easy to get along with which was unusual for most Captains.
'I've been wrong before.' Rachael thought to herself.

He crossed his arms across his chest: "Who are you, young lady?"

Rachael looked at him as she blinked her eyes. "I'm Rachael
Yamaguchi" she then sighed softly as she felt like she had
been sitting in a desert on an unnamed world as the planet
itself was blow torched by the insane starlight from a hyper-giant
star that the planet in question had traveled far too close to.
"I'm a friend of the family...." she looked like she had been
crying, her eyes were red and her face was puffy.

"This is Paul's...girlfriend, Racheal." Alex saw that Paul was a little rattled, "Racheal, what is going on here?"

Rachael looked at Alex as if comforted by her presence. "Well...
I'm developing my abilities... but my abilities are new.. I just came into full bloom last week... my mother explained it to me... what was required and... well I was out exploring...felt
Alex nearby and reached out to her... that's when it happened...
I've never felt anything like that..."

"I guess not by your expression," Paul said to Racheal.

"What did you do to me?" Racheal inquired evenly. "Because I can't feel a thing..." she turned her head to Paul. "Its okay Paul.. I got curious and I paid for it... Hopefully, I won't have any serious effects from
that Neutron Star's flashover."

Lee raised an eyebrow almost Vulcan like: "Well since I have never met you until now, I had sensed you and had thought you were trying to attack Alex in some way so I did a temporary block. You should be ok soon and you shouldn't have any serious effects from it."

That was what she was calling it and it was clear why too.
"I wish we had met under better circumstances Captain Pike.." and she knew who he was too as she sighed softly.

He nodded: "I wish we had met under better circumstances also Racheal. I am sorry for attacking you like that."

Rachael nodded. "Once I adjust... I'll be okay...I hope..."

"Would you care to join us for dinner?" Lee uncrossed his arms "Tell your mother if she wants she can come to speak to me in my office tomorrow."

Rachael nodded. "Sure... Dinner sounds good... and I'll let her know when she returns... I suspect it'll be interesting..." she paused. "but it did teach me one lesson... Be careful where I go in the future... as not everyone will share your restraint... But... I must ask... where did you learn such power...?"

Lee turned around as he headed for the replicator: "No not everyone will show restraint, some wouldn't hesitate to kill."

Rachael smiled at the larger Captain. "You have taught me a valuable lesion sir." she responded. "despite the consequences here today... I'll remember your restraint."

He blew out a breath: "I learned from my mother who is full Betazoid and an Aunt of mine who is full Vulcan. I also learned a few things on my own during my career in Star Fleet."

Rachael nodded. "That explains a great many things.."

He gave a small smile: "So what sounds good for dinner?"

Rachael looked at Alex then at Paul. "I'm not picky...anything is good." she
responded, she had a reputation for not being a demanding houseguest and it
was something she likes to maintain.

Paul chimed in, "I'm up for some good old Earth food. Pizza or hamburgers would be great." Alex smiled, "Sounds good to me." Alex looked over at Racheal, "Have you had either of Paul's suggestions, Racheal?"

Lee nodded: "Works for me, heck if you want we could have hamburger pizza even."

Rachael nodded. "My folks thought it was important I experience meals from many cultures," she explained. "Pizza is a stable of mine.." and with that, the girl smiled for the first time in over an hour as she wiped at her face.

Alex chuckled, "Mine too."

Rachael sat up only to be hit by a feeling of vertigo. "Mmm... maybe I'll just stay here and wait... " she commented. "moving makes me dizzy."

Lee turned back from heading to the replicator: "It's going to take a while for things to get back to normal for you Rachael, so I suggest you take it easy for a while."

Rachael nodded her head slowly. "I know... I used to be able to feel everyone around me... now I can't feel a thing... nobody out there or in here..." she paused as she slowly sat up. "Mom told me that Dad felt like this all his life and got by just fine.." she commented as she looked between the three people gathered. "Well if he can do it... so can I... "

"Good for you." Alex smiled.

Lee went over to the replicator and brought back a large hamburger pizza: "Ok people let's eat."

Rachael smiled. "Mmm... sounds good."

"I think so too." Alex started to eat her food.