SIM:Varaan: The Beast Within
| Crew of Deep Space 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Commander Varaan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This SIM was written and presented on May 22, 2002, (corresponding to the IC stardate 237905.22).
((Crew Quarters))
::Varaan paced back and forth across the width of his quarters. Actually, stormed was a better verb than paced. True to form, the pon farr had hit Varaan hard, as it always did. With most Vulcans it was a time of unbridled passion and emotion. For some, it often tended to be a release of negative emotion as well. It had been determined early on in his life that Varaan was grouped with the latter.::
::Vulcans diagnosed with this condition were usually watched very closely during their pon farr. Violence quite often manifested itself, and that was not what the pon farr was supposed to be about. This was a time to feel, yes. But to feel love, lust, desire, contentment, passion and the kind of greed that exists between a male and a female when their hormones are running hot. Violent tendencies were not wanted, by either mate, but sometimes had to be dealt with.::
::Varaan's wife, T'lani, was a strong woman, physically and mentally. She was able to deal with Varaan during the pon farr. Not many Vulcan women would be up to the challenge. She...loved...Varaan. As much as one Vulcan could express the emotion. She was willing to put up with the rage, and even kept it under control during this time. Varaan needed her. He needed T'lani now. But she was not here. She was hundreds of lightyears away. And Varaan was alone.::
::Varaan kicked at a pillow as he stormed by. In preparation for his pon farr, Varaan had removed all of the furniture from his quarters. Every last piece. Other than himself, there was not a single item in the joined rooms. Except for 34 pillows of varying sizes, shapes and colours. It was hard to injure yourself throwing pillows around. The pillows had been T'lani's idea. It often made one feel better to throw something. His wife thought something soft would serve the purpose without endangering her husband. Varaan missed her.::
::He had also programmed the computer to seal his quarters and deactivate the replicator for a period of 3 days. The pon farr would be almost over by that time. He would at least have regained his self-control. Until that time, the computer would ignore his voice commands and computer access would be denied to him. Vulcans could fast for many days at a time, so he would not need the replicator for food. And as an added precaution, the computer was also programmed to monitor his vital signs and warn the doctor if something happened.::
::Meanwhile, Varaan was left to pace, try to meditate, and otherwise work off 7 years of sexual tension and repressed emotion while locked away in a room filled with nothing but pillows. He snatched one up and whipped it at a window. It bounced rather harmlessly off and fell to the floor. Outside the window a large ball of water and dirt sat ominously below the Paladin. Varaan stopped for a moment and stared at the planet. Rage still seethed within him, but somewhere deep inside logic was still trying to seep out. There was something not logical about this whole thing. Uri, the probe, the planet, wormholes. Whatever it was, Varaan was in no mood to sort it out, but he sure was pissed off that he couldn't. He threw another pillow at the planet, but the window got in the way.::
::Something was going to happen. Something was going to happen and he was going to be stuck in here when it did. Alsone died. Sure it was an EPS conduit explosion, but in a round about way it was Uri's fault. Uri and this place. Was something else going to inadvertently kill another of the crew while everyone just stood around and let it happen? The Paladin shouldn't be here. They were setting themselves up for a fall. What exactly, Varaan couldn't guess, but he could feel it in his gut.::
::Someone had to do something to stop it before it happened. Everyone else was sitting in the conference room listening to Uri. The Terran story of the "Piped Piper of Hamlin" shot across his conscious. Someone had to do something, and it looked like Varaan was the only one not blindly following the alien piper. He had to get out of here. Varaan swept another pillow aside on his way to the door control. With Vulcan strength enhanced by paranoid anger and fear he ripped the small panel off the wall like it was tissue paper. He knelt down by the door and started to rewire the control. Sometimes being an engineer was a bonus.::
-TBC (for better or worse)!