A Familiar Stranger

Posted on Sun Dec 7th, 2025 @ 6:34pm by Vice Admiral Sidra MacLaren & Rear Admiral Indi Hawk

2,230 words; about a 11 minute read

Sidra hadn’t meant for two days to pass.

She’d told herself that giving Indi space was the right call, that stepping in too soon would only muddy the waters. But the truth sat heavier in her chest: she’d needed the distance. Needed time to pull the raw edges of her temper back into something disciplined, something steady enough to offer support rather than more chaos.

The corridor outside the quarters felt too quiet. Even the hum of station systems seemed muted, as if the bulkheads were holding their breath. She paused just long enough to smooth her hand over the front of her uniform and draw in one slow, steady breath.

She knew the defender had been by earlier. Protocol. Necessary. But it wasn’t the same as… this. As coming because she cared, not because a docket required her to.

Sidra stepped forward, stopping at the security checkpoint. The officer on duty straightened immediately; her reputation preceded her even here.

“Admiral,” he said.

Sidra nodded once in acknowledgment and moved through the doors.

Inside, the lighting was softer, but it did nothing to warm the room. Sterile was the only word for it. Not merely clean, but stripped of anything human. No personal effects. No texture. No color. The kind of space designed to hold someone, not comfort them. Even the air felt too still, as if circulation itself avoided intruding.

Indi sat alone in that emptiness, her presence the only thing giving the room any shape at all.

Sidra didn’t speak right away. She’d learned long ago that not every moment needed to be filled. And this one, especially, deserved its silence.

She took a few slow steps closer, stopping at a respectful distance.

“Indi,” she said at last, voice low but steady. “I’m sorry it took me a couple days to get here.”

She let the words sit, honest, unguarded, no excuses offered or needed.

Indi's anger had been boiling for a while by now. Food hadn't flown around in a while. Dents hadn't been added to the cupboards. But the anger. The anger was getting to be so bad. Who was she?! She didn't recognize herself! So much anger. She needed Dreamdust. She needed- the hiss of the device against her arm made it clear that it had decided another dose was necessary. Unfortunately, it didn't change much about the anger.

"You're sorry it took you a couple of days to get here?" she spoke lowly. "You're sorry it took you a couple of days to get there?!" she repeated, her voice rising a few notches. It was as much as she had said to anyone in days. Even before Sidra had found out about the Dreamdust, she had hardly been talking to anyone at all. "Why the hell are you sorry it took you a couple of days?!" her voice now rose to levels it hadn't used since she had arrived on this Starbase.

For a moment, Sidra held still. Indi’s anger cracked across the room, sharp and jagged, the kind of outburst that would have rattled anyone who didn’t know her. But Sidra did know her, knew her steadiness, her clarity, the iron control she normally carried like armor. This wasn’t that. This was withdrawal, pain, and pressure crushing inward.

Sidra let that understanding settle without judgment.

When she finally spoke, her voice stayed low and even.

“I’m sorry,” she said again. “Because I should have been here sooner. And because you’re in a place where anyone would need their friends.”

Her gaze shifted briefly around the barren room, then back to Indi.

“And I know this isn’t you, not the you I trust. I’m not holding any of it against you.”

Sidra moved then, slow and deliberate. She crossed to the nearest chair, pulled it into the open space opposite Indi, and sat, no posture of authority, no looming presence. Just a friend choosing to stay.

She rested her forearms lightly on her knees.

“I’m here now,” she said quietly. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

Indi looked confused for a moment. She followed Sidra's movements with her mouth slightly open, then closed it forcefully. The anger however didn't diffuse much.

"Why are you here? Why are you here?! I'm not your friend! You're not my friend! You don't need to be here!" she near shouted, getting up and creating physical distance between them.

"I don't know who I am! Why would you know who I am?! Why are you here?!" she shouted this time, running her hands frantically through her short hair.

Sidra felt the air shift as Indi lurched to her feet. The sudden movement startled her enough that a spark of temper flared in her chest, sharp and instinctive. She caught it almost immediately. This was not defiance. This was not insubordination. This was Indi unraveling.

The anger in Indi’s voice hit harder than the volume. Not because of the words themselves, but because of the desperation underneath them. Sidra had seen people in withdrawal before. She had seen soldiers pushed past the brink. This felt worse. This felt wrong.

Indi’s breathing quickened. Her hands dragged through her hair again. She looked lost, not furious. Untethered.

Sidra’s stomach tightened. Whatever treatment medical had her on was not holding. Not enough, not the right thing, not fast enough. For a moment she considered tapping her badge and calling a medical officer to the room. They might sedate her. They might transport her straight back to observation. The thought twisted something in Sidra’s chest. She did not want that for her. Not unless there was no choice.

She looked at Indi, really looked at her. The agitation. The confusion. The fear hiding underneath the anger. This was not the admiral she knew. Not the woman with control like steel. This was someone fighting her own mind just to stay upright.

Sidra pushed a slow breath through her nose, steadying herself.

“I’m here because I care,” she said quietly. Nothing more. Anything else felt too heavy for Indi to hold right now.

Indi paced, frantic and unfocused. Sidra’s heart sank. She stayed in the chair. Still. Present. Ready to move only if Indi broke or fell.

Her mind worked through possibilities. Withdrawal. Side effects. Mismanaged dosing. Psychological fracture from the Dreamdust. She should call for help. Maybe. Soon.

Sidra watched her friend come apart in front of her and felt fear crawl up her spine.

This was not Indi. And if medical thought she was stable, they were wrong.

Indi continued to pace.

Missed a step.

Ran her hands through her hair and clawed at her temples as she reached them. Over and over again.

A step.

A step closer to the (locked down) replicator wall.

Her fist hit the cupboard faster than lightning, showing old skills only a security officer ever displayed.

She didn't seem to notice, though the worst of the anger seemed to have left her. It didn't take a genius to figure out this was a cycle that had happened before, whether or not anyone else was present.

A slow blink. Unfocused. Another blink. Some more focus. Her gaze eventually rested on Sidra.

"Why are you here? Nobody can help me."

Sidra was on her feet the instant the impact landed. The sound alone made her flinch. It had been a full-force strike, the kind that should have left bones swelling or splitting. Her pulse kicked up, a cold thread of alarm running through her.

She moved in, slow and cautious, reaching for Indi’s hand. Not grabbing. Just guiding it toward her palm so she could see.

What she saw made her blink.

No swelling.
No bruising.
Not even a break in the skin.

That… was not possible. Not with the hit she heard.

A flicker of unease ran through her, chased quickly by doubt. Maybe she had misjudged the angle. Maybe adrenaline masked early bruising. Maybe she was imagining how hard the strike had been. Her mind raced through explanations she did not entirely believe.

Indi looked at her with that hollow, unraveling confusion, and Sidra shoved the strange thought aside. Indi needed a doctor, not her suspicion.

She tapped her commbadge.
"MacLaren to Medical. I need a physician in Admiral Hawk’s quarters immediately."

She kept hold of Indi’s hand, steady but gentle.

"Damnit, Indi," she said softly, the sorrow bleeding through. "That should have hurt."

Her brows pulled together as she met Indi’s eyes.

"Something is wrong. And I am not leaving you to face it alone."

"What's wrong with me?" Indi asked, pleading now. She let Sidra hold her hand, even squeezed it a little.

"Don't leave me alone, please. I don't know who I am. I don't know what's wrong with me," she continued to speak incoherently. The device on her arm hissed again, misinterpreting the reactions her body was giving. "No, no, no," I don't want this anymore," the woman now sobbed as she lay her free hand over the device.

"It's making me angry. It's making me do things I don't want to do. It's doing.." she trailed off. With the device, the anger was uncontrollable. Without the device, she would grab back to the Dreamdust. There was no way to turn. No way to run. No way out.

The plea in Indi’s voice hit Sidra harder than the anger had. The squeeze of her hand, desperate and unsteady, made her chest tighten. Whatever was happening inside Indi’s mind, whatever the device was doing to her system, she was terrified. And Sidra felt that terror like it was her own.

“I’m here,” Sidra said quietly. “I’m right here.”

She tightened her hold just enough to steady Indi’s shaking fingers and used her other hand to gently lift Indi’s free arm away from the device. The hiss made Sidra’s jaw clench, but she didn’t let Indi see it. Instead, she eased them both toward the couch, slow and deliberate, the way one would guide someone walking through a nightmare.

“Come sit,” she murmured. “Let me help you.”

Indi followed, but barely. Her words were unraveling faster than her posture, each syllable breaking apart with fear and confusion. Sidra’s throat tightened as she lowered Indi onto the couch, keeping one hand on her shoulder so she wouldn’t feel abandoned even for a moment.

“It’s alright,” Sidra whispered. “You’re not alone. I’m not leaving you.”

The door chime sounded, sharp in the quiet of the suite. The doctor stepped inside with a medkit already in hand, eyes scanning the room, posture tense.

Sidra straightened just enough to meet them halfway, her voice low but firm.

“She punched the cupboard,” Sidra said. “Full force. No visible injury. She’s been cycling between anger and confusion. The dosing device keeps triggering on its own. She’s terrified, and she’s losing control of her emotions.”

She glanced back at Indi, who looked smaller on the couch than Sidra had ever seen her.

“I don’t know what’s happening to her,” she admitted quietly. “But she needs help before this gets worse.”

Sidra moved aside only far enough to give the doctor access, but she stayed within reach of Indi’s hand. She was not letting go.

The doctor knelt down and quickly but efficiently took care of Indi's hand. He saw the Admiral wouldn't leave the other Admiral's side, so instead he created as much space as he could so Indi wouldn't hear what he was saying.

In vain, obviously, as Indi's super sensitive hearing could easily pick it up.

"Her hand showed some bruising now, but not much. I took care of it," he brushed off that topic easily and briefly. "As for the device, we can remove it, but then someone will need to be keeping a close eye on her. She'll be feeling even more withdrawal effects, but the anger and confusion could lessen. I'm deferring to you here, Admiral."

Indi reached for Sidra again. Tried to get through to her. Tried to communicate. "Take it off. Please. Take it off. Please. Please," but not many words actually left her mouth.

Sidra stayed close as the doctor worked. The bruising didn’t match the force she’d heard, but she filed the concern away. Indi reached for her again, voice barely coherent, and Sidra caught her hand only long enough to steady her before letting go.

Will flickered across her mind. He’d be expecting her. She’d send a message later. Indi needed her more right now.

“Take it off,” Sidra said quietly. “And sedate her if you can. She needs real sleep.”

The doctor nodded and moved in as Sidra stepped aside.

“Understood. I’ll remove the device and give her a mild sedative. It should help, but she’ll need monitoring. I’ll post a medic outside the door.”

The device hissed one last time as he disengaged it.

“It won’t solve the underlying issue,” he said, voice low, “but it will let her breathe for a while.”

He reached for the hypospray.

The room fell into a tense, expectant quiet.

Rear Admiral Indi Hawk

Vice Admiral Sidra MacLaren

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