After Lieutenant Frisco’s reaction Sil promptly took out the tricorder in his holster. He always carried a tricorder and a type one phaser with him, even on bridge duty.

He glanced at Vivienne, still sitting. Doing a quick reading, he raised an eyebrow. He took a step closer to the Lieutenant, showing her the tricorder.

“This might be what’s causing it.” There were a huge amount of subspace distortions in the room.

Sienna had her tricorder out: “It’s not just here. Long-range scans show they’re occurring across the ship and growing at the same rate as they are here.  This isn’t good.”  She felt the hair on her neck stand up as her eyes began to see things that weren’t supposed to be there.  Sounds from a lifetime were filtering into her ears, distracting her attention.

Silveira turned to Vivienne. “Do you recall where on the ship you arrived?”

Vivienne’s eyes widened. “This isn’t my fault! I’ve been on the ship for weeks now, and I don’t cause subspace distortions…”

The XO held up a hand, “Breath.  Let’s not accuse someone without any actual proof.  Whatever is happening isn’t going to make this easy.  Her mother waved from a table, the bullet wound from her suicide oozing blood.  Sienna’s eyes widened, and her eyes caught the revolver on the table, still smoking.  “Not easy at all.”

“I was two decks down when I noticed something strange. I’m a crappy telepath, but there are some expressions I get. I doubt I sensed the distortions, rather, I might have noticed the distress it put people though”

Sienna tapped her badge, “Bridge, this is Frisco.”  The beep sounded, but that was it. There was a gasp of static and then nothing. She tapped again, “Bridge, this is Frisco.”  The beep repeated, and silence followed.  “If the bridge has been compromised, we’re going to have to get there.”  She flinched as her mother stood, snagged the gun, and pointed it at her.

Vivienne could feel the shift in Frisco’s emotions, but didn’t have time to react. On the chair by one of the tables sat a young woman in Starfleet uniform, and four pips on her collar. She was attractive, too – blonde, with dark Betazoid eyes, and high cheekbones. Captain Victoria Amelia Claybrook. Vivienne’s older – and much more successful – sister.
But there was no way she was actually here. Intellectually, Vivienne understood that.

“I am seeing things.”, she admitted. “My sister is sitting there. But she can’t, she is on her own vessel. Does anyone else see her?”

The missed communication with the bridge made Sil alert and look around.There was nobody else there. But again he saw somebody he shouldn’t. She was sitting at the bar, smiled and nodded as if acknowledging him.

Sil ignored her and turned to Vivienne.

“I am sorry but I don’t.”

Vivienne exhaled, glad for the confirmation. “So it’s an illusion. Or a… hallucination. Is anyone else seeing something that isn’t there?”

Sil turned to the bar. There, raising a glass in his direction was Helena. Again he ignored her and looked to Vivienne and Lieutenant Frisco. He raised an eyebrow at her expression.

“I believe so. Lieutenant?” He asked, hoping that Friscop could snap out of her hallucination.

Sienna gritted her teeth.  Her mother clicked through the chambers of the revolver while pointing the gun at her.  The memories of the message from her distraught father and the long shuttle ride home threatened to break through the damn she had built in her mind.  There had been footage of her mother’s suicide, and she had watched it once.  She closed her eyes.  That had been a mistake.  There had been no more answers than there were now.  Her dead body remained standing, finger-tripping the trigger on repeat, that sound echoing louder at each movement.  Sienna opened her eyes, tears at the edge of her vision.  Her mother had seemed lost in her final years.  She had been too busy to come home with her career in Starfleet.

Silveira took a step in front of the Lieutenant. “Lieutenant, it’s not real.” He looked at the bar. “None of it.” He then turned to Vivienne, reaching his hand to her. “Stay with us.”

The XO tightened her fists together, gaining a modicum of control, “My mother’s suicide is playing out in front of me in a true brutalist fashion.  I’m here, but I imagine this isn’t limited to us.”  She glanced to Claybrook for an answer.

Vivienne shook her head.

“Whatever it is is playing with our minds. Making us think of people who aren’t here. Maybe we should head for the bridge or something.”, noted Silveira.

Sienna shook her head, “I think we need to make for sickbay.  If the bridge is in the middle of this, we need to find something to relieve this, even temporarily.  It’s going to be slow going, but wherever we go – we have to work on figuring out how to slow and eventually stop this.  I can only imagine what other memories this…thing is going start digging up.”

“But what if the bridge… doesn’t know. They can decide to eject the warpcore or something.”, Vivienne frowned. She was not thrilled by the idea.

Sil understood Vivienne reasoning but he looked at Lieutenant Frisco and shook his head.

“The Lieutenant is right, and so far, we have been able to tell the fantasies apart, but we don’t know for how long.”

Sienna looked at both of them as she replied, “Whatever happens – someone’s got to be figuring out a cure.  If the bridge is lost, there’s not many medical folks up there – we’re all on our own out here.”

The young woman nodded. “That makes sense. Can I come?”

Sil shrugged and tipped his head to his senior officer. “I think another pair of eyes and hands can be useful, and I can keep an eye on Miss Vivienne. But it’s your call Lieutenant.”

The XO gathered herself, “The trials and tribulations of being second in command.  I get the fun decisions.  Let’s get moving – together.”