—- Ready Room —-

What happened next was a flurry of activity that after the fact Captain Adriana Cruz had issues putting down on PADD. Lieutenant Claudia Jara entered the ready room and saw the Captain being manhandled by two members of her senior staff, and a third staring into her eyes and something seemed to be up. When she got no response from either her Assistant Chief of Security William Hume or the ship’s first officer she called in Lieutenant Junior Grade Flores and a fight broke out. While the Seattle was a small ship, it had enough crew to subdue the three people and force them into the detention centre on the ship with little drama.

Aside from feeling ill the Captain was fine, though she had to have a full medical scan just to be sure. Scans were also conducted on the three other officers as well as on the necklace Kolem was wearing. Following the completion on that and a break to reach out to some outsiders the senior staff, with the exception of the First and Second Officers met again in the conference room.

—- Conference Room, 3 Hours Later —

“The following is a report I got from the Grimson-class ship USS Jones that is doing an archeological exploration of the temple we found, which seems to be where this necklace comes from,” Lieutenant Commander Gabriella Miller said, “Given that this language is a few million years old, pre-dates humans even existing and has been lost pardon the translation. There were five people who were exposed to the sun being upset. I imagine that means solar flares. They gained great power, and could not be killed. At first they helped the people, but soon they became rulers. Eventually the people rebelled, and sought to destroy them, but could not. Eventually the rulers, or super beings, were trapped in these crystals, though the process is not clear. Basically it seems that their brains were removed and ground down and their spirits were put in the gems.”

”So how did that get into Lieutenant Kolem?” Captain Cruz asked.

Tashai answered, “She is a empath, half-Betazoid. To use her abilities she has to open herself to the thoughts of others.”

”So I could handle the crystal, or Sánchez and not be affected,” Cruz said.

”Correct,” Tashai said.

”So should we break the crystal or what?” Cruz asked.

”No, I would guess that Kolem’s essence went into it, when it was pushed out,” Tashai said, “It has the same aura as Kolem.”

Tashai was an empath too, though not as directly as Kolem. Still her abilities were such that Cruz did not doubt them, or find it odd when she insisted a crystal necklace was the ship’s Chief Counselor. 

“Medical options?” the Captain asked.

Doctor Va’Tok shook his head, “Medically she seems quite like Kolem, which is why our transporters did not read anything odd. On a medical scan all three of them appear normal, save for reduced brain wave activity on Hume and Sánchez.”

”Because they’re not thinking for themselves?” the Captain asked.

”I would assume so,” Va’Tok nodded.

So let’s work the problem, back here tomorrow and bring me your dumbest, most insane ideas. Also any good ideas,” Cruz said, “Because right now I don’t want to lose my crew members, but I don’t know what to do. Also Dorian put an alert out about the other crystals if they’re stolen it’s just a matter of time before the infect someone else.”

”Also,” Cruz added, “Nobody visits Kolem alone, we need at least one other officer there to watch over them. I doubt force shields can stop her weird mind control thing.”

—- Ready Room —-

Cruz smiled at Captain Shraa the Andorian as the other woman came on the screen. It was good to see her, no matter what went wrong, there were still positives in the universe.

”I’ve been arrested,” Shraa said.

”What?” Cruz asked, surprised.

”I hit the Bolian ambassador we had aboard. The one that was making my life Hell. I got court martialed and am at Starbase 72 awaiting trial,” Shraa explained.

”Well that tops my senior staff trying to brainwash me into a cult,” Cruz said, “I’ll set course for Starbase 72. We need some Cardassian scratch marks taken off our hull anyway, plus I need some real gelato, the replicators just don’t do it justice.”

”I don’t know what you’ll be able to do,” Shraa said.

”I can be persuasive,” Cruz said, “Plus conjugal visits.“

”I don’t know if I get those,” Shraa said.

”I’ll appeal on the basis of the Geneva Conventions,” Cruz smiled.

”What’s that?” Shraa asked.

”It’s an Earth Island where bisexuals live, Geneva,” Cruz lied.

Shraa nodded, “I should go to Earth one day. I know this woman who owns a winery there.”

”Half of one,” Cruz said, “But maybe a full one if my half-brother stays a cultist. Okay, out next destination is set. I’ll be there soon.”

”I’ll be here, in my cell,” Shraa said.

—- Conference Room, The Next Day ——

“Well I did ask for stupid plans,” Cruz said. The plan that Doctor Va’Tok had come up with was truly like something out of a slapstick holonovel. It would have been funny if it did not involve almost killing her friend and Second Officer. 

“We can assume that dealing with Kolem will deal with Hume and Sánchez. We also know what our individual wants to exist beyond the life of this body. She has done so for millions of years,” Va’Tok explained.

Tashai the Chief Operations Officer nodded, “We have setup a distortion field, one that prevents telepathic energies from breaching it. We put Kolem in it, with me and the necklace.”

Va’Tok continued, “Doctor T’Rala is not telepathic, being Romulan she has no empathic abilities. She will administer a drug to stop Kolem’s heart.”

“And?” Cruz asked.

”The being will leave Kolem’s dying body for Tashai’s fresh body. You stub Tashai with a phaser leaving it trapped with nowhere to go,” Va’Tok said, “We will then trap it.”

”And Kolem?” Cruz asked.

”After we have trapped the spirit, as we are calling it, Doctor T’Rala will revive Kolem and presumably with the necklace on her ‘soul’ as we are calling it will be restored.”

”This is our best plan?” Cruz asked.

”We could wait several months for a more detailed report from the USS Jones,” Va’Tok said, “This is an unexplored area of medicine. Perhaps on Betazed they may know more, but we do not have Betazoid crew members aside from Kolem. And on Betazed there would be more bodies for our ‘spirit’ to take over.”

“Good job, I hate this plan, but it’s the best we have. Alright let’s do it,” Cruz said.