Forge, Chapter 3: Burned

Posted on Sun Oct 11th, 2026 @ 2:18am by Lieutenant Zachary Addams

1,649 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Younger Years
Location: Shri'Kahr, Vulan
Timeline: Just over 14 years ago

Light came rushing back. He felt like he was stuck at the bottom of an ocean, rising higher and higher, his velocity increasing, the pressure of the water around him lessening, his lungs straining for air, until finally, mercifully, he broke the surface. He opened his eyes and took a breath of cool, crisp air.

Looking down at him was a pair of very old, wise-looking eyes. They were all that was visible of the person, but he could tell by the green tinge around them that it was a Vulcan. Logically, a healer, given the surgical garb they are wearing, his mind supplied.

He blinked again, looking around. He was in a hospital room of some sort. The Vulcan who had been standing over him stepped back and immediately sat down as if they were exhausted. Another doctor came up and instructed nurses to assist. They lifted him off the biobed with extreme care and put him down on an anti-grav gurney.

“Where…” he said, then coughed, his voice hoarse.

“Do not speak,” one of the nurses said. “You are still weak. You must rest. You are safe.”

“How….did you pull me out?” he said, confused.

“I do not know the details,” the nurse said. “For now, rest. You will learn in time.”

She put a hand on Zach’s forehead and slid it over his eyes. That was all the push he needed, and he fell into a comforting, restful sleep.

When he woke up the second time, he felt centered and calm. He looked around the hospital room he was in, and saw his parents to the side, his mom curled up on a small sofa, and his father dozing in a chair. He cleared his throat and called out. “Mother? Father?”

“Mom! He’s awake!” a young boy’s voice said.

Katherine Addams looked up, still half asleep, then let out a scream that made her husband wake up with a start and fall to the floor. Andrew! Andrew! He’s awake!” She rushed over to the biobed and was immediately in Zach’s face, looking him over. “Zachary, thank God, we were so worried!” She wrapped her arms around him and was immediately sobbing with relief.

Andrew Addams groaned and rubbed a sore hip as he got to his feet, but hurried over to his son’s side as fast as he could. “Zach? Are you with us, bud?”

Zach looked between them and nodded slowly. “I am feeling better, yes,” he said, slowly. He looked around the room again, spotting his younger brother, Erik, looking at him wide-eyed from the second chair in the room, and his baby sister, Sarah, looking up groggily at the commotion, then going back to sleep, blissfully unaware of the situation.

Having heard the commotion, a nurse and doctor came into the room swiftly. “Please, allow me to examine him,” the Vulcan doctor said, calmly.

Zach’s parents stepped back, his mother reluctantly so, and the older Vulcan leaned over and laid his fingers along Zach’s face. Zach, for his part, stared up at the man with an intrigued look on his face. The doctor’s eyes closed, and Zach felt his head swim a bit as he felt something brush against his mind.

Finally, the doctor stood up and straightened his posture. “His body is healing well,” he said, “and his katra appears to have been successfully retrieved.”

Zach’s mother began to cry again and his father’s shoulders slumped with relief. He sank into a chair. “Thank you,” he said.

The doctor inclined his head. “We wish to observe him for another sixteen hours. Once that is completed, you may take him home.”

The doctor stepped back and Zach’s mother was on him like a bee on pollen once again. He returned her hug and took a moment to breathe in the familiar scent of her soap and perfume, relieved that this wasn’t another part of his nightmare.

After a few minutes of just holding each other, his mother finally relinquished her grip on him and his parents sat on either side of his bed. He regarded them both serenely. He knew he should be feeling….more, but he wasn’t. He felt relieved and he felt safe, but part of his mind registered that he should be more worked up about this. He looked up at his father and swallowed down his confusion, focusing on the matter at hand. “I am sorry I left my room after my curfew last night,” he said finally.

His father nodded. “Yes, well, I’ll make a note in my calendar to get mad about that later. For now, we’re just thankful you’re all right.”

His mother, however, frowned. “Last night? Honey…it’s been more than one night.”

Zach’s eyes widened. “How long…have I been gone?”

The doctor stepped forward. “You were recovered approximately nine-point-three hours after you were reported missing. You were near death, and remained in a coma for three weeks while we repaired the damage to your body and katra. You regained consciousness at the conclusion of the final procedure two days ago, and have been asleep, recovering since then.”

“Three weeks…” Zach said, absorbing it all. “It is unusual that simple, albeit extensive, dehydration could induce a coma for that length of time.”

His parents looked at him oddly, but it was his brother who spoke. “Why are you talking weird?”

Zach’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“You sound, like, vulky,” Erik said.

“Erik, don’t be rude,” their mother said quickly, giving an apologetic glance at the doctor. “He’s just fine.”

“No, I am not,” Zach said. “I can feel it. Or, rather, I cannot. It is like my emotions are tamped down. I feel too calm for the situation.” He looked at his parents for an explanation. His mother looked at his father in concern. His father looked to the doctor.

The doctor walked up to the biobed, clasped his arms behind his back, and, without preamble, explained. When Zachary hadn’t woken to his alarm, his mother had indeed checked on him. Finding his bed empty, she called his father and they alerted the peacekeepers. A search was conducted, and his friends were interviewed. Jacob mentioned the girl and her entourage to whom Zach had spoken. Siral’s home was visited, and that’s where things began to become clear.

Evidently there had been a mistranslation the previous day. When Siral had mentioned she was ‘unavailable’, she didn’t mean her schedule. She was referring to her koon’ul, her betrothal. One of the boys in the group was her intended, another was her brother. Neither were particularly approving of the arrogant human daring to pursue her by use of an overly-familiar greeting and not taking a clear no for an answer. They were responsible for sending the comm message, intending to punish Zach for his cultural offense, and scare him into leaving Siral alone for good. Their plan had been to meet him, incapacitate him and transport him to a cave they themselves had been to several times. They knew the cave would be safe for humans. Their intent was to let him sweat for an hour of sunrise, then show up and retrieve him, with a clear warning that his suffering would be worse if he tried anything again. He would be embarrassed, a bit dehydrated, and possibly in trouble with his parents, but none the worse for wear. Unfortunately, either due to the one boy’s imprecise use of a nerve pinch, or Zachary’s light sleeping habit, he’d woken up too early, and by the time they had returned for him, he’d already ventured into the desert. They attempted to look for him, but could not find him and, not wishing him permanent harm, decided to return home and confess what they had done in order to secure more help. They arrived home as the peacekeepers were talking to Siral, and immediately informed the officers of what had happened.

Searchers were sent out, fanning out from the original cave and trying to determine where he might have walked. One of the shuttles noticed the dark stone marker Zach had made and found him, taking him to the hospital as quickly as they could. He’d been near death. In fact, they weren’t sure he wasn’t dead. His temperature was beyond what should be safely tolerable, and his brain activity barely registered. They immediately began to administer fluids and bring his temperature down; however, while his body was slowly healing, after over a week his mind was still not recovering. A specialist was called in to examine his mind from within and had determined that he was so close to death, his katra, his soul, was halfway into the abyss and damaged as a result. It took the efforts of two Vulcan masters to meld with him and successfully heal his katra. They refused to discuss the details of the matter, only stating that they were required to “retrieve it from the edge,” and would have to “restore it until he could heal himself.”

“Their efforts to heal you have left an ‘imprint’ on you,” the doctor concluded. “The effects will fade over time as your katra regains strength and you are able to reestablish your previous mental and emotional template.”

“So, eventually he’ll return to his normal personality?” his mother said.

“I believe that is what I have just said, yes,” the doctor said.

His parents breathed a sigh of relief and took a moment to silently thank whatever deity was listening for their luck. They stayed that way until his little brother broke the silence.

"Does he have to?"


A Flashback Post by

Zachary Addams
Chief Engineer
USS Tokyo

 

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