A concerned call

Posted on 11 Jan 2026 @ 1:56am by Lieutenant JG Ryan Collingway & Alura Ryn

1,293 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Displaced
Timeline: Before the portal closed

///Science Lab//

As Ryan continued to work something occurred to him. The medics were dispersing the medicine in priority sequence by departments first. Civilians would probably take longer.

Alura. She needed to be warned what was happening. He activated his com badge. "Ryan to Alura."

// Alura’s Quarters //
Alura’s voice was unhurried, buoyed by the gentle lift of warm water beneath her. “Ryan?” she said, a soft laugh threading through the word. “You’re on Risa. You must be — the sea’s wrapped all around me and the sun is so warm it feels like it’s soaking straight into my skin.”

She tipped her head back, eyes closed, drifting without effort. “Why are you calling instead of coming down to the water?” she asked, genuinely puzzled. “If you’re here, you should be here with me. No one calls from Risa… they float.”

///Science Lab//

Ryan glanced at the medic, but he was still working on dispensing medication. "I'll be there in a sec. Just stay where you are. Don't do anything until I get there. I don't want to miss the fun." He quit the call and activated the com. "Computer, locate Alura Ryn."

"Alura Ryn is in her quarters."

Mira was also busy, and the computer was still working on analysis. They didn't need him, at least for a few minutes. "If she asks, tell Ensign Quinn I'm busy with something that came up," he all but barked at a science officer, and ducked out.

///Outside Alura's quarters///

He tried the chime but there was no answer. Ryan looked around, then quickly entered an code used when engineers needed to make an emergency repair. The door opened. "Alura?"

“I’m right here,” Alura called, her voice warm and unhurried, drifting from the bedroom. She lay stretched out across the bed, arms loose at her sides, a lightweight sea-green sleep slip clinging softly to her skin as if it were water instead of fabric. Her hair spilled around her head in a sunlit tangle, bare feet relaxed, toes just barely flexing as though they were skimming the surface of a calm, endless sea.

Ryan turned on his combage. "Ensign Collingway to sickbay. I found someone affected by the hallucinations."

"Sickbay is pretty stretched, Ensign," a medical officer replied. "Unless that person is in immediate danger we will get to them as soon as soon as we can. Otherwise, try to keep them calm until we get there, or bring them directly to sickbay."

"Right. I'll keep you advised. Ensign Colligway out." He knelt by the bed and touched her hand. "Are you okay?"

The warmth vanished.

The sea pulled away from her all at once, like a tide retreating too fast, leaving her cold and weighty in its wake. The sun slipped below the horizon, its glow collapsing into shadow as steel walls and familiar shapes pressed in around her. Alura gasped softly, fingers tightening around his as she turned toward him.

Ryan. Her quarters. The ship.

Confusion washed through her, sharp and aching, and with it a sudden, fierce longing. She squeezed his hand again, grounding herself in the contact, and wished—achingly—that she were back on Risa, floating beneath a sun that never left.

She swallowed and looked up at him, eyes searching his face as if it might steady the room around her. “What are you… what are you here for?” Alura asked softly, her voice still carrying the echo of the warmth she’d lost.

"There's something causing mass hallucinations on the ship," Ryan supplied. "The medical team have found a cure, and they're mass distributing it right now. I wanted to check in with you, to make sure you're okay."

Alura slowly withdrew her hand from his and swung her legs over the side of the bed, sitting up as the last warmth of the illusion faded. She took a moment to steady herself, palms resting against the mattress, then looked back at him.

“Hallucinations,” she repeated quietly, as if the word still needed convincing. Her gaze drifted around the room once more before returning to Ryan. “So… Risa wasn’t real.” She let out a soft breath, disappointment threading through it. “I’m okay,” she added after a beat. “Just… a little sad to be back.”

Then, more practically, she tilted her head. “I’m not human,” she reminded him gently. “So if you’re worried, I’m not sure it would affect me the same way it does your friends.”

"Why do you think that?" Ryan casually asked, sitting on the other side of the bed. At the same time, his mind was thinking practically. He didn't want to carry her to sickbay unless he had to, but he would if needed. He wasn't the strongest person the ship by far, but he had enough upper stength to pull it off. Assuming she would be willing.

His future hovercart idea was suddenly getting even more important to make.

"You are my friend," he added. "Of course it worries me. I wouldn't leave my post otherwise."

Alura watched him for a moment, the pieces settling into place. He wouldn’t have left his station. He wouldn’t have used access codes unless it mattered. Her expression softened as she realized what that meant.

“You came all this way,” she said quietly. “In the middle of everything.” She nodded once, understanding dawning. “Then it must be worse for others than it was for me.”

She offered him a small, rueful smile. “I think I just… slipped into something familiar. Comfortable. But if it’s driving people out of their heads,” she added gently, “then I see why you’d be worried.”

Ryan wanted to press her about what she meant about not being human, but he didn't. He couldn't open up to her. It would be unfair to ask her to do something he wasn't capable of doing himself. Not when she was in this state. "Can I walk you to medical?" he asked instead. "I can't guarantee these hallucinations won't happen again. In fact, I have a firsthand account that they can repeat."

Alura shook her head lightly, brushing her hair back as she settled herself more firmly on the edge of the bed. “I really am fine,” she said, calm and certain. “I didn’t feel scared or disoriented. If anything, it was… pleasant.” She met his eyes, warm but steady. “You should go. Whatever’s happening out there needs you more than I do.”

She paused, then smiled, softer this time. “But thank you. For coming. That mattered.”

"You matter, Alura," Ryan said, and looked away. "We can't exactly have our chief moral officer on the sidelines. A lot of people will need help after this." He took a deep breath. "If you see anything else, just remember medical is coming soon. And I'm a call away as well. Don't hesitate to reach out for any reason."

Alura walked him to the door, bare feet soundless against the deck as the ship settled back into its familiar rhythm. She paused there, watching him go, the space he left behind somehow louder than the words they’d exchanged.

Each interaction with Ryan felt different from the last, careful where she was open, earnest where she expected distance, gentle when she thought she’d only get procedure. It unsettled her in a way she couldn’t quite name. When the door slid shut, she rested her hand against it for a moment, then turned back toward her quarters, carrying the strange certainty that whatever had touched her mind had already passed, but the impression he’d left behind would linger far longer.

Alura Ryn
MWR Director

&

Ensign Ryan Collingway
Engineering Officer
USS Arawyn

 

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