The Horned-y Daemon Within

Posted on Sat Dec 20th, 2025 @ 8:24pm by Commander Rosa Coy & Lieutenant Commander Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell & Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Commander Dean House & Commander Jennifer Baldric & Lieutenant Sarah Wilson

3,080 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Character Development
Location: USS Sunfire

Sickbay smelled of antiseptic and cold metal, the sort of sterile quiet that made even strong hearts feel naked. Jennifer Baldric gripped the rim of the biobed with both hands, knuckles blanching as another wave of nausea tore through her. The bucket on the floor had already become her closest companion. Overhead, the biobed’s monitor fluttered with readings that made no tidy sense, human vitals overlaid with something older, deeper, wrong.

A nurse lingered a careful distance away, pretending to inventory supplies while keeping a wary eye on the commander who couldn’t stop retching. Baldric swallowed hard, shuddering, trying to catch her breath. Sweat dampened her temples. Her vision pulsed at the edges.

Then the memories hit. Not hers.

The shriek of tearing metal. Rosa’s lungs fighting to draw air through smoke. The cockpit collapsing in fire and pressure as the micro torpedo struck. Her hands, Rosa’s hands, bloody, slipping on the controls. The jolt of the crash. The snow hissing as it melted on burning hull. A taste of copper. Someone screaming her name, no, not her name. The symbiont’s. Coy. The plasma gun misfiring. Then the shot, a blast right to the chest, quick, sudden.

Cold spreading through a failing host. Breath rattling. The old, familiar slide toward darkness. Acceptance. The final drift.

Then light. No. Not light. Awareness.

Alive. Again. But wrong.

Jennifer’s body seized as the presence unfurled inside her, a serpent waking after being frozen in ice. Her spine arched; a gasp was ripped from her throat. She gripped the biobed as if it were the only solid thing left in the cosmos.

Human? Crude machinery. Thin blood. No connection to the pools. No training. No permission. A slow, venomous delight curled through the thoughts now threading with hers.

The voice came from nowhere and everywhere at once, silk stretched over a blade. How deliciously unprepared you are.

Jennifer’s heartbeat skittered in her chest, fighting the invasion, trying to stabilize her breathing. Sweat ran cold down her spine.

I am Coy. And you... are mine.

Bonnie had been by his side the whole time, whether he was completely okay or didn't particularly matter. Shirtless, that wound of his own was definitely going to leave a scar on both the front and back of his body. Holding his arm to his chest as he'd gotten off of his own biobed and over to Jennifer's.

"What in the holy frak were you thinking? Seriously, Jen. This is some kind of wreckless crap like I pull. I already did. What is it saying." Dean took her hand, wanted or not, "I understand you want to save a life. We can transfer it over to me, I can take that transition physically better than you can."

Baldric puked again then a devilish glint appeared in her eyes. "What, and miss all the fun WE are going to have?" She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and sat up. "Holy hell, what did I just say? Why am I saying that? It's not me...it's....hell I don't even know how to address it.. Coy.. thing?"

"Oh shut up, Coy." Dean rolled his eyes. Thankfully he could keep her physically in check and from going anywhere if he had to. "That was the symbiont, sweetheart."

It's laugh, almost sinister, a deep throated chuckle. When it spoke, thoughts like a loudspeaker in Baldric's mind. But it was proud too. Thing? No dear we are one now. I know your mind and you will know mine. You should be telling this creature, Dean is it... To get down on his knees and beg you for forgiveness. Or better yet, mercy. I can do it for you if you'd like."

"Get out of my head!" Baldric shouted, clutching her skull as the sadistic voice rattled persuasively around her brain. She regretted her decision to save this being - badly. For now however there was little they could do until the new host arrived. The voice was like a mosquito, hovering, wearing down her resolve and chipping away at the wall she was trying to build around herself. It was seductive, suggestive, and a complete counterbalance to her usual serious disposition. It wanted to experience pleasure, pain and debauchery all at the same time.

The pressure inside her skull tightened, a vice made of silk and thorns. Baldric gritted her teeth, but the intruder only purred in delight. “You invited me in,” Coy cooed, the words tasting like wine poured straight into the mind. “Such generosity deserves... exploration.” A pulse of heat slid through her nerves, unbidden, unwanted. She felt her own breath catch, her reaction, but not her will.

Who is this Dean? Coy was prodding her mind for vulnerabilities. “Ah... that one.” Coy stretched through her veins like a cat arching its back. “Your body knows him. Your heart, too. What a delicious combination. Let me speak... let me play...”

Her limbs twitched. Her spine straightened without permission. The parasite pushed forward, not fully seizing her, but leaning hard enough that her lips parted in a way she would never choose. Coy savored the anticipation rolling off Baldric like steam.

And through Baldric’s eyes, Coy smiled.

"Transporter room, two to beam to my quarters, authorization Baldric Gamma 6 Alpha 9" she tapped her comm badge and laughed as the room disolved around them, and her spartan quarters appeared. In her mind Jennifer recoiled, wondering what she had just done, then her body began to move without her control, the being within her belly now fully established and flexing its muscle.

Dean wasn't particularly expecting the transport, that should have been cut off but evidently it wasn't. He knew those quarters, looking back to Coy, who obviously was the one in control at the moment. "What are you doing."

Her fingers rose to her own hair, loosening the severe knot she always kept it in, letting the dark waves spill over her shoulders. She felt the motion rather than chose it. Coy unspooled through her nerves, stretching, luxuriating, claiming.

Her smile answered for her, warm, slow, wrong. Inside, Jennifer slammed herself against the walls of her own mind. Coy only purred.

Easy, the voice whispered, rich as smoke. He likes seeing you human. Jennifer’s hand lifted, palm pressing gently to Dean’s chest. The warmth of him hit her like a drug, hers to feel, not to command. Coy shivered with delight inside her.

“Sit,” she said, and her voice carried a trace of velvet she didn’t recognize. A small push. Just enough pressure. She pressed as Dean took a step back. Then another. The bed met the backs of his legs and he stumbled onto it, half-surprised, half-entranced.

Jennifer’s heart hammered a warning. Coy tasted it. Savored it. Beautiful, it whispered. Fear makes the world sharp. Her body leaned forward, casting Dean in shadow as Coy settled deeper into its stolen vessel.

Dean wanted to give in, closing his eyes for a long moment and then shook his head. "No, this isn't Jennifer. Even if she would want this, this way, I know it's not. I'm not going to have her watch and seduce me for your own sick pleasure."

Reaching quickly to the console by the bed to lock the room from beaming as well as the doors on his security authorization. "Should she want to, Coy, it would be her. You're simply all about manipulation."

"Oh, she wants, I want, we both want" the words were like velvet.

"And you won't have it. She can, Coy. You stay out of it or I'll stop mid line." Dean held his hand out for Jennifer, maybe this would distract her. He didn't know if it would help or not, they would have to see.

Jen took his hand, squeezing it reassure him. "It's me, I want this, Coy's just along for the ride"

The next three hours passed in a blur or pleasure and pain, most of the time and exquisite combination of the two. It felt as though she were a passenger inside her own body, swept away by the desires of the being within her and her own hidden fantasies. Fantasies she usually kept in a deep dark corner of mind and only let out to play in her dreams. This was unhinged, completely unburdoned by any social norms and would leave her sore for days. As she climbed out of bed and headed for the shower the realization of what had just happened broke through the stronghold Coy had on her mind. She would never be able to look at Dean in the same way again.

"What have I done?" She whispered to herself, the self critical words bouncing off the regulation Starfleet walls.

The moment her whispered guilt touched the air, Coy unfurled inside her like a creature stretching after a feast, slow, indulgent, and utterly pleased with itself.

Jennifer’s body was already moving toward the shower, stiff in places she didn’t want to think about, trembling in ways she refused to acknowledge. But Coy shifted behind her ribs, a cool ripple of satisfaction sliding up her spine. What you have done, Coy murmured, velvet, wicked, is awaken.

A pulse of pleasure, not physical, but psychic, brushed against the back of her thoughts, the way a predator lightly traces the throat of something it already owns. Three hours of honesty, Jennifer. Your fantasies tasted like ripe fruit. The ones you bury, the ones you starve. You finally let them breathe… because I let you breathe them.

Her guilt spiked; Coy drank it like heat from a flame. Look at him differently? A soft laugh, intimate as breath against her ear. You will look at yourself differently. And that, my sweet, is far more interesting.

The shower hissed to life. Steam ghosted across the mirror. Coy leaned its consciousness into her reflection, watching her flinch at the sight of her own eyes, still hers, but with a depth that hadn’t been there before.

You fear losing control, the symbiont crooned, settling deeper, coiling with contentment. But you fear wanting this even more.

A pause. A slow, savoring inhale through her lungs. And that... is delicious. Coy’s power didn’t flare; it didn’t need to. It simply pulsed, steady, patient, claiming its seat within her like a throne.

Now wash, Jennifer. You’re trembling. Let me enjoy how it feels when you try to stand on shaking legs. Coy didn’t need to force her anymore. Not when guilt tasted as sweet as surrender.

It was hard ro rssist, the luxurious whisper behind her guarded walls, the hints and promise of temptation becoming real. The shower was long, scalding hot and utterly delicious. The fact the water rations werent hers made it even more debaucherous.

Finishing in the shower she replicated underwear that left nothing to the imagination, slipped on a satin robe and heels, and sauntered out of the room, making a beeline for the corridor and all the poor souls that had yet to experience Coy in all her glory.

The door didnt open, the chime klaxoned in protest.

"Wanting to keep me for yourself?" She purred, returning to the living room and lounging on the couch like a Goddess. "That can be arranged"

Dean was going to go into the bathroom, but he was beaten to it. Turning the alarm off. Tilting his head a little bit, "I did think about that ahead of time, you are stuck here for the moment. Sorry, Jenn. I have to keep her in check. I have no idea why she doesn't understand that I can tell the difference." At least he had pajama pants on.

Again a battle as each tried to assert themselves. "Tell me the new host is here by now, she's a sadistic cow" Jen blurted as she replicated tracksuit pants and a hoodie to cover up.

Dean shook his his head, "I don't know. Been a little bit busy. I can always fine out." He also motioned his head to the replicator, "You should probably get something to eat. Coy, don't try it, that's locked off also from anything but food."

So boring the words were out of Baldric's mouth, clearly influenced by Coy as she sauntered over to the replicator and ordered a burger and chips with a chocolate milkshake and Andorian Brandy.

Coy drifted in the quiet aftermath, satiated and faintly irritated by the sheer ordinariness of the moment. Locks, warnings, rules, such small toys. Boredom crept in, thin and needling, and with it the familiar urge to stir the water.

Without ceremony, Coy released a handful of memories into the Jennifer's mind like loose sparks. Not narratives. Never stories. Sensations only, heat, pressure, the intimate vertigo of losing control, the razor-edge moment where fear sharpens into something almost beautiful. They were not aimed, not forced. Just… let go.

Boredom makes me careless, Coy mused, distant and indulgent. Carelessness makes ripples. The symbiont settled back afterward, pleased with the minor disturbance, already losing interest. Food, bodies, conversations, all interchangeable textures. Reactions, though? Reactions were worth collecting. I do so enjoy reminding hosts that I am still here.

"Careless? That was deliberate and you know it" Jennifer retorted, not caring that it looked like she were arguing with herself. "Do you not ever care to consider that I might not WANT all those....things... running around in my brain? You need me to live Sluggo...ticking clock and all that"

Coy did not bristle. Concern was unnecessary; survival was practical. Baldric’s continued function mattered. Her comfort did not. I do care that you live, Coy replied evenly, the words settling into her thoughts without force. Your pulse is useful. Your clock matters.

There was no apology that followed. Only truth, laid flat and sharp. You chose me sweetheart. You felt the moment. You knew the cost. You could have let me die. Coy lingered there, letting that weight rest where it would bruise. Some part of you reached anyway. Don't forget, I now know your mind as you do mine.

The symbiont withdrew slightly, not retreat, just patience. You may resent the noise. I grant that. But do not rewrite the choice.

"I don't and won't ever regret saving a life. This time it was the method that sucked" she held her belly where the symbiote resided and pushed down another wave of nausea. "I won't miss you though, Slug"

Coy did not rise to the insult. It simply grinned, somewhere deep and unseen. You will, Coy replied, unhurried. Not when I am gone. When the silence arrives… and you discover which parts of you leave with me.

" None of my 'parts' will leave with you, thank you very much. My 'parts' have been used and abused thanks to your dark antics" Baldric scoffed. Flipping the hood over her head and curling up on the couch. " I hope they stick you in a pool of goo and never let you play with someone else's mind."

"Well, that's and interesting one side conversation from my perspective." Dean moved over to sit down next to Jennifer and pull her to him if she'd let him. He didn't really worry about Coy any more, that would be taken care of soon enough, evidently.

Baldric snuggled in, allowing herself to be comforted in this strange situation inhabiting her own body had become. She could no longer trust her instinct, or even her own actions presently, unable to decipher where she ended and Coy began.

"Next time I have a crazy idea like this....shoot me"

Dean kissed her temple and shook his head, "Naw. Might stun you though." Trying to get her to at least give half a smile.

Coy observed the curled shape, the retreat, the fragile comfort, and found it faintly amusing. Abused implies resistance, Coy remarked coolly. You participated. But take heart. Pools of goo are only temporary. Silence never is.

A soft chime cut through the quarters then, clinical, procedural. A Medical priority alert registered in the air, impersonal and inevitable. The Trill delegation was on approach. Diplomatic clearances. En route. Coy settled, attentive now, interest sharpening. Ah, it thought, pleased despite itself. The clock announces company.

Jennifer roused, puked, curled in on herself, and struggled to her feet. "Time to get you the hell out of my mind Sluggo" she retorted as she made her way towards the door with Dean.

I think you are going to miss me, and the fun we've had. You're already starting to pick up our mannerisms. There was a sick and twisted sound to his voice that could be construed as a maniacal laugh.

"I am NOT going to miss you" Jen retorted between gritted teeth. The end was nigh for this terrible union and she couldn't wait to be herself again.

"I'm not going to miss her either." Dean shook his head, and let Jen make her own way unless she stopped and needed support, or started to falter.

"Makes two of us. You're outnumbered Sluggo. You can impolitely f*ck off" she leant on Dean as they headed towards sickbay, feeling decidedly worse for wear.

Coy did not thrash. It did not beg. Predators do not waste dignity at the moment of extraction. He lingered instead, coiled tight around the map of her mind, tracing what it knew would scar. You won’t miss me today, Coy said softly, deliberately. You’ll miss me later. When instinct hesitates. When desire feels quieter. When the dark corner you swear was never yours stops answering.

A pause. Surgical. Precise. I was never your whole self. I was the part you will spend the rest of your life proving you never needed. Coy withdrew inward then, conserving, feeling the approach of hands and instruments and inevitability... and smiling, because impressions were harder to remove than symbionts.

TBC

 

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