To Go Quietly Into the Night

Posted on Mon Mar 23rd, 2026 @ 9:12pm by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Commander Dean House & Lieutenant JG Rowan Hale

2,988 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Beholder
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Departing Skygowan

The Sunfire had retrieved all their personnel, save the one crewman who had died on Vadia IX and was now about to leave Skygowan, heading back to the nearest Starbase for resupply. Captain Kaylen Rhenora sat quietly by Batel's bedside, watching the indicators on the panel start to slip slowly in the wrong direction.

Rowan approached the biobed his gaze settling on the display as the readings continued their slow decline. "Her condition is shifting," he said quietly.

Batel stirred at his quiet words, her eyes flickering open in the subdued lighting. "It's rude to talk about people in front of them" she retorted with a healthy dose of strained sarcasm.

Rhenora stiffled a chuckle. "We were...are....concerned" she continued in a more serious tone.

"Let me guess, we're at warp away from Skygowan, and now my body is trying to die" Batel said somewhat bluntly.

Rowan's brow tightened slightly as he made some adjustments to the display. “It’s trending that way,” he said, "But I’m not done pushing back yet.”

"Do me a favour, don't" Batel whispered, the moment of lucidity having drain her her already low energy. She fell silent again, eyes closing and breathes evening out. Rhenora waited for a few minutes in case Marie wanted to say morr, then motioned Rowan into his office with a incline of her head.

Once inside the conversation turned to the elephant in the room.

"What do you plan to do Doctor?" Rhenora asked simply, dropping into the chair across from Hale's in the small office. The conversation they had to have was not going to be an easy one. The Captain had sent a message to the bridge calling for an all stop, in order to give them time to nut out this particular ethical problem.

The CMO remained standing for a moment, his attention still half on the readings beyond the wall before crossing the small space to the replicator. “If I continue to intervene,” he said, “I can keep her here. At least for a while…” he let the thought sit for a moment, "Can I get you anything?"

"Bajoran spiced tea please" Rhenora requested, mulling over his words for a bit. "Your prognosis is not good long term" she stated.

Hale returned to the desk, setting down the two drinks before taking his seat. “I don’t foresee a full recovery. It would be management. Incremental support.” He stopped and sipped at his coffee as if weighing his own words. "Each time we intervene, it’ll do a little less.”

His gaze met Kaylen's. “She’s still conscious enough to have a say in that. I don’t ignore that lightly.” He continued, “But I also don’t withdraw care simply because the outcome is difficult.” He took a slow breath, “So the question becomes where we draw the line… and who gets to draw it.”

Rhenora sipped the tea, appreciating how the spices danced across her palate. Would Marie ever have a smiliar sensation again?

"We can position here, or even return to Skygowan. But neither of those are long term solutions." She mused, sipping the tea between thoughts. "It's an ethical debate on if she wants to live or die? She could live the rest of her days tied to Skygowan and Vadia, or she could pass quietly into the night and be free from the burdon she carries. Who are we to make that decision for her?" Kaylen continued. "She said 'don't', but was that a request for no further intervention or a moment of not quite lucidity?" She rubbed her nosr ridges as the pressure built behind them. She was used to making thr hard decisions, sending people potentially to their deaths, but this was different on so many levels.

Rowan exhaled slowly, his hand dragging across his jaw before settling back against the desk. "I don't know if this is as much about deciding whether she lives or dies," he said, "Or if It's about whether we give up before she does."

He gave a faint shake of his head, more to himself than to Rhenora. "I know what the correct answer is supposed to be," he continued quietly. "Patient autonomy. Informed consent. Dignity."

The words sounded practiced but the pauses after them weren't. "But sitting here.. knowing I might still be able to keep her alive.." his voice trailed off again, "It's not a clean decision."

His eyes finally settled on Rhenora. "If she asks me to stop. Clearly, when she's lucid.. I won't take that choice away from her." he sipped at his coffee, "But I need to hear it from her. Not from the pain. Not from the moment where everything in her body is telling her to give up."

He hoped Kaylen would have some words of wisdom that would somehow make the decisions that lay ahead sit easier with him. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this." he finished plainly.

Rhenora nodded silently, appreciating the internal dilemma the situation had presented. In a perfect world, Batel would be able to return to Earth and live out her days in peace and comfort. This wasn't a perfect world and it seemed that whoever destined her to be The Beholder, really did mean to tie to poor woman to the Vezda for the rest of her life....or eternity, whichever seemed to come first.

"Can we create those moments of lucidity? So we can have that difficult conversation and find out what she wants?" Rhenora asked, k owing she was asking Rowan to give Marie a hearty concoction of stimulants, dnough to keep her lucid for a bit.

“I can,” he said eventually, “but I’m not sure I’m comfortable making her lucid just to give her the option to die.” His jaw tightened slightly. “Part of me hears that and thinks it’s the right thing to do. Give her clarity. Let her choose.” A small pause. “The other part hears it and thinks we're manufacturing the moment that ends her life.”

He looked back at Rhenora. “And I don’t know if I get to pretend those are the same thing… even if it’s the only way we hear what she really wants.”

"There are other options, Dean shares some kind of neural connection, or we could allow Aurora to sense empathetically anything that she may not be able to communicate." Rhenora wracked her brain to find anothet solution. "But the crux of the matter remains the same. Do we save a life but possibly commit her to suffering, or do we no longer intervene. The ethics and moral ground can be argued for both sides" she sighed.

Rowan listened, his expression tightening slightly as she spoke.

“Dean’s link is… unreliable at best,” he said after a moment. “And I’m not prepared to base a decision like this on something we can’t properly quantify. As for Aurora.." He picked up his coffee again, pondering their options. "empathy isn’t consent. It tells us what she feels, not what she wants.”

He exhaled quietly, his gaze drifting for a moment, “Those options might give us insight,” he added, “but they don’t give her a voice, that’s the part that matters.”

His hand rested lightly against the desk again, “If we do this,” he said more quietly, “it can’t be because it’s easier for me.. or because we’re trying to resolve the uncertainty.. It has to be because it’s the only way she gets to decide.”

"We do this so it's her decision, and hers alone. Informed, and have energy to understand the consequences. That in itself is going to be taxing." The Captain murmoured. There was no polite, morally and ethically right way about it. She stood, setting down the tea for the moment. "Is she stable enough to be woken up?"

He hesitated just for a moment. “I can wake her,” he said. “It won’t be gentle.”

"Do it" it tugged the Captains gut to say the words but she felt there was little option.

Rowan inclined his head once in acknowledgement, already shifting back into motion. He set his cup aside without finishing it and moved for the door. The hum of Sickbay met them again - the same quiet activity. His eyes went straight to the biobed. “Prep a neural stimulant..” he said as he stepped in, his tone returning to something more clinical. “Low dose to start. I want her conscious, not overwhelmed.”

He moved to Batel’s side, his hand hovering briefly over the controls. He gave one final look to Captain Kaylen, a slight, acknowledging nod. “Let’s wake her.” he said quietly.

Rhenora nodded in acknowledgement, moving to the side of the biobed and taking Batel's hand in her own.

The stimulant was given, and it took a moment to achieve the desired affect. Batel's breathing quickened as consciousness loomed closer, her fingers curling in discomfort. Another few moments and her eyes opened. Rhenora waited a moment before speaking.

"I won't ask how you're feeling, I can assume it's pretty lousy" she started, a little lost for words as to how exactly to start this conversation.

Batel shook her head, furrowed her eyebrows and take a breath. "I've been better"

Hale gave the faintest hint of a smile. “I’d be concerned if you said otherwise,” he said quietly, releasing a small breath himself. “We’ve been able to stabilise you… but only just.” He paused, choosing his next words more carefully, “If we continue, it won’t be recovery. It’ll be… maintenance. Support. And it will come at a cost. I need to ask you, clearly…" he found the words harder to say than he'd expected, "what do you want us to do.”

There was a moment of confusion in Marie's eyes as she came to comprehend his words, before clarity followed. Rhenora took the opportunity to explain things a little more. "It appears your condition is limk directly to the proximity of Skygowan and the Vadia ley line. You may decide to remain on the planet, but you will most likely not be able to leave, nor receive modern medical care." The Bajoran squeezed Batel's hand. "Or you can choose to join us as we depart this region" There was no delicate way of putting the next part. "We can provide care and dignity but the time will be short"

Marie nodded, understanding. She squeezed Kaylen's hand back. "I've never shied away from the difficult decisions. I never asked to be the Beholder, I never got to choose my fate. Now I can" she looked Rowan in the eyes, having spent far more time under medical care than anyone should have to. "No further intervention. Head back to Earth, take me with you and let me go quietly into the night. Lay me with Chris when you get there" her strength began to wane. "Weeks...days or hours?"

He stood quietly for a moment, the room narrowing to the biobed and the sound of her breathing. The weight of what she'd just asked of them settling in. “Hours,” he said quietly, drawing a slow breath. “Maybe longer… but not much.”

His eyes flicking briefly to Rhenora, as if hoping, just for a second, there was another option on the table. But he already knew it wasn't coming. "Pain, discomfort… we’ll keep that under control.” He added more gently.

"You will have dignity, and we will make you as comfortable as we can." Rhenora's voice was soft, kind, and a little emotional. "You won't be alone, I can promise you"

Marie nodded, looking at the both and understanding the ramifications. "Thank you for giving me the choice" she said quietly, eyes starting to close again.

"It was the least we could do" Kaylen replied, setting Batel's hand back on the biobed and grabbing a nearby stool.

"Bridge, set a course for Earth, warp 2 until I say otherwise" she addessed the bridge before settling on the stool and commencing her promise to not leave Marie alone.

Time passed slowly, as it does when the universe tends to hold its breath. There was little concept of it passing, lest for the rise and fall of a chest, the shallowing in and out of the breath.

Dean finally made it back over to where Batel was, after a check on his DNA again. Sitting down on the side of the Bio-bed. Motioning any non-essential staff out of the room. Taking her hand and bringing it up to lovingly caress it with his cheek.

"Marie, I need you to open your eyes and look at me." Dean already had tears rolling down his cheeks. "I want you to know I love the way you laugh. I want to hold you tight and take away your pain." Dean gave a side glance to Rhenora and then back. It was just something between them with this instance that made it that way, them that close. "So, guess what time it is. Cause...All my bags are packed and I'm ready to go..."

Marie squeezed his hand and smiled. Shaking her head a bit, "Don't cry on my account." A thumb wiping away one of Dean's tease. She then giggled a little bit, "I love you too, just like I do Chris. I'm ready. So..Kiss me and smile for me. Tell me you'll wait for me. Hold me like you'll never let me go."

Dean picked up in with the sing song that Marie started. It may be weird to everyone else, but this bond they started has an impact and they needed to have that time. The two of them, and their closest family members.

Rowan moved through Sickbay without any real urgency, but without pause either. The lights had been dimmed incrementally, just enough to settle the space. Equipment was checked, respositioned and prepared so it would be ready as needed. He knew none of it would change the outcome but it was a good distraction and gave him something to do.

The staff had followed suit. They were quieter than usual, conversations kept brief.. subdued, almost. They all understood the situation.

At one point, Rowan paused at a console, resting his hand against the edge.

"Feels like.. we're just letting her go." came the sound of a quiet voice in the background, clearly not intending for it to carry.

“We didn’t…” another voice answered, just as quiet. “We gave her the choice.”

The words settled into the room. Rowan exhaled slowly and steadied himself before continuing with what needed to be done. He gathered the team not long after, choosing to keep it brief - Adjusted rotations. Clear expectations. Support available if they needed it.

When that was done, and there was nothing left to organise or prepare, he moved back to the replicator.

"Bajoran spiced tea. Black coffee." He carried both drinks back, setting the tea within Kaylen's reach before pulling a stool over beside her. He didn't announce himself or offer anything more. He just sat. The quiet settled again around the biobed, broken only by the soft rhythm of breathing and the low murmur of Dean's voice.

It was a vigil Rhenora had kept more than a few times over the years. Solomnly supporting a loved one or close friends through the dying process. She acceptee the tea and sat it on a nearby table, letting the warm aroma sooth her mind. There was a connection to this woman she hsd only met some days ago, she couldn't put her finger on it. Was it they both were captains? Or was it that there was a shared unchosen destiny?

Her mind drifted to the Prophets and their meddling ways. They had created this mess, and manufactured the necessary circumstances for Marie to clean it up for them. She felt they should hold some responsibility, but even they had mentioned a cost that would come from securing the Vezda. This was it, the passing of so much potential, talent and grace, all for the sake of others.

Batel's biosigns weakened as the Sunfire glided away from Skygowan, slow enough to not rush this process. To give them time.

The rise and fall slowed, she appeared peaceful. Both in her decision and her body labouring to pass. It had been quiet for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.

Kaylen gently touched her ear, where the Pagh could be felt. She closed her eyes, feeling the sensation of peace, but also restlessness.

"You are free to leave whenever you are ready. We will honour your wishes" she murmoured, remembering thst sometimes people lingered until they felt they had permission.

The rise and fall continued for a few long minutes, and then a final fall with no rise that followed.

"May your soul, your Pagh, find the peace it deserves. Walk with the Prophets"

Dean's final tear fell as Marie finally succumbed to the inevitable. Leaning over to press a long held kiss to her forehead. One final squeeze to her hand, that was his permission as well.

Pulling her up into an embrace for a moment, then laid her back down on the bio-bed. Dean's heart hurt, not just the loss of an amazing woman. He felt the connection fade once she died. Looking up at the ceiling for a moment. "All hands," Signalling the computer to open ship wide communications. "End of shift. Captain Marie Batel, 1635 hours. I repeat, End of shift, Captain Marie Batel. May her soul have finally found peace."

Rhenora took a deep breath, letting the tears fall unbidden down her cheeks. "Rest easy Captain, we'll take it from here" she whispered, setting Marie's hand back on the biobed with a squeeze. She exhaled shakily and looked at Dean and Rowan. It was over.

TBC

 

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