𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 ➪ 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐤¹

|| 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 ||

He grew especially excited upon finding an old Nintendo Wii with four remotes and an almost endless selection of game discs.

"Hey, you found the Wii!" The blonde entered the room, wearing a beaming smile as she came to sit on the sofa.

"Think it'll still work?" He blew a large layer of surface dust off the game console with a grimace.

Samsa bit her lip. "Maybe. If not, we could get Scotty to take a look at it?"

He nodded without looking up, sifting through some of the accompanying games.

"Speaking of which...are you thinking about starting your sessions again soon?"

"You getting sick of me being in the apartment all the time?" Mason chuckled in an attempt to make humour out of the situation.

Samsa raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "You know that's not what I mean."

He couldn't avoid this conversation for much longer. The Engineering sessions with Scotty used to be fun. At first, Mason had thought they would take his mind off the troubled nights after everything that happened. But over time, the nightmares won.

"I guess I just don't know what to do with myself anymore," he mumbled, coming to sit next to his best friend. "I thought I had my life sorted. Do my time as a Captain and see where it takes me. Then, Jared happened and...and..." Mason trailed off, trying to avoid a breakdown but it was impossible.

Samsa held him close while he cried, not pushing him to talk, simply comforting him until he calmed down. When he eventually did, there was too much on his mind. Mason had no idea where to start.

"I feel like I don't know who I am anymore. Then...there's these weird dreams I keep having."

"The ones about Medi?" Samsa asked, her voice soft as she rubbed his back.

"Not just them," he shuddered.

"What else?"

"I...I'm not really sure. Visions...I guess? It's hard to explain."

"Visions?" She took hold of his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "When did they start?"

"Probably just after I was poisoned. Around then at least."

Samsa frowned, her eyes narrowing before she murmured something under her breath. "The Mahko Root."

"I'm sorry, the what?"

"Mahko Root. It's what the Kahn-ut-tu used to heal you. It was a bizarre thing...." She trailed off and shook her head. "These visions might be side effects."

Mason breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought I was going crazy."

"Please never think that, Mason. We're going to work this out, okay?" Samsa smiled and pulled him into another hug. "As soon as I get back from this survey mission, I'll take you to see her."

"If you give me the address, I can go while you're away. It'll give me a chance to get out for a bit."

"Are you sure? She's quite..." The Sanguine pursed her lips. "Intense."

"I'll be fine," Mason chuckled. The last thing he wanted was for Samsa to be unnecessarily worried about him. He chose to change the subject. "How is the mission preparation going anyway?"

"It's going great. Luna's even happier than me about my suspension being lifted."

"You spoke to her?"

Samsa nodded. "This morning."

Once again, Mason wanted to change the subject. He hadn't forgotten what Luna had spoken to him about on New Year's Night. The conversation was rather poignant in his mind. What do you think of the Federation, Mason?