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"The Batty Engineer"
Rating: PG-13
And he’ll discover the bat in the next few chapters...and be completely thrown when that animal won’t leave him, either. Three Phlox sat on an examination table with the Moon Hawk still attached to the hawking glove on his wrist. Jon Archer stood next to him and made reassuring noises to it. Strangely enough, Jon was the only other person whom the hawk accepted. It shrieked at Hoshi, Malcolm and Trip and all three kept their distance. “Have you had any pets, Commander Phlox?” Phlox half-shrugged at Mylene’s question as he replied, “I had a colony of Aegillian bloodworms in a terrarium once as a child and my second father’s third wife kept a Thrillian hedgehog as a pet. That’s the sum of it. Lieutenant Archer has a pet on board our ship, a dog named Porthos.” “Dog?” Mylene sounded confused. “A small quadruped,” Thala explained. She smiled over at Jon. “One of our interns brought his Doberman from Earth. Is your dog as big?” “No, Porthos is a beagle. He’s a lot smaller than a Doberman,” Jon replied with a chuckle, “but sometimes he acts like one.” “If you possess an animal, and interact with it on a daily basis, then that might explain why our animals seem to accept you, Lieutenant,” Thala said, “but Commander Phlox...I am at a loss at why the Moon Hawk refuses to leave you.” Phlox smiled. “I’m just gratified that you were able to fix its wing. It was in considerable pain.” Mylene nodded grimly as she put away the bone regenerator. “The nature of the injury is rather suspicious, Commander. I don’t believe the Moon Hawk broke its wing in combat with one of its own kind.” Trip frowned at her words and asked, “You think someone deliberately harmed it?” Mylene speared him with her unblinking blue eyes as she replied, “It seems that it had caught its wing in some sort of trap.” Hoshi scowled at the thought of someone harming one of the Pyrithian animals. “I thought interfering with the native wildlife is expressively forbidden.” “It is, which is why this is so disturbing.” Thala stepped to Phlox’s side and scratched the Moon Hawk under the chin. The bird seemed to recognize her touch and finally hopped onto Thala’s gloved wrist and left Phlox’s. “We have had poachers land in the area and attempt to steal our animals. Needless to say, we do not show much mercy when we catch them in the act.” Thala’s tone of voice made Phlox shiver. As he looked into her dark eyes, he wholly believed her. “So one of these poachers has harmed the Moon Hawk.” “It appears that way.” Thala examined a data cylinder attached to one of the Moon Hawk’s leg. “This is a tracking device. We can trace where the Moon Hawk has been and investigate those places for evidence of poachers.” Mylene nodded at Hoshi. “Can you help us, Captain Sato?” Hoshi glanced at Trip, who nodded. “We can run some planetary scans and detect any other ships from orbit. If they are there, we’ll find them. Lieutenant Commander Trip Tucker is my Armory and security officer; he can lend you any assistance you need.” Mylene flashed Trip a smile and said, “Thank you, Lieutenant Commander. We appreciate the help.” “No problem. I used to own cats when I was a kid, so I’m as eager to find these guys as you are,” Trip answered. Suddenly, his communicator went off. The Moon Hawk croaked a reply and flapped its wings, but Thala calmed it. “Sorry. I’ll take it outside.” As Trip left the room, the lights dimmed and brightened again. Phlox gazed at the lights on the ceiling. “Your power problems?” Thala nodded. “Yes, our generators have been malfunctioning. We were hoping that you and your engineers could look at them and find out what is happening.” “Certainly. My engineers and I can start right away.” Phlox glanced at Hoshi, who nodded assent. “Excellent. Mylene, can you show Commander Phlox our generator complex? If we can solve the power problems, we could activate our security defenses.” Thala winced and added to Hoshi, “I really don’t like doing that because it can limit the range of how far our animals can roam, but betters safe than sorry.” “I agree,” Hoshi said softly. “We’ll help you find out what’s happening. Phlox, go ahead. We’ll keep in touch.” Phlox hopped off the exam table and replied, “Yes, Captain.” He followed Mylene out of the Shelter and into the main complex of the rehabilitation center. The whole compound was built around a garden pool, surrounded by smooth marble tile. Even from here, Phlox could see the schools of fish swimming placidly in the water, their eerie glow illuminated by the light of the moon. Sound of other animals rustling in their sleeping pens carried the soft breeze. “So peaceful,” he commented. Mylene nodded and said, “Yes, I find the Complex to be quite relaxing. My father is a fisherman on the eastern coast; I grew up among the aquatic life. When this Complex was being built, I wished to help preserve our native life, so I applied here. Thala is a good woman, very dedicated to her cause.” “I can see that.” Phlox flashed her a grin. “You’ve been doing this your whole life, then.” “Yes. This respect for our planet has been ingrained in every Pyrithian native.” Her slight smile faded. “Though, there are others who do not have the same respect.” “Captain Sato will assist you in finding the poachers. She has a soft heart for wildlife as well.” Mylene sighed and gestured to another building, made of native stone like the others in the Complex. “Here is our generator building. It provides power to the Complex and two other centers.” Phlox stepped into the room and immediately was taken aback at the sheer size of the generators. The six cylinders took up most of the room, all humming with contained power. He didn’t recognize the design, but it definitely wasn’t anything he’d seen on any Starfleet installation, or Vulcan or Denobulan. He took out his scanner and carefully walked around each generator. “There is a definite drop in output in generators two, three and six,” he commented, “but it appears the generators themselves are not malfunctioning, but the problem lies within the conduits branching out to the Complex. It will take some time to locate and repair, but we do have a place to start. With your permission?” Mylene breathed a sigh of relief. “Of course, send for all the help and equipment you need, Commander. If I could be any assistance, please let me know.” He sketched her an elaborate bow. “Thank you, madam.” He flipped open his communicator and asked to be connected to Engineering. They worked throughout the night, isolating the problems and repairing them one by one. Ensign T’Pol flew Shuttlepod One and ferried parts to the surface. As the morning sun peeked over the mountain ridge, T’Pol approached Phlox as the rest of the Engineering team settled in for a few hours’ rest. “Ah, Ensign. Can you be so kind as to hold this wire here while I solder its twin to the new circuit board?” “Certainly, Commander.” T’Pol knelt at Phlox’s side and did as he asked. They worked in companionable silence, then she spoke. “Lieutenant Rostov asked me about the step transformers on the Vulcan shield generators. He said that it might be helpful in maintaining our speed past Warp 6.” “I believe he was concerned about ‘infringement’,” he confessed, “so I told him to consult with you first, since you are familiar with the design.” “That was thoughtful of both of you. I have been thinking on the theory and I believe it is sound. Lieutenant Commander Tucker thinks he can apply the same principle to the power consumption problems in the Armory.” Phlox decided to take the opening she’d inadvertently given him. “I assume Lieutenant Commander Tucker has his own ideas on the subject?” “Indeed.” T’Pol raised her eyebrow and a shadow of a smile passed over her face. “He is quite resourceful in his own right. Many tend to underestimate him; some think he cares little more for anything but his weapons.” Phlox chuckled. “A compliment?” “A statement of fact. When we were on Zora Prime, I would venture to say that he surprised some people with his interpersonal skills.” “Ah, yes, I noticed that. Just yesterday, he came by to talk about some possible upgrades to the Armory, to ‘give me fair warning’, though he assured me that we wouldn’t need to worry about the ratios for another two weeks. That was considerate of him, not to ‘spring it on me’, as he put it.” She inclined his head. “Yes, quite considerate. I believe he may be learning some Vulcan restraint from Soval and the others.” “Tucker is quite adaptable, I’ve noticed, and that is one of his strengths. Granted, he is more emotional than any Vulcan, but he does employ logic at times, as incomprehensible as it may sound at the time.” If T’Pol was Human, she might have laughed. Instead, Phlox saw a genuine twinkle in her eye. “His...quirks...take some ‘gettin’ used to’, as he would say.” Phlox hid a grin as the quote. Am I seeing the beginnings of an extraordinary friendship? Will it turn into something more substantial? This would be worth watching...without T’Pol’s and Tucker’s knowledge, of course. The quickest way to end it would be to point it out to the ones involved. He finished the soldering, then said, “You can move your hand now, Ensign—“ And the lights went out. Phlox let out a muttered Denobulan curse, just as his communicator chirped. “Tucker to Phlox.” “Go ahead, Lieutenant Commander.” “Looks like one of the junctions to the other Shelter blew, Phlox. The connection is AGJ-3412.” The glow of a scanner drew Phlox’s attention; T’Pol was already consulting a schematic of the Complex’s layout. She nodded, then said, “That particular pathway leads through the underground tunnels marked 3412 to 3426.” “Very well, Lieutenant Commander, I’ll scramble an Engineering team and we will attend to the problem. Phlox, out.” He switched frequencies. “Phlox to Rostov. One of the underground junctions is malfunctioning; we will need searchlights, oxygen masks, and two portable generators.” “I’m on it, Commander. Rostov, out.” Phlox put his communicator back on his belt. “May I accompany you?” he heard T’Pol ask. “Of course, Ensign. It will be helpful to have another pair of hands.” He nodded at the doors. “It should be a relatively simple fix.” Of course, nothing was as simple as it seemed. |
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