|
"A Woman's Deed" by A. Rhea King
Rating: PG CHAPTER 2 Hoshi walked into Sickbay, smiling at Phlox. “Good evening, Hoshi.” “You wanted a blood sample?” she asked, hopping onto a biobed. Phlox retrieved a hypospray and walked over to her. He drew a blood sample from her neck and then walked over to a computer. Hoshi followed him. “We weren’t supposed to talk about the pathogen to any of the crew,” Hoshi began, “but does it look life threatening so far?” “So far it doesn’t seem so. I have seen some elevated levels of testosterone in the samples I’ve taken, but nothing serious.” Hoshi looked down and then back at Phlox. “Have you taken samples from any of the men?” Phlox thought about the question a moment. He looked peculiarly at her. “No. Only women have been in to be tested. Why do you ask?” “The men are acting really strange. On the way here I passed a brawl in the hall and I saw security coming so I didn’t do anything. And Lieutenant Reed was in the lift when I got on and he hit on me and kissed me. He was pretty persistent.” “I should order them to come in so I can take some samples.” “Do Denobulans have testosterone?” “No. We have a hormone called karatillian.” Hoshi looked up at a monitor before her. “Is this my sample?” “Yes.” Phlox leaned close to her, pointing at the screen. “Here you can see your testosterone levels are slightly elevated but it’s nothing to worry about.” “I thought women had only estrogen.” “Women have both, but more estrogen than testosterone. Vice versa for men.” The two turned when the Sickbay doors opened. Malcolm walked in, shooting Phlox with a phase pistol. He turned it on Hoshi. “Lieutenant Reed, what are you doing?” “Taking what’s mine.” He walked up to Hoshi, grabbing her wrist and pulling her with him. “LET GO!” Malcolm pushed the pistol under her chin. Hoshi pulled back, running into a counter. Her hand brushed against a bottle and she slowly closed her fingers around it. “Don’t push me, Hoshi. If you don’t give into me willingly, I promise it won’t be pleasant the way I’ll force you to give in. Or maybe you’re the kind that likes things rough?” Malcolm leaned in close, brushing his lips against her. “Is that it, Hoshi? Do you like it rough?” Malcolm kissed her. Hoshi held still, letting him think he was getting his way. She closed her eyes tight as she swung her arm around and smashed the bottle against Malcolm’s head. She shoved him back, tripping him. He hit the floor, letting go of the phase pistol. Hoshi dove for the phase pistol, checked that it was set to stun and spun. Malcolm leapt to his feet and lunged at her. She shot him in the stomach and he collapsed at her legs. Hoshi got to her feet, holding the phase pistol on him as she made her way over to Phlox. She laid her hand on Phlox’s arm, shaking him. “Phlox.” Phlox opened his eyes, looking up at her. “You okay, Phlox?” Hoshi asked. Phlox sat up, looking at Malcolm. “I guess now would be a good time to ask for his blood sample.” Hoshi smiled, looking back at Malcolm. Phlox grabbed a hypospray and drew some of Reed’s blood. Phlox’s face told her his findings were not good. “How bad is it?” “His testosterone level has risen forty percent above normal.” Phlox looked at Hoshi. “I need to test the rest of the men on this ship.” “Something tells me they aren’t going to cooperate, Phlox.” Phlox tapped a companel nearby. “Phlox to T’Pol.” “Go ahead.” “We have a situation, T’Pol. Report to Sickbay. Come armed. Bring as many women as you can.” “Why women, Doctor?” “Because I think all of the men are ill from the virus the Xindi released. Hurry, T’Pol.” Phlox turned when he heard a phase pistol go off. Hoshi was standing over Malcolm. “He came to,” Hoshi quickly explained. “Let’s get him on a bed and restrain him. It will save you from having to explain to a commanding officer why you shot him multiple times.” Hoshi sat her weapon aside and help Phlox get Malcolm onto a bed. # Archer shoved Trip against the wall. “Where is she, Trip?” Trip took a swing at Archer, his punch hitting Archer in the jaw. Behind them more men were fighting, caught up in their own twisted sense of betrayal and distrust. Above the men T’Pol led a group of women through a hatch onto the top deck of Engineering, watching the men. “Start firing. They must all be rendered unconscious if we are to get them into Sickbay,” T’Pol told the women. The woman started firing. The men scattered, some picking up whatever weapon they could find. T’Pol saw Archer escape through a side hatch. She leapt off the catwalk and pursued him. She ran into a hall, finding him gone. T’Pol looked at a companel. She walked over to it and tapped it, looking down the hall. “T’Pol to Ensign Sato.” “Hoshi here.” “Go to the Command Center, stay out of sight, and stun Captain Archer when he arrives.” “He’s headed there?” “He will be shortly. Hurry.” “Yes, ma’am.” T’Pol worked the controls to open a ship wide COM. She leaned close to the speaker and when she spoke, her voice was low and seductive. “Jonathan. I know you can hear me. I’m going to the Command Center. If you’re a man at all, you’ll come take what you want.” T’Pol turned and hurried to the room. # T’Pol turned when the door opened, watching Archer walk in. He watched T’Pol with a covetous smile and the dark, dangerous look. “If I’m a man at all, T’Pol? When I’m done with you, you’ll know what kind of a man I am,” Archer informed. T’Pol lifted her phase pistol to shoot and he lunged at her. T’Pol tried to dodge his tackle. He caught her in the gut with one arm and knocked the wind out of her when he slammed her to the floor. Archer crawled on top of her, grabbing her wrists before she could take aim at him. He lifted her wrist holding the phase pistol and slammed it to the floor. T’Pol cried out, letting the phase pistol go. Archer pulled her wrists together and started pulling her clothes off. He gasped when a particle stream stunned him from behind and collapsed onto T’Pol. She pushed him off, looking up at Hoshi. “Too long?” Hoshi asked. “Your timing was sufficient. Let’s move him to Sickbay with the others.” The two women holstered their phase pistols, picked Archer up by the arms and started dragging him toward Sickbay. # Decon was filled with men screaming, yelling, pounding on the window, and fighting amongst themselves. Phlox worked the controls outside. He tapped one and the room filled with a white mist. The men fell to the floor unconscious. He tapped another control and walked over to the biobed Archer was strapped too. T’Pol stood near Archer’s biobed, watching his enraged fight against his restraints. “Have you been able to identify what is causing the rise in testosterone among the men only, Doctor?” T’Pol asked. “LET ME GO! THAT IS A DAMN ORDER!” Archer screamed. She ignored him. Phlox tapped the monitor above Archer. “To be honest, T’Pol, I think the Xindi made a mistake manufacturing this virus. The initial strain that was in the weapons looked like this.” Phlox changed the monitor, showing T’Pol the virus. “LET ME GO, YOU BITCH! I AM YOUR CAPTAIN! YOU WILL OBEY ME!” Archer screamed. “This is the new strain. Note these changes?” The changes he pointed to were minor, but T’Pol knew that minor changes in a virus were the difference between life and death. “It attacks the male endocrine system, increasing their testosterone levels two, three times above normal, but when introduced to the female endocrine system, it doesn’t survive. They apparently have a natural immunity to it, but I have yet to identify it.” “I AM GOING TO RIP YOUR EYES OUT YOU FUCKING DENOBULAN PIECE OF--” Phlox yanked up a hypospray from a nearby tray, pressed it against Archer’s neck, and injected him. Archer fell asleep. “Thank you, Doctor. That was becoming excessive.” “And annoying.” “Will they remember any of their actions during this?” “I don’t know. However, that’s the least of my concerns. If the levels in the older men, such as the Captain, stay high, they could suffer heart attacks.” T’Pol nodded. “Do what you can and keep me informed.” T’Pol turned to leave. “T’Pol, what are you going to do about the Xindi?” T’Pol stopped, looking at the ceiling. “T’Pol? “I do not know.” “If we leave--” “I am aware of what is at stake, yet I do not know if I have enough of an experienced crew to proceed.” “If there is anything I can do to help, let me know.” “Thank you, Doctor.” T’Pol turned and left. # T’Pol stared out at space. She heard the door of the mess hall open and turned to face the women of Enterprise as they entered. T’Pol pulled her hands behind her back. “All of the men of Enterprise have fallen ill. None of them have been spared from the virus the Xindi released, save Doctor Phlox.” “Thanks for confirming what we already knew, T’Pol,” Lieutenant Hess sarcastically retorted. “So what’s the problem?” “Because we have no Captain or--” “Oh cut the crap! The truth is,” Lieutenant Hess told T’Pol, “you’re stuck with a bunch of women and you don’t think we can handle this mission.” “You’re sex has nothing to do with my decision. The remaining crew simply does not have the expertise to--” “We don’t have the expertise?” Lieutenant Hess shook her head. “How do you know that? Have you asked us what we our expertise are? Or did you just read what was in our files and Starfleet certified us on? There is more to expertise than what some monitor says, T’Pol. Is that how Vulcans really determine expertise? Because, frankly T’Pol, you’ve been short sighted about the women of this crew since you came aboard. It’s no secret you serve best with men.” T’Pol lifted her chin. “I have decided we are going back to Earth.” “Oh no we’re not! We are going through with this mission! We cannot turn back after the hell we went through to get the information and get to this very spot today.” “We cannot possibly continue, Lieuten--” “NO!” Hoshi shouted. T’Pol looked at her, surprised by Hoshi’s outburst. “No. We are going through with this mission. We have to talk to the Xindi and stop them from attacking Earth, T’Pol. We cannot turn back now just because we’re short handed. We cannot fail our people.” “We were detecting patrol ships a day ago and the number has been steadily increasing. It was Captain Archer’s wish that we slip through their defense perimeter undetected so as not to alert the entire Xindi fleet to our presence, but with the number of ships patrolling that’s not likely. Do any of you claim to have the combined tactical ability of Captain Archer and Lieutenant Reed to get us through their border, undetected, so that we might have a chance to get to the Xindi home world?” “We will do whatever it takes,” Lieutenant Kelly said. “So we may not have a seasoned captain or knowledgeable Armory officer at our disposal, but we can find our way through this. Maybe you haven’t realized it yet, but humans are resourceful and adaptable, and I think women are more so, personally. How else would we have survived in a man-run world all these millennia?” “We do not have a complete detail for the Armory. We only have one helmsman. We have only one security member.” “So we’ll improvise!” Hoshi said. T’Pol tilted her head down, turning it slightly. “And what happens if we are attacked, ladies?” “Then we do just what we’ve done every other time we’ve been attacked,” Lieutenant Hess answered. “We fight.” “Earth is our home,” Petty Officer Kimball added. “Of the thirty-one of us here, twenty-three of us have husbands and children back home. We have a strong incentive to see this mission through to completion.” “And besides,” Lieutenant Hess added. “Women can secure negotiations quicker because we are willing to compromise.” “Compromising may be detrimental in this case,” T’Pol pointed out. “Or beneficial. Look, if you’re questioning your negotiating abilities, and then take me. I think I can figure out how to handle a room full of angry Xindi.” “If we proceed, who would be in command of the bridge while we were on the surface, Lieutenant? You would need Lieutenant Kelly in engineering and she is the only other senior officer aboard capable of commanding the bridge.” The women were silent, looking at each other. Eventually all eyes ended up on Hoshi. She closed her eyes, realizing what it meant. “I’ll take command of the bridge,” Hoshi said. “I know I have enough experience to handle it, T’Pol.” “You?” T’Pol’s eyebrow lifted. “Yes, ma’am.” T’Pol stared at Hoshi, intentionally making her stare hard and cold to see if Hoshi was certain about her decision. Hoshi did not retract her offer, nor did she appear uneasy under T’Pol’s gaze. T’Pol nodded, making Hoshi smile. “Lieutenant Hess, have all repairs to the engine and nacelles been made?” “Yes.” “Lieutenant Monroe, how many crew are needed in the Armory?” “Seven, but I’d like nine.” “Recruit twelve. Two of you need to report to Sickbay and aid Doctor Phlox. I need one crewman from engineering and the armory on the bridge. Everyone else will take security detail. Shifts will last nine hours, rest will be four hours, meals will be taken on duty. We will resume course in two hours. Dismissed, ladies.” T’Pol watched them depart and then turned back to the stars. She inhaled deep, closing her eyes. And then began to pray for good fortune. # “The Xindi defense perimeter is less than twenty thousand kilometers,” Hoshi reported. “Have the buoys detected us?” “No.” T’Pol looked at the chair monitor. “Do you have the buoy frequency?” “We’ll know in another fifteen thousand kilometers,” Hoshi replied. “Karen, bring us to a full halt in ten.” “Aye, ma’am,” helmsman Ensign Burke replied. Hoshi started working her controls. Burke brought Enterprise to a halt at the requested distance. Somewhere in the blackness ahead were buoys that would alert the Xindi to their presence if they came any closer. And then the entire Xindi fleet would be bearing down on them at warp four or better. “There’s a Xindi ship approaching at full impulse, ma’am,” Lieutenant Monroe reported to T’Pol. “Have they detected us?” T’Pol asked. “Not yet.” “Hurry, Ensign Sato.” “I’m trying.” T’Pol looked at the view screen. “The ship is thirty thousand kilometers and closing,” Lieutenant Monroe said. “Ensign, hurry.” “I’m trying!” T’Pol and Lieutenant Monroe looked at each other. “Ten thousand kilometers. They still haven’t detected us.” T’Pol’s hand reactively gripped the arms of the chair. “Five thousand kilometers.” Hoshi didn’t turn away from her work, despite her growing fear. “Three thousand. They’re initiating a sensor sweep.” Hoshi tapped several controls. “The sweep is within five hundred kilometers. The ship is within eight hundred kilometers.” “GOT IT!” Hoshi cried. “The nearest five buoys are disabled.” “Ahead, full impulse,” T’Pol ordered. “Not warp?” Ensign Burke asked. “No. They’ll see us going to warp. Full impulse.” “The ship is turning toward us,” Monroe reported, “The scan is within two hundred kilometers and closing.” T’Pol lifted her chin, watching the buoys come into sight. “Scan with in a hundred kilometers...eighty...sixty...” Hoshi closed her eyes, praying. “We’re through the perimeter,” Monroe said with some relief. “Ensign, bring the buoys back on line. Hurry,” T’Pol hurried. Hoshi had begun working on the command before T’Pol ordered it. “Scan is within twenty kilometers.” “Buoys back on line.” Hoshi let out a breath of relief. T’Pol looked at Monroe. “Status, Lieutenant.” “The buoys are deflecting the scan. They didn’t detect us and they’re moving off.” T’Pol let out a breath. “Proceed on course, Ensign Burke. Monroe, report any ships.” “Aye, ma’am,” she replied with a breath of relief. |
Like it? Hate it? Just want to point out a typo? Join the discussion now.
Disclaimer: Star Trek in all its various forms and its characters are the property of CBS/Paramount. No copyright infringement is intended by the authors of this site, which is solely for the purpose of entertainment and is not for profit. This site is owned by CX and was opened to the public in February 2008.