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"Nuggets" by A. Rhea King
Rating: PG Chapter 4 : Nuggets To The Rescue Enterprise rocked when a phase cannon blast hit it. Nuggets let out a squawk, protesting to the distress that the battle was causing in her simple life. Doctor Phlox looked up from the injured crewman he was tending to. “You are fine, Nuggets!” Phlox informed her as he moved to another injured crewman. “We’ve been boarded!” someone yelled as they ran into the Sickbay. Doctor Phlox looked back, finding Trip and another crewman standing inside the Sickbay doors. They were both shooting down the hall in an attempt to keep the aliens from infiltrating Sickbay. Enterprise banked to port and another phase cannon hit caused the lights to momentarily cut out. The darkness was filled with the sound of things crashing and breaking. Nuggets squawked even louder in protest from the back of the Sickbay. The lights flickered back on, finding Trip and the armed crew that followed him taking cover behind counters and walls, prepared to defend Sickbay at all costs. Alien intruders stormed through the Sickbay doors as Nuggets raced out of the back past Trip. Trip made a lunge for her, risking getting shot to save his pet. He missed, landing on the floor instead and scuttled back to his position, raising his phase pistol. Nuggets stopped when she found her escape route blocked by strangers. In defense to creatures that looked menacing and were not her regular caretakers, she ruffled her feathers and began pacing back and forth. She squawked loudly at the intruders invading her domain, challenging them to a fight with her head and body movements. The alien advance came to an abrupt halt and they dropped their weapons. They stared bug-eyed at the chicken as they repeating what sounded like a prayer and drew a symbol in the air over and over. “What the...” Trip started. Nuggets made a dash for the door. Trip dropped his phase pistol and lunged, grabbing her before she could escape. He got to his feet, holding her in front of him. She squawked, flapped her wings feverishly and tried to claw his hands. The aliens quickly shrank back, turning their faces away from the bird. They began praying louder and making the air symbol even faster. Trip advanced on the aliens into the hall outside of Sickbay. Four more aliens ran around the corner and came to a halt at the sight of Nuggets. They too looked away and began praying and making the air symbol. Doctor Phlox and crewmen gathered in the Sickbay doors, astounded by the sight. They were completely oblivious to Phlox’s creatures flying, creeping, crawling and walking around them. “Be gone!” Trip commanded. “Or I’ll release the...chicken...on you!” Trip thrust Nuggets into the air. She squawked unhappily at Trip, struggling to get free from him. The aliens fled down the hall, screaming as if the devil himself were chasing them. Trip stared in dumbfound awe, hardly aware that Enterprise was still being rocked by the attack. A violent hit threw Trip against the wall, shaking him out of his shock. “I’ll be damned...” Trip whispered. “Nuggets, you may just save our lives today!” Trip tucked Nuggets under his arm and ran down the hall, ignoring her squawking protest. # “We have a hull breech on deck E, section twenty-one.” Malcolm reported. “Airlocks are in place, no casualties reported.” “Shoot them out of the sky, Malcolm!” Archer barked. “HOSHI, LOCATE TRIP NOW! WE HAVE TO GO TO WARP!” “I’m trying, sir!” Malcolm bit back. “Com systems and internal sensors are down all over the ship,” Hoshi reported. “We cannot withstand many more direct hits, Captain,” T’Pol said. “I’m open to suggestions, T’Pol.” The lift opened and Trip ran off, headed for the front of the bridge. “Hoshi, hail them,” Trip ordered. “Get them on screen. Get the translator online. Hurry!” “Sir?” Hoshi looked at Archer. “Trip--” Archer started. “HOSHI NOW!” Trip yelled at Hoshi. Hoshi obeyed Trip. “They aren’t responding, sir.” “Tell ‘em their pissing their deity off!” Hoshi hesitated, staring at Trip. “HOSHI!” “Aye, sir.” The alien bridge appeared on the view screen with an alien sitting prominently in the center. Trip immediately brandished Nuggets up in the air, ignoring her protesting squaws. Drawing from every comic book, book, movie and television series he’d ever read or saw, Trip threw together the most threatening, impromptu, threat he could think of. In a deep, steady and sinister voice he informed the aliens, “You have angered your deity by invading the vessel carrying her most sacred of inner sanctions and destroying her most sacred priests and priestesses. For this she will release the Super Sailor Phlox Menagerie. Your deaths will not take you to the great hall of the Alysians, but into the fiery depths of the River Styx! Prepare to meet your doom!” “CEASE FIRE!” the alien ordered. “QUICKLY!” Firing ceased instantly. The alien stood, falling to his knees and pleading, “I beg of you, Yilopa, forgive us! We did not know--” “Your pleading saves you only from an immediate doom. Yilopa curses you and your next five generations for your insolence. You shall all find destitution and die branded with the letter A, a reminder for your imprudent arrogance!” Somewhere off screen they heard someone gasp ‘my baby!’ Several of the alien crewmen started crying, looking helplessly to their captain. The alien captain bowed over and his crew mimicked him. Muffled, but still clear they heard him say, “We did not know this vessel carries your host and we beg mercy for our insolence, your eminence Yilopa. Please only bear your curse on us and spare our children and our children’s children from your punishment. We will bear the mark of our arrogance in their place, great goddess!” Trip lowered her to his arm, lifting his chin. He informed the aliens, “Your pleas have been heard, but Yilopa is still enraged. She orders the untrue you have placed into her inner sanctum to be removed immediately. Return the priests and priestess you dared to steal from her or she will release the deadly Trots to kill every living thing aboard your ship.” “Immediately, Yilopa. Quickly, do as she orders crewman.” A crewman rushed to a control to obey. “All intruders have been transported off,” T’Pol informed the bridge. “And our... The priests and priestesses have been returned as your santurary ... Chief Priest.” Archer looked at her with a furrowed brow. She gave a slight shrug. “Yilopa will be merciful, but she commands that you leave immediately and never again fire on the vessels that transport her again. Inform your spiritual leaders that if any of your impure invade her inner sanctuary again, she will send forth the worst of her wraiths, her gremlins, and her werewolves, to devour every first born of every family.” “We hear and obey immediately, Your Eminence. Thank you for your gracious mercy. Thank you! Crew, obey!” The crew quickly took their stations, the view screen changed back to an external view of the alien ship and it leapt to warp, leaving Enterprise alone. Archer and his crew were silent for several minutes, stunned by the strange twist of events. Trip crooning to his pet chicken was the only sound for several minutes. “Nugget’s royal vessel, Trip?” Archer asked. As if on queue, the others followed up with their own jabs. “Could you identify which of my controls releases the Super Sailor Phlox Menagerie, Trip?” Malcolm jabbed. “I fear we may be in the wrong comic book.” “You will live in destitute and be branded with an A?” Hoshi asked. “Oh, yeah. I’d be afraid for my life with that threat!” “So which movies and books did you steal all that from, Commander?” Travis asked. Trip’s shoulders sagged. He turned around to face the crew. “I was improvising, okay? I didn’t have time to write something more threatening or come up with a proper dooms day device name! And I had to scare the living daylights out of them so I just used as many references as I could think of.” “Trip...they left because you had a chicken.” Archer moved to the edge of the captain’s chair, clasping his hands together. “And I, for one, am dying to know how you knew that would make them leave.” Trip grinned. “Down in Sickbay we took a real bad hit and it must have knocked Nugget’s cage door open or something. She came running around the corner and these two aliens simply quit firing. So I snatched her up and started walking toward them with her. They start backing up, recitin’ some prayer, I think, and doing this thing that looked like Hail Mary’s. And these four other aliens showed up and started doing the same thing. I told them to be gone and they took off running down the hall like a ghost was after them. It was the funniest damn thing I have ever seen in my life! All because of Nuggets!” Trip held up Nuggets. Nuggets squawked loudly. “Oh. Sorry your Eminence,” Trip said to the chicken. He tucked her under her arm and stroked back her feathers. She began clucking more quietly now that she was in familiar arms and her world was back to its calm state. Shocked by the bizarre twist of events, Archer could only sink back in his chair, staring at the chicken Trip was holding. “Can I just say, for the record, that of all the really weird things in our universe this is by far the most...most...” Hoshi looked at Trip and Nuggets and then back at Archer. “WACKED! They worship chickens!” Nuggets squawked in general protest. Archer smiled, laughing. “Yeah, well, our chicken just saved our lives. Trip, return her goddess Nuggets to her home and start on repairs.” “Come Yilopa’s host,” Trip laughed as he walked back to the lift. Archer sighed. “Get both canons back on line, Malcolm.” “Aye, sir.” Malcolm walked around to the lift. He stopped behind Archer’s chair asking, “We really were just saved by a chicken?” “‘Fraid so, Lieutenant.” “I have to agree with Ensign Sato, sir. Our universe certainly does have some daftness to it.” Archer nodded. “Agreed, Malcolm.” Malcolm stepped onto the lift when the door opened, muttering something under his breath that sounded very close to swearing. Archer smiled, deciding it was probably best not to have him repeat it. # Archer hesitated outside of Sickbay, staring at the doors. With a sigh he walked into the room. Even though he’d just left the mess hall and had seen Phlox there, he half expected him to appear. Archer walked to the back of the room to where Nuggets and several other animals lived. Archer walked up to the cage, staring at the chicken. She was sitting on a roost pole sleeping. She looked up when his shadow fell across her, quietly clucking at him. Archer reached out and opened the door. He reached in and picked her up. She didn’t fight, only continued to quietly cluck. Archer cuddled her to his chest and stroked her head and neck. “You’re something, chicken, know that? I never, in my life, thought a chicken would save me, let alone my ship and crew.” Nuggets closed her eyes, going back to sleep. Archer smiled. “I guess you’ve earned your keep, stupid bird. What’s a ship without a mascot, huh? Porthos might take it a little hard, though.” Archer put her back in her cage and latched the door. He turned, running into T’Pol. He glanced at the container she was holding. “Captain,” T’Pol said. Archer forced a wide smile to hide his nervousness of being caught talking to Nuggets. “I was looking for Doctor Phlox,” Archer told her. “He is in the mess hall or his quarters, I believe.” “Oh. Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” Neither of them moved. Archer glanced at the container again. “What are you doing here?” Archer asked. “Commander Tucker has a great deal of work to attend to since the attack. I offered to feed Nuggets for him.” Archer’s smile turned sly. “So you’ve gone from pet fowl to Nuggets, I see.” “Just as you have gone from wishing death on her to accepting her as part of the crew, I just saw.” Archer grinned, nodding. “Touché. Guess we should let this one go, shouldn’t we?” “Indeed.” “Good night, T’Pol.” “Good night, Captain.” Archer walked around T’Pol. She turned half a step, watching him leave. She turned back when the door shut. T’Pol walked up to the cage and opened the door. Nuggets woke and started clucking happily at the sight of her. She jumped off her roost and walked to the opening. T’Pol picked her up and sat her on top of the cage. Nuggets leaned over the edge, watching the container. T’Pol opened it to reveal four large, ripe strawberries. She tore off a piece and held it up for Nuggets. The chicken pecked at it, slowly devouring it. T’Pol glanced down at her food dish, full with a grain mix. Nuggets finished and she tore off another piece, holding it up for the bird to eat. “You deserve this treat more than usual tonight, Nuggets,” T’Pol quietly told Nuggets. Nuggets didn’t care. She just wanted her nightly piece of fruit that only this two-legged creature brought her every night. |
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