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"The Batty Engineer"
Rating: PG-13 Please R&R...even if you haven’t reviewed before. I’d like to hear what you all think. Thanks much! :) And Pesterfield...you rock! :) Seven Phlox sighed and regarded the bat as he sat in his office. The bat had appropriated a metal bar at a corner of the room, one that displayed a diagram of lithium chain reactions in a warp core. Attached to the bar was a container of blood flies, courtesy of Mylene. Massaro had found the empty can lying around Main Engineering and soldered it to the bar, so the bat had an automatic food dispenser, as long as Phlox kept it full. Of course, the bat preferred contact with his handler, so Phlox reached for the plate of blood flies on his desk and tossed one to the bat. He snatched it up greedily from the air and chewed in calm contentment. “What shall I call you?” Phlox asked. “Very soon, according to Mylene, you will be too big for me to keep calling you ‘Little One’.” Then he heard T’Pol’s voice from the doorway. “What is the Denobulan word for ‘bat’?” Phlox glanced up at the Vulcan with a perplexed expression. “We do not have an equivalent lifeform per se on Denobula. I suppose the closest term would be ‘aelnat’, which means ‘winged one’. Hmm...Aelnat. Ill-nath. Somehow, I’m not too enamored with the name.” She didn’t quite shrug, but she replied, “It was only a suggestion, Commander. I have confidence that you will be able to find an appropriate name for your pet.” She inclined her head. “May I sit and speak in confidence?” “Of course, Ensign.” Phlox gestured to the chair opposite him. He noticed that T’Pol did not look completely well; in fact, she looked sick to her stomach. “Are you feeling well? Forgive me, but you look somewhat more...greenish...than usual.” T’Pol shook her head as if dismissing his concern. “I am functional, Commander. I would like you to see your handiwork concerning the protection against this radan.” She drew out a shiny metal box, its lid latched securely shut. “Ah, so the design works,” Phlox said, pleased at the result, “though I cannot take sole credit for it. Massaro, Hess, Chimoka and Commander Mayweather also made contributions. So, it prevents the radiation from leaking to the outside.” “Yes.” T’Pol leaned forward and tapped Phlox’s computer console. A set of readings appeared on it that caught his attention. “Once Commander Mayweather knew what to look for, he consulted geological records for this radan. At the left, you see the structure of the familiar form of the element. Compare it with the readings on the right, the ones of the samples from Pyrithia.” He blinked at the comparison. “Fascinating. The molecular structure of the Pyrithian samples are in perfect lattices and vibrate in complete harmony with each other. The ‘normal’ radan does not have that quality.” “Yes. That stable molecular structure allows the mineral to be used for artistic purposes, but radan as a whole is relatively rare.” “But in a large enough quantity--“ Phlox tapped a value on the screen. “Hmmm...I wonder. Could this element be used as a capacitor to store energy?” “Perhaps. It might be also used to convert energy from one form to another...but we need to subject this to more testing and refining before we can prove that assumption.” Phlox sat back in his seat, lost in thought, as he contemplated this new possibility. “If that is true, then I can see why the ‘prospectors’ were so eager to mine it, and if the energy companies on Earth knew of its properties...” He glanced sharply at T’Pol, who blinked rapidly in the relatively normal light of the office. “Ensign? T’Pol?” The Vulcan woman didn’t respond for several seconds and Phlox moved his hand to call Doctor Reed, but then she put a hand on his and startled him with the gesture. “Allow me a few moments, Commander.” “What is it?” he asked her. “Do you need medical attention?” “No..I have not had the opportunity to meditate properly since Zora Prime,” she admitted with downcast eyes. “It is beginning to affect my thought processes.” “Then you should do so without delay. You are off-duty now, are you not?” She nodded, but it had a distracted quality to it, as if something else in his office had caught her attention. The bat twisted its head to look at her, but made no sound. Phlox frowned, then said, “I will call Sickbay. You are not healthy—“ There was a sharp rap on the door and Doctor Malcolm Reed stepped in. Phlox sighed in relief at the sight of the doctor. “Doctor Reed, Ensign T’Pol seems to need some care—“ Malcolm nodded and asked, “She hasn’t been resting or meditating, hasn’t she?” “She has admitted as much to me. I am concerned for her.” “As am I.” Malcolm knelt in front of T’Pol and put his hands on her shoulders. Phlox’s command of Vulcan was not perfect—he knew enough to deal with Vulcan engineers—but he understood Reed’s question: “What do you see?” And to Phlox’s surprise, she answered, “I am not certain. It all swirls around me in confusion. I cannot focus on a single image.” “It will come in time, with practice.” Malcolm switched to English and addressed Phlox. “This happens frequently when Vulcans do not meditate and clear their minds, Commander. A Human’s thought processes and reaction times are compromised when they are utterly exhausted. Vulcans do the same, despite their reassurances that they are all right.” “She sounds...well, forgive me, Doctor, somewhat delusional. It is as if she sees things that aren’t really there.” Malcolm nodded, though Phlox saw that his remark had struck an uncomfortable chord with the doctor. “Brain chemistry in Vulcans can be rather...tricky at times. Commander, will you do me a favor? I know that Lieutenant Commander Tucker is busy with our ‘guests’, but can you ask him to meet us in Sickbay at his earliest convenience?” “Certainly. Though I do not understand...what does Charles have to do with this?” “He was with her on Zora Prime. Perhaps he can offer some insight as to what T’Pol is seeing...or thinks she’s seeing.” “Ah. Now I understand.” Phlox suspected there was more than just that simple reason; Malcolm all but confirmed his previous suspicions without saying a word. A definite tie between Tucker and T’Pol, more serious than I had first thought. “I will let Charles know immediately, and please let me know about her condition. As I said, I am quite concerned for her.” “Of course.” Malcolm touched T’Pol’s arm. She blinked as if coming out of a deep sleep. “Come, T’Pol. You need a quiet place to gather your thoughts.” “Yes, Doctor.” T’Pol glanced at Phlox; if a Vulcan could be embarrassed, she was definitely embarrassed. “Forgive me, Commander—“ Phlox waved off her apology. “No harm done, Ensign. Go with Doctor Reed. We will continue this conversation later.” As soon as Malcolm and T’Pol left his office, he paged Tucker and informed him on the situation. “Tell the Doc I’ll be right there, Phlox. Tucker, out.” Tucker didn’t sound surprised, but Phlox heard a definite note of tension in the Southern drawl. If the two were connected in some way, it made sense that he would feel what T’Pol felt. Were they aware of it? They had to be aware of it, Phlox decided. A connection that strong could not be ignored. Then it begged the questions: How? Why? And more important, What will happen now? Phlox set aside his musings, relayed the message to Sickbay, then glanced over at the bat, who had been strangely silent this entire time. “Do you think there is more between Charles and T’Pol than meets the eye, Little One? I certainly think so. A Vulcan and a Human? The Universe is a strange place, is it not?” The bat only squeaked a request. Phlox sighed and tossed another blood fly in the bat’s direction. Phlox contemplated the radan in the box, then the information on his screen. It promised to be an interesting conundrum to solve. Phlox joined Captain Sato, Commander Mayweather, Doctor Reed and Lieutenant Commander Tucker in the Captain’s Mess. Hoshi liked to use informal dinners to hear opinions and reports from her senior staff. The Denobulan didn’t object to this practice; it gave him the opportunity to observe his colleagues. They all sighed with relief as Malcolm and Trip gave reassurances of T’Pol’s health. The Vulcan had just overextended herself, that was all. “We did go through a lot on Zora Prime,” Trip admitted. “Seein’ her foster sister really shook her up, then seein’ some of her old pals in the Security Ministry. It’s taken her some time to adjust to it.” “Mmmm,” Hoshi murmured, as she pushed her empty bowl of plomeek soup. She turned to Phlox and asked, “How’s your little friend adjusting to Engineering?” Phlox grinned and replied, “He’s made a home for himself in my office, munching on blood flies and flying about on occasion. The Engineering crew seems taken by his ‘cuteness’, as Lieutenant Hess puts it.” “Got a name for him yet?” Trip asked. “Not yet...though I’m considering asking the crew to assist me...” “A raffle or a betting pool?” Hoshi asked, her voice humorous. “I suppose it could be good for crew morale, Phlox.” Travis laughed and finished the beer in his stein. “It’d be interesting to see what the crew comes up with. I’m sure someone’ll come up with something creative, Commander.” “I’m sure of that.” Phlox sighed and regarded his lo mein. “What will we do with our ‘guests’, Captain?” Hoshi sobered and said, “We’re rendezvousing with the S’taaven in six hours, and they’ll be transporting them to the nearest Earth facility to be taken into custody. I don’t envy what’s coming to them, though. Paxton denies any involvement, of course, though there’s some evidence that his off-world contacts might have been looking to make some profits on the side with illegal mining of minerals and poaching of native animals.” Phlox felt somewhat relieved that the “targ”, as Klaang had called them, would be punished for their crimes, but he wondered whether or not Paxton was actually innocent. Judging from Trip Tucker’s expression, the armory officer had his doubts as well. “Speaking of ‘guests’, your information about Klaang’s people has kept Jon busy for a while. I swear he looks like a kid in a candy store when he’s confronted with a brand new culture,” Hoshi said with another grin. “At least he’ll be distracted for a little while.” Phlox smiled and added, “And I can guess the captain is also thrilled at a new culture as well.” Hoshi blushed, much to the amusement of the senior staff. Suddenly, the lights dimmed again. The captain moved toward the comm, but Phlox beat her to it as Rostov’s voice paged him. “We’re getting some sort of interference again, Commander.” “I thought we placed every radan sample within the protective boxes, Michael.” “We did. This is different, Chief. Hess, Kelby and Massaro are trying to trace the source of the disruptions, but it’s elusive. Just as we purge one system, another one acts up.” “Environmental systems?” “Safe so far, and that includes life support and gravity. Everything else seems to be fair game, Chief.” Phlox sighed and said, “I’m on my way. Keep looking for the gremlins, Michael. Phlox, out.” Trip nodded and wiped his mouth. “Gremlins sound about right. I’d better head to the Armory and make sure everything’s secure.” “Alert stations, everyone,” Hoshi ordered. “Condition yellow.” The senior staff scattered at her words. Phlox took the lift down to Engineering and reached it just in time, for the power went out again after he’d taken a few steps out of the lift. He ran through the hatch and nearly ran into Kelby. “Internal sensors off-line!” Kelby reported. “Re-initiating sensory start-up sequence.” “Everyone all right?” Phlox demanded. “We’ve got a few people who were in the crawlways when the power went,” Hess reported. “All of them got out...except for Crewman Holloway. The last we heard she was in FH-Ninety...” Phlox consulted a mental map of Enterprise’s myriad crawlways. “That’s on the opposite side of the ship, on F-deck. If she hasn’t responded, she might have fallen and gotten hurt.” “That’s assuming she stayed in FH-Ninety. If she was on her way out, she could be anywhere, Chief.” Phlox bit his lip, then heard agitated noises from his office. The bat! Internal sensors might be malfunctioning, but he has his own built-in sonar! He could help us find Holloway! It was a crazy idea, but it might just work. “Send a runner to Sickbay and have Doctor Reed or Lieutenant Cutler meet me on F-Deck, Junction FH-Ninety!” Phlox rushed into his office and pulled out one of the old hawker’s gloves that Thala had given him. He clucked his tongue and the bat settled onto his right wrist as if he’d done it since birth. Then he barreled past a startled Hess with the bat perched precariously on his arm and they began to climb the emergency access ladder, heading for F Deck. |
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