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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! :) Eight The bat seemed to pick up on Phlox’s intentions, for it launched itself off his wrist and preceded him to Junction FH-Ninety. By the time Phlox reached the junction himself, the bat was perched on the Doctor Malcolm Reed’s shoulder and chittering away at high speed. Malcolm nodded as if he understood. Next to Malcolm was Trip Tucker, who was scanning the narrow crawlspace with a hand scanner. Trip swore and slapped the scanner with his hand. “Whatever gremlin this is has affected my equipment too,” Trip groused. He glanced at the bat. “You think he can help us?” “Sonar,” was all Phlox said, and Trip gave him a wide grin. “Damn, why didn’t I think of that? Phlox, you’re a genius!” The armory officer glanced at the bat on Malcolm’s shoulder. “You get that, little guy? We need you to find Holloway, okay? She might be hurt or unconscious and we’re depending on you. Got that?” The bat rustled and chirped in response. Malcolm chuckled and mused, “I feel like a falconer on a fox hunt. All right, go find Crewman Holloway.” The bat gazed at the open hatch, then took off so abruptly that it knocked Malcolm off balance. Trip caught the doctor before he ended up on the deck. Phlox took a deep breath and squeezed his way into the crawlspace. It was a tight fit, but he scrambled forward to keep up. He counted himself fortunate that he wasn’t claustrophobic; getting stuck was a real possibility. High-pitched echoes bounced off the walls and he closed his eyes to hear better. There, to the right. He pushed a stray cable out of his way and followed the sounds. Then he came to a split in the tunnel and jumped as Malcolm ran into him. “Which way?” Malcolm asked. “One moment, Doctor.” Phlox strained to hear the bat and heard faint chittering noises. “Over there, to the left.” “I hope he knows where he’s goin’,” Trip commented from behind Malcolm. Then the three men fell silent as they continued the pursuit. The conduit began to widen, then ended at a grate. The mesh wire covering the grate had been sliced or ripped open and Phlox peered through it. He recognized where they were. “Gentlemen, I believe we’re just outside a turbolift shaft F-seventeen A.” “Holloway’s in a lift shaft? If the power comes back on—“ “I’m quite aware of that, Charles.” Phlox inched forward, then heard a distinct clanging sound. “Crewman Holloway! It’s Commander Phlox! Can you hear me?” Holloway sounded shaken, but she was alive. “Chief? I’m clinging to the emergency ladder, but I don’t know how long I can hold on. I think my ankle’s broken. The lift cable’s down to a thread...I figured I’d better get the hell out before it decided to snap and take me with it...and I think your pet got out of Engineering, sir.” Her words came out in a rush and Phlox couldn’t help but smile at the show of bravery underneath them. “He’s the one who went looking for you, Crewman, and I’m glad he found you. Give us a moment and we’ll get you out of there. Lieutenant Commander Tucker and Doctor Reed are with me.” “Thanks, Chief. I appreciate it.” Phlox banged on the remains of the grate until it bent enough for him to remove it, then poked his head cautiously and looked around. Holloway was somewhere below him, but out of sight, and the bat squawked and flapped its wings. He shone his flashlight and caught a glimpse of the lift cable. Holloway hadn’t been exaggerating about how threadbare it looked. They needed to get her out before either the power went back on or the cable snapped. If either happened, Holloway and the bat would be crushed. He gauged the distance between himself and the ladder and swallowed hard. Too bad he didn’t have wings like the bat! Cautiously, he wriggled through the grate and reached up and to his right. Phlox grasped the rung tightly and pulled himself the rest of the way out. His feet flailed in open space until they banged against the rung below him; Phlox gently settled his feet down and sighed in relief. Carefully, he eased his way further down the lift shaft. “Chief? Am I glad to see you!” The cone of light from Phlox’s flashlight rested on Holloway’s pale face. Her dark brown hair was a tangle around her shoulders, her white-knuckled hands clutched the rungs and her muscles trembled with effort. Her right leg was twisted in an odd angle; Phlox thought that her injury involved more than just her ankle. The bat occupied the rung directly above Holloway and it blinked owlishly in the light. “Good job, Little One, you’ve found her. Now go and alert Captain Sato. Go on, now.” The bat chittered in response and launched itself upwards and disappeared in the blackness above Phlox. The engineer climbed down until he was above Holloway. “Crewman, can you wrap your arms around my waist and hang on? We’re not too far from a hatch.” “My arms are pretty stiff, but I’ll try. If you could lower yourself a bit further, Chief—“ There was the sound of commotion, then Travis Mayweather’s voice came from above them. “Commander Phlox? I’ve got some people up here on the landing and I’m gonna throw a rope down to you. Can you wrap it around Holloway’s waist, so we can haul her up?” “Excellent idea, Commander.” There was a whistling sound, then the rope bopped him on the head. He winced, but managed to get a hold of it. Then he closed the gap between himself and Holloway. “Did you hear Commander Mayweather?” She nodded, her eyes betraying her relief and her pain. “I tried to move my arms, but I’m afraid my muscles are so stiff I can’t.” “It’s almost over, Crewman, don’t you worry.” He managed to maneuver himself enough to tie the rope one-handed around Holloway’s waist. Phlox felt the trembling of her muscles with the effort of just hanging on to the ladder. A crackling sound from the lift cable above them told Phlox that he’d better hurry. Gently, he pried her hands away from the rungs and wrapped them around the rope. “Phlox?” “Yes, Charles?” “I’m hangin’ right between you and Travis, just to make sure nothin’ happens to Holloway. The doc’s on the landin’ with Travis and the others. Soon as she’s up, you get your butt back up here. I don’t like the sound of that lift cable.” “Believe me, Charles, I’ll make great haste in getting out of here.” He double-checked the rope and gave Holloway a reassuring smile. Then he raised his voice. “We’re ready, Commander Mayweather!” Trip relayed his message with, “All right, haul ‘er up, slowly and carefully!” With a final smile, Phlox tugged on the rope twice, then Travis and the others began pulling Holloway up. Phlox watched as she disappeared out of sight, but overheard Trip greeting her and reassuring her again that everything was all right. Then Phlox started to climb upward, rapidly catching up to Trip, who was doing the same. To their relief, they both made it to the platform safely and were back through the hatch. Malcolm was already fussing over his patient, who now lay in a stretcher, and Phlox traded looks with Hess. “The emergency bulkheads never activated, Anna,” he told her, “and that worries me. We’ll have to engage them manually before we repair the cable.” Hess nodded, but she shared her boss’s concern. “We’ll take every precaution, Chief.” “Thanks, Anna.” Phlox glanced down at Holloway; the crewman gave him a weak smile and he patted her shoulder in reassurance. “Now, you follow whatever Doctor Reed says and I’ll see you back in Engineering before you know it.” “Thanks, Chief. I will.” At Malcolm’s signal, a pair of orderlies activated the anti-grav stretcher and floated her away with Malcolm walking alongside it. Trip frowned at Phlox and he said, “You’re right; the safety measures never kicked in. We’d better make that our first priority, Phlox. If they’re not workin’ in a crisis, it could be deadly.” “My thoughts exactly, Charles.” Phlox sighed and rubbed his cranial ridge. They had this problem, on top of all the other malfunctions. It was going to be a LONG day. The bat squawked and assumed his place on Phlox’s shoulder. “You’ve earned more than your keep, Little One. You’re entitled to as many blood flies as you want.” Trip managed a grin. “Y’know, we oughta call him Sonar. Or Squeaky. Or Fang. Or Torpedo. Or...” Travis snapped his fingers and added, “How about Flyer?” “Little Dracula?” piped up another engineering crewman. “I kinda like Rosebud,” Hess said. “Rosebud?” said Travis, Trip and everyone else. Phlox tried to remember the reference of the name and it came to him. “Ah, ‘Citizen Kane’ and Orson Welles.” He gave all of them a wide Denobulan grin. “Rest assured, I will take all of your nominations under consideration. Come, Lieutenant Commander Tucker, we’ve got plenty to do.” Trip nodded and said, “Right behind ya, Commander.” When they were out of earshot, Phlox added, “Thank you, Charles.” Trip’s smile became sober as he answered, “Something to keep their spirits up. I got a bad feeling that when we find the cause of all these mechanical screw-ups, it ain’t gonna be pretty.” “Agreed.” Phlox was also serious, “and I’m not eager to inform Ambrosius Grantham or Admiral Archer about our hardships, either.” |
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