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Here There Be Dragons

Enterprise was on its late night cycle. The ship was never actually in darkness as it was operationally manned 24/7 but, being synchronized with San Francisco time, there was a definite down time. Thus, it was along barely lit corridors that Jon Archer padded towards his destination of the mess hall.

Entering, he didn't expect anyone else to be in the room this late at night. He was mildly surprised to find Doctor Phlox enjoying a light snack. Jon moved to the beverage dispenser. "Milk, warm." Retrieving the cup he walked over to Phlox. "You're up late."

"I'm always up, Captain, except during my sleep cycle." He offered the captain a seat and the tall sandy haired man folded himself into it. "However, you're normally asleep during this time. Is something bothering you?" He was fairly certain he understood what was upsetting the man, but wanted him to bring it up.

Jon nodded. "Lt. Markeson's death." He paused, looking down into the mug. "I keep thinking if we hadn't been so eager to explore that planet, he'd still be alive."

Phlox was right. Jonathan Archer was nothing if not a conscientious captain. "Lt. Markeson volunteered for the mission, if memory serves."

Jon acknowledged that fact with a bob of his head. "True." He paused again. "And we didn't know about the transparent mold." He found that the most ironic situation of all. They'd followed Vulcan inspired protocols this time, doing a comprehensive scan of the planet before taking the shuttlepod down. They'd found few things that would pose a danger and were prepared for those eventualities. Still Markeson, who'd been the one to fall into the nearly invisible patch of mold, had to be transported up to Enterprise for emergency treatment. Afterwards, T'Pol had pointed out that this situation would have likely been missed by the Vulcans as well. It didn't help.

"Exactly," Phlox answered as if that should end the discussion. For many species, that would be enough. For humans, Phlox had learned that they often sought reasons for or assigned blame when things went wrong, many times taking the blame onto themselves.

This human in particular wasn't willing to take the comfortable route of excuses. "Just because we didn't know about it doesn't mean it had to happen. If I hadn't sent him to gather those rock samples…"

"Captain. I know you'd like to protect your crew from any danger, but you're in unexplored territory. Some of these planets have never been mapped. How many have you added to the Vulcan database, hmmmm?"

A slight smile teased the sides of Jonathan's mouth. "Quite a few." He grew serious again and sipped his milk. "Still…"

"Still, you're questioning why Lt. Markeson died."

"I know why he died," Jon snapped sharply. "The mold seeped in through his skin and caused his body to decompose." He closed his eyes tightly. It had been a horrid death. Phlox had used every tool in his medical arsenal. Nothing had worked. In the end, Jon had approved the lethal shot that Markeson had begged for to end his pain.

"You know how he died, not why, Captain." Phlox answered quietly.

With almost a pout, the captain retorted, his green eyes opening to show the pain the loss of this crewman had produced, "There is no good answer for that."

"No. I suppose that's true." Phlox turned to a different tact. "You, more than most perhaps, have seen what can happen out in deep space. How many natural dangers have we run into? Spores on one of the first planets we explored, the Vox Sola, the trinary black hole system. Shall I go on?"

Jon licked quickly at his lips. "I know about all that but no one died. I guess we were lucky that we didn't have to face anyone's death until The Expanse, although we got close a few times."

"You were damned lucky. I've never told you about the first Denobulan deep space missions, have I?"

"No." The topic sparked his interest. "How long ago was that?"

"In your Earth timekeeping scheme, about 650 years ago." Phlox collected his thoughts. "Several of my ancestors were involved in the project. Our first ships, although different in configuration, were comparable with Enterprise. We lost the majority of three ships' crews within the first 10 years."

Surprised at this information, Jon asked with concern, "What happened?"

Phlox took a breath and then explained. "Denobulans, you might have noticed, are curious by nature. We too wanted to find out what was out there. We certainly didn't have any Vulcan protocols to choose to use or not. It was trial and error for us and in those first few years, there was more error than some felt necessary. The missions were almost stopped entirely at one point."

"Why did you continue with such losses?" Jon asked. He recalled the fact that Starfleet was ready to pull them back when the mining colony had been destroyed. It had taken proof that the Suliban Cabal had caused the loss of life that had kept their mission on track.

"Because we understood that space is a dangerous place." Phlox had apparently seen Jon frowning at that obvious fact so he clarified. "I'm not saying you don't understand that as well. You've seen enough to know that's a part of this endeavor. My point is everyone that chooses to come along for such a ride is taking a risk that perhaps the next moment could be their last. It's true for any such endeavor, but especially true when you're traveling in the vacuum of space and inserting yourself into unknown lands."

"Here there be dragons," Jon voiced solemnly.

"Excuse me?" Phlox asked.

"When my people first set out on the deep oceans, the mapmakers would put those words in areas they knew nothing about. It was a way of saying danger would be found if one explored in that area."

"Ah. Yes. That creative streak humans seem to have in abundance," Phlox answered.

Jon ran the concept around his mind. "So you're saying that Lt. Markeson's death was just the price we pay for being explorers." He breathed in and let it out. "Still sucks."

"Yes. It does…um…suck." Phlox for not the first time had to admit that certain human phrases were uniquely suited for various scenarios.

Jon picked up his milk and drank it down. "Thanks for reminding me, Phlox. It's not that I didn't know this; it's that after letting his parents know about his death, I was second guessing myself."

"How did they take the news?" Phlox queried.

"Surprisingly well. They said that he had found it the greatest honor to serve aboard Enterprise. His mother said before he left, he'd told his family this could happen, and if they ever received such a call to know he'd died doing exactly what he wanted to do."

"Sounds like they made it easy for you."

"It's never easy. I hope it never becomes easy." Jon got up. "Thanks, Phlox."

"Anytime, Captain. Except during my sleep cycle."

Jon smiled. "When is that coming up again?"

Phlox calculated with a tilt of the head, "Ten months, three days, and um…nine hours."

"Well, I'd say pleasant dreams, but it's a long time until you need that."

Phlox looked kindly towards him. "The sentiment is still appreciated. Pleasant dreams, Captain."

"Thanks. They're much more likely now." With that, he dropped off his mug and walked back to his quarters, more at ease than he'd felt before. Before falling into slumber, he considered how much he'd come to appreciate the Denobulan's gentle counsel. The thought was fleeting though as sleep caught up to him.