Chapter 9

Sickbay was nearly silent except for the rhythmic beeping of the medical monitors in the curtained area next to the female patient. The only other person in the room was the medical technician, Ensign Leslie Chambers, working diligently in the corner. Her head was bopping in time to the music from her ear bud. She was only wearing one, so she was able to hear the monitors in the room. She heard the main door open behind her and glanced over to Ensign Pascale Braidi come through. Chambers greeted her friend with a big grin. "Hey, what's going on?"

"I just stopped to see if you wanted to work out later," Braidi said as she approached the counter.

"Crewmen Kellie should be here in a few minutes and then I can leave." Leslie replied as she returned to the computer screen and the lab results she had been working with. "I just have a couple more tests to run on these samples. You can stay if you want … I could use the company."

Braidi grabbed a stool and then looked around the room. It was empty except for the female patient on the biobed. "I thought there was supposed to be a security detail in here."

Chambers glanced over at the door, "Corporal Benning was in here earlier, but he went to for dinner."

Braidi looked perplexed. "He just left without calling for relief? Does Colonel Lynch or the Captain know that?"

"I would think he told someone," Chambers replied. "I thought it was a little weird at first … but the patient is unconscious. It is not like she is going to get up and run out of here." She shrugged her shoulders looking over at Pascale.

Braidi laughed. "I guess you have a point. Hey, I've been meaning to ask you, are you still having a fling with you know who?"

Chambers looked over at Pascale with tilted head. "No. That's over," she answered quickly arching her eyebrows and then turned back to her computer screen.

"Since when?" Pascale said, not believing the answer. "I thought you still seeing him at space dock?" she prodded her friend gently.

"We were, but he was just the Chief Engineer then," she replied, pretending to be reviewing data. "Now he is the First Officer and everything is different. He said he can't see me because he's my boss." Leslie felt her face flush slightly. She had just told her a friend a lie. It was the lie that Rybaiski had asked her to tell because the Captain had warned him about dating the crew.

"Hmmm," Braidi mumbled twisting slightly on the stool. "You do know that his ex is on board."

"What?" Chambers exclaimed, the revelation hitting her like a ton of bricks. "Who is it?"

"Lieutenant Sato," Braidi replied with a smile on her face.

"Lieutenant Sato is 'the one'?" she questioned making the quotation marks with her hands. The one he cheated on when he slept with Chambers. She covered her mouth with her hand. "You are sure? How do you know?"

"Well, I wasn't exactly sure until today." Pascale replied with a sly grin on her face. "When we were at space dock she made comments about her ex but never mentioned him by name. Then Crewman Baker told me he saw them arguing in the corridor a couple of days ago." She continued to smile as she retold the story, slightly swaying on the stool. "But earlier today, they got into a fight in the Command Center and the air with thick with tension." She waved her hands to make her point. "Captain Tucker had to yell at him to knock it off."

Chambers rolled a stool next to her friend and sat down. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach. "Oh my god, I can't believe she is 'the one'." She repeated making the quotation sign again. "Hoshi is so nice. Stu used to talk so mean about his ex, saying she was possessive and jealous and…"

Pascale interrupted her mid thought. "Les, she probably was jealous and possessive. Think about it... how would you be if your boyfriend cheated on you?"

Chambers was quiet for a moment and reflected quickly. She was feeling jealous and possessive herself. After Admiral Stewart had named Rybaiski Acting First Officer, Stu had told her they couldn't see each other anymore. Then just a day later, he came knocking on her cabin door. Chambers had thought it was because she really meant something to him. Now it was clear to her that Sato had rejected him and she was the consolation prize. The reality lit the fire in her blood.

She balled up fist and took a deep breath. "He didn't dump me because he is my boss now … he did it because he wants to be back with her!" Chambers stood up and kicked the stool into the counter. "He's … ugh! Jerk! Jackass!"

Braidi looked at Chambers. "Les, no sense getting mad at him, you knew what you were getting into when you tasted the wine," Braidi offered ruefully. Pascale made a face and stuck her tongue out as she reflected on his motives.

00-00

As the young ensigns continued their conversation, a soft rustling of bed sheets could be heard from behind the curtain. The banging of the stool hitting the side of the counter woke Riley from her slumber. She opened her eyes slowly and tried to orient herself to the room. Initially she thought she was still in the escape pod, the beeping sound of the sensor display ringing in her ears. As she tuned into the noise and heard the voices in the distance, she quickly realized her plight. I'm in a hospital, she surmised looking around the bed. Which means someone found the pod and now they'll nurse me back to help and start this crap all over again! she cried silently to herself.

Riley's first inclination was to run. She attempted to sit up, moving quickly for her escape and felt a stabbing pain in her belly. She leaned on her right side as a wave a nausea wash against her, and the room shifted on its axis. She hung her head down, taking deep breaths to regain her composure. She had no time to be weak. She needed to get out of this room and make her way to freedom.

Riley lay back on the bed and closed her eyes. Her earring translated the voices in the background into the language she heard only in her heart. When she felt stronger, she attempted to rise again, more slowly this time. Once sitting, she turned to her right and stared at the medical monitor above her bed.

She scanned the data quickly, noting everything appeared in English. Riley dismissed this as her mind playing tricks on her. Her earring translated language not words. Based on the information on the display and a distant memory of something her father had told her, she determined she wasn't dying.

"I'm not dying here," she mumbled aloud to herself as she gingerly pushed herself off the bed.

Ensign Chambers and Braidi were laughing quietly as Pascale recapped the First Officer's actions on the bridge. Chambers heard a faint sound and glanced around the room looking for the source.

"Did you hear something?" she asked Pascale.

"Could you be more specific," Braidi replied following her friend's eyes. "There are a lot of noises in here."

Chambers shook her head and stood from the chair. "I heard a voice." She walked into the center of the room with Pascale in tow. She found no one there and walked toward the back of the room passing the female patient's curtain area.

Pascale noticed the fabric of the curtain divider move as she passed it. She pulled the drape open slightly to look in on the woman and found herself face to face with the female patient.

"Les," she whispered.

When Chambers turned to look at her, Braidi tilted her head slightly running her eyes from Chambers to directly in front of her. Chambers caught the movement and took one step back. A gasp escaped her lips when she saw the female cowering at the edge of the bed.

"Hi," Leslie stammered out, trying to be as non-threatening as possible. "We aren't going to hurt you. We found your pod and brought you on board to help you."

"You can't help me," whispered Riley as she backed away from the females. Based on the statement, she knew she was on a ship. This would make her escape a little difficult, but not impossible. One of her previous owners had been gracious enough to instruct her on the basics of shuttle operation. On an alien vessel, the controls would be slightly different, but she was confident she could make it work. At the very least, she had to make an attempt; she had nothing left to lose.

With the curtain open, she had a clear line of sight to a door, which obviously led out of the room. Her only obstacles were the two females in front of her. They were talking to her in soft tones, but she wasn't listening. She backed up a few more steps and prepared herself to attack the female standing closest to the bed. As she took the final steps, she watched one of the females walk across the room and retrieve what looked to be a hypospray from the counter. This was Riley's break and she took it.

Riley flew at the Ensign Braidi with a howling fury slamming her right fist hard into the face of her victim. Braidi never felt it coming and slumped to the floor with little resistance, blood spurting from her broken nose.

Ensign Chambers heard the commotion behind her and spun to react. She held the hypospray in one hand and steeled herself against the pouncing female. Although Chambers was taller and more muscular than the female, she was caught off guard by her strength. The two women wrestled and fought for several seconds until the female pushed Leslie to the floor. The hypospray was knocked away from Chambers hand. Riley felt a sharp pain in her side and gave into in for a second. In an instant, she realized the medical device was within her reach and she snatched it quickly off the floor. She leaned over her prey as Chambers grabbed her left arm and twisted it with all her strength. The newly set bones popped easily as Riley screamed out in agony.

Chambers thought the pain would sideline her attacker and give her the opportunity to grab another weapon; however, that theory quickly proved wrong. The pain intensified Riley's persistence. She shoved Chambers flat on the floor and grabbed a handful of Leslie's short hair. Leslie cringed as she felt her head slammed against the cold tiles. As she tried to fight off the darkness, she felt the slight pinch of the hypo being pressed against her skin and felt the room spin as the light faded from her eyes.

Riley knelt on the floor for a moment, breathing deeply and in pain. She gripped her side with her right hand and felt the wetness of the fabric. She pulled her hand back and saw a trace of blood on it.

"I don't have time for this," she mumbled. She stood from the floor and staggered toward a storage cabinet near her bed looking for a bandage or a towel. When she opened the door, she found more gowns and grabbed a handful of them. She pulled a fresh gown over her head and leaned against the cabinet for a moment to steady herself. Riley glanced around the room and noticed another ampoule of medication lying on the countertop. She stumbled over to pick it up and shoved it in the pocket of her gown and then turned and ran out of the room.

The senior staff was enjoying a leisurely meal and casual conversation in the Captain's dining room when the call for the Captain came through.

"Sickbay to Captain Tucker," yelled Crewman Kellie.

Tucker stood to answer the comm noting her voice was slightly distressed.

"Tucker here."

"Sir, you better come down here. I just reported for duty. Ensigns Chambers and Braidi are unconscious and the female patient from the escape pod is missing."

The dining room because deathly silent as the senior staff quickly glanced at each other. Rybaiski and the Captain were the first to move, with Gervase close behind calling for a security detail on his communicator.

00-00

Commander Stu Rybaiski walked down the corridor on Deck Six staring at a PADD that contained the latest engineering diagnostic data. His thoughts were not just on the data in front of him. It had been over four hours since the Captain ordered the ship-wide search for the female patient from sickbay. Her injuries not hampering her escape and the resourcefulness she garnered during her years in captivity hindering her capture. For the first time since the ship was in construction, the First Officer was acutely aware of how many hiding places there were on the ship and exactly how long it was going to take to search them.

In the back of his mind, he was concerned about Chambers. He had just come from sickbay, checking on her status under the pretense as the First Officer. However, as he stared at her unconscious form on the biobed, his heart went out to her. They had been intimate since leaving space dock, despite Tucker's 'Romeo' warning. Just this morning he had asked her to keep their relationship quiet, now he chided himself for not being able to protect her from the attacker. How was he to know the female named Riley was as strong as an ox?

"Engineering to the First Officer." Lieutenant Dempsey's voice on the ship wide comm line startled him. He rolled his eyes and walked over to a comm panel and keyed open a line.

"Rybaiski here."

"We'll be ready to make the jump to Warp 5.5 in 10 minutes," he stated flatly.

"Great job, Lieutenant. I'll inform the Captain." Rybaiski closed the comm line and fished his communicator out of his left arm utility pocket.

"Rybaiski to Tucker," Rybaiski called.

"Tucker."

"Engineering reports we'll be able to go jump to 5.5 within the hour." Better to pad, then to sell yourself short, Rybaiski thought to himself smugly.

"It is about time," Tucker replied sarcastically. "I'm tired of dinkin' around out here."

"I take it by your tone the search isn't going too well?" Rybaiski asked already knowing the answer.

"No, it isn't. I'm going to give them another hour and then I'm going to evacuate the ship."

Rybaiski looked around the corridor after the Captain's last comment. "Evacuate?" he asked. "Sir, I don't know if the crew can hold their breath that long."

Tucker's laughter could be heard over his open comm line. "Now that's an option I hadn't considered. I was thinking more along the lines of the cargo bay and then sweeping the rest of the ship."

"Glad you clarified that sir, you were starting to worry me. I'll be in Engineering to help Dempsey fire the engines if you need my assistance. Rybaiski out." He slid the cover of his communicator closed and turned in the corridor to head for the turbolift. He was almost to the lift when his communicator chirped.

"Rybaiski," he answered.

"Commander, are you still on deck six?" Lieutenant Dempsey asked from Engineering.

"Yes and I'm on my way down there," Rybaiski replied.

"Well, hold up. We just had two relays blow in sections Gamma Jay 19, and Gamma Jay 20," Dempsey called.

"Launch bay?" Rybaiski questioned rolling his eyes. Looks like I found our missing patient, he thought to himself. "I'll investigate. Rybaiski out."

He turned on his heel and headed quickly toward the launch bay. The only reason those relays would burn out would be if someone was trying to over-ride the doors. What he didn't understand is how she could have gotten past the security detail standing at the hatch. Well, that is unless security decided to take a coffee break, he muttered under his breath. Colonel Lynch and her team were under his scrutiny now. We may screw around in engineering, but at least we don't leave our posts to go to dinner, he mused as he continued down the hall.

He rounded the corner at the bay and found the security agent unconscious on the deck. As he checked the man for a pulse and injury he noticed the agent's phase pistol was missing. He looked down the hall and saw maintenance hatch to the launch bay slightly ajar. Rybaiski stood and un-holstered his own phase pistol and stepped quietly through the hatch.

Riley sat shivering in the shuttle pod, staring at the computer monitor in front of her, slightly bewildered. Getting to this point had been easy. After she left the medical bay she was able to access a computer in a small lab. She tapped a few buttons and retrieved a schematic of the ship. Scanning the data quickly, she found the shuttle bay, three decks down from the lab. When she thought she heard someone coming, she crawled into the ventilation duct.

She spent most of the next three hours crawling around in the ductwork. Her legs and arms, covered with scratches and dried blood, bared the proof. She could hear people looking for her, sometimes in the corridor directly below, as she made her way to freedom. She even found a tight hole where she curled up for a nap.

Now impending doom was hanging over her head. She was faced with two problems; she had no idea how to activate the shuttle bay doors. On Gowan's ship once the relays were disabled, the doors opened automatically when the shuttle powered up. She had followed the procedure to the letter, the relays were disabled, the shuttle was powered up, but the doors remained closed. As she stared at the monitor looking for answers her second dilemma hit her square in the face and was the most disconcerting of all. The language on the monitor was English. In fact every monitor she had looked at since waking up in the medical bay appeared to be in English.

Riley knew this was impossible, her earring translated voices, not written words. Her mind was playing tricks on her, perhaps her head injury was more severe than she originally thought, she mused as she instinctively ran her hand over her ear lobe. Panic set in immediately and she felt the color drain from her face. The earring was gone. She twisted in her seat, looking frantically on the floor or the folds of her gown. It was nowhere to be found.

"It must have fallen off in the ventilation shaft", she mumbled quietly. "It's gone, no sense crying over dropped milk." She laughed nervously remembering her mother's favorite phrase. She looked back at the monitor and tried to find something that would help her situation. The footfall behind her and the rustle of clothing quickly squashed that idea.

"Going somewhere?"

Riley froze in her seat. She could feel the blood burning in her face and her stomach lurch with anxiety. The male voice behind her continued on.

"I gotta say your fight for survival is quite impressive....who would have guessed you were a secret weapon? I mean, shoot...considering your injuries, you're tough .. and smart! You sure had security stumped the past few hours. Nice work Riley. It is Riley isn't it?"

Riley shook nervously in her seat and turned slowly to face the voice. She looked the man in the eye and saw kindness behind his stare and smile on his lips. He reminded her of someone she had danced for once or twice.

"You're human," she stammered shaking her head. It's a trick, don't trust him, she reminded herself. She reached behind her back, and palmed the hypospray she had swiped from the medical bay. She looked down at the phase pistol lifted from the security agent lying on the seat next to her.

"Yes, I'm human, just like you." Rybaiski said. She watched him as he took a silver card out of his pocket and flipped it open.

"Rybaiski to the Bridge."

"Bridge." It was Tucker's voice on the comm line.

"Captain, I've found our guest. I have her in the launch bay." Rybaiski stated confidently breaking eye contact with Riley. "I'll need a medic down here to attend to the security agent in the corridor."

"Geri and I are on the way. Tucker out."

Rybaiski slid the cover on the communicator shut and put the device back in his arm pocket. He nodded at Riley and motioned for her to step out of the shuttle pod.

"That's your cue to step out of there, Missy," he stated. He turned to the side to allow her access to the hatch.

Riley stared at him without moving. Her brother used to call her missy, long ago when she lived on that ship with him and her father. Now this man in front of her, a complete stranger, was calling her missy and she understood him clearly. It didn't make sense, her earring was gone and it would be impossible for her to understand him. English was the language in her heart, but no other species spoke it.

"This is a trick," she mumbled softly.

"It's not a trick," he tried to assure her. "Look, I'll even put this away," he said holding up his phase pistol. He shoved it in the holster and showed his empty hands to her. "Come on, we'll go get some ice cream. Betcha haven't had any for a while, huh? What's your favorite flavor? Chocolate? Strawberry?" He tilted his head to the side and nodded again. He tried to look as non-threatening as he could.

Chocolate ice cream, Riley repeated in her head as a wave of memories flooded over her. She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head. Don't trust him, she screamed silently. He's going to hurt you.

Rybaiski looked at Riley and noticed she was trembling. He held out his hand to her. "Come on, I promise I won't hurt you," he said softly and motioned for her to step out of the pod.

Riley smiled slightly and stood to crawl out of the pod. As she stepped behind Rybaiski she pressed the hypospray to the back of his neck and he staggered slightly. Riley jumped out of the pod and attempted to make a run for the door.

Rybaiski caught her by the left arm as he fought to remain conscious, the medication from the hypo oozing slowly through his system. She yelped in pain, turned quickly and landed a right fist squarely in his face. He released her arm and staggered to the deck as Riley turned to make her escape again.

The Commander reached for her foot and snagged it, sending her sprawling onto the floor. As blackness began to settle in, he struggled frantically for his phase pistol; however, she beat him to it. He felt the sharp sting in his chest as the weapon hit him from point blank range. Thank god that was set on stun, he thought as the launch bay darkened around him.

Riley stood from the deck, her broken arm dangling at her side. She looked back at the man lying by the shuttle and shook her head. He had pushed her buttons and she had nearly fallen for his trap. Her means of escape shut off from her, she needed to find another way. She turned and scampered over to the maintenance door. She would have to find an escape pod instead.

"Freeze!"

The command startled Riley as she stepped through the door. She pointed the phase pistol in the direction of the voice holding the trigger until she heard a thud. She looked up and saw a female lying in the hallway near the security person she had injected with the hypo earlier. Riley knew the clock was ticking. She looked up at the ceiling for a ventilation access point, but there was none. She turned to run in the opposite direction when she felt a sharp tingle in her shoulder and she stumbled to the deck. Time's up, she thought as blackness enveloped her.

tbc.