The New Doctor
By Lieuten Keen
Chapter 38
She would have run far away from the medical lab, except that she finally noticed the security detail was missing. Instead she stopped and leaned against a bulkhead, drawing deep breaths of air, trying to will away the knot in her stomach.
He wasn't supposed to be here, she thought. He was going to ruin everything.
Speaking of ruin, Jase poked his head out and noticed her waiting in the corridor. "Is there any chance of getting some lunch?" he asked brightly, paying no attention to the fact that she hated him.
"What happened to your crew?" she asked, rudely disregarding his request.
"They're around," he waved one hand vaguely through the air.
"Perhaps they'd like to meet us in the Mess Hall," she told him firmly. It wasn't really a request. She was demanding that he account for their whereabouts.
"Trying to round us up, huh?" he asked easily, although his expression was much less open.
"You've been here less than an hour and you've assaulted two of my crew."
"You've assaulted two of my crew all by yourself," he told her.
She eyed his suspiciously. "What are you doing here?" she asked plaintively.
"I needed some medical attention," he smirked, sauntering over with an interested look. "You always give the best...attention." He trailed one finger down her arm, raising goose bumps of flesh.
She was extremely relieved when two MACO guards stepped around the corner. "Where's the rest of your crew, Captain?" Romero asked, standing up straighter to show off his cache of weapons and broad shoulders.
"They're going to meet us in the Mess Hall," Jase answered, flipping open a communicator and speaking in a foreign language. Closing the device he looked at Andie and gestured with his hand. "Shall we?"
He wanted to dine with her. She suppressed the shudder and pushed away from the wall, nodding quickly at Chang, relieved that he was one of the guards.
"There are no mining or civilian colonies within range of our sensors, Captain," T'Pol confirmed. "There are no inhabited planets. There is an asteroid field a few light years from here, but it is unpopulated. A comet will be passing through this sector although it is unlikely there is a mining colony on the comet."
"Then where were they going with their goods?" Archer asked her, pacing back and forth in his Ready Room.
"I cannot answer that." She waited patiently for orders.
"I know someone who can!" he growled, hitting the button and leaving the room.
Obviously Andie had known that there weren't any miners around, he thought grimly. That's why she told him to send word. It didn't explain what her purpose was in exposing her friends.
As he passed through the bridge, he instructed Ensign Carter to send a message to Admiral Gardiner right away. They needed to have a little conversation about the good doctor.
Andie and Jase walked to the turbo-lift with the MACO's trailing behind.
"I should kill you where you stand, Blue." Andie's tone was carefully conversational.
The MACO's glanced at one another, but they could hardly object. They had no idea what she was saying. She was speaking in an alien language.
"You won't kill me," Jase replied, in the same foreign tongue.
"You sound so sure."
"I am. Killing me where I stand would ruin this good girl image you've got going on."
"I am a good girl," she stubbornly insisted.
Jase snorted. "I know you too well to believe that, Red."
"If you knew anything about me, you would never have involved Guiry in our business!" Her tone chilled and one pair of blue tinted ears nearly received frostbite.
Her former paramour had the good grace to look ashamed before immediately ruining his contrition. "I knew you could handle yourself."
Andie stopped moving. Her body was so tense a whisper could break her in half. "If you ever say that to me again, I'll cut your throat."
Both MACO's reached for their weapons, understanding her body language if not her words.
"These Unis can't be all bad if they let you threaten death to their guests," Jason replied easily. This was going to be much easier than he thought. He stepped into the lift and turned to smile at the girl.
Malcolm dropped Liz off in the Mess Hall in the care of Hess, who'd stopped for an early lunch before taking her shift on the engineering staff. The voluptuous woman enfolded the petite pale-faced med-tech in a motherly hug, and Malcolm slipped out the door with relief. Weepy women were not his forte.
He ran into Crewman Moreno in the corridor outside.
"I thought you were keeping an eye on our guests?" Malcolm frowned.
Curly gulped. "When the doctor raced back to the ship, I followed her. By the time I returned to Sickbay, they were gone."
"That's what the ship's computers are for," Reed sighed, stepping over to a com panel and requesting the location of the four visitors. He'd been lax in his disciplinary procedures apparently. He made a mental note to institute more drills.
The computer replied that there were no visitors on board.
Malcolm input the request again, carefully making sure he was tapping in the correct keys.
The computer restated that thee were no visitors on board Enterprise. The crew complement remained at ninety-four, including one Vulcan and one Denobulan.
Pulling out the communicator that Archer had finally agreed should be standard equipment for all personnel on duty after years of requests, Reed called his security staff.
Neither of his personal security team had a guest in sight. Two of the MACO's he called in were watching both Andie and Captain Blau, and were in fact, coming around the corner right now. Andie looked sour.
"Where is the rest of your crew, Captain?" Malcolm burst out as soon as they drew near.
"They're coming, Big Guy," Jase replied in that perpetually easy manner that grated on the nerves of everyone that was not him.
"My name is Lieutenant Reed," Malcolm gritted out through clenched teeth.
"Sure, Big Guy," Jase replied in that same easy tone. It was hard to miss the triumph at finding a weak spot in the officer's composure. "Excuse me, Reed," the alien apologized insincerely. He jerked his head at the door in front of them. "This the kitchen?" he asked, pushing the button and letting himself in.
Malcolm signaled the MACO's to follow him, but detained Andie with a sharp glare. When they were alone, he turned on her. "Where are the others?"
"I don't know, Lieutenant!" she snapped. "I thought you were watching them!" Her body was so tense he thought he could probably snap her in half with little effort.
"Is there a problem, Doctor?" he asked, gentling his tone at her edgy demeanor. She looked frazzled, not an emotion he thought he would associate with her.
She glared at him for a minute. "I need to feed my cats," she told him, a tale he didn't fully believe. "Would you look after them for a moment?" She jerked her thumb toward the strangers.
Reed thought he'd like nothing better than to throw all five of them in the brig. "Go ahead, Doctor. We'll keep an eye on them," he told her.
To his small relief, the large bald lizard fellow appeared around one corner just as Andie departed around the other. Now if he could just round up the others.
Mayweather finished his repairs on the old-fashioned turbo engine. This side hadn't received as much damage as the other, and he tossed his tools into the kit and prepared to assist Trip on the other side. He'd grown up on cargo ships, and it always amazed him that people would continue to travel so slowly when warp model engines were growing more common every day.
Leaving the small room that housed the engine he had to cross the wide open cargo bay. Crates and boxes littered the room, haphazardly tied to the bulkheads to keep from tipping in transit. This room gave him an uneasy feeling. Travis was fond of ghost stories and this room reminded him of several legends involving haunted ships. There was even a low moan that whispered through the air. He felt like he was being watched.
Pulling a scanner out of his pocket, he trained it on the room at large. As the youngest member of the crew he caught a lot of flack for his flights of fancy, but something about this arrangement didn't sit well with him. Glancing at the pad, he moved to the other engine room at a brisk pace.
Trip lay under the heavy cylinder, grunting as he pulled on a lever, trying to release a bolt that held a panel in place. "All set on the other side?" he panted, glancing at Travis' boots.
Travis crouched down, as though the walls might have ears. "This ship gives me the creeps, Commander. So I took some scans of the cargo bay outside." He hoped he wouldn't be in trouble for overstepping his boundaries.
Pulling his head from under the wretched engine, Trip looked at Travis. "Find anything interesting?" His tone was casual, but his eyes were sharp.
"What cargo did they say they were carrying?" Travis asked, instead of replying outright.
"Medical supplies for a mining colony," Trip responded. His heart pounded in his chest. "Your scans of the cargo bay should be able to confirm that." This ship was creepy, he realized.
"It seems there's a signal jamming all frequencies inside their vessel. We can't scan their cargo bay." He watched the commander tense at that statement.
"Help me get this panel back in place," Trip nodded at the metal piece. "I think we need to talk to the captain."
Andie didn't waste time. She entered her cabin and sent two messages, hoping that her hunch was right or else she just screwed the pooch, as Remi sometimes shouted when in a rage.
The first was to Admiral Gardiner and consisted of three words: Red Code Red.
The other was a short message to Henry Bowman, who should be working in the greenhouse, trying to realign the energy output to include Phlox's newest additions.
She changed out of her heavy boots, slipping on lighter crepe soled shoes, used primarily by medical professionals in hospitals to soften their footfalls, and the last thing she did before returning to her guests was to pull that heavy Klingon blade and its well-oiled sheath and strap it carefully to her calf, using the wide pant leg of her navy blue scrubs to conceal it.
Jason Blau had an agenda. She didn't know what it was, but when he got cocky there was bound to be trouble.
Archer stepped into the turbo-lift but before he could request a deck, the com panel chirped. "Archer here," he replied shortly. He was already short-tempered because Andie wasn't where he thought she should be and now he had to search for her.
"Captain," T'Pol's voice carried in the small conveyance. "Lieutenant Reed has just informed me that two members of Captain Blau's crew have gone missing. He has assigned extra manpower to look into their disappearances."
"Scan the ship!" Archer barked in irritation. Taking those men aboard had complicated the puzzle. "I don't want strangers wandering unattended on my ship!"
"There is a problem with the sensors on board, Captain." He hated that she remained so calm. "There is no indication of any strangers on board."
"Did they go back to their own ship?" he asked, beginning to feel silly talking to thin air in the turbo-lift. He pushed the button to send him to the bridge.
"Captain," T'Pol's voice grew clearer as the doors opened and Archer stepped into her presence. "Two members of the freighter are dining in the Mess Hall, but the sensors do not indicate a presence of anybody on board except the registered crewmembers."
Hoshi looked up from her panel. "There's another communication for you, Captain," she told them. "Commander Tucker's at the airlock and wishes to speak to you."
"Go ahead, Trip," Archer pushed the button to receive the call while standing over the Vulcan's shoulder.
He listened to the message conveying the secrecy of the cargo. Glancing at the chronometer, he realized that these four people had been aboard less than two hours and they were already wreaking havoc.
"Get off their ship, Trip!" Archer barked. "They're on their way off of ours." He ended communications.
He glared at nothing in particular as he spoke to T'Pol. "They lied about their destination, we can't verify their cargo, and they've disappeared on my ship." His chin stuck out mulishly. "Get them off my ship! Now!"
Andie slipped into the Mess Hall and watched as Jase and Duomo stuffed their faces with food from the tidy little windows that held edibles all day long. The last time she dined with Jase, she almost didn't live to regret it. She hoped she would have more luck this time.
"Boys," she crooned as she stepped the edge of their table. "Your ship is ready for take-off. If you'll follow me, I'll escort you to the airlock."
Duomo looked at her with sharp eyes, but Jase rested his hand familiarly on her hip. "We haven't had time for dessert, Red," he protested quietly.
"I don't think you'll have the time for dessert if you linger here," she counted. Leaning down she pressed her lips very close to his ear. "Archer knows," she lied convincingly.
The lines that appeared on his face told her that she was right; he was up to something. Tilting his face to hers, he forced a smile. "You're bluffing."
"Seeing you locked up would give me a great deal of satisfaction, something I never really got from you before." That made him mad. "But if you're locked up, you might get chatty with your guard and I can't allow that. It's time for you to go." There was nothing to indicate weakness in her tone, although her stance remained casual, as though she was leaning in for a confidence shared among friends. The threat she implied to Jason was as clear as if she'd said it out loud. Andrea was not someone to be taken lightly.
He chuckled nervously, and signaled Duomo to rise. They headed for the door and the doctor had to wonder why she was playing this game with them; pretending to be the person she'd never thought to be again. There was a part of her that knew the past never stayed buried. It always had a way of rising to the surface. This clean life among these good people had just been a pipe dream; if she hadn't wanted it so badly she might have understood the impossibility of success.
They preceded her outside then waited for Andie to lead them back through the corridors to the airlock door. The MACO's left their position at the table nearby and followed at a respectful distance, until they got to the turbo-lift. It wasn't designed to hold more than a few passengers at a time. Romero stepped in behind Andie, while Chang called for reinforcements on the lower lever, waiting until the doors slid shut before sending the message, hoping to avoid giving away the advancing forces.
"You didn't used to be the type to play the patsy," Jase commented in that foreign language. "Is this what respectability's done to you?"
Andie's jaw stiffened as she lifted her head defiantly. "Once again, Jase, you have seriously underestimated my resolve." That portion was spoken in plain English.
"You think you can put on their uniform and be just like them? I know you, Dräe!" He used the nickname she'd taken on in a much darker time in her life. They stepped out of the lift and walked to the door, unmindful of the armed men that surrounded them.
"At least I'm doing something!" She indicated the ship docked outside, the broken down and rusting bucket of bolts that transported them from one useless port to another. "You live a dangerous and pointless existence where your only concern is pleasing yourself! Jaynie would be horrified to see what her death has done to you!" Andie protested.
"She died because she was weak!" Jase hissed. The memory was as painful today as it was when he first lost her and he reacted like a coiled snake striking.
"Funny," Andie's voice was dry and bitter. "I remember she died because you shot that guard. Badly," she added, just to pile insult on injury. "Your father would be appalled."
"You think your father would be proud of you?" Both had abandoned the pretense of cordial interactions and continued to snipe at each other even in the company of several combat MACO's surrounding the airlock door, two of whom escorted Boner through the passage. "He's been ashamed of you from the day you were born!"
"At least I'm not pissing on his grave," she countered "I make my own choices in this life. You have a choice, too, right here and now. Make the call!"
Jase knew that pushing her too hard and fast would only make her more obstinate. The key to controlling her was to make her see that her actions were for the best. "Come with me," he begged. "I remember we used to have a good time together!" His voice took on that crooning tone that was intended to make her remember several good times indeed.
She shook off his sweet-talk as her cheeks burned. "I don't remember good times," she growled. "I can only remember times that were less bad than others."
Duomo and Boner smirked at one another and stepped obediently through the doors.
His strong jaw tightened. "You're trying to straddle a line, Dräe. Right now you don't belong in one world or the other. Choose to live your own life." He looked at her, the pain and loneliness he felt without her was clear in his gaze, hidden as it was from the two men who stood at attention near the door. "Come with me, Dräe. Live free with me."
"I am free," she murmured, unknowingly switching to English. She wasn't very convincing. She was lost in contemplation as she thought about all the things she'd given up to be a member of Starfleet. Sometimes she wondered if she'd sacrificed too much.
Studying her face, he snorted. "You don't even believe that's true. But you know that it could be." His hand cupped her cheek gently for a moment before he stepped onto his own ship. He passed Toady, who leered from his position at the lock on the other side before pressing the buttons to seal off his ship.
"Doctor, I'd like a word with you." The other security officers dispersed but one had remained as the freighter pulled away from the starship.
She turned around slowly, feeling muscles pinch her neck from the tense day she'd had so far. It was easy to see her bad day wasn't over as Lieutenant Reed glared holes through her.
"If you'll follow me?" He gestured with one hand that she should lead the way. "The captain would like a word."
"They're off the ship," she countered wearily. "Isn't that good enough?"
"I believe he's curious to discover if that's true," Malcolm bit out the words through the unyielding rage that burned in his chest. "It seems that your friends don't register on our sensors."
She stared at him for a moment. Malcolm was furious. That wasn't new, however she usually had a better idea what made him mad than she did at the moment. Shrugging her own shoulders, she preceded him through the corridor to the nearest turbo-lift, turning over Jase's parting comments in her mind.
He was acting like she was going to come running back to him at any moment. Her steps slowed. To be precise, he was acting as if running back to him was a certainty. There was no reason in the world that he should be confident, unless he had some knowledge that she didn't have. Her expression began to darken. She should have been wondering what kind of coincidence brought him back to her doorstep in the first place. Those three strokes of his thumb as he cupped her face took on a more serious meaning.
One single hair on the back of her neck stood straight up. Tilting her head up, she listened intently to the noises of the ship. There was nothing unusual, just the ordinary humming and thrumming of the engines, but that hair stood at attention on her neck. She never ignored that hair; it had never failed to signify danger.
Of course it wasn't a coincidence. The realization hit her, at the same second she realized what her unconscious mind was listening for. A four letter word slipped out of her mouth under her breath.
Whirling around, she lunged across the narrow space to hit the com panel on the wall. "Tactical Alert!" she shouted, and almost immediately the lights and sirens came on.
"What are you doing?" Malcolm hissed. He stepped up behind her and dropped an arm around her middle, intending to drag her away from whatever machinations she was up to. He grunted as her elbow swung back into his midsection, and by taking advantage of his loosened grip, she broke his hold on her and slid down through his arms and out of his grasp.
He leaned down and grabbed her arms before she could rise, hearing a distant hiss as he pulled her to her feet. She then planted her boots against the wall and shoved them both backwards. Malcolm bore the brunt of his impact, crushed between the alternate wall and her weight. The world shimmied in front of his eyes, as she struggled in his grasp.
Stepping forward to pull his phase pistol, the world took a serious dive to the right as his vision swam. Looking up at Andie's strained expression, he noted the hypo in her hand and realized that he'd been drugged.
"You…what are you….?" He struggled to get the words out as his ability to control his fingers slipped away. "You…bitch," he wheezed, sliding to the floor in an unconscious state.
"Sorry, Reed," she whispered to his sleeping form. She picked up the phase pistol from the floor, where he'd dropped it. "I don't have time to explain."
Andie's face turned to stone. She knew what she had to do so she gritted her teeth as she raced through the corridor toward the shuttle bay.
In her hurry to render the armory officer lifeless, she hadn't checked the dosage. In the end, it wasn't quite as effective as she'd planned. Malcolm woke a few minutes later, and after shaking the cobwebs out of his brain, he rose unsteadily to his feet.
There was no power on heaven or hell that was going to allow her to flee from his vessel. He stumbled through the corridor, certain that she was making for the airlock. The last words she spoke to her ex-lover echoed in his head: I am free. You're not but you could be, Jase replied as he caressed her face. They were planning to run away, and Malcolm was going to stop them.
She wasn't at the airlock door, but neither was the Jaynie Blue. The ship shuddered and groaned under his feet, but Malcolm's fuzzy mind paid no attention, intent as he was on stopping the doctor. If she was planning to flee, she'd be heading for the shuttle bay, and his feet carried him there, growing steadier as he moved around. He passed by a crewman lying still in the corridor and knew that she had come this way.
Sure enough, the shuttle was powering up. He slipped inside using his clearance codes, mindful that the pressure would be decreasing in the bay shortly. It didn't take long to unfasten the door and step within.
"You're not going anywhere!" he growled, holding the door to prevent it from closing.
Sitting at the helm, she was muttering the protocols for starting the vessel under her breath. His appearance brought her to her feet, although she rested one arm fearfully against the main chair as she cringed away from Malcolm's rage. Her eyes were very blue and too wide for her pale face, but Malcolm was done being put off by her fragile appearance. The woman was a danger to everyone.
"I'm afraid your rendezvous is cut short, Doctor," he sneered, reaching for his holster, surprised to find it empty. A pulse throbbed painfully at his temple.
"Get out of here, Reed! We don't have time for these games!" she growled.
"We're going to make the time since you're not going anywhere, but to the bridge to speak with Captain Archer. After that you might have a short journey back to Starfleet Command, but after they make you comfortable in the Brig, you'll have all the time in the world." He was cold and furious.
"You have to leave!" she begged, her stalwart exterior slipping.
"I'm not going anywhere," he promised grimly.
Sighing, she hung her head. Her shoulders drooped and she shifted her weight forward. Malcolm shifted his weight to make room for her to pass by him, and didn't see the pistol she had kept hidden behind the tall chair until it was too late. A bright bolt of blue lit the room like a lightning strike and Malcolm fell back against the door.
The shaking of the ship was growing louder and with a calculating glance, Andie realized she'd never get him out into the hall before losing her chance to slip away. Cursing steadily in at least four languages, she dragged his body into the pod and sealed the door. The docking arm seized the small craft, dropping it through the open doors and releasing it into space just as a fiery shower of sparks rained down around them, dissipating quickly in the cold black of space.
Nearly an hour later Archer was standing at the window in his Ready Room when the bell chimed, announcing a visitor. "Come in," he called out. He wasn't surprised to find Trip.
"We've isolated the problem, Cap'n," he began without preamble. "Adhesive in the plasma regulators gummed up the works. The buildup of power is what caused the power cascade, and if someone hadn't pulled the primary relays we'd all be goners."
"Did you find out who pulled the relay?" Archer stood with his back to the engineer, watching the stars hover outside.
Trip shifted his weight. "Ensign Bowman did. He said he got a note from Andie before the explosions started and he did what she asked."
"She knew." Archer's stomach rolled over. "She knew we were about to be sabotaged."
"She knew Blau tried that trick before. It's going to take some time to clean out the parts but we should be back online shortly." Trip looked at Archer, finding it hard to read his old friend the way he used to. "She did us a favor, Cap'n."
"Tell me about the rest of the repairs." He didn't want to hear excuses on behalf of the wayward doctor.
"Some sort of quick welding alloy was used to seal the doors to the launch bay, the cargo bay and the armory. I've set teams to fix them but we're havin' to cut them open with a blow torch."
"What about the crewmen in the armory?"
"Ensign Behr used a phase pistol to cut the sealant. They've been checked and released by medical." There was a moment of silence. "The transporter got the worst of it. We may have to rebuild the console. For now I can run a bypass that allows access from the bridge. You'll have the transporter back as soon as Hess gives the electrical a clean bill of health."
"Has anyone heard from them?" Trip knew the captain wasn't talking about the bandits.
"Sensors are still down," Trip reminded him. "Travis is helping Hoshi with the transceiver array; we'll have communications back pretty soon."
Trip didn't know what else to say. It looked pretty bad for Andie to grab a shuttle and jump ship just before her friends put it out of commission. A succession of contained charges blew out key portions of the ships' functions. They didn't have shuttles, transport, communications or sensors. They lost their ability to fire weapons at a crucial moment. Jase and his companions knew just where to hit them to buy themselves some time.
He could only hope that Andie could be found soon, and that she would have an acceptable reason for jumping ship. He could only hope that Malcolm's absence from Enterprise meant that he was with her, and that they were working together to find the people who did this to them.
He could only hope that Archer's enforced silence meant that he was giving the problem some thought and not automatically estimating how many MACO's it would take to drag one scrappy doctor to the airlock.
She had to be found, and soon.