Author's notes: Sorry for the lag between chapters. Am having some issues with the next scene. Waiting for inspiration to strike. Eventually...
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Reed
Reed hung back as the three Vulcan healers started down the corridor with the Captain and Phlox. Once they were out of Vulcan earshot, he strode to the wall intercom.
"Reed to Security!"
"Aye, Sir," a voice answered. That was Lanvins.
"Lanvins! Get me another four security men in Sickbay! Stat!"
"Inside or outside, sir?"
That was a good question. He'd already stationed two armed guards outside Sickbay. Officially to reassure the Vulcan healer that there was protection available. Unofficially because they needed to be ready in case the parasite took over the healer. He had two men still on the injured list after their encounter with T'Pol.
They'd prepared for a single healer. Now there were three. He could only imagine the wreckage three possessed Vulcans could bring to Sickbay. And to his men. "Inside! Position them around the insulation room. One at each corner. You have twenty seconds!" It would take at least twice that long for the healers to get there. Archer would make sure of that.
"Aye, sir!"
Reed released the wallcom. There was no going back to the bridge for him. Not when there may be an intruder on board. He'd follow unseen, kind of a rear guard. Anything funny happen, and he'd be right on top of it. He rested his hand on the handle of his phaser.
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It
The hosts were coming! The hosts were coming!
It could sense the increase in the energy field. Soon the hosts would be with It. It had been summoning them with all its strength.
But having the hosts come to It was not enough. With the stasis field active It couldn't jump to another host. Or to any other transport, for that matter. Releasing the stasis field was the next order of priority. And for that It needed the almost-host.
Because if the hosts weren't going to do it on their own, it would take too long to influence them to release the field. But the almost-host was close to the point of inflection and it would take little energy to get him to complete the act.
The solution was clear. It switched focus, rearranging the energy fields to summon the almost-host and guide him back to It. Once the hosts and almost-host were both there, It could decide on the best course of action.
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Trip
Trip turned to Hess, "D'you check th'flux intake valves?"
"Yup!" she replied, before going into detail about what she found. But Trip was no longer listening.
The thought had just come to him that Vulcan healers were coming aboard to cure his wife and he had been barred from being there, relegated to Engineering as if somehow there was something wrong with him. With T'Pol and him. With their bond.
And he wasn't liking it one bit.
Forget Phlox's excuse that he didn't want the healers to be spooked, that they were afraid the Vulcans would run away if whatever was ailing T'Pol turned out to a telepathic parasite. It wasn't a telepathic parasite. He just knew it. He didnt know how but he knew it. They were just being paranoid, being overly careful. The Vulcans would figure it out and take care of T'Pol.
And he wouldn't be there.
There was only one thing he could do. T'Pol'd have agreed t'was the only logical thing to do. He realized Hess had stopped talking, was looking at him quizzically. Probably waiting for a reaction..
"Sounds good, let's put them on the next full inspection schedule," he said, because if there'd been anything really wrong with the valves Hess would've been jumping up and down waving her arms about it, so he could focus on it later. "Listen, I've got to go to Sickbay, make sure th'Vulcan healers're taking care of T'Pol th'right way. Ya take over."
"Aye, chief!" Hess was looking at him strangely, his brogue always got worse when he was stressed. But he was already on his way out.
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Sickbay
The doors to Sickbay swooshed open and the healers walked in. They stopped as one, looking at each other. Phlox and Archer turned to them, Archer more stiffly, his shoulder still sore. "Is anything the matter?" Phlox asked.
E'Shara blinked, followed by Yadur and Smirak. "We had not expected... the... unruliness... of Human minds to be so... taxing," she replied.
Archer frowned at the implied insult but Phlox didn't pick up on it, "Are you experiencing headaches, hmm?" he asked. "T'Pol complained about intense headaches right before the incident," he explained.
E'Shara's eyes grew wider, "This is not the pressure of Human minds?" she asked.
"Possibly not," Phlox answered. "T'Pol had some complaints early but that was years ago, and she learned to manage it. The headaches suddenly reappeared a couple of days ago," he added, "right before the incident."
E'Shara nodded, "She learned to manage the pressure..." Archer got a sense she was impressed. Either that or the elder saw it as a sign that this was unusual pressure, beyond the ability for a non-healer to manage. That gave him pause. "Where is T'Pol?" the elder asked.
"She's is in isolation, in the far corner. She's under a stasis field, there is nothing to worry about," Phlox cheerfully answered. Archer would've expected the Vulcans to go on about how they didn't worry, but they didn't. That too gave him pause.
The Vulcans followed Phlox to the corner, where the privacy curtain was hiding T'Pol. Once again, they stopped suddenly, obviously loathe to proceed.
Once again Phlox turned to them, "Is everything all right?" he asked.
"... the pressure..." E'Shara replied. She looked seasick. So did the others.
Archer watched with narrowed eyes. Whatever it was that attacked T'Pol, it was definitely giving the Vulcans the heebie jeebies. Good thing Phlox had thought about setting up a stasis field, or he was quite certain the Vulcans would have taken their heels to their necks and ran for the exit already. He wasn't sure what they were going to do, but they'd better agree to help or they'd be getting an earful.
A vein in his neck thickened as he catalogued the arguments he'd make. He'd been working on this ever since they hadn't helped his dad, figuring out all the things he'd tell them, appealing to logic, shaming them, yelling at them. Young Jonathan had spent hours trying to right the wrong made to his dad, but he'd never had the opportunity to say his piece to the Vulcans, face to face. Until now. He silently dared the healers to chicken out.
But instead, Yadur and Smirak stepped between E'Shara and the privacy curtain, forming a physical barrier, before drawing their hoods over their heads, bringing their hands to their foreheads, stooped in a pose that looked like the physical manifestation of pain. E'Shara's face relaxed, her complexion lightened, her eyes shrank back to their original size.
Phlox was watching with great interest. So the other healers were her shield... He'd really like to find out what was in those robes.
The doors to Sickbay swooshed open in their back. E'Shara's eyes suddenly grew wide again. "What is it?!" Phlox asked, turning to look behind him. Archer did the same.
Trip was standing by the entrance in shocked surprise.
"What are you doing here?!" Archer barked. The engineer had been told specifically to stay away from the healers. Archer was already striding back to him, ready to chew him out.
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Trip
Trip nodded at the security guards posted at the door, and they nodded in return. Of course they wouldn't think of stopping him, he had full access. That was his wife in there.
He scoffed inwardly as he stepped in. What the hell was Malcolm thinking about?! And Jon?! Security guards in Sickbay?! Armed, no less?! Malcolm was going off the deep end with his paranoia. They were losing their minds, the lot of them.
He looked towards the far corner and stopped in shock. There were Vulcan healers there, waiting to go in. Three of them. The female was staring at him. From their build, he could tell the other ones were male. Two men and one woman. Just like in his dream.
Out of nowhere, the thought came to him that they were coming to hurt T'Pol. Just like in his dream. They were coming to hurt T'Pol and he was the one who had to save her.
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