CHAPTER 7;
CONTEMPLATIVE MINDS
Trip had walked with Hoshi to the mess hall, and was now sitting with her whilst she drank her coffee and calmed down as much as she felt she could, under the circumstances.
Trip too had a coffee, but was mostly leaving it to sit on the table. For the while, he had no intention of drinking the liquid. He had just gotten it as an excuse to stay with the scared and upset Ensign that sat opposite him now, her hands wrapped tightly around the mug.
Hoshi didn't deserve this… no one did. Trip wanted nothing more than to solve this terrifying mystery, before anybody else got hurt or went missing.
Damn this whole situation, he shouted inside, clenching his fist, and then relaxing it quickly before Hoshi noticed and asked the Commander what was wrong. He wanted to find Matheson, and Reed, to know they were safe. He wished he could just see the two of them walking into the mess hall right now, laughing and joking with each other.
He wished this were all a prank. He would appreciate that much more than ghosts, disappearances and blood. He would probably even bring himself to smile again.
Trip had noticed the way people looked at him today, the way they seemed to notice his telltale smile had vanished from his features, the way he didn't greet them all. He was a little wary to talk to anyone, considering two of the people he had actually spoken to had now gone missing without a trace… except the blood.
The blood.
He shuddered slightly. The thought of the blood sent a shiver down his spine that threatened to throw his whole brave façade off completely, reducing him to a cowering man in the corner… like Phlox had found him the previous night.
He was a little ashamed of that incident. The sight of Crewman Matheson standing before him, just dead, had terrified him on a level he hadn't even known existed.
But he realised he shouldn't be ashamed to feel fright. Hoshi was frightened right now, and she was handling the fact that Trip had seen that fright quite well. She did seem a little quieter than usual though.
Everything was different.
Everything was wrong.
Porthos sat on the floor of his master's quarters, and sighed a heavy sigh. None of this made sense to the little dog, and he was well aware that he was showing it to the humans, and the woman with pointy ears. If they didn't notice, then he wasn't pining enough.
He pined once, long and loud, and let his master know of his depression.
The man looked down at him with a sympathetic frown, and tossed a small lump of cheese onto Porthos' blanket.
Porthos ignored it.
The dog cocked his head to one side on his forelegs, which were stretched out in front of him, and sighed again. He wasn't interested in cheese… he wanted to know about this sticky substance he had found on the wall. It had smelled strange, and the scent was what had enticed him… held his attention fixed to that particular point.
It had also scared him. He had seen that substance before, and knew it did not mean good news… his master had exhibited it before on a couple of occassions.
He had heard the name 'Reed' mentioned in the conversation the humans had had with the strange looking Doctor in the surgery room, and he recognised it as the name they called the man who usually ran around with guns. Whenever his master spoke to Porthos, he always called Reed his 'armoury officer', whatever that meant.
Porthos let out a small pine again, and curled up in a tiny ball, much like he had in a basket with his mother when he had been very young. He was frightened.
There was something here… in his home.
And it wasn't friendly.
CONTEMPLATIVE MINDS
Trip had walked with Hoshi to the mess hall, and was now sitting with her whilst she drank her coffee and calmed down as much as she felt she could, under the circumstances.
Trip too had a coffee, but was mostly leaving it to sit on the table. For the while, he had no intention of drinking the liquid. He had just gotten it as an excuse to stay with the scared and upset Ensign that sat opposite him now, her hands wrapped tightly around the mug.
Hoshi didn't deserve this… no one did. Trip wanted nothing more than to solve this terrifying mystery, before anybody else got hurt or went missing.
Damn this whole situation, he shouted inside, clenching his fist, and then relaxing it quickly before Hoshi noticed and asked the Commander what was wrong. He wanted to find Matheson, and Reed, to know they were safe. He wished he could just see the two of them walking into the mess hall right now, laughing and joking with each other.
He wished this were all a prank. He would appreciate that much more than ghosts, disappearances and blood. He would probably even bring himself to smile again.
Trip had noticed the way people looked at him today, the way they seemed to notice his telltale smile had vanished from his features, the way he didn't greet them all. He was a little wary to talk to anyone, considering two of the people he had actually spoken to had now gone missing without a trace… except the blood.
The blood.
He shuddered slightly. The thought of the blood sent a shiver down his spine that threatened to throw his whole brave façade off completely, reducing him to a cowering man in the corner… like Phlox had found him the previous night.
He was a little ashamed of that incident. The sight of Crewman Matheson standing before him, just dead, had terrified him on a level he hadn't even known existed.
But he realised he shouldn't be ashamed to feel fright. Hoshi was frightened right now, and she was handling the fact that Trip had seen that fright quite well. She did seem a little quieter than usual though.
Everything was different.
Everything was wrong.
Porthos sat on the floor of his master's quarters, and sighed a heavy sigh. None of this made sense to the little dog, and he was well aware that he was showing it to the humans, and the woman with pointy ears. If they didn't notice, then he wasn't pining enough.
He pined once, long and loud, and let his master know of his depression.
The man looked down at him with a sympathetic frown, and tossed a small lump of cheese onto Porthos' blanket.
Porthos ignored it.
The dog cocked his head to one side on his forelegs, which were stretched out in front of him, and sighed again. He wasn't interested in cheese… he wanted to know about this sticky substance he had found on the wall. It had smelled strange, and the scent was what had enticed him… held his attention fixed to that particular point.
It had also scared him. He had seen that substance before, and knew it did not mean good news… his master had exhibited it before on a couple of occassions.
He had heard the name 'Reed' mentioned in the conversation the humans had had with the strange looking Doctor in the surgery room, and he recognised it as the name they called the man who usually ran around with guns. Whenever his master spoke to Porthos, he always called Reed his 'armoury officer', whatever that meant.
Porthos let out a small pine again, and curled up in a tiny ball, much like he had in a basket with his mother when he had been very young. He was frightened.
There was something here… in his home.
And it wasn't friendly.