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Chapter 10

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He opened his eyes and looked into the anxious faces of Malcolm and Jon, both of them hovering over him.

"Gah! Give a guy some room, wouldja?"

As they stepped back, he looked around the room, blinking against the light. At his side, Jon grinned. "Welcome back, Trip."

Trip stirred, looking at Jon with one eye. "I feel lousy."

Jon chuckled. "I imagine you do. But the good Doctor here has managed to reverse the effects of the Mr'lar's equipment. He says you'll be feeling like your old self in no time."

Beyond Jon, Trip could see Phlox leaning over another biobed, carefully scanning Hoshi. Finishing his scan, the doctor turned and hurried into the other room.

"Hey, is she ok?!" Trip asked. He started to sit up, but hands pushed him back—Malcolm. Trip looked at him fretfully. "An' what about Travis? An' the others?"

The Lieutenant smiled. "They're all going to be fine now."

Trip relaxed. Nerves calmed, he returned their smiles. "Lemme see that PADD, Malcolm." He smiled happily when he was able to read the PADD's contents with no difficulty. Still skimming through it, he asked, "Didja find the Mr'lar or did Phlox figure it out on his own?"

Jon shifted uncomfortably. "Both, actually."

Trip looked up expectantly.

"We found them, but they weren't much help as it turns out," Malcolm said. "In fact, I believe your crew is working double time to get the repairs made now."

"Repairs?! What the hell happened?"

Embarrassed, Jon said, "Turns out they were well aware of their equipment's effects. We tried to convince them to reconsider their actions…but we were forced to destroy their ship in the end."

Trip stared at him. Finally, he drawled, "Lemme get this straight. You made me play diplomat for an entire day with one a those creepy little guys—who all the time was suckin' me dry—and then you went an' blew 'em up anyway?" He frowned, adding crossly, "Seems to me we coulda skipped a few steps in there and saved ourselves some trouble."

Jon coughed, looking away. "Right. Well, the Doctor says you need your rest and I need to go see about the repairs."

"I'll join you, sir." Malcolm glanced back and smiled at the still-bristling Commander. "It is good to talk to you again, Trip." He followed the Captain out of Sickbay.

Trip snorted. Hearing soft laughter, he turned his head to his right. Travis was sitting up in the biobed beside him, grinning.

Trip returned the expression. "I see you still haven't lost your good humor. But ya look like crap."

Travis laughed. "Likewise, sir. And there was a little bit of a rough period while you were out, but my spirits are definitely back on the mend."

"Good to hear it." Trip squirmed and sat up. "So, doc say how long we gotta be stuck in here?"

"At least two days," Travis said with a sigh.

"What about everybody else?" Trip demanded. "Why's it just the three of us?"

"Doctor Phlox says we have to conserve our strength. The others were already in their quarters, so he's allowing them to stay put. But…" Travis shrugged, "we weren't so lucky."

"Well, great." Trip folded his arms, ducking his neck once in irritation. A sound to his left caught his attention. He turned his head and found Hoshi lying on her side, watching them both with a lazy smile.

He smiled at her. "Hey, Hoshi. You look awful pleased with yourself."

"I was just listening to the two of you talk. I missed that." She propped her head up on one arm. "Believe it or not, I even missed the sound of the warp engine."

Behind Trip, Travis laughed. "We'll see if that's your story two weeks from now."

Hoshi just smiled at them.

Trip slipped back down into bed. Seeing his friends in good health again gave him a warm feeling of contentment. He lay that way, basking in the sensation, for about ten seconds. His hands, lying at his sides, began to tap. Another ten seconds later, he sat back up.

"So," he said, ignoring their amused expressions. "Anybody got any cards?"

The End

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