^*^*^*^CHAPTER 6*^*^*^
"I hope you've enjoyed the tour so far... sorry the walk from the bridge to engineering takes awhile... I know you're not exactly... used to this much on foot... but I'm sure it'll be worth the trip" Archer grinned.
The captain and Ensign Sato were giving a tour of the Enterprise to two Veekician ambassadors, along with the captain they rescued days before. They seemed impressed with the ship and were willing to see the even more impressive thing about it - the engine room. Archer seemed to not mind giving the tour at all, and neither did Porthos, who was happily trotting alongside his master, wagging his tail. The Veekicains were pleasant and peaceful - when they were treated the same way first. This was a first contact that was going well and Captain Archer was hoping the rest of them would be this way.
"Here we are..." Archer said as he opened the door to engineering. Porthos went in ahead of everyone else and Archer let the rest of them in before himself.
"Well, this is where the magic happens..." the captain talked on as the ambassadors were clearly impressed, looking around the room at the machines that made the ship possible. Their ships barely had warp-two and the largest was nearly one forth the size of the Enterprise.
While they discussed such differences, Porthos sniffed around, and his tail wagged rapidly. He wandered off, sniffing the floor.
"Hey… Porthos! Don't go off too far!" Archer called. The Beagle stopped in his tracks but didn't stop sniffing the air. Archer turned around to answer one of the ambassador's questions, then Porthos started walking again. Something told him not to listen to his master this time and he turned the corner. He sniffed the floor and noticed a body laying a few steps away. Letting out a little groan, he trotted up to it and sniffed up its leg. His tail no longer wagged as he recognized that it was of a familiar scent. Gently licking the back of the hand, it didn't move. He whimpered and licked its pale face. The body still didn't move. He let out another little groan and then sadly barked for help.
The others heard a few echoed barks, and Archer looked at the back of the room, slightly disappointed.
"Porthos! Come back here, boy!" he hollered. He heard his bark again, and puzzled, walked down the room towards Porthos.
"Porthos...? What's wrong? I thought I told you..." he turned the corner. He saw his companion whimpering, licking the forehead of Commander Tucker's face. Blood was all over the Commander's stomach, oozing out into a puddle on the floor. Archer gasped.
"Oh my God!"
~TO BE CONTINUED…
