[OOC: Thanks a lot for the reviews, English is my second language, and I'm trying hard, I always check the spell it on MS word and I am always revising.]
[OOC Expanse (for who doesn't know about): Expanse is a place in the space where was forbidden, by Klingons and Vulcans, because the laws of physics doesn't apply right there, until you install a system, that is why the Enterprise is stopped, Trip is implementing this system.]
Why Me?
(Act 2)
"He's dead, Captain." Phlox encountered "He fell just some meters, but he landed over his head, shattered his neck bone like a nutshell." he chuckled ironically "Poor guy." and pushed the sheet covering the face of the cadaver. Unpleasant looks from Archer, Hoshi and Trip watched the dead body entering into the pathologic compartment.
Archer turned to Trip, "Just how could he fall into the pit? Aren't there many safety gizmos to protect the crew?" The Captain was pissed off, he could not admit that he lost a soldier, at least if he have died in combat.
"The answer for the first question is: I don't know." Trip paused to think "For the second is: not at all" he was displaying doubt and then completed "Sir!"
"Which is what?" Archer completely confused and mad asked.
"Which is what, what?" The mess was done, Hoshi didn't know any of the answers but was having fun with the lack of good communication.
"About your answers commander!" Archer was almost yelling, wrinkles in her forehead were getting deeper.
"Wow, sure, I don't know how he fell into and there are not so much safety *gizmos* anymore over the ship, but at turbolift it were operant, I think." He felt threatened and insecure, the recent and urgent modifications that have being made in the ship were too unware from his total control.
"How?" Archer was monosyllabic.
"Well sir, because its weight, 70% percent of security components were replaced by food, weapons and power for the deflectors in order to keep us safer from outside, here at the expanse."
"But...?"
"The elevators were completely fine, so fine that I am going there now to investigate what happened!" He kind of executed a military salutation and left the room, a minute later Trip came back "Sir!?"
Archer was with his hand in his forehead, pressing an overcoming headache "Yes Trip?"
"If I am going to be there investigating, how should I finish the repairs and implementations?" Trip asked, this time the captain could not discern if the chief engineer was teasing him, was completely lost or was proving himself a real dumb.
"Do both! Now!" Archer yelled pointing the exit with his finger. Trip ran like a kid getting away from paternal belt spanking. Archer and Trip were not totally fine the way they used to be, since that incident with the third gender alien cogenitor, they were producing sparks doing any small confrontation.
Having nothing more to do at the sickbay, the Captain just sighed deeply and left, Hoshi tried to pacify the situation with a disconcerted smile.
Phlox resumed his work, if we can call his business as regular work, like studding, he usually spent a quarter of his day feeding his unusual fauna and flora, at least he sleeps just a few minutes by day, making the rest of his wake-and-working time bigger. He got so deep into his practices that he only noticed that Hoshi was still in the room about five minutes later. "Hey, ensign you still here, do you need something?"
"If I ask you to keep a secret, and then try to help me, would you do...?" She was kind of embarrassed.
"Tell me please, you know that I'm very curious and I hate surprises, Ok, Ok, abuse from my patient-psychological secret deal." He was very anxious, more than usual, was the Expanse overreacting on him? Whatever.
"Hey doctor, I will ask you to treat someone, you know, off records..."
"Are you collecting and training alien slugs like domestic pets again, ensign?" He expressed an upset-surprised look, an expression that just a (crazy) Denobulan could do.
"No, no, by the way you will have to identify what he is exactly, before start treating him..."
He repeated his expression, now just adding a perplex emotion.
"I'm no bloody slug! Besides the fact that she is giving me needed attention." Spike got out smiling from the back side of the sickbay "Interesting pets you have here, doc!"
"Him?" the Denobulan got totally mazy, Hoshi just manifested a what-should-I-do face, doctor continued "How? When?"
Like all human space vessels in history, even the first one, our NX01 have the Earth-lee environment, producing adequate light shades over the decks simulating the daylight and nighttime. It was already 9 PM in the Enterprise, synchronized with San Francisco time, Commander Tucker approached TPol's quarters door and pressed the doorbell.
"Come in."
He entered and got surprised "God, TPol! Why are you wearing smaller pieces of pajamas everyday?" Trip mixed embarrassment and the wish to check out her body, he stood near the door avoiding direct eye contact with her.
"Since you haven't corrected yet all the systems of the ship, this environment is slightly hotter, so--" She excused calmly, he was in the lotus position, preparing to meditate (again).
"Hey this is not right, I'm not so dumb, and Vulcan home world is damn hotter than this!" Trip was still nervous after the tough discussion with Archer.
"Commander, you obviously haven't seen me in the way I used to sleep at Vulcan." It was too ironic, that she would be smiling at his face, if she wasn't Vulcan.
Her Comment produced images of her *sleeping* in his mind, He shook his head and tried to concentrate in his problems. "I came here to ask you to help me."
"Do you need one more session of my relaxant massages?" She looked directly into his eyes.
"No! Well! YES! But not exactly right now." Since Trip lost his sister in the Xindi attack that was the main reason that lead the Enterprise into the Expanse, he was having insomnia, all the drugs Phlox administrated didn't work, so the alien doctor appealed to TPol techniques of ancient Vulcan Massage for Trip's treatment. He result of the massages were a success, but was needed some time into TPol's room, it let him a little embarrassed, because it sometimes got nearly erotic, to him was very uneasy to deal with it out of a real erotic situation added by the fact she was Vulcan, he will never know what she is thinking deep inside.
"You seem very nervous, Commander." She said, still in the same position.
"Hell I am, there was a death, maybe caused by a malfunction of safety systems, I have already to fix that damn other system this week..."
"Right, I will help checking the safety system. Where should I look?" She stood up.
"Turbolift 4! Don't you get worried about one more death in the ship..." He was opening his heart when she turned his back to him and started to get unclothed. "God!!! I'm out!" He quickly got out of her room. During his time into TPol's room he didn't noticed that she was reading a book called VMYERPAS. This book used to be VAMPYRES, but after one attack from singularities from the Expanse messed up with the order of the letters of the all paper books, but TPol already created a mental algorithm to decipher it.
Forgetting her own logic last explanation about Spike, that he was nothing more than a group hallucination, TPol had now to study about Earth cult myths: ghosts and vampires.
"I qualify you as a freak." Phlox found out "You are almost totally non corporeal, well you can sit, lay your back and walk. But you can touch anything. I have no idea what we should do to you. What do you want to be done?" He scanned the vamp-ghost with every diagnostic mumbo-jumbo he could use.
"Well, I can not expect anything, I should be here for a reason or it is just my personal hell, so you all will have to get used to me, haunting you every day." He was sat in one the tables.
"I also didn't find anything unusual about your amulet." Phlox was challenged, he almost handled perfectly every case that came to him. Even miraculously saving himself from that (borg) electronic-virus that he caught.
"It is obviously a mystical amulet, Doc!" He jumped to the floor shaking his head and putting his hands into his pockets "Your pretty tweaks will not bring me back."
"So do you want something, you want to go back?" Hoshi inquired, getting closer of him "But you haven't told us from where you came, not exactly who you are..."
"Off course, I want to go back, back to her...(The slayer)" a little bit of sadness appeared in his eyes, the last thing he remembered was his organs exploding and releasing the energy that saved the world, then a timeless period of emptiness, then suddenly he appeared there between familiar faces. "Hoshi, my dear, I promise you that soon I will answer all your questions about me."
"Sure, feel free" She smiled warmly, she knows, that he was just a little soul, lost, now lost in space. And since he could not touch anything he would not harm anyone more than just a little scare, even if he got in his vampire mode.
Anyway Phlox haven't got enough data to help Spike come back or turn him corporeal, but did enough to do a system that would cage him if he became a problem. "Could you transform into that monster again, I would like to record it."
"Sure!" Spike replied demonstrating clearly his English accent, he quickly turned his face into vampire. Phlox and Hoshi were confused and curious, they gradually came closer to look, it was enough scary to do not get used to it rapidly.
Malcolm Reed entered into the sickbay, he saw Spike there, but the vampire wasn't facing the door, Malcolm this time equipped with his phaser, drawn the weapon. "Doctor Phlox what is happening here?"
Spike got surprised and looked back still with his vamp face, Reed reacted very terrified, he fell back hitting and breaking the glass over the sickbay door and firing his phaser in the ceiling.
"What a f...?" Spike ducked as a defense reflex and turned his face to normal.
"Malcolm!" Hoshi came to Reed, he was sat on the floor, hugging his knees, sweating cold, in catatonic condition.
"Spike, leave now, there's something on you that attack his sub conscience, now!" Phlox yelled, caring hard with the Malcolm's healthy, which seemed to be a very serious state.
The vampire walked ghostly through the sickbay doors, Hoshi followed him.
Sharon Gimpel, lieutenant serving at Enterprise since its first crew was formed, a sandy haired girl was doing the last round of the night checking at the equipment of the lower deck normally, when she stepped into a slop of water, she noticed that water was leaking from one of the bulkheads, she got surprised and tried to get a intercom. Suddenly a great portion of water entered the small room activating the safety systems as if was in the vacuum inducing the automatic procedure of sealing of the door, the only door in the room. "Oh my god!"
This time the flaw was detected at the bridge and soon informed as red alert, calling all officers.
"Air leaking at the lower deck, please officer drive peacefully to the upper decks, inform your superior officer about a possible missing person." the intercom informed to everybody.
In about seven minutes, Trip came to the lower deck at the other side of the sealed door. "Luckily is just this small room, there is someone inside?"
"I can not be sure, sir, there is something wrong with the density, and our locating systems are offline." Garrison True, an assistant engineer was there before, told the actual situation to his chief.
"Dammit, what a day! Think Trip, Think!" He forced himself.
"Mr. Tucker! I may have someone to help with!" Hoshi appeared "Him! He can walk through walls" bringing Spike.
"Please do!" He accepted, asking himself how this was really real.
Spike passed trough the door and came back two seconds later "Yes, there is a girl inside, and there's no air liking, this is totally full of water, you have to do something."
"I cannot revert the seal easily, even let the water enter into here, get a scuba..." Trip argued, Garrison nodded, and they really haven't any idea how rescue her.
"Listen well, mister engineer, I have an idea, but it will damage on of your systems!" Spike came closer to Trips face, if he could touch things, he would grab Tucker by his collar.
(End of Act 2)