Wow. Over a year since I last wrote on this. That's, uh, not good.
My muse, however, has only recently found herself amused by this.
Eh, well, hopefully everyone will get caught up with it again. -beam-
And to keep with our new "post when you're finished" philosophy, this fic is done. So as long as I remember, I should pop out a chapter or two of this a week.
Sickbay was different. Phlox's creatures were nowhere to be seen, instead replaced by strange utensils and scanners Archer could only imagine the uses for. The whole room had an odd tidiness, too; the familiar clutter all the animals had brought was just gone. Archer tried to dismiss the feeling of something gone horribly awry. He'd just passed out, that was all...
...Now, why had he passed out? He could hardly remember. Trip – no, an imposter Trip – had fired something. He'd delivered Hoshi to sickbay... then the Captain had found himself suffocating, following Trip through… something. Obviously this was no time to be in sickbay, especially with a renegade Tucker doing god-knows-what. He slid off the medical bed, steadying himself there for a brief moment.
"Ah, my Captain, I'm not sure getting up is such as good idea as this time." A voice – an unfamiliar one—called from behind him. He turned, swaying ever so slightly as he did, and could scarcely believe his eyes.
An Andorian. Standing right there in sickbay. Flashes suddenly came to him of that very alien being there as he went unconscious. All thoughts of his lightheadedness were pushed from his mind as he world on the seeming intruder. "Who are you, and what the hell are you doing on my ship?"
The Andorian seemed only barely taken aback. His antennae twitched as he assessed Archer for a long moment, before exhaling a long sigh. "I feared you'd be disoriented. You're on the Enterprise, Captain –"
"I know full well where I am. I want to know what you're doing on my ship."
"I serve here, sir, Chief Medi—"
"No Andorians serve on Enterprise!" Archer growled, beginning to advance on the alien. His voice began to rise as he continued, "Only a Denobulan and a Vulcan! No Andorians."
The other man blinked. He pulled his hand through his white hair, again scrutinizing the Captain. His hand began to reach for one of the scanners lying nearby. "Captain –"
"I am not your Captain."
"—sir, I'm Telev." The Andorian slowly drawled out, as if Archer had been stricken with a learning disability. "You know of our troubles with the Vulcans. We know of your trouble with the Vulcans. They denied Earth access to the Interspecies Medical Exchange after we helped your father complete his engine. Seeing as Denobulans are part of the Exchange and Vulcans, quite frankly, hate humans, there is no way either species would be serving about this vessel."
Archer's approach stopped abruptly, staring at the man quite dumbly. He moved no muscle as he was scanned, probably proving any theories that Archer was indeed now sporting some kind of mental handicap. The pieces were ever so slowly beginning to fall into place.
That Trip, the one he had followed, had said he was from another universe. Maybe he'd somehow found his way to one, too... and finally, after what seemed like ages in silence, he spoke, "Have their been any disappearances onboard?"
"Sickbay's been unusually slow today, but I really wouldn't know..." Telev ground out. But after a short pause, he nodded. "Actually, the Sub-Commander did tell me that Commander Tucker had escaped his quarters. I don't know if that warrants a disappearance, but considering I have deemed him mentally ill... you never know."
The Doctor was forgotten as Archer crossed sickbay. His hand slammed down on the console, "Archer to the bridge."
"Sub-Commander Shrena here."
He faltered, trying to recover from the shock of hearing the entirely unfamiliar female voice. With a sigh, he reluctantly continued. "Tactical Alert."
"Captain, there's no reason..."
"I'll explain when I arrive. If I arrive... in the mean time, run scans for any abnormal signs of radiation and check with all sections. I need to know if anyone has disappeared off Enterprise."
"Captain...?"
Archer abruptly cut off the channel. He cast a still-skeptical look at the doctor before he quickly made his way out into the corridor.
"Captain, I'm tellin' you now, the strain on the warp core is join goin' to keep on rising!" Trip's stressed voice came over the comm. System, "Whatever that radiation is, it just keeps on buildin' up."
Captain Reed sighed, "Do whatever you can, Commander. Keep me posted."
"Yes, sir. Tucker out."
Malcolm almost groaned when the channel closed. Three and a half hours and nothing. Neither crew had managed to slow down whatever was happening to both ships. Frantic crew members were still sending communiqués and all he could tell them was "stay where you are." He felt useless. He couldn't help but feel like he was failing them as a Captain, hiding away on the bridge for fear he'd be whisked off to... what had T'Pau called them? Quantum Realities? The idea seemed absurd…
Yet proof of them was right in front of him. An exact replica of the Enterprise bridge was there, clear as day on the viewscreen. Things were, of course, different. This Sub-Commander T'Pol woman seemed to be in charge. And, Hoshi was on that bridge. Both she and Travis were working away at their stations, seemingly oblivious to one another.
Things certainly do change from universe to universe... he mused to himself as he watched the other universe's Hoshi. Heh. He'd undoubtedly made the poor woman uncomfortable – since every time she looked up from her console he was staring at her. Seeing her only fueled further worries about his Hoshi. No. She wasn't his. She was Travis's. She wasn't his responsibility.
But he had a responsibility to her as a Captain. As a... friend. What if she didn't know what was happening? Was scared, alone? Hurt? She was pregnant... and what if it was his child? He had an obligation to her. A duty to her.
"T'Pau," he said, standing from the captain's chair. "I'm going to find the rest of the bridge crew."
The dark-skinned Vulcan turned toward him, 'brow arched. "Captain, we can't afford to have you lost."
"We can't function with three people on the bridge, either." It sounded like a logical argument. He didn't know what he'd do when he only returned – if he returned – with only Hoshi... but, that was a dilemma for later. Before the Sub-Commander could unleash another protest, he stepped into the lift.