Sorry it took so long to update, I got all confussled by the recent changes on FFN. I think everything's cool now though. So. On with the story! :)
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-Thank you for the reviews!
And to answer your question Rinne, this is set in Season 1. Malcolm, bless his heart, is still terribly formal to everyone. Trip and he aren't really friends yet, and he's just sort of starting to realize Hoshi (as a woman) exists.
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"That should keep you sneeze-free Lieutenant." Dr. Phlox said after administering a hypo spray to Malcolm's neck the next morning. "I'd suggest getting one of these once every two weeks."
Reed slid off the bed he'd been sitting on, "Thank you. By the way, did you find anything out about those … things?"
Phlox smiled regretfully, "Not yet Mr. Reed, but I feel very confident."
"Great. Confidence is always good." He ran a hand through his hair, "So, what can I tell the Captain if he asks? We're close to finding out what they are?"
"Yes, that would be fine." Phlox said.
Malcolm walked out of sick bay feeling like a new man. Invigorated, focused and happy. He would've said that this was the hypo spray's fault, but he'd felt like this ever since he woke up.
He entered the bridge and went to his station. Hitting buttons and scanning things, he suddenly felt as if he were being watched.
Looking up, he saw the Captain staring at him.
"Uh, sir?"
Archer shook his head, looking surprised, "Did you get a good sleep last night?"
"Yes sir." Malcolm said, confused.
"You seem… different." The Captain said slowly.
He certainly felt different.
"Malcolm. What's on your face?"
"What, sir?"
Archer tilted his head to the side, "Are you having an allergic reaction to something?"
"No, sir!" Reed assured him. Unless Dr. Phlox's hypo spray hadn't worked… but he was sure it had.
"Then, what are those red splotches on your face?"
Malcolm shot a hand of to his forehead.
My God! Was that…? Could it be…?
He stared down at his reflection in the spotless work station. His forehead… it was covered in… pimples?
At his age?? It wasn't possible.
But Malcolm wasn't one to deny the facts.
It was staring him right in the face.
"Lieutenant, do you need to see Dr. Phlox?" Archer asked, breaking his thoughts.
He blinked. Slowly looking away from his reflection. "Uh… n-no. No sir."
The Captain looked doubtful.
"Sir, it's nothing." Reed said to him almost pleadingly.
Archer sat back in his chair, considering something. After a moment, "Still, I'd feel better if you went to see the Doctor."
Reed closed his eyes briefly.
Opening them, but staring down at his hands, he said, "Sir. It's only… acne."
The bridge was silent, and Reed could practically feel everyone staring at him. After a moment, Malcolm looked up. His Captain was staring at him, and it looked as if he was trying not to grin.
"You're sure?" Archer finally asked.
"Yes." he answered bitterly.
The Captain turned away, "All right then. Back to work."
Malcolm had a feeling that the last statement wasn't made just for him.
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A few hours later, when Reed's embarrassment had finally dwindled a bit, Hoshi broke the silence on the bridge when she said, "Captain, we're receiving a transmission. Audio only."
"From who?" Archer demanded, standing up from his chair.
"Well sir. It seems to be coming from the planet." She said, surprised.
"The planet that's supposed to have no sentient life?" Archer asked.
"Um. Yes sir."
Archer smiled ruefully. "All right. Patch it through." He cleared his throat, "This is Captain Jonathon Archer from the starship Enterprise. Who might I be speaking to?"
There was a small pause before, "Uh… this is Neroxi from uh-- the star, starship Beamer." A deep voice answered, sounding flustered.
"All right." Archer said, "Anything I can help you with?"
"Well -Yes. Are you the people who destroyed our ship?" the voice asked, no longer sounding flustered, just angry.
Archer raised an eyebrow, "Your ship…? Oh."
"I'll take that as a yes." Neroxi said irritably.
"We thought the ship had been abandoned," Archer said regretfully, "When we scanned the planet, there were no signs of any sentient beings."
"My companion and I were in our submarine. Very deep. Perhaps your scans just didn't reach us."
"That seems very likely." The Captain said. "I'm sorry for any inconvenience we've caused you. If you want, we will fix your ship for you."
Another pause. "Yes, that is a good idea."
"Okay, some of my crew will come down as soon-."
Hoshi called from her station, "They cut the connection."
Archer sighed. "All right. Malcolm, if you're feeling up to it, you will escort Trip and a security team down to the surface."
Reed frowned deeply when he'd said 'feeling up to it', but he nearly jumped up and down for a chance to prove himself.
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"I dunno' man. Maybe ya' should try washin' your face before bed?" Trip suggested as they landed the ship.
Malcolm ground his teeth, deciding to let it slide. "Perhaps."
The door swished open, and sunlight streamed into the ship.
Grabbing his phase pistol from it's holster and holding it out in front of him, he led the rest of the small crew out of the ship.
"Faster humans!" Malcolm heard a familiar deep voice call out as soon as he stepped out onto the planet.
"I'm comin'!" Trip yelled back to Neroxi, pushing past the Lieutenant .
Trip and Neroxi exchanged words quickly, before the Commander went to work on the door.
Still feeling ill at ease, Malcolm continued to hold his pistol.
Despite being one of the most diversity accepting people in the world, nothing about Neroxi made Reed trust him. He was a green-skinned creature, with two tiny eyeballs that stuck out like a frog's, and one huge mouth. His pointy ears stuck out to the side, as did the large spikes protruding out from his back and skull.
The eyes swiveled his way. "What are you staring at?" Neroxi demanded.
"I was-- Well, didn't you say you were traveling with a companion?" Reed asked, slightly disconcerted.
Neroxi still watched him. "He is swimming right now. The water does our skin good."
"Oh, I see." Reed put his pistol away, hoping this small gesture of peace would make Neroxi finally look away.
It worked. The green alien set his sights on Trip. "Are you almost done, human?"
The Commander grunted, "Gimme' another ten minutes."
True to his word, ten minutes later, Trip had managed to cover the hole.
"There. You're all set." He said, putting his tools away as he stood up straight.
Neroxi lumbered over and inspected the door. He nodded. "Good. We can leave now."
Then, as if on cue, there was a loud SPLASH.
Spinning around, Malcolm pulled out his phaser, prepared to shoot the offending noise; only to find a carbon copy of Neroxi staring back at him from the ocean.
"Put your weapon away human!" the copy ordered angrily, walking up onto the grass. This alien was actually slightly smaller then Neroxi, Malcolm noticed as he slipped the phaser back into it's holster once again.
Neroxi turned to his companion, "The ship is prepared to leave any time now, Trogdin."
Trogdin nodded, walking past Reed and placing his large hand on the little pad next to the ship's door. Beeping once, then turning green- the door slid open.
"Let us not waste any more time Neroxi." Trogdin said, sounding bitter as he stepped onto the small ship.
Commander Tucker looked over at Reed and his security team. "I guess we can go now."
Malcolm gave a curt nod, and the others started making there way back to the runabout. But he was still watching the two green aliens suspiciously. They were large aliens… too big for the ship they were getting in. Why would they ride in such a tiny ship? Unless they had no other choice… and they had stolen it…
Reed shook his head. Oh well. There wasn't anything he could do about it now. And he was just being skeptical anyway. Maybe those aliens liked cramped spaces.
"Let's go Lieutenant!" Trip yelled.
Catching up to the others, he was just climbing in when he heard Trogdin yell, "Where is it?!"
Malcolm nervously stepped back onto the grass feeling a sort of dread.
"WHERE IS IT?!"
The British weapons officer waited, suddenly knowing what the aliens were looking for.
"HUMANS!" Trogdin screamed, then poked his head back out of his ship, his eyes falling on Malcolm. "Where is the box?!"
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DUN DUN DUUUUUN.
Next time, on Enterprise: Apologies, reactions, and some surprises.
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