C-28
Chapter 8
See Chapter 1 for disclaimer/rating/archiving info.
Archer had finished off two piles of padds that consisted mostly of meaningless paperwork. He got through several more departmental reports before the words he was reading didn't make sense anymore. When he'd reread the same line of Malcolm's weapons efficiency report for the seventh time, Archer set the padd on the desk and leaned back in his chair with a sigh. He considered assigning Reed more duties. The man obviously had too much time on his hands if he went into that much detail on phase pistols...
He rubbed his eyes and blinked at the chronometer. It read 0130. Had he really been sitting here for that long? He pressed a button. "Travis, report."
"Sir, I've just found a way through the sensor dampening field the Xindi seems to have around his ship. I'm proceeding with the scans you requested. Also, I lost the Xindi about five minutes ago. I last picked him up heading away from the building and his ship. He just vanished from sensors about a kilometer west of the building.
"Vanished?"
"Yes sir."
"Is it possible he's somehow masking his lifesigns from our sensors?"
"That's what I'm pursuing now."
"Good work, Travis. Keep me informed. Archer out." The captain was about to contact T'Pol and Malcolm to check their progress when his terminal beeped. As it turned out, the Vulcan had sent him a textual report instead. "Isn't it quicker to just press the button on the comm?" he muttered, but skimmed through the message anyway. The C-28 wasn't ready to be bonded with the Trellium-D just yet, but the simulations they had run on the compound matched their previous speculations.
Archer closed the message and got up to get a large cup of coffee from the mess when the comm sounded. "Phlox to Captain Archer."
"Go ahead, Doctor." Archer said.
"Please come to sickbay, Captain."
"How's Trip?"
"I'll tell you everything you want to know when you arrive. Phlox out."
The captain was out the door of his ready room before Phlox had finished speaking. He had to resist the urge to jog through the corridors, but he still walked faster than usual. When the doors to sickbay slid open, Archer found Phlox waiting for him. The doctor's features were unreadable.
"Doctor," Archer said, a feeling of dread building inside him with each moment the solemn expression remained upon the Denobulan's face. "Trip's not..." he couldn't bring himself to finish voicing the question.
"No, Captain. Commander Tucker's condition is stable."
"But?" Archer prompted, knowing there was something Phlox wasn't saying.
"Had you been even a few minutes later getting him here, there would have been little I could have done. The injury to his leg was quite severe, and I only recently completed the surgery. I stopped the bleeding, but his condition is still very serious."
"Will he be all right?"
Phlox sighed. "The next few hours will decide a lot. The tissue damage to his leg was extensive and tested my sewing abilities, but given time and proper treatment, it should heal. The concussion and injury to the commander's shoulder, though both worsened by his time planetside, will also mend. Right now, my greatest concerns are the blood loss and hypothermia."
"Are they life-threatening?" Archer pressed, anxious to get a definite answer from the doctor.
"I wish I could say with certainty that they aren't." Phlox's tone was almost as serious as Archer had ever heard it, which deepened the captain's concern as the physician continued. "I'm doing everything to keep Commander Tucker stable, but he's lost nearly a third of his blood volume. The hypothermia isn't severe, but along with the blood loss, it is taking its toll on his already weakened body. Over the next few hours, I will continue to administer fluids and gradually raise his body temperature, but we will all need to be patient."
Not knowing how to respond to such grave news concerning Trip, Archer simply nodded. "Can I see him?"
"You may for a moment, but I've given Mr. Tucker a high dose of painkillers. That in combination with the anesthetic from his surgery will cause him to sleep until morning at least." Phlox led the way to a far corner of the room and moved aside the curtain so he and Archer could step through.
Archer mentally berated himself for allowing Trip to come on the away mission as he looked upon his engineer's pale, still form. The young man looked very ill, and Archer knew that Phlox hadn't been exaggerating when he'd spoke of Trip's condition. The captain's mind wandered to consider their options, to consider what he should have done differently, what he would do differently in the coming days to ensure the crew's safety on this mission.
As he pondered, Archer realized at some point, he had come to ponder nothing at all and so he just stood there, blankly watching his sleeping friend.
"Captain," Phlox said, stepping back through the curtain. He had taken some scans of the engineer and then left Archer and Trip to themselves as he completed a few other tasks. "Commander Tucker needs to rest. You may come back to see him tomorrow. Captain Archer," he repeated, trying again to get the man's attention.
Apparently, Archer had been standing in the same spot the entire time he was gone, Phlox mused. Not wishing to startle Archer, who was clearly lost in thought, Phlox stepped quietly to his side and lightly touched his arm. "Captain."
At the his touch, Archer looked up, recognition snapping him out of his reverie after a moment. "Sorry, Doctor. My mind must have wandered. Let me know when Trip wakes up, or if there's any change," he said somewhat absently and turned to go. The day was catching up with him, and he must have swayed, for a moment later Phlox was again at his side, steadying him.
"Captain, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Doctor. It's nothing a good cup of coffee won't fix."
"Why don't you sit down while I confirm that, hmm?" Phlox said, guiding Archer back across the room.
"Is it really necessary that you do this now? I need to check in with Travis," Archer said, suddenly grumpy that he didn't, in fact, have a mug of strong coffee.
"This will only take a moment. Have a seat," the Denobulan repeated more firmly.
Archer sighed in frustration, but sat down on the edge of the diagnostic bed. There was no putting off Phlox when he had that determined look, though Archer couldn't understand why the man insisted on giving himself more work.
"When did you last sleep?" the doctor asked, frowning at the readings he was getting from his hand scanner.
"What time is it now?"
"0220 hours," Phlox supplied with a glance to his chronometer.
"T'Pol woke me about this time yesterday. I can't say I've thought much about sleeping since then. I've been otherwise occupied."
"Be that as it may, you are physically exhausted, and I don't need a medical scanner to tell me that."
"And I don't need you to tell me that I'm tired either, Doctor. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of time to sleep right now."
"Make time. As of now you are off duty and will remain so for the next four hours. I expect you to use that time to rest, nothing else.
"The teams working on the trellium-D and C-28 don't get four hours, Doctor. Neither do I. We need to get ourselves shielded as soon as possible, and the more we can get done while Jirah is here to help us, the better. Plus, I somehow have a bad feeling that we haven't seen the last of that bounty hunter, especially if the price on our heads is as high as Jirah claims. He may not pose a large threat to us, but I'm not going to allow him to ambush us when we're not looking either."
Archer and Phlox stared at one another, each ready to argue with what the other would next say. Finally, Phlox shook his head in exasperation. "Will you at least lie down for half an hour and allow me to treat your injuries and apply some ice to your eye before it swells shut completely?"
"On one condition. If I happen to fall asleep, you have to promise to wake me immediately when you're finished."
Phlox sighed. "It is against my better judgment, but if it's the only way then I suppose half an hour of rest is better than nothing."
"In that case, you have yourself a deal," Archer said, wearily lying down on the bed while Phlox prepared what he needed.
TBC...
Chapter 8
See Chapter 1 for disclaimer/rating/archiving info.
Archer had finished off two piles of padds that consisted mostly of meaningless paperwork. He got through several more departmental reports before the words he was reading didn't make sense anymore. When he'd reread the same line of Malcolm's weapons efficiency report for the seventh time, Archer set the padd on the desk and leaned back in his chair with a sigh. He considered assigning Reed more duties. The man obviously had too much time on his hands if he went into that much detail on phase pistols...
He rubbed his eyes and blinked at the chronometer. It read 0130. Had he really been sitting here for that long? He pressed a button. "Travis, report."
"Sir, I've just found a way through the sensor dampening field the Xindi seems to have around his ship. I'm proceeding with the scans you requested. Also, I lost the Xindi about five minutes ago. I last picked him up heading away from the building and his ship. He just vanished from sensors about a kilometer west of the building.
"Vanished?"
"Yes sir."
"Is it possible he's somehow masking his lifesigns from our sensors?"
"That's what I'm pursuing now."
"Good work, Travis. Keep me informed. Archer out." The captain was about to contact T'Pol and Malcolm to check their progress when his terminal beeped. As it turned out, the Vulcan had sent him a textual report instead. "Isn't it quicker to just press the button on the comm?" he muttered, but skimmed through the message anyway. The C-28 wasn't ready to be bonded with the Trellium-D just yet, but the simulations they had run on the compound matched their previous speculations.
Archer closed the message and got up to get a large cup of coffee from the mess when the comm sounded. "Phlox to Captain Archer."
"Go ahead, Doctor." Archer said.
"Please come to sickbay, Captain."
"How's Trip?"
"I'll tell you everything you want to know when you arrive. Phlox out."
The captain was out the door of his ready room before Phlox had finished speaking. He had to resist the urge to jog through the corridors, but he still walked faster than usual. When the doors to sickbay slid open, Archer found Phlox waiting for him. The doctor's features were unreadable.
"Doctor," Archer said, a feeling of dread building inside him with each moment the solemn expression remained upon the Denobulan's face. "Trip's not..." he couldn't bring himself to finish voicing the question.
"No, Captain. Commander Tucker's condition is stable."
"But?" Archer prompted, knowing there was something Phlox wasn't saying.
"Had you been even a few minutes later getting him here, there would have been little I could have done. The injury to his leg was quite severe, and I only recently completed the surgery. I stopped the bleeding, but his condition is still very serious."
"Will he be all right?"
Phlox sighed. "The next few hours will decide a lot. The tissue damage to his leg was extensive and tested my sewing abilities, but given time and proper treatment, it should heal. The concussion and injury to the commander's shoulder, though both worsened by his time planetside, will also mend. Right now, my greatest concerns are the blood loss and hypothermia."
"Are they life-threatening?" Archer pressed, anxious to get a definite answer from the doctor.
"I wish I could say with certainty that they aren't." Phlox's tone was almost as serious as Archer had ever heard it, which deepened the captain's concern as the physician continued. "I'm doing everything to keep Commander Tucker stable, but he's lost nearly a third of his blood volume. The hypothermia isn't severe, but along with the blood loss, it is taking its toll on his already weakened body. Over the next few hours, I will continue to administer fluids and gradually raise his body temperature, but we will all need to be patient."
Not knowing how to respond to such grave news concerning Trip, Archer simply nodded. "Can I see him?"
"You may for a moment, but I've given Mr. Tucker a high dose of painkillers. That in combination with the anesthetic from his surgery will cause him to sleep until morning at least." Phlox led the way to a far corner of the room and moved aside the curtain so he and Archer could step through.
Archer mentally berated himself for allowing Trip to come on the away mission as he looked upon his engineer's pale, still form. The young man looked very ill, and Archer knew that Phlox hadn't been exaggerating when he'd spoke of Trip's condition. The captain's mind wandered to consider their options, to consider what he should have done differently, what he would do differently in the coming days to ensure the crew's safety on this mission.
As he pondered, Archer realized at some point, he had come to ponder nothing at all and so he just stood there, blankly watching his sleeping friend.
"Captain," Phlox said, stepping back through the curtain. He had taken some scans of the engineer and then left Archer and Trip to themselves as he completed a few other tasks. "Commander Tucker needs to rest. You may come back to see him tomorrow. Captain Archer," he repeated, trying again to get the man's attention.
Apparently, Archer had been standing in the same spot the entire time he was gone, Phlox mused. Not wishing to startle Archer, who was clearly lost in thought, Phlox stepped quietly to his side and lightly touched his arm. "Captain."
At the his touch, Archer looked up, recognition snapping him out of his reverie after a moment. "Sorry, Doctor. My mind must have wandered. Let me know when Trip wakes up, or if there's any change," he said somewhat absently and turned to go. The day was catching up with him, and he must have swayed, for a moment later Phlox was again at his side, steadying him.
"Captain, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Doctor. It's nothing a good cup of coffee won't fix."
"Why don't you sit down while I confirm that, hmm?" Phlox said, guiding Archer back across the room.
"Is it really necessary that you do this now? I need to check in with Travis," Archer said, suddenly grumpy that he didn't, in fact, have a mug of strong coffee.
"This will only take a moment. Have a seat," the Denobulan repeated more firmly.
Archer sighed in frustration, but sat down on the edge of the diagnostic bed. There was no putting off Phlox when he had that determined look, though Archer couldn't understand why the man insisted on giving himself more work.
"When did you last sleep?" the doctor asked, frowning at the readings he was getting from his hand scanner.
"What time is it now?"
"0220 hours," Phlox supplied with a glance to his chronometer.
"T'Pol woke me about this time yesterday. I can't say I've thought much about sleeping since then. I've been otherwise occupied."
"Be that as it may, you are physically exhausted, and I don't need a medical scanner to tell me that."
"And I don't need you to tell me that I'm tired either, Doctor. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of time to sleep right now."
"Make time. As of now you are off duty and will remain so for the next four hours. I expect you to use that time to rest, nothing else.
"The teams working on the trellium-D and C-28 don't get four hours, Doctor. Neither do I. We need to get ourselves shielded as soon as possible, and the more we can get done while Jirah is here to help us, the better. Plus, I somehow have a bad feeling that we haven't seen the last of that bounty hunter, especially if the price on our heads is as high as Jirah claims. He may not pose a large threat to us, but I'm not going to allow him to ambush us when we're not looking either."
Archer and Phlox stared at one another, each ready to argue with what the other would next say. Finally, Phlox shook his head in exasperation. "Will you at least lie down for half an hour and allow me to treat your injuries and apply some ice to your eye before it swells shut completely?"
"On one condition. If I happen to fall asleep, you have to promise to wake me immediately when you're finished."
Phlox sighed. "It is against my better judgment, but if it's the only way then I suppose half an hour of rest is better than nothing."
"In that case, you have yourself a deal," Archer said, wearily lying down on the bed while Phlox prepared what he needed.
TBC...
