C-28

Chapter 9

Disclaimer, etc. in Chapter 1

The captain slowly realized he'd been drifting in and out of wakefulness, lulled by the quiet of sickbay and the relief brought by whatever was in Phlox's hypospray and the ice packs on his eye and jaw. He was about to let himself drift off again, knowing Phlox would wake him as promised, when he heard the door slide open, followed by several familiar voices.
Archer first made out the voice of Ensign Avery, followed by Jirah's unmistakable sarcastic tone, a gasp and groan which he couldn't match with anyone in particular, and finally Phlox's curious yet concerned words. To say the least, it was enough to gain Archer's interest. Carefully removing the ice from his eye, he pushed himself up on his elbows and looked across the room to where Avery and Jirah were helping Ensign Jace onto a biobed.
Once they were out of the way, he could see Phlox examining Jace's arm. Sighing and deciding that his brief respite was as good as over with, Archer swung his feet over the side of the bed and slowly stood up. He noticed with frustration that he felt more fatigued than when he'd laid down. The tiredness was able to be ignored, however, so he continued across the room, still holding the other ice pack to his throbbing jaw. "Ensign Avery, report."
"Sir," Avery said, quickly overcoming his surprise at the captain's presence. "We were beginning the process of joining the C-28 and trellium- D, having calculated the correct proportions, when Jace collapsed, saying his leg had cramped up. By the time he got up, he said the skin on his left arm felt as if it were burning."
"And apparently he was correct," Phlox said, casting Archer a disapproving frown before turning back to Jace. "Did you come into contact with anything that may have burned you?"
"No. I've been working with the others on the C-28 since we got back from the surface," Jace replied.
"I must admit, it is very odd to see this severe of burns with no outward evidence on the clothing and no apparent cause, but to see it twice in one day..." Phlox looked puzzled.
"Wait, twice? Who was the other person, Doctor?" Archer asked.
"Among Commander Tucker's injuries, prior to the away mission, were some burns and blistering on his shoulder. At the time, I attributed it to the container that hit him, what with my scans inconclusive, but now..."
"You think there might be a connection," Archer finished, leaning against a counter in what he hoped was a casual manner.
"I need to run more scans on Ensign Jace, then compare them with those I took of Commander Tucker. It would help if I knew what I was looking for, and if I could do my work without further distractions," Phlox said pointedly to Archer, and pulling over a nearby chair, placed a firm hand on the Captain's shoulder, forcing him to sit.
"Perhaps I can help with that, Doctor." Jirah said.
Archer was about to tell the young Draden to mind his own business when he noticed the serious look on the young man's face and it occurred to him that Jirah was probably referring to Phlox's scans.
"Though I'll not be of much aid for ridding you of distractions, I'm afraid," the Draden added.
Archer stiffened, but said nothing, waiting for Jirah to continue.
"Go on," Phlox urged, eager to hear what the young man had to say.
"I'm afraid that I have inadvertently caused Ensign Jace's injury. I hadn't thought of it until just now, but the Draden possess glands just beneath the surface of our skin that secrete a hormonal substance which allows for a certain...influential effect...among our species. The molecular structure of the secretion is such that it can penetrate fabric virtually unnoticed. Human skin must have an adverse reaction to it."
"Is this secretion involuntary?" asked Phlox.
"Most often, yes. There are Draden who are able to control it, secreting it at will. I am not one of those persons. Usually, the substance is released when we have very strong feelings about something. It allows us to sway others toward our way of thinking."
"Does Solead have the ability to control the release of the substance?" Archer asked thoughtfully.
"I'm not sure, he might. Why?"
"Because if this substance has anything to do with Trip's condition, then Solead has to be the one responsible. He's the only Draden that Trip had any contact with before he accompanied us on the away mission."
"It would stand to reason with Uncle's stupidity. He probably thought he could convince Commander Tucker to surrender to the Xindi." Jirah rolled his eyes. "Obviously, he was mistaken. I apologize for his actions, and mine."
"You have no need to apologize, Jirah. If in fact this secretion is the cause, you had no control over it," Archer said.
Jirah nodded. "Still, if there is any way I may be of assistance..."
"Do you have any medical knowledge?" Phlox asked.
"I would be of little assistance unless I knew what I was looking at. However, I understand most areas of science well, so with some guidance I will do my best to comprehend."
"Good. I will let you know when I have progressed further in my analysis," Phlox smiled.
"In the meantime, Jirah, you may return to work on the C-28 with Ensign Avery."
"But what if I accidentally touch someone else?"
"I'm sure Mr. Avery can find you some gloves that will offer sufficient protection."
"All right then."
[Mayweather to Archer.]
Archer stepped over to the communications panel. "Go ahead Travis."
[Sir, there's been a development concerning the Xindi that I thought you would want to know about right away.]
"Did you find him?"
[I suppose you could say that...]
"Travis?"
[Sir, please come to the bridge immediately.]
"I'm on my way. Archer out." Archer turned away from the comm. Phlox was looking at him, as was Jirah. "Don't you both have work to do?" With that, he turned and walked out of sickbay.

TBC...

A/N: I will be busy with work the rest of this week, and next week I will be on vacation. I may update during my vacation week or I may not. I will post the next part as soon as possible though. Thanks to all who are still reading and awaiting updates. Your comments are appreciated!