Disclaimer: I don't own Enterprise. Sob.
Chapter Three
The temperature aboard the ship seemed to drop, as they got further into the lower decks. Archer shivered, and wondered if this part of the ship were submerged in water. The thought suddenly struck him that they could be sinking, and wondered if it would be possible to even launch a shuttle, let alone fly it. He wondered if that same thought had occurred to the others. He risked a quick assessing glance back at them. Hoshi looked pale and seasick; Reed's face was an unreadable mask. Archer turned back, and was suddenly aware that water was lapping at his boots.
"What the…?" he muttered.
"We're heading down hill again, sir," Hoshi pointed out, automatically grabbing the nearest wall for support as another swell rocked them, "it's possible that the lower decks are flooded."
"We'll just have to find out the hard way," Archer decided.
He risked another glance at Malcolm, but the younger man seemed calm enough. Archer stepped forwards with more confidence than he felt. The water seemed to stay a mere two or three inches deep, not even enough to lap over the tops of their boots. Suddenly, Archer froze.
"Did you hear that?" he hissed.
"We're being followed," Reed nodded, holding his phase pistol at the ready, "someone's tracking us…"
"Where?" Hoshi asked, fearfully, leaning back against the wall.
"I can't tell…" Reed's eyes flicked everywhere in the dim half-light of the ship.
Archer drew his own pistol again, every sense alert. Suddenly, something crashed into him and he dropped his weapon, hearing a soft splash as it hit the deck. Sharp claws dug into his shoulders, and Archer lashed out with a heavy punch, hearing Hoshi's cry of shock. In the corner of his vision, he could see Reed similarly struggling with one of the huge, cat-like beings. Claws raked into his forearm, and then the waspish sound of a phase pistol split the air, and the alien yelped, falling to the deck. Hoshi had grabbed Archer's fallen weapon. She turned it towards the second alien, but it darted away, and disappeared into a hatch, repeating the earlier escape of its companion.
"They're resilient buggers," Reed noted, breathlessly, "that one recovered very quickly after being stunned."
"They're fast, too," Archer noted, "thank you, Ensign, I…"
He reached over to retrieve his phase pistol, but was cut off by a shout.
"Captain, look out!"
What happened next happened so fast that it took Archer a good few moments afterwards to work out the order of events. He heard Hoshi's shout of warning, and turned in time to see a third cat-alien emerge from a hatch, a rifle aimed straight at him. He saw Hoshi take a step back, and then felt something, or someone, crash into him, just as the alien fired. He hit the deck with a wet thump, and managed to roll over just in time to see the alien pounce at Hoshi. He reacted without thinking, raising his phase pistol, and squeezing off a quick shot. His aim was perfect; it struck the alien mid-leap, and it slammed into Hoshi, taking them both to the ground, out cold. Archer scrambled up, pulling the alien off her and helping her to her feet, holding her arms and examining her for any sign of injury.
"Are you all right?" he asked her, panting with the sudden rush of adrenalin.
"I'm fine, sir," she nodded, breathlessly, rubbing the back of her head where it had impacted the deck, "just a bit stunned. Lt. Reed…?"
Archer released her, and turned towards the tactical officer, who was just stumbling to his feet.
"You okay, Malcolm?"
"I'll be fine, sir…" Reed turned, wincing.
Hoshi gasped in shock, and Archer frowned in concern when he saw the dark smear of blood on the younger man's uniform.
"You're hit!" he exclaimed, "Let me see."
Reluctantly, Reed took his hand away from his left shoulder, and Archer gingerly probed the edges of the wound with his fingers. Warm blood welled up and over his hands, and he pressed his left hand against it to stop the flow, placing his right against the lieutenant's back to support him.
"There's a projectile in the wound," he reported, glancing across at Hoshi, "get some bandages out of the first aid kit, and some pain killers…we need to get you back to the ship."
"With all due respect, sir, we should get out of here before that other alien comes back…" Reed pointed out, trying his best to get free.
"Not yet, lieutenant. Stay still; that's an order."
Hoshi retrieved some bandages and a general pain suppressant from the medical kit, and did her best to put a makeshift dressing over Reed's shoulder, using a hypo-spray to administer the painkiller. He thanked her quietly, never taking his eyes off the unconscious aliens.
"Let's keep going," Archer gestured, quickly, "I can't get in touch with Enterprise at all. The storms must be right over head."
The other two nodded in agreement. The hull of the ship creaked and groaned under the assault, the deck pitching wildly as the three of them stumbled further into the ship. They frequently had to stop to catch the walls for support, and what was worse; the water underfoot was getting deeper. They were up to their knees by the time they reached the door Hoshi told them was the hanger bay.
"Are you sure?" Archer asked.
"Positive," she nodded, "I think the UT is starting to get to grips with the language. The written form is much easier than the spoken version. This says something like 'hanger bay four'."
"Good," Archer nodded.
He holstered his pistol, and pressed the keypad to open the doors. They slid apart fractionally, and he stepped forwards, prising them open and forcing them back. The emergency lighting made the floor look strange. It was only when he heard Reed's whispered curse that he realised what he was looking at. The hanger was a huge pit beneath him, and the room was flooded. The shuttle was submerged in about thirty feet of water.
A/N: That's chapter three…please tell me what you think…