J. B. Tilton/Page 5
FOUR
"Report," said Archer, entering the bridge.
"It is obviously alien," said T'Pol. "But it is still too far away to identify."
"What's its heading?" asked Archer.
"Heading two one seven mark nine," said Travis. "It's moving at warp three. It's not a direct heading for us but it will bring them close to that system just ahead."
"Lateral sensors are out of alignment," reported Trip. "Should have it fixed in a few minutes."
"Stay on top of it, Trip," said Archer.
"Captain," said T'Pol, "the ship has altered course. It is now heading away from the system. We will loose contact with it in a few minutes."
"Well, I guess we can't make contact with every ship we encounter," said Archer. "Make a note of it in the log. Where's Amanda?"
"I have not seen Dr. Spencer," responded T'Pol.
"She said she was coming up here," said Archer. "She must have gotten side tracked. I'm going back to cargo bay two. T'Pol, you have the bridge."
Trip and Commander Lavene stepped off the turbo lift into cargo bay two. They looked around but saw no sign of movement.
"Cap'n," Trip called into the bay.
His voice echoed off the walls. For a moment, there was no response. Then Archer called out to him from across the bay.
"Over here, Trip."
Trip and Marks followed the sound of Archers' voice. They located him on the far side of the bay.
"Commander Lavene," said Archer, when he saw the two men. "I hope you've enjoyed your tour of the engine room."
"Yes, sir, very much," said Lavene nervously.
"What's up, Trip?" asked Archer.
"You're needed in sickbay, sir," said Trip.
"What's the matter?" asked Archer. "Can't Phlox give a tour of his own sickbay without my help?"
"No, sir, it's nothing like that," said Trip. "There seems to have been an accident."
"Accident?" questioned Archer. "Was someone injured?"
"It's Captain Spencer," said Lavene. "He's dead, sir."
Archer stared at the two men in disbelief.
"Doctor," said Archer, entering the sickbay, "I came as soon as I heard." Archer noticed Amanda and Commander Marks in the room. "Amanda, I'm so sorry. Trip told me there had been an accident."
"Thank you, John," said Amanda, wiping a tear away.
"Doctor, what happened?" asked Archer.
"Captain Spencer was found in one of the corridors," explained Phlox. "There are no visible signs of trauma. At the moment, I do not have an immediate cause of death."
"I think I do," said Dr. Links, handing a PADD to Phlox. "This is a preliminary scan of the body. It's hardly conclusive, but I'm willing to bet an autopsy will bear this out."
Phlox looked the PADD over. He read the results of the scan carefully.
"We'll need to perform an autopsy," said Phlox, "but I believe Peter is correct."
"What is it?" asked Commander Marks. "Do you know how the captain died?"
"I believe so," said Phlox. "According to the scan, Captain Spencer's death was the result of severe anaphylactic shock to his system. My guess is he died within moments."
"Anaphylactic shock?" questioned Archer. "What caused it?"
""We found an injection site on his neck," said Links. "Apparently, Captain Spencer was injected with a large amount of peanut oil."
"Peanut oil?" questioned Trip. "That's it? Just peanut oil? How can peanut oil kill someone?"
"Captain Spencer was highly allergic to peanuts," said Links. "Enough oil could cause this reaction."
"And since no hypospray was found with the body," interjected Phlox, "there can be only one conclusion. This was not an accident. Captain Spencer was murdered."
