Part Five
Chris Larabee hated paperwork.
He hated it with a passion. The only drawback to being the Captain of a starship was the fact that the bureaucracy and paperwork that came with the job seemed to expand exponentially. He remembered the carefree days when a report of duty was all the paperwork he was required to do because his responsibility ended the moment he submitted it to his immediate superior. Now that he was at the top of the food chain so to speak, there was no one to whom he could do the same since he was about as superior as one could get on a starship. Worse than that, he did not just have to write the things himself, he also had to make sense out of the reports, sub-reports, addendum's, memorandums that were submitted by all department heads to create an analysis from all the above to make his log entries.
Personally, he would rather be facing the Borg.
Although the paper was technically digital data on a console screen, that did not make the tedium any less and he wondered where Casey was since it was her job to keep him from going insane while doing this. He knew that he was over reacting a little because his paperwork was only this prolific because of their involvement in the recent Dominion battle and the influx of shore leave requests now that they were approaching Pacifica. Deciding that this was a task that could only be accomplished with coffee and lots of it, Chris went to the replicator in his Ready Room and programmed himself a cup of hot Jamaican blend. With a little smile, he gave Casey silent note of thanks for programming it in for him as well as the presence of several of his favorite foods stored in the replicator memory banks amongst the stock standard fare of the replicator menu.
For a Yeoman and girl of her age, she was extremely capable even though there were times when she showed her age. Casey was not content with living the hard-military life of a career Starfleet officer, but she still wanted to be a part of the exploration of unknown space. She had been somewhat reflective of late, no doubt because of the Maverick's recent stopover in Deep Space Nine. Casey had returned to Bajor for the first time since she was an infant. Although she made no mention of her feelings upon her return to the ship, Chris was certain the trip had affected her on some level emotionally. After all, this was the home that she and her parents had fled during the occupation and while they had not survived the trip, the Starfleet Captain who had rescued her on the other hand had adopted her. The captain who was then known as Annette Wells but was now more familiar to most as Admiral Nettie Wells.
Chris returned to his desk once he had the steaming cup of aromatic coffee in his hand and nestled into his chair once again, resolved to put a sizeable dent in the workload facing him in the form of data pads with its columns upon columns of statistical information. He was just to reach for the first pad when he heard the gentle trill of someone at his door.
"Come in." Chris grumbled with a frowned, wishing that if he was set to do a job he loathed, the least fate could do was let him get on with it uninterrupted.
The door slid open and Casey walked into the room. Inwardly, Chris let out a sigh of relief knowing that she could probably sort through this mess in a hot second and he was not above admitting that he needed help. "Just in time," he said with a rare smile. "I could use your help working through this."
"No problem captain," she smiled, and Chris noticed that instead of wearing her hair up like she often did, the long sheeny brown hair was hanging loosely over her shoulders. She came along side of his desk and looked over his shoulder as he went shuffling through the pile of data pads in front of him, trying to decide where they could start first.
"I've got all these forms to fill and a dozen reports to get together." He said quickly.
"Don't worry Captain," Casey leaned over his shoulder until he could feel her breath in his ear, soft and uncertain, everything a young woman was. "We'll get through it."
Chris shook the thought out of his head, knowing that he was mistaken by her tone of voice. What it sounded like could not possibly be and told himself not to start fabricating excuses to avoid getting this work done. Shaking the memory of that pleasant sensation against his skin out of his head, he turned back to the pads once again. "Okay, first up we have at least a dozen requests for personnel from stellar cartography, Sick Bay and Engineering. I have the replacements in mind, but I need help filling out these forms or they're never going to get here."
"Captain," Casey put her hand on his as he was about to pick up a data pad, her soft palm enclosing his. "Let's forget about this today."
"Excuse me?" Chris managed to respond while turning to look at her in nothing less than astonishment.
"Captain I can't help it." She said breathlessly, dropping into his lap. Her arms encircled his neck and Chris did nothing to stop it because his mind was still stupefied from shock at what was happening to him at this moment. "I want you."
That did it. Like a splash of cold water against his face, Chris stood up abruptly almost toppling her off him and took a good long step backwards when he was on his feet. "Yeoman," Chris stuttered in something that could have been language or gibberish, he was not quite sure. "I think we need to talk."
"We don't need to talk Chris," she retorted and closed the space between them once more, wrapping her arms around his neck and crushing his lips against hers in a kiss of passion. For a moment Chris was so stunned that she had crossed that line between them, that she had dared to breach a thousand protocols not to mention the fact that he was old enough to be her father, that he could do nothing but stand there dumbfounded. However, as her tongue demanded entrance into his mouth, Chris senses returned to him and he grabbed her arms from around his neck and pulled Casey away from him.
"Yeoman," he said in his most authoritative voice so that she would be reminded of the fact that he was her commanding officer. Chris still had trouble believing what just had happened. How had he been so dense that he had not even the slightest inclination that Casey was harboring such heated passions about him? It was incomprehensible how this could be when she was supposedly in a relationship with JD Dunne. Oh Jesus! JD! Chris groaned inwardly. What would the kid say to all this if he found out! This was getting worse by the minute. "I am very flattered by your affections, but this is not the way I expect you to behave. I am your commanding officer…." He tried to assert himself, searching for the voice normally reserved for the Jem Haddar and Cardassian Guls who had a penchant for commanding rape camps.
"Don't you think I'm pretty Chris?" She asked, her voice girlish as her lips curled into a seductive pout. Her eyes looking at him with that youthful innocence, while biting her lip in the most erotic way she could possibly manage that had the effect of making Chris considering taking her as she wanted to be taken until one word stopped him dead in his tracks.
Mary.
What are you thinking? He blinked and asked himself in exasperation, cursing at his body's lustful reflexes, which had nothing to do with the turmoil taking place inside his head. He was not going to take advantage of a child and she was a child still. He cared about Mary a great deal and though Casey was young and unsure of herself and coming onto him so strongly that it was near impossible to resist, Chris was not about to allow her or himself, for that matter, to make a terrible mistake.
"Casey," Chris placed his hands on her shoulders and made her look at him. "I think you are very pretty and if you were ten years older, I wouldn't be able to say no to you as I am doing now. You need someone your own age, someone who can share the years with you, not watch you experience it from the sidelines."
"I love you Chris." She gushed breathlessly, obviously having heard nothing that he had said in the last few minutes and moved towards him again.
Chris rolled his eyes in exasperation, wondering if slamming his head on a brick wall would engender more reaction, since this was doing squat. "You don't love me Casey!" He exclaimed.
"I do Chris!" She came towards him and Chris found himself doing a quick step to keep out of her reach. He had not thought he was that agile.
"Well you stop saying that!" He growled before his back slammed into a wall. The obstruction gave her all the time she needed to close the distance between them again and press her body against his. Giving him no time to protest, Casey slid her arms quickly around his neck once again and craned her neck to match his height to kiss him, now that he was resisting so forcefully.
"Casey!" Chris pushed her away as she tried to kiss him.
Suddenly, the door slid open and Ezra Standish entered the room before stopping short in mid stride at the sight of his Captain with his back against the wall and his yeoman attempting to do what Ezra was certain was not in the Yeoman's job description. As always, the security chief managed to wear the perfect poker face even though he saw relief drained into Chris eyes at his appearance. Casey, who seemed more amused than anything as she pulled away, gave Chris a coquettish look.
"Am I interrupting something?" Ezra asked with absolute indifference in his voice.
"NO!" Chris barked, wondering if things could get any worse and then it occurred to him that it could have been Mary that walked in and started becoming very religious as he thanked and any other deity that might be listening. "Yeoman," he turned a sharp eye on Casey, hoping Ezra's presence would cool her ardor for the moment. "You are dismissed."
Casey delivered upon him a truly devious look before she responded. "I'll see you later Chris." Casey sauntered out of the room, oblivious to the awkwardness of the moment. She left her captain with an expression on his face that clearly bespoke a desire for the floor to open up and swallow him whole, while Ezra hid behind his neutral façade as always, betraying nothing of the urge to break down and start laughing like a loon.
When the doors slid close, Chris finally willed himself to move before he dropped into his chair heavily, breathing a sigh of relief. "Commander, there are no words to describe how grateful I am to you at this moment."
"Captain," Ezra said with a perfectly straight face. "There are no words to describe this moment."
Chris glared at him with one of those patented Larabee's stares but after what Ezra had just seen, its power to incinerate him on the spot was not quite up to scratch today. "I have no idea what just happened." He replied with bewilderment on his face.
"Well if I may be permitted to comment…." Ezra spoke up before Chris gave him a ferocious glare and this time, it penetrated enough for Ezra to discontinue his intention to voice that remark.
"The girl just about attacked me!" Chris declared. "I haven't felt that fearful for my life since I was captured by the C'kaia!"
"I was under the impression that Miss Wells was quite smitten with our Mr. Dunne." Ezra responded seriously this time. Amusement aside, the Captain had a rather explosive situation on his hands and this could be a serious problem if left to escalate any further than it already had.
"So was I but then she starts sticking her tongue down my throat and telling me she loves me!" Chris exclaimed with confusion as well as something Ezra never thought he would ever see in his captain who had once bluffed a Romulan war bird into being blown to smithereens.
Panic.
"Well young ladies at her age are flighty," Ezra volunteered, genuinely trying to help before the absurdity of the situation got the better of him and no amount of restraint could keep it in check. "Perhaps it was your good looks and masculine charm." The security chief's amusement with the whole situation began to crumble and he could not hold the mask of indifference any longer. A snort and a snigger escape him as he fought to keep his lips from expressing a smile and the loud guffaws that were sure to follow.
"OUT!" Chris roared.
"I apologize Captain," Ezra began to laugh. "I am certain that being the resourceful commander that you are, you will extricate yourself from this situation without loss of limb or," he added with a devious snort. "Virtue."
"GET OUT AND STAY OUT!" Chris growled, smoldering as Ezra walked out of the room with that damnable smirk on his face.
"Do you see it?" Rain asked as they sat inside the dimly illuminated confines of Four Corners. The lighting was purposely set low to afford its patrons a panoramic view beyond the plexiglass windows of the establishment. Four Corners usually busy at this time of the day but even Nathan had to confess to being somewhat surprised by the larger than normal volume of people inside the place. As he and Rain shared a table, trying to enjoy a meal together, he started to see what she found so difficult to dismiss when he noticed the behavior of the women in the room with them.
Every darkened corner of the place seemed filled with couples who were, well a little more than amorous. Females were lavishing all kinds of tender care on the males in their company, regardless of species. Nathan spied kisses being traded, earlobes being nibbled and men who completely enthralled by the lady in their presence who was adorning them with sensual delights that almost bordered on scandalous. Yet despite all the affection being bandied about and Nathan could not deny that he was starting to feel a little cheated being the odd man out, he noticed that there was something very mechanical about the entire situation.
"It's hard to miss." He remarked, his eyes sweeping across the room once again before he turned to her once more. "It's not Valentine's Day is it?" He joked and saw the stern expression on her face before deciding that it probably was not the best time for humor.
"I knew that there was something wrong, but it was not this bad before." Rain explained, now that he was a little more open to believing that something was afoot and not some side effect of the mental attack she had suffered earlier.
"Exactly what was it like before?" He asked firmly not as her dinner date but as the Chief Medical Officer. The doctor in him had all but eradicated the shy, somewhat reserved man he had been a short time ago.
Rain considered the question and knew that to her it had been little more than a feeling really but if she had to put a definitive answer forward, she had to say those around her looked somewhat disconnected. "I can't really explain it," she spoke after a moment. "But it felt like the women were there but not quite there. I guess if I must be specific, I would say they looked very detached, almost indifferent to everything going on around them. I mean I see Alex Styles walk into the room and I can tell when she has had a bad day. Julia Pemberton always wears a smile, even a little one. You can feel it when she's happy. Mary is harder to read but she always looks cool, but you can see things dancing in her eyes which tell you exactly what sort of mood she's in. I'm looking at people and I can't tell what's going on with them. There's nothing in their eyes that tell me what's going on inside them and I know it's not me. I've always been able to do it. It comes with being Trill, living so many lives and observing behavior that becomes second nature to you."
Nathan nodded in understanding not about to discount the opinions of someone who had the knowledge of dozen life times inside her head. However, he did know what she was talking about to a slight degree. One could sense the mood of people one associated with on a daily basis and on a starship where the thousand people on board had only each as company for periods that extended as much as months at a time, it was even more intense.
"Okay," Nathan nodded contemplatively, trying to decide what was the best course of action to get a definitive answer. "Let's just say that you're right and something strange is going on. Why wouldn't it effect you?"
"Well it seems to be only the women." Rain remarked.
"For the moment," Nathan retorted. "It might simply be that it takes longer to affect them although whatever it is, does not look dangerous." He could not help saying that with a little smile, but Rain did not find the remark all that amusing. Nathan faced her to see the darkened expression on her face before gulping visibly. "Sorry."
"I don't like it" She answered, her eyes studying the actions of women trying to distract the men with sexual camouflage and had this feeling pressing up against her spine that something else was on the horizon. "The number of female officers on board the Maverick is about 350 compared to some five hundred men, not including the civilians. If something is affecting them then you count on the Maverick's manpower being halved. If we're under attack, we're going to notice those absences."
Suddenly Nathan understood the enormity of what she was suggesting. If this was an illness or an attack of some form, then she was right. The Maverick would be seriously undermanned and with 350 officers who played a vital part of the ship's operation being out of commission, it would be difficult to maintain shipboard functions at all. It was time to do something.
"Alright," Nathan stood up and looked at her. "You finished?" He gestured to the meal in front of her.
In truth, Rain was not that hungry, and she had been picking on the contents of the dish for most of the evening anyway. Besides, she did not want to leave him mostly because there was this fear inside of her that perhaps if she were alone, whatever happened to the women on board the Maverick would also happen to her. "I'm done." She lifted herself off her chair and looked at him. "What do you have in mind?"
Nathan, who had the same idea in mind about Rain being alone, quickly responded. "I want you to come with me." He replied. "We're going to Sick Bay and I'm going to get someone from in here to undergo a physical. If there is something wrong with everyone else on this ship, I want to know what it is."
Rain was not about to argue with him, especially when Nathan was starting to believe that this was more than just a figment of her suspicious mind. Judging by the cautious look in his eyes, it appeared as if she had succeeded in convincing him that something was wrong and his instincts as a senior officer of the Maverick had taken hold of him. They left Four Corners as the debauchery-taking place in the room climbed steadily towards apogee. Couples were becoming more involved with each other and while the men were not affected as the female members of the crew, they could not help responding to the stimulus offered the opposite sex.
Nathan and Rain stepped out into the corridor, noticing that things were no different in the hallways either. Female crewmembers were affecting their male counterparts with seductive smiles and touches. It would have almost been funny if Nathan did not know that this was forced, and the women were most likely unaware of what they were doing while the men had no knowledge that they were being manipulated.
"This is starting to get scary." Rain remarked as they moved through the corridor, suddenly very self- conscious that she and Nathan were the only ones not affected. A shudder of concern ran through her at the thought of what the others would do if they suddenly noticed this little detail. As it was, the women's eye strayed from the men they were attempting to seduce each time Nathan and Rain passed by.
Nathan tended to agree and suddenly the idea that this was an affliction became more and more distant. This was too rapid and coordinated to be a disease and no viral agent he knew of had communicability so specific to include every species but one gender only. Tapping his com badge, he spoke out loud. "Doctor to the bridge."
There was no response.
Nathan swore under his breath and repeated to himself. "Doctor to the bridge, come in."
"Let me try," Rain said apprehensively and repeated the same action on her com badge. "Lieutenant Nal to Bridge, please respond."
Once again, the same silence greeted her. "Lieutenant Nal to the bridge. Please come in."
"They can't hear you." A voice declared behind them causing both Rain and Nathan to swing around.
Inez stood before them. Next to Inez were Lieutenant Charlotte Richmond and some other officers they had seen around the ship but did not know by name. Without even one of them making a threatening move, Nathan and Rain knew that they were both in a lot of trouble. Nathan unconsciously took Rain's hand in his as a signal for her to be ready. She did not have to hear the words to know that his signal would be to run.
"You girls don't look well." Nathan remarked first, hoping the conversation would distract them as he tensed and prepared to move. "How about one of you joining me in Sick Bay?" He asked slowly, sounding very much like the doctor trying to coax a difficult patient into cooperating.
"We are fine Doctor." Inez answered with a little smile. "However, you and your companion." Inez turned her attention to Rain with narrowed eyes. "Seem unwell. Perhaps we may assist you?"
"Oh no," Nathan shook his head with a self-depreciating smile. "I have staff that will handle that quite well."
"I think we would like to try." Charlotte added her voice and Nathan saw her hands clenching into fists. It was not a solitary reaction on her part. He saw the same action by the others as well and knew that he and Rain were out of time.
"RUN!" He ordered and bolted, dragging Rain along as the group rumbled into motion, falling into pursuit as they tore down the corridor at top speed. Someone leapt out at them when the duo came to a junction and Rain was forced to shove the woman aside hard, causing her to fall backwards while Nathan braced himself to repeat the same maneuver on anyone in front of them. He slammed into a crewman and threw her into the wall, sparing enough time to see Inez and the others gaining on himself and Rain, their eyes cold with rage. Nathan did not doubt that both were in mortal danger.
"Nathan!" Rain shouted as they neared the end of the corridor where the turbo lift waiting was the only way she could see to escaping this insane mob of friends who would tear them to pieces otherwise.
Accelerating at fast they could to gain a few more second of space to reach the turbo lift, Rain and Nathan were panting by the time they got to the control panel that activated the doors. He slammed his palm against it and the door slid open soundlessly. Thankfully, the turbo lift was empty as they tumbled into its confines. Rain stumbled to the floor as Nathan immediately activated the voice command.
"Computer, bridge!"
The doors closed as the mob were less than a foot away from them and Rain let out a sigh of relief as those indignant and enraged faces disappeared when the turbo lift started on its way. She could hear their fists pounding against steel further down the tube as the lift spirited them away from that deck. For a minute, neither spoke as they regarded what had just happened.
"I think we are in a lot of trouble." Rain announced in what was the understatement of the year.
Nathan looked at her. "I think you're right."
"Where are they?" The thinker who inhabited Julia Pemberton's body asked when she was told that the two hostiles that the rest of the Many had attempted to apprehend had escaped.
"They're making their way to the bridge." Inez's voice spoke quietly through Julia's com badge as the Chief Engineer listened within the confines of her work room.
"I'll handle it." Julia said firmly. "Continue as planned."
There was no further comment needed because Julia knew her orders would be carried out without question. Instead, she had to deal with the problem at hand. Ever since the Alex entity had told her about the possibility of danger in the shape of the Transporter Chief, the woman had been watched by the Many. Unfortunately, it now appeared as if she had involved the Chief Medical Officer in the truth and thus more extreme measures needed to be taken. She had already taken the liberty of disrupting the signal from both their com badges to keep them from contacting the bridge.
"Chano." Julia spoke to her second in command as she stepped out into the main deck of Engineering. "Turbo lift 3 on Deck 34 is showing a systems malfunction. Shut it down."
Chano who was at his station immediately move to comply when he noticed something that made him object. "Lieutenant. It reads as being occupied." He looked at her with question.
"It's unoccupied." Julia responded coolly. "Security is going mad trying to figure if there is intruder alert so shut it down until we can assign someone to look at it."
Sensors were prone to give off false readings in event of a systems failure, so her explanation was plausible and Chano was not about to question the Chief Engineer of the Maverick. "Okay," he nodded. "I'm shutting it down. It won't be going anywhere for a while."
"Good." Julia answered. "That will do very nicely for now."