Part Eight
"How much farther?" Nathan Jackson asked Rain as he looked up the long tunnel that was the Jeffrey's tubes into which they had emerged once they had escaped the turbo lift. It was just a matter of time before those who had taken the ship and had trapped them there would come looking for them and if not, they could not remain languishing in its narrow confines while the Maverick was being over run. Nathan knew that chances were good that the bridge had no idea what was going on yet. Judging by the effort the enemy had invested in keeping them from reaching the bridge by deactivation of the turbo lift and disconnection of their com badges, the taking of the Maverick depended on getting around Chris Larabee.
In this anyway, Nathan could understand their trepidation. Chris did not miss anything and a full-frontal assault by the enemy would only make the commander of the Maverick react with extreme prejudice and Chris Larabee acting with extreme prejudice usually meant an equally extreme consequence if they failed. Besides, Chris could shut down the bridge with a word and so Nathan guessed that the invaders had chosen a subtler attack. It was highly likely that the enemy would leave the bridge until last and thus it gave Nathan and Rain some time to warn the senior staff before the move was made to take it. However, Nathan was also afraid that they might have already moved against the bridge since the Captain was not in the least aware that his female officers were not who they appeared to be.
Whatever had taken over the female officers of the ship, Nathan had yet to determine whether it was indeed an alien entity, or some form unknown space dementia never encountered by any Starfleet vessel, Nathan was almost certain that a great many women on board were affected. Unfortunately, it appeared that two of these women had easy access to the bridge, where their actions might not be questioned until it was too late. Alexandra Styles was most certainly affected, Nathan decided. She had been the first to encounter the artifact and it would be from her that the others were taken over. The fact that the turbo lift had been disengaged and simply left where it was without even an investigation when the computer would have indicated signs of passengers, indicated to Nathan that it took Julia Pemberton's rank and expertise as an Engineer who accomplished this.
Nathan felt beads of sweat running down his back and felt his arms strain as they continued to climb up the endless row of rungs against the side of the tube in their efforts to reach the bridge. The climb was long and arduous and worse yet, they were a long way from reaching the bridge. While Nathan had no difficulty making the climb, having been an active participant of Starfleet survival training, Nathan knew that their problem was not scaling the distance required but rather being allowed. Beneath them, the turbo lift sat dormant and unmoving because of its enforce inactivity that the enemy had forced it to endure but if it were to start moving, Nathan shuddered to think where they could hide to escape its path.
"Another twelve decks." Rain replied, studying her surroundings closely. Although to Nathan one level of the Jeffrey's tube looked no different than the other. It was an entirely different thing for Rain. She was technical staff whose business it was to know every nook and cranny of this ship as it was his duty to be completely well versed in all the different physiology of life forms he was required to treat.
"Rain," Nathan asked glancing anxiously down at the turbo lift. "What would happen to us if the turbo lift starts moving?"
"You mean before or after we get crushed to a pulp?" She responded to his question with one of her own, delivered with a little smile of mischief as she glanced down at him.
"Nevermind," the healer gulped visibly. "That answer just painted a picture that speaks a thousand words."
Rain knew she ought not to be teasing him because he was unaccustomed to this kind of labor not to mention forced to solve a problem that did not necessitate him being in front of a microscope for hours on end. "Relax," she assured him mostly of out guilt. "You don't have to worry. The minute it looks like the turbo lift is going to be activated and in case there is personnel conducting maintenance, the computer lets them know."
"What if the alert protocols have been disabled?" He threw another question at her and Rain had to confess that this time, it was not so easy to answer.
"Normally, emergency lights activate, and they are independent of any of the usual safety protocols. They operate from a different system, so they remain unaffected by tampering. Why do you ask?' She inquired as she pulled herself up another run and felt the ache all the way down their toes. They had climbed quite a distance and though she was healthy enough to endure it, she confessed that tomorrow if they survived that is, would see her suffering for the exertions of today.
"Emergency lights." Nathan mused softly and for a moment he did not speak but also continued climbing nonetheless.
"Yeah," Rain nodded. "That's about a dozen procedures in place for anything to function on board a starship," she explained. "If I told you how many backup relays and safety precautions I must go through with transporting people, you'll never again worry about having your atoms scrambled. A core of Starfleet Engineers gets together just to see how much abuse they can hurl at everything that gets put on a starship and then try to imagine what they can come up with that's completely beyond the scope of anything one might experience in space."
"How comforting," Nathan said dryly. "So, these little lights that have just flicked on the topside of the turbo lift are nothing to worry about?"
Rain froze.
"Lights?" She winced inwardly.
"Yeah," Nathan nodded staring at small bulbs that had just flickered on. They did not seem to do much else except illuminate the top of the turbo lift and were not quite bright enough to create any illumination inside the tunnel that was any good to them. "About a second ago."
"Oh." She nodded and then braced herself to tell him. However, firs, her eyes searched the area for where they were. Twelve decks and still nowhere close to the bridge, she decided. However, she realized with a flash of inspiration, they were just a deck away from SickBay. At the very least, it would be of small comfort to him when Rain told Nathan what was about to transpire.
"Uh Nathan?" She said starting to climb faster. The nearest deck doors were only dozen or more rungs away.
"What?" There was something in her voice he did not like. Something that made him look up instantly.
"Start climbing!" She declared just as the low hum of the turbo lift below them echoed after them.
"Oh hell!" Nathan exclaimed in fright and quickened his pace as he scrambled up the ladder after her. The turbo lift was still motionless, but Nathan was not about to look behind him for a visual confirmation of that fact.
"Don't worry, " Rain called down as she puffed up the rungs. "It has a two-minute initialization protocol when its force to make a cool start!"
"Oh, how nice!" Nathan growled as he hauled himself up another rung and continued keeping his eyes focused on the doors that led to the nearest deck. He did not care even if he ended up in the same place they had left if they escaped this dark passageway before they ended up on the side of a speeding turbo lift like an insect caught on the plexiglass shield of a speeding hover car.
"We're almost there!" She cried out as the doors that led to salvation came in sight. "We're only a few meters away."
Suddenly, the turbo lift heaved into action and began its gradual climb towards them. It covered the distance quickly even though the lone occupants inside the narrow Jeffery's tube were making brisk pace themselves. Nathan had not believed he could climb so fast as he and Rain began scrambling outwards, trying to out run the turbo lift and certain death coming towards it. Rain's mind was not even thinking in sentences as her brain's impulses moved so quickly that her movements as she reached the emergency exit lever of the doors were almost reflexive. She tore open the small compartment where the lever was hidden and pulled it down with one powerful tug. The lever snapped to the other side and a gasp of hydraulic gasses forced the doors open above her.
Rain scrambled the remaining distance just as she saw the turbo lift charging towards Nathan with barely a second to spare. With the same reflexive actions to guide her, she rolled onto her knees and reached down to grab Nathan by his Starfleet uniform and yanked him backwards. Nathan all but toppled over the edge between the long shaft of Jeffrey's tube and the safety of the deck, just as the turbo lift displaced the air where he would have been with its slick arrival. He collapsed on top of her and for a few seconds, both could only lay there shaking when the turbo lift came to a halt at the doors, once again returning to its benign state with an open invitation for passengers to climb on board.
"That," Nathan managed to say once his stomach had returned to the correct place in his abdomen, having been displaced to his throat for a brief second, "was too close."
"In more ways than one." Rain said impatiently, waiting for him to get off her. While this might be engaging at another time and place, now, his positioning was leaving her decidedly vulnerable.
"Oh," Nathan realized where he was. He had about sixty seconds ago but after what he had been through what with being almost mashed to death by a runaway turbo lift, he figured what the hell. "Sorry."
"I'm sure you are." Rain replied giving him a look exuded spoke utter disbelief at the apologetic expression on his face, an expression given away by the glimmer of mischief dancing in his eyes.
Nathan rolled off her and rose to his feet, before helping her do the same. They both spend a few seconds dusting themselves off and trying to regain their equilibrium after the scare of a few minutes ago. Mostly, both were trying to decide what their next move would be.
"We're near Sick Bay." Nathan exclaimed once he realized where they were.
"I was going to save the surprise for our anniversary but gosh darn it, you got it out of me Nathan Jackson." Rain teased, and he flashed her a smile deciding there and then that his life had changed, and she was going to be apart of it. Despite their present circumstances, it was a good feeling.
"We can go find Josiah." He said still wearing a little smile at her attempt at humor as he started striding towards the Counselor's office. "If I know that man, he'd be working hard right until we got to Pacifica."
"Unless some woman has blindsided him and he's mating like a rabbit." Rain said under her breath as she followed him.
"Hey, I don't need that picture in my head." He scolded and then realized that it was not such a remote possibility. After all, Nathan was only just this morning telling him about Audrey and their trip to Pacifica together.
It was not long before they arrived at the Consoler's office with no one interfering with them on the way. Nathan wondered where the crew were and wondered if there were orgies taking place across the ship but knew that was impossible, mostly because the sex was only the bait. A person was wide open for subjugation when opening themselves to that most primitive of instincts. He had no doubt that many of the men on board were incapacitated and those who were not, were probably laying low until they could decipher the odd behavior of the females on board.
The doors to the Counselor's offices did not open when Rain and Nathan approached. In all the time that Nathan had served on board the Maverick, those doors had never been closed. Josiah had an open-door policy towards all his patients and was willing to speak to anyone, no matter how late the hour. However, as Nathan tried repeatedly to activate the doors through the panel on the side of the wall, they did not part for either of them.
"They must have him too." Nathan retorted with frustration.
"They're everywhere Nathan." Rain said trying to make some effort to assuage his exasperation. She knew that he hated having a problem with such a simplistic solution barred by one obstacle or another. "Let's just hope he's okay."
"Nathan?" A muffled voice suddenly spoke from the other side of the door. "Is that you?"
Nathan recognized it immediately. "Josiah? Its' Nathan. Let me in."
"Is that a woman with you?" Josiah's voice reeked of suspicion.
"Yeah," Nathan responded automatically. "Lieutenant Rain Nal. Josiah, I know what's happening and she's not apart of it."
"Are you sure?" Indecision fraught the question.
"Will you open the damn door before we both get carted away by whomever's got the ship?" Rain barked with impatience. Nathan rolled his eyes and gave her a look that perhaps a more diplomatic approach might have sufficed for this occasion. However, there was no need for reproach because the door soon slid open and Josiah beckoned them inside.
"Now that's a request I can believe." The Counselor remarked, peering cautiously up and down the corridor as Nathan and Rain hurried into the rooms he had been using as sanctuary from the peculiar goings on that were taking place across the Maverick. As she entered the room, Rain threw Nathan a satisfied smirk as he rolled his eyes in resignation.
As soon as they were inside the room, Josiah sealed the doors once again and let himself release a loud exhale, expunging his paranoia and expressing his relief at seeing someone who was remotely normal. "Its good to see you brother." Josiah replied as he crossed the floor to one of the compartments behind his desk to fish out the bottle of Romulan ale he had secreted away for occasions such at his.
"What the hell are you doing hiding in here?" Nathan demanded, although he had a very good idea of why Josiah might wish to hide away if a group of invaders had come on board the Maverick.
"I was hiding from Audrey at first," Josiah confessed as he poured himself a glass and Nathan too. Before he could do the same for Rain, the lieutenant gestured that she did not require the libation. "Then I started noticing everyone else. I thought I might contact the bridge and see if they had some idea of what was happening but communication to the bridge is down. For some reason, I can't seem to access Chris or any of the senior staff."
This was hardly a surprise to Nathan. "We're locked out too." Nathan explained. "Something has taken over all the women on board this ship. We're under attack only the bridge doesn't have any idea."
"What a virus or something?" Josiah looked at him with confusion.
"No, I don't think its a virus," Nathan shook his head. "It could be, but I don't think so."
"It started with the artifact we beamed on board the ship." Rain added her voice to the discussion. "Nathan thinks something from it affected Alex and then Alex infected the rest of the ship."
"What about you?" The Counselor inquired, not out of suspicion but rather curiosity. "You're definitely not infected. If you were, you'd be all over Nathan."
"All in good time," Rain remarked with a smile. "But first we got to save the ship."
Josiah grinned and looked at Nathan. "I like her."
"She does grow on you." Nathan commented giving Rain a wry smile before getting back to the business at hand. "We haven't worked out what they are yet, but I think its communicable by touch. They tried to pass it onto Rain I think, and she suffered neural overload. I think it has something to do with the symbiote inside her."
"Whatever it is," Josiah replied. "It's widespread but not overt, not unless you really look. People are still going about their business, but you can feel something is going on. Just looking at them and you can see the change." It was Josiah's business to detect such behavioral variations in the crew, all of whom were potential patients at some point or another. As Counselor, he had most contact with everyone board the Maverick, Starfleet and civilian. "The bridge as far as I can see would have to be isolated to a certain point."
"But the Captain would notice things," Rain remarked. "I mean that man can tell by the hum of the transporter whether or not an EPS conduit or a relay is down. I'm Transporter Chief and I still need a diagnostic tricorder to make that discovery."
"For some reason, he's been holed up in the holodeck for a couple of hours." Josiah answered. When he had been unable to reach the bridge, he had attempted contacting the other members of the bridge crew and had been able to get little more than their present location. If it were not for the fact that he was trying to dodge Audrey who had become a little more fervent in her pursuit of him than he would have liked; Josiah might have tried looking for the captain, there.
"The captain is in the holodeck?" Nathan asked, unable to believe that Chris would be indulging in simulated recreation while intruders were on board. "Don't tell me he's with someone." The doctor shuddered to ask.
"No," Josiah shook his head. "He's alone but unavailable."
"Its them." Rain looked at the both men. "They're finding someway to keep the bridge crew off balance. I'll bet if you tried to contact all of the senior staff, you'll find that they're indisposed, one way or another."
"They might not even have the slightest clue until its too late." Josiah exclaimed softly. He was new to intruders and space battles having spent most of his career on Earth. Now more than ever, he felt completely helpless and unaware of what to do. It was a disheartening for a Counselor.
"We need a specimen." Nathan said taking the lead since no one else seemed to have a better of action they could follow. "We need to find out what it is exactly that has taken over the women and reverse it somehow."
"That's easier said than done." Josiah retorted. "There seem to be a lot of them under the influence."
"He's right," Rain agreed. "Remember how we ended up in the turbo lift? They were a mob."
"We need to get to Sick Bay," Nathan decided. "If they decide to come through here, you're not going to be able to stop them. Sick Bay has independent power linkage to the warp core. They can't disrupt our power or system unless they decided to shut down the main engines and they aren't likely to do that without Chris screaming bloody murder. Besides, there's a level 10 force field in Sick Bay, not to mention phasers."
"Charming." Josiah grumbled. "I knew this morning was going to be eventful."
"Yeah," Nathan teased as they started out the door. "You get hit on by a beautiful school teacher and now you get to shoot women all in the same day."
"You're hanging around her too much." Josiah retorted.
The corridors to SickBay remained quiet and Nathan supposed that this was probably since the enemy did not classify it a high priority area even though its chief physician might be something of an inconvenience. As the trio rounded the corner, they saw Lieutenant Richmond standing guard at the front of the SickBay entrance, obviously left there if Nathan or Rain attempted to return there.
"How are we gonna get past her?" Josiah asked.
"Is she armed?" Nathan tried to get a better look.
"I don't know," Josiah could not see without giving too much of himself away. "If she's sees us, she could bring the rest of them down on us."
"Men!" Rain rolled her eyes wondering how two men so intelligent at times could be so utterly useless in a survival situation. "Just wait here." She growled and stepped out into the corridor, giving Charlotte a clear line of sight to her presence.
"Rain!" Nathan hissed but she ignored him and continued walking.
Charlotte spotted her immediately and to answer Josiah's question, reached for the phaser on her utility belt and pointed it in Rain's direction. "Don't move!" Charlotte ordered as she approached Rain, brandishing the phaser, which the Transporter Chief was no doubt set for kill. She could not be taken over like the others, so Rain doubted that they would want to keep her prisoner.
"I'm not armed." Rain kept her hands where they could be seen until she was close enough to act.
Nathan watched in horror, wondering if Rain had some plan or was she genuinely in trouble. He tried to fight his feelings for her and have confidence in the woman who had so far proved herself to be quite extraordinary.
"What she is doing?" Josiah asked.
Nathan could only shake his head in a muted response of bewilderment.
"You are the one." Charlotte said when Rain was close enough. "You are the one who reject us."
"No," Rain shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "I just share my body with enough voices as it without wanting to let another in. It's getting crowded in here."
Before Charlotte could respond, Rain kicked out her foot in a swift but effective high kick that landed the tip of her boot in the tender part of Charlotte's wrist. Instinctively, the lieutenant cried out in pain as the phaser in her hand went flying across the corridor, landing not far away from Nathan. Without giving Charlotte any time to react, Rain threw a roadhouse punch, slamming her knuckles in the side of the woman's face and knocking her cold by the time she hit the floor. As Charlotte landed on the floor with a thud, Rain let out a sigh of relief that her gambit had worked and looked over her shoulder at Josiah and Nathan who were staring at her with unmasked astonishment.
"If you want something done right, you just got to do it yourself..." she muttered as Nathan went to pick up the phaser.