<USS Avalon> "Like Ducks in a Pond"

Like Ducks in a Pond
By Ducks Number  1-7... Joshua Garrity, Patrick McEntire, Elijah Dareth, Li 
Vilya, 
Annabelle Chase, Nikkole Archer, and Sussanna Jameson  
And The Hunter... Anthony Manson as T'Pex
Dinner provided by Melanie Redgrave
Also featuring Ducks number 8-9 ... Ryan Hollander and Savannah Eckstein
As well as the 'security guy who don't do anything', Gregory Orton


 

Savannah and Ryan moved back down the corridor to let everyone know the good 
news. 

"Hey, we can drop this field, Sierra said," Ryan told them cheerfully.

"I tried," Savannah looked at Dareth pointedly, "but someone has over-rode it, 
so if you would..."

"Not a chance," Eli told her. 

"What?" Savannah asked with disbelief. "Sierra said that we could just 
decontaminate them and drop the field; the virus is harmless."

"Harmless? Does this look harmless to you?" Mac asked them from his place at 
his friend's side. 

"They're bloody misinformed!" exclaimed Sussanna from her position over Josh's 
body. "We're not dropping this field anytime soon. If this spreads..." Now that 
was a thought she didn't even want to speculate about. This could get very ugly 
if those idiots didn't leave it alone.

Mac sat back on his haunches and glared up at them. "First person tries to drop 
that field will go down a hell of a lot faster than it will."

***

T'Pex pondered for a few moments, after being pleasantly shoved again for 
slowing down. It confused the scientist, mainly because his work wasn't suppose 
to function this way. Turning back, Orton immediately stopped him. 

T'Pex sighed, "I need to take second look." 

Orton shook his head, "You said they were fine."

"And now I?m reconsidering, take me back there." T'Pex replied. When Orton made 
no move, the scientist moved past him.

***

Annabelle looked up from the position she'd taken next to Josh. "You security 
types are really observant aren't you?" she spat. 

"Um.. hello... Observant security guy here," Eli said, waving the padd he'd 
over-rode things with.

Mac glanced over to Eli and almost laughed. "Yeah, well, there's an exception 
to everything, man. Today, you're it."

"Hey if anyone wants to get outta here, it's me. Missing dinner with my girl," 
Eli explained.

"Who said you had to miss dinner?" came a new voice from other side of the 
force field. 

"Mel!" Eli moved over to the edge of the field, the film still separating them. 
"You are a sight for sore eyes, sweetheart."

"Ming is going to be beside himself right about now," Vilya mused. 

Mac shifted out of the way as Susanna administered the triox compound in the 
hopes of keeping his friend breathing just a little while longer. "Yeah, well, 
I'm missing the hot tub and cocktails with all four of mine."

"Four?" Nikki asked. "Hon, you're good lookin', but you ain't that hot."

"Lisa was going to demonstrate reflexology, giving me a foot massage using only 
her..." Mac looked over at Nikki and laughed. "It's them, not me. I think I 
could probably wear a bag over my head and it wouldn't matter. Besides...we're 
just friends."

Anna blocked out the comments and teasing of the others. As much as she longed 
to join them, she had to concentrate on the problem. She was starting to think 
she was the only one who realised how bad off Josh really was. Scanning again, 
she kept trying to find a lead. 

"Come on Josh... We got model ships to build," Annabelle whispered. "Besides I 
didn't go through all of that to get your attention for you to up and die on me 
now!" She smacked him lightly and huffed. 

Savannah tapped her comm badge and moved down the corridor with Ryan hot on her 
heels. "Eckstein to Sierra..."

***

Melanie held up the two baskets before sitting them down on the floor. "There's 
enough for everyone." Then she lowered her voice a little. "Are you alright, 
Eli?" 

"Just going stir crazy, being absolutely no use, and fending off crazy security 
people who wanna drop this forcefield."

"What's going on?" Melanie asked as she looked at the people behind Elijah. 
"Pauly told me you lot were stuck in here." 

T'Pex needed to find out what exactly went wrong, or calm his fears. Turning 
the corner he saw a woman and man on either side of the forcefield. He stopped 
at waited before saying something out loud, "If you two are done, I?m in need 
of tricorder."

Glancing up at the Romulan over Mel's shoulder, Eli smirked snidely, "Well, I'd 
give you mine, but it's a little contained."

Spotting the Romulan behind her, Melanie went into an automatic defensive 
posture. "What the bloody hell?"

Ignoring the woman and shaking his head, T'Pex moved closer, Orton close on his 
heels. T'Pex went straight to the point, "How fast did these.. symptoms occur?"

"Fast... at least this much of it seems like. The ship stopped rocking, we 
chatted a little and the skinny guy that got hit with your damn field just hit 
the deck, but not before becoming delirious and trying to drop the forcefield," 
Eli answered the Romulan.

"And the rest?"

Eli wasn't sure, so he let the others answer.

***

Mac looked down at his friend, far too still and deathly pale."His lips look 
blue...Why is that?...What does that mean?..." He looked over at Susanna, 
hoping she'd tell him it was nothing...a trick of the light...no reason to 
worry.

"Lack of oxygen," Sussanna explained. "He's stable for now, but we need to find 
a cure before this hits anyone else. I'm hoping it was just because he got hit 
with that field that it effected him so fast. Anyone else feeling sick?" she 
asked.

Mac began to shiver, surprisingly cold. "Not sick, exactly. Just kind of cold. 
Little dizzy, maybe."

Annabelle brushed hair off Josh's forehead. She'd always loved how his hair 
hung in his face and would often picture what it would look like damp and 
plastered to his skin, but not like this... 

"Sit down, sunshine," Anna said, motioning him to the wall. "I don't need you 
dropping on me too."

She turned to look at the Bajoran. "Vilya? How 'bout you?"

Reaching up to touch the back of her head gingerly, she said, "I don't know if 
it's from the Emissary's home run hit here or *achoo* something else. I feel 
awfully dizzy and my eyes still won't focus right." 

Anna murmured something about not understanding why it hit Josh so fast. 
Glancing up at the Bajoran, she smiled softly at her friend. "I'm pretty sure 
that all you've got is mild concussion, although the signature of the virus is 
in your readings, it doesn't appear to be active yet. Maybe it takes a little 
longer to come into effect on non-humans." Now she was just grasping at straws, 
she had no idea what was wrong and no idea how to fix it, but she was damned if 
she wasn't going to try. 



Mac sat as instructed, but remained close by his friend. "I think, with him, it 
hit pretty fast because he's got one of them quick ass metabolisms. That, and 
he hasn't eaten or slept in a couple days. Does that sometimes... just kind of 
lives on coffee..." He let the thought trail off, not really sure where he was 
going with it. He hated seeing the kid so still. He was never that still. 
Always fidgeting with something or other, staying busy working at this task or 
that. He wasn't meant to be this still.

"At least he doesn't seem to be dreaming," Annabelle said softly to Mac. "His 
roommate at the academy use to say when he did sleep he had wicked night 
terrors."

Mac nodded. "He does. I've bunked with him a couple years now. Can't sleep 
through the night except sedated in sickbay." As he sat watching his friend, 
praying silently, he found himself shaking harder than even the cold could 
explain.

Nikki moved over to Mac, deciding to try and do a little good anyway. "Hey 
you," she said taking a seat next to him. "I was only messing with you earlier, 
no need to get all shaken about it." She patted his arm gently, hoping to 
soothe a bit.

He glanced at Nikki and smiled. "Aw, don't go getting all nice to me now. I 
might start thinking you like me a little." He winked, then leaned his head 
back against the bulkhead, hoping the room would still.

"Well, I'm not gonna make a habit out of it." She touched the back of her hand 
to his cheek. "But you don't look so good... and you're really hot. Not in the 
'I wanna jump you kinda way' either."

"Dammit, and here I was hoping, too." He quipped, smiling but not raising his 
head or opening his eyes, suddenly very tired.

***



This shouldn't have happened. T'Pex closed his eyes for a moment, trying to 
think. Instead, he found himself repeating his last request, "I need a 
tricoder, or something I can use to scan all of you." 

"Mel," Eli said, trying to prod her into giving him hers, though she looked a 
bit startled and frightened.

It didn't take Melanie long to figure things out. The cases, the sick looking 
crew, a Romulan.. Sliding her tri-corder out of it's holster she handed it to 
the Romulan. "It isn't a medical tri-corder, it's science, but it'll do." 

"It's just the thing I need," T'Pex said as he activated the device and began 
scanning. Their bodies were filled with something that looked like his virus at 
work but... not his at the same time. T?Pex frowned, "How accurate is this 
tricorder?"

Melanie looked as if he'd just insulted her mother. "I check it at the start 
and end of each of my shifts."



***

"Oh, Patrick, not you too," Nikki said, brushing her fingers over his face and 
trying to make him look at her.

Vilya peered over at both Josh and Mac. She didn't want to get up, so she 
couldn't help Josh but Mac was right next to her. Hearing Nikki's words, she 
offered Mac a wan smile. "Stay with us, Mac. The ship needs two Patricks." 

Forcing himself to open his eyes, he looked over at her, "It's okay...I'm 
good...just...cold..." Then answering the Romulan again, he said, "And those 
tricorders should all be damned accurate. The kid had them all recalibrated 
three times last week for busy work."

"You're a fuckin' liar," Nikki grinned at him, knowing he was more than ?just 
cold?. "Tell you what," Nikki continued, making him look at her, "you stay 
awake and not turn all blue on me and I'll go out with you, okay? Even if you 
are an engineering freak." 

Mac laughed. "See, now...went and made me an offer I can't refuse..." he 
coughed weakly, the air suddenly seeming thinner than it had before.

***

"So good of you to keep up," T'Pex replied as he read the readouts. He shook 
his head, "I need to observe them up close. If I can find out exactly how this 
came about, I can help your colleagues." 

"And why should we trust you?" Eli asked, having easily put the two and two 
together. "You're the one that got us into this mess."

"You should trust me, because I?m the only one that can help you." T'Pex shut 
the tricorder and handed it back at the woman without looking at her. "If I 
wanted you dead, would I be back here?" T'Pex added.

"Just tell me they're gonna make it," Eli gestured to the others. "Tell me you 
can fix this."

"I'll do what I can. Now then, is there a way I can observe you all? Behind 
this field won?t help any."

Melanie looked at the Romulan rather harshly. She'd always been able to tell if 
people were lying to a point, but she'd never tried with a Romulan. Finally, 
she looked at Eli and just nodded. 

"You can go in with them, are you willing to be exposed yourself to help them?" 
Melanie asked.

"It won?t effect me."

"And why the hell not?"

"You said you were willing to take my help," T'Pex replied, "Well? What are you 
waiting for?"

Melanie smirked a little. "It isn't designed to effect you is it, Romulan?"

"It wasn't design to affect any of you," T'Pex replied. It was partially true.

"Computer, lock on Romulan and beam him inside quarantined area, authorization 
Dareth kappa kappa two nine."

"What, the Empire not happy with just blowing up innocent humans, Betazoids, 
and what nots?" Melanie added.



***

"Anna..." Nikki called out, trying to get her attention.

"Bloody hell," Anna muttered, moving over to Mac. She ran her tricorder over 
him and began the same treatment as on Josh, hoping she'd caught it a little 
quicker this time.

Mac looked at Josh again, so still on the deck, as he had been aboard the Santa 
Ana, as she came apart around them. In his head he could hear the klaxon 
sounding...all hands...abandon ship...

He couldn't just leave him behind. Had to get him off the ship... He coughed 
again against the smoke as the countdown continued...all hands...abandon 
ship..this is not a drill... He reached out and dragged his friend closer to 
him, hauling him up and over his shoulder. Escape pod...where was the escape 
pod...

"Dammit Patrick, stay with me," Nikki said, turning Mac to face her, as he 
stood up, moving for the alien forcefield. "You're gonna lose your date."

Dizzily he stood and headed toward the shimmering light in the center of the 
corridor... Halted by a cool hand and a familiar voice he asked dazedly..."Did 
we make it?" He tried to focus, blinking against the dizziness. "Where is it?"

Wrapping her arm around Mac's waist, Nikki seated him again. "Right here. How 
'bout you just lay right here, okay? You want that foot massage?"

He allowed her to lay him down relishing the warmth against him as he shivered 
uncontrollably. "The klaxon..." he tried hard to focus, coughing weakly yet 
again.

"Yeah, those klaxon's were a bother," Nikki whispered, trying to be as soothing 
as possible.

T'Pex quickly found himself standing before the infected people. Closing up to 
one of them who looked blue, he asked, "What's happened.?" T'Pex reached into 
his pocket and realized he handed the tricorder back to the woman. He sighed, 
"Was your position a token position, or do you just like making remarks behind 
a forcefield?" He glared at her, "Make yourself useful and get another 
tricoder. A medical one, and something to treat them." He then sighed, "and 
no...I don?t know exactly treat for what, so bring what you can."

"Mel," Eli asked her to put aside her grudge for a second in that one word.

Stepping over to the panel in the wall, Melanie beamed in her tri-corder and 
the baskets of food. Then she walked over and looked at Eli. He was asking a 
lot but she'd do as he asked. "I'll see what I can get out of sick bay from 
Georgia." 

T'Pex turned back, "I need you all to describe your symptoms." He turned to 
look at the man who looked as if his skin had changed colors.

Annabelle didn't really notice the shivering that seemed to take hold of her. 
Her mind was too focused on timed missed out on and foolish games. Annabelle 
looked up and the room spun. "It's cold in here." She said as she rubbed her 
eyes

"God, he's burning up," Nikki told Anna and the Romulan as she held Mac?s head 
in her lap. "And his lips..."

T'Pex frowned, the man's skin felt hot, "We need to lower his core temperature. 
I need those medical supplies. Soon."

Anna turned and reached for Annabelle before she hit the deck as well. "Let's 
lay you down, sparklebright, before you go all fuzzy on us too."

Annabelle felt about as well as a piece of meat in grinder. Sliding down the 
wall she curled up next to Josh without touching him. She remembered that he 
didn't like to be touched. 

Mac looked at Nikki, still trying to stay focused. "We got out...right? She's 
going to blow...we couldn?t stop it..."

"Yeah, baby, we got out," Nikkole said, lapsing into an odd familiarity with 
him.

Mac nodded, gasping for air, and closed his eyes.

"For god's sake, do something!" Nikki yelled to no one in particular.

"You'll have to be patient," the Romulan said coolly. 

Something inside her snapped at that moment. Laying Mac?s head gently on the 
floor, she was on her feet, right in the Romulan's face, "Oh, fuck that you son 
of -" 

Eli was behind her immediately, pulling her away as quickly as possible.

"This really isn't the time, people!" Anna called from her position on the 
floor next to Annabelle. "We need a little more patience and a whole lot more 
calm." Couldn't someone shut these people up while she was working? "Hey, 
Rommie, stop looking like a stick and help me." 

Georgia hadn't been in sick bay so Melanie just kind of helped herself. She 
knew she'd have to explain to the older woman but she'd figure out how later. 
Placing them on the floor like she had the baskets, she beamed them in. "Make 
sure you watch him, Eli." 

"A little pre-occupied here," he said, trying to pin down a struggling Nikki. 

"Let me go!" she said, stomping on Dareth's foot. And that was when she 
realised she didn't feel so well.

Biting back the sharp retort Eli felt forming, he held tightly until she 
suddenly quit struggling. "Can we turn up the heat?" she shivered.

"This thing is spreading faster," Eli told them. "Look." Nikki had nearly gone 
limp in his arms. "She's burning up."

Quickly shuffling through the various hyposprays, T'Pex found one that would 
slow the virus' advancement, starting on the more seriously infected. "I?m 
going to lower all your core temperatures."

Vilya's eyes widened, even as they filled with tears of worry, both for her 
friends and for...could this be true? She curled up a fist, prepared to slug 
the Romulan if he came near her. Lowering the body temperature of a pregnant 
Bajoran would harm the baby. 

Eli slid Nikki into the floor and moved back over to the forcefield, wiping 
sweat off his upper lip.

Melanie's eyes grew wide as she looked at Eli. She tried to reach out to him 
but was zapped by the force field. "Bloody hell! Eli, you don't look so good." 

T'Pex started with the first one, and worked his way through all of them. "I?m 
going to have to sedate them." He pointed at the three completely passed out, 
"it'll halt the advancement, and I?m going to have to... Oh, nevermind, just 
get out of my way."

**NO ACTUAL DUCKS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS LOG**


                
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