"Quiet, Too Quiet"
[Previous post: "Take 2", written by our wise leader Sabrina Jones]
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Stardate: 60324.2000 Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
**Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.** That ole nursery rhyme was all that Lea could think about. Susan, who was sitting next to Lea didn't seem to have that much more on her mind. The same could be said for Pravat and the rest of his marines. Everyone in Sickbay was quiet to the point that a pin could be heard dropping. That might have proven to be a welcomed distraction though. The trigger fingers of the marines looked particularly itchy to Lea.
Susan turned to face her friend, but just as the Cns was about to speak Lea shook her head. Lea would have been more than happy to talk, but she did not want to disturb their protectors. The first time they had ventured in that region of space Sickbay had been one of the areas invaded. Going back to look for the Mercury's crew it was figured that they would try again. Since Lea had no intentions of going face to face with any of those creatures, she remained quiet.
Lea closed her eyes for a moment. Looking at the marines had started to make her feel nervous, so the CMO needed something else to occupy her thoughts. Through the silence that was in Sickbay, Lea's mind started to wander. Images of the CO sitting in her chair flashed in Lea's mind followed by where she figured the rest of the crew was.
A smile crept over Lea as she thought of Maya. If the bridge was as quiet as Sickbay, the CSciO must have been going out of her shape-shifting skin. Lea wondered if being next to Maya would not have been more dangerous than being here. At least here in Sickbay Prav was there to deal with whatever would happen. On the bridge, Maya could *explode* at any moment, and no one there would be able to stop it.
A gentle jab to Lea's side made the CMO return to reality. Susan had wanted to get her friend's attention, which she did quiet effectively. When Lea looked at Susan, the Cns motioned for the CMO to look towards the center of Sickbay. There, hanging in mid air, about the size of a baseball was something. Not being a scientist Lea could not figure out what that thing was, but she knew one thing. It was not good.
Pravat and his men prepared themselves to open fire at the small sphere which slowly grew larger. Unlike the first time, the opening was taking several seconds to reach full size. Susan and Lea exchanged a quick look thinking that whatever Maya and Elan had done had worked.
The level of noise in Sickbay had not changed since the beginning, but the level of tension had jumped sky high. If she tried hard enough, Lea could swear that she heard the heartbeats of the marines.
The MCO raised his hand to remind his men to wait for his signal. Opening fire too early would tip the aliens off to their presence. Pravat knew this, and so did all of his troops, so they patiently waited. From a baseball sized shimmering light, the sphere grew to be as large as a basketball. A few seconds later it was as large as a record breaking pumpkin. A few more seconds and it was large enough for one of those creatures to step through. That was when Pravat gave the order which sent Lea and Susan for cover.
From complete silence, Sickbay went to being a war zone. All that Lea could hear was the firing of the marine's weapons. Like sisters afraid of thunder, Lea and Susan held their head between their knees, waiting for the storm to pass. The CMO and Cns would have said that this had lasted several minutes. Pravat would later write in his report that it had taken no more than a few second.
When the noise stopped, Lea and Susan slowly lifted their heads and saw nothing. The Marines had not moved one hair's width of where they had been and the ball of light had vanished.
Lea could tell that Pravat and his men had been ready to celebrate their victory, but no one dared to. They had won the first battle with ease, but the war was far from over.
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Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Ensign Lea Summers 2005 post #302
Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
