“Hello?”

Izi spun back towards the door, aiming her phaser at the source of the voice.

“Whoa! Easy there, Lieutenant.”

Recognizing the voice, Izi lowered her weapon. “Sorry, Joe. I didn’t expect someone to come behind me. Are you all right? Couldn’t you find your way to sickbay?”

“I was going to start crawling through a Jefferies tube, but I noticed the rec room door was open. I heard voices and saw phaser fire,” said Joe.

“Thanks for looking in on me, but you could have been shot. You need to be careful,” said Izi.

After a few seconds, through the dim lighting, Joe noticed the unconscious body of the woman Izi stunned.

“I need to get back to scouting the ship,” said Izi. “Can you stay and keep an eye on her?”

Joe hesitated, but he moved through the room and joined Izi.

“What happened?” said Joe.

“She was affected by whatever’s been assaulting our telepaths. She fired on me, so I had to stun her,” said Izi. “Do you know who she is?”

“She’s a nurse that works in one of the patient wards. Her name is Lexa or Leska, something like that. I can stay.”

Izi handed him the phaser she secured.

“I’m an orderly, not a security officer,” said Joe.

“Take it.” Izi pushed the weapon into his hands. “I need to go.”

=====

After leaving the recreation room, Izi checked deck 6, the location of the main lounge. No one was there, so she went back through the tube system, skipping decks 7 through 11, as they had no patients, and deck 12 because there weren’t guests on board. Fourteen was the triage center above the four sickbay decks, so that’s where she went.

Nothing was different from anywhere else she’d been. Low emergency lighting. Distorted shadows. Eerie silence.

Someone touched her antennae.

Izi jumped, cried out, turned to the rear, and fired her phaser.

She was alone.

Breathing heavily, Izi stayed ready, waiting for… Waiting for what? Swallowing, she began calming herself.

“If I find out who you are, you’re going to regret touching me,” said Izi.