After a long trek through the Jeffries tube system that took Izi from deck 6 to 14, she paused to rest, leaning against the wall.  Her stomach gurgled.

“I should have brought some energy bars.”

Andorians had a higher metabolism than most races, so with all the physical exertion from crawling through the ship, Izi was hungry.

Fourteen was the same as every other deck she’d scouted.  The emergency lighting was dim, though the odd shadows were no longer making her think of scary stories.  Moving more quickly, when she reached the triage center, the door was already half open.

Izi shined her flashlight into the large room, but she didn’t see anyone.  “Hello?”  Stepping inside, she sensd movement to her right.  Before she could turn to see who it was, a body crashed into her, sending both to the floor.  A stabbing pain pierced her left ankle.

“Don’t move or I’ll shoot you!”

The voice was female and sounded young.

Izi lay on the floor, showing her hands, realizing for the first time there were two people there, a boy and a girl.  They were Human and looked to be about 14 or 15.

“What do we do now?” said the girl.  She had a phaser aimed at Izi, but her hands were trembling.

The boy didn’t answer.  His body language showed he was just as unsure as the girl.

“I’m Lieutenant Iziraa.  May I please sit up?  The floor is hard and my ankle hurts.”

The two looked at each other.  The girl shrugged.

“Okay, but slowly,” said the boy.

When Izi was in a sitting position, the boy grabbed the phaser she had on her belt.

“What happens next?” said Izi.  “Why did you attack me?”

The two looked at each other again.  “Tell her,” said the girl.

“After the ship went dark, everyone here except us and a nurse were gone.  The nurse started yelling.  She said we were death.  She had a phaser and was going to shoot us, but I was able to stop her,” said the boy.

Izi understood now.  “We don’t know exactly what’s happening, but only telepaths are affected.  I’m not going to hurt you.  Captain Halsey sent me from the bridge to look around.  What are your names?”

“I think we can trust her.  I’m Debbie.  This is my brother, Ed.  Our mom is a doctor, but she disappeared with the others.  Do you know where they went?”

“They’re safe.  Whoever took control of the ship, beamed most of the crew into the cargo bays,” said Izi.

Debbie and Ed were visibly relieved.

“I’m sorry I hurt you.  We just didn’t know what to do,” said Ed.  He handed the phaser back to Izi.

Debbie did the same.  “Are you going to be okay?”  She pointed to Izi’s ankle.

“That?  Pff!  It’s nothing.”  Izi stood up, but her face cringed from the pain.  Her antennae vibrated.  “I need to report back to the bridge, but I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

“I can take care of us,” said Ed.

Before Izi replied, lights started coming back on and the familiar hum of a powered ship was back.

“It seems engineering fixed the situation,” said Izi.  “We’ll find your mother and I’ll get back to the bridge.”  She was relieved they were getting back on track.