Medical Madness

[Marishal]

Thread reserved for the plot started by myself and Hotflash from fanfiction.net

Tasha got hurt, badly, and has vanished out of thin air inside the OR. Chaos is erupting, and Rachel has fled the hospital. What will happen next? Only time will tell.

[Marishal]

OOC: Hotflash/Monique prefers to co-write on msn, so any and all posts in this thread will be co-written by myself and her.

Rachel huffed a little as she was given a forceful shove forward. She and two other men, both of whom she recognized, had been captured from three different locations. Now they were practically being herded down a corridor within the Decepticon base.

“I’m GOING!” she snapped, turning her head just enough to growl at her captor.

The enormous robot behind her growled in reply. “Keep moving, fleshlings,” he snapped.

Roy wondered where in the world they were and what these strange things were that had captured them. And why. And he couldn't stop worrying about what Johnny was going to tell Joanne.

Once they reached the end of the corridor they entered an enormous room. It looked like something the cross between of a large laboratory and a haunted house, complete with three man-sized cages at the far end of the room, something that appeared to be a large machine, a table filled with assorted tools and equipment, and a low, flat table with restraints. Something about the room looked like it could either be used for experimentation, or perhaps torture. Maybe both, depending on the situation or what its owners wanted to use it for.

“Move,” the giant robot snarled, raising its weapon threateningly. “Each of you, get into one of the cages. The door will lock behind you once you’re in.”

"What the hell is all of this?" Roy said under his breath. He looked at Kel and saw that he too was surveying the scene. Neither of them moved toward a cell. They were not being difficult on purpose they were just having a hard time grasping the situation. Roy looked over to Rachel. She looked defiant.

“I said MOVE!” the Decepticon roared thunderously, stamping his foot on the floor so hard that it seemed to cause mini tremors in the ground. “Or I’ll kill you each here and now!”

Rachel flinched, her eyes growing wide, then she glanced toward the two men. Then she begrudgingly moved toward one of the cells—the one in the middle. “You won’t get away with this,” she growled through her teeth.

Roy took the cell on Rachel's right and Kel the one on the left, begrudgingly. He'd already seen the inside of a Decepticon cell once and he was not eager to repeat the experience. When the door locked shut, with a loud metallic clang, Roy felt his stomach drop. Kel swore out loud.

The Decepticon gave the humans a long, withering look, then turned on his metallic heel and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Rachel growled, then sat down on the floor of her cage, bringing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. “Wonderful,” she hissed.

Roy looked at Rachel. He felt a need to protect her but how could he with them in cells? Then he thought back to home. He had to get out of here. If it hadn't been for his military experience, he might have felt panicked but instead, he walked over to where his cell adjoined hers. "Are you okay?" he asked. It was dumb, but it was a start to conversation. He had to find out what she knew of where they were.

Kel just watched and listened.

Even though Roy had broken the silence and spoken directly to her, Rachel ignored him for some reason. She simply glanced at him, then glanced toward the doctor. “Sorry you have to go through this again,” she muttered for his benefit, then resumed staring straight ahead, resting her chin on her knees.

"Hey, are you okay?" he repeated himself. "What can you tell me about this place and who are these... things?" Roy persisted.

Kel didn't respond to Rachel. But he added to what Roy said. "Rachel, we have to come up with a plan. I don't want a repeat of the last time with Tasha."

“Yeah.” Without looking at either of them, Rachel hastily got to her feet, then winced. “Ow,” she muttered.

"What's wrong?" asked Roy and Kel at the same time.

She glanced at one and then the other. “Nothing, I just got a bruise on my leg thanks to that metal glitch-head that grabbed me,” she answered testily, not wanting to focus on it. She shifted her weight, then tried to ignore it.

She placed her hands on her hips and frowned in concentration, eyeing the metallic bars and the ceiling of the cell in a surveying way.

Kel sighed in relief. At least he didn't have to stop bleeding and treat for shock from opposite sides of the bars again. As he watched Rachel survey his cell, he decided to do the same. He surveyed his own cell and Rachel's too, what he could see of it.

Rachel ignored the others as best she could. She just didn’t want to think about them at the moment. If she didn’t concern herself with them, she could focus better, and perhaps not worry about them so much. Then maybe she could think more objectively, and perhaps find a way to escape.

Her fingers encircled two of the bars in front of her, and she attempted to give them a shake to test their strength. They turned out to be quite solid; they wouldn’t even budge or jiggle.

Roy stood up and watched Rachel moving around trying to find an escape. He didn't understand why she was not responding to him. He called over to Kel. "Hey, maybe you can tell me since she won't. What the hell are those things and what do they want with us?"

Kel looked over at him. "I think they're called Decepticons, or something like that. They're some kind of machinery alien things. They want our resources. I have no idea why they took us. I suspect she does."

[Marishal]

Rachel sighed, glancing back and fourth between them again. “Yeah they do,” she stated. “And you’re right. And I also know what they want from us.” She trailed off, making a face.

"Well maybe you could enlighten both of us, since we're all in here together," said the doc, dryly.

“Fine,” she said. “You’ll both find out sooner or later anyway. Basically…” She sighed. “We’re lab rats. And since I’ve gotten under their skin one time to many, they’ll probably choose me first, knowing them.” She gave the bars another experimental shake, putting more effort into it this time. They still wouldn’t budge.

"Lab rats for what?" asked Roy feeling his stomach flip flop again.

“Whatever sick experiments they want to do on us,” Rachel responded cryptically. “Look, let’s just try and focus on getting out of here.” She didn’t want to talk about their impending doom anymore.

"What do you suggest? There aren't any loose bars, there aren't any vent openings. You have some magic in those pockets of yours?" asked Kel, sarcastically.

"I still have my tools,” Roy said as he realized his tool holster was still attached to his belt, and still full.

Rachel looked in his direction, perking up. “What do you have, specifically?” she asked.

Before anyone could say another word, the door to the room opened once again. This time a different Decepticon stepped in, one that was even larger than before, and more menacing. He sneered at the humans as he entered.

“Now,” he said as he came nearer to the cells, “which one of you should I choose?” He tilted his head back and fourth, as if analyzing his three specimens carefully.

Roy and Kel didn't say anything. Nobody wanted to be the subject of some sick experiment. But Roy did step forward hoping to take attention away from Rachel at least.

The Decepticon’s optics focused on Roy and he snorted. “What, are you volunteering?” he sneered.

Roy put his hands up, palms out. He didn't say a word.

Rachel growled. “STOP playing around, I already know you’re going to pick me, Starscream.” She scowled, folding her arms.

"No, take me!" Roy couldn't help it. If he lived through this Joanne would kill him, but he couldn't stand by and let a lady take the brunt of this situation. He simply wasn't that kind of man.

Kel didn't say or do anything still. He already knew that nothing he or Roy could say or do what have any effect on what would happen. He knew it instinctively.

“Oh, how touching!” Starscream said, with a mixture of sarcasm and fake affection. “Well then, if you’re so afraid of seeing the female squirm…” He grinned. “Then I’m going to enjoy making her squirm AND scream right in front of you both!”

With that he unlocked Rachel’s cage and then grabbed her, encircling his huge fingers around her waist, shoulders and legs.

Roy was horrified with what had just happened. He was helpless to do anything about it. He watched as Rachel was yanked forcefully from her cage. Kel shot a worried glance over at the paramedic. He knew Roy would blame himself for whatever happened next.

Rachel found herself being put down on a table that was just a few feet away from the cells. Then she was put into restraints—and not the most pleasant kind. A firm strap went around her waist, but a metal cuff went around each wrist, and one around each ankle. She was effectively immobile, and not going to break out of this any time soon.

Oh boy, she thought, her eyes darting around the room.

"Shit!" Kel said under his breath. This couldn't be good. Whatever torture they had in mind for Rachel was going to be ugly.

Roy wanted to close his eyes. He didn't want to know what would happen next. He watched her being strapped down even though she struggled ineffectively. "Leave her alone. What do you want from us?" he yelled, hoping to at least delay whatever was going to happen.

“Oh I want something from her that I can only get from a female specimen,” Starscream muttered as if he was humoring monkeys with his reply. He looked through an assortment of tools and other items, then picked up something that looked like a large syringe. “Here we go,” he smirked.

Rachel tensed, her eyes growing wide. “What the hell is that for?” she snapped.

“Well my dear,” Starscream said tauntingly, as he prepared it, “let’s just say I’m going to take something.”

Roy realized what was happening and felt like he was going to be sick. He fought back the gorge in his throat as he watched in horror.

Doctor Brackett was feeling much the same and swallowed several times to hold it back.

Starscream came closer, then ran his scanners over her, then smiled. “Perfect,” he said, then reached down, using a finger to pull up her shirt, just enough to slowly lower the tip of the syringe into her abdomen.

Rachel’s breathing increased and she yelped softly, then gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut.

After a moment, the Decepticon withdrew the syringe and then walked back over to the table, then picked up some sort of device. Then, nodding to himself, he began to walk away. “Don’t go anywhere,” he sneered at Rachel, taunting. “I’ll be right back.” With that, he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

[Marishal]

Rachel stared after him warily as he left, then she let her head drop down against the table, panting a little. She was trying not to think about what just happened. Or what he was doing.

"Rachel, I'm sorry," Roy said. He realized now he couldn't have made any difference no matter how he'd responded. "Are you okay? Talk to us."

Rachel squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then looked in their direction. “I’m okay, it didn’t hurt much, really,” she said. “It’s just…” Her face twisted in anger and disgust.

"Just what?" he asked softly. He wished he could go to her. He and Kel exchanged worried glances and waited for her answer.

Rachel looked away from them completely. “I KNOW what he’s going to do with what he got from me,” she grated through clenched teeth.

"What's that?" asked Doctor Brackett.

Roy hated not doing anything. He opened his trauma kit on his belt. Inside were a pair of 7 1/4 " trauma shears, a four and a half inch long splinter forceps, a 5 1/2' pair of bandage scissors and a pen light. Standard gear. What could he do with it to help in this situation? He tried to think of something to do.

“Forget it,” Rachel snipped, trying to drop the subject.

"No, I won't forget it. What is it going to do with it?" Kel demanded.

Rachel sighed, still not looking at either of them. “Try to grow a human-robot hybrid from the most basic level,” she mumbled quietly.

"That's ridiculous. It can't even be possible!" barked Kel, and Roy had to nod in agreement.

"Any one have any ideas for a plan?" Roy asked.

Rachel decided to test the strength of her restraints. However they proved to be solid metal; just as solid as the cage bars she’d tried to rattle mere minutes ago. “Ow,” she breathed after a moment of struggling. Her mid-section stung a bit.

"Maybe with my splinter forceps we could jimmy the locks," suggested Roy when no one else offered any ideas.

“Do you think you could?” Rachel asked, perking up a little.

Just then, the door opened again and Starscream came back in. His hands were empty, so it was obvious he had done something with the syringe, or perhaps left it somewhere else.

“Well, little female fleshling,” he sneered, “I have stored your eggs for later use. Now I have something else in mind.” He walked back over to the desk and began to sort through his tools and items, as though looking for something specific.

Rachel swallowed, feeling whatever strength or endurance she THOUGHT she had starting to slip away more and more. Despite the fact that she wanted to remain strong, she found herself glancing toward the cages, almost pathetically.

Roy found himself praying for some sort of solution as he watched in continued horror. His lower lip was nearly numb from biting it, a nervous habit of his. His hands were clenched tight, his knuckles white with the tension.

Brackett simply turned away. There was nothing he could do to stop whatever would happen so he turned his back in hopes that it would be easier to endure the helplessness.

Starscream grabbed something that looked like a large knife, one with a very fine edge. He then moved to stand at her side, sneering down at her. “This won’t hurt… much,” he told her tauntingly.

Rachel flinched as the knife blade came slowly down near her, and she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to keep perfectly still. Maybe if she just stayed still and didn’t watch, and tried not to think about it… it would all be over soon.

"What are you doing?" growled Roy. He couldn't believe that these THINGS would be so cruel as to cut into her without so much as some kind of anesthetic. He couldn't stand to see it happen yet he could not turn away. He wondered if they intended to kill her right there or if they had something else in mind.

Right at that moment, the door swung open to reveal another Decepticon. “Starscream!” he called out.

Starscream paused, his blade’s edge hovering merely a centimeter above the girl’s chest. “What?!” he bellowed, not liking being disturbed.

“You have to come see this—it’s urgent!”

Snarling, Starscream withdrew the blade and stalked away, grumbling under his breath. “This better be slaggin’ important!” he roared as he stamped out, slamming the door shut behind him.

Rachel blew out a huge sigh of relief, then made a face. This was merely delaying the inevitable, after all.

The second the beast left the room Roy was back in his trauma holster. He pulled out the long tweezer-like forceps and went to work at trying to pick the lock on his cage. He was careful to keep his body between the door the beast had gone out and his cell door. If it came back he could easily pocket the tool without being caught.

[Marishal]

Rachel took several slow, deep breaths, trying to regain her composure. She hated being so helpless and weak, and she wanted even less to SOUND like she was helpless and weak. Shouldn’t she at least try to maintain some of her dignity?

But she felt like she needed to say something, or she was going to break down completely. If she could just admit how she felt, just one time, maybe she could get it out and regain her resolve. So she looked directly toward them, and for some reason, her eyes locked on Brackett. “DAMNIT THAT SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME!” She cried out, far more loudly than she intended. She HATED how pitiful her voice sounded, and the way it cracked.

"It scared me too," he barked back, turning around once again to look at her. "What was he going to do to you?"

Rachel simply stared at him, unable to find her voice. She opened her mouth and closed it several times. It was only when she realized her cheeks felt moist that she knew she was crying. She turned her face away, ashamed. What was she, a scared five-year-old? She wasn’t acting anything like a Starfleet officer.

"Rachel," said Roy as he fiddled furiously with the lock. "I'm trying to get this lock open. Somehow we'll get out of here. Hang on and be strong." He stopped and looked at her a moment. She looked so young and so scared. He hated being helpless. "It's okay that you're scared... Hell, we're all scared."

“Yeah well, I’m supposed to be trained to handle this better than I am!” Rachel snapped, her voice cracking a little. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to fight back the tears.

"Why do you think your supposed to be trained to handle this better? I was in the war and I was trained for any matter of atrocities, that doesn't mean nothing can scare me!" Roy wasn't going to let her beat herself up over being victimized. It wasn't productive and wasn't going to get them out of here any faster.

"He's right. Nothing can prepare you for something like this," Doctor Brackett added. "You can't give up the fight."

“So what happens when he comes back in here?” Rachel somehow managed to fight back the tears, giving way to anger and helplessness. “He’s going to slice me open!”

"Don't give up yet," shot back Roy. "We're not." He kept trying with the lock. He pulled the penlight out of the holster and shined it in the lock, squatting down to get a better look at what he was doing.

Rachel yanked against her restraints in a desperate, enraged gesture. “OW!” she exclaimed, going still. She had yanked too hard, and it hadn’t done any good.

"Easy, don't hurt yourself," called out Kel. He wanted her to fight but he even he didn't know what to do.

Roy was getting more frustrated by the minute. In a fit of helplessness he stopped fiddling and kicked the door a couple of times. All he succeeded in doing was making his foot hurt. "Damnit, that hurts!" he spat. He knew getting angry and having a temper tantrum wasn't going to do anyone any good. He took the forceps and penlight over to Kel. "Here, see if you can do any better... And I pray that you can!"

Rachel gazed at them as they reached out through the bars toward each other. Thankfully the two end cells were close enough together so they could exchange the items, just barely. Roy slid the items across the floor to where Kel Brackett could reach them. She watched them for a few moments in silence.

[Marishal]

After Kel began fiddling with the tools, Roy stood biting his lip with his arms crossed, watching to see if Kel would have more success than he had. While he watched, his mind started to wander to earlier that morning. He remembered Joanne coming to the station because he'd accidentally taken the check book with him and she needed it to go grocery shopping. She had looked so beautiful. He wondered again what Johnny would have told her. Was she okay?

He wondered again what Johnny would have told her. Was she okay?

Rachel was still scared, although she had to admire their efforts. Frankly they were in a position to do more than her at the moment, just because they were able to move their arms and legs!

The proud part of her was seething right now, even though she was frightened out of her wits. Frankly, SHE was the one from the 23rd century. SHE should be the one who was trying to find a way to escape and then rescuing THEM. They were just a couple of primitive, 20th century men with primitive tools and primitive knowledge. What could they do?

For a moment her irritation and pride got the best of her, overriding her terror. She growled loudly in frustration. “This… is… RIDICULOUS.” She sounded frustrated, even angry.

"Rachel, we're doing all we can. We just haven't much to work with." Doctor Brackett tried to calm her obvious agitation.

Roy continued to play the scene from this morning over and over in his head and didn't even hear Rachel's outburst.

“Yeah that’s right!” Rachel snipped, turning to glare at Brackett. “You don’t have much to work with, but I’m supposed to!” She turned her head away then, gazing skyward.

"Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" demanded the doc, irritated at her attitude.

Rachel opened her mouth, then closed it. It seemed as though she wanted to say something, but thought better of it. “Forget it,” she muttered in an attempt to drop the subject, yet not offering an apology either.

"Look, Lady! In case you hadn't noticed, we are your only chance of getting out of here. We're doing all we can to figure out just how to accomplish that and your mightier than thou attitude is not going to get us anywhere!"

She pursed her lips. Well, he DID have a point. That was for sure. But it didn’t mean she had to like it. She took a slow, deep breath, then glanced in their direction again. “Sorry,” she finally offered. Her tone still held a bit of an attitude, but something in her features had softened somewhat.

"As long as you realize we're all in this together and it is going to take all of us to get out of it. Now, try to relax and sit tight."

Roy was oblivious to the conversation going on. He was replaying everything from this morning in his mind. His Annie walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek. He asked her if everything was all right, and what brought her to the station. She told him she thought he had the checkbook. He had looked in his inside jacket pocket, found it and handed it to her but as he did so, something fell out. It was his credit card. "That just might work!" he suddenly said aloud. Immediately he reached for his wallet and took out a card. Stepping towards the door to the cell, he began to examine it to figure out where the catch was on the latch.

Hearing his words, Rachel glanced sharply in Roy’s direction. “What might work?” she asked, her tone both skeptical and hopeful at the same time. “What’s that you have there?”

"My credit card. I think I might be able to open the door with it." He slid the card into the crack where the door met the support it was attached to. It was a tight fit and the card sort of slid then stuck and he had to wiggle it to get it to slide further. After several attempts, he heard a click. Excitedly, he pulled sideways on the bar nearest where he slid the card in. It didn't move.

As Roy was trying out his newest idea, Kel was madly fiddling and trying to get the forceps to open his lock. He wasn't having any more luck than Roy had.

Rachel stared in their direction for a moment, her eyes darting back and fourth between them. Then she rested her head back against the table, glancing skyward again and rolling her eyes. “Yeah, I knew it,” she muttered. “You can’t get us out of here, I can’t get us out of here… we’re all going to die.”

She blinked. Did she REALLY say that?

"We are NOT going to die!" Roy and Kel both snapped back in unison. Neither of them really knew that for sure but they both knew giving up wasn't going to help.

Roy continued to pull on the bars. He figured that since they had closed automatically there might be some kind of magnetic component to them. He grabbed on with both hands and braced himself by putting one foot against the bar on the other side of the door support. Roy then pulled with all his might. To his amazement, the door finally budged and started to open.

Rachel heard a noise and turned to look. She blinked, unsure whether she could believe her eyes or not at first, but then she realized that Roy was opening the door on his cell. She blinked again and then, in spite of herself, a slow smile of relief crossed her features. “Wow, it really worked!” she exclaimed, momentarily forgetting her pride.

"Yeah," Roy grimaced with the effort. "What do you think of that?" When he thought the opening was wide enough, he squeezed out sideways. He bounded over to Rachel. "I'm out!" he exclaimed, quietly so as not to alert the things somewhere on the other side of the door to the room.

Rachel watched him closely as he neared the table she was on. She still had her… reservations about him, but she had to admit that this was a welcome sight. “Just a lucky call,” she muttered simply after a moment. “A monkey could have done that.” Nevertheless, her eyes were lit up with relief.

Roy rolled his eyes. This woman was difficult at best, but it didn't matter. He prided himself with being able to get along reasonably well with any one. He’d even gotten Craig Brice to cooperate after some effort.

"Rachel, I need to ask you some questions. I want to assess your situation and see if we can't get you loose from that contraption. Tell me what you're feeling." He reached for a wrist then realized he would not be able to get a pulse there. "I ah... I need to check your pulse. You're going to feel my hand on your neck at your carotid artery."

Rachel tensed a bit, then she narrowed her eyes, bringing her head up a bit, putting her chin over her throat so that it touched the area just below her neck on her chest, and she arched her shoulders to provide “shelter” for the sides of her neck. None of her neck was exposed whatsoever.

She felt defiant, especially since this man was hovering over her while she was helplessly being held down against this blasted table. It was about the only act of defiance she could make at this time, and she was in the perfect mood to make it.

"Now cut it out. I can't check your pulse that way!"

“That’s the idea,” she snipped, maintaining her position.

"Have it your way!" he said, removing the hand he was trying to find her pulse with. Then quickly with one hand he took hold of her right elbow and pressed it to the table so she couldn't move it away. Then he pressed his other hand into her brachial pulse on her arm just above the elbow and found what he was looking for. He flashed her a satisfied smile briefly as if to say, "you're not going win this one!"

“Fine, I just don’t like complete strangers touching my neck,” she said, and relaxed her position a bit. Frankly, lying there with her shoulders arched and chin down was uncomfortable, especially since she was pulling on her wrists a bit. “Besides, I won’t have you trying to choke me!” She knew full well that that was a nasty thing for her to say. But she was in a very foul mood.

"You know, that might not be a bad idea. Unconscious patients are much more cooperative than you're being."

Brackett could not believe his ears, though silently he was cheering Roy on. Usually Roy was so gentle and compassionate. This woman must have really gotten under his skin. Kel continued fiddling with the tools, trying the forceps and a pair of scissors at the same time in the lock.

“Let’s get one thing straight, I’m NOT a patient,” Rachel said in an indignant tone. “I’m a fellow prisoner, just one that’s in a worse predicament than you were in.” Somehow in all her self-righteous attitude and indignation, she had nearly forgotten the terror she’d experienced mere minutes ago when Starscream hovered over her with a large blade.

“And frankly, I don’t appreciate your old-fashioned chauvinistic views of a damsel in distress. I’m just as tough as you are, DON’T doubt that.” She then clamped her mouth shut.

[Marishal]

"Fine, you're not a patient, but you will be soon if you keep it up. Your pulse is one thirty. Your blood pressure is probably up too, but since you're so tough, I'll just go find something else to do." With that he turned sharply on his heel and walked over to the door to Kel's cell. He fiddled with his card in slot between the door and the support until it clicked then the two of them pulled together to get Kel's cell open.

"What the hell took you so long?" asked Kel.

"Sorry, got my priorities mixed up," replied Roy, winking at his friend before turning to look at his patient.

“Okay, so you’re both out,” Rachel remarked. “What’re you going to do now?”

"What's it to you? You don't need us." Roy said as Kel started surveying the room as carefully as he had the cell he was in. Roy started to walk away from Rachel, purposely turning his back to her.

Rachel pressed her lips into a thin line. Somehow it felt as if pride was the only thing she had to hold onto in this situation. It was the ONLY thing she could grasp with her own free will, to make her feel at least a bit in control. Even though deep down she knew she was being stupid. But she certainly didn’t feel like apologizing, especially not to them. She swallowed, simply watching them in silence as they looked around the room.

Roy realized she was battling pride. He'd seen it a million times with victims or their families. He waited her out, making use of the time by helping Kel survey the room. He walked slowly around the perimeter of the room looking for any signs of a way out. Part of him felt terrible for what he was doing to her, but he knew well enough that if she didn't submit to letting him help her, they'd have to leave her behind, and that simply wasn't an option.

“Do you… see any way out?” she finally asked after a moment. She wasn’t quite looking at him, but she wasn’t looking away either.

He didn't answer her. He continued searching carefully. There had to be some way.

Just then her mind wandered to that of Starscream. The memory of him sticking her in the mid-section, just below the metal strap, replayed itself vividly in her mind. Her eyes widened and she sucked in a couple of rapid breaths. She tried to force herself to calm down. But then the image of the blade reappeared in her mind, hovering close enough to her chest to begin cutting her skin…

Her breathing quickened so that she was panting very rapidly. “Help… me!” she rasped, squeezing her eyes shut. “Get me… Get me… out!” That was all she managed before she began to breath too quickly to talk anymore.

Roy's attention was immediately back on his patient. He quickly went to her side. He touched her hand as he spoke in a low, calm voice. "Rachel, slow it down. You are safe for the moment. You have to slow things down."

“No! He’ll… be… back!” She managed, both gasping and panting now. Her fingers and toes were beginning to feel a bit numb as this continued.

"You have to calm down. I'm going to try and get you out of this thing but if you keep this up, you'll pass out. You don't want to be unconscious if he returns," Roy coached.

"He's right, Rachel. Get a hold of yourself. Concentrate and slow your breathing. In through your nose, blow out through your mouth like you're blowing out birthday candles." Brackett tried to help get her back in control as he continued his search. He thought he saw a panel vent in a dark corner of the room and went to check it out.

She kept on gasping and panting as though she didn’t hear them. She was continuing to panic, even attempting to struggle feebly against the shackles once or twice. She began to feel tingly around her lips.

Roy squeezed her hand a little to get her to focus on him. "Rachel, look at me. Breathe slowly like this." Roy demonstrated, loudly sucking in a breath through his nose then exhaling loudly in a long, exaggerated blow through the mouth. "Come on, do it with me." He repeated the process a few times until she started to at least try for herself.

Rachel managed to slow her breathing a bit by following his direction, but she was still breathing rapidly. Her chest was starting to hurt and she was feeling light-headed.

Roy looked around the table for something to assist her with. If he had his medical supplies, he'd pull out a simple plain brown lunch sack for her to breathe in, but he didn't have that luxury. He'd have to improvise.

Brackett came over to tell Roy what he'd found and saw him searching for something. He looked at Rachel and knew Roy wanted to recycle her own respirations to get her oxygen and CO levels back to normal. He looked around a moment too then remembered he had a latex glove in his pocket. He had treated a child in the ER earlier and had put a few in his pocket. He was using them like balloons, blowing them up and drawing on them with a sharpie marker to make faces on them. He plunged his hand into his pocket and pulled a glove out. "Roy, use this," he said handing it to the paramedic.

"Thanks." Roy blew it up and held the inflated glove closed a second to stretch it out. As he held it where Rachel could see he explained what he wanted her to do.

“Okay, now, this might seem odd, but I need you to do this for me. I'm going to cover your mouth and nose with the opening of this glove and have you exhale in it. Then I want you to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth several times while I hold it there. It will recycle the air you're breathing and lower your oxygen level back to normal. This way you're breathing right now is giving you too much oxygen even though it feels like you can't get enough. Do that until I tell you to stop." He didn't know if a glove would work or not, but at least it was an extra large glove, thanks to the ample size of Doctor Bracketts hands, and it was a heavy gauge so it shouldn't collapse as easily as some.

Rachel merely nodded and let him place the glove over her mouth and nose. Under normal circumstances she would have thought this was a bit too silly, but in this case she did exactly as he said. She breathed in and out a few times, and her breathing then slowed gradually until she was feeling normal, and the lightheadedness and tingly-ness began to fade as well.

"There, that's better now. Your color is looking better. Is the numbness better? Just nod or shake your head slowly."

She nodded slowly, then closed her eyes. “Can you take this thing off my face now?” she then asked, her voice sounding slightly muffled through the glove.

All Roy heard was "CM MMM HMM HHUH HM UMM HM?" But he knew what she wanted. He pulled the glove away. "Better?" he asked as he reached for her brachial artery again, gently.

“Yeah,” Rachel mumbled, blinking her eyelids a little. She knew he was going to take a pulse again. This time though she leaned her head back a little, permitting access to her neck. “Don’t squeeze,” she growled, although this time her tone sounded more teasing than anything else.

"Right," he said, smiling. He reached up and gently pressed on the carotid artery and took her pulse. "Better. Now, I'd like to take a look at that injection site. How does it feel?"

As Roy re-examined his patient, Kel was telling him about the panel vent he found. He thought it was big enough to fit through if they could just free Rachel.

Rachel eyed Brackett as he spoke of the panel vent, although she knew that Roy was mostly focused on her and assessing how she was. “It hurts a bit… mostly it just feels a little uncomfortable,” she said. “You’re not gonna touch it, are you?” She grimaced. She did not like the idea of anyone touching her stomach.

He didn't want her to tense up because that would mask the true results so he reached down quickly and pressed on her abdomen near where he thought the needle had gone in. He was relieved that there wasn't any marked rigidity. "That's good, no rigidity. Now all I'm gonna do is look. You'll feel my fingers touching you but it will be brief and I won’t touch the actual injection site." Roy told her and quickly did what he said he would do. It didn't look too bad. It was reddened and a bit swollen but only a miniscule amount of blood was showing. That was good. Still he knew it hurt like hell and she was being a lot tougher about it than she would admit. "It doesn't look too bad, though I'm sure it doesn't feel very good."

"Doc," he said looking at Kel. “You want to monitor her and I'll see if I can find a way to release these restraints?"

Kel nodded and Roy turned to search out some way to open them.

Rachel tensed a bit, eyeing Roy warily as he began to test the strength of each of the restraints, finding each one immobile. After a moment she focused her gaze on Kel, who was keeping an eye on her and seemed to be watching Roy’s progress out of the corner of his eye.

[Marishal]

“So, doc,” she said slowly, “are you gonna poke me in the stomach too and see if you agree with him?” Her tone was somewhere between sarcastic and mischievous. In truth, she was simply trying to distract herself and give herself something to do while she waited.

"I think you might get too much of a thrill from that," he answered attempting to lighten the mood a bit.

Rachel snorted, smirking in amusement in spite of herself. “You’re just like Tasha described you.”

Oops. She hadn’t meant to mention Tasha at all. THAT was bound to raise some… tricky questions.

"Tasha? Where is she? What did she tell you?" Doctor Brackett demanded.

Roy continued searching the contraption that was confining his patient. He couldn't see any kind of controls for it anywhere but there HAD to be some way to open those restraints.

“Uh…” Rachel stammered for a moment. “She’s fine. Better than fine. She’s great. She’s awesome.” Rachel knew she was babbling now. But she didn’t want to say anything more. “She’s in perfect health.”

"How can THAT be?" demanded Brackett. "She should have needed months of rehab after surgery, and we didn't even finish surgery! What the hell happened? I want some answers!"

“She… has a very, very good doctor back home,” Rachel said, swallowing. “That’s all I can say.” She turned her face away from him, staring in the direction of the door, hoping he would drop it.

"There isn't a doctor on the planet that could do that! What happened? Where is she?" Kel continued to demand answers.

Roy continued his search, frustration mounting. He began feeling underneath the table through the space between it and the floor. Finally he found what felt like some kind of removable panel.

Rachel sighed in irritation. “You know something else Tasha said about you? That you’re one stubborn man,” she said, narrowing her eyes as she looked at him again. “Well, you’re just going to have to accept that there are SOME things I can’t tell you. You wouldn’t understand anyway.”

"TRY me!"

“You wouldn’t believe me. Just DROP IT.”

"TELL me!" he growled.

Roy was able to wiggle the cover to the panel but he couldn't remove it. "Where are my tools?" he asked sharply.

“Fine. Up there,” she snapped, indicating the ceiling—or something beyond—with her eyes and a nod of her head, “there is technology that can SEAL torn flesh, healing it instantly, by regenerating it. And it does a much better job than your barbaric STICHES could do.” She scowled.

Kel was not entirely surprised at her explanation. It stood to reason if these metallic beasts were some alien form then whatever was trying to subdue them could be somehow too, though they seemed human enough to him. It was all a very strange sort of nightmare yet it was real. He ignored her criticism of his surgical skills. If she was telling the truth, he could see how it would seem barbaric to her. "I'd sure like to learn more about THAT," he responded after a moment. It was then he realized that Roy was asking him for something. He looked around the contraption holding Rachel hostage to see where Roy was. "Your tools? They're here, in my pocket." He pulled them out and held them out Roy's direction. Roy scooted around to take them from him.

"Thanks. I think I found an electrical panel of some sort. I can't find any controls but I might find some way to release those restraints in here."

"Good thinking," complimented Brackett. He looked back at Rachel. "Is she... Is she really okay?" he asked, hoping she'd say yes.

“Don’t worry, she’s completely fine,” Rachel said, her face breaking out into a smile in spite of everything. “In fact…” She actually managed a small chuckle. “She might actually be in Los Angeles somewhere right now. I’m not sure where… we got different assignments.”

"I'm not even going to ask about that," said Kel rolling his eyes. "But I'm glad she's okay. She really had me worried."

[Marishal]

Roy managed to pop the screws holding the panel cover in place by prying with his trauma shears. He felt inside and felt nothing but wires, both thick and thin wires. He pulled back from the opening and walked around the entire contraption again. He could not find any kind of plug in to a power source, nor could he find any kind of out let to be plugged into. Either the outlet and cord were under the table and inaccessible or this was run off of some sort of battery or internal generator of some sort. The only thing he could figure would possibly open the restraints was to cut the cords. He as a little afraid to do so because there had to be current running through them and he didn't know how much, but he knew it would be enough to knock him for a loop if he wasn't careful.

“Don’t worry about her, she’s got Clawdova watching her back this time,” Rachel said. She sighed softly. “Wish I was there with them,” she murmured wistfully. Frankly, being ANYWHERE but here would have been preferable.

Just then she groaned a little, twitching her left leg a bit. “Damnit I didn’t realize how tight that was,” she said. “I think I’m losing circulation in my foot.”

"Don't worry. I'll have you out of there soon," said Roy sounding much more confident than he really was. He looked around and found the glove they had used to help Rachel with her hyperventilating. "You don't happen to have any more where this came from, do you?" he asked the doctor.

"I'm afraid not," Kel answered.

Roy sighed and started to put his hand into the glove. It was damp inside from Rachel's respirations and that caused it to stick to his skin making it very difficult to fit over his hand. To his dismay it split, tearing into unusable shreds. "Damn!" he said. He shrugged. He'd just have to try it without and hope that the jolt would be minimal and he'd be able to let go of the shears. He really had no other choice. He looked at Kel and Rachel. "Well, here goes nothing," he said. "I hope." With that he took the shears in his hand and reached into the dark opening near the floor. When the shears bumped wires, he began cutting. There was a blue flash and a zapping noise and Roy felt his body being thrown. His back hit a wall hard and he let out a loud sound. "Umph!"

He lay on the floor a moment, dazed and feeling like every muscle in his body was contracting. Kel ran to his side and was asking him if he was alright. He was unable to respond at first but as Kel started checking his body for entrance and exit wounds that often accompanied electrical shock, he slowly began to regain control of his body. "I'm fine. I just have to find another way. How is Rachel?

Did she get shocked too?"

Kel ran back around to Rachel. "Are you okay?" asked her with urgency.

[Marishal]

“Yeah I’m fine,” Rachel replied. She thought she heard an electrical jolt from below, and now Brackett was looking at her with concern. She glanced down toward her hands, giving them an experimental tug. The shackles were still firmly in place, and her wrists and ankles were not going anywhere anytime soon.

Then she started to say, “Whatever it was he did, I don’t think it…”

CLICK. The shackles suddenly came loose, opening right up. Furthermore, the metal strap around her waist suddenly came loose, withdrawing and vanishing down into the metal surface of the table.

“…worked,” Rachel finished, blinking as she hastily moved her limbs out of the shackles and sitting up. “Oh thank God,” she breathed in relief. She then scooted herself toward the edge of the table, taking care to keep every part of her body a safe distance from the shackles as she did so, just in case they decided to close again.

Roy came sort of hobbling out from behind the table with a sock on his hand and a shoe tucked under his arm. He leaned against the edge of the table to put them back on his feet as he asked her, "Are you okay?"

She looked at him, then nodded. “Yeah I’m fine, especially now. Thanks.” She offered a small smile. “Are you okay?”

"Yeah... I think so," he said. Every muscle in his body felt tight but at least he didn't have any burns. "It zapped me pretty good there."

“Ouch,” she said, wincing sympathetically. Then she glanced toward Brackett. “Maybe you ought to have the doc take a look at you,” she said with a hint of mischief, and then she carefully climbed down from the table. It felt good to set her feet down on the solid floor below.

"Actually, I think we should concentrate on getting out of here," Brackett said. "I think we can get out through that vent over there."

"Good idea," said Roy. He was glad for the distraction. He didn't need a doctor. He needed to get home to his wife and kids.

“Okay then,” Rachel said, straightening out her shirt so that it covered her decently again and looked fairly straight. Then the Starfleet officer in her took charge again, and she started moving ahead of the guys. “Let’s go take a look at it.”

Roy noticed the change in her demeanor and couldn't help but smile. She was certainly full of herself he thought. In any case, she was the smallest of the three of them. Having her go first made sense he told himself. It was easier than admitting she'd be tougher to convince of things with her out of shackles.

Rachel craned her neck upward to look at the vent. The ceiling was high in most places, considering the Decepticons were huge robots. But in this area, the ceiling was lower in an overlap, so thankfully the vent would be within reach.

But she knew that she wouldn’t be able to get up there by herself, and nor would either of the men with her. She placed her hands on her hips, frowning, then glanced at Roy and Kel. “Can one of you… give me a boost?” she asked.

Kel looked at Roy. "You're the fireman!"

Great, thought Roy. He looked up thoughtfully at the vent. He looked at Rachel. She would have to stand on his shoulders to be tall enough to climb in through that vent. She wasn't woman of large build, but the thought of that kind of awkward weight on his shoulders didn't thrill him. Especially with the tightness and occasional minor spasms he was feeling from getting knocked on his butt.

"Well, I guess you could stand on my shoulders." He dropped to his knees, facing the wall and braced himself against it with his hands. "You'll have to climb on kind of like piggy back style then climb up to my shoulders. After that I'll stand and turn away from the wall so you're lined up with the vent. He hunched forward slightly and mentally prepared himself to accept the weight he was about to bear.

Rachel bit her lower lip and then did as he said, being very careful to climb up onto his back. She did her best to take it slow and easy, so that she wouldn’t risk causing him any discomfort. Once she was on his shoulders she slowly raised herself so that she was more or less standing. “Ready,” she murmured.

Kel came and stood nearer to them with his hands up, palms out to spot Rachel as Roy slowly stood.

Roy pushed his hands against the wall and stood slowly and carefully. As he did so, he felt spasms in both his legs and in his back. All he hoped right now was that he didn't fall and drop her. After what seemed like forever to him, he was fully standing and turned ninety degrees to his left. He had her just about in position when a sharp pain shot up his left hamstring and glute. He let out a bit of a yelp and jerked suddenly knocking Rachel off balance. She fought to remain upright and on his shoulders but wasn't able to. One of her feet slipped off his shoulder and down the front of him causing her to fall to her left and forward.

Rachel yelped a little herself as she felt herself falling, then felt strong arms grabbing her and preventing her from falling. She couldn’t be sure, but she MIGHT have felt Brackett’s hands on her momentarily as well, and she certainly did notice him looking at Roy with concern. A moment of awkwardness passed and then Rachel scowled.

“Let me go,” she muttered, struggling a bit in Roy’s hold.

It was a most awkward moment. One leg was up around Roy's neck and Rachel was awkwardly being held up in his arms. This was a lot closer than either of them were comfortable with. "I'd love to if you would kindly take your leg from around my neck."

Rachel shifted her position quickly—a bit TOO quickly. The way she twisted herself caused Roy to not only lose his grip on her, but to lose his balance. Kel reached out and steadied Roy just in the nick of time before he fell down, but neither of them moved quickly enough to stop Rachel from slipping and falling on the floor.

She landed awkwardly, one leg going beneath her as she landed on her rump. “OW!” she exclaimed, and let out a hiss of pain.

"Aaaaaaaah," Roy cried out in pain from the strain on his back then looked down at Rachel on the floor.

"Are you okay Rachel, did you break anything?" Kel asked, concerned.

“I’m fine,” Rachel said, then grimaced. Actually she did hurt somewhere, she just didn’t want to admit it. It would be fine if she just gave it a moment to… throb or whatever, wouldn’t it? “Just give me a moment.” She winced again, trying to keep still.

"Me too, thanks for asking," said Roy. His back was killing him now. He felt like he'd just been through a roof collapse.

“Sure I didn’t hurt you, big guy?” Rachel asked teasingly as she looked up at Roy. In truth she was just trying to keep the focus off herself. Just until the pain eased. Hopefully it would ease soon…

"Me?" he said in mock surprise. "Aw heck, I'm a fireman. We don't break easily."

Rachel grinned. “Good to hear.” With that she shifted her position on the ground and tried to slowly stand—only to end up sitting back down again, quickly, as her ankle gave out. Groaning softly she reached down and put a hand around it. It didn’t feel broken… more likely just sprained. It felt like it was on fire.

"Rachel, what's wrong? What did you injure?" Roy could see the pain on her face and focused on that rather than his own.

“Nothing, just my ankle,” she muttered, attempting to rub it a bit. Man it hurt like heck.

Roy tried to squat down to look at it but another pain in the hamstring caused him to sit hard on the floor. It was very undignified and he blushed. "May I have a look at it?"

Rachel scooted away from him just a little. “No offense but I think I’ve been poked enough for one day,” she muttered. She knew she was just being foolish again, but she hadn’t liked being examined while she was lying there helplessly on that stupid table. If she was going to be touched again, she wanted it to be more on her terms.

Kel put a hand on her shoulder. "Easy. He's not gonna bite you. Why don't you let me have a look at it if you don't want him to do it."

Roy rolled his eyes. This woman was aggravating the hell out of him.

[Marishal]

Rachel eyed the doctor warily. “How about if we just wait a couple minutes, and if I still can’t stand up, I let you take a look at it?” she then said.

"We can wait a few minutes if you want, but the sooner we get out of here the better!" Kel answered.

Well, she knew that he did have a point there. Especially since Starscream could be back any minute, and she did not want to end up on that table again. But at the same time, she didn’t want a 20th century doctor poking around her.

Well, then again… Roy hadn’t done anything to her except check where she was injured and check her pulse, and he did save her neck. And she also remembered that this doctor had saved Tasha. She simply didn’t like being poked or prodded, not even in a 23rd century hospital or sickbay, although she preferred the “quick fixes” that the people from her century had available to them.

Still… she figured it wouldn’t hurt anything to let the doctor look. “Fine,” she murmured, nodding toward Brackett. “Take a look if you really want to.” She moved her hand off of her ailing ankle.

Kel squatted down and looked at her left ankle. It was quite swollen already. He began to palpate the injured area to feel for unusual lumps or bumps. He asked her specifically where the pain was and she traced the area with her finger. Kel had pressed his lips together in a thin line and furrowed his ample brows together. He was not looking very happy with what he was finding.

"What do you think, Doc? Is it broken?" asked Roy.

"No, I don't think so. It's hard to say for sure without an X-ray but I think it's just a bad sprain. I'm going to have to wrap it. What can you find me?"

Roy looked around him. The room was bare except for the table that had held Rachel and the three cells which were void of anything. "Uh, there isn't much of anything to choose from," said Roy. "Maybe we could cut a t-shirt?"

"Hurry up!" said Kel, without moving to take off his own.

Rachel blinked a little bit. “You’re going to take off your SHIRT?” she murmured, suddenly looking a little bit uncomfortable. “Please don’t bother…” She then turned her head away.

Roy rolled his eyes and started unbuttoning his blue uniform shirt. "Rachel, if we don't wrap that ankle, you're not going anywhere. Don't be so damn stubborn." He was getting very tired of trying to coax her into everything. He just wanted to get the hell out of here. He pulled the t-shirt over his head and started to cut it with his bandage scissors. He started in at an angle from the bottom of the shirt then leveled out about 2 1/2" in, cutting spirally until he got to the sleeves. He removed the one long strip he had made and handed it to Kel, then picked up his uniform shirt off the floor and put it on while Kel prepared to wrap Rachel's ankle.

"Let's get that shoe off," said Kel.

“I’m not taking my shoe off,” Rachel snapped stubbornly. She was relieved that Roy was putting a shirt back on. She would never admit this to anyone, but there was just… something about being in the same room with a shirt-less guy—especially one who looked not-half-bad to boot—that made her extremely… well, she wasn’t even sure what word she wanted. Maybe it was just a weakness of hers.

She shoved that thought aside as she focused her attention on the doctor, and on her ankle. “Whatever you have to do… let’s just shove the sock down and do it while the shoe is on.”

"It won't work that way. I have to wrap it around the foot for proper support, otherwise it's useless. Your shoe will go back on over it, we'll just have to loosen it up." Kel did his best to persuade her to change her mind because he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Roy rolled his eyes again at her wondering if she took special classes to become that stubborn or if she was just born that way.

“Fine,” Rachel replied with a shrug of annoyance. Then she reached down and snatched her shoe off of her foot herself. Then she winced. “Ouch,” she uttered, squeezing her eyes shut briefly. Okay, maybe she shouldn’t have done that.

"Learn anything?" Roy asked, uncharacteristically sarcastically.

Rachel’s eyes snapped toward the fireman. Then, possibly due to all of the stress and fear—not to mention her frustration and annoyance over everything, from being jabbed with a needle, being poked and prodded by men who had primitive medical knowledge, and now having to put up with THIS… something in side her simply snapped.

“You know something?” she snapped. “You act like you’re a complete know-it-all, as if you really know what you’re doing. But compared to where I come from, you both can’t do much of anything. We have superior technology and superior medical knowledge.”

Part of her knew that she could get into big trouble with Captain Kirk, not to mention Starfleet command, for even SAYING that to someone in the 20th century. She was supposed to blend in, not reveal anything about where she was really from. But she no longer cared about that. Besides, these people had already seen things they shouldn’t be seeing in this time zone anyway.

"You know, for some superior out of this world race, you are about the most annoying stubborn ungrateful woman I've ever met!" roared Roy right back, ignoring the glare from Doctor Brackett. "The doc here and I are doing everything we can to help us all get out this crazy situation that none of us asked for and you are fighting us on every turn. You act like we're trying to control you and like if we touch you we might contaminate you. Well, let me tell you something, Lady! We might not be up to the standards of whatever fairy tale you come from but we're doing the best we can with what we have. "

“Let’s get something straight,” Rachel growled, raising her chin a little, “this crazy situation has forced me to make compromises I shouldn’t have had to make. I shouldn’t even be speaking to you, but thanks to these freakin’ Decepticons, I’m forced to work with both of you. And just for the record…” She took a deep breath. “In a manner of speaking, it’s not like you could do ANYTHING to contaminate me, but I who might contaminate YOU.” She turned away.

"You can sure say that again!" Roy replied with great irritation. "I hope you don't rub off on us."

"Roy, that's enough!" Brackett snapped. He turned to Rachel. "You think you could cut us a little slack? We all have the same goal, to get out of here and fast. We'll probably have a lot more success if we work together and not against each other." He felt sorry for Roy. He had never seen him lose his temper at a patient before, and like it or not, that's what she was. Still, he couldn't blame him.

“Yeah let’s just focus on getting out of here,” Rachel said irritably. “How’s it going with that?” she then asked, indicating her ankle.

Kel had already gotten the bandage in place and tied it securely. "Just waiting for you to put your shoe on," he said. He'd have done it for her, but he was frankly tired of her attitude too so he didn't even offer. "Then you and Roy can start over. And don't fall this time."

Rachel snatched up her shoe and carefully put it on, tying it so that it was loose yet secure. Then she slowly got to her feet, ignoring an offer of assistance from Brackett. Once she tested her weight and was satisfied she wasn’t going to fall down again, she glanced from one man to the other.

“I’m not going up that way,” she stated firmly. “If you want to go out that way, don’t let me stop you. But I’m not climbing up on your back again,” she said, directly to Roy. “I’d probably get killed this time.”

"If you can tell me a better way, I'm all ears. I'm not exactly fond of having you stand on my shoulders either. And I'm sorry I moved so suddenly. You know, electrical shock is kind of hard on the body."

“Look, let’s just part ways right here,” Rachel said, holding up her hands as if trying to emphasize her words. “You go on through the vent if you want to, I’m going to try the door. Either way… I wish you guys the best of luck, and…. Thanks.” Then she moved past them, her head held up high, moving in the general direction of the door.

"Rachel, wa..." Roy started to try and reason with her but Kel cut him off.

"Forget it Roy, we're just going to have to let her do her own thing. We both know that door is locked and if she wants another date with that machine the more power to her."

Roy couldn't believe his ears. Kel give up? That was what he was doing... giving up on the stubborn woman between them and freedom.

"You don't have to twist my arm," he said. "Any idea how we're both going to get up there?"

Just then the door opened, just as Rachel was getting near it. None other than Starscream stepped into the room, and his optical sensors blinked as he looked down to see her, standing there, completely free and unrestrained.

“YOU LITTLE SLAGGER!” the giant robot roared. That was when Rachel let out a high pitched, blood-curdling scream. She turned and ran in the opposite direction, back toward the cages and the table.

The ground shook a little as the giant robot moved after her, his large feet banging noisily against the floor. Rachel hopped on top of the table and ran across it to the other side, approached the cages, and then did a U-turn and went back the way she came. She then dove underneath the table, quickly crawling under it on her hands and knees until she came out the other side.

Starscream glimpsed her as she came out from under the table, and went right between his legs. He then shifted his position, attempting to turn sharply while still in a mid-run. However, large robots did not stop on a dime when they were moving quickly. He ended up staggering and then falling over the table, going head-first into the cages and into the wall. There was a large CLANG noise as the giant fell against the floor.

He moaned, and remained motionless… for the moment.

The door was still wide open. Rachel sat in the middle of the floor, her eyes as wide as saucers, staring at the monster and breathing rapidly. She looked like she was glued to her spot on the floor.

Kel and Roy sprang into action. They ran towards Rachel and scooped her up, one on each arm and scooted out the door as fast as they could. Their hearts were pounding as they hit the corridor wondering which way to go. Roy tried to go left while Kel tried to go right and they ended up jerking both of Rachel's arms opposite directions.

“ACK! Hey!” Rachel yelled out, the jolt and slight pain yanking her back to her senses. “Just let go!”

When they let go they both eyed her wildly. Both were a little dazed from the adrenaline rush and sudden stop. "Where now, Chief?" Roy asked as he came to his senses quickly.

Rachel didn’t answer. She looked left, then right… then she sprang into action. She chose right, and began to sprint as quickly as her legs could carry her. Although she did find herself glancing over her shoulder toward them as she began to run, before focusing on where she was going.

Roy and Kel sprinted after her. They didn't know where they were going, and doubted she did either, but anywhere was better than here, wasn't it?

The adrenaline rush kept Rachel from feeling any pain in her ankle. She just kept going, staying ahead of the others thanks to her head start and thanks to her rush, until she reached the very end of the corridor. Then she took another right…

And then had to dig her heels into the floor to keep from smacking face-first into a door there. She paused for a moment, trying to contain herself and catch her breath, then she grasped the door handle with both hands, praying it wasn’t locked.

Thankfully, it was unlocked. She was greeted with the welcome sight of fresh air and sunshine outside. Without any hesitation whatsoever, she dashed outside, but moved only a few feet before she stopped.

Roy and Kel followed Rachel to the end of the corridor, around a corner and out the door. When she stopped suddenly, Roy nearly smacked into her and Kel into him. Somehow they avoided a collision and now they were both trying to focus their eyes in the bright sunshine and find out why the sudden stop.

“Damnit,” Rachel muttered, looking around. “I thought I saw something.”

"What are we stopped for?" demanded Doctor Brackett.

Rachel glanced sharply in his direction. “Nothing stopping you,” she murmured. “Or you,” she added to Roy. “Go on, get out of here if you want. I need to… check something.” With that she slowly began to move away… and now there was a growing limp in her step. Her ankle was beginning to bother her again.

Kel looked at Rachel then at Roy. "I'm not waiting around for another robo-beast to come get us. Are you coming or what?" he said to both of them.

“Go on, I have something to do.” Rachel turned her back on them and slowly and carefully began to move away, partly to take it easy on her ankle, and partly to keep the noise down as she moved.

"Suit yourself," said Kel turning to go.

"Doc, wait!" exclaimed Roy. "We can't leave her, look at her. " he gestured toward the limping woman who was obviously in pain. Besides the fact that Roy could never leave a woman to fend for her self in a dangerous situation, his training in both the military and the fire department had drilled into him, never leave a man... or woman behind, no matter how arrogant, obnoxious or stubborn she was.

Rachel didn’t look at them again. Part of her hoped they would just make a run for it… because she didn’t them following her. The stubborn, proud part of her felt that they would just get in the way. Yet another part of her… just didn’t want them to get hurt. They would be better off if they made a run for it, now.

Regardless she ignored them fully. She moved slowly toward a clump of nearby bushes. They were very unhealthy-looking bushes, a collection of evergreens whose needles were turning brown. They were either diseased or lacking water. Still, she thought she saw something moving amidst them. Frowning, she slowly moved closer… hoping she wasn’t just being foolish.

Kel dropped his head for a moment. Then he looked back up at Roy with a sigh. He knew Roy was right. They should stay with her. All he really wanted to do was distance himself as far away from wherever here was as possible but he straightened up and started to follow Rachel. Roy let him pass then followed Kel.

Rachel inched closer to the bushes, taking extreme care. She wanted to know what was there because it might be useful. She raised her hand, getting ready to push some of the branches aside, but lowered it when she heard the footsteps approaching. “So you’re hanging around?” she murmured over her shoulder as she saw Brackett approaching.

"Against our better judgment," Kel said.

“Well if it’s any consolation, this is against my better judgment too,” Rachel commented with a smirk.

She then turned her attention back on the bush and, after sucking in a deep breath, she slowly began to push a couple of the branches aside with her hand, being extremely careful as she did so.

Sudden she let out a yelp as something grabbed her, and she was YANKED forward, halfway into the bushes.

Then suddenly she stopped moving, exclaimed something incomprehensible, and then backed out of the bushes on her hands and knees and then sat down on the ground. She then swore under her breath, and muttered, “Don’t SCARE me like that!”

Roy inched forward slowly, keeping his eyes on the bushes but keeping Rachel in his peripheral vision. He couldn't figure out what the hell was there or who she was talking to.

Kel was also staring intently. "What's... goin... on? he asked slowly, a puzzled expression on his face.

Just then a familiar face poked out of the bushes, wearing a sheepish expression. “Sorry Rachel,” the woman said as she looked at her friend. “I thought you were… something else, as you can probably understand.”

She then glanced toward the two men. Her eyes blinked a little. “Well, Dr. Brackett… good to see you again!” She smirked. “And with your shirt on this time to boot.”

Rachel groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Tasha, how did YOU get there?" gasped a shocked Dr. Brackett. He sounded ridiculous asking a question like that, but he couldn't help it.

Roy stared at her. He couldn't believe she looked so good. He remembered what she looked like when last he saw her. His mouth fell open in surprise and the two men stood there, dumbfounded.

“I came here because I heard that the Decepticons had captured some prisoners,” Tasha replied, looking them over and then focusing her gaze on Rachel. She came out of the bushes fully, and then extended a hand toward Rachel, an offer to help her up.

Rachel grabbed her hand and let her pull her to her feet. Then she winced. “You okay?” Tasha asked her.

“My arm hurts, thanks to you yanking on it,” Rachel said, reaching up and touching her shoulder. “This isn’t my day,” she then muttered under her breath.

Tasha frowned. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “You think you’ll be okay?”

Roy could see she was holding her arm at a funny angle. "Rachel, that arm looks really painful. Maybe you should let the doc look at it.”

Rachel scowled. “I think I’ll be fine in this case because I can still walk, at least,” she said.

Tasha glanced from her to Roy, then raised her eyebrows at the tone Rachel had used. Rachel never used that tone aboard the Enterprise… except perhaps around people she didn’t like.

"Rachel, for Pete's sake, it's obviously out of it's socket. It needs to be immobilized or it can pinch off tendons. I know I'm just a primitive doctor and all but unless you've got a quick fix, that can cause you to lose that arm. Or maybe you'd be happier that way?" Kel said, that last part dripping with sarcasm of his own. He was wishing he had never met either of these two odd women.

“Have I… missed something here?” Tasha asked inquisitively.

“I just want to get out of here,” Rachel growled.

“I don’t know, I think you should let the doctor take a look at your arm at least,” Tasha said, a bit of firmness showing up in her tone. “He’s pretty good at what he does… he saved my life, remember?” She pointed to herself indicatively.

“Yeah I know,” Rachel said, “but I’m not dying or anything.”

“Rachel, just where is this attitude of yours coming from?” Tasha asked, beginning to get a little annoyed. She happened to like Brackett, and she didn’t like the way Rachel was acting toward him.

“I do NOT have an attitude!” Rachel snipped defensively.

"Oh yes you do!" Roy and Kel both barked in unison.

“Looks like it’s unanimous,” Tasha commented.

Rachel glared. “Shut up.”

“No,” Tasha snapped, “YOU shut up. I don’t know what you’re problem is but we’ll talk about that later. Now, I could order you to let him take a look at your arm, you know.” She folded her arms.

“You can’t order me around, we’re the same rank!” Rachel retorted.

“I have seniority! I’m a bridge officer, at least sort of,” Tasha said.

Roy and Kel shared amused glances at the two women and waited to see what would happen.

“That doesn’t count!” Rachel barked back.

“Oh yes it does!” Tasha stated with authority. “And unless you want me to file a nasty report on your general behavior, I think you should behave and let the doctor take a look at that arm.”

“You wouldn’t DARE!”

“TRY me!”

Both of them glared at each other.

Kel couldn't decide if he should attempt to look or wait for them to finish their argument. The last thing he wanted was to be caught between them.

Roy was growing more amused by the moment. He felt a little guilty but something inside his head began chanting, "Cat fight! Cat fight! Cat fight!"

“Fine,” Rachel then hissed, resigning. She didn’t like it one bit. “Take a look at my arm!” she then spat at the doctor, and turned her head away to glare at Tasha again. She didn’t move toward the doctor, but didn’t move away either.

Tasha held Rachel’s gaze evenly, keeping her arms folded.

Brackett smiled at Tasha and nodded a silent "thanks" then moved towards Rachel. He didn't have a clear view of her shoulder because of her shirt and he wasn't about to ask her to remove it outside. He began palpating and probing the area as gently as he could. "Can you lift your arm at all?" he asked.

“No, it hurts like hell,” Rachel stated tersely. “I can barely move it at all.”

Tasha offered an apologetic smile toward Brackett. “Don’t worry, she tends to act like this even around her own doctor… just without so much of an attitude.”

Rachel looked like she wanted to say something, but thought better of it.

"The only thing I'm worried about is that shoulder. It needs to be immobilized. You don't happen to have anything I can make a sling out of do you?" he asked Tasha.

Tasha grinned. The expression held a fair amount of humor, and her eyes twinkled with mischief. “One shirt for another?”

Rachel’s eyes bugged out and she stared in disbelief as Tasha took off her shirt, right in front of all three of them. Thankfully she had a decent bra underneath, but the sight shocked her quite a bit.

Tasha then held it out to Dr. Brackett. “Here,” she said, and looked at Rachel with an amused expression.

[Marishal]

Kel flashed an amused grin at Tasha and accepted the shirt. He knew there wasn't any use in trying to refuse it.

Roy turned a few shades of red at Tasha's boldness as he slipped his scissors out of their holster and handed them to Kel.

Kel took the shears and cut the shirt so that he could tie it all the way around Rachel's torso, under the good arm and over the injured one to secure it to her body. He used another strip to create sort of a sling which he fastened to the first strip so that her arm was in a comfortable position, supported by the sling and secure. He made sure it wasn't too snug then admired his handy work as he handed the shears back to Roy.

"How's that feel?" he asked Rachel.

Rachel only grumbled something under her breath in reply.

Tasha then rolled her eyes, her hand moving toward the communicator on her belt. She handed it to Rachel, pressing it into the other woman’s good hand. “Here, I want you to go back to the ship.”

Rachel nodded. “It would be a pleasure. You coming?”

Tasha shook her head. “I’ve got a job to do down here.”

Rachel made a face, one that suggested, “Better you than me,” with a quick glance toward the doctor and the paramedic. She said nothing, though. She then flipped the communicator open and said briefly, “Rachel to Enterprise… one to beam up.”

Then, within seconds, she vanished into thin air.

One second Roy and Kel were looking at Rachel speaking into the small device she held and the next second she was just gone. Both men blinked repeatedly then looked at each other with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. After a moment they looked to Tasha.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Roy.

"That’s EXACTLY what happened in the OR when I defibrillated Tasha, or at least when I tried to. Those paddles hit the metal gurney just when the shock was delivered and knocked me on my butt!" He and Roy stared at Tasha expectantly, waiting for a good explanation.

Tasha glanced down toward the ground, looking a bit uncomfortable. In truth, she hadn’t exactly minded them seeing that, since they’d already seen far more than anyone from this time SHOULD have been exposed to. But that didn’t mean she felt comfortable explaining it in great detail.

“Excuse me,” she finally said, offering a small smile toward them both. “I have work to do.” With that she turned and began to head back in the direction of the door that Rachel, Brackett and Roy had escaped through just a short while ago.

"Oh no you don't," Kel took her by the arm, halting her attempt to retreat. "You're not going to get out of an explanation that easily."

"Yeah, I think we deserve to know just what is going on, seeing as we've been dragged into it too," Roy added.

Tasha sighed. “Trust me… some things, you don’t need to know.” She gave her arm a sharp yank, attempting to pull free from the doctor’s grasp. “Sorry, but I really need to go.”

Kel reached again and grasped her arm a bit more firmly and Roy stepped forward grasping her other arm. Roy addressed her before Kel had a chance to speak.

"Look, I realize it isn't your fault that we got dragged into whatever this... I don't even know what to call it... IS, but we've risked as much for you as you have for us and I think we deserve to at least know what the hell is going on, who you are, where you're from and how the hell you girls keep disappearing. Give us something to grasp onto, will you because right now none of this makes a damn bit of sense!"

Tasha sighed, glancing from one man to the other. Neither of them were threatening her in any way whatsoever, but she knew quite well that both of them together outnumbered her, and were stronger than her. She knew she wouldn’t be able to move until they were satisfied.

“Fine,” she said, tugging at their firm grip on her arms a little. It was not an attempt to break free, merely a way to express her displeasure at being restrained. “I’ll give you an answer that will pretty much sum it all up for you, and you can take it or leave it.” She took a deep breath and then said, “I’m from the future. The 23rd century, to be specific.”

Roy and Kel neither one so much as flinched at her explanation. As unbelievable as it might seem to the average citizen, they had seen monster killer beast robots, women disappear into thin air and injuries miraculously healed in record time. Their own reality no longer matched that of the average citizen. The explanation seemed no less plausible than the crazy things they had seen with their own eyes.

"Okay, so tell us more about that," Roy said as he let go of her. Kel let go also. "Why are you here and do you have any idea how or why we got involved in all this?" Kel asked her and Roy nodded in agreement while he spoke. The two men watched Tasha closely as they waited for more answers.

Tasha rubbed her arm, the one Brackett had grabbed firmly. It didn’t really hurt; it was more a gesture of protest than anything else. “Well,” she began, “me, Rachel, and the people like us… we shouldn’t even be here. In fact… well…” She paused, trying to think of a way to explain it in the simplest terms possible. After all, these men were not educated in the things that Starfleet personnel were familiar with, and the last thing she wanted was to explain things in ways that would just confuse them or lead to more questions. Time was precious, after all.

“Let’s just say there was a big… accident, or something like that, in space and time,” she finally said. “And that we shouldn’t be here. And those crazy machines shouldn’t be here, either. We are TRYING to straighten this mess out, and remove everything that’s trying to hurt people. We want to leave, and go back to our time, so we can leave you people alone to live out your own lives like you normally would without our interference, or the interference from the machines.” She stopped talking, waiting to see if they understood that.

Roy and Kel stared at her trying to make sense of her rambling. Both looked at her and raised their eyebrows slightly in a gesture that showed they were both listening and waiting for her to continue.

“Okay,” Tasha continued, clasping her hands together before her. “Well… the Decepticons—you know, the machines that kidnapped you and Rachel… they’re after several things. They want Earth’s natural resources, and apparently they also want to experiment on human beings. Apparently the more scientifically-minded ones like to see what they can do on organics, so to speak.” Her face twisted in disgust.

The two men listened carefully. Tasha didn't need to say more on that part of it. They could read between the lines given what they'd already witnessed. Roy's arms were crossed and he was working his lower lip as he contemplated what he was hearing. Kel was the next to speak.

"So what are we to do now? What are you planning to do and what is it you expect us to do?"

“I want you both to leave!” Tasha said, throwing her hands into the air for emphasis. “I need to go back in there and try and stop them. I’ve got someone coming to watch my back as well, and hopefully he’ll be here soon, but I need to go back in there NOW.” She looked at each of them directly. “So I think you should both leave, or if nothing else… try to stay out of sight. No sense in risking your lives.”

Roy wanted nothing more to get back to his own life and let his wife and friends know he was okay and to see that they were okay, but he was far too involved in this now to just let her go back in there alone. He knew Kel would feel the same way.

He looked at Kel and the two made eye contact for a moment then turned to Tasha. "We're going with you!" they both said in unison as if they had rehearsed it. The firmness in their voices made it very clear that it was their final word on the subject.

Tasha stared at them both for a moment, then shook her head partly in disbelief, partly in answer to them. Then without a word, she turned and headed back in the direction of the door that would lead into the Decepticon base, fully aware that the two men were following her.

When she made it to the door, she threw it open—then she broke into a run, sprinting as fast as she could. In truth, she was trying to lose her followers. This was HER mission, after all. People from this time zone had no business being here!

Both men were in top physical shape and had no problem keeping up with Tasha. She might not be willing to communicate her plan but that was fine. They would improvise. It was what they did every day of their lives anyway. They thrived at it. As they ran down the corridor, the door to the outside world slammed hard behind them sending a resounding metal clang that resembled the sound of prison doors slamming shut. It was not a good feeling but it was one they would have to ignore.

Tasha kept on going, never looking behind her. She could hear their footsteps pounding on the metal floor behind her, and she tried to go faster. But she was already going as fast as she could. So she simply ignored them and kept on going.

She rounded a bend in the corridor, her feet skidding on the smooth floor as she did so. Then she noticed another door up ahead, and she began to slow down as she got closer to it. She did not want to slam into it, after all.

Very slowly, she crept toward the door. There was no window in this door, so the only way she would be able to tell what was beyond it was by opening it. That was something she was hesitant to do. So she slowly moved toward it and pressed her ear against it, trying to listen for anything on the other side.

The two men caught up to her easily and slowed when she slowed. They stood behind her, ready for whatever might come in the next few seconds. At least, they hoped they were. The watched her in anticipation as she pressed her ear to the door to listen. Roy could feel and hear his heart beating in the stillness as they waited. Kel became a bit distracted as the moment seemed to hang there suspended in time. For some reason, he couldn't help but notice and stare at the defined muscles in Tasha's exposed arms, neck and back. She looked so strong and healthy. There were no signs of scarring even. He found it hard to grasp after the condition he had seen her in such a short time ago.

Tasha finally moved her ear away from the door, turning to scowl at both men. “Why are you following me?” she hissed through her teeth. “There’s no reason for you to be in here. I’m not even from your time.”

"Maybe not," countered Roy. "But you're here IN our time. And in our line of work, we never leave the team!" Roy was careful not to say what he really felt. As a gentleman he would never leave a woman to fend for herself. But then again, his explanation wasn't wrong either. In firefighting the rule was two in/two out.

Kel didn't speak, he just continued to stare at her, examining from a distance the smoothness of her skin on her chest and stomach now that she was turned toward them.

Tasha looked at Roy, then her gaze settled on the doctor. She frowned at him, beginning to feel uncomfortable at the way he was staring at her. “What?” she finally said, a little irritated and weirded out at being stared at like that. “Why are you looking at me like that?” She quickly realized it wasn’t a wolfish look, although she was starting to regret now that she didn’t have a shirt on. It was more like an analytical look.

Kel realized he had made her uncomfortable and felt instantly sorry for it. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just can't believe how healthy you are and you don't have any scarring or residual complications after all I saw you go through. I'm frankly just amazed."

Her gaze softened a little, and she nodded slightly in understanding. “Yeah… I guess you’ve never seen anything like this before, huh?” She grinned in spite of herself.

"Not hardly. I really didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“It’s okay.” Tasha then turned her back on them and reached for the door handle, opening it slowly. She peered out through it, then nodded to herself. “Looks like the coast is clear,” she murmured. “For the moment, at least.” She then swung it wide open, and walked on through.

“Careful,” she added as the two men followed her. “There might be… traps, along the way. They’re wary of intruders here.”

Kel and Roy followed her silently looking all around them trying to assess their surroundings as they went. Neither knew exactly what to expect but they could both feel the adrenaline pumping through their bodies as the anticipation grew.

Tasha silently walked for a while and then rounded a corner just up ahead. However, her movements ended up springing a well-concealed booby trap. Something that looked like a large, sharp, metallic claw sprung out of the wall, straight toward her. She yelped and jumped forward, moving quickly enough so that it almost missed her entirely. It merely grazed her back, leaving a minor cut between her shoulder blades. Ironically enough, due to her quick movements, the back of her bra actually caught the brunt of it when it slashed across her. However, since it sliced right through the bra… it caused it to slip off of her entirely.

After moving several feet away, Tasha glanced down at herself, realizing what happened. Then she gasped, throwing her arms across her bosom and staring toward the men with wide-eyed horror. The small slash on her back was the last thing on her mind at the moment, even though she could feel the warm, wet stickiness that slid down her skin.

Roy and Kel stopped short, narrowly avoiding the trap themselves. When things had settled a bit, their eyes were on Tasha. Roy realized she was exposed and immediately averted his eyes to protect her dignity. Kel stared a moment in surprise and then also averted his eyes to the floor. It was then he saw the crimson spots on the floor. "Tasha, turn around, you're bleeding!" he commanded.

"Doc, your shirt," said Roy gesturing toward Tasha with his head.

Tasha kept her hands and arms pressed protectively against her bosom, then found herself rolling her eyes. “Oh brother, not again,” she muttered, remembering the last time something like this happened. Only this time it wasn’t anywhere near as serious. She felt completely fine, except for a miniscule amount of pain on her back.

"Just let me look at it," insisted the doctor. While he waited for her to comply he removed a shoe and took off his sock.

Tasha blinked. “What are you doing?” she asked, looking at him weirdly as he took off his sock.

"DOC," said Roy more firmly gesturing again toward Tasha with his head and pointing at Kel's torso.

Kel looked down at himself then back to Roy as it registered what Roy was indicating. Then he slipped his bare foot back into his shoe as he began to unbutton his shirt. "I'm going to stop the bleeding using my sock for a compress since I don't have any better options. And if you cooperate, I'll reward you with my shirt to cover up with."

Roy grinned at the doc's bargaining and watched to see what Tasha's reaction would be.

Tasha shook her head slightly. “Here we go again,” she muttered, and rolled her eyes. “Fine let’s just get this over with,” she grumbled, turning her back toward him. At least this wouldn’t be as bad as last time. THAT much she was sure of.

Kel examined it quickly then pressed his sock to her back and using one hand on her shoulder to steady her, he applied firm but gentle pressure on the injury until the bleeding subsided. It didn't take long. He wished he'd had something to bandage it with but he didn't so it would remain open. At least is was a small flesh wound and not very deep. It shouldn't really present a problem.

"There, that's better," he said, removing the sock and shoving it in his pants pocket for lack of a better place to put it. He handed her the shirt and turned away to give her some privacy. Roy also turned away. For some reason, Roy found the whole situation a tad bit amusing, though he hadn't forgotten the seriousness of the entire situation. Kel seemed rather indifferent.

Tasha mumbled something like “thank you” as she threw on the shirt in record time, hastily closing up the buttons in the front. Frankly, this shirt was annoying. She wasn’t used to having to deal with buttons. But it was better than nothing. Then she began to look around, her eyes carefully scanning the area. She was now more alert than ever for traps.

"At least we avoided one booby trap," said Kel as they followed Tasha down the corridor, more alert than ever.

"Yeah, both of hers are free," said Roy quietly with an amused smirk and hoping only Kel heard him.

Tasha froze, then slowly turned her head to scowl at them both. Then her gaze focused on Roy. “Good thing I’m not Rachel, and it’s a good thing SHE didn’t hear you say that,” she finally muttered. She then turned and, stamping one foot on the floor, started to head off down the next corridor, her head held high.

"He can't help it," defended Kel. "He's a fireman. It's what keeps them sane, the odd sense of humor in the worst of situations. Don't take it personally."

In spite of herself, Tasha snorted. “Yeah well… I have to put up with similar humor where I come from,” she commented without looking at either of them. “I guess I just have to accept it. Men are men, no matter what time they’re from.”

Although it probably annoyed Tasha, both men felt oddly satisfied by that statement. It was some kind of male bonding thing. Men were just men and women were just... well... difficult. And amazing... and annoying... and incredible. At least the universe still made sense.

"No reason to improve on perfect!" Kel chuckled.

Before Tasha could make any kind of reply, there was a sudden noise from just ahead. There was a bend in the corridor a few meters before them, and there was something coming, something just beyond the bend. Whatever it was, it would probably be in sight soon.

Tasha tensed, and slowly reached for the phaser in her pocket.

Roy and Kel pressed themselves to the walls of the corridor and waited, holding their breath.

The thing that rounded the bend and came into view was… something that looked very odd, and very exotic at the same time. It was a gryphon, as large as a full-grown tiger, yet entirely brown in color. It was both furred and feathered, having thick brown fur on most of its body. It had a pair of feathered wings on its back. It’s front legs were like bird’s feet, its hind legs were like that of a cat’s. A furry tail lashed back and fourth, having a neat row of feathers on the end of it. It had two cat-like ears on its head, a pair of enormous golden eyes, and a large beak for a mouth.

It gazed at the three humans for a moment, its beak clicking open, cocking its head to one side. Then it let out a small screech, taking a couple of steps forward.

Suddenly it snarled, then made a series of noises that were a bit too ordered and rhythmical to be mere animal sounds; it almost sounded like it was speaking, or trying to speak. Perhaps it was another language. Tasha tensed, then gritted her teeth and made a growling noise of her own.

Then the creature snarled and lunged toward her, knocking her flat against the floor. She grunted, and found herself staring up into the bright, golden eyes as the gryphon stood over her, staring down at her.

Just then, Tasha started laughing, and she playfully kicked at the towering creature’s leg. “Cut it out,” she panted. Then the gryphon made a small, human-like chuckle, and bent down his head near her. She moved herself into a sitting position and reached up to pet his beak.

"For Pete's sake!" said Roy. "Another friendly. It's getting hard to tell the players without a program!"

"You can say that again, but I'll take friendly over the alternative any day when it comes to these mechanical beasts," said Kel, relaxing some.

Tasha pulled herself up, then grinned at the guys. “This is Amberclaw,” she introduced.

Then the creature fluffed his fur a little and then spoke in perfect English—though he had an odd accent. “Nice to meet you both.”

"Likewise, I'm sure," said Roy nodding toward it.

"Glad your a friend of hers," said Kel. "It would seem we can use all the help we can get."

The large, golden eyes on the creature then narrowed. He then looked at Tasha. “Are they… with you?” he asked, sounding a little puzzled.

Tasha shrugged. “They insisted on coming along,” she stated simply.

Amberclaw’s eyes looked back at the two men. “What… are you called?” he then asked.

"Oh, Sorry. I'm Roy and this here's Doctor Brackett," said Roy gesturing toward his friend.

The large creature bobbed his head in a little nod, acknowledging both their names and making a mental note in his processor, registering who they were in his memory banks. “We’ll take it from here,” he said. “No offense, but the two of you would only get in the way. Tasha and I are more capable of dealing with this kind of situation,” he added.

“Amberclaw,” Tasha said quietly, leaning toward him. His head swung in her direction to look at her, and she knew she had his attention. “They’re pretty insistent about coming along. I don’t think they’re going to turn back.”

Amberclaw looked back at Roy and Brackett, his golden eyes blinking a little.

"You heard the lady," said Roy. "We're already in this up to the teeth. We intend to see it through."

"Damn right," agreed Doctor Brackett.

The gryphon studied them for a long moment, then his golden eyes narrowed into slits and his beak opened to release an ear-splitting screech. His ears went flat against his skull, his wings lifted and spread out menacingly, and his flexed his bird-like talons on his front feet. Then he snarled.

Tasha flinched and stared at him, wide-eyed. She wasn’t used to seeing this sort of behavior from him, except toward enemies.

Then, with a growl underlining each syllable, Amberclaw spoke again to the men. “I said leave, NOW.”

Roy and Kel immediately covered their ears to protect themselves from the high pitched screeches. When the growling had ceased and Amberclaw stood menacingly staring them down, Roy and Kel stood facing him with their arms folded over their chests and didn't move for perhaps 20 seconds before they again spoke in unison as though they had planned it. "We're not leaving."

Amberclaw hissed, then leaped forward and used the soft part of the top of his head to throw Brackett off-balance. It wasn’t enough to hurt him or send him flying, even though Amberclaw had enough strength to do that if he’d wanted to. Then he spun around and planted one of his bird-like feet on Roy’s chest and pressed him firmly against the wall, holding him in place.

Tasha stared at all of this with shock. “Amberclaw, WHAT are you doing?” she exclaimed.

However, the creature ignored her. He looked intently at Roy, his eyes boring into the fireman’s. “I could kill you in an instant!” Amberclaw said. Somehow though, it didn’t seem like a threat; there was no growling, and nothing menacing about his tone. It sounded more like a statement of fact. “And the beasts in this place would do a lot worse than I would do to you. You sure you don’t want to leave?”

"I.. SAID I'll STAY!" Roy said with determination as he stared the creature back down. He knew the creature was right but somehow he felt that staying was the right thing to do. He was just glad one of these beasts would be on the same team he was. In his peripheral vision he could see that Kel had stood back up and returned to the defiant position he had been standing in a moment before.

He wasn't backing down either.

Amberclaw glanced from one to the other. Then he withdrew, taking a few steps back, eyeing each man again. Then his eyes brightened and he chuckled a little. “Very well,” he said, nodding a little. “If I can’t scare you off… then I think you’re just the right kind of men to come with us.” He nodded again. “I must say I’m impressed… I wasn’t really expecting this much from a couple of primitive Earthlings.”

He then glanced in Tasha’s direction. Her expression spoke volumes. Amberclaw then made a throat-clearing sound, and turned back toward Roy and Brackett. “No offense intended,” he added quickly.

"None taken," Roy said. "Right Doc?" Roy made a mental note to himself to change his shorts when he got back!

"Right. Now, what's the plan?"

[Marishal]

After a few minutes of discussion, it was decided that they would split up into two teams. That way they could cover more ground and hopefully accomplish their mission objectives more swiftly. So when they came to the next area where the corridor split in two directions, they split up into two teams. Amberclaw and Brackett went left, Tasha and Roy went right.

Tasha glanced over her shoulder as she and Roy headed down their corridor. Frankly she knew that Amberclaw knew how to look after himself, and he could definitely protect the doctor if need be. But she still didn’t like the idea of leaving him in some ways.

“Okay,” she murmured out loud, “let’s just hope we don’t get killed here.”

“That's definitely MY plan... to NOT get killed," Roy affirmed.

Tasha chuckled. “Yeah I can see why it would be,” she replied.

They continued on for a few moments in silence. Eventually they came to another door, which Tasha stopped at. She pressed her ear against it, listening to something on the other side. Then she glanced at Roy. “I think I found someone I’m looking for,” she whispered.

Roy resisted the urge to ask questions as he could see she was deeply concerned about what was on the other side of the door. He waited quietly, looking around to make sure they hadn't picked up any company yet.

Very slowly, Tasha reached over and touched the door handle. Giving it a sharp turn, she then cracked it open and peered inside.

A high-pitched, animal-sounding shriek sounded and she slammed the door shut, her eyes widening. “Uh oh,” she muttered.

"What does that mean?" Roy asked, ready to follow Tasha's lead.

“It means you should probably wait out here,” Tasha said, lowering her voice and trying to wave him away. “Let me handle this.”

"Oh no, I'm not waiting around here to meet one of those things by myself. And I'm not letting you meet on alone either! You go, I go!" Roy replied.

Tasha sighed, then shrugged. “Okay, but I have to warn you… well, there’s an alien creature in there, and she’s HUNGRY.”

"Then we'll have to stay out of her way." Roy answered, undaunted.

“Uh…” Tasha grinned in spite of herself, letting out a nervous chuckle. She opened her mouth, then closed it. She looked like she wasn’t quite sure how to explain something.

"What?" Roy asked looking at her and seeing something in her eyes that he wasn't sure how to interpret.

“Well…” Tasha hesitated, licking her lips. She looked thoughtful. “I think the Decepticons have been holding her prisoner, for a while, and… those noises she made? It sounds like she hasn’t had anything to… consume for a while. So… I may have to feed her.” Tasha looked away, trailing off.

"What exactly does she eat?" asked Roy starting to get an uneasy feeling about this.

“Don’t ask,” Tasha said, looking uneasy. She was staring at the doorknob, although she was doing it mainly so she didn’t have to look at Roy. “Look, you don’t need to see this. Could you just wait out here, please?”

"Nope. I already told you, You go, I go. We firemen live by it."

“Okay then… but can you just promise me one thing?” Tasha asked, looking straight at him yet not quite meeting his eyes.

"What's that?"

“No matter what happens in there, DON’T interfere,” Tasha said, holding up her hand for emphasis.

"Scout's Honor," Roy promised holding up a hand as he swore it. But he also had his fingers crossed in his pocket.

Tasha nodded, but there was a skeptical look on her face, as if she didn’t really believe him. She opened the door and stepped inside, knowing that the fireman was right behind her.

What they saw inside was a large room, and there was a cage similar to the ones that Roy, Rachel and Brackett had been put in on the far side of the room. Inside the cage was a large creature that looked like an overgrown bat. It was dark gray in color, almost black. It had fiery red eyes and a long narrow snout with triangular ears, making its head look more like a fox’s than a bat’s. It also had long, sharp talons on the ends of its wings and on each of its toes.

It’s eyes widened as the two humans approached it, then it let out an ear-piercing shriek, opening its mouth wide to reveal a row of long, razor-sharp teeth.

Roy, who clearly didn't scare easily still shuddered at the sight of the beast. He thought to himself, What is she going to feed this thing?" Not really wanting to know the answer.

Tasha slowly kept moving forward and then stopped when she was about seven feet from the cage. She then slowly stooped down so that she was at the creature’s eye level. “Hey there, take it easy,” she murmured to it. “I’m here to get you out of here.” She smiled a tight smile. “Been a while since you’ve had a meal, hasn’t it?”

As if in answer the creature shrieked again and slammed itself against the bars, almost as if it wanted to take a chomp out of her.

Roy watched warily from behind Tasha. He wasn't afraid, but he was definitely uneasy. His internal alarms were going off screaming at him that this was not a safe scene and they should not be here, but he wasn't leaving Tasha alone.

Tasha cast a quick glance toward Roy, narrowing her eyes. “Now, remember you promised you wouldn’t interfere,” she told him firmly. She then waited, as if wanting him to reaffirm that.

With one hand in his pocket he held up the other hand and nodded at her. "I'm just along for the ride," he said in a calm voice that he hoped sounded convincing.

Giving Roy a look, Tasha then slowly moved closer to the cage, closing in the distance between herself and it. The creature snarled menacingly.

When she stood about two feet from the cage she paused, obviously getting as close as she dared. Then she took a deep breath, as if preparing herself for something.

Roy watched with a mixture of fascination and horror as his paramedic trained sixth sense told him he wasn't going to like what he was about to see.

Tasha took a moment longer to brace herself, then she acted very quickly as if she didn’t want to lose her nerve. She bolted forward and thrust her arm in through the bars.

The creature reacted so quickly it seemed to move quicker than a bolt of lightening. Its teeth ripped across her arm, several inches behind her wrist, then wrapped its mouth around the wound. Tasha cried out and grasped one of the bars with her free arm, hissing in pain and squeezing the metal. But she forced herself to stay still.

Roy fought every urge in his body to bolt forward and try and stop her before her arm went through the bars. He resisted only because he was sure she knew what she was doing but he was ready to do something at any moment. Just WHAT that something might be he had no idea, but he was good at improvising so he knew if the moment called for it, he would react. He moved forward and put his strong hand on her shoulder to reassure her that he was there and ready to help.

The moments ticked by as the creature licked and sucked on the wound, both hungrily and greedily. Tasha’s eyes darted around the room, occasionally looking at the creature and looking away. She was trying to give it a chance to have a good meal, especially since it had been locked up in this cage for who knew how long. After all, if she had been locked up like that, she would want someone to give her as much food and water as possible, right?

"Uh, Tasha, be careful. You can only afford so much blood loss there. You won't do anyone any good in hypovolemic shock you know." Roy cautioned her.

Tasha glanced at Roy, then back at the creature. After a moment longer she tugged on her arm. “That’s enough,” she told the alien, and attempted to withdraw her arm.

The creature hissed and held on stubbornly.

Tasha scowled and made a growling noise of her own. “I said THAT’S ENOUGH!” She thrust her free arm into the cage long enough to slap the creature. It gave a little yelp of pain, which allowed Tasha to pull both of her arms free and she staggered backward, moving a safe distance from the bars.

“Shit,” she growled, looking down at her arm. That creature had not only bitten her good, but chewed up her arm pretty good as well. She clamped her free hand over the wound, only to find that her hand couldn’t even cover it fully. She turned her back on Roy, still grumbling.

"Let me have a look at it," said Roy authoritatively but kindly.

Tasha shook her head. “Don’t bother,” she muttered. “I’ll take care of it.” She began to press on it, attempting to stop the bleeding by applying pressure.

The creature let out a small mournful noise, obviously disliking the fact that its meal had been interrupted. Yet somehow it looked… satisfied, nonetheless.

Roy wanted to get a look at that arm, but she was doing the right thing applying pressure so he waited and watched, biting his lower lip as usual while he waited.

Tasha made a face as her hand became slick with blood. Shaking her head she sat down on the floor and then kicked her shoes off while wiping her hand and her injured arm off on her pants. Yuck. But it was necessary. She then took off her socks and then began to use one of them as a compress.

She glared in the direction of the cage. “You better have appreciated that,” she muttered.

Roy stepped closer to Tasha then squatted down. He reached out to her arm. "Why don't you let me apply the pressure while you rest?" he suggested gently.

She looked at him for a moment, then nodded a little. “Yeah sure, thanks.” She then held out her arm toward him.

Roy took her arm in one hand and wrapped his large hand around it applying surprisingly firm pressure. He glanced around the room looking for anything he might be able to make a pressure bandage out of. He saw nothing lying about.

Tasha grunted, disliking the pressure and the pain, but she forced herself to keep still. She simply squeezed her eyes shut. “So, guess you think this was pretty stupid, huh?” she asked, more as a way to distract herself than anything else.

"That's not my job. Only you can decide if that was stupid or not. But, if you're going to spring that thing, I'd rather her belly was satisfied first," Roy acknowledged. He changed the subject. "I need a long two inch strip of fabric to make a pressure bandage. Then we can use it to wrap this wound and it will apply the pressure for us. Any ideas?"

Right at that moment, the door suddenly burst open and a figure rushed inside. To both of their surprise, it was none other than Rachel, apparently fully healed and back in action. Her eyes glanced briefly around the room and quickly focused on Rachel and Roy, not quite seeing anything else.

Rachel scowled. “What did he DO to you?” she snapped, immediately jumping to conclusions.

"I applied pressure to her chewed up arm!" Roy answered with irritation. Then it hit him that Rachel looked perfectly normal, like an athletic woman on her way to the gym. "What in heaven's name..." his voice trailed off as his mouth hung open a bit. He stared at her unbelieving when he realized she apparently had no wounds at all.

Rachel ignored him, taking in the rest of the room. Then she spotted the creature in the cage. “Ah, I see what happened now,” she said, making a little nod to herself, obviously filling in the blanks.

Tasha was scowling. “I think you owe Roy an apology,” she snipped.

Rachel shrugged. “Sorry.” Her tone was full of attitude.

"Right." Roy said, voice dripping with sarcasm. He looked back at Tasha. "Ideas?" he reminded her that he'd just asked a question.

That was when Rachel rolled her eyes and held out a black kit. “Here, first aid kit,” she muttered. “Has everything in it… including large bandages and gauze.” She held it out toward Tasha, trying to ignore Roy.

Roy reached out with one arm toward Rachel to take the kit. "Do you mind?" he asked as he grasped it in his hand. This woman's aggravating disposition had not changed since she had made her prior retreat.

Rachel gave him a look. “Oh right, you wanna play doctor,” she muttered. “Like you did on me back there in that room.”

“Rachel, give it a rest,” Tasha snapped.

“Whatever,” Rachel said.

Roy had finally had it. He took the kit, opened it and found the large gauze and a roller bandage. Quickly he applied the gauze to the wound and wrapped the bandage around it tightly, cris-crossing on the back side of the arm and tying off at the distal end, near the wrist. He checked her brachial pulse and capillary refill then asked her how it felt. "How's it feel, besides tight?" he asked.

“It hurts,” Tasha murmured. “And it feels tight, but okay otherwise.”

Rachel snorted. “He just wants you to say that so he’ll feel good about his limited medical knowledge. All he wants is an ego boost,” she sneered.

Roy snapped his head toward her then stepped right up to her and stood within inches of her, looking down on her considerably shorter frame. "Look, Lady! I don't know what your problem is, you didn't seem to mind my help when I was getting knocked on my backside from an electrical shock to get you freed from your predicament. I don't know what your beef is with me but I've had just about enough of your rotten attitude and hostility so why don't you try just keeping your trap shut for a change unless you have something helpful to contribute!" With that he stepped back two steps feeling much better with that off his chest.

Rachel blinked, staring up at him with widened eyes.

Tasha cleared her throat, loudly.

Casting a quick glance toward her, Rachel then glanced toward her own feet. “I was sent back in here to check up on you,” she said, nodding toward Tasha. “Seems you’re okay. So… I’ll wait outside until I’m needed.” With that she turned on her heel and marched out of the room.

Tasha watched her go, then smiled a small, apologetic smile toward Roy. “I’m really sorry she’s like that,” she murmured.

"What is her beef?" asked Roy. He wasn't used to such hostility for trying to help someone. Most people were appreciative or at least indifferent.

Tasha sighed and closed her eyes momentarily. “I know exactly what her problem is,” she murmured. “Do you really want to know?”

“Yeah, I do," he said. He wasn't sure he really did, but he hoped that it might help him relate better to her.

“Well, you have to understand that we’re from the future, where things are very different than they are here in your time,” she began. She cocked her head to one side thoughtfully. “Let me ask you this, Roy. How would you feel if you and Dr. Brackett were somehow thrown, say… a couple of centuries or so into the past? Let’s say you got put back into a time when people did not have anti-biotics and didn’t know a damn thing about germs. And suppose they didn’t have ANY of the medical equipment that you people take for granted in your time. And as you think of that, tell me honestly… would you feel comfortable if someone with such limited knowledge tried to treat you, or even just touch you? Especially with all of the knowledge you and the good doctor have, and all of the medical equipment and drugs you have at your disposal right now?”

"I would imagine I would have some reservations, but if there wasn't a better alternative available at the time I think I would logically give some leeway. But that's just me. I can understand her being uncomfortable with our methods, but they work. They save lives. And it isn't my doing that she's been immersed in what is apparently a primitive culture to her. What ever her problem is she seems to have it towards me personally. She didn't respond to Doctor Brackett as acidly as she has to me. She ignored me in the beginning and then grew increasingly hostile towards me.”

“Yeah well… I think I know the reason for that, too,” Tasha murmured thoughtfully. “You see, well… she doesn’t really know anything about you. I told her all about how Brackett helped me and saved my life, so… she probably figures that he is someone she can count on a little more. Trust me, she probably doesn’t think all THAT highly of him, but she’d prefer to interact with him instead of you.”

She paused for a moment, then continued. “Basically she’s gotten it into her head that the people of this time are… well, little more than Neanderthals, I guess you could say. At least compared to all of the knowledge and technology she’s used to having available to her. I think it’s just that… since she knows nothing about you, she’s taking out all of her prejudices and misconceptions about the people of this time on you. She can’t do that with Brackett because I spoke so highly of him and she probably considers him capable in her own way. But you…” Tasha smiled sadly. “She’s free to think whatever she wants about you. I’m sure you get what I’m saying.”

"I guess I get what you're saying, I'm just not sure what to do about it. I don't want to continue this strained communication with her. I can usually get along with about anyone but I'm not going to just sit around and be thought of as an idiot either. I'm good at what I do and I take pride in my abilities. I want to make things a little better for people, nothing more, nothing less. I wonder what I can do so that she'll at least be civil. I don't want to provoke her in any way. I just want to get along."

“I know that,” Tasha said with a nod. “And well… I’m not sure what to do about it either. Rachel’s always been very stubborn. It’s like… talking does little good. She either has to understand things on her own, even if it means realizing she’s wrong, or not. Otherwise…” She shrugged.

"Well I guess there's not much else to do then. How's that arm doing? Does it look like it's slowed or is it oozing through?"

Tasha glanced at her arm. “Seems okay,” she murmured. She then reached for her shoes and began to put them on carefully.

"Would you like some help?" Roy offered, noting that she was wincing with each movement of the injured arm.

“I guess I’d appreciate that,” Tasha muttered. She hated accepting his offer because it made her feel like a child. But she didn’t exactly have much choice either.

Roy made quick work of getting her shoes on, trying not to add to the feelings he was sure it evoked. He knew how he'd feel if someone had to help him with simple tasks like that. He finished then held out his hand to help her up from the floor. "What now?" he asked her.