Attack of the Hamstribbles
ATTACK OF THE HAMSTRIBBLES
By Lepidoptlover
Very few things scared Dr. Leonard McCoy; dangerous landing parties, diseases, plagues, scalpel wheedling Super Humans, charging knights on horseback with lances lowered or even an accident prone, death defiant captain. However, it was well known that he was aviaphobic, transporter phobic, and astrophobic. Having his body crushed in the metal of a burning shuttlecraft accident, having his atoms scattered out into space and time by a pinhole in the ship’s hull or a transporter malfunction were his mental Achilles heel.
Another phobia that no one knew about was that he was scared of rats, musophobia (fear of mice) and murophobia (fear of mice and rats). The laboratory rats that were bred in a controlled environment did not bother him at all. It was the wild rodents that carried a multitude of nasty diseases such as lymphocytic choriomeningitis, yersinia pestis (the Black Death), hanta virus, rat bite fever, hemorrhagic fever, lassor fever…..and the list continues. He remembered when he was a young boy visiting his grandparents’ farm in Georgia the sound of the large roof rats running around up in the attic. The sound of their sharp nails scratching and the sound of their sharp teeth knawing on the wood beams and items up in the attic, kept him awake for hours. Several times he saw their silhouettes as they ran down the tree branches by his window. Some of those rats were as big as cats.
As man ventured into outer space, so did rats; just like long ago when they were the unwanted stowaways on sea faring ships. These rats adapted easily to their new environments on other planets. They would breed with the local ‘rodents’ and their numbers quickly grew especially on a planet that did not have a predacious species to keep their numbers in check. Many of the indigenous rodents were large and the Earth rats easily assimilated this genetic code into their DNA.
On new but soon to be relevant topic, thanks to Cyrano Jones who peppered many space stations and star bases with his tribbles, these ‘pests’ were hybridized into a new improved tribble and the ‘s’ was switched from pest to pets. These tribbles did not have voracious appetites and the ability to bare large litters of little tribbles (named kittens). A little larger in size, these tribbles had dainty appetites, lacked the ‘rodent smell’ and an average litter was one to two kittens. Many people liked the new improved tribbles but their kids soon grew bored with them. Then two enterprising biologists had the brilliant idea of breeding rats with the tribbles. Hamsters did not have tails, mice were too tiny, gerbils were too crazy and Guinea pigs did not turn out well. The roof rat (Rattus rattus) was selected because they were free and abundant, they had long tails, they were very agile and they would give the tribble the spark that this new pet would need. These clever ‘scientists’ named their new pet Hamstribbles. Kids loved hamsters; parents hated rats but everyone (excluding Klingons) loved tribbles. The Hamstribble was a ball of fur with two tiny ears, a cute little pointed nose, a long tail, large hind legs and on the end of the front legs were cute little ‘hands’. These new pets were amazing: they could jump, run, play, and perform easy tricks, cuddle and purr like a tribble. The one drawback was their size; they could grow to be 5-8 lbs. In spite of their size they were sweet and fun. But with all pets they soon outgrew their welcome and they were released or escaped the confines of their domestic homes. Their genetic makeup made it easy to breed with the local rodents and the Hamstribbles became feral. They quickly acquired the diseases that their wild family had but they still maintained the puffball with a tail appearance. There were some traders who wanted to capitalize on these Hamstribbles, and they trapped and sold some of these feral creatures.
On a three hour leave on Zebulon 4, two of the Enterprise’s crewmen saw these pets for sale at a village shop and fell in love with them. They bought 4 and placed the Hamstribbles in a case provided by the shop that the transporter scanners could not detect, and they brought them on board. The novelty of the new pets wore off after seven days when these supposedly gentle pets were not at all like the information they had read about. They made their friends swear an oath not to tell anyone about these creatures or it would not go well for them (their friends, not the Hamstribbles). As long as the Hamstribbles were being fed, they were easy to get along with. However, the small confines of their cabin began to bring out the worst in their pets…..and not to mention the smell! The Hamstribbles’ weight increased and their size grew abnormally fast after they purchased them, each one was over ten pounds now. The crewmen were at a loss of what to do with these pets, they couldn’t beam them off of the ship, they couldn’t toss them out into space via the debris ports because there would be too many witnesses (who wouldn’t notice a ten pound fur ball!) and the ships sensors would pick up anything biological being expelled off of the ship.
It was two weeks after the arrival of their pets, that the crewmen became ill. When they reported to Sick Bay, they were feverish, achy, their lymph nodes swollen, they had lung infections and they both had wide spread peculiar rashes on their skin. Dr. McCoy noticed the large bite like marks and scratches on their skin, but neither patient gave out their secret. McCoy placed the crewmen in isolation and ran the necessary cultures and tests to determine what was causing these previously healthy men to become so ill. Both crewmen denied leaving the village and venturing out into the planet’s wild environment. As the strength of their infections grew the life force of the crewmen declined. After only two days in Sick Bay, the young men died due to their overwhelming bacterial and viral infections. Their autopsies revealed the damage done to their organs by the biotoxins released from the unknown bacteria and viruses. McCoy researched the symptoms and the organisms but could not find any specific diseases.
Soon afterwards, the crewmen’s friends became ill with the similar symptoms from the same bacteria and viruses. These sick individuals did inform McCoy of the pets that were brought aboard the ship illegally. The pets were hamsters or something like that. The deceased crewmen could not have acquired their sicknesses from these tiny pets. The bite marks and scratches were from larger animals. These two crewmen probably ventured outside the town’s limits and were attacked by some wild animals. Their friends’ sickness was treated with antibiotics and antivirals but these medications had limited effects on the patients. The patients were placed on full life support to let their bodies rest and let the medications, IV fluids and respirators perform the work for them. McCoy tried partial blood transfusions, taking some of the infected blood out and replacing it with healthy blood. However, the bacteria and viruses continued to multiply and overwhelm their host’s bodies. McCoy informed Kirk and Spock of the severity of the illnesses, the tragic deaths of the first two crewmen and the spread of the diseases to their friends.
McCoy went to the quarters where these ‘pets’ were being kept. He used his emergency pass code and opened the door. What he saw what strait out of one of his worst nightmares; shredded bedding, broken furniture, scratched walls, blood smears on the walls and bedding, food scattered everywhere and the overwhelming odor of urine and feces. Then four large furry bodies rose up on their hind legs, they clicked their sharp long front incisors, the long hairless tails swished like bullwhips and the front claws were held up in a defensive posture. McCoy immediately closed and sealed the door. He could feel himself hyperventilating, his heart rate drummed in his ears and he slowly slid down the wall outside the quarters. He sat on the floor for several minutes, trying to get his wits collected. Did he really see what he thought he saw? Then he stood up and opened the door again, and he was greeted in a more vicious manner, the creatures hissed and spat at him and clawed the air in front of them. He immediately resealed the door and ran back to Sick Bay.
Upon entering Sick Bay, McCoy was panting and pale. Christine stopped him.
“What is wrong, Doctor? You look as though you’ve seen a ghost.” She asked.
McCoy only stared at her wide eyed and opened mouthed. He attempted to say something but he was physically unable to speak. This was the first time she had ever seen McCoy speechless. He ran to his office and Chapel followed him. He sat down at his desk, wide eyed and not blinking, he was paler and he was sweating profusely.
“Dr. McCoy, what is wrong? What happened?” She asked as she stepped closer to observe his bizarre behavior. Almost a minute passed when he turned to her and in a voice no louder than a whisper he said.
“Get Spock.” Then he turned back to just stare straight ahead, no further words were spoken.
Kirk and Spock were surprised at Chapel’s information; at first they thought McCoy put her up to some prank. McCoy would never pull such a stunt with the illnesses he was dealing with, but she was insistent in the reality of McCoy’s strange behavior. In the event of having Sick Bay full of critically ill patients, McCoy would be on hyper-drive, shouting orders, running tests and be at the bedsides of his patients. He would not be hiding in his office and unable to speak.
“Bones unable to talk and he appeared to have seen a ghost.” Captain Kirk replied looking concerned at his First Officer.
“Indeed, Captain this is totally out of character for Dr. McCoy. He would not abandon his patients especially after two have perished.” Spock said.
Kirk gave the Con to Scotty and he and Spock headed to Sick Bay.
When they entered McCoy’s office, he was bent over his desk and his head was resting on his crossed forearms.
“Bones, what’s wrong? What happened?” Kirk asked.
“Rats” McCoy murmured, his head still resting on his arms.
Kirk looked at Spock confused. “Rats as in rodents or rats as in ‘Dammit, Jim’?”
Spock’s eyebrow rose at Kirk’s question.
“Big, ugly, smelly hairy rats, they hissed and spat at me.” McCoy said as he sat up. His face was still very pale and his eyes appeared wild and they were reddened.
“Where exactly are these ‘rats’. Dr. McCoy?” Spock asked. His eyes scanned McCoy’s desk and office for a bottle of whiskey or brandy. There had been no mention of any new life forms on the Enterprise, especially vermin.
“I hate rats….I hate them, Jim, Spock….why do they have to be so damned big and furry?” McCoy asked, his voice becoming stronger. He gave them the update of the deceased crewmen’s friend’s illnesses.
“This is quite serious, are you positive that the illnesses are due to the same bacteria and viruses?” Spock asked.
“They are identical in their DNA but I have not been able to find what diseases they are or from what planet or region of space they are from. None of these diseases are endemic to Zebulon 4. These rats could be the vectors of these illnesses.” McCoy said. Then he informed them of the bite marks and scratches on the first two crewmen and that they had purchased these animals and brought them aboard surreptitiously. It was unknown who these vendors were or where these vendors had obtained the rodents. There were no native rodents on Zebulon 4.
“Jim, we are going to need security to go with us, these rats are the biggest thing I’ve ever seen, and they’re all over ten pounds. They are like mutant rats; I can’t even begin to describe them to you both, they’re monstrous! Jim, I cannot stress the need for security to be with us!”
Kirk let out a snort; he did not know how to reply to this information. It was very doubtful that rats could get to this size and monsters! “Are they armed, Bones?’’
The familiar red color returned to McCoy’s face followed by the angry demeanor.
“Yes, they’re packin’ sabers!” McCoy snarled.
The statement was so illogical that Spock’s head tilted to one side, both eyebrows rose. “Really, Doctor, rodents are incapable of handling swords large enough to harm….” Spock began.
“Their front incisors, Hobgoblin, their big freakin’ front teeth!” McCoy yelled. “And I suggest that we bring big, metal cages to lock them up in. They pulverized the wooden cages that they were in and not to mention the bedding and furniture in the quarters!”
Kirk put both hands up in resignation that perhaps there were large creatures, not rats but something had scared McCoy.
When they arrived at the crewmen’s quarters with four security guards and two thick barred titanium cages, they waited for a brief moment. The sound of squeaks and the thumping of bodies inside were heard at the door. Kirk keyed in his access code to the quarters and let out a barely stifled scream.
“Those aren’t rats; Bones….I have no idea what they are.” Kirk said over the hissing a spitting of the occupants inside of the quarters.
“They appear to be altered Hamstribbles. Their large size and coarser fur would indicate that these are feral Hamstribbles that have interbred with other planetary rodents.” Spock informed them. “They originally were a genetic combination of a tribble and an Earth rat.”
Kirk was stunned and McCoy looked horrified.
“Damn, Cyrano Jones and his tribbles! What deranged idiot would combine two species that by themselves could devour enough food for an army of Klingons?” McCoy shouted. “At least the tribble half does not carry any diseases, it’s the four-legged disease ridden rodents halves that are the problem! The persons responsible should be locked up in a room with these things!” McCoy looked at the creatures in the room and shivered.
Then the Hamstribbles moved closer to the door.
“I would advise phaser stun, Captain.” Spock said and they both drew their phasers and fired.
Three of the creatures were stunned but one adeptly avoided the beams of the phasers and leapt out of the door. With the agility and height of a Gazelle, The Hamstribble cleared the door and rose over Kirk’s and Spock’s heads and it landed on McCoy. The force of the landing knocked McCoy on his back. He tried to defend himself against the sharp teeth and front claws, but the animal bit and clawed at is face, fingers and neck. The red eyes, the blood stained incisors and the sharp claws were right in his face and this made McCoy scream desperately. Kirk quickly kicked the creature off of McCoy and stunned it with a phaser beam.
“Bones, are you…” Kirk started to ask, but McCoy had fainted. Kirk gently patted McCoy’s torn face, there was no response.
“If you will allow me, Jim.” Spock said as he lifted the unconscious Doctor into his arms. He was alarmed at the bite marks on McCoy’s face and neck.
The procession to Sick Bay was like a safari gone wrong, Spock carrying the wounded unconscious CMO, Kirk walking beside them and the security guards followed behind rolling the large barred cages with the furry animals inside. Many crewmembers stood against the walls and gasped as they passed by.
When they entered Sick Bay Spock carried McCoy over to a Biobed and Chapel assisted him. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the creatures being wheeled into an isolation room, she screamed at the size of the animals and then looked at McCoy’s injuries. She treated the neck and face wounds and the bite marks on McCoy’s hands. She injected him with the current antibiotics and antivirals that they had; so far these medications had limited effects against the pathogens. Chapel also gave him a stimulant. Slowly McCoy’s eyelashes fluttered and he slowly opened his eyes. The he sat up screaming, fighting and swinging his arms against an invisible attacker. The terror in his eyes was overwhelming and his screams were loud, it was difficult to witness. Kirk and Christine tried to talk to him, but the realism of the attack was too horrifying for McCoy. Spock grabbed his arms and held them close against McCoy’s chest and he wrapped his arms around the Doctor’s body. This seemed to calm him down and with his deep voice Spock softly called out McCoy’s name and the fighting stopped. McCoy sat panting with his arms encircled by Spock’s and he glanced over at the First Officer. Seeing Spock and feeling his reassuring strength allowed McCoy to go limp, he did not faint but he lay against the Vulcan’s chest, tears were flowing from his blue eyes and his mouth quivered. The only sound was his heart rate rapidly beeping on the monitor.
McCoy closed his eyes and sighed, “Christine, would you please mute that damned monitor?”
She quickly silenced the audible heart rate tone. McCoy lay against Spock’s chest for a little longer and then he opened his eyes, “I was right, wasn’t I? Did you capture all of them?”
“Yes, Doctor, you were correct in reporting that there were animals in the crewmen’s quarters. Had they continued to feed they could have reached 15-20 lbs.” Spock replied. He felt McCoy sink further against his chest and McCoy silently mouthed “twenty pounds?” McCoy lay cradled in Spock’s arms for a while.
Then McCoy patted his hand on Spock’s arm, “Thanks for calming me, Spock, but I don’t need to use you as a back support any more.” Spock appeared reluctant to let McCoy go. When he released the Doctor, his skin touched McCoy’s and he received the terrifying images from McCoy’s mind. Although illogical the exaggerated proportions of a body size of eighty pounds, height of four feet and the ferocious capabilities of these hamstribbles in killing and mauling crewmembers were in McCoy’s mind and these thoughts were mixed in with the real concerns of the infections, the loss of two crewmen and the attack on his face and hands. He had never understood phobias but experiencing the effect that these fears had on the Doctor, who was a very brave and not an easily intimidated individual, gave him an idea of the debilitating effects that phobias had on humans. He also felt McCoy’s embarrassment of fainting and having such overwhelming phobias.
McCoy sat up and swung his legs over the biobed, he was stopped by the surprisingly strong grip on his arm by Chapel.
“Not so fast, Doctor, your blood pressure is too high, just lay back and rest for a little longer.” she ordered. Christine was really looking at his white blood cell count and his temperature, both had risen. This concerned her that his body would react so quickly to the bites and scratches. An hour later after there was no increase in fever and no further changes in his white blood cell count Chapel released him and he joined Kirk and Spock for dinner in the officer’s lounge.
Chekov, Sulu, Uhura and Scotty were seated next to them and they were discussing attacks of animals on humans on Earth and other planets. Chekov told them that the Siberian rats were huge and would attack people in their homes at night and sometimes while they were eating their meals at the table. The stories were too vivid for McCoy and he said goodnight to everyone and left without finishing his supper.
McCoy took a sonic shower and afterwards examined his face and neck. The regenerator had left the skin reddened and thin but he still studied the areas of the attack. He dressed for bed and fell asleep quickly. His sleep was plagued by graphic images of hamstribble attacks. The creatures were pregnant and gave birth to hundreds of hamstribbles. The offspring got into the air shafts and invaded the whole ship. Crewmen were being attacked on every deck, Engineering, their personal quarters, the crew’s dining room, and the Bridge. Uhura was crouched on top her console as the creatures snapped at her with their sharp teeth, they were on Jim’s back and arms nipping at the back of his neck, and Sulu and Chekov swatted them off of the navigation console. Spock was being attacked by at least twenty of them. They were biting his ears, biting his slender fingers, biting and scratching his face and neck and swarming up his legs. As they bit Spock, they grew larger and their combined weight brought his body down. Spock’s green blood was all over the science station, his chair and the floor. In Sick Bay, the hamstribbles were in all of the equipment, several jumped down from the top of a biobed to attack Christine. A crewman had come in with severe abdominal pain, his swollen abdomen was moving and when McCoy made the incision a bloodied creature leapt up out of the patient’s abdomen towards McCoy’s face……McCoy sat up in his bed screaming. He brought his hands up to his face to protect himself from the attack but there was no creature. The doors to his quarters opened and Spock entered, he saw McCoy sitting up in his bed pale, gasping and wide-eyed with his hands out in front of him. McCoy did not appear to notice him as he walked over to McCoy’s bedside.
“Dr. McCoy?” Spock asked.
McCoy turned toward him and let out a scream. “How…How did you down here from the bridge?” McCoy asked, his eyes appeared unfocused and his speech slightly slurred. Spock sat down beside the Doctor and suddenly McCoy was touching his ears, his face and his hands. Spock took hold of McCoy’s wrists, “Doctor. What are you doing?” He asked firmly.
“I’m examining your ears and hands the hamstribbles were all over you, attacking you!” McCoy replied. “I thought they had killed you!”
“Lights to fifty percent.” Spock ordered the light level in McCoy’s quarters. The sudden increase in light brought McCoy out of his dream-fugue state.
McCoy blinked and then his eyes met Spock’s, “What are you doing here, Spock?”
“I heard you screaming and I came to check on you, you were very distressed.” Spock replied. He felt McCoy’s hands and arms trembling. “Have you been attacked by rodents or animals before, Doctor? You have very intense reactions to attacks from animals on other persons and yourself.”
McCoy let out a sigh and lowered his head, “Not me personally until today…I’ve treated children who have been attacked by their own pets, I’ve treated patients who were attacked by wild animals on other planets and I’ve treated people who became infected by some of the diseases that they carry. I know it’s illogical to be so afraid of…”
“It is not illogical to be concerned for those who have been infected by any animal vector-borne
illness. It is not unjustified fear but rather the respect of the knowledge of what the pathology and morbidity of what these diseases can cause. I perceive that you feel helpless against the carriers of such diseases.” Spock said and his voice was gentle.
McCoy looked up to face Spock, “You are so very right that I can feel helpless against something that I have no control over. Spock, I’m so embarrassed for fainting today. I can’t recall a time that I ever fainted.”
“I perceived your perspective of the attack when I was holding you in Sick Bay, Doctor. It was very alarming to view the attack from your mind’s interpretation.” Spock said.
McCoy glanced at his wrists still in Spock’s grasp, he pulled back and Spock released his wrists.
“Thanks for comin’ to my rescue, Spock. The nightmares were so graphic! The hamstribbles were pregnant and gave birth to hundreds of the vile creatures and these little varmints invaded the ship. Then these creatures were attacking you it was very upsetting to me. I couldn’t help you…and then a hamstribble burst out of a patient’s abdomen and jumped straight for my face.” McCoy covered his face with his hands and Spock could feel his trembling on the bed. McCoy sighed and lowered his hands; he did not look at Spock. “I guess I should try and get some sleep now, I’ll have a busy day tomorrow.” McCoy scooted back down and lay on his back, pulled up the covers and stared up at the ceiling. Spock could easily sense that McCoy would not be able to fall asleep.
“Would you mind if I were to stay with you a while, Doctor? What you have witnessed in the crewmen’s quarters and in your dreams would not be conducive to relax into a sleep state.” Spock said as he pulled the covers up higher over McCoy’s shoulders.
McCoy blushed, it was embarrassing enough that he had fainted earlier and now he needed Spock nearby to fall asleep. When he looked up at Spock’s expression, he saw compassion, not pity or criticism. Spock really wanted to help him and he admitted to himself he wanted Spock to stay nearby. He had previous dreams of what it would be like to fall asleep in the strong arms and to wake up next to the beautiful Vulcan. In spite of his many insults, McCoy believed that Spock was one of the most beautiful aliens he had ever seen; the dark glossy hair, the dark eyes, the intricate ears, the green skin and the strong yet elegant body and of course the amazingly brilliant mind.
Spock was waiting for an answer, McCoy could almost feel the disappointment in those eyes if he rejected Spock’s offer.
“I would feel safer, even though all of the threats are mental exaggerations. If you could just sit here until I fell asleep?” McCoy asked in an uncharacteristic timid tone.
“Do not feel embarrassed, Doctor, there have been times when Jim has needed my company nearby to relax and fall asleep.” Spock said as he laid his hand on McCoy’s shoulder. The Doctor was still trembling. “Perhaps a shoulder and neck massage would allow you to relax?”
McCoy nodded and turned onto his stomach. Spock assisted him in removing his t-shirt and then the warm fingers smoothed over his skin and Spock’s slender and firm fingers kneaded the tight neck and shoulder muscles, the warmth of the contact immediately lulled him to sleep.
McCoy’s skin was soft to the touch and it gave Spock pleasure to feel the stress and anxiety dissolve under his touch. Then he received pictures of McCoy’s REM cycle, he directed the images to ones that would keep the Doctor in a deep and peaceful state. One dream that appeared was McCoy and him on planet gathering plants, tiny organisms and soil samples for analysis. Spock viewed himself through McCoy’s eyes; his hair was shinier, his eyes more luminous, the sensuous upsweep of his eyebrows, his lips appeared a little fuller but it was McCoy’s focus on his ears that was fascinating. McCoy’s voice echoed through the dream “He’s so beautiful….he’s so damned beautiful”. His portrait was genuinely McCoy’s and he was quite taken back, McCoy usually verbally attacked these physical attributes. In McCoy’s dream they kissed, he witnessed himself making love to McCoy on the ground by the specimens they had collected. He saw McCoy reach up and cradle Spock’s face in his hands. “I love, you, Spock, I love you so much.” Then the focus of the dream changed to Sick Bay and McCoy talking with patients and Chapel.
Spock was at a loss of how to interpret the dream of them making love. He was not repulsed by the idea, he found McCoy’s mind to be very compatible with his own. He realized that McCoy’s criticism of his physical attributes was a denial of his attraction to Spock and perhaps a realization that Spock would not return his affection. Spock looked down at McCoy’s sleeping face, his long dark eyelashes and his finely sculpted mouth; Spock admired the icy blueness of McCoy’s eyes and his lean body. He laid his hands on McCoy’s exposed back for a moment and felt the slow heart beat, the soft skin, the small waist and lean muscles. He then settled down on the floor by the Doctor’s bed and meditated. He woke up when McCoy started to stir, the time was 0500 and then McCoy’s morning alarm went off. A hand reached up on the shelf above his head and shut off the alarm. McCoy inhaled deeply and let out a contented sounding sigh. McCoy gasped as his legs almost hit Spock when he swung them off of the bed.
“I’m so sorry, Spock, did I hit you?” McCoy asked
“No, Doctor, you did not kick me. How was your sleep?” Spock asked.
“I haven’t slept that well in ages and no dreams about hamstribbles or rats. Thanks for the back rub; I hope that you were able to get some sleep.” McCoy asked as he stretched.
“I do not sleep as you humans do. I enter into a relaxed meditative state, which I did and I feel quite reenergized.” Spock said as he stood up.
“Would you like some hot tea? I’m going to have some coffee.” McCoy asked yawning.
“I will have some tea after I take a shower. Would you join me for some breakfast with Jim?” Spock asked.
“Yeah, sure, I’m going to take a shower also.” McCoy paused, he had a familiar relaxed smile on his face and his blue eyes were bright. “Thanks again, Spock, I feel so much better.”
“Anytime, Doctor, I will see you in a few minutes.” Spock said and headed for his quarters.
Kirk was relieved to see McCoy back to his old self and he appreciated Spock’s interventions in calming McCoy and giving him a good night’s sleep. Spock and Kirk discussed finding the vendors who had sold the hamstribbles and tracking the planets and regions of space where they had obtained the creatures and where they had sold these animals. McCoy would update them on the crewmen’s conditions. The topic then turned to the evolution of the hamstribble and what their physical and genetic makeup was. McCoy and Spock agreed that one of the hamstribbles should be dissected. Kirk left the table when the two were discussing what anatomy they may discover.
A tranquilizing gas was released into the isolation room where the hamstribbles were being kept. Spock carried out one and McCoy resealed the door. When Spock laid the creature on the autopsy table, McCoy gave the lethal injection. Its anatomy was so unusual, there was no blending of characteristics but more of bits and pieces from each species were sculpted into the form of a hamstribble. For an animal its size, it had a large brain. Its eyes were more characteristic of rodents but it had more rods and cones in the area of the eye where they would normally be but it also had more nerves exiting the back of the eye and branching off into other parts of the brain. The heart and lungs were the right size; the stomachs were larger than was expected. Tribbles had three stomachs which allowed them to eat just about anything and digest it well. When they reached the sex organs, McCoy let out a startled cry. This hamstribble was female and very pregnant. Spock opened up the uterus and there were ten developing fetuses. He then heard a thud and noticed McCoy was not present. When Spock peered over the creature’s body he saw the unconscious Doctor on the floor. Spock sterilized his hands quickly and knelt by McCoy’s side, the Doctor had fainted again. Spock carried McCoy into the main Sick Bay and placed him on a biobed. Chapel rushed to his side.
“Mr. Spock, what happened?” She asked.
“Our dear Doctor has fainted again. The hamstribble was pregnant and Dr. McCoy informed me of a nightmare he had concerning the possibility of the hamstribbles giving birth to large litters of these creatures. Seeing the reality of one of his nightmares was too much for him.” Spock said.
McCoy moaned and stirred then he opened his eyes. He was not in a panicked state, he was calm. He rubbed the back of his head. “Did I faint again, dammit? That was all I needed to see was bunch of ready to deliver hamstribbles! I wonder if any of the other….” He was cut off by a shrill scream from one of the nurses followed by more screams.
Spock helped McCoy off of the bed and they were accompanied by Chapel to investigate where the screaming was coming from and what was the emergency. They found one of the nurses by the isolation room where the hamstribbles were being contained.
“It’s horrible, so horrible! What kind of monsters are they?” She screamed.
They looked inside the room and it looked like a war had taken place. Apparently one of the creatures had given birth but the other two hamstribbles had attacked them and eaten most of the kittens. The mother of the litter had attacked the two offenders. The three hamstribbles were facing one another standing on their hind legs wounded, their incisors bloody and their front appendages were covered with fur and blood. They hissed and spat at each other, clicking their top teeth against the bottom teeth and their tails sweeping the mess of blood and fur.
McCoy looked at the scene with mix of fear and interest, and then he realized both of his hands had a strong grip on Spock’s arm.
“Sorry, Spock, I didn’t mean to grip your arm so hard.” McCoy said but he thought to himself. “You’re acting like a teenage girl, McCoy, grabbing onto your boyfriend’s arm. How embarrassing, first you faint again, Spock had to carry your sorry ass back into Sick Bay ….There’ll be talk about this!” He released Spock’s arm blushing. Thank goodness Chapel and the other nurse were too fixated on the massacre in the isolation room.
The only solution was to euthanize the other hamstribbles, there was no logical reason to keep them alive and they were ready to kill each other anyway.
Later that afternoon, McCoy was at the bedside of the patients. All were responding well to the medications, he was able to wean them off of the ventilators. They were still very ill but they had a good chance of survival. McCoy felt back in control, the hamstribbles were in frozen storage and there were no more threats of any attacks on the crew. Kirk and Spock’s search for the vendors was still in effect. McCoy went into his office and performed a query about the symptoms of the illness and the bacterial and viral organisms, the results were sobering. Reported outbreaks of an unknown illness were reported to the Star Fleet Medical Center for Disease Control. McCoy added his findings of the bacteria and viruses and he asked the Epidemiologists to check if there were any Hamstribbles in the areas of the outbreaks. He sent them the information on the feral Hamstribbles he had contact with. He heard back that evening and the chart of the spread of the diseases showed a definite trail of outbreaks on planets, Space Stations and Star Bases. The causes of the illnesses were from the same feral hamstribbles sold as pets. After he sent the information, something was nagging at his mind, what if one of the hamstribbles had given birth in the crewmen’s quarters? Surely the ship’s sensors would have picked up any readings of the creatures on the ship. What if everyone assumed that they were all in the deep freeze….it would take only one to wreak havoc.
McCoy was commended on his identification of the organisms responsible for the outbreaks and his detailed information that revealed the source. He informed them that Mr. Spock should receive credit also.
In Sick Bay the next morning, Kirk called McCoy to the bridge. McCoy replied he was too busy. Kirk’s tone changed to one of a command and McCoy went up to the bridge. On the screen, the Head of Star Fleet and the Surgeon General of Star Fleet were on the screen. Both of the high ranking officers praised the excellent diligence of Kirk’s CMO in reporting his information and the participation of his First Officer on the identification and analysis of the spread of the diseases which led to the capture of the vendors responsible. These persons were now in custody and were responsible for 1245 deaths from the diseases that these creatures carried. These persons were very aware of the dangerous creatures that they sold as pets. After the Star Fleet Officers were off screen, the bridge crew congratulated McCoy and Spock on their hard work. As the bridge crew was talking, McCoy heard a weird scrapping sound near the navigation console. Neither Sulu nor Chekov was aware of the sound they were turned around in their seats facing Kirk. The scrapping sound grew louder. McCoy gasped as a big ball of hair rose slowly up behind the console. He pointed to the rising mass of fur but he could not make a sound, the hair rose higher and then all went black.
“Bones!” Kirk called out when his friend fell unconscious by his command chair. He knelt by his friend’s side. Spock rushed over next to Kirk and felt McCoy’s rapid pulse and clammy skin.
Lt. Sanderson stood up and placed her repair toolbox on top of the navigation console.
“What happened?’ She asked, as she tucked the loose stands of hair up into the mound of tight curls on top of her head.
Kirk and Spock looked at her hair, as did Sulu and Chekov. Sanderson started back at them.
“What are you all staring at?” She asked.
“Poor, Bones, he thought your hair was a hamstribble.” Kirk said. There some relieved laughs that McCoy had not passed out due to an illness but of the idea of another creature attack.
Spock let out a long sigh, picked up the unconscious McCoy and cradled him in his arms, he headed for the lift. “If you will excuse me, I’ll take our dear Doctor down to Sick Bay again.”
The End
By Lepidoptlover
Very few things scared Dr. Leonard McCoy; dangerous landing parties, diseases, plagues, scalpel wheedling Super Humans, charging knights on horseback with lances lowered or even an accident prone, death defiant captain. However, it was well known that he was aviaphobic, transporter phobic, and astrophobic. Having his body crushed in the metal of a burning shuttlecraft accident, having his atoms scattered out into space and time by a pinhole in the ship’s hull or a transporter malfunction were his mental Achilles heel.
Another phobia that no one knew about was that he was scared of rats, musophobia (fear of mice) and murophobia (fear of mice and rats). The laboratory rats that were bred in a controlled environment did not bother him at all. It was the wild rodents that carried a multitude of nasty diseases such as lymphocytic choriomeningitis, yersinia pestis (the Black Death), hanta virus, rat bite fever, hemorrhagic fever, lassor fever…..and the list continues. He remembered when he was a young boy visiting his grandparents’ farm in Georgia the sound of the large roof rats running around up in the attic. The sound of their sharp nails scratching and the sound of their sharp teeth knawing on the wood beams and items up in the attic, kept him awake for hours. Several times he saw their silhouettes as they ran down the tree branches by his window. Some of those rats were as big as cats.
As man ventured into outer space, so did rats; just like long ago when they were the unwanted stowaways on sea faring ships. These rats adapted easily to their new environments on other planets. They would breed with the local ‘rodents’ and their numbers quickly grew especially on a planet that did not have a predacious species to keep their numbers in check. Many of the indigenous rodents were large and the Earth rats easily assimilated this genetic code into their DNA.
On new but soon to be relevant topic, thanks to Cyrano Jones who peppered many space stations and star bases with his tribbles, these ‘pests’ were hybridized into a new improved tribble and the ‘s’ was switched from pest to pets. These tribbles did not have voracious appetites and the ability to bare large litters of little tribbles (named kittens). A little larger in size, these tribbles had dainty appetites, lacked the ‘rodent smell’ and an average litter was one to two kittens. Many people liked the new improved tribbles but their kids soon grew bored with them. Then two enterprising biologists had the brilliant idea of breeding rats with the tribbles. Hamsters did not have tails, mice were too tiny, gerbils were too crazy and Guinea pigs did not turn out well. The roof rat (Rattus rattus) was selected because they were free and abundant, they had long tails, they were very agile and they would give the tribble the spark that this new pet would need. These clever ‘scientists’ named their new pet Hamstribbles. Kids loved hamsters; parents hated rats but everyone (excluding Klingons) loved tribbles. The Hamstribble was a ball of fur with two tiny ears, a cute little pointed nose, a long tail, large hind legs and on the end of the front legs were cute little ‘hands’. These new pets were amazing: they could jump, run, play, and perform easy tricks, cuddle and purr like a tribble. The one drawback was their size; they could grow to be 5-8 lbs. In spite of their size they were sweet and fun. But with all pets they soon outgrew their welcome and they were released or escaped the confines of their domestic homes. Their genetic makeup made it easy to breed with the local rodents and the Hamstribbles became feral. They quickly acquired the diseases that their wild family had but they still maintained the puffball with a tail appearance. There were some traders who wanted to capitalize on these Hamstribbles, and they trapped and sold some of these feral creatures.
On a three hour leave on Zebulon 4, two of the Enterprise’s crewmen saw these pets for sale at a village shop and fell in love with them. They bought 4 and placed the Hamstribbles in a case provided by the shop that the transporter scanners could not detect, and they brought them on board. The novelty of the new pets wore off after seven days when these supposedly gentle pets were not at all like the information they had read about. They made their friends swear an oath not to tell anyone about these creatures or it would not go well for them (their friends, not the Hamstribbles). As long as the Hamstribbles were being fed, they were easy to get along with. However, the small confines of their cabin began to bring out the worst in their pets…..and not to mention the smell! The Hamstribbles’ weight increased and their size grew abnormally fast after they purchased them, each one was over ten pounds now. The crewmen were at a loss of what to do with these pets, they couldn’t beam them off of the ship, they couldn’t toss them out into space via the debris ports because there would be too many witnesses (who wouldn’t notice a ten pound fur ball!) and the ships sensors would pick up anything biological being expelled off of the ship.
It was two weeks after the arrival of their pets, that the crewmen became ill. When they reported to Sick Bay, they were feverish, achy, their lymph nodes swollen, they had lung infections and they both had wide spread peculiar rashes on their skin. Dr. McCoy noticed the large bite like marks and scratches on their skin, but neither patient gave out their secret. McCoy placed the crewmen in isolation and ran the necessary cultures and tests to determine what was causing these previously healthy men to become so ill. Both crewmen denied leaving the village and venturing out into the planet’s wild environment. As the strength of their infections grew the life force of the crewmen declined. After only two days in Sick Bay, the young men died due to their overwhelming bacterial and viral infections. Their autopsies revealed the damage done to their organs by the biotoxins released from the unknown bacteria and viruses. McCoy researched the symptoms and the organisms but could not find any specific diseases.
Soon afterwards, the crewmen’s friends became ill with the similar symptoms from the same bacteria and viruses. These sick individuals did inform McCoy of the pets that were brought aboard the ship illegally. The pets were hamsters or something like that. The deceased crewmen could not have acquired their sicknesses from these tiny pets. The bite marks and scratches were from larger animals. These two crewmen probably ventured outside the town’s limits and were attacked by some wild animals. Their friends’ sickness was treated with antibiotics and antivirals but these medications had limited effects on the patients. The patients were placed on full life support to let their bodies rest and let the medications, IV fluids and respirators perform the work for them. McCoy tried partial blood transfusions, taking some of the infected blood out and replacing it with healthy blood. However, the bacteria and viruses continued to multiply and overwhelm their host’s bodies. McCoy informed Kirk and Spock of the severity of the illnesses, the tragic deaths of the first two crewmen and the spread of the diseases to their friends.
McCoy went to the quarters where these ‘pets’ were being kept. He used his emergency pass code and opened the door. What he saw what strait out of one of his worst nightmares; shredded bedding, broken furniture, scratched walls, blood smears on the walls and bedding, food scattered everywhere and the overwhelming odor of urine and feces. Then four large furry bodies rose up on their hind legs, they clicked their sharp long front incisors, the long hairless tails swished like bullwhips and the front claws were held up in a defensive posture. McCoy immediately closed and sealed the door. He could feel himself hyperventilating, his heart rate drummed in his ears and he slowly slid down the wall outside the quarters. He sat on the floor for several minutes, trying to get his wits collected. Did he really see what he thought he saw? Then he stood up and opened the door again, and he was greeted in a more vicious manner, the creatures hissed and spat at him and clawed the air in front of them. He immediately resealed the door and ran back to Sick Bay.
Upon entering Sick Bay, McCoy was panting and pale. Christine stopped him.
“What is wrong, Doctor? You look as though you’ve seen a ghost.” She asked.
McCoy only stared at her wide eyed and opened mouthed. He attempted to say something but he was physically unable to speak. This was the first time she had ever seen McCoy speechless. He ran to his office and Chapel followed him. He sat down at his desk, wide eyed and not blinking, he was paler and he was sweating profusely.
“Dr. McCoy, what is wrong? What happened?” She asked as she stepped closer to observe his bizarre behavior. Almost a minute passed when he turned to her and in a voice no louder than a whisper he said.
“Get Spock.” Then he turned back to just stare straight ahead, no further words were spoken.
Kirk and Spock were surprised at Chapel’s information; at first they thought McCoy put her up to some prank. McCoy would never pull such a stunt with the illnesses he was dealing with, but she was insistent in the reality of McCoy’s strange behavior. In the event of having Sick Bay full of critically ill patients, McCoy would be on hyper-drive, shouting orders, running tests and be at the bedsides of his patients. He would not be hiding in his office and unable to speak.
“Bones unable to talk and he appeared to have seen a ghost.” Captain Kirk replied looking concerned at his First Officer.
“Indeed, Captain this is totally out of character for Dr. McCoy. He would not abandon his patients especially after two have perished.” Spock said.
Kirk gave the Con to Scotty and he and Spock headed to Sick Bay.
When they entered McCoy’s office, he was bent over his desk and his head was resting on his crossed forearms.
“Bones, what’s wrong? What happened?” Kirk asked.
“Rats” McCoy murmured, his head still resting on his arms.
Kirk looked at Spock confused. “Rats as in rodents or rats as in ‘Dammit, Jim’?”
Spock’s eyebrow rose at Kirk’s question.
“Big, ugly, smelly hairy rats, they hissed and spat at me.” McCoy said as he sat up. His face was still very pale and his eyes appeared wild and they were reddened.
“Where exactly are these ‘rats’. Dr. McCoy?” Spock asked. His eyes scanned McCoy’s desk and office for a bottle of whiskey or brandy. There had been no mention of any new life forms on the Enterprise, especially vermin.
“I hate rats….I hate them, Jim, Spock….why do they have to be so damned big and furry?” McCoy asked, his voice becoming stronger. He gave them the update of the deceased crewmen’s friend’s illnesses.
“This is quite serious, are you positive that the illnesses are due to the same bacteria and viruses?” Spock asked.
“They are identical in their DNA but I have not been able to find what diseases they are or from what planet or region of space they are from. None of these diseases are endemic to Zebulon 4. These rats could be the vectors of these illnesses.” McCoy said. Then he informed them of the bite marks and scratches on the first two crewmen and that they had purchased these animals and brought them aboard surreptitiously. It was unknown who these vendors were or where these vendors had obtained the rodents. There were no native rodents on Zebulon 4.
“Jim, we are going to need security to go with us, these rats are the biggest thing I’ve ever seen, and they’re all over ten pounds. They are like mutant rats; I can’t even begin to describe them to you both, they’re monstrous! Jim, I cannot stress the need for security to be with us!”
Kirk let out a snort; he did not know how to reply to this information. It was very doubtful that rats could get to this size and monsters! “Are they armed, Bones?’’
The familiar red color returned to McCoy’s face followed by the angry demeanor.
“Yes, they’re packin’ sabers!” McCoy snarled.
The statement was so illogical that Spock’s head tilted to one side, both eyebrows rose. “Really, Doctor, rodents are incapable of handling swords large enough to harm….” Spock began.
“Their front incisors, Hobgoblin, their big freakin’ front teeth!” McCoy yelled. “And I suggest that we bring big, metal cages to lock them up in. They pulverized the wooden cages that they were in and not to mention the bedding and furniture in the quarters!”
Kirk put both hands up in resignation that perhaps there were large creatures, not rats but something had scared McCoy.
When they arrived at the crewmen’s quarters with four security guards and two thick barred titanium cages, they waited for a brief moment. The sound of squeaks and the thumping of bodies inside were heard at the door. Kirk keyed in his access code to the quarters and let out a barely stifled scream.
“Those aren’t rats; Bones….I have no idea what they are.” Kirk said over the hissing a spitting of the occupants inside of the quarters.
“They appear to be altered Hamstribbles. Their large size and coarser fur would indicate that these are feral Hamstribbles that have interbred with other planetary rodents.” Spock informed them. “They originally were a genetic combination of a tribble and an Earth rat.”
Kirk was stunned and McCoy looked horrified.
“Damn, Cyrano Jones and his tribbles! What deranged idiot would combine two species that by themselves could devour enough food for an army of Klingons?” McCoy shouted. “At least the tribble half does not carry any diseases, it’s the four-legged disease ridden rodents halves that are the problem! The persons responsible should be locked up in a room with these things!” McCoy looked at the creatures in the room and shivered.
Then the Hamstribbles moved closer to the door.
“I would advise phaser stun, Captain.” Spock said and they both drew their phasers and fired.
Three of the creatures were stunned but one adeptly avoided the beams of the phasers and leapt out of the door. With the agility and height of a Gazelle, The Hamstribble cleared the door and rose over Kirk’s and Spock’s heads and it landed on McCoy. The force of the landing knocked McCoy on his back. He tried to defend himself against the sharp teeth and front claws, but the animal bit and clawed at is face, fingers and neck. The red eyes, the blood stained incisors and the sharp claws were right in his face and this made McCoy scream desperately. Kirk quickly kicked the creature off of McCoy and stunned it with a phaser beam.
“Bones, are you…” Kirk started to ask, but McCoy had fainted. Kirk gently patted McCoy’s torn face, there was no response.
“If you will allow me, Jim.” Spock said as he lifted the unconscious Doctor into his arms. He was alarmed at the bite marks on McCoy’s face and neck.
The procession to Sick Bay was like a safari gone wrong, Spock carrying the wounded unconscious CMO, Kirk walking beside them and the security guards followed behind rolling the large barred cages with the furry animals inside. Many crewmembers stood against the walls and gasped as they passed by.
When they entered Sick Bay Spock carried McCoy over to a Biobed and Chapel assisted him. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the creatures being wheeled into an isolation room, she screamed at the size of the animals and then looked at McCoy’s injuries. She treated the neck and face wounds and the bite marks on McCoy’s hands. She injected him with the current antibiotics and antivirals that they had; so far these medications had limited effects against the pathogens. Chapel also gave him a stimulant. Slowly McCoy’s eyelashes fluttered and he slowly opened his eyes. The he sat up screaming, fighting and swinging his arms against an invisible attacker. The terror in his eyes was overwhelming and his screams were loud, it was difficult to witness. Kirk and Christine tried to talk to him, but the realism of the attack was too horrifying for McCoy. Spock grabbed his arms and held them close against McCoy’s chest and he wrapped his arms around the Doctor’s body. This seemed to calm him down and with his deep voice Spock softly called out McCoy’s name and the fighting stopped. McCoy sat panting with his arms encircled by Spock’s and he glanced over at the First Officer. Seeing Spock and feeling his reassuring strength allowed McCoy to go limp, he did not faint but he lay against the Vulcan’s chest, tears were flowing from his blue eyes and his mouth quivered. The only sound was his heart rate rapidly beeping on the monitor.
McCoy closed his eyes and sighed, “Christine, would you please mute that damned monitor?”
She quickly silenced the audible heart rate tone. McCoy lay against Spock’s chest for a little longer and then he opened his eyes, “I was right, wasn’t I? Did you capture all of them?”
“Yes, Doctor, you were correct in reporting that there were animals in the crewmen’s quarters. Had they continued to feed they could have reached 15-20 lbs.” Spock replied. He felt McCoy sink further against his chest and McCoy silently mouthed “twenty pounds?” McCoy lay cradled in Spock’s arms for a while.
Then McCoy patted his hand on Spock’s arm, “Thanks for calming me, Spock, but I don’t need to use you as a back support any more.” Spock appeared reluctant to let McCoy go. When he released the Doctor, his skin touched McCoy’s and he received the terrifying images from McCoy’s mind. Although illogical the exaggerated proportions of a body size of eighty pounds, height of four feet and the ferocious capabilities of these hamstribbles in killing and mauling crewmembers were in McCoy’s mind and these thoughts were mixed in with the real concerns of the infections, the loss of two crewmen and the attack on his face and hands. He had never understood phobias but experiencing the effect that these fears had on the Doctor, who was a very brave and not an easily intimidated individual, gave him an idea of the debilitating effects that phobias had on humans. He also felt McCoy’s embarrassment of fainting and having such overwhelming phobias.
McCoy sat up and swung his legs over the biobed, he was stopped by the surprisingly strong grip on his arm by Chapel.
“Not so fast, Doctor, your blood pressure is too high, just lay back and rest for a little longer.” she ordered. Christine was really looking at his white blood cell count and his temperature, both had risen. This concerned her that his body would react so quickly to the bites and scratches. An hour later after there was no increase in fever and no further changes in his white blood cell count Chapel released him and he joined Kirk and Spock for dinner in the officer’s lounge.
Chekov, Sulu, Uhura and Scotty were seated next to them and they were discussing attacks of animals on humans on Earth and other planets. Chekov told them that the Siberian rats were huge and would attack people in their homes at night and sometimes while they were eating their meals at the table. The stories were too vivid for McCoy and he said goodnight to everyone and left without finishing his supper.
McCoy took a sonic shower and afterwards examined his face and neck. The regenerator had left the skin reddened and thin but he still studied the areas of the attack. He dressed for bed and fell asleep quickly. His sleep was plagued by graphic images of hamstribble attacks. The creatures were pregnant and gave birth to hundreds of hamstribbles. The offspring got into the air shafts and invaded the whole ship. Crewmen were being attacked on every deck, Engineering, their personal quarters, the crew’s dining room, and the Bridge. Uhura was crouched on top her console as the creatures snapped at her with their sharp teeth, they were on Jim’s back and arms nipping at the back of his neck, and Sulu and Chekov swatted them off of the navigation console. Spock was being attacked by at least twenty of them. They were biting his ears, biting his slender fingers, biting and scratching his face and neck and swarming up his legs. As they bit Spock, they grew larger and their combined weight brought his body down. Spock’s green blood was all over the science station, his chair and the floor. In Sick Bay, the hamstribbles were in all of the equipment, several jumped down from the top of a biobed to attack Christine. A crewman had come in with severe abdominal pain, his swollen abdomen was moving and when McCoy made the incision a bloodied creature leapt up out of the patient’s abdomen towards McCoy’s face……McCoy sat up in his bed screaming. He brought his hands up to his face to protect himself from the attack but there was no creature. The doors to his quarters opened and Spock entered, he saw McCoy sitting up in his bed pale, gasping and wide-eyed with his hands out in front of him. McCoy did not appear to notice him as he walked over to McCoy’s bedside.
“Dr. McCoy?” Spock asked.
McCoy turned toward him and let out a scream. “How…How did you down here from the bridge?” McCoy asked, his eyes appeared unfocused and his speech slightly slurred. Spock sat down beside the Doctor and suddenly McCoy was touching his ears, his face and his hands. Spock took hold of McCoy’s wrists, “Doctor. What are you doing?” He asked firmly.
“I’m examining your ears and hands the hamstribbles were all over you, attacking you!” McCoy replied. “I thought they had killed you!”
“Lights to fifty percent.” Spock ordered the light level in McCoy’s quarters. The sudden increase in light brought McCoy out of his dream-fugue state.
McCoy blinked and then his eyes met Spock’s, “What are you doing here, Spock?”
“I heard you screaming and I came to check on you, you were very distressed.” Spock replied. He felt McCoy’s hands and arms trembling. “Have you been attacked by rodents or animals before, Doctor? You have very intense reactions to attacks from animals on other persons and yourself.”
McCoy let out a sigh and lowered his head, “Not me personally until today…I’ve treated children who have been attacked by their own pets, I’ve treated patients who were attacked by wild animals on other planets and I’ve treated people who became infected by some of the diseases that they carry. I know it’s illogical to be so afraid of…”
“It is not illogical to be concerned for those who have been infected by any animal vector-borne
illness. It is not unjustified fear but rather the respect of the knowledge of what the pathology and morbidity of what these diseases can cause. I perceive that you feel helpless against the carriers of such diseases.” Spock said and his voice was gentle.
McCoy looked up to face Spock, “You are so very right that I can feel helpless against something that I have no control over. Spock, I’m so embarrassed for fainting today. I can’t recall a time that I ever fainted.”
“I perceived your perspective of the attack when I was holding you in Sick Bay, Doctor. It was very alarming to view the attack from your mind’s interpretation.” Spock said.
McCoy glanced at his wrists still in Spock’s grasp, he pulled back and Spock released his wrists.
“Thanks for comin’ to my rescue, Spock. The nightmares were so graphic! The hamstribbles were pregnant and gave birth to hundreds of the vile creatures and these little varmints invaded the ship. Then these creatures were attacking you it was very upsetting to me. I couldn’t help you…and then a hamstribble burst out of a patient’s abdomen and jumped straight for my face.” McCoy covered his face with his hands and Spock could feel his trembling on the bed. McCoy sighed and lowered his hands; he did not look at Spock. “I guess I should try and get some sleep now, I’ll have a busy day tomorrow.” McCoy scooted back down and lay on his back, pulled up the covers and stared up at the ceiling. Spock could easily sense that McCoy would not be able to fall asleep.
“Would you mind if I were to stay with you a while, Doctor? What you have witnessed in the crewmen’s quarters and in your dreams would not be conducive to relax into a sleep state.” Spock said as he pulled the covers up higher over McCoy’s shoulders.
McCoy blushed, it was embarrassing enough that he had fainted earlier and now he needed Spock nearby to fall asleep. When he looked up at Spock’s expression, he saw compassion, not pity or criticism. Spock really wanted to help him and he admitted to himself he wanted Spock to stay nearby. He had previous dreams of what it would be like to fall asleep in the strong arms and to wake up next to the beautiful Vulcan. In spite of his many insults, McCoy believed that Spock was one of the most beautiful aliens he had ever seen; the dark glossy hair, the dark eyes, the intricate ears, the green skin and the strong yet elegant body and of course the amazingly brilliant mind.
Spock was waiting for an answer, McCoy could almost feel the disappointment in those eyes if he rejected Spock’s offer.
“I would feel safer, even though all of the threats are mental exaggerations. If you could just sit here until I fell asleep?” McCoy asked in an uncharacteristic timid tone.
“Do not feel embarrassed, Doctor, there have been times when Jim has needed my company nearby to relax and fall asleep.” Spock said as he laid his hand on McCoy’s shoulder. The Doctor was still trembling. “Perhaps a shoulder and neck massage would allow you to relax?”
McCoy nodded and turned onto his stomach. Spock assisted him in removing his t-shirt and then the warm fingers smoothed over his skin and Spock’s slender and firm fingers kneaded the tight neck and shoulder muscles, the warmth of the contact immediately lulled him to sleep.
McCoy’s skin was soft to the touch and it gave Spock pleasure to feel the stress and anxiety dissolve under his touch. Then he received pictures of McCoy’s REM cycle, he directed the images to ones that would keep the Doctor in a deep and peaceful state. One dream that appeared was McCoy and him on planet gathering plants, tiny organisms and soil samples for analysis. Spock viewed himself through McCoy’s eyes; his hair was shinier, his eyes more luminous, the sensuous upsweep of his eyebrows, his lips appeared a little fuller but it was McCoy’s focus on his ears that was fascinating. McCoy’s voice echoed through the dream “He’s so beautiful….he’s so damned beautiful”. His portrait was genuinely McCoy’s and he was quite taken back, McCoy usually verbally attacked these physical attributes. In McCoy’s dream they kissed, he witnessed himself making love to McCoy on the ground by the specimens they had collected. He saw McCoy reach up and cradle Spock’s face in his hands. “I love, you, Spock, I love you so much.” Then the focus of the dream changed to Sick Bay and McCoy talking with patients and Chapel.
Spock was at a loss of how to interpret the dream of them making love. He was not repulsed by the idea, he found McCoy’s mind to be very compatible with his own. He realized that McCoy’s criticism of his physical attributes was a denial of his attraction to Spock and perhaps a realization that Spock would not return his affection. Spock looked down at McCoy’s sleeping face, his long dark eyelashes and his finely sculpted mouth; Spock admired the icy blueness of McCoy’s eyes and his lean body. He laid his hands on McCoy’s exposed back for a moment and felt the slow heart beat, the soft skin, the small waist and lean muscles. He then settled down on the floor by the Doctor’s bed and meditated. He woke up when McCoy started to stir, the time was 0500 and then McCoy’s morning alarm went off. A hand reached up on the shelf above his head and shut off the alarm. McCoy inhaled deeply and let out a contented sounding sigh. McCoy gasped as his legs almost hit Spock when he swung them off of the bed.
“I’m so sorry, Spock, did I hit you?” McCoy asked
“No, Doctor, you did not kick me. How was your sleep?” Spock asked.
“I haven’t slept that well in ages and no dreams about hamstribbles or rats. Thanks for the back rub; I hope that you were able to get some sleep.” McCoy asked as he stretched.
“I do not sleep as you humans do. I enter into a relaxed meditative state, which I did and I feel quite reenergized.” Spock said as he stood up.
“Would you like some hot tea? I’m going to have some coffee.” McCoy asked yawning.
“I will have some tea after I take a shower. Would you join me for some breakfast with Jim?” Spock asked.
“Yeah, sure, I’m going to take a shower also.” McCoy paused, he had a familiar relaxed smile on his face and his blue eyes were bright. “Thanks again, Spock, I feel so much better.”
“Anytime, Doctor, I will see you in a few minutes.” Spock said and headed for his quarters.
Kirk was relieved to see McCoy back to his old self and he appreciated Spock’s interventions in calming McCoy and giving him a good night’s sleep. Spock and Kirk discussed finding the vendors who had sold the hamstribbles and tracking the planets and regions of space where they had obtained the creatures and where they had sold these animals. McCoy would update them on the crewmen’s conditions. The topic then turned to the evolution of the hamstribble and what their physical and genetic makeup was. McCoy and Spock agreed that one of the hamstribbles should be dissected. Kirk left the table when the two were discussing what anatomy they may discover.
A tranquilizing gas was released into the isolation room where the hamstribbles were being kept. Spock carried out one and McCoy resealed the door. When Spock laid the creature on the autopsy table, McCoy gave the lethal injection. Its anatomy was so unusual, there was no blending of characteristics but more of bits and pieces from each species were sculpted into the form of a hamstribble. For an animal its size, it had a large brain. Its eyes were more characteristic of rodents but it had more rods and cones in the area of the eye where they would normally be but it also had more nerves exiting the back of the eye and branching off into other parts of the brain. The heart and lungs were the right size; the stomachs were larger than was expected. Tribbles had three stomachs which allowed them to eat just about anything and digest it well. When they reached the sex organs, McCoy let out a startled cry. This hamstribble was female and very pregnant. Spock opened up the uterus and there were ten developing fetuses. He then heard a thud and noticed McCoy was not present. When Spock peered over the creature’s body he saw the unconscious Doctor on the floor. Spock sterilized his hands quickly and knelt by McCoy’s side, the Doctor had fainted again. Spock carried McCoy into the main Sick Bay and placed him on a biobed. Chapel rushed to his side.
“Mr. Spock, what happened?” She asked.
“Our dear Doctor has fainted again. The hamstribble was pregnant and Dr. McCoy informed me of a nightmare he had concerning the possibility of the hamstribbles giving birth to large litters of these creatures. Seeing the reality of one of his nightmares was too much for him.” Spock said.
McCoy moaned and stirred then he opened his eyes. He was not in a panicked state, he was calm. He rubbed the back of his head. “Did I faint again, dammit? That was all I needed to see was bunch of ready to deliver hamstribbles! I wonder if any of the other….” He was cut off by a shrill scream from one of the nurses followed by more screams.
Spock helped McCoy off of the bed and they were accompanied by Chapel to investigate where the screaming was coming from and what was the emergency. They found one of the nurses by the isolation room where the hamstribbles were being contained.
“It’s horrible, so horrible! What kind of monsters are they?” She screamed.
They looked inside the room and it looked like a war had taken place. Apparently one of the creatures had given birth but the other two hamstribbles had attacked them and eaten most of the kittens. The mother of the litter had attacked the two offenders. The three hamstribbles were facing one another standing on their hind legs wounded, their incisors bloody and their front appendages were covered with fur and blood. They hissed and spat at each other, clicking their top teeth against the bottom teeth and their tails sweeping the mess of blood and fur.
McCoy looked at the scene with mix of fear and interest, and then he realized both of his hands had a strong grip on Spock’s arm.
“Sorry, Spock, I didn’t mean to grip your arm so hard.” McCoy said but he thought to himself. “You’re acting like a teenage girl, McCoy, grabbing onto your boyfriend’s arm. How embarrassing, first you faint again, Spock had to carry your sorry ass back into Sick Bay ….There’ll be talk about this!” He released Spock’s arm blushing. Thank goodness Chapel and the other nurse were too fixated on the massacre in the isolation room.
The only solution was to euthanize the other hamstribbles, there was no logical reason to keep them alive and they were ready to kill each other anyway.
Later that afternoon, McCoy was at the bedside of the patients. All were responding well to the medications, he was able to wean them off of the ventilators. They were still very ill but they had a good chance of survival. McCoy felt back in control, the hamstribbles were in frozen storage and there were no more threats of any attacks on the crew. Kirk and Spock’s search for the vendors was still in effect. McCoy went into his office and performed a query about the symptoms of the illness and the bacterial and viral organisms, the results were sobering. Reported outbreaks of an unknown illness were reported to the Star Fleet Medical Center for Disease Control. McCoy added his findings of the bacteria and viruses and he asked the Epidemiologists to check if there were any Hamstribbles in the areas of the outbreaks. He sent them the information on the feral Hamstribbles he had contact with. He heard back that evening and the chart of the spread of the diseases showed a definite trail of outbreaks on planets, Space Stations and Star Bases. The causes of the illnesses were from the same feral hamstribbles sold as pets. After he sent the information, something was nagging at his mind, what if one of the hamstribbles had given birth in the crewmen’s quarters? Surely the ship’s sensors would have picked up any readings of the creatures on the ship. What if everyone assumed that they were all in the deep freeze….it would take only one to wreak havoc.
McCoy was commended on his identification of the organisms responsible for the outbreaks and his detailed information that revealed the source. He informed them that Mr. Spock should receive credit also.
In Sick Bay the next morning, Kirk called McCoy to the bridge. McCoy replied he was too busy. Kirk’s tone changed to one of a command and McCoy went up to the bridge. On the screen, the Head of Star Fleet and the Surgeon General of Star Fleet were on the screen. Both of the high ranking officers praised the excellent diligence of Kirk’s CMO in reporting his information and the participation of his First Officer on the identification and analysis of the spread of the diseases which led to the capture of the vendors responsible. These persons were now in custody and were responsible for 1245 deaths from the diseases that these creatures carried. These persons were very aware of the dangerous creatures that they sold as pets. After the Star Fleet Officers were off screen, the bridge crew congratulated McCoy and Spock on their hard work. As the bridge crew was talking, McCoy heard a weird scrapping sound near the navigation console. Neither Sulu nor Chekov was aware of the sound they were turned around in their seats facing Kirk. The scrapping sound grew louder. McCoy gasped as a big ball of hair rose slowly up behind the console. He pointed to the rising mass of fur but he could not make a sound, the hair rose higher and then all went black.
“Bones!” Kirk called out when his friend fell unconscious by his command chair. He knelt by his friend’s side. Spock rushed over next to Kirk and felt McCoy’s rapid pulse and clammy skin.
Lt. Sanderson stood up and placed her repair toolbox on top of the navigation console.
“What happened?’ She asked, as she tucked the loose stands of hair up into the mound of tight curls on top of her head.
Kirk and Spock looked at her hair, as did Sulu and Chekov. Sanderson started back at them.
“What are you all staring at?” She asked.
“Poor, Bones, he thought your hair was a hamstribble.” Kirk said. There some relieved laughs that McCoy had not passed out due to an illness but of the idea of another creature attack.
Spock let out a long sigh, picked up the unconscious McCoy and cradled him in his arms, he headed for the lift. “If you will excuse me, I’ll take our dear Doctor down to Sick Bay again.”
The End