Ensign Luke Brightman had the pleasure of witnessing my embarrassment too. He was there having a minor plasma burn treated when the doctor piped up, saying how a lot of new crewmen complained of such noises and that it was caused by the deck plates expanding and contracting against each other, and not "monsters taking over the ship!"
I was just about to explain that, actually, I had seen something when he added, "Ensign Brightman here, used to complain of the very same thing."
Still about to insist that not only had I heard something very real, but I had also seen it when Ensign Brightman caught my attention. He was staring at me in alarm, his eyes agog and frantically, if somewhat discretely, shaking his head.
I wasn't sure if he was trying to save me from further embarrassment or prevent his own dismal story being retold, but I kept my mouth shut and left Sick Bay, feeling a bit annoyed that I had said nothing.
"Jenny!"
I turned and found Luke was running after me.
"Hold up Jenny, we need to talk!"
Luke grabbed me by the arm and hurried me down the corridor and into the turbolift. Only now that we were truly alone did he speak.
"Was that you I heard scream last night?" he asked.
"I didn't scream!" I shouted indignantly. Luke cast me an 'oh yeah' kind of look.
"Our cabins are only three doors away. I heard you scream, and I heard you fall."
"Didn't come to my rescue though."
"Didn't know it was you then."
"So was that you messing around in the vents?" I asked, suddenly angry that it might have been Luke playing about with a torch or something.
"No!" he exclaimed. "I've long since given up my claims to hearing anything in the vents."
I looked at him dubiously.
"I thought it was just the deck plates moving."
"On an older ship, maybe, but even then it doesn't sound like that. That's why I'm so sure that there is something there... only I can't prove it. I'll just make myself look an idiot, again! What about you?"
"Oh, I don't think there's something there—I know there's something there!"
"You saw it?"
"What do you think I was squealing at?"
"It attacked you?"
"No," I said rather miserably. "It just made me jump."
"Well? What is it then?"
"I don't know."
"But you saw it!"
"I saw two huge, green eyes."
"Eyes?"
"Yes... eyes, but they were really big and bright. They shone out like torchlight!"
"Right," said Luke. "You know what this means?"
"We can report it?"
"No!" shouted Luke. "We have to catch it!"
"But it might be dangerous!"
"I doubt it. Whatever it is, it's been there the best part of a year. If we were prey, crewmen would have gone missing before now. Let's face it, Jenny. It's probably just a Cardassian vole or something."
"No, I've seen one of those before and it's nothing like that, but why haven't ships sensors picked it up?"
"Don't be daft, Jenny. We don't runs sweeps for alien life signs unless we have reason too. It's a waste of resources."
"Oh, yes, I suppose so."
And so Luke and I began to lay our plans to capture the Beast of the Drakonia!
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