Coming Round

Posted on Wed Nov 25th, 2020 @ 2:50pm by Lieutenant Commander Melanie D’BrooNi- Haistro & Captain Melody Jones & Commodore Keiben Haistro

1,877 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 1 - Phoenix From The Ashes
Location: USS Merlin Sickbay
Timeline: Prologue Mission Day -2 @ 19:12 Hours

ON:

Melody entered sickbay and paused for a moment, looking around at all the injured Starfleet officers. A Nova class starship only had a small crew to begin with and now, it was even smaller. She had been informed that the Captain and XO had been killed and the highest-ranking surviving bridge officer was being treated for a bad shoulder injury that had not healed properly. She approached his biobed as the nurse treating him finished with her tricorder. "There! Good as new but it will still be a bit tender for a few days. All yours Captain." She inclined her head to Melody and made a discreet exit.

"Commander Haistro. I'm Commander Melody Jones of the USS Merlin. We responded to your distress call. We've transported to the injured to our sickbay. We've secured the Copernicus and our engineer teams are working to restore main power. What happened?"

Tam was nearby, watching, hoping to see Commander Haistro awake.

"Is he awake yet, Commander Jones?" moving over to check. "And thank you for coming to the rescue." giving the redhead a nod. "He certainly pulled us through that horrible mess." she contemplated Commander Jones's question.

"When I was on the bridge, we hadn't picked anything up on the sensors. The captain had sent me off to take care of paperwork, and do my usual rounds. I stepped into the turbo-lift had told the computer what deck I wished when the door closed and that was when hell broke loose." she paused.. feeling her hands tremble, remembering. She took a few deep breaths, to steady her nerves. I wish I knew what hit us and give you information as to who the attacker was."

Keiben had been awake, but his head was pounding, probably a side effect of his self neglect and he knew he would likely be paying for that with Doctor D'BrooNi next time he saw her. Was that D'BrooNi he could hear, melodic tones, almost musical... Or was that simply the fog of exhaustion speaking to him.
"Mel..." his eyes focused, it wasn't Mel but instead another person, this one in Starfleet Command colours. "Commander... Where am I... What happened to Copernicus, the crew?"

Melody realised he was slowly coming around. She placed her hand gently on his arm. "It's ok Commander. I'm Melody Jones, You're onboard the USS Merlin, we responded to you're distress call. Unfortunately, we were just over 18 lightyears away. It's taken us 2 days to reach you at maximum warp.

"I didn't even know we had sent a distress call... That must have been the Captain before... Well!"
He didn't want to process that, not yet. So many other things needed to be dealt with first and that seemed to be focusing his senses. He waved away the Benzite Doctor dismissively as he tried to pull himself to a seated position.
"I'm sorry Commander, you were saying?"

Suddenly, Red alert sounded and Melody quickly tapped her comm badge "Jones to bridge, Report!"

A voice replied. "Captain, an unknown vessel just decloaked and locked its weapons on us. It's also trying to get a tractor beam on the Copernicus."

"Extend our shields around the Copernicus, lock phasers on that ship and hail them," Melody replied briskly.

There was a pause then "Captain... They're gone. They re-cloaked and we've got not readings. Looks like they weren't in the mood for a fight."

"Could you identify them?" Melody asked.

"From their power signature it looks like a Romulan ship but we've not encountered that design before. Their weapons signature also matches the damage to the Copernicus."

"Acknowledged. Take us to yellow alert for now and keep the shields around the Copernicus, they may return. Jones out."

Melody looked back to Haistro and Holt. "Well, it looks like it was the Romulans who attacked you and they just came back to claim their prize. The question is why would they attack a Federation starship? We're supposed to be allies now. Do you have any ideas?"

"We are a science vessel sir. We had a mission to investigate some ruins on a nearby explored planet... Turns out it was a remnant of the T'Kon Empire. Our lab has a few artefacts we pulled from the ruins but nothing of significance"

Keiben looked to Holt hoping she may have had any other information he was not privy too.

Holt pondered for a moment, her head lowered, her hand rubbing her chin, then her head lifted.

"We did find a downed Romulan Vessel beneath the water. We discovered their blackbox and retrieved it, hoping to find out what had happened to it." Tamaska stated. "Maybe there is something on it that they wish to recover, but we got to it first. We hadn't had the chance to crack it open when... what happened, happened."

Melody frowned. "I doubt the Romulans would risk another war with the Federation over one lost ship unless there was something special about it. We've got the Copernicus in tow for now, until her primary systems have been restored and we've set a course for the nearest Starbase.

"I don't wish to sleep. I wish to get back to worrrr .... " Mel hadn't remembered falling asleep but then she couldn't fully remember the last 48 hours. She hadn't stopped. It wasn't her office. It wasn't her sickbay. No this familiar but not familiar ..."

"Please settle down, you are safe" Anya had been with Doctor D'BrooNi since arriving on the Copernicus, or what was left of it.

"My daughter. Did she get beamed over. She was safe in sickbay with me. She was helping," the Trill panicked looking around urgently. "The Captain, the rest of the crew?" she insisted.

"Your daughter is safe. She is in guest quarters sleeping" Anya eased the Doctor back down onto the biobed and nodded at her own Commanding Officer that the Trill would be able to talk and answer questions now. "Commander Haistro is here but I'm afraid your Captain and First Officer did not make it... Commander Jones of the Merlin is here also"

"I know," Mel said sadly. "I had to pronounce them. Forth degree burns from a plasma fire. It wasn't pretty what happened on the bridge during the attack." She didn't say out loud that as sad and awful as it was to have lost such good people, perhaps the universe had of been kinder. Their injuries would have been horrendous to attempt healing in the state they were in had they of survived. They would have been in agony for a long while with several bits of the more complex equipment down.

"Commander, they both need rest. Try to be brief" the junior Doctor looked pointedly at her Commanding officer having phrased it as a requested but reinforcing that it was in fact a directive.

Melody nodded. "Very well Doctor. Keep me informed. We should be arriving at Starbase in 2 days. When you're feeling better Commander, "She added towards Haistro "We should talk more. I'll be on the bridge." She then inclined her head towards Holt and D'BrooNi acknowledging them with "Lieutenants." Before heading out of sickbay.

Keiben was on the move, trying to stand and move over to his friend who he could see was having a hard time, he didn't need to sense her emotions to know that she was falling apart from the fear of loosing her daughter, to the thought of the dead she had clinically picked her way through. On top of that he could feels Holt's state... She looked together and the pillar of strength but under all of that she was just as scared, tired, angry and hurting as the other two. He couldn't move though, his head was pounding and everything was hurting.

"She's safe Mel... We are safe!" he looked between Mel and Tam, both women where his friends but he also realized he was now also their commanding officer, however brief that would be, he couldn't let his own emotions get the better of him.

"Commander Haistro, don't you dare try to even move an inch." Tam growled out." She walked over to him, her tone softening "You need your rest, and don't worry I will get some soon enough. Then moved back to where Dr. D’BrooNi placing a hand on her shoulder. "Like they said, your daughter is okay."

She glanced over to where the junior doctor was. "Thank you for your kindness and care."

Holt felt she really needed to get back into a better mind set. She felt her emotional state was leaking out all over the place. And here she was telling Keiben what to do.

She chuckled, "Look at that, I'm being so bossy where you are concerned Commander. And I think I will abide by my own statement and go lie back down."

"A good XO knows when to try that," Mel commented. "Thank you," she said to a nurse handing her some water. "You could both do with some as well," she said. She didn't need to be a doctor to know none of them had eaten or drank properly in the last 48 hours. That in itself would help make them feel better. "And some food."

She sat down daring to allow herself to start to try to relax. They were safe. Well 16 of them, including Charlie. "Did I hear the word Romulans while coming round?" she asked. She wanted answers. Not that it would change anything but to understand would feel a lot better.

"Romulan's have been mentioned but we have no concrete proof yet" Keiben said as he started to lower himself back down onto the biobed.

"Yes, food, that would be a good thing." Tam replied, her stomach growling at the thought.

"I think I probably owe the Benzite doctor an apology," Mel said suddenly. "I wasn't convinced she was real." She flushed red embarrassed remembering as the cool liquid did wonders. "She, I assumed and quite rightly so, sedated me."

"You do not owe me an apology at all Doctor D'BrooNi. What I do expect is for you to rest and recuperate... You know I have no problem sedating you!"

Anya appeared from the room adjacent to the recovery ward, PADD in hand. "And that goes for you as well Commander. Starship Commanders and Doctors always make the worst patients... and you" the Benzite wheeled around on Lieutenant Holt. "Why are you here and not getting some rest... I will call Security and have you escorted to quarters or have you sedated and taken to the brig so I know you will stay put... Off you go!" The final three words each directed at Holt more pointedly than the word before.

Tamaska raised both hands in a placating, surrendering manner, she wasn't going to argue with the Benzite doctor. "I couldn't rest easy until I saw both of them. I'm going, I'm going." giving a chuckle, and with a final wave towards Melanie and Keiban, Tamaska left.

With Holt retreating through the sickbay doors, Haistro finally laying his head down and drifting off to a much needed sleep she turned around and locked eyes with D'BrooNi and simply shot her a very natural and very practised look that said 'Try Me!'

END

 

RSS Feed