Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Thank you for all the reviews! This story is getting a little dark and depressing, but maybe that won't last much longer.
Warning: slight gore, nothing like last chapter though.
The strangers kept their eyes on the human remarking in their native tongue, making him uncomfortable, but Litha pushed through the crowd, making the gawkers spread like the Red Sea. No one spoke to him in a language he could understand or made any motion to offer welcome, they simply stared. It was not the first time Bones had been treated like this, but it never got any easier.
The camp was several kilometers wide, but only one deep. In the center of the small wooden huts lay an old building. From its design, Bones noted that it had not been originally built for its current designation, but he'd seen much worse in all the Away Missions he had accompanied. The building had a high ceiling with no walls just support beams. He had seen many of these types of pavilions before growing up in the Deep South. This time however instead of hosting a party under its canopy, it housed a make-shift hospital.
There were ten rows of neatly made beds with gleaming white sheets, complete with hospital corners just like they still taught in nursing school. He saw four what he assumed were nurses standing at attention as Litha came closer. She nodded at the group. "This is Dr. Bones McCoy, he will now be our medical director." Her voice held all the pomp and circumstance that a Star Fleet CNO possessed. Bones was amazed as the women straightened their tired bodies even further, not even their youth could hide their fatigue.
Bones tried to smile warmly, but he knew it looked more like a grimace. "Pleasure to meet you, ladies." He nodded his head locking eyes with each one of the women.
Litha went down the line with introductions. "This is Lydia, she is an Ensign." The youngest of the women stepped forward. She was a Betazoid and timid but open and friendly, she reminded Bones of Sulu. Bones nodded only once and she stepped back.
The next stepped forward, an Orion. "This is Sesse, she is a Lieutenant." She locked eyes with the physician before quietly stepping back. A pain of sorrow flashed through Bones as he remembered the fallen Gaila. Now was not the time to remember tragedies of the past, so he pushed her pretty face to the back of his mind.
Next in line was an Andorian. She didn't look him in the eye, but down at her feet. She reminded Bones of Chekov. "This is Wreni, she is an Lieutenant Junior Grade." Not bothering to look up, she stepped back, a sapphire blush creeping across her skin.
Last stood a Deltan, Bones suppressed a shudder of remembrance of the woman he had med earlier in the morning. "This is Badna, is a Lieutenant." The woman smiled slightly before stepping back amongst her ranks, obviously sensing Bones' inner turmoil.
Litha straightened her older body and turned to Bones. "We are your Medical Staff, Dr. McCoy." Bones could not deny the swell of pride in his chest at her words. These women had nothing, death was a mere step away, yet they were proud to serve under him and he would be proud to serve with them.
Bones nodded once, just as he always did with Chapel. "Standard operating procedures, ladies." He watched as they each moved to a section of the large room, returning to the care of their patients. "How are these Star Fleet Officers here? Should they not have been rescued by now?" Questions flew through his mind and out his mouth.
Bowing her head, Litha sat down. "We do not remember what happened to bring us here. The last we remember is working our shifts on board our Star Ships. We are all from different ships, in different sectors, with different crews. There is nothing that ties us together other than occupation. We are all nurses in Star Fleet, yet we were different disciplines of medicine. I am a surgery nurse, Badna a psychiatric nurse, Wreni a maternal/child nurse, Sesse an Emergency nurse and Lydia a pediatric nurse." She sighed. "You will change all this. You will return us to our proper Medical Bays." Her confident gaze held his for several minutes.
Bones sighed, not wanting to argue or build hope. He scanned the room counting the number of patients held in their make-shift hospital. Most of the cots were empty, but there were a few that supported injured. "Litha, tell me about my patients." He began to roll up the sleeves on his borrowed tunic. His job was first and foremost to assess the already wounded.
They took a walking survey of the room. Most of the patients were men, most had pulled muscles or broken bones, some had burns. A few had hollow eyes, a few had tears and a few had hate sparkling in their wild eyes. The beds numbered an even one hundred, but only twenty were occupied. None of the injuries appeared to be from abuse, just mostly exertion. Bones silently hopped that Oria had taught those villains a lesson and they would leave the prisoners alone.
Litha led him towards a patient off to the side. "This is our worst patient. Every day I come I expect to find him dead." Her voice was plain, just the facts laid bare.
Bones could see the occupant of the bed was a Ferengi male. The closer they drew to the cot; Bones could see the three deep gashes that ran parallel down his forehead, face and chest. He could only hope they stopped where the sheet began. "What happened?" Bones asked quietly because the patient appeared to be resting.
Litha sighed. "One of the wild beasts came into the camp at night. He had gone to the spring for water and was caught outside." She turned his head over to expose the other side of his face. Most of the skin had been torn away; his right ear was completely gone. "Ears to Ferengi are as important as antenna to the Andorians. He has not the will to live like this, his honor is gone. He has tried to kill himself several times, but he is too weak and only hurts himself further." Her voice echoed pity as her gentle hands let his head loll back to the side.
Bones sat down on the opposite cot. Never before had he seen such mutilation and felt so helpless. Had he been on the Enterprise, this patient would have been held within hours of the attack. Now on this damn planet, he could do nothing to re-grow the ear or to return quality of life. "What is his name?" Bones voice was raw.
Litha clasped her hands understanding his inner turmoil. "His name is Duk." She whispered.
Bones kneeled beside the bed on Duk's good side. "Duk." He called gently. The Ferengi stirred looking over at the human warily. "My name is Dr. McCoy. I am a Federation Physician. I will treat your wounds as well as I can here." Duk turned his head away, grunting. Bones pushed on. "And as soon as I get us back on board the Enterprise, I will be fully capable of regrowing your ear." He said his words with as much conviction as he could. He wanted to believe the words, he wanted to believe he could save these people like Litha thought he could.
Duk's head snapped back to face Bones. "You will save us?" His words were broken because of his injuries.
Bones nodded. As always, Bones would pull a miracle out of his hat to better care for his patients. This time the miracle might be harder to obtain, but Bones would make it happen. He always did. "I will do my best. But first I need to treat your wounds here so they won't get infected, ok?" His patient nodded and Bones glanced to Litha who was already gathering supplies.
Hope was the best medicine a physician in his situation could give to his patients. He could see a small glimmer of hope now glowing in Duk's once dead eyes. With the help of his new nursing staff, Bones could care for these patients. With the help of Litha he could form a plan to get out of here. With the help of James T. Kirk he could save these people from this living hell.
A/N: Thanks for reading.
I was thinking of doing a chapter in Jim's POV. Yes/no?
Reviews/Comments keep me updating quickly.