Chapter 11
"Tengu," I heard a familiar voice say. "Tengu!"
"I'm up, I'm up," I mumbled, slowly opening my eyes. "What time is it?"
"Later than it was when we fell in here," Tholme replied.
"That's not much help," I muttered. I shook my head to get rid of any last webs of darkness. I gazed up and was surprised to see lights inset in the dirt ceiling. "Where are we?"
"The tunnels."
"Ah, that explains the lights." I looked around me and cried, "Tholme, are you alright?"
The cave-in caused by the explosives had Tholme's leg trapped under the tons of rock and dirt. He said, "It is a bit painful, yes. But it's my prosthetic leg underneath all this rock. Check on Jasta. I shoved her clear."
I nodded and crawled over the unconscious forms of Ian and Barbara to Jasta. "She's alive," I said. "But, I don't think she'll be joining us anytime soon," I sighed.
Barbara awakened and gently shook Ian. The first thing the two of them saw was Tholme. They crouched by his side in obvious concern and worry. "I'm surprised you're not crying in pain right now," Ian commented.
"This is a prosthetic leg. The skin on it isn't real, although there are some synthetic nerves in it," Tholme explained. "I think it's damaged beyond function."
"Jasta's ankle is broken," I reported, checking the lieutenant over. "And there's this nasty shoulder injury."
"Anything else?" asked Tholme.
I shook my head. Barbara came over to check on Jasta and laid a hand on her forehead.
"She's so cold," Barbara said, drawing her hand back from the icy temperature of Jasta's skin. "But it's stifling down here."
"That's what happens to a Skonian in shock," I replied.
"What about Tholme?" asked Ian. "We can't leave him here."
"I know that."
"Can't you use your Jedi powers?"
Tholme shook his head. "The thing that was blocking us before is still active."
"Are you sure we can even lift any of those rocks?" Barbara asked. "It looks like a pretty solid cave-in to me."
"We can. The question is finding the right one to lift," Tholme answered.
Ian went to his knees and studied the interlocked rocks around Tholme's leg. After a moment, he picked one to start with.
"Not that one," I warned, going over to help him. I pointed out a larger one. "This one is most of what's on his leg." Ian and I braced ourselves to lift the large flat stone. Barbara got behind Tholme and grabbed him under the arms, ready to pull him out. I nodded and lifted my side of the stone. Ian quickly did the same. "Now," I told Barbara.
With a tug, Barbara dragged Tholme clear from the now-unsettled rock wall. Ian and I let go and dropped to the ground as the rocks resettled themselves. The second all was quiet, I joined Tholme and Barbara.
"Looks bad," I remarked to the Jedi master. Some of the sharper rocks had cut through the synthetic skin on his prosthetic leg and parts of the metal underneath had been crushed and severely dented. Ian had to look away for a moment and remember that it wasn't Tholme's real leg.
I helped Tholme up to test if the leg still worked. He took a step, and his mechanical leg gave out. He said, "Looks like I'm not going anywhere without help."
I said to the two Humans, "You know, I'm glad now that you two didn't get on a ship."
"It wasn't through lack of trying," Ian responded.
I sat down to think. I played with the bone pendant around my neck that Julian had given to me as a gift a few months ago. I half-smiled when a vision of the present played in my mind.
Julian Bashir, tired from the hours spent helping to treat the three hundred freed prisoners of war, leaned back against a counter with medical supplies on it in the main ward of the medical center. Garak soon joined him.
"You did the right thing," the Cardassian said.
"Yes, because leaving my wife and Tholme behind in the middle of a battlefield is the right thing to do," Julian snorted.
"You had a job to do. If you hadn't-"
"Garak, will you please not talk right now? I spoke with Gackti earlier, and he wasn't too happy with Jasta being left behind either."
"Commander Iko is going to send a search party back there soon. He-"
The young red-black haired officer hurried into the room. "Doctor Bashir, I tried to make them leave, but they insisted on seeing the person in charge."
"Nivu, what are you talking about? Who-" started Julian.
"Julian!" shrieked a girl in delight as she rushed into his arms.
"Susan?" Julian asked in disbelief. He looked to the doorway and saw the white-haired Doctor, entering in a more dignified manner.
"Thought you could lose us with your speed, young man?" the Doctor said to Nivu.
"N-no sir, not at all," the officer answered, intimidated by the Time Lord's presence.
"Good, then go fetch some tea."
"Sir?"
"Better do as he says, Nivu," Julian suggested. With a nod, Nivu hurried away.
"Julian, I'm so glad to see you," Susan said with a smile.
"Doctor Bashir, I don't believe you've introduced me to your friends," Garak remarked.
Julian sighed. "Garak, this is Susan and the Doctor. Before you ask, no, he never gives a name, and he's a doctor of many things. "
The Doctor nodded to the Cardassian before turning back to Julian. "You seem surprised to see us, my boy."
"I am."
"Then, I know you haven't seen the people we're looking for."
"Ian and Barbara? Why did you come here to look for them?"
Susan answered, "They went missing three weeks ago. We asked the military to help us find them, but they couldn't. When we heard about this imprisonment camp rescue, we thought…"
"You thought they would be here," Julian finished.
"Quite so. But, if you had seen them, you would have been expecting us," replied the Doctor. "Maybe if we could meet Tengu, she could tell us."
Garak cleared his throat. "Tengu is missing as well. She and two of our friends were captured and put in that imprisonment camp two weeks ago. The military went to rescue the prisoners, and the three of them held off the Jem'hadar to allow the ships to take off. Honestly, I don't know how Doctor Ba-"
"Thank you, Garak," interrupted Julian before he stormed out the room in frustration. Once alone in the hallway, he leaned against the wall and slid down until he was sitting on the floor. The Doctor came and stood nearby after a moment.
Julian admitted, "Garak's right. I don't even know how I've held it together this long."
"You had a job to do, and it kept your mind occupied with treating your patients."
Julian looked up at the Doctor's face. "You don't understand. We left Tengu, Tholme, and Jasta in the middle of a battlefield. There were at least forty Jem'hadar against them. Who knows how many more there were after we left."
The Doctor nodded. "Your Tengu is a survivor. If anyone can get herself and her two companions out of a situation like that, it's her. She managed to get us all out of the Death Zone intact."
"I suppose so."
"Have faith, young man. You'll find her."
Julian nodded. "What about Ian and Barbara? Was this the only lead you had on finding them?"
"Yes, but I have a feeling that these Jem'hadar you spoke of captured them as well. As curious as Chesterton and Barbara are, they would have let me know if they wanted to explore on their own."
"I didn't see them at the camp. But everything was chaotic. Explosions, phaser fire…"
"Our friends aren't lost until we find proof, don't you agree?"
A half-smile formed on Julian's face. "I agree."
