Author's Note: Please take time to review the story. We have now established some new characters and set the original cast back into their roles. Again, the intent with this story was to continue on after the last ENT book, The Romulan War; Beneath the Raptor's Wing. I do make references to some situations in that and previous books. It is my assumption that most readers have read the series. I therefore do not provide much background information.
11
USS Enterprise
"Sir, both teams and all weapons are accounted for. We have one casualty. Please advise sick bay that we are on our way to their location," Private Romero reported to Lieutenant Reed.
Malcolm's stomach lurched up into his chest. His mouth suddenly became dry, "Stay where you are, a medical crew will be there in just a few minutes." His mind was racing. He wanted nothing more than to jump out of his seat and run down to be with Julie. Is she all right? Is she alive?
"Sir, we are already en route, we will be in sick bay in approximately forty-five seconds. Romero, out!"
At that moment Trip arrived on the bridge. As he moved across the room he noticed the Captain standing near Malcolm. Both looked distracted, as if something dire had happened, although, Trip couldn't imagine anything worse than the current situation. He quickly took up a position at the engineering station.
Archer caught a glimpse of Trip as he walked behind Malcolm. "Trip, the aliens have retreated back aboard their ship. Get as much information as you can, determine their weapon capabilities and anything that will help us find out what they used to disrupt our engines. T'Pol can help. I will be down in sick bay." Captain Archer headed towards the turbo lift and turned back.
"Malcolm?" Archer looked at his security officer, indicating that he should join him.
"T'Pol, you have the bridge. Let the aliens go but if they lock weapons on us you have permission to return fire. Otherwise, just try and figure out who the hell they are." Both the Captain and Malcolm entered the lift and the doors slid closed.
The first MACO team stayed behind at the docking port in order to secure the location. Private Romero and the second team attempted to stabilize Lieutenant McKenzie the best they could before gently lifting her and quickly moving her through the corridors towards sick bay. She had lost a lot of blood. Her only hope was to get her to the doctor as quickly as possible. Even with the tourniquet applied to her leg, she was still bleeding. A trail of blood followed the team as they ran.
Within seconds the doors to sick bay slid open. Dr. Phlox had received the report of a critically injured MACO. His team was standing ready for their arrival. As the group pushed through the doors, Phlox moved quickly to one side in order to make room for the large figures moving towards him. He couldn't immediately determine who was injured. The MACOs were grouped together so tightly that they seemed to move as one unit. Fluidly, they enveloped the exam table then slowly stepped back to reveal Lieutenant McKenzie. She was unconscious but alive. Phlox and his team immediately went to work trying to stabilize her and determine the exact extent of her injuries. The MACOs slowly backed away but did not leave the room, their eyes fixed on the doctor's every movement. Each flanked the entry door with their weapons still at the ready like sentries holding guard. They were covered in blood and grime from the day's battle. They were an intimidating sight.
Within a few minutes both the Captain and Lieutenant Reed walked through the door. Reed's face was noticeably pale. It was obvious that both men had seen the trail of blood leading into sick bay.
"What is the status doc?" asked Archer. Malcolm's eyes immediately fixated on the body lying on the table directly in front of them.
The doctor, who was busily working on his patient, looked up. He was wearing a surgical gown and like the MACOs was covered with blood. "Ah Captain, I am glad you're here. I need to speak with you."
The doctor handed his assistant a medical instrument and lead the Captain to a corner of sick bay.
"How is she, Doc?" quietly asked Archer.
"Well…I expect her to survive. The wound to her leg is very significant. I have begun to repair the major damage…" The doctor's voice trailed off as he shifted his eyes downward. A chill ran up Archer's spine. The doctor was normally extremely confident in his abilities. This hesitation was not like him.
"What's the problem? Does she have other injuries?" asked Archer.
"No, the problem is with the damage to her leg. As you well know a great deal of progress has been made towards being able to repair partial and total amputations…"
"Wait, amputation? Did she lose her leg?" asked Archer, very concerned.
"As I said, great advances have been made in the area of partial amputations. Most patients experience a full recovery within a year of an incident." Archer couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable the doctor seemed.
"What do you mean, Doc? She will recover then?" asked Archer, trying to understand the scope of the problem.
"She will survive but whether or not she regains any use of her leg depends on you," said Phlox.
"Me? I'm sorry Doc but now you've completely lost me. You're the doctor. How can I possibly help her?" asked Archer.
"Captain, unfortunately I do not have the resources nor the experience to perform the complex procedure needed to repair this type of damage. There are wonderful experts in this field on Denobula. The Vulcans have also made great advances in this area. My recommendation therefore is to transport Lieutenant McKenzie to Vulcan as quickly as possible to minimize further degradation of the damaged limb."
Archer's mind raced; trying to digest the information he was just given. "Doctor, are you saying that if we don't leave now for Vulcan, she could lose the use of her leg?"
"Not just the use of her leg. I am afraid that there is very little that I can do. I will have to complete the amputation. I'm sorry, Captain." Doctor Phlox turned, walked back over to his patient and began to check her vitals.
Archer quickly followed, speaking loudly, "Doctor, there must be something you can do. All your science degrees, all this equipment, the collection of zoo animals in here and you mean to tell me that you can't help her?" Everyone's eyes immediately shot towards the men. The feeling in the room suddenly became even more tense.
"Sir, I'm sorry but as I said her injury is significant and I do not have the expertise needed to repair the damage. The type of weapon used vaporized a good portion of the connective tissue and bone. Synthetic components are needed and the nerves from her upper leg would essentially be re-routed to compensate for those she lost. Microprocessors inserted around the damaged area will control movement and give her back most of the sensation to that portion of the leg. The follow-up treatment is also very complex with months and sometimes years of physical therapy." Both men looked down at Lieutenant McKenzie. She was stable but still unconscious.
After a few seconds, Archer let out a long breath and asked, "Besides taking her to Vulcan, what are the other options?"
"If she doesn't get proper treatment soon, as I said I will have no option but to amputate the leg," replied Phlox.
"Amputate? Sir!" Malcolm interrupted with a sound of shock in his voice.
The Captain looked at Malcolm and suddenly remembered his presence and that of the MACOs in the room.
"Doc, what is her prognosis if you amputate?" asked Archer.
"Captain, it would be best if she were taken to Vulcan, the doctors there…" Phlox replied but was quickly shut down by Archer.
"I understand that Doctor but we have a mission to complete. As much as I would like to, I can't turn this ship towards Vulcan. It would take at least a month to get there. We don't have that kind of time. You're just going to have to do your best, Doc."
"I understand," Phlox acknowledged. He then hesitated but added, "There have been great advancements made in the development of prosthetics as well. With some therapy she should be able to regain most of her abilities." Phlox tried to hide his disappointment and sound as positive as he could for the sake of the crew standing around him.
With that Archer turned and headed towards the door. He stopped and stood next to Lieutenant Reed, placing a hand on the man's shoulder, "I'm sorry, Malcolm."
Malcolm, looking completely distraught stepped forward and took hold of Julie's hand. The Captain walked out of sick bay followed by Private Romero who ushered the rest of his team out as well.
"T'Pol, the ship is moving off! Do you have anything on them?" shouted Trip across the bridge.
"No, but they do not appear to be powering up their weapons," replied T'Pol as she scanned sensors.
"Our sensors don't seem to be able to penetrate their shielding. Damn it!" Trip added angrily and slammed his fist down onto the console.
"It appears not," T'Pol relied flatly. Trip shot her a look of irritation. She does that on purpose just to screw with me.
"Sir, I have impulse and helm control is back online. Do you want me to follow?" interjected Travis.
"Stay within sensor range if you can. We need to try and take more scans to find out how they managed to disable the engine control systems," replied Trip.
"Belay that order." T'Pol stated, overriding Trip's command. "We already determined that our sensors can not penetrate their shielding. Pursuing them may only agitate them further and escalate the situation. We have no idea of their weapons capabilities. It would be reckless to pursue them," added T'Pol.
"Agitate them! Who the hell cares! They just tried to board and shot one of the MACOs! The Captain told us to find out their capabilities. We have them on the run so let's take advantage and strike while they're in retreat." Trip was fuming.
"The Captain also told us to not to fire on them unless they initiate by locking weapons," T'Pol said in a calm voice. "Resume our previous heading, Lieutenant Mayweather."
Just as Trip was about to protest the doors of the turbo lift slid open. "What'sbuyhb the status?" Captain Archer asked as he exited.
T'Pol took a step towards him and quickly responded. She wasn't about to allow Trip to interject his opinion regarding her decisions. "Sir, the alien ship has departed; our sensors were unable to penetrate their shielding."
"Have you set a pursuit course?" asked Archer.
T'Pol suddenly felt the skin on her face flash warm. Did she make the wrong decision? "No, Sir. We are resuming our original course."
Trip looked up from his workstation with a slight smile on his face.
"Good, we don't know if they have friends out here. The last thing we need to get into a fight so close to Romulan territory. We sent them running for now. Analyze the sensor information that we did get and also find out what the MACOs know. Maybe they were able to identify the species. Make sure the crew stays vigilant, obviously this isn't Kansas. Trip, get back down to engineering. Try to determine what the hell happened to our engine and see if there is a way to prevent it next time. We are going to need warp so your priority is getting that back online." With that the Captain exited the bridge and headed towards his ready room.
T'Pol sat back down at her station. Without even looking in her direction, Trip quickly walked across the bridge and entered the turbo lift. His anger was easily felt by the rest of the crew.
Captain Archer sat at his desk and began to review the Vulcan database. He was searching for information regarding this sector of space. He found nothing. Apparently, the Vulcan's don't spend much time out here. As he was about to send an updated report to Admiral Gardner the door chime rang.
"Enter," replied Archer.
A distraught looking Lieutenant Reed walked in.
"Lieutenant, what can I do for you?" Archer asked as he motioned for his Security Officer to have a seat.
"Thank you sir, but no. I wanted to ask a favor." Captain Archer suddenly felt empathy for the man standing in front of his desk. It was obvious that he was in a great deal of pain.
"I'll try Malcolm are you sure you don't want to sit down?" asked Archer.
"I just wanted to ask that you reconsider your decision in not departing for Vulcan," Malcolm blurted out in a rapid fire tone.
Archer sat back in his chair. He wasn't entirely sure how to respond to such a plea. "Malcolm, you know I can't do that. I understand your feelings for…"
"Then allow me to take her. Once we get to Damar IV, I will find transportation to Vulcan myself," Malcolm interrupted.
Surprised, Archer stood and walked around from behind his desk. He placed a hand on the man's shoulder, "It's obvious you care a great deal for Lieutenant McKenzie but I am not about to leave you stranded on a planet we know nothing about."
"Sir, I will get her to Vulcan," Malcolm pleaded.
Archer walked back around behind his desk and stood looking out the window. He took a few seconds to contemplate his response. This is not going to be easy.
"Malcolm, the answer is no. She's critically ill. You have no way of taking care of her and no means of getting her to Vulcan. Not to mention, we were just attacked. Who knows what other dangerous species are out here. It's better that she stays were she is. Dr. Phlox will do everything he can for her. I realize this is not the answer you wanted but we all know the risk we take by being out here. If the situation was different, I would have Travis set a course for Vulcan at max warp. Unfortunately, our systems are still damaged from the attack. All we can do now is to let Dr. Phlox treat Lieutenant McKenzie the best he can. I am confident that she will be fine and make adjustments as time goes on. She's strong; I doubt this will slow her down at all. Now, go back to sick bay. Take some time and be there when she wakes up. I'm sure she will be glad to have you there."
Malcolm's heart was pounding. He wanted more than anything to scream and yell at the Captain. How could he sit and do nothing? With that Malcolm turned and left. He knew that the Captain was right on some level but this was Julie. I have to do something to help her. She doesn't deserve this.
