Evac. Ops.
"Kero to all hands, I want medical teams standing by in the infirmary and rescue teams at the docking hatch! We're gonna rescue these people!" He looked over the bridge with a sparkle of determination in his eyes. Then he walked toward the turbolift. "Rilas you're with me."
The male Sogowan nodded and followed in his commanding officer's steps.
"Sir, permission to join the rescue team."
He turned around to face his tactical officer and girlfriend.
"I appreciate your efforts Lieutenant but I think those people have seen enough weapons for the rest of their lives."
"With all due respect sir, I've been at this station before and I know the layout," she said firmly.
"All right then. Step on it."
Down at the airlock, the rescue teams were doing their best trying to force open the double doors of the docking hatch. This wasn't a standard airlock for passengers but a large reinforced port for cargo with double slide doors. They were jammed, either due to lack of power or damage taken in the attack. A small slit, barely wide enough to get a finger through was their way in. One crewman slammed his hand on the metal and growled in frustration.
"Get some equipment down here! I want those doors open!" When he noticed his Captain, he saluted, forcing himself to calm down. "Sir! We're having some trouble with these doors sir but we'll get through."
"Better make it fast. We've got a lot of people in need of help on the other side."
Kero carefully checked every piece of equipment before hanging it on the belt around his waist and instructed Rilas and Stith to do the same.
"It can't be that bad," Stith grumbled, stepping in front of the doors. Pushed her fingers through the slit, she yanked at the huge solid pieces of metal using all her strength but she could just as well ask them to move aside. "Dammit!"
"Step aside," a very low and very heavy voice sounded close to her right ear. It was then that she noticed she was standing in the shadow of one of the largest Mantrins she had ever seen. He was truly massive. Standing more than eight feet tall he was even larger than Kero's father and the Emperor was among the largest examples of his race. Everything on this huge creature emitted pure strength. His dark green skin and hooked beak made clear he was a member of the very rare Ryrjhii race. They were quite aggressive but he wore the same red uniform meaning he was just as well a member of the crew as she was and that he had proven himself reliable in critical situations. Stith was stunned for a slight moment. Even Kero looked a bit small compared to him. He glared down his large muzzle with his trunk-sized arms crossed. She quickly stepped aside for the huge Mantrin to take a look at the situation. Stepping closer to the door, the Ryrjhii placed his ear on the metal and slammed his thick muscular tail against the door a couple of times to test its strength, leaving large dents in the material. "Shouldn't be too difficult," he muttered. Doing a step back he repeatedly battered his enormous shoulder against the door with quite a few times the strength of the average human male. As he threw his incredible strength and large weight against the metal the door started to buckle. "One last…" he said between clenched teeth.
For one more time he rammed against the doors which were completely twisted in the frame. With his brute force, he had created a fairly large opening in which he placed both his huge hands on each of the doors. Clenching his teeth he pushed with every bit of incredible strength, roaring when the doors started to give in. The result was an opening large enough to let a Mantrin through. Panting slightly, he stepped back to let the rescue teams perform their duty. Some of them were astonished for a second including Stith. She knew her species possessed excessive strength but what she had just seen even amazed her.
"Well done, Lieutenant," Kero praised.
The Ryrjhii quickly recovered from his use of strength.
"Captain," he muttered with a slight nod.
Kero and Rilas followed the rescue teams through the doors but Stith kept staring at the Ryrjhii until he walked on, intrigued by his appearance. Apparently he wasn't with one of the rescue teams which she thought was a mistake.
"Hey what's your name?" she said to his back.
He halted and looked over his shoulder.
"What for?"
"Because… I just…" He's got a point there. "Why aren't you on one of the rescue teams?" she changed the subject. "They can sure use your help."
"I'm not qualified to provide aid."
"Hey Stith, you gonna stay here and chat or are you coming with us?"
Kero had stuck his head around the corner with one ear flattened. He frowned.
"I'm sorry, sir. I just thought he could be of help. You know, clearing out any debris."
"Hmm, not a bad idea. Lieutenant you're with us."
He signaled the huge Mantrin. The Ryrjhii followed Stith through the remains of the docking hatch and they found themselves standing in the intestines of the war-torn drifter colony. Fires, sparking conduits and piles of rubble were around everywhere. Main power was offline making the place dark and ominous. The first injured survivors of the attack were brought in. A wounded human family with a father, mother and two children. The woman's arm was bent in a funny way, probably broken and all of them were bleeding out of several cuts and wounds all over their bodies.
"Get these people through!"
Rescue workers and medical personnel helped everyone to the safety of the ship. Kero's eyes met those of the woman as she walked past, supported by a member of his crew. They were filled with gratitude and relief. More survivors of all sorts of different species walked past. Their mission however was to look for people trapped under rubble or other obstacles that prevented them from getting to safety.
"Okay let's start searching."
As the Captain he prepared to take the lead, starting to make their way through an area that resembled a cargo bay but was now filled with piles of rubble and collapsed bulkheads. Kero, Stith, the Ryrjhii and the other search teams headed for the adjacent loading area that provided access to other parts of the complex. As Kero began assigning tasks, Stith decided to use the opportunity to find out more about her teammate.
"Now that we're gonna work together I still want your name."
The Ryrjhii looked aside at the for him far smaller Sogowan.
"You may call me Nunchaku."
"Mind if I just call you Nun?" she asked in a friendly manor.
He merely grunted with a slight nod of approval. The search teams began to work their way through the piles of rubble, clearing a path for the wounded and a safe passage for the anti-grav stretchers. They were still missing an important role in the team though.
"We still need a medic out here!"
"I'm here, sir," said a familiar and somewhat girlish voice.
Kiké approached their group, the badge of the medical department proudly pinned on her chest, a small case with medical equipment hanging on a band over her shoulder. Her Captain flattened an ear.
"Kiké? You're a medic?"
"Not officially, sir," she replied with a girlish laugh. "But I have a degree in medical and I'm qualified to provide basic medical aid in the field."
"Good enough for me. You're with us."
He was hard to miss but when the small Fjetahna girl caught Nunchaku in her glance her beak fell open for a second.
"Wow, you're big!"
Compared to him she was really tiny and his size had an intimidating effect on her. Bowing his back in a slightly exaggerated way he placed his massive clawed hands on his hips and scoffed.
"And I believe you are bit too young."
"Don't let my size fool ya. I can take excellent care of myself."
She crossed her arms in an indignant way, keeping one eye on him.
"Hey Kiké, you comin'?"
The massive Ryrjhii caught up with the rest of his team with a few huge steps.
"Why are they always so quick to judge me?" she thought irritatedly.
Authors note: Music track 18 (Horrors of War – (Earth 2160 Soundtrack – Ambient 01))
The five Mantrins took the scanning equipment from their belts and activated the powerful flashlights around their wrists before entering the dark corridors. There were several of them leading away from the loading dock to other parts of the station. It was virtually dark. The few lights still functioning spread a faint flickering shine, barely enough to see anything even for their kind. The darkness heightened their other senses however, their sharp hearing picking up all kinds of ominous sounds. The screeching of twisted metal, the rumbling sound of a bulkhead collapsing belowdecks, falling debris, sparking cables and the dripping of fluids from broken conduits were a few examples. On a station that had just been through hell it could have given any guy the creeps.
"Lieutenant, you've been on this station before. What're the likeliest places to find any survivors?"
His voice cut through the more or less silence like a blade. Stith called up a map using her scanner and tried to remember the layout of the station when it was still intact.
"The ship's docked at the eighteenth level. The Valkyrie's docked at the lower levels where living quarters and engineering are located. They should be able to locate a decent number of survivors. The most likely place for us to find trapped people is on the command deck on level twenty-five and the cargo bays on level seventeen."
"Okay, how're we supposed to-"
His question was interrupted by a scream of some kind. The entire group pricked their ears to locate the source which in their case was even better and faster than using scanners. Increasing their pace they eventually reached an opening in the corridor leading to a larger room where there was still some light. The screams were from a crying human woman trapped behind debris from collapsed bulkheads. It was obvious she was injured. A male voice tried to calm her down but the pain was intense. On the opposite side of the opening one of the ferocious spinner drones had drilled itself into the bulkhead. It was disabled but judging by the blood covering the little machine the thing had already eaten itself through flesh and bone. The entrance of the room that had once been a mess hall was blocked by more debris. Rilas used his flashlight to pierce through the darkness behind the metal obstruction. The beam illuminated the faces of several humans and alien species including Akrennians, a Mantrin, a pair of Vusstrans and a Gvort, all with various sorts of injuries, some of them severe.
"Don't worry! Help is on the way!"
Members of the group breathed sighs of relief. A human officer and member of the station's crew came to him. He had used parts of his uniform as provisional bandages for the others whose injuries were worse. His cheek was covered in blood from a deep cut but he seemed to be okay for the most part. His face was a mixture of shock and relief.
"Thank God, you're here. We'd nearly given up hope and were starting to think that this would be our grave but when the shooting stopped we knew someone would try to rescue us."
"We gotta get rid of this debris. How's everyone doing? Is everyone able to walk?"
The man looked back for a second to assess the damage.
"Everyone's got cuts and bruises but some are in really bad shape. Three of those… things beamed in here and started tearing up the place. I've seen terrible things happen in my life but nothing compared to this. See that injured woman over there?" He gestured at the human woman who moaned softly in pain. "She just saw her husband and child being split in two by one of those monstrous things."
"I know it's terrible but we gotta be fast," Rilas broke the man off. "We don't know how long this place's gonna last. Nunchaku?"
The human did a few frightened steps back when the colossal Mantrin appeared before him, only to assure himself he wasn't dangerous and here to offer his help. Keeping some distance he let the creature do his thing. Nunchaku grabbed the twisted girders and used his incredible strength to pull away the debris with a loud roar. Kero was impressed with the Ryrjhii's work. He knew his species was extremely strong but this huge chunk of muscle was rather exceptional. After Nunchaku had made room for everyone to enter he stepped aside to let the others into the dimly lit room. Kiké immediately made her way to the survivors, trying not to look at the dead and mutilated bodies from several different species all over the place and not to think about the blood that stuck to her feet. She signaled the others to guide the ones capable of walking to safety and sunk on her knees near those who couldn't. Using the tissue regenerator she began treating their injuries.
"Rescue ops. this is the Captain speaking," Kero said to his wristcom.
"Go ahead, sir."
"I need two stretchers here right away."
"We have your location, sir. They'll be there in a minute. And Captain? Captain Korso wanted to inform you that they're making progress and that they've started beaming the more seriously injured to our infirmary."
"That's all right. The Valkyrie isn't equipped to treat large numbers of wounded. Keep me informed. Kero out."
Meanwhile Stith did her best to assist Kiké, using the second tissue regenerator to treat the human woman while the rest of the group took care of the others. The human officer just kept talking to the woman to prevent her from going into shock or passing out. She had lost her husband and child in front of her eyes in a terrible way and his talking was what kept her. She had lost a lot of blood from a deep wound in her belly Stith was currently treating to the best of her abilities. Kiké tried to help the injured Mantrin. He was slipping into a delirious state because of the enormous blood loss from a wound in his stomach and he had nearly lost the lower segment of his left leg. It was connected to the rest of his body by a small piece of tissue and was certainly a lost cause. If he survived his injuries, he would never be able to walk normally again.
"Please don't die. Please don't die."
Kiké kept whispering these words while working as fast as she could. Kero noticed that the young Mantrinesse was trying to put on a brave front but he knew she was having difficulty. She tried to let her patient sit right up because he choked in his own blood that dripped from his beak. After what felt like an eternity to her, the stretchers arrived and the rescue workers took the Mantrin off her hands. She kept staring at the delirious member of her own species until he disappeared around the corner, praying in herself to Kirliya that he would make it out of this alive. The woman Stith had treated also left the room on a stretcher. The officer finally let go of her hand. Kiké stood up, the knees of her pants soaked with the blood that had formed around the injured Mantrin. She wiped off her hands on her already dirty uniform and put the equipment back in her medkit.
"Are you all right?" Nunchaku asked, putting his large hand on her shoulder.
"I'm fine," she said a little curter then she actually wanted it to. She shook his hand off her shoulder. He however reacted by gently wiping off a tear that had formed in the corner of her left eye. "It's nothing," she bit before he could say more.
Nunchaku shrugged and followed his Captain.
"Okay, back to the original plan."
"I doubt the elevators are working so we have to use the maintenance shafts," Stith said, turning attention to her scanner.
"Maybe you can help me locate Commander James," the human officer said. "My name's Charles by the way. Charles McKenzie, quartermaster."
They noticed the man only because he had spoken. Apparently he wasn't ready to leave with his people yet. Stith recognized his name though.
"So you're the guy. I'm Stith. We never met but I talked to you briefly when I first got here."
"I remember. But we've got more important things to do."
"Okay, if you could give us a direction?"
"Last thing I heard, she was trying to get everyone off the command deck. She would meet me at the docking ports but soon after that the com blew out and we lost contact. I tried to save as many people as possible but the debris trapped us in here. The most likely place to find her is somewhere between levels twenty-five and twenty-three."
"If she's still alive," Rilas added.
"Oh, she's a tough one."
McKenzie sounded quite sure of himself.
"Did you have any further contact with her?" Kero asked.
"No, but I just know she's still alive."
"And the only way to get there is through the maintenance shafts?" Stith asked uncomfortably.
The human looked at them for a second.
"Yeah, I see why that's gonna be a problem." He pointed at the three larger Mantrins. "The shafts are not extremely narrow but you three won't be able to squeeze yourselves into a space this big."
As Kero thought of a solution his wristcom chimed again.
"Korso to Captain Kero."
"Kero here."
"The Highlander just entered the system. Looks like they picked up the signal from the Indarians. Jason requested help from the starbase and a Federation starship will be here soon to take the survivors aboard and bring them to New Earth. From there they'll be able to return to their homeworlds. In the meantime they're standing by to assist us with transporters and another sickbay. Now it'll be much easier to get everyone off this station."
"Okay great. We're gonna look for the station's Commander. We just heard there's a big chance she's still alive."
"All right, good luck. Korso out."
After that he contacted Jason.
"Kero to Captain Pierce."
"I'm here. I heard what happened. Terrible."
"It sure is," he replied with a sigh. "I'm gonna beam personnel aboard to search every deck. Hold on. I've got something for you." A small metal case materialized on the deck in front of him. "Emergency transport beacons. Clip one of 'em on any remaining survivors you might find and we'll beam them out of there right away. But don't use in case of severe injury or the transport sequence might kill them."
Kero opened the case and found five of the tiny beacons.
"Thanks Jason."
"My pleasure. Let's get this done. Highlander out."
Authors note: Music track 18 (Horrors of War – (Earth 2160 Soundtrack – Ambient 01))
Kero's group including McKenzie continued on their previous heading, trying to drive away the darkness of the corridors with their flashlights. The only sounds they had for company were their own footsteps, enhanced by the echoes created by the metal bulkheads and the other rather unnerving sounds they heard earlier. On their way to the nearest shaft they could use to go up they ran into more disabled spinner drones, some of them covered with the blood and intestines of their victims. Kiké was not the only one having trouble with the horrifying sights. It was enough to drive the heartbeat and respiration of the entire group up to high levels. Both the young Mantrin's hearts skipped a few beats when her foot hit something fleshy. The corridor became wider when they reached an intersection which provided access to the maintenance shafts through a wall hatch. She had wandered off a little to the left and had trouble not to scream at what she saw when she pointed her flashlight down. Her foot had hit the teared up remains of a human body; one of the drones still stuck in the ribcage. The face was twisted in a silent scream and it was enough to make her stumble a few steps back. She fell with her back against the bulkhead on the opposite side in horror, her hearts beating in her throat.
"Kiké!" Rilas yelled. The group halted on his yell and turned back to see what happened. She stood against the bulkhead, panting in fear, tears rolling over her cheeks. Mantrins couldn't be scared easily but when the others noticed the body their stomachs twisted too. Rilas grabbed the young Fjetahna girl by her shoulders and withdrew the mutilated corpse from her sight. "Kiké, are you all right?"
She cried softly and didn't reply. He gently pulled her against his chest.
"Shhh, don't look. It's gone."
"When we left the ship, I thought of this as just another mission," she sobbed.
"I know it's horrible but we have to get going. Just don't look at it."
"Easier said than done sir," she replied softly.
"Come, you and Stith are our only hope in finding Commander James. You think you can manage or shall we call for someone else?"
"No, I'm a big girl. I can do this."
She gently pushed him away and wiped off the tears. The group had reached the intersection. Fortunately there were no bodies lying here. McKenzie pulled out a fairly large metal hatch and placed it on the floor next to the opening. The hatch provided access to a large ladder reaching up and down across the entire station. He stuck his head through the hole and checked.
"The way up is free from obstructions. You should be able to reach all the upper levels from this shaft."
"Thanks." Stith turned her attention to Kiké, who seemed to have calmed down a bit. "You can do this?"
"Yes ma'am."
Her voice was soft and had a bit of hesitation in it but Stith decided to go through with it nonetheless.
"Let's go then." As she prepared to lead the way, Kero handed her the case with the transport beacons which she clipped on the belt around her waist. Sinking on her knees she entered the shaft head first. Fortunately they didn't have to go down since that route was obstructed by collapsed bulkheads and broken conduits. The only light down there were sparks which frequently lit the shaft with a shimmering light. She grabbed the cold metal rungs with her strong clawed hands and tested their strength by pulling them first. "Looks fine to me!" She pulled herself up to provide room for the rest of her body inside the tubular construction, carefully placing her large foot on one of the rungs, her huge triple jointed legs barely having enough room to move. The rung didn't give any signs that it couldn't support her weight so she placed her other foot on another and climbed a few rungs up. "It's safe Kiké. You can come now. Just don't look down."
As she looked down she saw Kiké trying to follow the same procedure.
"Don't worry Lieutenant. I'm not afraid of heights."
She tried to reassure herself more than Stith.
"We'll be going now, Captain!" Stith yelled down.
"Okay, we'll be on our way too!" Kero's voice echoed through the shaft. "Contact me when there's trouble and we'll try to get you two outta there. Good luck. Let's go people!"
That was the last thing she heard from him as the sound of the group's footsteps removed itself from the hatch. Kiké was also fully inside the shaft and waited for Stith to climb up. Stith attached her scanner to the wrist of her left arm. That way she could resume her short-range scans for life forms while her right arm with the flashlight pointed up. This way they had a greater chance of locating Commander James. She started climbing, slowly at first but picking up more speed as they gained height.
"How're you holding up Ensign?" she asked without looking down.
"Right behind you ma'am."
Because she was smaller Kiké had less trouble climbing the ladder and she was right underneath her. A couple of rungs later her scanner chimed.
"Picking up a life sign on the twenty-third deck. Correction, four life forms. Let's go!" At that moment an acoustic alarm sounded through the entire station. Normally it would be accompanied by a computer voice notifying everyone about the nature of the danger but since almost everything was offline or destroyed it was impossible to determine. "That can't be good."
She flattened an ear. It didn't take long for Kero to contact her.
"Stith, there's been a problem."
"Yeah, I've noticed."
"Korso and his team have rescued all the survivors from the lower levels so they're pulling out. The cooling system of the station's primary fusion reactor has suffered a failure. She's gonna blow in approximately twenty minutes. I want you and everybody else out of there in fifteen."
"Copy that, sir." she replied. What a surprise. It's always the main reactor. It could be coincidence but exactly the same thing happened aboard the Myrana. "I've located more survivors on level twenty-three. Gimme a few minutes to check their situation. Maybe we can beam 'em outta there."
"We've found a couple more too. They're the last ones here and we're evacuating. I'll keep the ship docked as long as possible just in case."
"Got it, Captain."
"Kero out."
"Change of plans Ensign. We're gonna do everything twice as fast."
"I can keep up."
They both knew it was serious. After climbing another two dozen rungs Stith had reached the hatch that provided access to the level where her scanner had picked up the bio signs. Letting go of the ladder with one arm she tried the hatch on the opposite side. It was dent and that was likely the reason why she couldn't get it to open.
"C'mon!" she hissed. She snorted derisively. "Darn it!" The alarm forced her to use more drastic measures. Climbing up the ladder a few rungs higher she looked down. "Better take a slight distance, Ensign. I don't know how this is gonna unfold." Kiké stepped down a few rungs lower and protected her head with one muscular arm against possible injury. Her superior lifted her huge right foot from the ladder and retracted her leg, preparing for a massive kick. Her foot hit the hatch with so much force that the metal completely buckled under her strength and popped out of the wall like a cork from a fresh bottle of champagne. It slammed against the bulkhead on the opposite side. The clang of metal on metal echoed through the corridor. Nothing could withstand the kick of a Mantrin. Stith nodded and grunted in approval when she stepped into the corridor. She grabbed the smaller Mantrinesse's hand and pulled her out of the shaft. The alarm had stopped but a few functioning alert lights spread their pulsating red light across the bulkheads. "That way," Stith said, pointing in the direction her scanner indicated.
They started walking, urged by the alarm to move faster. Kiké checked her equipment. The tissue regenerators each had about seventy-five percent of their power supply left and she was gonna need them again. The little devices were meant to save lives while the mechanical beings that currently threatened their very existence were doing everything to make sure that not a single organic being survived their conquering. She tried not to look at the mutilated bodies, surrounded by pools of blood, the vicious little machines buried in the flesh, as they walked past. Splatters of blood covered every inch of the bulkhead and the deck and it was a mystery to both of them why these Machines used such horrible weapons in their war. As she looked at it from the corner of her eye, she imagined them reactivating on their own to finish what they started, praying it wouldn't happen for real.
"Try not to look at it," Stith's voice penetrated the silence between them. Although it was downright repulsive it was also unavoidable as the corpses were lying around everywhere. But she was a Mantrin and Mantrins didn't admit to their fear so this time she screwed up her courage and followed Stith until they reached a section that served as a small command post for docking operations and general management on this level. It was a larger open area but collapsed bulkheads, fallen support beams and debris obstructed the place. Some sort of heavy gas had flooded the area and covered the ground up to their lower set of knees. Small fires burned everywhere and added their smoke to the gaseous substance. The two officers used their searchlights however to drive the darkness away. Stith's scanner was positive the life signs were coming from this area. "Anyone here?" she yelled.
"Over here."
The voice was barely audible above the hissing of steam and the eruptions of sparks from broken conduits. It came from the small office in the center of the dimly lit bay where there was still some light. Stith firmly stepped through the cloud, evading the corpses hidden in the fog that could cause her to trip and fall. Kiké followed exactly in her superior's footsteps until they reached the office, which was slightly above deck level so the smoke couldn't get in. The entrance was obstructed by debris which Stith quickly took care of by simply tossing it away. Inside they found four officers, two men and two women. One of them was Commander James. The human woman with the long red hair and deep green eyes recognized her as she moved closer and sunk on her knees to check her injuries. Kiké immediately opened her medkit to begin treating their wounds which was easier said than done. One of the men had a broken leg and cuts and bruises over his entire body but he was currently trying to keep his fellow officers from losing consciousness. The woman had similar injuries but the other man she treated first had a spinner drone stuck in his shoulder. He was, miraculously enough, still alive though in great pain. Breathing was extremely painful for him and even the slightest move practically impossible as the blades would cut deeper into his flesh. Stith looked into the deep green eyes of Kyra James and asked Kiké for the second regenerator.
"It's you," she said weakly. "Somehow I knew I'd see you again."
"Yeah, but probably not under these circumstances," Stith replied, performing a quick scan of her body. Pierced lung, four broken ribs, a broken leg and a concussion.
The pierced lung however was a lot worse than she thought at first. The woman's chest was pierced by shards of metal debris. If she didn't receive proper medical treatment soon, she would die. She had already lost a great deal of blood and a trickle of the red fluid flowed from the corner of her mouth. She smiled faintly though when she noticed the uniform.
"You've gone back into military service again," she whispered.
"Shhh, don't talk. Keep up your strength."
She ripped open the remains of Kyra's uniform and repaired the damaged tissue as well as she could, afraid she was too late to save her. Right now there was nothing she could do about the internal damage.
"Lieutenant, if I pull this thing out of him here, he'll die. He needs proper medical attention. That thing makes things worse the longer it stays in his body."
"The transport sequence might kill them," Stith though out loud. "But moving them will kill them too and it's too late to get stretchers here."
Kyra called for her attention by softly whispering. Talking cost her the greatest effort.
"The reactor's gonna blow. Save yourselves while you still can. I'm gonna die anyway."
"No, we're gonna get you out of here."
She unclipped the case containing the transport beacons.
"But ma'am, that'll kill them," Kiké objected.
"Maybe, but they still have a chance. They'll die anyway if they remain here."
"True," she replied with a nod.
She opened the case but hesitated.
"There're only five beacons."
It was silent for a moment but Stith's brain worked at light speed. Maybe Jason could get a manual lock on her bio sign while the other five used the beacons.
"Stith to Kero."
"Lieutenant, you've got seven minutes left, then I want you outta there."
"Captain, can you ask Jason to get a transporter lock on us?"
"Hold on." It was silent for a moment. "Negative Lieutenant. Radiation from the reactor is disrupting the lock and you're too deep inside."
"What if I get closer to the outer hull?"
"It might work but there's no guarantee. Your choice."
Stith gave it some thought. She was not going to choose between them, that was for sure. If someone was going to die then she was the logical choice. She was the ranking officer. Putting her hopes on the fact that the Highlander could get a transporter lock if she got close enough to the outer hull she heaved a sigh and turned her attention to Kiké.
"Ensign, place the beacons on the wounded and take one yourself."
"But ma'am, you could get killed."
"That's a risk I'll to take."
"If you're not going, I'm not going."
"This is not open for debate, Ensign!" Stith said harshly.
Kiké turned her eyes down and her ears lowered.
"Yes ma'am," she replied softly, though it was clear she didn't agree with her decision.
Stith tossed her the case. The young girl carefully attached the beacons to the clothes of the wounded. One by one they were beamed to the Highlander, the less injured first.
"This is gonna hurt but at least you'll have a chance of survival."
She briefly grabbed Kyra's hand. She gratefully stared into her copper-colored eyes.
"Make haste," she whispered.
"I will," she promised.
Kiké attached the three remaining beacons to the Commander, her officer and eventually herself. The young officer gave Stith one last worried look before she materialized with the remaining survivors and left her alone.
Kiké rematerialized with the two remaining victims on a special emergency medical transporter pad and found herself in the middle of the overcrowded sickbay of the USS Highlander. Doctors swiftly moved to take care of the new wounded she had brought in.
"I can help," she yelled over the noise.
Although the Highlander's infirmary took up nearly a quarter of an entire deck it wasn't designed to treat this many patients. Emergency bio beds had been erected everywhere and everyone with some medical knowledge had been called to aid. She began assisting a human doctor in helping the man with the drone stuck in his shoulder. She wasn't sterile in the least with blood on her clothes, in her hair and on virtually every inch of her body but nobody seemed to care about it. Not even when her feet left a trail of blood leading from the transporter pad to her current position. Never in her life she had wanted to take a shower so badly to wash all the filth and hopefully some of the misery she felt off of her.
Stith however was busy saving her own life, running through the dimly lit corridors with her hearts pounding in her ears and Kero's voice urging her to hurry. The alarm sounded again, indicating the reactor was reaching critical. Signs of this were the explosions she heard coming from the lower decks and conduits exploding all around her.
"Stith, where are you?" Kero yelled, his voice full of concern.
"I'm heading for the docking tubes. That way Jason'll have a better chance getting a transporter lock," she panted. "Don't worry, sir. I have no intention of dy-"
A power conduit exploded with a deafening bang behind the bulkhead on her right. The shockwave knocked her down but she managed to break her fall with her arm. An intense pain shot through her right leg and the right side of her body as the fire scorched her skin and pieces of metal cut in her flesh. She roared and slammed her fist on the deck plating. Clenching her teeth she growled in a wild mixture of frustration, anger and pain.
"Lieutenant!" her wristcom yelled. "Stith! Stith!"
It was the voice of her Captain and beloved one and it gave her the strength to pull her legs from under the fallen rubble and get back on her feet again.
"I'm here and I'm not dead!" she yelled, letting herself fall with her back against the wall, panting. Squeezing her eyes shut she tried for a moment to catch her breath. Probably got one or two minutes left. A victim of her own battered body, she limped around the corner to the docking tubes. "Almost there," she panted, trying to keep herself from losing consciousness.
"Lieutenant."
Kero's voice had made place for Pierce's.
"A little closer…" Her voice was now almost a whisper. She had made it to the entrance of one of the docking tubes and stumbled further until she had reached the far end, as far away from the station's main structure as possible. With no strength left in her body she let herself fall down against the wall of the tube. She slid down to the deck plating, gasping for air, trying to catch her breath. Gathering all the strength she still had left in her arm she brought her wristcom to her muzzle. "Well, I'm here Jason. Now'd be a good time."
The few still functioning lights flickered and blew out as explosions tore the station apart. The last thing she heard when her molecules began to disassemble was the sound of explosions followed by rapid decompression just before her ears popped.