Chapter 11
Several hours had passed and consciousness was just returning to Captain Lennon, he managed to sit up despite the intense pain in his ribcage. Looking around he noticed Doctor Lucas Dayne standing over him and through the darkness he managed to vaguely make out the shapes of his surroundings. He was in sickbay.
" Doctor?" he wearily said.
" Easy now captain, you've broken four ribs and have severe concussion,"
" What happened?" he impatiently interrupted.
" The shockwave carried us out of the nebula, we are lost in the Badlands but we escaped from the Cardassians and have you to thank for that."
On looking around him the Captain couldn't help but notice the conditions he was lying in, extra beds were been erected throughout sickbay to accommodate the influx of patients. He looked at the Doctor feeling shocked.
" How many?" Lennon asked
" Seven dead, thirty seven injured, five seriously."
" Ric? Kestra? Cumbrae?" he blurted out
" shhh.. Sara and Cumbrae are fine, Kestra will be alright in no time and so will you." replied the doctor putting a support around the Captains ribcage. The doctor continued. " Lt. Glatzer has a few vital systems up and running, life support, sensors, short range com system but everyone could use the Captain back on his feet."
" Doctor?" Lennon puzzling replied expecting to have an argument about not being allowed back on duty.
" As you can see I've got enough patients here, I'm sure you can manage on your own." explained Doctor Dayne.
" Thank you." replied Lennon as he struggled up and made his way from sickbay glancing to either side of him to see the carnage caused.
* * * * *
Upon climbing out of the turbolift he could see Commander Sara alone on what was left of the bridge. Control panels had been pulled from the wall by emergency repair teams, and only the magnificently coloured nebula clouds of the Badlands lit up the room from the viewscreen. Sara turned around and gleamed upon seeing the Captain entering the room, both men beamed radiantly and shook hands without uttering a word before turning to face the viewscreen.
" Magnificent, isn't it ?" spoke Captain Lennon.
" It's the most beautiful cloud formation I've ever seen, I'm only glad I'm still here to witness it." replied Sara.
" I never doubted it for one second," Lennon beamed, "not with this crew."
" And the crew never doubted it either, we stayed as one through both the good and the bad."
" Our mission is still not complete, we must make it back to San Francisco to report to Admiral Nechayev. That could be a problem stuck here without a warp core." continued Lennon.
" You've had it planned from the start captain. I thought it odd at the time but I now realise why you sent a distress signal which couldn't penetrate the Badlands."
" And why was that?" tested Lennon.
" You knew the Maquis were close by and you knew that when we escaped from the nebula they were the only ones who could help you get back to Earth, and why, because you still have the man who fooled the Maquis into thinking he was Tyros onboard the ship and they want him back desperately."
" Very good Ric, you read me like a book." smiled Lennon.
Several hours had passed and consciousness was just returning to Captain Lennon, he managed to sit up despite the intense pain in his ribcage. Looking around he noticed Doctor Lucas Dayne standing over him and through the darkness he managed to vaguely make out the shapes of his surroundings. He was in sickbay.
" Doctor?" he wearily said.
" Easy now captain, you've broken four ribs and have severe concussion,"
" What happened?" he impatiently interrupted.
" The shockwave carried us out of the nebula, we are lost in the Badlands but we escaped from the Cardassians and have you to thank for that."
On looking around him the Captain couldn't help but notice the conditions he was lying in, extra beds were been erected throughout sickbay to accommodate the influx of patients. He looked at the Doctor feeling shocked.
" How many?" Lennon asked
" Seven dead, thirty seven injured, five seriously."
" Ric? Kestra? Cumbrae?" he blurted out
" shhh.. Sara and Cumbrae are fine, Kestra will be alright in no time and so will you." replied the doctor putting a support around the Captains ribcage. The doctor continued. " Lt. Glatzer has a few vital systems up and running, life support, sensors, short range com system but everyone could use the Captain back on his feet."
" Doctor?" Lennon puzzling replied expecting to have an argument about not being allowed back on duty.
" As you can see I've got enough patients here, I'm sure you can manage on your own." explained Doctor Dayne.
" Thank you." replied Lennon as he struggled up and made his way from sickbay glancing to either side of him to see the carnage caused.
* * * * *
Upon climbing out of the turbolift he could see Commander Sara alone on what was left of the bridge. Control panels had been pulled from the wall by emergency repair teams, and only the magnificently coloured nebula clouds of the Badlands lit up the room from the viewscreen. Sara turned around and gleamed upon seeing the Captain entering the room, both men beamed radiantly and shook hands without uttering a word before turning to face the viewscreen.
" Magnificent, isn't it ?" spoke Captain Lennon.
" It's the most beautiful cloud formation I've ever seen, I'm only glad I'm still here to witness it." replied Sara.
" I never doubted it for one second," Lennon beamed, "not with this crew."
" And the crew never doubted it either, we stayed as one through both the good and the bad."
" Our mission is still not complete, we must make it back to San Francisco to report to Admiral Nechayev. That could be a problem stuck here without a warp core." continued Lennon.
" You've had it planned from the start captain. I thought it odd at the time but I now realise why you sent a distress signal which couldn't penetrate the Badlands."
" And why was that?" tested Lennon.
" You knew the Maquis were close by and you knew that when we escaped from the nebula they were the only ones who could help you get back to Earth, and why, because you still have the man who fooled the Maquis into thinking he was Tyros onboard the ship and they want him back desperately."
" Very good Ric, you read me like a book." smiled Lennon.