Shuttlecraft cockpit seats, Plumley decided, were the one method of torture condoned by Starfleet. Plumley craned her neck, stiff from her attempts to fall asleep in her seat in the Taylor's cockpit, and looked back along the slim corridor formed by the sides of the vessel's freshly installed emergency stasis units. Scrambling to treat any unforeseeable complication within the small craft likely would prove difficult if not deadly to the people she was attempting to bring home alive. While the stasis units, would not facilitate healing by any means, they would provide safe transportation for her patients back to the Alexandria.
In the back, Plumley saw McKenzie kneeling next to the shuttlecraft's emergency transporter pad. To maximize space while as utilitarian as possible to medical needs, Alexandria engineers had cross purposed the device to function as a replicator capable of creating any equipment Plumley might deem necessary.
"Have you reviewed Nivek's latest report?" McKenzie asked.
"I have. I went over it before we left the ship. Nivek was accompanied by a Commander Cullen to help with the change in base personnel. Nivek has been handling the medical staff and their patients since his arrival while Cullen has handled the rest of the officers. There is one thing you may find interesting, " Plumley said, holding up the padd that had been resting on her lap. She handed it over to McKenzie. "Look at the names."
McKenzie looked at the padd wondering why the doctor had said that in that particular tone. "Ensign T'Lana, a Vulcan female in the operations division suffering from extensive damage to her lungs."
"Keep going." Plumley said.
"Lieutenant Sarah Nave, a Human female in the command division suffering from two broken arms. And Lieutenant…" McKenzie looked up in surprise at Doctor Plumley.
"Lieutenant Amanda Zofchak, a human female in the operations division suffering from a broken nose and also a broken arm." Plumley said, finishing McKenzie's statement.
"Could it be a trick?" The chief of security asked.
"We won't know until we get there to run a scan on their quantum signatures. I know it doesn't make sense because she should have died when the Solent was destroyed last year. However, there are some people who use death to mask their true actions."
"What do you mean?"
"Commander Zofchak would be better at telling this story as he knows all the facts," Plumley said. "But during the Cestus Three massacre during the time of Captain Kirk, two of members of Kirk's away team were beamed away to the Gorn ship instead of vaporized like what was originally thought. The Terran Empire could have beamed crewmembers from the Solent when their torpedoes penetrated their shields."
"And making everyone believe they were dead no one would go looking for them and the Empire would have all the time in the world to interrogate them." McKenzie said.
"Exactly." Plumley replied.
"Does Commander Zofchak know?" McKenzie asked.
Plumley shook her head. "No. I didn't want to tell him incase this was a trick."
"What are their chances?"
"It's hard to say without examining them myself." Plumley said. "But thanks to Nivek, they're a slight better off. He probably saved their lives by contacting us when he did." She noticed the skeptical expression clouding McKenzie's face. "Something bothering you, Jules?"
"Force of habit, Doctor." McKenzie replied, reaching up to brush a lock of blond hair from her eyes. "I guess I'm looking for more than we're seeing."
"Because Nivek serves the Terran Empire?" Plumley asked.
McKenzie nodded. "Honestly? Yes. This whole notion seems off, somehow. I don't see how just handling them over pays off for them."
"I'm not second guessing your judgment." Plumley said. "But consider something. As long as there have been battles, physicians have treated wounded soldiers despite the color of their uniforms or the color of their blood. Nivek was a doctor before he was a commander, which means he's a healer first and a servant to the Empire second. He's doing this because he's a doctor, not a soldier."
"Well, I certainly can't argue with the faith you've shown in him to this point," McKenzie said. "But he's really not the one I'm worried about. You can be sure the rest of the Imperialists will be playing at something. They'll be the ones I'm watching."
"The captain did say I'd be in good hands." Plumley said just as an alarm sounded from the shuttlecraft's control console. The two women swiveled in their chairs and entered commands into the consoles.
"We're being hailed by the planet." McKenzie said.
"Put it on." Plumley said.
A moment later, the image of a Human officer with cobalt blue eyes and slicked back brown hair appeared on the screen. "I am Lieutenant Commander Steven Cullen. Prepare to receive landing instructions."
"I am Doctor Amanda Plumley. Is Commander Nivek around?"
"He is, Doctor," Cullen replied. "And he sends his regards. However, he is occupied in our sickbay with your patients. You will see him shortly. Follow your landing instructions without deviations. Cullen out." The transmission ended.
"Could just be that renowned Terran Empire efficiency." Plumley offered.
McKenzie shrugged. "Efficient at being inhospitable, maybe. Like I said, he's one of the ones I'll be watching."
As a soldier living amid the turmoil gripping the NX-01 Enterprise as the Xindi was on the verge of completely wiping out humanity, Julia McKenzie had seen more than her share of carnage and death. As such, she considered herself at least somewhat hardened to the callous brutality that could be inflicted by supposedly intelligent beings upon one another, either in battle or in the simple withholding of urgently needed medical assistance.
That strength, forged and honed within an environment of incessant chaos and cruelty, was shaken by the scene unfolding in what passed for the sickbay within the Terran Empire's base on Galorndon Core.
"You can wait outside." Nivek said waving with one hand to the pair of security guards who had escorted Plumley and McKenzie from the base's hangar bay.
One of the guards, the higher ranking of the pair, shook his head. "Commander Cullen's orders were to remain with the Federation officers at all times." McKenzie noticed the derision in the soldier's voice as he addressed Nivek.
Nivek pointed to a far corner of the room. You can remain with them just as easily from over there and out of my way." To McKenzie's surprise, the guards appeared relieved at the prospect of maintaining some distance from Nivek and his patients. Not that she could blame them. It was the smell that caught her attention as she and Doctor Plumley were escorted into the room. A sharp sting assailed her nostrils from what she guessed was disinfectant, trying yet failing to cloak the stench of festering wounds. Breathing through her mouth, McKenzie found it easy to ignore the foul smells as she focused instead on the sight of the wounded Starfleet officers. She was able to pick out Commander Zofchak's sister out of the trio due to the similar facial features the siblings shared.
"Thank you for coming." Nivek said. "I would've met you when you came aboard but I did not want to leave them any longer than absolutely necessary."
"Have their conditions changed since your last report?" Plumley asked, opening the trauma kit and extracting a medical tricorder and diagnostic scanner.
Nivek shook his head. "No, thankfully. They're stabilized, but as you can see, my resources here are limited."
Plumley scanned T'Lana. "Her lung damage is even worse than I thought." She said. Moments later, she completed her initial examination of T'Lana; she turned from the patient's bed and moved to Lieutenant Nave, continuing her rapid triage.
The sound of the infirmary doors opening caught her attention, and McKenzie turned to see another human entering the room. He was tall and brawny, with large muscled arms and legs evident beneath his uniform that looked like McKenzie's but he wore Lieutenant Commander Pips.
"Lieutenant Commander Black," Nivek said, looking up from where he stood next to where Plumley now was examining Lieutenant Zofchak. "A pleasant surprise, seeing you here." McKenzie recognized the new arrival's name as that of the base's chief of security and she noticed the slight yet still perceptible trace of sarcasm lacing the Vulcan's greeting.
Black nodded, remaining near the door with his hands clasped behind his back. His eyes moved, taking in everything in the room, and then narrowing as they focused on McKenzie. McKenzie felt a slight chill as his eyes regarded her with meaningless interest. "You do not strike me as a medical assistant."
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO HER?" Plumley shouted.