Chapter 9 - All Aboard

The rescue vehicle moved slowly through the water and the three aboard had no means of steering. Other similar ships were around, and they all seemed to close in on each other and gather in a fleet of maybe thirty ships, rolling up and down at a distance from each other. In the closest ship there was only sea water and debris from the Galileo. Two others appeared empty as far as they could see, but one had picked up yeoman Mears, and she was pounding on the glass but they could not hear her. In one ship they could see a boot... or was it a leg? Spock informed them that the vehicle was transmitting emergency signals both into the atmosphere and out into space. There was nothing to do but wait. Kirk noticed that Lily-Lee were staring at the ship with the boot, and then he saw a tear fall from her eye and down her hairy cheek.

"Lily-Lee? What's the matter?"

"Do you think Horatio is dead?"

"Who?"

"Horatio."

Kirk couldn't understand and was about to ask again when Spock interrupted him with a comment in a low voice.

"Captain, you may remember that the members of her species frequenty change names, especially at significant life events or migration to a new territory. It is possible that a death may be considered a change that requires a new name."

"Lily-Lee, do you mean doc?" Kirk only got a sniffle and a nod in response. He came over to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"No, I think he's okay. Don't worry about him, he's been through worse. It's likely that he's just on some other island further away."

"The probability of that is roughly five hundred fifty-two to one."

"Spock, please!" There was no point trying to wipe her tears with hands wet from sea water, so Kirk just sat beside her as she was weeping. They waited in silence, she wept. He looked out and suddenly saw yeoman Mears disappear in a column of sparkles.

"They've found us!"

–***–

They were taken from the transporter room straight to sickbay. Yeoman Mears was in bad shape, hypothermic and bleeding, and was taken to a separate room. Lily-Lee was quiet and subdued and became even more so when nurse Chapel, not McCoy, came in to check their condition. She didn't ask Chapel. She was afraid to hear the answer.

"So how do you feel, Lily-Lee, is it hurting anywhere?"

"S'okay."

Chapel made her lay down on the biobed and elevated it as high as it would go so that she could reach the foot pedals. The large display shouted out alerts and suggested immediate resuscitation. Chapel silenced it.

"Sorry about that. Don't pay any attention to it, it's just that I can't find your baseline values in the memory banks even though they should be there. I don't know how the doctor categorised them." Kirk and Spock exchanged a glance and Kirk cleared his throat.

"So, hrm, you can't ask him?"

"No, I can't." Nurse Chapel looked worried. Kirk looked worse. Hell.

"I finally got him to sign off even though he worked two shifts in a row, I don't have the heart to disturb him before he comes back on." Her words turned three grieving faces into blank expressions of surprise. The door behind Chapel opened.

"Damn it, Christine, I told you to come and get me if there was any news!"

"LEONARD!" Lily-Lee tackled the doctor with a jump from the biobed and threw her arms around his neck.

"What happened to you? The rest of us were back on the ship thirty minutes after the crash. We've been worried sick. And..." McCoy had been hugging her but now he was touching her rib cage. "And what made you lose fifteen percent of your weight?" He put her down and pulled up her baseline values.

"Yep, called it. You're down 3.75 kg, that's more than eight pounds. Otherwise you're unharmed except some scratches on the shins." McCoy also examined Kirk and Spock.

"They're fine. But what are we going to do about you, little lady?"

"Feed me?"

"You got that right. Doctor's orders: some old-fashioned Georgia-style cooking." He walked out with Lily-Lee.

"Hey, Bones, what about us?"

"Nothing wrong with you that a change of clothes won't fix. Stop wasting my time!" Kirk was so happy to see McCoy alive and annoyed that he just sat there and smiled at the now closed door. He had forgotten all about his science officer until he felt Spock's hand close in a hard grip around his elbow. Spock pulled Kirk to his feet and marched him out of the room without a word, like he was escorting a prisoner.

–***–