The day following the rescue of the Discovery's crew was a challenge for all involved. Though the physical injuries for most of the surviving wounded crewmembers were manageable, Dr. McCoy had his work cut out for him with Araya who had every dedication to becoming a skilled physician but hardly any guidance in the field at all. He could see as well as anyone else that she was channeling her grief and loss into study and so gave her simple and safe tasks to keep her busy but he knew that soon she would have to face the reality of what had happened.

Zarus hadn't left his bed, had no intentions on moving in the near future while Taro had fallen into the routine of a mother hen of sorts to try and bring him out of it. Zarus refused food, Taro brought it to the table beside his bed and left it. When Zarus would lash out in anger, Taro would let it roll off his shoulders like the rain and give him some space, but he refused to leave his friend alone in his sorrows.

Rain had slept in the gym after exhausting himself on the heavy bag the night before. It had started as a simple workout but soon he found that with each punch more tears appeared in his eyes. Through the haze of his anguish he saw an enemy where the bag once was and the padded thudding of his fists were replaced by flashbacks of sirens and screams. Eventually he found that his knuckles had bruised and each punch left him feeling more pain than before, and the physical exertion only added difficulty catching his breath between sobs. He was left with no other choice than to collect himself on the floor of the gymnasium and only woke when the Captain himself found him and ordered him back to his quarters for some comfortable rest.

Tanner found herself void of emotions, as was her coping mechanism, and knew that eventually everything would come pouring out at the least opportune of moments but for now it was nice to be numb. As long as she didn't come across anyone or anything that may encourage her to think too much about the previous day. To ensure this, much like Zarus and Taro, she refused to leave her quarters. The bed was too big for her comfort, and even with the lights turned off the room was too bright, and so she built a small fort in a corner behind a table where it was nice and dark. She sat curled into herself against the wall in the shadows and stayed there.

Anyone that walked the corridors where the Discovery survivors were housed, or went anywhere near sick bay, had no difficulty to hearing a mourner's cry or an argument between two or more crewmen about who was to blame. Dr. McCoy had moved past trying to prevent or intervene in these instances and had decided it better to let them fight it out amongst themselves so that he could do his work. There was a man in severe condition who, though unconscious, was holding onto life and needed his undivided attention.

The man was the only crewmember rescued who seemed old enough to have been trained with any form of experience. Beyond that, he seemed to have been dearly loved by the others rescued with him. Especially Araya, the Discovery's "doctor".

Even in his unconscious state scanners showed that he was in immense pain. Nothing that he did seemed to improve his condition and Dr. McCoy was becoming increasingly frustrated with the situation, as well as desperate.

While he tried to save the man Araya sat at a table beside the door, organizing files and procedures with shaking hands. Her work was interrupted however by someone clearing their throat beside her.

"Oh, uhm, Dr. McCoy is… busy," she explained shyly while standing to greet the Enterprise's Captain and first officer. The two took in the small girl's appearance and stature and was amazed that she was even old enough to have been a part of her crew. She stood no taller than Jim's shoulder and he was half tempted to attribute that to her shoes. Her hair was a long, wavy white blonde and was determined to hide her face no matter how much the girl pushed it back. She stood with her arms wrapped around herself, and toes pointed in, a typical sign of anxiety that did not go unnoticed by either of them.

"What's your name?" Jim questioned casually while waiting for McCoy to finish treating his patient.

"Araya, Sir."

"Araya, beautiful name." he smiled smoothly, earning a raised brow and quizzical stare from the Vulcan beside him.

"No better than any other name."

She turned to watch the desperate attempt to save the man in the next room and said nothing more. For a while both officers watched with her until she began to shift her weight and chew her hair absently.

"You know, Doc. McCoy is the best surgeon in the fleet. I've never seen a better doctor," Jim commented. His matter-of-fact statement seemed to calm her but only for a moment until a cursed "damn it!" sounded from said doctor.

"Bones,"

"Not now Jim, can't you see I'm working?" he snapped back and continued to fight the inevitable.

Araya took a deep steadying breath and felt a hand on her shoulder as Jim tried to comfort her in the sight of another friend dying. She took his hand in both of hers instead and held on for a moment while collecting herself but when the equipment's alarms and McCoy's refusal to let the man go got too much for her she pushed the Captain away and walked to the surgeon's side, stepping between him and his patient.

"Hey, Mr. Baracnik ," she smiled sadly while taking his hand in hers, "I know you're not awake but I think you can hear me. I won't be mad at you if you go… you can let go Mr. Baracnik. We're safe here, y-you did good."

Her tears fell and mixed with his own sweat, which she wiped away with her sleeve. The monitors went off, signaling slowing heart rate and dropping vitals, but she held herself together and held onto the man before her. "D-don't, don't you worry Mr. Baracnik." she gasped, holding back her sobs as the beeping ceased and McCoy sighed in defeat.

She closed her eyes against the universe while the documentations of his death were made. She held his hand to her forehead and mourned with hushed sobs, coughing on her own pain and collapsing beside his bed when his hand was taken from her so that his body could be moved.

"Couldn't you give her a sedative?" Jim demanded as his chief medical officer leaned against the wall and watched her cry.

"No, Jim. She needs to go through this, it'll only do her worse if I stop it." he answered but the pain in his voice was evident. Her hushed crying had become gasps and high pitched sobs that were soulful and filled with agony and grief. Clearly the man who had just been lost was someone she valued but no one could have known how much.

Araya couldn't hear any conversations around her during her grieving. She didn't even notice when the others had left and she was alone on the floor beside an empty table where one of the most influential people in her life once lay. At some point a blanket had been draped over her shoulders but she didn't remember it happening. She remembered Captain Kirk trying to calm her down for a while, resting his arm around her and offering any words of comfort he could but was eventually called away on duties. For a while after that Dr. McCoy had sat with her, as well as Nurse Chapel who held her like she would a young child. Now that she was calmed enough to coherently take in her surroundings she pushed herself to her feet and left the darkened room.

"Well look who's up and moving," McCoy announced as she neared him. Normally when he greeted her in such a way she would smile shyly and turn the attention to anything other than herself. This time however she shrugged a simple "yeah," and left his blanket folded neatly beside him at his desk before walking for the door, muttering "Thank you for all your help." as she took her leave.

Araya was surprised to find a small campout set outside the door to her quarters, comprised of two young women with identical tribal markings tattooed on their faces. "I really just want to be alone." She muttered while stepping over one of the young women and opening the doors but was followed by both. "No, not this time. We do not leave our own to suffer." they answered in heavily accented unison as the doors closed.

Meanwhile back in sick bay McCoy was seated at a table, exhausted mentally and physically, as his Captain returned from his duties to discuss the Discovery situation.

"Well, we've made all necessary reports. These cadets aren't any of Starfleet's."

"No, Jim, I'd say not. To tell you the truth though I don't rightly care where they're from, we need to find out what happened to them and make it right. Get 'em home at least."

"That's my thoughts exactly, Bones."

A few minutes of thoughtful silence passed between the two officers until another argument broke out in the hall between two Discovery crewmen. This time it seemed one was blaming the other for a friend's death in sick bay. McCoy sighed heavily and attempted to rub the stress from his eyes. "You're the finest medical officer in the fleet, Bones. Those kids just didn't have enough left to hold on, it isn't your fault. I know as well as anyone else aboard this ship that you and your staff have done everything you can do."

"Jim, I've lost five patients since those kids came aboard! I can't take that lightly!"

"I'm not asking you to Bones. I am reminding you, however, that those kids need to see us with confidence. They're scared, they weren't prepared for any sort of mission but they were sent out anyway, why? We don't know why! We need to find out why, and we need to get them taken care of, and in the meantime we need to do what we can to take care of them here! That girl that hangs around here, Araya, she looks up to you. I saw it today when you were working on that Mr. Baracnik fellow. See what you can find out about her."

"I'm a doctor Jim, not a babysitter."

Both men shared an exasperated grin and moved their conversation to a more casual discussion until the time came for both to retire to their quarters for the night.