Lieutenant Commander Eleanora McCoy coughed awake. Smoke filled engineering and she could vaguely make out the sounds of fellow officers. Her head felt like it was swimming in syrup. Groaning, she carefully stood, using a console to steady herself. Her head was pounding and blood matted her hair. Must have hit the console on the way down…

Ignoring the blurred vision, she took note of the state of the room. The emergency lights were on. Fires were being put out. Bodies of unconscious and likely dead officers littered parts of the floor. Those that were still alive rushed about, trying to assess the damages and make repairs.

The fight with the pirates had taken its toll.

She must not have been out that long. The medical teams had not arrived yet. And she couldn't find the medic that normally stayed in engineering.

Eleanora needed to move. There was much to repair. No doubt much of it would need to be repaired at a station. They should be near the Outposts. They could call for aid.

Oh, yes…the fight had happened near the Romulan Neutral Zone. The pirates in question called themselves the "Zontak". Little was known about the Zontak except being a species of the Star Empire. Typically, from what intelligence suggested, they targeted Romulan outposts and ships. Why, then, they had decided to attack Federation outposts was a mystery. It was unknown if the Zontak had dealings with the Orions or Klingons, or if those particular Zontak worked for Romulans…

Whatever the case, the fight seemed to be over. At least, that was what Eleanora could gauge. The Gryphon was, at present, intact and not being harassed further, nor were there any boarding parties.

But should help have not arrived by now? Wasn't there another ship on the way? If they were still near the Outposts…

Anxiety clawed at her. There were too many questions. If the worst was true…

No, she needed to focus on repairs and contacting the bridge. She could assess the situation then.

"Repor-" A harsh cough racked her body in protest. Her throat sore and dry from the smoke. "Report!"

"Commander McCoy!" Two voices responded. A disheveled ensign, a young albino Denobulan woman named Denaal, and a medical lieutenant, from a cervid-like species, named Em'lu, ran over. "Are you alright, sir?" Denaal asked while Em'lu took out a medical tricorder.

"Let Em worry about that, ensign. What are the damages?"

"We took heavy damages in the fight, sir. Life support is operational but environmental systems are malfunctioning. Filtration systems are down on several decks. Our communications and impulse engines are down. And the warp drive was damage when our nacelle was ripped off…"

"Ripped off!?" Eleanora demanded.

"Yes, sir. The Zontak had ignited this plasma trail near it. Ripping it off and throwing us into the Zone. It also caused most of the-"

Eleanora held up a hand to stop Denaal. "Slow down. Into the Zone?" They were drifting and they were – gods no…

Denaal nodded, nervous, "Yes, sir, and we were thrown quite deep into it...we'll likely enter Romulan space in a few days."

"Do we have weapons and shields?"

"No, sir, they were knocked out in the blast, too."

Could this get any worse? They were sitting ducks! It was doubtful they could fix everything before they reached Romulan territory, more so before a patrol showed up. There was no telling how the Romulans would perceive this accidental violation.

Eleanora licked her lips anxiously. "Can we contact the bridge?"

"Yes, sir. Lieutenant Shariv has been keeping them updated on damages and repair progress."

That was good news. Eleanora trusted Shariv to keep things under control. He was her assistant chief engineer. She had been planning to recommend him for promotion.

He would have made a fine chief engineer for any ship.

Now it seemed he would never see that opportunity…

She sighed in mixed relief and loss. "Good. Em, will the medical teams be able to make it up here soon?"

Xe lowered the tricorder. If it weren't for the darkened crystal antlers, Eleanora would've thought xe were oddly calm. "I'm afraid medical is spread thin, sir. They are trying to get teams over here and up to the bridge. But between the mess of the halls, sickbay, and damages, it will take some time."

"I suppose that was to be expected. How long was I out?"

"Roughly 30 minutes. Your head took quite a hit. Light bleeding, nothing that can't be taken care of once we get better equipment here. A few first and second-degree burns… Nothing too concerning, given the circumstances."

"Thank you, Em'lu. If that is all, go attend to the others." Em'lu bowed and left. Eleanora turned back to Denaal. "Where is Shariv?"

"I am right here, Commander." Lieutenant Shariv, your all-round typical Vulcan, stepped out of some smoke. He handed over a PADD, "Has Ensign Denaal filled you in on the situation?"

Eleanora took the PADD with a grateful nod. "Mostly. How close are we to Romulan space?"

"We will have drifted into Romulan space within the next 3 days and 6 hours."

Damn…

"Any sign of Romulan patrols?"

"No, sir. Our sensor systems are malfunctioning."

Of course... She read the report, Denaal had done a thorough job of filling her in. It was all the ensign had said but now she realized what Em'lu meant. The hull was breached on several decks. Most were contained, but some would have medical teams taking longer routes. And the nacelle was indeed missing…

The other damages were extensive and confirmed her fears. They could not repair all of this themselves. They would need station aid and that was not an option. Long-range commutations were down but with as close to Romulan space as they were, it would be of no use.

3 days at least gave them time to heal and consider their options. This was assuming no Romulans entered the Zone to investigate the Gryphon. They would have that excuse…

"Ensign Denaal, go help with filtration and environmental repairs. We need to make sure all life support systems stay stable."

"Yes, sir."

"Lieutenant Shariv, how likely do you think it is we may encounter Romulans earlier than 3 days?"

"Logic suggests a roughly 75% chance. While it is a violation of the treaty, they would have the right to investigate the presence of a Starfleet vessel. However, they may prefer to wait for us to drift into their space. In either case, neither entrance into the Zone would be a true violation. Ours was accidental and theirs investigative."

"About what I was thinkin', then." She hummed, "Still pretty high, if so. Very well, you go help with engine repairs. I'll handle contactin' the bridge from now on."

"Yes, sir."

Eleanora sighed and made for the nearest intercom. Uncertainty clawed at her insides and tried to calm herself. Now was not the time to lose grips on herself… Damages had to be dealt with and plans made. What plans could be made from this.

They were completely at the mercy of the Romulans. Damn pirates.

Little was known about the Romulans. Skilled, brutal warriors. An ever-expansive empire. Territorial. Secretive. No one in the UFP had ever seen a Romulan. There was still little on their language.

She couldn't help but wonder what the UFP would have done if the roles were swapped. If a heavily damaged Bird-of-Prey drifted into Federation space. Surely, they wouldn't be needlessly destroyed or imprisoned? The Federation would want to study the ship and its technology, learn all they could from once unknown enemies, but Eleanora hoped the crew be spared. Released back into the Empire once they were processed and questioned.

There would no doubt be many in the UFP who would see such a move as overly risky. Believing the Romulans would plant spies and steal Federation secrets. The Romulans were known for spying, but the Federation had their own channels.

The Federation could be narrow-minded for all its talk of acceptance of cultures and desiring peace. Many still hated the Romulans for existing.

But what-ifs wouldn't help here. This wasn't that situation.

Eleanora could not say she was eager to meet the Romulans, but she could hold out hope. The Romulans were an intelligent species capable of reason just like them. They would not have agreed to the treaty otherwise.

"McCoy to the bridge, how are things up there?" She asked upon reaching the intercom.

"Yvett here, glad to hear you're alright," The captain responded. A calm but weary tone laced his words. "We took a lot of damage. Helm's no longer responding, not it'd do us any good with warp and impulse down… Two casualties but mostly just injured up here. Anything to report?"

"I'm sure Shariv done filled ya on most of it, so I'll keep it brief. We're workin' to keep life support and environmental systems stable. Filtration systems should be back to mostly functional within the hour. We can get the rest of breaches patch within 2 days, assumin' nothin' else blows…" Eleanora paused, they should at least have most of the remaining breaches patched in that case. "As for warp, impulse, weapons, and shields…we need a repair station for those. And even if we could get weapons and shields back online, I doubt they'd do us much good. I don't think antagonizin' the Romulans would be much help."

"No, I suppose not…" There was a slight smile in his voice, then a sigh. "We'll just have to weigh our options until then. Has medical arrived in engineering?"

"No, sir. Lieutenant Em'lu said it will be a while before they can reach either of us. From the damage report, I can see why."

"Very well… Continue keeping the ship functional for now. I want senior staff to report to the briefing room once the halls have cleared and more personnel have been tended to. In 30 hours, if nothing else."

"Understood, captain."

"Keep me updated, Yvett out."

Eleanora let her hand fall and took in the mess that was engineering. Watching as her fellow officers ran about. Were there any plans that could made? Destroying the Gryphon was an option, but to throw away so many lives…before they knew how the Romulans would respond. They should at least try dialogue first.

"Talk to the Romulans?" S'Niir demanded, glaring her down. "We are their enemies. Why the hell would they want to talk to us much less grant mercy!?"

Yeah, that was about how she expected that suggestion to go. She held his gaze and sat straighter, "We have no idea how they will respond. Makin' assumptions based on wartimes almost 100 years in the past will not help us!"

"It's not like this was a purposeful violation," The chief of science, an Arboreal Xindi named Dala, pointed out. "And given our blight was caused by the Zontak, a species said to attack Romulus, surely the Romulans would be more open?"

"And how do we know those Zontak weren't working for them?!" S'Niir countered, "Who's to say they care about distinctions? We would still be a prize for them." The Caitian faced Yvett, "Captain, we cannot just let Federation intel fall into Romulans hands by taking the chance that they'll be merciful this once."

"No, we can't," Yvett agreed, but continued to weigh the options.

S'Niir narrowed his eyes, "Don't tell me you're considering this!"

"You know I don't like to brush aside alternatives if there is one. Doctor, what are your thoughts on this?"

So far, their Andorian CMO hadn't said much. It was clear he didn't like any of what he was hearing. "Captain, commander, I trust the Romulans about as much as you do. They should not be allowed Federation secrets. However, I concede that I'd rather not see this crew die if there's another way. I say stay on the defensive. If all else fails, we blow up the ship and perhaps take some Romulans with us."

"Captain, if it's our data we need to keep from them the most, Commander S'Niir and I could possibly rig a mass data wipe." Eleanora offered, agreeing with the main concern. "The most valuable thing the Romulans would get in that case bein' the Gryphon herself. Blame it on the damages the Zontak caused."

Yvett hummed and nodded, glancing at his first officer, "What do you say, S'Niir?"

"I say if we weren't in danger before, we would be then." He said lowly, refusing to entertain the idea, "The Romulans would know it was us! If they've dealt with the Zontak before, they would know our story is unlikely. We're better off blowing up the ship and ensuring they get nothing."

Eleanora pursed her lips together. Arguments between her and the commander were common, but they normally tolerated each other. This was not one of those occasions. It should have been expected. S'Niir was childhood friends with a Stiles, she supposed that family's infamous hatred for the Romulans rubbed off on the commander.

Dala interjected, skeptical of the dismissal, "We know little about how the Zontak can affect Romulan tech. How do we know such things don't happen between them? Volatile plasma-torpedo interactions like that could at least cause corruptions-"

"With the other damages, maybe," S'Niir interrupted with a quiet hiss, "But a mass data wipe? Even our engineer should know how unlikely that is!"

She had to admit that was true. "Then we could cause a spreading corruption." If a mass data wipe wasn't likely, corruption was. Assuming a ship was damaged in the right places. "A particularly nasty one would delete some of our data. Prevent them from gainin' the full picture."

S'Niir growled, standing half-way and slamming his hands down. Extended claws dug into the table. "They would still have pieces of the data! Given enough time they could restore some of it!"

Eleanora stood to level their gaze, her temper coming to a boil. "We can't just jump to self-destruction! Not when there are lives on the line!"

"Lives on the line, regardless!"

Yvett held out an arm, "That's enough! Sit back down! We cannot go fighting amongst ourselves. Not now." Yvett rubbed his eyes, "We don't have a lot of time. Whatever we do, we have to set it up quickly. Do we have any other possible options?"

"We could focus on getting long-range back up," Dala started with a frown, "and try contacting one of the Neutral Zone inhabitants. There is one problem…"

"That is?"

"The Neutral Zone inhabitants don't exactly like us or the Romulans. Many of the spacefaring find it unfair they were forced into neutrality and claim it limits opportunity."

"I've heard some have allegiances." The CMO added. "Lieutenant Em'lu's species, for example…"

Em'lu's species, a group of anthropomorphic cervids called the "Cryv'ni". Monochrome in color except for crystalline hooves, antlers, and tail spikes. An RNZ species whose system just barely touched Romulan space. Em'lu had once warned that many of them expressed interest in joining the Empire while others vied to stay neutral.

If they picked up on the Gryphon there was a heavy chance they would tow them into Romulan space.

"Yes, I've heard xem talk about xer home…" Yvett's fingers tapped on the table. He thought of the other species the Federation knew about, if any had a UFP allegiance. Even then… "It's a risky gamble. Too risky…" Even simply drifting held the risk of an unfriendly encounter. He breathed deeply, before coming to some decision. "We will try talking to Romulans," He stopped S'Niir from interrupting, "but I want to be prepared for when or if things go south. McCoy, S'Niir, I want you to work together on preparing that corruption spread and also on getting the self-destruct back up. One can be a fall back to the other, depending on how things go. Understood?"

Eleanora let herself relax and nodded. S'Niir sighed in defeat but could accept this compromise in the very least. "Understood, sir."

"Good. Commander Dala, help with the corruption spread if you can, otherwise, focus on communications."

"Yes, sir."

"Doctor, status on sickbay?"

"Cramped and spread thin, but we are able to heal most of the remaining crew. I don't want to see those numbers go down any further."

250. They had started with a crew of 250. Now, they were down to an estimate of 150…with many still left uncertain. One of them being their chief navigator.

"Nor do I. Just keep doing what you can. Let's get to work. You're all dismissed."

"This is foolish," S'Niir hissed on the way back to engineering. Eleanora rolled her eyes and opted to ignore him. Thankfully, he didn't say much beyond that.

There were many that found it odd an engineer would care so much about individual lives. This wasn't the first time she had been concerned with such. Granted, the stakes weren't so high in those moments. Nor was she always as vocal about it.

An engineer's duty was to the ship first. As well as a commander's. Full or lieutenant. One had to learn to deal with sacrifice if they wanted to command.

But there were too many unknowns here. Too many to warrant rushing into destruction. Eleanora didn't want UFP data or the Gryphon to fall into enemy hands as much as S'Niir did. Her stomach churned at the thought of the Gryphon being dissected…

Perhaps it was the McCoys' history in the medical field. Many of them became doctors, even now. Be it in Starfleet or not. Perhaps it was the doctor's concern that rubbed off on her.

She did have more medical know-how than was expected of an engineer. Not enough to qualify as a doctor, nurse, or otherwise, but it was useful.

It was a small surprise, her wanting to go into engineering instead of medical. Not a big one nor an unwelcomed one. She had more of knack for machines than medicine, normally the one to fix the farm equipment.

She thought of what her younger brother, Donovan, had said: "What's an engineer but a doctor for machines?"

Eleanora smiled sadly, the rant this situation will inspire outta dad...dear gods. He always hated space. Disliked watching members of the McCoys join Starfleet. Especially seeing his only three children do so. He'll about have a heart attack, all right. Be more insistent that I stay on the farm.

She swallowed, anxiety coiling around her once more…

Will I even get to see them again?