After a long string of patients and emergencies, Hilea went to the lounge for a meal break. A large bowl of spicy beef with noodles finally curbed her hunger. However, she made a mental note to find out who this General Tso was and why there were so many recipes in his name. 

Suddenly Hilea’s commbadge chirped as the ship went to yellow alert. Getting up with purpose, she tapped her badge at the same time. It was Janice. “Hilea, the Bridge just informed us of a distress signal they received. Details are still coming in.”

Hilea offered as she went through the door. “Start accessing the emergency triage packs. You know what to do, I will be there shortly. t’Rehu out” 

Sil stepped up through Sickbay as ordered. He was surprised to be sent there, especially during a yellow alert, but over the years he had learned to follow orders, even if he thought he would be more useful elsewhere.

When he arrived Commander Hilea was in a com link with another officer, so he stood quietly waiting for the communication to end.
Once it did he took a step forward.

“Commander Hilea? Vitor Silveira, tactical officer. I was instructed to meet you and Lieutenant Nadir so I could help with the first response.”

Hilea glanced up at the new face, one eyebrow raising slightly at the familiar name being used. She didn’t mind it, it was just irregular. “Well Lieutenant FarTooThin, ” she said with a quip and wry smile—a rarity. Let’s start with Hilea or Commander. Hilea is my first name.”

Not the best first impression to a senior officer so Sil shrugged, offering the Commander a smile.

“Well, I wasn’t given any other details. To me rapid response and first response are synonyms. Please correct me if I am mistaken. And anyway, how may I help?”

Hilea, “Let us hope that is the worst of both our days today. “ She said plainly with noted sarcasm. ”What we will need are staging areas. Triage setups in a cargo or two. Prestaging of supplies, such as medkits, food, water, and muscle for the larger items.”

Jaxom had been surprised to be called to the Sickbay, as the medical supplies and their use were much more under the direction of Medical than it was his department. Still, he knew the call wouldn’t have gone out for no reason, and as he approached the other two he heard Hilea explaining some of the situation. 

“Commander Hilea, nice to see you again. Silveira, surprised to see Tactical here, but sounds like things are going to get a little dicey,” he said, greeting them both as he thought of the list he had overheard her stating. 

“Commander, I know the general idea of triage. Sort the wounded into categories, and take the worst first. How important is proximity and access to Sickbay? That will narrow down some of the Cargo bay options,” he reasoned aloud, “And is this a one-time thing, or are we hoping to have a plan we can enact whenever we need to?” he finished, knowing that keeping a Cargo Bay conversion ready would require long term planning. 

“Yes, but we don’t know what we are dealing with yet. So best to set up two general areas. Then plan on being flexible. Think good thoughts it isn’t something more sinister.” Hilea said. 

Sil nodded in acknowledgment of Lieutenant Nadir arrival and waited for the Commander’s answer, before chiming in his own question.

“And what sort of supplies and personnel are needed for such triage? Are Medical tricorders enough? And a team composed of one Doctor and Nurse is enough or do we need to recruit more people?”

“I would form a secondary list of personnel and have them on standby as needed.” Hilea added.

Even being the lowest ranked, and new arrival, Sil was never afraid to speak out his thoughts.
Or recognize his weaknesses. And this type of planning was putting him on unfamiliar grounds.

“Forgive me, but if it was phasers and torpedoes I would be better suited. I see it through a tactical perspective. Forces and supplies first. Battlefield and tactics next.

Hilea looked at Sil for a moment, and offered, “It’s still the same battle. Logistics and attrition. You and your personnel are my infantry. Mostly what I need are smart listeners and muscle. The Medical team will have their hands full with patients. Things are going to be worse before they get better. As simple as it sounds mostly we point, you move. From a tactical standpoint, perhaps a small third retreat area for recovered patients, we may even need to impose on the Vahalla. Thank you for the suggestion, Lieutenant.” 

“Ops can help with that as well. Depending on the situation that leads to Sickbay overflowing enough to need these setups, Tactical crew could well be occupied. It sounds like porter work, and over time we could see about giving the secondary list of crew some basic med training.” Jaxom added to the growing picture of the response. 

Sil nodded to them. He had a PADD in hand and began to take notes.

Hilea looked at Sil paused and then added, “Please ensure everyone rated gets a med-kit, extra hypo refills. A few extras around secured as backup is a good idea. Get the lounge to prepare a few large tables with beverages so the replicators stay free for medical use.” 

“I will look at requisitioning some simple field supplies as well to keep in the Cargo bay marked for this usage. Stretchers, emergency cots would likely all help keeping the patients more comfortable and portable. And if we spend the energy now, those supplies won’t need to be replicated when the time comes. For my part, the biggest thing is going to be making sure the space can become available in a hurry,” Jaxom said, stifling a sigh as he could see the pending shuffling of cargo ahead. 

Hilea thought about it. “Energy for the moment is expendable. Go to the large format replicator, and set up a relay with transporter pattern enhancers. That way two people can make and beam the palleted supplies straight to the cargo bays. You have my authorization.”

“I can get started on that right away Commander. I know just the pair to task with it, and it will give them a chance to practice some larger-scale logistics. After all, beaming to a cargo bay and moving it, won’t be much different than doing the same with pattern enhancers on a planetary surface. My biggest concern is how sterile are you going to need this to be. I know enough medical to know infection and viruses can be a concern, but that is not something easily accomplished in a Cargo Bay,” Jaxom responded, making notations on his PADD as he thought of how to adjust the shift orders to free up a pair of midshipmen. 

Hilea shook her head, “I am more worried about the incoming potential germs than what is currently in the cargo bay. However, coordinate with my nurses and they will be running a sanitizing sweep. Also, we ensure both cargo bays have positive ventilation and filtered air.” She said to Jaxom. “This is all standard operation procedure, Lieutenant.” She could sense his anxiety and attempted to relieve the tension. “I’ve been doing this for decades. We’ll be fine. Just have everyone attentive and listen to my nurses. Couldn’t do this without them.”

Sil nodded. It was good to know that Commander t’Rehu trusted her staff. Lieutenant Nadir on the other hand was way ahead of him, but that was how it should be.  After he was likely more than used to things like this in Operations.

He didn’t had much to add so he simply took the notes, keeping quiet.

“Decades of experience would be a definite leg up,” Jaxom replied, once again impressed with Hilea and the breadth of her service. At times it was easy to see her apparent youth, and forget the gap of experience between them. “Well, I will have to brush up on the procedures then, we definitely didn’t go over it on the Station. Still, Ops won’t let you down,” he said, turning the conversation back to the matter at hand. He noticed Silveira was quiet, but didn’t know if that was his usual manner. He hadn’t had much of a chance to work with many of the crew, but knew he should rectify that when he had time. 

“Best advice? Delegate. These people knew what to do or they would not be here.” Hilea offered genuinely. “It’s a simple matter of assigning tasks and following up as needed. As long as you are willing to do anything you would assign them, I find the crew is more agreeable to any orders.”

Sil nodded as he finished adding notes to the PADD, before raising his head to Commander  t’Rehu and Lieutenant Nadir.

“Time to dip into work then…” With everything apparently organized, they could start to get ready.