The cargo bays on the Zephyr had been converted into medical wards while the hospital and sickbay were holding the most critical cases. Lieutenant Henry Longfellow walked through the neat rows, inspecting the work of his team. As the patients lay down in the portable bio-beds, each face looked relieved and hopeful compared to the tense terror they’d contained hours ago. The condition of the 1,590 survivors was stark. The X-rays, CTs, and MRIs they were running as each stepped aboard the Typhoon-class starship were alarming to a team used to battlefield medicine or standard day-to-day operations.
“Sensei Longfellow.” The soft and determined voice of his nurse manager, Lieutenant Hiro, interrupted his thoughts. “We are halfway through processing them. Here is the updated conditions list.” He returned to his walking, and she followed beside him.
He muttered, frustrated and heartbroken for the people around him. “I’ve haven’t seen this kind of missing vaccination numbers in a long time.” They turned the corner and continued down the filling beds. They glanced at patients and staff to ensure they followed the processes and provided comfort equally. “Surgery will be busy if these trends continue,” he said, pointing at the orthopedic section. “Broken bones that never healed right. You’ve got alarming readings for bone density, health, and strength that would infuriate any medical instructor at the academy.”
Hiro replied, her voice tinged with sadness. “Our triage team is still making its way through the five ships. Their investigations indicate that deaths have occurred in the past on each of the vessels. Estimates are from 5 to 10 on each.”
Longfellow stopped, his throat tightening, and his fury bubbling. “Do we have a timeline?”
She refreshed her PADD. “The preliminary report has some within the last few days. They brought some bodies with them in the escape. The triage team believes that some of them died in the escape attempt, and they could not leave their bodies in the care of the Orion Syndicate.” Henry could see the flushing of her cheeks and face. She shared his anger. It was hard to understand such horrors. It defied every value he knew, both as a human and as a doctor.
He took one last look at the cargo bay. “They deserved better. Reach out to Juliet. We’re going to need to coordinate with her counseling team. These folks are going to need them.”
“Welcome aboard.” The twanged accent caused the boy to look up and stare into the smiling face of Lieutenant Juliet Woodward. “What’s your name?” The duty of sorting out the unaccompanied minors had fallen to her and her team. She was thankful Captain Bradley hadn’t given it to anyone else. Children were resilient, but they needed a comforting face to greet them as they came out of the horrors they’d left behind only a week ago.
“My name’s Thomas. I am six years old. My dad went to sleep yesterday.”
Woodward held her smile as she kneeled down with her PADD in hand. “I’m glad you’re here, Thomas. What’s your last name?” He told her the answer to her questions as she asked them, typing the precious information into the database. He knew his dad’s name but not mom. She hadn’t made it out of the colony. Thomas was sad about that, he said, but his dad had told him Mom would come soon too. She asked, “Which ship were you on, Thomas?” He told her he had been on three of them, looking for his mom while they had traveled through space. Thomas named all three matter-of-factly.
She asked him what his favorite animal was, and he told her. She accepted a stuffed animal that was handed to her by a member of the intake team, who stood by her with a replicator just out of sight. “I have a lion stuffy for you, Thomas. Is that okay?” He nodded, and she could see tears at the edge of his eyes. He knew, she thought. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was alone. The little boy wrapped his arms around the stuffed animal while Juliet took his hand and walked him to the large room that looked little like a cargo bay and more like the warmth of a lived-in home. One of her team walked up and got down at the boy’s level, introducing himself. Would Thomas like to come with him to meet the other kids? With a quiet nod, Thomas was off into the growing crowd of children and Starfleet counseling officers.
Juliet returned to her position in the intake line, motioning the next child forward. A teenage girl, face red from crying, stepped forward but couldn’t hold herself back as she sped into the arms of the chief counselor, tears flowing with abandon. Woodward held her gently, whispering into her ear. The young girl pulled away, searching the eyes of her new friend. “Please don’t let them take us back. Please.”
Juliet reached out and held the girl’s hands. “I promise you. You’re with us now, and we don’t let others take our friends away.” She gently squeezed her hands, asking, “What’s your name?”
“Julie. What’s yours?”
Woodward smiled wide. “My name’s Juliet. We’ve almost got the same name! I love it. I’m so glad you’re here.”
A smile cracked across the girl’s lips.
The door to the ready room opened, revealing Lieutenant Kondo De Le Fontaine as he entered the room, PADD in hand. Samson glanced up, catching the look from his chief tactical officer. “You’ve got something.”
Kondo handed over the PADD, a map of the sector and beyond displayed. The Starfleet ships and the former slaves’ ships were marked in blue and green, respectively. He motioned to the display where faint red dots appeared. “Threat boards lit up about ten minutes ago. They’re about two days out, maybe more. It took some work, but it’s the Orion Syndicate. They’re moving at about warp 5.”
Bradley could do simple warp mathematics. “If they increase to their maximum speed?”
“Four to six hours. No sign that they’ve seen us, but if they’re looking for these folks, they’re gonna pick them up on long-range scans, eventually.”
Samson asked, “How long until we fully evacuate them to the Zephyr?”
Kondo reached for the PADD and did some quick calculating, replying with, “Two to three hours. That includes all their belongings, and scuttling their ships. Cushing needs a head start, sir.”
Bradley stood, his mind working through the timeline. “Find them a safe rendezvous point and get them moving.” Kondo was out the door, and Samson followed him, tapping his badge. “Commander Vargas, meet in sickbay on the double.”
