Sighing heavily, Doctor Sylvexs closed her tricorder as she lost another two patients that morning. The Kraylor survivors they had rescued so far had all been exposed to high levels of theta radiation which caused further complications to treating them. Those two she had to record as dead had passed away from other critical injuries made worse from the high dosage of radiation exposure they were suffering from.

Walking into the sad scene, Counsellor Duncan caught the end of what had just happened. Seeing the turmoil on the face of the Denobulan doctor, he walked over to speak to her. “Sylvexs, you okay?”

Nodding once, she answered in quite a calm and somber tone. “If we had arrived sooner we may have had a chance to help these people.”

Duncan knew the comment wasn’t aimed at her but at the captain’s lack of quick reaction when they had detected the distress call. Deciding not to comment on her remark, he looked around at the survivors that were being cared for by her medical staff. “Have you found any of the senior staff?” 

“Actually we have the captain over here.” Sylvexs answered and took the counsellor over to where she was indicating. Before leaving she instructed her nurse to place the Kraylor she had just lost into their morgue.

Crossing over the large sickbay, Duncan followed the chief medical officer to where a female Kraylor lay. She was out of her black thick uniform, which slightly resembled what the Cardassian military wore, instead wore the turquoise surgical gown she had been changed into.

“She suffered lightly everyone else, minor injuries and we’ve already started her treatment to the high levels of radiation she was exposed to. She should make a full recovery.” Sylvexs shared as they approached their guest. “Her name is Captain Donlar.” 

Seeing the Starfleet officers approach her, Donlar attempted to push herself up. Obviously she knew who Sylvexs was and looked to the new man beside her. She was overwhelmed by the flood of emotions she was experiencing. From the pain of her injuries, to the guilt in hearing that many of her crew had not survived to the gratitude for their saviours. “Are you the captain of this ship?” She asked Duncan.

Deciding to use his other title in this instance, Duncan felt their guest deserved the treatment her rank brought. “I’m Commander Maxwell Duncan, third officer and chief diplomatic officer for the Odyssey. My captain and other colleagues are currently in the process of rescuing your crew and attempting to stabilise your ship.” Duncan answered her. “My captain has asked me to meet with you to find out what happened, are you well enough to speak captain?”

Donlar nodded and with help from Sylvexs she sat up. “I am extremely grateful for everything you and your crew are doing for us.” She said in between coughs.

Smiling in appreciation for her kind words, Duncan stood closer to her. “You’re welcome, I’m sorry that so many of your colleagues did not make it.”

“You’re not the only one commander.” Donlar stated with regret ingrained in her tone. “The shockwave just came out of nowhere and was so unexpected. All of it was for nothing.”

Curious to know more about what she meant, Duncan pressed the issue further. “What happened captain?”

“We detected a powerful molecule several weeks ago and when we approached it our scans indicated it was just as powerful as a warp core.” Donlar recounted. “We were attempting to transport it to one of our deep space research stations, they had collected several others, when it became unstable. We had mere seconds to transport it out into space before jumping into high warp. The shockwave from the molecule caught our tails as we fled.” Pausing for a second, she took a breath and shook her head. “We were too naive about it. We thought that if we could harness its power we could use it to finally be free against the Annari. We were fools.”

Surprised with her reconciliation, Duncan thanked her for what she shared and promised they would look after her crew. “We’ll do what we can to make you as comfortable as possible.”

“If my ship is beyond repair, please just leave it to drift. She added. “There’s no point wasting your resources on it.”

Realising she had given up, Duncan wasn’t going to let her be defeated. “Let’s see what the list of damage is first and then we can assess our situation from there. I’m going to leave you in the capable and caring hands of Doctor Sylvexs and when Captain McCallister returns, I will try and arrange a meeting for you to have with him.”

Thanking him, Donlar smiled before he left her. 

Looking at Sylvexs, Duncan reminded her that everything that Donlar had shared was classified and not to be shared with anyone else. Walking out of sickbay he tapped his combadge. “Duncan to McCallister, are you free sir? I’ve got something I need to share with you that’s urgent.”

McCallister answered quickly. “I’m back on board the Odyssey. Meet me in tactical astrometrics.” 

Acknowledging the reply, Duncan made his way to his captain.