Chapter Text
The cockpit of the Danube runabout was mostly quiet, soft beeps every now and again of a sensor picking up minor debris such as rocks or various metals. I shifted in the pilot seat, leaning over the console to tap the coordinates for Deep Space Nine into the navigation and flicking autopilot on. A soft sigh left my lips as I fell back into my chair, my arms ached from hand plucking Makara Herbs, enough to fill 3 large bins as requested by Dr. Julian Bashir aboard the station for a restock. Bajoran's that resided on the station often used the herbs to help with pregnancies and for those who come into contact with the prophet orbs. I needed a break from the constant buzz of the station and offered my botanist services and relative good standing with the Bajoran people to head down to the planet myself and hand pick the herbs.
A copy of an old earth novel rested on my lap, 'The Hobbit' by J.R.R. Tolkien, a fantasy book and a classic. It wasn't long into my chapter that my runabout's console lit up in an urgent repetitive message, an SOS being sent out from nearby. I sat up quickly and all but slapped the screen to answer the hail "Hello? This is Anna Barnes, how may I assist you?" I call out, willing the adrenaline rushing through my veins to not stumble my words.
Silence. As if I never even answered, the SOS kept a steady beat, blipping on my view screen. I clicked over to the runabouts long range scanners to bring up the distressed vessel, a sharp gasp left me. What appeared to be a Romulan escape pod was floating in space, heavily damaged, and from the flickering appearance, had a cloaking device that wasn't fully operational.
"H-Hey there, I know we aren't on the friendliest of terms, but I can bring you onboard, your vessel doesn't look stable enough to remain there." I call out, waiting and hoping for an answer. The only response was the blood rushing in my ears. I'm a civilian, I may have heard of battles being fought and the deaths that come from it, but I have no experience with it first hand and I really didn't want to get a taste today. On the otherhand, I cant just sit here while there may be people aboard that escape pod in serious trouble.
I clear my throat "Would it be acceptable if I came aboard? I have a medki-" A green field flickered, and the pod remained fully visible, now just floating, a gentle spin to the ship the only movement it produced. The cloak was now fully disabled, and if the green hue was their shields going down then perhaps someone was on board! Maybe they can't communicate back, the timing is too perfect, and I can't just stand here any longer.
I shuffled around the cockpit, grabbing my jacket and the com-badge given by Commander Sisko, or as I knew him - Ben. Slipping them both on as I hurried to the back and pulled the emergency med-kit from the wall. Slipping the strap over my shoulder and across my body, I step onto the transporter behind the cockpit and clicked my com-badge "Computer energize to Romulan Escape Vessel at-" I looked over at the view screen and read out the coordinates. Blue particles filled my vision and when they dispersed I could hear a loud blaring alarm, a green flashing and lighting up the damaged vessel.
"Hello?" I call out, taking a few tentative steps as I take in the full extent of the damage. The main console is shattered, a fire in its belly and glass litters the ground, crunching beneath my boots. A pipe is off the wall and hissing steam at the ceiling. Walking around the shattered console and nearly tripping, I catch myself on an overturned chair thats singed and torn open. At my feet is a foot, attached to a deceased Romulan man, green blood coats what is left of his face. Hair is burnt off and deep green lacerations mark up the right side of his face, neck, shoulder, and chest. Thick green blood oozes from the wounds, some splattering is dried with a few main streams darkening his uniform. Along his chest I can see the white of his bones, 2 ribs are visible under the burnt meat. 'He must have been sitting at the console when it exploded' slapping a hand over my mouth and forcing the vomit back down into my throat, I stand on shaky legs. "Oh my stars..." I whisper, blinking tears away. A cough sounds off behind the cockpit, and I rush to the back of the vessel "Hello? Hello! I'm here to help, please, I only want to help" I cry, frantically looking around the debris and into the side rooms - or what use to be operational rooms.
"Here" A woman calls out, weak and raspy, echoing down the long corridor of beyond the cockpit. I waste no time, jumping over pipes and sliding under fallen beams, tearing the fabric of my pants and skinning my knee on the debris-ridden floor "I'm here, where are you?" I call, facing 3 closed doors in front of me, hissing in slight pain as my knee makes its injury known. A coughing fit could be heard behind the door in the middle followed by loud banging of metal on metal. BANG BANG BANG-BANG BANG The door was stuck but with enough adrenaline driven force I was able to pry it open, a loud THUNK echoed in the room as the heavy doors fell in place, smoke poured out of the room and pooling around my feet and waist. A hot blast of air rushes to meet me as the red and orange of flames dances against the far wall, catching the drapes on the viewport and various papers littering the room.
Waving my hands to clear some of the thick smoke from my face, I could see the foggy image of a woman laid on the ground, a broken pipe on clutched in her hand that she was banging into the floor, half of her body was stuck beneath a fallen beam, the other half was shakily propped up on her forearm. "Shit!" I cry as the ship rumbles, forcing me to the ground. 'It won't last much longer' I crawled to the woman and just barely manage to drag the beam from her body, a smaller set of legs poked out from beneath her, and fluffy hair from beneath her visibly broken arm that's holding a cloth over their face. A child.
"lloann'mhrahel..." she mumbled in Rihannsu, looking at my borrowed com-badge, green blood dripping from her forehead and down her face to her chin, splattering on the floor where a puddle was forming. "I uhm- I don't know what that means, but I mean no harm! We have to get out of here, I don't know how much longer this ship will last." I ramble, reaching out before hesitating, recalling the most basic information I have on Vulcanoid species - you are really not supposed to touch them. "M-May I?" I whisper, holding my hands out, one hovering over her arm and the other over the child's ankle. A weak nod is all I get before her eyes roll back and she collapses.
I smack the com-badge and grip both parties "Computer, three to energize". The blue particles fill my vision again before the Danube runabout's familiar interior greets me with its tan walls and blue chairs of the cockpit. Just as I resume the course for Deep Space Nine, my vessel is violently rocked as the escape pod explodes, shrapnel flying through space. 'Any longer and we all would've been goners...' I can't help but think with a shudder. Turning to the two Romulans I carefully lift the woman, placing her heavily injured body in the copilot chair, holding the switch to convert it into a laying position. The child is still unconscious as I lift him, his small body folding into my side as I place him in the chair beside who I assume is his mother. He groans and turns his head but remains unconscious, his tiny pointed eyebrows scrunching before smoothing again.
I slid back into the pilot seat, shaking hands tapping the hail button 'Please please please' I flip the lid of the med-kit and pull out the tricoder, running it over the woman. "You've reached Deep Space Nine, this is Lieutenant Dax, welcome back Anna!" Jadzia's cheerful voice chirps through the coms. I gulp and review the tricorders report, definitely internal injuries, broken bones, cracked skull "Dax get Julian, I have two Romulans that are heavily injured - they-they uh- fuck!" I look over and see the blue seat stained with the Romulan woman's green blood. I chuck my jacket from my shoulders, placing the combadge on the console, and apply pressure to the open head wound the woman is sporting. "Anna, honey, what happened?" Dax asks, beeping of her console coming over the coms line. Tears drip down my face "I'll tell you when I get there, am I in range yet?" I croak, taking a deep breath and swallowing some of the anxiety building, pushing the lump in my throat down. "Just about, hold for transport to medbay. Julian has been notified and is awaiting your arrival. Hey, Anna, it's going to be okay" She sounds so confident, so sure.
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The medbay is a flurry of beeps and alarms as the woman is hooked up, her child in a medbed beside her, his monitor shows he is relatively stable. My green soaked jacket rests over my arm as I stand just outside the door, watching as Julian flies around the woman, hyposprays, scans, his tricorder glues to his hand and his eyes keeping constant watch of her monitor as he works on her.
A hand comes to rest on my shoulder, Dax coming beside me with a grim smile "Hey there, how are you doing?" She asks, gently coaxing me from the medbay window to sit on a bench just inside the entrance. My lip wobbles, eyebrows scrunching, as I try not to cry "The most violence I've been around was working on a farm, natural predators and the like. I've never seen anything like this..." I whisper, long red hair falling in front of my eyes, fanning and making a soft shield, blocking my view of the door where a woman is fighting for her life and one of my good friends is trying his best to help her fight. Dax nods and sighs "It never gets easier, and it shouldn't" Her hand comes to rest on my knee, drawing my attention where she is staring me down "I'm serious, this anxiety is normal, this empathy and sympathy - they are a part of you Anna, any good person would be feeling like this" She says, a smile gracing her lips.
The medbay doors swished open and a defeated looking Julian slowly stepped out 'No...' I stand quickly, hands flying to my lips "Julian?" I ask, his name coming out small and fractured. Julian lifts his head, he looks so tired "She's mostly stable, I'll be keeping a close watch on her for now, but she isn't out of the woods just yet. I've placed her into an induced coma for now" He informs us. "What about the boy?" I ask, needing some kind of good news from this awful disaster. Julian's head perked up and a gentle smile worked its way on his face "He is doing just fine, I've kept him unconscious for now, he should wake soon though. Commander Sisko has alerted Romulus, a ship should be on its way to assess the situation." He led the way back into the medbay, the woman looked so peaceful as she slept, a soft beeping from the monitor recording her heart rate and blood pressure.
The young Romulan boy laid on the medbay bed, his small body taking up just under half of its length. He looked much better now, cleaned of the soot and dirt, his eyes remained shut as we approached the bed. "Hes so small" I mumbled, he looked around 4 or 5 by human standards, tiny pointed ears and eyebrows, a small ridge line on his forehead - a characteristic of his race, the biggest tell to diffiniate from their cousins, the Vulcans. "He is quite young. According to the crew manifest from the ship they departed on, they are mother and child alongside their father who I assume is the man you spoke of. He is just freshly 5 years old, the woman is 36." Julian informed us, gesturing to the pair. 'So her husband and his father perished in that disaster. I hope they didn't see the state of him' I tugged a chair over to sit between the beds "I'd like to stay a bit longer please" I ask Julian, searching for any refusal. "I might not know them, but I need to make sure they'll be okay." I whisper, gaze flicking to the peaceful woman. Julain nods and gives a small bow, "Of course." He spins on his heel and exits the room, likely going back to the main area of the medbay.
Dax lingers at the door, watching as I take my seat between the family, "They're alive because of you" She says, her voice filling the room. Theres a proud smile on her face as she leans against the wall, her arms crossed "I'll come get you for lunch later, take your time here." Dax waves as she takes her leave, hands coming to clasp behind her back as she exits the door.
Swish