Reunion Pt 2

Posted on Sun Oct 23rd, 2022 @ 7:16am by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Remal Kajun

Mission: Planet of the Dinosaurs
Location: Sickbay

He; had been given pudding. The pain in his chest was gone, just some tender spots where the memory was stronger than the physical. Between the medication and the pudding there was only a sore throat and the exuberant happiness he felt digging down to the bottom of his bowl.

From the corner of his eye he saw her stir and then felt her eyes upon him. Immediately feeling guilty he looked at her, held out the bowl in her direction and simply commented, "Pudding?" Because it indeed made everything that much better.

“ Huh?” There was a moment of confusion, disorientation and then the pieces of the puzzle began to slide back into place. Right, they crashed. “ You’re alive” It was more a statement of relief than a statement of fact, and there was something smooshy in the bowl he had extended towards her. “ What is it?” She asked hesitatingly. Her legs ached, a testament to the recent surgery to put them back together.

He shook his head as she spoke, the spoon never leaving his mouth until the very end where he simply commented again, "Pudding. Bavarian chocolate pudding to be precise." Again he offered her the bowl, "want some?" The meds they had him on were feeling pretty good at the moment, leaving him feeling childlike and care free.

"Really?" There was a moment of disbelief, normally sickbay food was something eaten only under the threat of more surveillance time or death by hunger, but pudding? "Sure" she accepted the bowl and inspected the contents. Looked like pudding, smelt like pudding therefore…an experimental spoon later confirmed it was actually pudding. The sickbay replicators would be down so instead of the usual easy to digest and absorb slop they were being given real food.

A nurse bustled over a short time later, tricorder in hand and weariness etched in her face. "You're both cleared to go, rest up, take it easy, and I'm sorry we have to ration the meds so there will be some discomfort as your injuries heal." She continued on her rounds, discharging the majority of those who were recovering from surgeries.

"Bustin loose" Rhenora quipped, starting to stand before the drugs wore off too much and the pain returned. "How's the chest?" She asked as she took in the blood stains on Remal's tunic.

“Considering the hole that was there not an hour ago, I’d say pretty good. Doing something like that in our foxholes and caves would have meant losing a life.” She said referencing their time in the occupation. “And you, how are you holding up?” He gave her a look of concern as he spun around and slid off the bed.

"Ask me again when the drugs wear off" Kaylen replied, swinging her legs over the edge of the cot, seeing the haze getting slowly thicker. Smoke and fumes we're slowly poisoning the crew but right at this moment they had nowhere to go. The medical team bustled around, helping people up, packing supplies, soon the Sunfire would be nothing more than a smoking hulk laying empty on the surface of this planet they had ended up on. They had no idea if the distress beacon had activated, and with Engineering taking the brunt of the impact, engineers to confirm it was broadcasting were in short supply. If they don't leave soon though, they wouldn't be alive to find out.

"I hope the away team find somewhere where can safely camp" she admitted as she gingerly tested out her legs. So far so good. "We need to pack, clothes and the like. I have no idea how long we may be stuck out there" there was a touch of trepidation in her voice.

He had picked up on her hesitation, and took it as her not telling him everything. Stunned, he asked, "You're thinking about evacuating 750 people…" but he was interrupted by aale nurse.

"679." He corrected simply. "Last casualty report has us at 71 deceased or missing, mostly lower deck crewmen and several from the hangar decks. They didn't have time to get to safety."

Remal helped the nurse move an injured woman onto the bed he had just been keeping warm. "So sorry to hear that." He added his condolences and then looked back at Rhenora. "We should get out of their way, I think." He wanted to leave but he also wanted to stay and help.

The number dead or missing presumed dead shook the Captain to her core, but she couldn’t focus on the dead right at this moment - there were 679 souls alive that needed direction and a plan to get them out of this mess. “ There’s no thinking about it, without environmental controls and fire suppression systems we can’t stay here.”

He was surprised to hear the fire suppression systems were not working on a ship filled with technological advancements such as the Sunfire. "Hmmm, didn't I hear someone imply there were giant reptilian creatures or something outside the ship?" His concern was palpable as they began walking away from sickbay towards the lift which would take them to their quarters.

His words were punctuated by the echo of a giant roar. “You mean the creature that makes that sound? They look like the dinosaurs from Earth’s Jurassic period, you know, big teeth, hungry bellies and the like.” She commented as they headed towards the doors and out into the corridor. People were bustling about, carrying bags and duffles and toolkits slung off any and every available limb.

The roar shook his confidence and he stopped in his tracks. Everything she was saying and everything that was happening felt wrong. Wrong enough that he was questioning her sanity, "Did you bump your head in the crash, should we have you checked?"

The corridors were filled with a veil of smoke, making people cough as they moved around. “Lets get some stuff together and head up to the bridge, we need to see how bad it’s getting and if Savar has found a place to set up camp yet”

He fell back in step with her. "You're really going head first on the idea that inside here is going to somehow be worse than going out there." He gestured to the shop and then the view ports each in turn. "We're going to be sitting honkers out there and you know it." Sense was all he was trying to push as the pain in his chest reminded him he was not dreaming.

"It's either that or we asphyxiate here until we get the fire suppression and ventilation systems going again. Yes we're sitting ducks, but we're dead sitting ducks if we stay here. " She shook her head, knowing the risks for both avenues and hating them both equally. So long as they were together, they'd stand half a chance. They'd need weapons, lots of them.

As they stepped into the lift and the doors closed he commented, "Have you thought about how you're going to tell the brass that you've crashed another ship named Sunfire?"

That stopped her mid tracks, something that hadn't crossed her mind until Remal had mentioned it. This would be the second, or was it the third Sunfire that had unceremoniously collided with solid rock with her at the helm. Not much of a good track record.

TBC