A Top Spot On The List

[DrDMatthews 0]

Debbie Matthews couldn't begin to count the number of away teams she'd been on since leaving the Academy. Most were mundane at best but there had been a few that left her badly shaken. Debbie no longer considered away missions an opportunity to leave the ship for a while and experience some excitement. She was quite content to remain in Sickbay while others went off to have fun.

 

For the most part, that's exactly what she'd done since becoming Reaent's CMO. It was one of the perks that came along with the position. But every now and then, she felt compelled to personally participate on an away team or was 'ordered' to do so by one of her superiors. In this case, there had been no compelling reason for her to come along, much less head up one of the teams. But the Captain thought otherwise. And that's how Dr. Matthews wound up in main engineering aboard a refitted Constitution Class Starship. This one had already earned a top spot on Debbie's list of nightmarish away missions.

 

Captain Michaels put two teams on this unidentified ship. Commander Ridire was primary on Team A. They had just arrived on the bridge. Debbie's group, Team B, had finally made their way to main engineering. It hadn't been an easy task. The ship's atmosphere was stale but breathable. There was no power of any kind. As her team fumbled along the pitch dark corridors, they hadn't seen even a faint glimmer of light from anything other than their own lamps.

 

What they had seen was evidence of mass carnage. The bulkheads were scorched from phaser fire and smeared with blood. And of course, there were bodies. Debbie hadn't seen this many corpses on one ship in very long time. She fought to control her emotions as the team continued on their way to engineering. Their last stop had been particularly gut wrenching.

 

They'd stumbled into a large room. Debbie wasn't even sure what it was used for. But there was no doubt what it had become. In that one room, they found the remains of at least fifty people. Initial data indicated they were all human. It appeared they'd been hacked to death, their bodies dismembered. As Matthews knelt beside one of the skeletal remains, she fervently hoped the victims were already dead before those responsible starting cutting them up into pieces. She wasn't sure they would ever know the answer to that question. She wasn't even sure she really wanted to know.

 

They stayed long enough to record the data and leave a couple of transporter beacons. As they left the room, Debbie glanced back, grateful for the darkness. She could only imagine what that place would look like with all the lights on. They found main engineering a few minutes later. By then, Matthews had come to a couple of conclusions. She was also growing increasingly concerned about the away teams.

 

Debbie was a medical professional. Although she'd seen her share of grizzly wounds and death, it was something she would never grow accustomed to. What they'd seen so far bothered her immensely. And if it had that effect on her, what was all of this doing to the other members of the away teams.

 

Debbie glanced to her right. Simon Ljungberg stood beside her, scanning the room with his tricorder. In front of her, Mr. Pneuma and Mr. O'Conner were cautiously starting their search. She could barely make them out as they slowly walked further into the cavernous room. Their lights, sweeping across the floor and bulkheads, showed signs of a fierce fire fight. The battle in engineering was probably worse than anywhere else on the ship.

 

Matthews took a step forward. "I fear our teams are the only living creatures on this ship," she said quietly to the young Petty Officer beside her. She looked at Ljungberg as he followed her lead and asked, "How are you holding up?"