Chapter 32: The Wreck of the Nassau

We found ourselves in a dark and gloomy room with a single lit exit. Tina and Janice grabbed onto my arms as I walked up to the exit and looked out.

The exit led to an umbilical tube, which stretched out about fifty yards and came to rest against the airlock of an extremely battered ship. I found myself a bit amazed to realize that this battered wreck had managed to protect any of its crew. My concubines and I made our way along the tube and a moment later I was pushing on the airlock's ingress button.

There was a momentary pause and then the airlock cracked open with a hiss. I reached out to help push it open and found myself facing a man of about twenty-five with bandages covering his forehead and right cheek. He looked at me and smiled.

"I'm Ensign Colmes, thanks for coming. Some of our worst injured can't walk," he said as he stepped back and welcomed me in.

Tina and Janice followed me as he led us down a short passage and to the bridge. We stepped out into a twisted mess of metal. I stopped to look around and heard a voice call out. "Sorry, I didn't come and meet you, but my leg is pretty badly broken. What did you bring?"

I looked over to find an already graying man in a torn and bloodstained uniform lying uncomfortably against the back bulkhead. His left leg was heavily bandaged, but I could see no splint or support.

I sighed. "The teleporter here is for small items and people. So I had to leave the gurneys behind and, between people guarding our door from the outsiders and others getting the medical bay set up, I just have myself and two concubines up here."

"Wait? Those girls are concubines?" a young ensign sputtered. "But they are dressed nice."

Tina and Janice stood silently as I looked at the ensign. "Son, park that attitude while on Ishtar. Concubines might not have the CAP to be citizens, but they are still human beings, and every sponsor in our enclave respects the concubines we have."

The commander nodded and held up a hand. "Don't argue ensign. They are willing to help us."

I nodded. "You said there were three critical out of your crew, how about the concubines? We only have six medical pods."

Ensign Colmes spoke up. "We have two critical, including my Irene."

I sighed. "Can we get all the concubines in here, to have them carry the injured. I want to see if we can do this in one trip."

Ensign Colmes immediately jumped up and I signaled Tina and Janice to go with him. The Commander watched them go and then looked at the ensign who had spoken earlier. "Ensign Prescott, take this man to Rogers and Schmidt. He'll need to see them."

The ensign gave me a dirty look, but as I walked up he led me around a shattered bulkhead to a small makeshift shelter. Inside there were two men, both gravely injured.

"Damn!" I whispered as I looked at the extent of the injuries. One man had a huge gash down his left side. It was heavily bandaged, but the bleeding had only been slowed, not stopped. The other man had clearly taken a heavy blow to the back of the shoulders and the healthy crew had created an impromptu back brace to keep him secure.

"Can we do anything?" the ensign asked.

I knelt down. "Not here, and the man with the gash is going to need careful handling. If that wound rips open he might bleed out before we can get him to the medical bay. Where is the third?"

Ensign Prescott sighed. "That's Jackson, he's lost a leg and an arm, but we managed to stop the bleeding, so he's resting by the commander."

I nodded. "You and Ensign Colmes appear unhurt, who else do we have?"

Ensign Prescott sighed. "Lieutenant Toms lost his left arm, but is otherwise fine. The other is Ensign Adams, he's with the concubines checking on Irene and Mary."

"How are the concubines?" I asked.

The ensign frowned. "Irene and Mary were hurt when a bulkhead was blown out and they were cut up pretty bad by shards; that blast killed some of the concubines. The others have bruises and cuts, but are mostly fine."

"Let's get back to the Commander," I suggested.

We walked back around the bulkhead. Commander O'Brien looked at me expectantly, but before I could say anything Ensign Colmes returned leading a small procession of female concubines wearing shifts. Janice and Tina each were carrying a bloody and battered body on their backs.

"Tina, Janice, get those two to the teleporter now and then let Shawna know that we have a badly broken back and a man who has a deep gash down his left side, with severe bleeding. Go!" I said.

They dashed off as I looked over the others. The concubines were scared and bleeding, but looked at me expectantly. I waited a moment to see if anyone was going to ask a question and then looked over at the commander.

"They're bad, aren't they?" he asked.

I sighed. "The one with the gash worries me more. It's still bleeding and it's a long walk to the teleporter. The good news is that gurneys are waiting once we get them through the teleport. I'd ask for Ensign Prescott to carry the one with the gash with me. Adams and Colmes can carry the one with the broken back and the concubines can assist the rest of you. That will let us do it on one trip."

The commander looked at the concubines and nodded dubiously. "I guess we can try that," he said. The concubines looked a bit unhappy, but none of the women protested.

The three ensigns went with me as the concubines surrounded each of the wounded crew and helped them stand. I could see the crewman with the missing leg struggle a bit, but one of the concubines put her arms around him and held him up with all the strength in her smaller body.

Lifting the injured crewmen was a painstaking process. The goal was to do this as gently as possible and yet quickly. It did not help that Ensign Prescott was tired and sore from the battering the Nassau had taken, but soon we had a parade of crew and concubines heading to the teleporter.

We arrived at the teleporter and I led the group through. Ensign Prescott and I immediately found the nearest gurney and set the injured man on the gurney. Jacques was waiting and I nodded. "This one is critical; get him to the medical bay right away."

I stepped back and watched as Ensigns Colmes and Adams brought through the crewman with a broken back. I helped them carefully place the man on the other gurney waiting in the command post. "Who's got this gurney?" I shouted once the man was laying flat.

Tamara did not turn around but spoke. "One of Manuel's little roaches decided to fire on our door. We had to shift Fred and Tyson over there. You'll have to take it."

I sighed. "Do we have any more gurneys here?"

Gina responded. "David and Donna pushed the other two to medical already. Right now the roaches at the door are causing trouble so we had to shift just about everyone there. Hopefully David will be back soon."

I wanted to protest when Kitty and Brittany showed up at the door with a gurney. "Sorry, but we're all that's available," Kitty said.

Commander O'Brien has just stepped through and I pointed towards the gurney. "Let's put Jackson and you on that gurney, and we'll push it slow," I said. "Everyone can follow to the medical bay and then I'll show you where you can stay while the Nassau is repaired. I'm afraid it won't be the best, but it's all we have right now."

The concubine holding Commander O'Brien up helped him to the gurney, which Kitty and Brittany lowered once they saw him. The concubine helping Jackson was very gentle and helped him find a seat on the gurney, but then watched in horror as the man passed out and had to be caught by Brittany as he fell backwards, almost off the gurney.

I nodded to Kitty as Ensign Adams came up to help her push the gurney. "Lead the way, but don't hurry. Most of the survivors are bruised and battered."

Kitty just nodded solemnly and started a slow walk down the tunnel. Ensign Prescott helped me get the other gurney out of the command post and we followed as the concubines fell in just in front of Ensign Colmes and Lieutenant Toms.

When we arrived at the medical pod, Tara was waiting outside dressed in the outfit she had worn to the party. At first she looked confused by the first gurney, but smiled when she saw me. "James, it's you. Whom do we give priority to?"

Commander O'Brien raised his arm with a groan as Tara led us into the first room of the pod. I nodded. "Commander O'Brien is the senior from the Nassau. We have two more critically injured patients though. This man has a broken back and that's Jackson on the front gurney."

Tara looked down. I could hear the gasp as she realized the extent of Jackson's injuries. She looked up and called out. "Ed! We need Michael, now!"

Michael appeared from one of the back rooms. He was dressed in the surgical gown that all medical pod staff, sponsor and concubine had taken to wearing on duty and the front of it was covered in blood. "Sorry about the appearance. We got that last crewman into a pod in time, but Shawna is still getting the readings. What is the problem?"

Tara was pointing at Jackson, but I turned around to look at the gathered concubines. "Have Lieutenant Toms come up as well."

Michael looked down at the injured man as Commander O'Brien watched. When Michael sighed upon looking up at me the commander spoke. "How bad is it?"

Michael looked at me and then over at the commander after my nod. "I won't know for sure until we get him into a pod, but it looks like he can have the lost limbs regenerated. It's just going to take more than three days, and we already have your other crewman in one for at least five. We only have six pods and with the fighting starting up I'm worried about pod space." He looked at me. "We'll need to get this man in soon, who else?"

Lieutenant Toms had managed to stagger up to stand next to me and raised the stump of his left arm. Michael sighed and then looked at the gurney I was next to and nodded. "That would be our sixth." He turned toward the back. "David," he called. "We need your muscles."

David came out, followed by Tina and Janice who quickly moved to stand against the wall. David looked at me and came over to the gurney I was behind. "This one I'm sure of, who else?" he asked.

Michael pointed at Jackson and Toms. "We need to get these two in right now to limit any long term damage and get the regen started."

David looked at the situation and then nodded to Toms. "If you can support yourself with the gurney, we can get you in now. I'll have to come back for your friend."

Commander O'Brien seemed impressed but a little upset. "What about me?" he asked.

Michael was still checking Jackson's bandages as David pushed the one gurney away. Michael paused for a moment and then looked up. "Broken leg?" he asked.

When the commander nodded Michael sighed. "I'm a technician. One moment, please. Bren, can you come to check someone real fast. We have six for the pods and a broken leg that can't get in just yet."

There was a sound of feminine acceptance and then Bren strutted out. She had been begging Reggie for a major cosmetic change and the thirty-four year old former school nurse now looked like an eighteen-year-old Goth princess, but she still retained an aura of efficiency and care. She took a quick glance at Michael before kneeling to down to look at the Commander's leg.

David was returning to collect Jackson as she sighed. "He needs a pod."

The commander growled, but I merely nodded. "I think they all do," I said. "Unfortunately the pods are full right now with the more seriously hurt. Can you make him comfortable until a pod opens?"

Bren nodded, as Jackson was lifted from the gurney and carried deeper into the medical bay. She gently maneuvered the commander so he could lie on the gurney and then raised the back to make him a bit more comfortable. "I'll have to get Donna or Ed to authorize it, but I think we can spare some painkillers for him. It will be four hours until a pod opens though."

"Four hours?" the commander growled.

Bren just nodded and then disappeared into the back. The commander looked about to scream at me when Shawna came out and looked around. She spotted me and sighed. "We don't have enough chairs, but if this is everyone I can give all the announcements at once and save time. The last three are being checked in by Donna, but I can report for the two concubines and the one crewman with the gash."

"Rogers?" the commander said. "Is he really going to make it?"

Shawna nodded. "The damage is the worst I've ever seen. None of the training sessions hinted that a man could survive that much, but he's alive and the pod readout is saying there is no sign of permanent brain damage. Unfortunately he lost a lung, a kidney, parts of his stomach and intestines as well as his genitalia. Add in the destruction of all his ribs on that one side, and the pod can't release him for a minimum of eighty hours and he needs at least one-hundred and twenty to complete all the repairs. He's your worst off so far."

I could see one of the concubines break down in sobs and nodded to Brittany who grabbed her and led her into the pod chamber. Shawna just shook her head. It was one of the other concubines who spoke. "Liz is his concubine, and she's afraid of what might happen to her if he doesn't make it."

I looked over at Shawna who nodded. "Well, the good news is that he will make it. Now the two concubines are not as bad, but they were definitely nearing death because of the blood loss. The good news is that the bandaging that was done held and slowed the bleeding. Since the damage was mainly to the skin and blood vessels we should be able to release them in about four hours."

"Why so much less time?" Ensign Adams asked.

Shawna smiled. "It's all soft tissue that needs to be repaired on them. The pods can fix just about anything, but rebuilding bone or the specialized tissue of internal organs is much more difficult than replacing lost skin and blood. Don't be fooled by the time, both concubines were close to death, but mostly because of the danger of blood loss."

The commander looked sad. "I lost Maev in the fighting. She didn't make it."

Shawna waited a moment longer for any further questions and then headed to the back. I was going to say more when Yvette's voice came through the speakers. "James, just so you are aware, we had to draft Michael the sponsor to help with the defense here. Neither Manuel nor Ruth have tried to break in, but the fighting out there keeps flowing around our entrance and we've had a number of ricochets off the outer door. You've got eight citizens tied up in either the command port or medical right now, I have eight here with the other three sleeping so they can cover here if there is a problem."

"Understood," I replied. "Gina? How about you and Tamara head to sleep, call Lisa and Christine to cover, since Tiffany and Louis are still working on getting the repairs started on the Nassau."

Gina giggled. "I can, but can you send my Michael home then? He's been good today and deserves a reward."

I laughed as Michael shook his head. He looked over at me just as Donna came out of the pod room and smiled. "Go to your mistress Michael. We have all the pods up and won't need you for about four hours." Michael blew her a kiss and dashed off as Donna walked over to the commander. "I understand that you are in charge, and I guess it's my turn to tell you about the other three. The lieutenant with the lost arm, Toms I believe, will be fine. It's about a twenty-four hour procedure, but he will recover. Jackson is going to be eighty hours of work, and might lose some feeling in his leg despite the healing technology. There is a lot of damage to the nerve structure. The worst is your crewman with the broken back."

"Schmidt," the commander said. "He was coming back from a check on the magazine when a ceiling bulkhead gave way."

Donna sighed. "Well, the problem is that he not only has a broken back, but did suffer considerable head trauma. I believe that we can give him feeling back in his legs, but his balance center in his brain was where most of the damage was centered, and I can't promise that he will be able to walk again."

I could feel a growing tension as the Commander sighed. "Understood. At least he can be healed and we can get home. Meanwhile, I can see that what's left of my crew and their concubines are tired. Can you show them a place to rest?"

I nodded. "We were setting up a place to rest, and we can also provide a place to eat. I'm afraid it won't have much privacy, but it will shelter you until the Nassau is repaired. If you don't mind being left here, I can guide them and get them set up."