Jayme took a breath, stood and walked around the little Marine infirmary--which was due to be expanded to eight beds by New Years 2386.
All thirty-five members of her platoon had passed the practical exam, and she'd just finished grading the written exams--which everyone had passed just barely. As a group they'd functioned well on the mission to Swarva. And in 24 hours, she and the Colonel would graduate them and they would be given assignments pulling shifts in the clinic and on missions as needed. Ten of the thirty-five had already been approved for advanced courses, which she needed to set up and teach.
Colonel Tarik had called her aside, on her way to give the written exam, and told her she could expect four more Advanced Placement Corpsmen to be arriving tomorrow, first watch. That had made Jayme smile, as she was currently the only Corpsman, short of the the personnel in Starfleet's Sickbay, who could sign off on physicals for the Marines. It would also let her concentrate a little more on her own studies.
Since returning from the rescue mission on Swarva, she'd been pulled into helping on the Disaster Preparedness Committee. Two dozen Starfleet officers, including the Colonel and herself, and a dozen civilians who held various positions on the station, had gone over the various protocols and plans refining and improving on them. Why? The station was almost filled to capacity, which wasn't supposed to happen for another five years. And it resided on the edge of the Briar Patch, near where a shooting war was very close to being waged. And, most recently, it had been unexpectedly raided by Nausicaans who appeared to have an expert knowledge of the station's systems.
She took her seat and resisted the impulse to put her head down on the desk for a quick nap. She could admit it had been a busy and stressful period for her. She'd learned her way around, and had made some friends, and had settled in. But as far as the responsibilities and her studies--she still didn't feel she was making the grade, so to speak. Unable to fight the temptation; she rested her head on her arms. In the back of her mind, as she dropped off, she knew the Colonel or Dr. Cherrin would have said something if they'd been unhappy with her progress in either area.
The klaxxon sounded, the red emergency lights came on as the regular lights went out. Jayme stood and noted that she'd only been napping fifteen minutes. The doors opened and five members of her platoon entered. Jayme immediately started issuing orders.
"Stay here and set up for casualties. Any other members of our platoon arrive, they are to grab their kits and medical tricorders--I want four men stationed at the Gunny's desk to respond to emergencies within Marine country, and the rest are to be dispatched to Main Sickbay." With that Jayme exited and jogged around the rim to her quarters where she grabbed her communications headset, helmet, tricorder, phaser, and med kit. She headed to the designated Command Center. The Colonel had just exited his office with his own gear. Together they both listened to their comms and made their way to the command center.
Colonel Tarik stood and moved to stand beside Captain Mallory who was in the early part of her pregnancy.
They entered the Command Center in step. Captain Mallory was there, all of the screens were lit and seats occupied by technicians. The large schematic of the station was green--except for the crimson area which indicated the Main Docking Bay. Jayme watched the screen as another area turned yellow and then red--and the station lost some of its station keeping thrusters and artificial gravity fluxed. Everyone grabbed on to the nearest solid object and waited for stabilization. Five techs were sweating and rapidly speaking into their head sets. "Fire in the main hanger--they have crews trapped under equipment from the destabilization. Engineering reports not enough damage control teams and techs to get the stabilizers back online."
The Colonel knew Engineering and Damage Control systems and was already on his isolated channel having Gunny get him a squad of troopers who also knew damage control systems. Jayme waited until he finished his request and she had him relay a request for a squad who could join her and her Corpsmen to join the battle in the main hangar. She called Sickbay on her isolated frequency and had four of her Corpsmen sent to meet her at the outer doors to the bay. Within moments of each other they left the command center with a purpose.
Kassia was in her Counselor's office going over notes on a lecture forwarded to her from Star Fleet when the klaxxon sounded. Instantly she felt Tiyanna reach out to her and felt the emotional energy spike from all five thousand occupants of the station. She took a breath and felt for Tarik. She grabbed up her jacket and communications set and decided she would be best off going to the children's center. She thought to herself, "Is this is just a drill?" until she was caught in the gravity flux and dumped to her knees. She edged over to the wall and used it, moving faster knowing the children would be overwrought with this newest change... Hell, she was! This isn't any drill!"
The Colonel and his ten man team entered and were immediately face to face with assistant chief engineer Tycho who was half-in-half-out of an access panel. The gravity fluxed again and the engineer was tossed around and on getting a hand hold lacerated the palm of one hand. The woman behind Tarik moved quickly, immediately applying pressure. Another grabbed a medkit from a nearby bulkhead and wrapped a pressure dressing on the wound. Tarik had determined by the soot and warping of the bulkhead that an explosion had occurred. Looking into the opening he assessed the circuits and isolinear chips and boards--
The engineer swore under her breath as an explosion sounded and fire alarms started sounding in another area of the engineering hold. Tarik with a thrust of his jaw sent two members of his detail ahead to do what they could. Tarik grabbed a soldering tool and set to work getting this unit bypassed and back on line.
The Corpsmen and Marines Jayme requested arrived and were waiting for her. One of the Damage Control/Firefighters was there and had a case of breather masks, heavy gloves, and extinguishers. When everyone was equipped the doors opened briefly and everyone entered as the third gravity shockwave shook the station. Pilots and crews had moved a crane into position and was busy stringing lines when Jayme ditched her extinguisher, dropped to her belly and started crawling under the runabout to get to the two trapped crewmen. Once in position other crewmembers started pushing reinforced blocks to her and instructing her on how to place them so that in case another shockwave hit she wouldn't also be trapped and injured. She immediately started working on the nearest patient and then scanned the other and was able to stop the bleeding from a nearly amputated arm. The other was unconscious. "I want two of the Corpsmen to say here and I want all of the rest of my Marines to fan out and do search and rescue!" she ordered.
The smoke was getting heavier and lower to the deck. Finally, teams indicated they were ready and moved the runabout slowly off of her patients. As soon as they were clear, two teams moved in and placed each on a narrow tarp and moved them out into the corridor. Jayme and Marki both took a patient. When satisfied they had the patients lifted and moved using the tarps to the Marine clinic which was closer to the bay and less busy...unless something bad had occurred in Marine Country. Her teams along with the flight crews and mechanics had discovered ten other injured patients who were treated and moved to various aid stations throughout the station while the critical patients went to Sickbay.
Heavy suited contruction engineers scaled the exterior of the station to blow two ventilation ports to put out the fires and evacuate the smoke and toxic gases that were building from the space dock.
In Engineering, the teams found two bombs and Security specialists defused them. All of the damaged systems were jury-rigged back together. Tarik sat against one wall and wiped his face with his jacket sleeve. Tarik had called Hartman who was sending a fresh team to take over and supplement Security for the area.
Kassia had helped move the kids into the emergency shelter and after telling stories and playing games, everyone took a rest period, then they were given snacks.
Captain Mallory at her post on the bridge announced over the Public Address System, "This concludes our unscheduled Emergency Disaster Drill."
All the kids were moved to the main classrooms where parents had to come and pick up their children. Tarik, smoky, sweaty, and tired, had left the teams and made his way to the children's center to get Tyianna and hopefully find Kassia.
Jayme spent six hours supervising and treating injured in main sickbay. Dr. Cherrin exited the surgery suite and wrinkled up his nose--"Lieutenant Alcon, you're dismissed!"
Jayme walked out, arrived at ther quareters wanting nothing more then a sonic shower and rest period. She got the shower and before pulling on her dress uniform checked her message buffer to find the Colonel's message.
[I have delayed the graduation ceramony. The new Corpsmen are here in Transient housing and will report at 0800 tomorrow.] The message also emphasised, [Briefing in MY office at 1500 hrs, and you had better not oversleep!]
At 1500 hrs the senior member of the Colonel's team arrived and took their seats. Tarik sat behind his desk and looked around at the tired but very serious Marines. He went over routine Intel reports, staffing updates, and Captain Mallory's detailed analysis of the drill and her compliments to all.
Jayme sat slouched in her chair wedged in the corner by her fellow Marines who'd started a game of Quarters at the 'debriefing.' This week's was at Soma. She nursed her Kempers Ale. It had been a long month, she reflected yet again. She'd pulled six shifts a week in sickbay supervising her Corpsman trainees, doing her own residency hours, teaching classes and continuing her own studies, the disaster drill committee meetings, and managing the clinic in Marine Country. They'd also been deployed on Swarva. And then, they had tested the emergency protocols they'd developed in response to the most recent Nausicaan raid in an impromptu drill.
Trapped in the corner as usual, Jayme watched the Klingon heavy metal band set up. Kassia had entered with Tarik, and another man whom she introduced as Ryan. Jayme watched the threesome move chairs in and take seats around the table and couldn't help noticing how his uniform hugged Ryan's body. Hmmm. The brief nap she'd snagged before briefing was beginning to wear and she stiffled a yawn and sat up straighter. "No! I said I wasn't going to play." She looked around and at the guys, and said, "Tll keep the fifty credits I've earned, thank you!"
The Colonel sat there with a smirk on his face and called out to her, "Wimp!" He slid a double shot of whiskey across the table to her and the guys started in. "Wimp! Wimp! Wimp!" Jayme took a breath and turned over a clean tumbler and filled it with a double shot and slid it across the table to her CO., and said, "Ready when you are!"
Kassia shook her head and said, "On the count of three. One...two...three!" On the mark the CO and Corpsman tossed back their shots. Hoots and hollers erupted at the corner table, causing half the establishment to turn to see. Quickly, credit notes started appearing on the table and Marines on either side of the Colonel and Jayme poured another round to jeers and cheers. Jayme stood and faced the Colonel with a shrug. He stood and together they tossed off another round. After the third round, Jayme sat down to boo's. "Hey--I'm an 80 kilogram human--You GUYS are nuts, if you think I can outdrink a Romulan!"
Troy and another server approached the table. "If you're drinking boys and girls; then you're eating." They then started taking orders.