Doctor Redinium walked onto the Bridge and immediately wished he hadn't. The attack on the Hornet had caused major damage and there were pieces of the bridge all over the place. The bridge was also a hive of activity, with engineering crews working on nearly every system.
"Lieutenant?" Captain Sharpe stated, noticing the Doctor looking at the damage. "And what brings you to the bridge?"
"Captain, may I have a word with you?" Axeline replied. "In private."
"The ready room," Nathaniel replied, not wishing to state that for the moment it was theoretically 'his' ready room.
The two officers walked across the bridge floor and into the ready room. Nathaniel sat behind the desk and the Doctor sat opposite.
"So what can I do for you?" Sharpe asked.
"Captain, as I am sure you are aware, there are at least ten casualties in sickbay who require immediate and delicate surgery. I need to get them to a medical facility as soon as possible," Axeline replied, his voice raised.
"That's quite an attitude you've got there," Sharpe remarked. "We should have warp drive on-line in forty-five hours."
"I'm sorry for my attitude Captain and I apologize. But in forty-five hours, all ten will be dead or terminal. Plus, we'll probably have another twenty to thirty patients requiring attention," Axeline replied. "If we could get these ten away, then it would free up more medical staff to deal with the rest."
"What about putting them into stasis?" Sharpe asked.
"We could use stasis, but I doubt any of them would survive the procedure, plus we only have two stasis units installed," Axeline reported. "We need another way."
"Do you have any suggestions?" Sharpe asked.
"We need to get these people off the Hornet and back to Starbase 901," Axeline stated.
"And how do you intend to do that, with shuttles?" Sharpe asked. "Lieutenant, we would need at least three shuttles to transport the injured, plus pilots and medical staff. I'm sorry, but we, sorry I, don't have those kinds of resources at my disposal. Plus even at maximum warp it would take a shuttle nearly fifty hours to reach SB901."
"Captain, there is one shuttle large enough to carry all ten casualties," Axeline said. "In fact we could also carry another ten of the more serious walking wounded. Plus if we contact SB 901 as soon as the shuttle is within communication range, they can arrange for a vessel to rendezvous with us half way."
"I don't know of any shuttle that big...," Sharpe replied, his voice trailing off as he began to realize what the Doctor was proposing. "You mean the yacht."
"Exactly. One vessel, plus a pilot, one medical assistant and myself," Axeline said. "If we launch within the hour, we'd be in communications range of SB 901 inside ten hours."
Captain Sharpe sat back in his seat, thinking. "Are you sure that your medical staff can cope without you?" Sharpe asked.
"Of course, with the removal of the ten requiring surgery, plus the ten seriously wounded that would reduce the demands on the rest of the staff. I'm sure Lieutenant Wolf can cope with the rest," Axeline replied.
"Okay. Prepare to transfer the injured to the Captain's yacht," Sharpe ordered. "You'll be launching within half an hour.
Doctor Redinium rose from his seat. "Thank you, Captain."
He then left the ready room and headed back to sickbay. "Axeline to Lieutenant Wolf," the Doctor said after tapping his comm badge.
[Wolf here,] came the reply.
"Prepare the ten surgical cases to be transferred to the Captain's yacht. Plus I need you to select the ten most serious walking wounded and have them transferred as well," Axeline ordered.
[Understood,] Wolf replied. [Sickbay out.]
Axeline tapped his comm badge again. "Axeline to Ensign Michaels."
It took a few moments for Axeline to get a reply. [Michaels here. What can I do for you Doctor?] came the reply in a rather dazed voice.
"Did I wake you, Ensign?" Axeline inquired.
[No,] came the reply, although Axeline didn't quite believe the Ensign. He knew that the Ensign couldn't have had more than six hours sleep. [I'm due back on duty in three hours anyway.]
"Report to the Captain's yacht as soon as you can. We'll be leaving in half an hour," Axeline ordered. "Bring a change of clothes and a toothbrush, we may be gone for sometime. Redinium out."
Meanwhile on the bridge, Captain Sharpe came out of the ready room. "Chee. Prepare the Captain's yacht for immediate launch," Sharpe ordered.
"Captain...?" Chee inquired.
"Doctor Axeline has 'persuaded' me to allow him to take the yacht and transport the seriously injured back to Starbase 901," Sharpe replied. "How long will it take?"
"About fifteen minutes," Chee replied.
"Good," Sharpe replied. "Major Larn, excluding yourself, who of the available pilots still on the ship would you say is the best?" Sharpe inquired.
"I'd say Ensign Taylor, he's young and a little green around the gills, but he's a good pilot," the Major replied.
"Ensign Taylor, report to the Captain's yacht immediately," Sharpe ordered. "Chee, you have the conn." Sharpe left the Bridge and headed to the Captain's yacht.
Five minutes later, he arrived at the Captain's yacht loading bay. Ensign Taylor was already there looking a little bemused at why he was there. Axeline was also there, supervising the transfer of the patients.
"Ensign Taylor," Sharpe said.
The young Ensign almost shook as the Captain spoke. "Captain."
"Take it easy Ensign," Sharpe remarked. "Ensign, I need you to pilot the Captain's yacht back to SB 901. Once you're within communications range, I want you to let Lieutenant Redinium know. He'll contact the Starbase and let them know what he requires. Look after those injured men, their survival is in your hands."
"Understood Captain," Ensign Taylor replied.
Sharpe turned around and headed back to the bridge. Just as he reached the door, he turned and spoke to the Ensign one more time. "Ensign, try and keep the yacht in one piece, I think the Commodore would be a little cross if he found out we'd borrowed his limo," he said, smiling at the Ensign.
Twenty minutes later, Captain Sharpe was back on the bridge.
[Redinium to Bridge. We're ready to leave.]
"Permission to launch," Sharpe replied. "Chee, release the docking clamps."
With a clank, the Captain's yacht dropped from under the saucer section and could be seen on the main viewscreen, speeding back to the starbase with it's precious cargo.
"Good luck," Sharpe said softly under his breath.