Just in Time, Part 3

Posted on Thu 23rd Jul, 2020 @ 6:34pm by Commander Jasmine Collins-Keller & Lieutenant Meghan [Maggie] Jericho

1,548 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: Vector 147.6
Timeline: MD 3, 2115

Previously, in our rescue ...
A light breeze of air grazed Meghan's face, barely waking her from her sleep. "It must finally be coming to an end," she thought to herself. The air was fresh and sweet, but just barely there. She was even imagining voices. She could hear them talking amongst themselves. Perhaps her mother had been correct with her ancient beliefs and angels had come from a mystical heaven to escort her into some unknown afterlife. Science had debunked those beliefs decades ago, but her mother always insisted. Were her mother's angels coming to tell her it was time to go to Heaven?

And now the conclusion.

---

"I'm here." She managed no more than a whisper. She was too cold and too tired to move, but she tried to tell whoever it was that she was there in the dark behind the helm controls. Alas, the light breeze of air was fleeting at best and once again, the air was stale and cold. Maggie laid her head back down, unable to call out or care any longer and let the darkness close in again.

"Away team, report," Henry said as he sat at the helm of the yacht. Impatiently waiting, he remotely turned on the cameras on the EVA suits so that he and everyone else could see what was going on.

"We're in, Sir, and moving toward the life sign," McCabe reported. Proceeding cautiously in the small craft, Anthony and Hari moved toward the front, searching for the woman shown on their scanners. "I don't think she's out in the open," Anthony remarked.

"No, but ..." Hari looked up from the scanner to search the dimly lighted area, "she can't be far, and there aren't many places to look."

They moved up toward the helm and then the light from McCabe's suit struck something that looked like a foot. "I think we've found her, Sir," he said, hurrying toward the dark area, his light revealing more of the body than before.

With the light of both their suits, a woman was soon revealed. "Let me take a look and make sure she doesn't have injuries that would require special care in moving her," Hari said. "I do have some medical knowledge in my database. Better than nothing."

He knelt next to the woman, pushing the seat at the helm so that it gave him the most room. After a few minutes of scanning, and doing a hands on to be sure, he realized that she wasn't injured, but was very pregnant. "Oh, boy," he said.

Reporting to the Commander, he said, "I'm going to say it's McCabe's karma from joking about it, but this woman is pregnant. Fortunately, NOT due right this minute, thank the stars! She's very dehydrated and hypothermic, however. Without closer examination, I can't tell how the baby is doing. I'd say she's about 3 months along, or a little more. Let's get her out of here and into the yacht."

It took a few moments' discussion for the group to decide that the best way to get the woman out of her situation, after carefully pulling her out and straightening her body, was an upright carry. It would distribute her weight between them and be the least damaging option in her dehydrated condition. The two rescuers soon had her limp arms over their shoulders and interlocked their own arms around her, moving her toward the airlock and then into the yacht.

Jasmine saw the two men carrying in a young woman. She was unconscious and Jasmine could see the obvious blue tint around her lips.

"Lay her down, open her airway more," she said. "I think she's Hypoxic." Jasmine didn't have any medical training, but there was basic first aid at the Academy and biology was one of the sciences she studied. "We need to activate the EMH if you have one." She looked at Riko and Henry.

"I checked after Hari mentioned that we should have one, and we do," McCord volunteered. "It's never been activated, at least not on the yacht, but it should still be better than nothing. Is there anything you need to do to activate it for the first time, Henry?"

"She needs to be warmed." Jasmine didn't want to wait. "Can we get some blankets?" She asked.

Maggie stirred on the small biobed. Her body responding to the fresh air, but she didn't want to wake up. Here she was safe and warm. Here Elliot wasn't gone. Her body let out a sigh as it fougt to survive even though her mind didn't.

Henry walked over to where Maggie was and gave her a once over. "Computer, activate EMH!" Immediately, a hologram of an Andorian woman appeared and asked, "Please state the nature of your emergency."

"Please help the young lady on the Bio-bed please and access all medical scans that have been taken of her." Henry asked he watched the EMH look over to Maggie.

The EMH closed its eyes for a few seconds and looked as if it was reading something. Henry always thought how the EMH accessed files was kind of creepy. He made a mental note to tinker with its programming when he got a free moment.

"Hello, miss, can you tell me your name?" The EMH asked as it looked over the bio-bed readings.

Meghan stirred more as the voices came into focus and after a few moments, she found it hard not to open her eyes. Two slow blinks brought the room into focus and she realized she was on a strange ship being looked after by people she'd never seen before. She suddenly found enough strength, to lift herself to her elbows as she tried to back away from the Andorian.

"Whoa, slow down there," a woman with a pixie look about her, said. "You're among friends. We've rescued you from a failing vessel of some sort, and we want to do the best we can for you. We're Starfleet ... from SB109. This is the captain, Commander Henry Perry," she said, waving a hand toward her friend. "We've been out on a scientific expedition and heard your distress call on the way home." She didn't think she needed to include any other details of their adventures. The woman probably wouldn't remember later, anyway.

"Starfleet?" Was it true? Had she been found? She shook her head as if to shake out the information or wake something up. Why wasn't her empathy working? Why couldn't she read these people? She had to relax. She took a deep breath and relaxed a little, but could she trust them? It only took her a few seconds to realize that she could read some of them and they were showing concern. They were there to help. She relaxed and nodded before melting into tears.

"Lieutenant Meghan Jericho." She didn't give any more information about herself just yet as she lay back down to allow the EMH to examine her. "Is my baby okay?" She'd lost her husband, she couldn't lose their child too.

The EMH looked up at the bio-bed sensors and then pulled a medical tricorder from its waistband holster. The Andorian hologram scanned Meghan's unborn baby.

"Your baby is fine, Meghan." The EMH said as he continued to run scans. "Can you tell me if there have been any complications with your pregnancy so far?"

"N-no." She was beginning to shiver as her body warmed up slowly. "I-I fell, but I was careful to land on my hip." She thought about her fall after the shuttlepod was damaged, after the explosion.

Anthony McCabe watched from a slight distance. He'd done his part in rescuing the lieutenant, but now he felt memories of his own crowding him out of the circle of concern around her. It was nearly five years since he'd been the father waiting beside his wife, Marilyn, at a doctor's exam. It was almost four years since his wife had disappeared on a mission. He'd never given up hoping that someday, somewhere she would come back to him.

Seeing this woman here, with no husband beside her, touched him deeply for her, and also brought back his own loss. Of course, her husband could be waiting at the starbase for her to return. Maybe their story is going to have a happier ending than mine, he thought.

Jasmine handed the EMH a blanket. She could tell Meghan was still cold. "This will help warm her," she offered.

"I know that," the Andorian said crossly, spreading the blanket over the woman. "I see nothing more that needs to be done for you medically. I suggest a hot meal and a warm drink, followed by a good night's sleep in a warm bed."

"I think we can provide all of those, and more when we get to 109," Riko agreed. "EMH off."

Turning to the woman they'd rescued, she asked, "What warm drink would you prefer?"

"Spiced tea would be perfect." Maggie was calming down. "Thank you." She looked at the small group. "I was sure that I was going to die, alone in the middle of nowhere." She forced a weak smile. She wished she could tell them everything, but for now her gratitude would have to be enough.

 

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