Chapter Text
"What the hell are you people working on down there?" Leonard demanded. "There were a ton of you in here yesterday. What gives?"
The engineer – just one this time – flushed but refused to answer. It was moments like these when Leonard remembered how his father used to joke that despite advances in modern medicine, it was the common cold and stupidity that made up the bread and butter of his practice. Even among the best and brightest Starfleet apparently had to offer that much was true, and Leonard was half tempted to throw his tricorder away in frustration.
With nothing concrete coming his way to explain the fractured ulna, Leonard sighed and reached for the bone knitter. Sickbay was otherwise empty, with Walker and other members of the staff down in the cargo holds supervising the transfer of medical supplies. It suited him just fine if he didn't have to go down there, even if he had to deal with the antics of Starfleet's promising ankle biters.
Chapel came in while he was finishing, an intent look on her face. "Doctor, Walker's coming back in a few minutes. She's going to want to talk to you."
"What about?" he asked, glancing up from the engineer's arm.
"We've got a change of orders," she said. "She's going to brief you about it as soon as she gets here."
That didn't sound too pressing, so he took his time explaining exactly how he expected his patient to care for his arm in the next few days. He arranged the equipment as the engineer hopped off, escaping from the medical bay as Christine chuckled quietly.
"I don't think I've seen anyone that nervous to be here since we were working in the campus clinic," she said. "I shouldn't encourage you to keep doing it, but it can't hurt. What's the story?"
"The hell if I know," Bones says, "but if Walker doesn't talk to the chief engineer, I might."
"Talk to Chief Schwartzer about what?" Walker asked, coming up behind them, but as Leonard opened his mouth to begin explaining, she waved a hand at him. "Never mind, it can't be anything I haven't already yelled at him about. Come on, I need to get you ready before we arrive."
Leonard rolled his eyes and followed her into the office. "What's going on?"
"Garth is sending us to a planet that's asking to be evacuated," she began, "and like I said the other day, that's a first for us. I'm actually relieved that's what we're facing right now, and even though they haven't told us much about the background reasons, it'll be an easier mission to ease you into the process. You never know how a colony might react to the news about the widening of the buffer zone, but at least this situation will get you familiar with the procedures."
He still had the list she'd given him the other day, and he made a mental note to make sure he had it with him when they beamed down. "So what do we know?"
"Just that it's named Alpha V," she said, "which doesn't tell me all that much. Though you tend to only know the main colonies and the really infamous ones like Tarsus, so that isn't all that much to go on. I do know we're expected there toward the end of alpha shift, so go do what you need to do before we arrive."
"I'll do that," he said. "Any last words of advice?"
"Just follow Kirk's lead," Walker said, and it took a bit of effort for Leonard to keep from smiling. That was the problem; he already followed Jim's lead most of the time. "He's got a good head on his shoulders, and I dare say, a way with words. And remember to keep me apprised of the situation down there so we know what to expect in case they have any special cases I'd need to know about."
That sounded easy enough, and besides, that was standard procedure during the drills they'd done at the Academy.
He finished up most of his shift in Sickbay, and after a brief stop in the mess hall, returned to his own quarters to change from his white scrubs. Before pulling off his shirt, he cued the computer to read out a brief description of Alpha V. He listened as he changed, but there wasn't much insight into planet's history except that it had been settled for thirty years and was mostly mining in nature with a bit of industry. Nothing extraordinary, but exactly the kind of place that appealed to the type of personality that thrived on challenge.
It did make him wonder at the forethought Alpha V's leaders had to decide to decide for mass emigration before they were even approached by Starfleet. He supposed the idea of being stranded on their own was enough to make many people nervous about the future, and better to get it out the way before something drastic might happen. It made a certain amount of sense, and as Leonard tugged on his blue shirt, he felt at least somewhat prepared for the mission ahead.
But first, he'd had to go through the transporter.
He wasn't sure how he felt about that yet, but he knew he wasn't that thrilled with the idea. Transporters weren't that common among civilians, and he'd gone through the experience once as a cadet. Back then, he hadn't been too keen on the idea of needing a computer to tear apart and then reassemble his body at their destination, and his dislike was probably a way of referring his fear of flying to something else. He knew the physics, in a general sense, and he knew he wasn't supposed to feel a thing during the process.
"What happens if there's a computer error while we're in transit?" he remembered asking an instructor.
"Are you familiar with the saying 'There but for the grace of God,' McCoy?" came the reply, and that hadn't eased Leonard's nerves in the least.
If he felt scrambled after going through the transporter drill, everyone would just tell him it was all in his head.
Everyone, that is, but Jim.
With a brief glance at Joanna's picture, almost for luck, Leonard slipped his medical bag over one shoulder, and put the strap on his tricorder to sling over his other side. He'd pick up a communicator on the way to the transporter room, and he wasn't going to need a phaser as this was a rescue mission. Despite the protocols, he wasn't too keen about having to carry one on an away mission, and it was a relief at not needing one for this occasion.
Hikaru was already in the transporter room, and it was only another moment before Jim joined them. A fourth man was tagging along, with captain's stripes on his sleeves, but with a badge belonging to another starship. Leonard blinked, not recognizing the man, and he looked at Jim with raised eyebrows. "We've got a guest?"
"An observer," Jim corrected, looking distracted. "Doctor McCoy, this is Captain Decker. He's looking into how we run the evacuations, but I'm still in charge of the operation. He'll help out if needed, but otherwise he's staying out of the way. Captain, this is Doctor McCoy."
"I recognize him from his file," Decker said, reaching out to shake Leonard's hand in a firm grip. "I'm glad to have you back in the fleet, Doctor. We need everyone we can get these days to re-establish the new normal."
"Right," Leonard said slowly, glancing at Jim, and only seeing an expression that suggested they'd be talking about this later. "Are we going, or is there anything else we need to know?"
"I have an update," Jim informed him. "I know you've been briefed on the situation, especially you, Doctor, but the situation's gotten a little messy. It appears we've had some kind of mixed communication with Alpha V."
"What the hell does that mean?" Leonard asked, while Hikaru didn't seem all that surprised. He was probably on the bridge when the development happened.
"Standard operating procedure is to hail a planet when we arrive in orbit," Jim said, "but when we did that, the administration seemed astonished to know we were there. More importantly, they're telling us that they didn't send for us."
"What?" Leonard frowned. "Didn't Starfleet say they received a message from them?"
"Our communications officer received it," Decker said, "and while it was text only, it's a request from the main administrator asking for an evacuation. It was sent two stardates ago."
"And yet they say they didn't send anything?" Leonard repeated.
"The text-only nature of the message makes me a little suspicious," Hikaru admitted.
"Me, too," Jim said, "and that's why we're going down now. I have no idea what they'll say, and we'll probably have to do our usual song and dance routine after all."
"Fair enough," Leonard said, even if he wasn't looking forward to this at all.
hey went up to the transport platform, with Leonard taking his spot to Jim's left. It was a sign of how preoccupied Jim's mind must have been that he didn't check on Leonard to see how he was doing with the transporter, but Leonard wasn't too keen on drawing attention to himself at the moment. There was something about Decker that made Leonard feel slightly uneasy, and while he wasn't too sure he could put his finger on it, it was enough of a distraction to realize they were about to be transported.
It was about eighteen months since his last trip through the transporter, and he still didn't like how he felt. On the bright side, he was in one piece.
They'd rematerialized at the centre of a room that Leonard quickly identified as the council room, which had the same typical Federation style to it that Leonard recognized from Centaurus. There were three men present to meet them, and none of them seemed to be in hospitable moods. Two were a good two decades older than Leonard, while the younger man was about Jim's age. Despite the stiff set of their shoulders, they seemed politely curious.
"Commander Kirk," the oldest man greeted. "I'm glad to continue our earlier conversation. Thank you for meeting with us."
"It's my pleasure, Commissioner Evans," Jim said, with an ease that Leonard hadn't heard very often. "Before we do, may I present the rest of my team. This is Doctor McCoy, one of our senior surgeons on board the Enterprise, and this is Lt. Sulu, our helmsman. He's more than happy to go through the botanical samples you mentioned earlier. And lastly, this is Captain Decker, who's observing our proceedings and reporting back on them to our current fleet commander."
"Gentlemen," Evans said, only having time for a brief nod. "Everything in due course, but I'm a little more eager right now to show you that there was in fact no call made to Starfleet or the Federation."
"I believe you, sir," Jim said, "but that doesn't account for the message we saw."
"Come this way," Evans said, and turned on his heel to walk out. Leonard glanced Jim's way, noting the pleasantly neutral look on his face. So that's what he looked like when he was trying to be diplomatic, though the expression slipped a little when he caught Leonard's gaze.
Jim was perplexed, and he was trying to hide it from Evans and Decker.
"Where are we going?" he asked as they fell into step behind Evans.
"Our communications hub," Evans said.
Jim stopped walking so quickly that Leonard nearly ran into him. "I'd rather stay here to discuss the situation, Commissioner."
"What situation, Commander?" Evans turned to face them again, suddenly on the defensive. "I know the Enterprise has been involved in the evacuation of twenty colonies in the last eleven months, though I might be off on my numbers. The official policy is that it's been an exercise of the willing, but we're just within the boundaries of the new border. Why would we ever want to leave our planet?"
That wasn't something Leonard had thought to check, and he saw Hikaru also looking a little surprised at the news. While Decker wasn't easy to read, Jim was taking the news in stride.
"We've only taken those who wanted to leave," Jim said. "Frankly, Commissioner, most have agreed to come with us when they understand the situation we're facing."
"That Starfleet is unwilling to help those in need?" one of the other men said.
Hikaru stood up straight, shoulders stiff, but it was Jim who continued the conversation. "Believe me, gentlemen, when I say that I speak for everyone about how much we hate this situation. All of us took an oath to help all Federation member planets, and that we want to help every single group who's out there in their hour of need. The reality of the situation is that we know we can't be everywhere at once, and there will be more situations than not where we'll simply be out of range when a distress call comes in."
Evans looked at his colleague with a sharp look when the other man opened his mouth again. "We appreciate the difficulties posed by the current situation, Commander," he said smoothly.
"Current situation?" Leonard was speaking before he realized he'd opened his mouth. He felt Hikaru reach for his forearm, but he was past the point of stopping. "I don't think you're grasping the depth of the crisis. The Federation's entire infrastructure is gone. Earth is gone. Vulcan is gone. Everything that kept this lovely system of government going is gone."
This was why he'd never make a good diplomat, while Jim quickly stopped him from continuing by holding up a hand. Decker, on the other hand, was keeping his mouth shut tighter than a clam. "What Dr. McCoy means is that until we've got some measure of control back, everyone is going to feel the effects in the meantime."
Evans' gaze shifted between them. "Perhaps what needs to be discussed is Alpha V's needs as far as trade are concerned. That is, if you're certain that the need for an evacuation isn't in the cards."
"Only if you ask for it," Jim said.
The three men murmured together for a moment, and then Evans nodded. "Very well. Since you arrived in orbit, we've been trying to see where this mistaken assumption came from that we wanted to be evacuated. I expect a report when information becomes available, and hopefully that won't take long. As for our botanical projects, I'd be happy to send one of my assistants to accompany Lt. Sulu to the greenhouses."
Leonard shifted his weight from side to side. "Commissioner, I'd be happy to look through your medical facilities. If you decide to stay, I can see if there's anything the Enterprise could spare to get you by until you get your next shipment of supplies."
"That's a generous offer, Doctor," Evans said, and gestured to a young woman who'd stepped into the room while they were talking. "This is Jo Slayton. She'll be taking you to the greenhouse, Lieutenant, and she'll also make sure you're introduced to the Medical Officer of Health, Doctor."
"Report in every thirty minutes," Jim added, looking at them both. "Captain Decker will stay with me."
Decker didn't seem too upset with decision, and that suited Leonard just fine. He echoed Hikaru's acknowledgement, and they were outside a few moments later. Leonard had to squint at first, the sunshine brighter than he was used to even though he'd last been on a planet less than a week ago. At least Hikaru seemed to be wincing at the brightness, too, which made him feel a little better.
"What's the deal with Decker?" Leonard whispered to Hikaru.
"I'm not sure," he said. "He's Garth's executive officer, and I guess he wants to see how we make this work. I'm just glad it's Jim who has to watch out for him and not us."
That was an excellent point, and Leonard moved to fall into step next to Slayton. "How long have you been on Alpha V?"
"Not long," she said, and by her tone, Leonard immediately knew she was from Earth. It was in the way she looked away from them, and how her mouth twisted slightly in a familiar expression of grief. "I came here to work on the botanical project as soon as I left university."
Hikaru had the grace to keep the conversation going. "From what I was informed, you've managed to adapt Earth plants to the Alpha V environment?"
"Quite successfully, actually," she said, and brightened immediately. "Most of our colonies to date have only been able to have a limited amount of Earth plants and trees due to the limits of terraforming. Sometimes it's the chemistry of the soil being incompatible for those plants. I was hired on the premise that we could adapt even more plants for our environment."
"What have you managed to grow?" Hikaru asked, gaze intent on her.
"We've had our first successes with trees, actually," she said, and suddenly turned to the left. They hurried to keep pace. "I don't think it'll be a problem if we stop by our orchard first before getting you to the clinic, Doctor."
That sounded interesting, and Leonard shrugged to himself as he let Hikaru go first. He listened to them with half an ear as they discussed different breeds, splices and fertilizer levels, and instead looked at the colony itself. He knew from his research that there were roughly two thousand inhabitants, and it certainly had the feel of a small town. Half of the colonists had arrived for the mining, while another quarter were scientists like Slayton.
A population that size would probably fill the Enterprise's cargo holds, and occupy their guest quarters. He wondered what the Enterprise had done for situations where the population was twice the size of Alpha V.
The sight of the orchard pulled him from his thoughts, and Leonard couldn't help the smile. From the foliage around them, it was hard to tell whether it was early or mid-summer, but the moment Leonard smelled the ripening peaches, he knew it was even later than that. Late summer, and for a moment, he could imagine himself as a kid again at his grandmother's house, climbing the peach tree with Donna and gorging himself on fresh fruit until his stomach hurt.
"We found the apple and peach trees easiest to adapt," Slayton was saying. "We've got saplings for a cherry tree in our greenhouse, and we'll try transplanting that next."
"I didn't think there were peach trees anymore," Leonard interrupted, still in a little awe.
Slayton smiled at his reaction. "Our head researcher comes from Georgia. It was kind of a given we'd try with the peaches first in his case."
"Are they edible?" Hikaru asked.
"Go for it," she said. "We've adapted the tree to give us two yearly harvests, based on the elongated warm season."
So much for guessing the time of year, but it didn't really matter. Leonard plucked off two peaches, and handed the other one to Hikaru. He sniffed it carefully, and brushed the fuzz carefully with his fingers. It felt right, and when he took a bite, it was like getting a mouthful of home.
Almost, that was. Although the taste was right, there was still something not quite right about the flavour. It wasn't enough to distract him from the experience, he decided, and took a second bite.
Slayton was saying something else, but Leonard wasn't really listening. It was meant more for Hikaru's ears, anyway. He took another bite, enjoying the way his fingers were becoming coated with juice.
"Can we take a sapling with us?" he asked, interrupting them, but this was too important to put aside until later. He tried to lick the juice off his fingers, realized he looked about twelve years old when he did that, and relegated himself to wiping the stickiness haphazardly onto his pant leg. "Lt. Sulu has a botany lab, and this might go well with his collection."
Hikaru smiled at him, his eyes warm. "If there's any on offer, we'll take one for sure."
"We'll see what we can do," Slayton promised.
She took them inside a building briefly to wash their hands, but Leonard couldn’t bring himself to throw out the pit. He rinsed it off in warm water, and after shaking it off as best he could, found wonderfully old-fashioned paper towels to wrap it in. Once he was satisfied, he ferreted it away into his left pocket.
He had no idea what he’d be doing with it, but at the moment, it didn’t matter.
*
The clinic reminded Leonard a lot of the one on Centaurus, right down to the layout of the building and the smell of its interior. He almost expected to see his former coworkers waiting for him in the waiting room, but instead it was Dr. Marjory Lunde, the chief medic, who was very surprised to have a visitor deposited into her lap.
“You’re from the Enterprise?” she asked, eyebrows going up.
“I am,” he said, and introduced himself. “I promise I won’t get in the way. I just said I’d check to see if there was anything we could bring down for you from the Enterprise while we’re waiting to see what the hell is going on.”
“Right, the message you folks said you received,” she said. “Isn’t that strange? Is there any possibility they got it wrong, that it’s someone else asking for help?”
“I haven’t got a clue,” Leonard admitted.
She made a thoughtful sound, and brought him inside. “Well, I'm happy to show you around. The thing is, you've got us on a quiet day, not that I'm complaining all that much. We don't even have any complaining of a cold, come to think of it.”
“What do you normally see on a given day?” Leonard asked.
Lunde shrugged in reply. “Depends on the day. Given the demographics of our population, we're dealing mostly with work-related injuries as well as your usual coughs and sniffles when the weather turns cold. A few severe allergies, but nothing we can't handle. No one's over the age of fifty-five here, and there's only a handful of kids. All of them are healthy, luckily. I don't know if we could handle anything chronic.”
“Why no one over fifty-five?' he asked.
“Most people leave when they're done their contract,” she said. “We're a resource planet, so people come here, make their fortune figuratively speaking, and then head home when they're done. That's probably going to change in the near future. A few people have been here long enough they want to stay, and since most people came from Earth, well...”
That was all she had to say. Leonard managed a tight smile. “Here's as good as anywhere, right?”
“Something like that,” she said. “Even so, I can't imagine anyone just willing to pull up stakes right now. Not while there's an option to be had, anyway.”
“That's fair enough,” he agreed.
“What about you?” she suddenly asked. “With an accent like that, I take it you're from Earth?”
“Sure am,” he said. “Or was. I haven't decided on the verb tense yet. You?”
“My preferred verb tense or where I'm from?” she asked with a smile. “Present tense, and from Long Island. As long as I think about it, it's not gone from here.” She touched her heart with a sad twist to her lips afterwards. “Now, I can't quite say the same thing about my supplies, so it's good thing you did pop by.”
They went through the supplies together, manually checking even though Leonard was sure Lunde knew perfectly well what she had. It never hurt to double check, and the verification process killed time as they worked side by side. It reminded him of clinic duty at the Academy, and the hours spent in supply instead of working with patients; instead of resenting the task, he'd instead taken the time to get to know the other students. That's how he came to know Christine Chapel, after all.
Lunde was as thorough as she was easy-going, and within an hour, Leonard had a list to report back to the Enterprise. He stepped into one of the empty consultation rooms, calling up to the ship with his request to pass on the list to Walker. To his surprise, he was put through the Spock instead, who took down the information dutifully, but clearly he had something else on his mind.
"How do you think Commander Kirk is progressing?" Spock asked.
“You're asking me?” Leonard rolled his eyes, glad he couldn't be seen. “I don't really know, he's off with the administration talking over the situation.”
“I see,” Spock said. “How do you read the situation, then?”
“Hard to say about the average person, but it's not a place that would send out a call just because they're worried about things,” he said. “People have connections to the place. It might not be as strong as some of the other planets you've dealt with in the last few months, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're worried about being forced out of here.”
That didn't seem to surprise Spock very much either. “We are continuing our analysis on the ship, and I expect to hear more from Commander Kirk shortly.”
“Too bad Uhura's not here to lend a hand,” he said, careful to refer to her by surname. “She'd probably have it figured out by now.”
There was a hesitation so short, Leonard wasn't sure if he heard it, but then again, knowing Spock, that probably was the only acknowledgement he'd allow that he missed her. “We are continuing our analysis.”
“We'll come up with something,” Leonard said, and then a thought occurred to him. "Are we sure it came through the official channels?"
“That is what we were told,” Spock replied. “We do not have access to the original message, but there is no other source for such a signal in this region of space. Based on the time stamp on our copy of the message, it would seem to have been sent precisely fourteen hours before it was received. That could only have happened with a deep-space transmitter, and there is only one on the surface of Alpha V."
“Well, maybe there's another explanation.” Leonard frowned, considering the shelving in the room. “It might not be the most logical explanation, mind you, but maybe it's as a simple as a bored teenager hacking into the system. There's certainly a few of them around here, and there can't be that much for them to do on a colony like this. They think they're being smart when they're just being a nuisance.”
“Illogical, but taken under consideration,” Spock said, and it wasn't too much to stretch Leonard's imagination to picture an extremely well-behaved version of their captain who wouldn't think of mischief like a young Leonard – or hell, the epitome of teenaged hooliganism that was Jim Kirk. "To deliberately cause disruption during a time of crisis is illogical and dangerous."
“Tell that to the bored kids,” Leonard said with a wry smile. “Who knows, maybe we just can't see where the signal came from.”
“Another possibility,” Spock acknowledged. “Continue to apprise me of any developments, Doctor. Spock out.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he murmured, putting his communicator back on his belt. For a moment, he was tempted to check in with Jim, but figured that if there was a development, he'd get a call. He started back to the main part of the clinic, contemplating whether to stay with Lunde to go off in search of Hikaru, when it happened.
The building trembled, like the beginning of an earthquake, and Leonard pressed a hand against the wall, pausing, waiting to see if it would pass. But then the floor heaved, flinging him forward to crash into the opposite wall. The shock wave was immediately followed by a roar of sound and a blast of heat. It took a moment for the events to register, and Leonard brought up his arm, hopefully not too late, to protect his face as he slumped as closely to the floor as possible.
And then it was over.
He choked on smoke, and heard cries for help starting to come from the direction of the blast. Their voices were tinny at first, from the ringing in his head, and it only got worse as a siren cut through the chaos. He slowly pulled himself to his feet, and kept a hand on the wall for a moment as he assessed himself. He had a headache, but it wasn’t something that could stop him from helping. He had to support himself for his first few steps, but he headed anyway for the direction of the voices.
“Don’t go that way,” someone suddenly shouted in his face, grabbing his shoulder. He turned to see someone who was dressed in a medical tunic, but they grabbed him, pushing him in the opposite direction. “We’re regrouping outside.”
With a push, he stumbled his way out, blinking at the sunshine. He took a few steps from the building, and once he looked back, he saw black smoke billowing into the sky. There was a mass of people running toward the clinic, many carrying fire suppression devices. Leonard stepped aside to let them pass, and tried to make sense of the scene.
He spotted some of the medical staff staggering their way out of the clinic, but so far there was no sign of Lunde. His gut twisted at the thought, but pushed it away as he tapped one of the nurses on the shoulder. She whirled on him, her face covered with soot.
“What?” she snapped, and then she saw the uniform. “You’re Enterprise?”
“My name’s McCoy,” he said. “I was talking to Dr. Lunde just before this happened. Our Sickbay’s available if your facilities aren’t able to deal with all the patients.”
“Our facilities?” she repeated. “As far as I know, we don't have one anymore, so we'll take you up on the offer. Right now, we’re clearing the building. We don’t know how stable it is.”
“Where’s Dr. Lunde?” he asked.
The nurse looked around, searching for her boss, and if possible, looked even paler. “I don’t know. I think she was...”
Leonard didn’t need her to finish. “Start organizing triage out here. If you see one of my colleagues, they’ll help organize the beam ups. I’m going in to see what I can find.”
As she agreed, he pushed his way back inside while holding his breath against the worst of the smoke. He knew intellectually it wasn’t a great idea to go back in without protection, but he had to help get people out of the building. And while it wasn’t the time for déjà vu, he couldn’t help the memory of being back on the Enterprise during Nero’s attack. After coming from the bridge, he’d come in to find Sickbay devastated, the CMO dead, with only Leonard, some of the junior surgeons and the nurses left to take up the slack.
He just hoped it wouldn’t be the same here, and he let out a relieved breath when, unlike his experience of stumbling over Puri’s body, Lunde suddenly appeared in front of him. She was bloodied, but didn’t seem badly injured as she helped move an orderly who could hardly stay on his feet. When she recognized Leonard, Lunde’s face brightened for a moment underneath the grime.
“Glad to see you,” she said. “The clinic’s useless.”
That was putting it mildly. “There’s a first aid post being set up outside.”
“Good,” she said. “Listen, could you ask your ship –”
“We’re making arrangements to get the wounded up to the Enterprise,” he acknowledged.
“Then as you were, Doctor,” she said, and almost shoved her patient into his arms. He braced himself, glad his headache wasn’t worse or they’d both have ended up on the floor. “I’m going back in. You’ll coordinate from the outside.”
Given it was her home turf, Leonard wasn’t about to argue. He manoeuvred the man’s arm around his shoulders, and helped him limp back outside. They were going far slower than Leonard would’ve liked, but he wasn’t going to rush an obviously weakened patient. He felt the orderly slump a little more.
“Thanks for this,” the orderly said suddenly.
“Don’t mention it,” Leonard replied. “What were you doing when this happened?”
The man let out a weak chuckle. “I was changing a light. Fell off my ladder, blacked out, and the next thing I know, Doc Lunde was pulling me up despite my best efforts to stay on the ground.”
“Any idea what it was?” Leonard asked.
“I’m not sure,” the orderly said. “Wasn’t any of the pipes, and certainly wasn’t the energizer. It’s my job to stay on top of that, and I’ve got the paperwork to prove everything was in proper condition.” He grimaced suddenly, the pain seeming to get worse. “Had the paperwork, anyway.”
“We’re almost there,” Leonard murmured, trying to be encouraging, and then they were outside. In the time he’d been inside, there was a makeshift triage point at a safe distance from the building. He moved his charge in that direction, and deposited him on the first available stretcher.
There was a low boom from the building, the sound of something imploding again. Leonard winced, and then forced himself to take a deep breath. He could feel the adrenaline racing through his system, and he had to concentrate to keep his hands from shaking. Once he felt a little more stable, he sought out the nurse from earlier to report on having seen Lunde.
“Thank god,” she said, allowing herself the moment of relief, before returning to business. “Right now, I’m counting eighteen wounded, including three who are severely hurt. I’m expecting more as the rescue effort continues.”
“At least the clinic was empty when this happened,” Leonard said.
“There is that,” she said. “Also, your communicator’s beeping.”
“It is?” His hearing probably wasn’t still what it was if he hadn’t noticed the sound. He reached for his belt, realizing he should’ve called in as soon as he was out of the building the first time, but he had other things on his mind at the time. “I’ll make the arrangements right now for the Enterprise to take the wounded.”
The nurse nodded. “I’ll get them ready for transport.”
“Good,” he said, and then flipped open the communicator. “McCoy here.”
“Bones!” Jim’s voice blared out from the tiny speaker, his concern obvious. “I’ve been trying to call you for ages! Are you okay? We’re trying to figure out what happened over here.”
“I’m fine, I think,” he said. “As far as I can tell, the medical centre’s gone. Something exploded, and we’re evacuating the wounded as we speak. There aren’t any fatalities that I know of, but that might change. That means I’ve got to get off this channel to make arrangements with the Enterprise.”
“Do it,” Jim said. “I’m sending Hikaru over to help coordinate. Hang tight, okay?”
“What else would I do?” Leonard snapped, and regretted it immediately. “Any help will be appreciated, Commander. McCoy out.”
He cut the connection before hailing the Enterprise. He focused on the tasks at hand, first reporting directly to Spock and then getting transferred to Walker. He focused on the critically wounded first, giving a preliminary diagnosis before they were transported directly to Sickbay. Before long, there was an empty lawn where the wounded used to be, and as he closed the communicator with the knowledge he’d be sending more up shortly, he suddenly had to sit down.
“Doc?” It was Hikaru, lowering himself to sit next to him with a little more dignity than Leonard’s half sprawl.
“I’m fine,” he said, almost automatically. He shifted, and wondered what the lump was in his pocket. He prodded it for a moment, and remembered belatedly that it was the peach pit. At least that was safe, he thought, and smiled wryly to himself. “That was just... I’m not used to that anymore.”
“You did fine, and we’ve been through worse,” Hikaru said easily, eyeing Leonard’s face with growing concern. “Your face, however, looks like you’ve been in a fight. You’re bruising.”
“I am?” He’d been so used to his headache that he forgot he’d hit his face, too. He reached up to prod at unexpected tenderness, and the right side of his face suddenly ached in reaction. “Huh, well, I guess I was thrown by the shockwave.”
“Thrown in more ways that one?” Hikaru asked. “It’ll look great tomorrow. Purple’s your colour.”
Leonard rolled his eyes, and continued prodding his face. “So am I the only one who thinks this is slightly suspicious?”
“The coincidence between a mysterious message and an explosion on the same planet that said they wanted to evacuate?” Hikaru looked at the ruined building for a moment, and turned his attention back to Leonard. “Only slightly.”
“I heard the sarcasm,” Leonard said. The worst of the bruising was along his jawline, where he’d probably impacted the hardest against the wall. He could feel his headache ramping up again, and went through his medical kit for the right hypo. He had enough analgesic for one dose, which he quickly prepared. “Everyone else is okay?”
“Yeah, only the medical centre was targeted,” Hikaru said. “Jim and the rest of the administration should be here soon. Do you need a hand with that?”
He was too tired to fumble with the hypospray, and handed it over without a second thought. “In my neck, and don’t stab it.”
“No, because that’s your department,” Hikaru said with a small chuckle. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’ll be fine when we’re back on the ship,” Leonard said, and after putting the hypo back in his bag, he carefully stretched. The pressure was easing for the moment, and he could focus clearly again. “Too bad you didn’t get to spend more time in the hydroponics building.”
“There’s still time,” Hikaru said, sounding optimistic. Their communicators beeped, this time the sound very clear to Leonard’s ears. Hikaru reached for his first. “Sulu here.”
“We’re on our way over,” Jim said.
They were there a few minutes later, with Jim rushing toward them. His blue eyes were bright with worry, and though his gaze lingered on Leonard’s face for a few extra moments, he was back to business after the lapse. He also had Decker in tow, who eyed Leonard’s face with an expression he couldn’t quite parse.
“Report,” Jim said.
“Everything’s under control over here,” Leonard said, easing himself to his feet. He glanced around to make sure he wasn’t telling stories that weren’t true, but no one else was being brought out of the building. He suspected that if it happened, those would be fatalities, and he hoped there weren’t many. “Do we know anything yet?”
“Wait until Evans gets here,” Jim told him. “We’re still piecing things together, but we’re starting to get an idea about what might be happening.”
“I’ll bet it’s a thrilling story,” Leonard muttered.
Evans appeared a moment later, out of breath, though Leonard was willing to chalk that one up to emotions rather than health. The commissioner was tight-mouthed at the scene, and he nodded as he saw Leonard and Hikaru. “I’m relieved to see you’re both all right.”
“I took the liberty of having the wounded transported up to our ship,” Leonard said.
“That’s what Dr. Lunde said,” Evans replied. “Thank you.”
“So what’s going on?” Hikaru asked. “Was this an accidental coincidence, or something else?”
Jim's mouth tightened. "Yes and no. The message definitely didn't originate from the colony's communications system, and what's more, we've received a second one just moments before the explosion."
Frowning hurt, but Leonard couldn't help it. "Say what?"
"Someone issued a warning that there was going to be an imminent explosion," Jim said. "They didn't say where, or who they were, but from what we can tell, it looks like the same signature as the message Starfleet received."
"We need someone to do a forensics on that message," Hikaru said.
“Agreed,” Decker interrupted. “The problem is, your best communications officer is currently assigned elsewhere.”
“Convenient,” Jim said, “but we still have the best on the Enterprise. They’ll figure it out.”
Evans interrupted them. "Regardless, I still don't believe that one of my colonists would do such a thing."
"Why? What did the message say?" Leonard asked.
Jim met his gaze. "'Get out. Here's your first warning.'"
“Slightly paraphrased,” Decker said, “but more or less what they said.”
Eyeing the two for a moment, wondering at the tensions suggested by that exchange, Leonard decided to ignore it. “The timing suggests they knew someone had come who can help them leave.”
“It’s not exactly a secret what the Enterprise does in Starfleet now,” Evans suggested.
“Yes, but what better way to push you to leave than to take out the medical complex,” Leonard said. “If terrorist acts are meant to communicate a message, that’s pretty much an open invitation to pack up and leave.”
“Which I’m not inclined to take right now,” Evans said. “There’s no reason for us to leave, Doctor.”
“I’m not suggesting there is,” Leonard said. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m just saying that whoever did this was a goddamn coward.”
Decker fought a smile. “Very appropriate, Doctor.”
“So someone wants you to leave the colony,” Hikaru said. “Who?”
“Not one of my mine,” Evans replied. “Everyone’s here by choice, or at least they were up until a year ago. Everyone’s employed, there’s prosperity, and while that might change now that we’re talking about making this a permanent settlement, no one has a reason to complain right now.”
“Well, it has to be someone,” Decker said.
Evans opened his mouth to reply just as their communicators beeped again. Jim reached for his first, flipping it open. "Kirk here."
"Spock here, Commander. Be advised that our sensors have picked up a fast-approaching vessel, of an unknown configuration. It will be in orbit in two minutes."
As a group, they straightened. Jim looked at Evans first, and then up at the sky. "What are your instructions, Captain?"
"We are unable to beam you up at the present time," Spock said. "There is a previously undetected buoy in orbit of Alpha V's moon which has activated, making our transporters inoperative. We've raised our shields."
Evans' eyes went round, his mouth falling open. "I... Captain, are you saying we are under attack?"
"I do not know," Spock said. "However, be advised that this situation is underway and I will apprise you when we know more."
There was a prickling at the back of Leonard's neck. He slapped a hand to the irritation, uncertain just what was causing the problem. He looked around, suddenly feeling like the area was coming into focus. They were a few hundred yards from the peach orchard, he realized, and whatever he was feeling, it had to do with something coming from that direction. He suddenly couldn't concentrate on what Jim and Evans were saying, and, despite knowing that he was being watched, took a few steps away.
Then he froze.
Joanna stood in the shade of a peach tree.
He felt like he was staring forever, even though he was blinking and wondering if he was mistaking another dark-haired girl for his daughter. Despite that, he knew it was her. He couldn't mistake her, with her little pointed chin and her green eyes staring at him solemnly. Leonard caught her gaze, his heart clenching, and he just knew suddenly what she wanted to tell him.
Danger.
"Doc?" He heard Hikaru coming up behind him, his hand heavy and real on his shoulder. "You okay?"
"We need to get to safety," he said, feeling slightly dazed and desperate not to turn away. He knew that the moment he broke eye contact, she'd vanish.
"Bones?" Now it was Jim on his other side, with Decker and Evans. "What's going on?"
It took every inch of willpower to pull his gaze away from Joanna, and he swallowed hard, forcing himself to keep calm. "Think about it. First the medical building, and now this? Every single person on this colony needs to get to safety. All of us. Now. The Enterprise might not be able to hold whoever that is back."
Jim searched his face, frowning and not a little worried, before turning to Evans. "Is that possible?"
The commissioner nodded slowly. "Yes, there is an emergency plan but we've never enacted it."
"Then it's time to break it out," Jim said.
Evans moved away without saying a word, and Jim followed immediately. Leonard hesitated, though, and glanced back at the peach trees. Just as he'd feared, the space was empty now. He swallowed hard, and then at Hikaru's urging, fell into step behind the others.
He'd think about what this meant later.
*
The emergency protocol was based on a series of small bunkers and interconnected tunnels situated beneath the main section of the colony. The walls were made of something that looked like concrete, and there were heavy metal doors meant to withstand blasts while cordoning off the affected area from the rest of the complex.
"These aren't part of the Federation's usual colony design," Jim said when they were shown the plans.
Evans just nodded. "We didn't build them. They were already here."
“Who built them?” Decker asked, staring at the plans fascinated.
“We don’t know,” came the reply.
There wasn't time to discuss it further. There was a siren wailing away, and the bulk of Alpha V's population were winding their way into the shelters with some semblance of order. Leonard had to plug his ears when the siren began, the pitch too loud for him with his headache even despite the painkillers, but he couldn't escape the noise yet.
Jim finally took pity on him. "Bones, go ahead with Hikaru. There's a designated medical area, they could use all the help they can get if this gets any worse."
"What about you, Commander?' Hikaru asked, keeping professional despite the worry in his dark eyes.
Jim waved him off. "We'll be along shortly. Our communicators won't work in the bunkers, and I want to keep in touch with the Enterprise until the very last possible second."
That sound reasonable, and Leonard tried to push away his doubts as they left the council room. The nearest entrance was a few hundred meters away, and Leonard fell into line behind Hikaru as they joined the colonists making their semi-calm way down to the stairs.
They were a few meters away when Hikaru suddenly pulled him out of line. "Do you hear that?"
All Leonard could make out was the sound of voices and human bodies moving, but then he noticed that Hikaru was scanning the skies with a focused look.
"What?" he asked, trying to look around.
"I can hear something, but..." Hikaru's eyes suddenly widened, and he pointed to left. "At nine o'clock. We've got incoming."
Leonard felt his gut clench as he looked. There were four small ships descending toward the colony. He suddenly remembered being a kid, when some of his classmates would spend obsessive amounts of time memorizing the different makes of Federation ships and comparing the designs to the Klingons and other alien races. He’d learned more when he’d gone to the Academy, certainly enough to have a basic recognition of Starfleet’s designs in reference to other known designs, this definitely wasn't theirs.
It looked completely foreign.
"They're coming in too fast," Hikaru said, and suddenly moved away.
"Where are you going?" Leonard shouted after him.
"We've got to get these people in the tunnels faster!" Hikaru called back. "Stay there and get them in, Doc. I'll find you later!"
He disappeared around the corner before Leonard could pull him back. "Goddamn it, Hikaru!"
There was nothing he could do. He held his place, and guided the people in by urging calm and careful steps, all the while cursing impulsive bridge crew under his breath. It didn't take long for the last of the line to climb down the stairs, and Leonard looked up just in time to see the first ship – sharp, black, small – open fire on the buildings off to the left.
Someone tugged on his hand, and he was suddenly stumbling down the stairs as the door was slammed shut behind him.
He could only pray that Jim and Hikaru were both safe.