"Commander." I said as I limped into engineering, having returned to the rear of the ship. "I have finished the search of the ship. One survivor located and transported directly to sickbay together with Lieutenant Gordes."
He turned from the console Rorick was working on. "Good job, Mr Winter. We have finished patching the radiation leak. It is clear enough to beam up, the crew have already been transported to the sickbay."
"So should you, sir. While the suits help, they do not stop the radiation completely." I said and limped over.
"I plan to." he said and stepped next to me, pressing two buttons on his left wrist. "Rorick to Andromeda. Two to beam to decontamination."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
I limped into engineering and over to an empty work station before I climbed onto it and laid down.
"You have suffered heavy damage." T'Ro said as she joined me with a small frown, running a tricorder over me. "Your right front limb is not functioning and your sensor system is highly strained."
I shifted my ears. Well, the left one that would still move. "There was a sudden wall. But it was a small price. My damage can be repaired."
T'Ro shook her head "You may eject now." she then said as she continued scanning me.
I powered down before popping the back hatch and shutting down my connection. Suddenly I was much smaller.
Letting go of the data port I flexed my limbs before floating up out of the docking mold I was laying in, moving into the air to get first outside look of my damaged platform.
Apparently the right ear would not move because it was missing, having snapped right off by one of the impacts.
Well, it was just cosmetic so no real damage done there.
However...
The armor plating was dented and the right front limb was misshapen, the armor and internal supports broken at both the shoulder and the 'upper arm'.
The damage was worse than I thought.
"I will need to reconstruct the heavy platform. The damage is extensive. But it did what I made it to do." I said as I 'landed' on T'Ro's shoulder. "But it looks fixable."
The damage really should not have been quite that bad. Maybe that phaser blast I took weakened something?
Need to look into that. Maybe I need to change my hull to a different material. This one was a good balance between weight and protection, but maybe something heavier and more protective would not be a bad idea.
Depends on how much it would slow me down... maybe I could start polarizing my hull or something? Outright shielding was out for now, but that might work.
Oh well, it was just the MK II Heavy Platform. There were bound to be bugs.
She glanced at me and nodded. "I will assist you."
"Thank you." I said and shifted my position slightly so I could see the readings of her tricorder. "Have you heard anything about the status of the crew of the Nostromo?"
Who the hell in their right mind names a freighter the Nostromo!? Okay, so they might not have grown up with the same cultural context I had, but that just screamed 'bad idea' to me.
T'Ro nodded. "From what I heard, everyone that was found alive should survive. Including the girl."
Thank Q, The Prophets and everyone else for that one.
"I am going to transfer to my other platform." I said as I lifted off from her shoulder. "Go rest, T'Ro. You have received a anti radiation drug and worked a full shift. You likely feel quite nauseous."
T'Ro frowned and turned to look at me. "I am quite capable of handling the effects." she said.
"I know. Now go rest. My repairs can wait until tomorrow." I answered, floating in front of her face before I added. "It is only logical."
She hesitated for half a second before she nodded and put away her tricorder. "Agreed."
"Good night, T'Ro." I said, before I turned to float out of engineering towards the armory on deck three.
I was halfway there when I changed course, heading towards the infirmary instead.
The door swished open as I floated close, the computer responding to my 'open please' signal. Much easier than floating over to tap a button.
The sickbay was smaller than on a Galaxy class and rather crowded, even with only ten people on the biobeds.
The Doctor looked up from her PADD as the door opened and startled slightly at the sight of me floating in the air., but she quickly realized who I had to be.
I had so far not had much interaction with the medical staff on the Andromeda, not exactly being in need of their attentions.
Still, Doctor Turner remind me a bit of a blond, short haired Beverly Crusher in her manners.
"Can I help you, Cadet?" Doctor Turner asked as she looked up from her PADD.
I bobbed in the air in an approximation of a nod.
"I am curious about the status of the patients. I wanted to..." I started and paused. "I wanted to make sure they would recover."
Turner smiled faintly. "They will all recover fully, Cadet. " she said. "They are all responding to the treatments. If you excuse me, I need to return to work."
"Yes Doctor. I apologize for the interruption." I said and floated back out into the corridor.
T'Ro told me they would be fine, but I had to find out for myself.
We did something good.
We mattered.
I made a difference.
I may never be able to forgive Professor Diggins for what he did to me... If I saw him, I would most likely hit him again.
But at least my suffering at his hands was not for nothing.
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section. Oh and like normal, next part is to be posted on monday.
