The morning shift change aboard Med.Force.One was complete. James Haddock took his commander's chair in the bridge while Dr. Edward Tesh had his morning meeting with the overnight staff. Research continued in the labs and the day's routine medical procedures continued. Those getting off shift unwound at the Pleasantview Lounge over a drink and some friendship.

The bridge staff did as they so often did each morning. Commander Haddock stood in a window overlooking Gran Canaria as he sipped his coffee joined by the rest of his staff. They truly appreciated the role they had and the purpose the ship served in providing a place for anyone who needed help to get it without prejudice.

Unbeknown to them, they had no idea on the day that awaited them. As they enjoyed the view, a message started coming over the com.

"Med.Force.One, this is the X-shuttle Corelia, do you copy?"
"I guess the day get's started early," commented Ensign Charles Kent, the communication's officer.
"Yes, I guess it does," replied his commander.
As Ensign Kent approached, he heard it again,
"Med.Force.One, this is the X-shuttle Corelia, do you copy?"
The signal was a bit weak but readable. Kent took his seat, set his coffee down, placed his headset on and responded,
"Corelia this Ensign Charles Kent of Med.Force.One. Your signal is weak but we read you. How may we assist?" Commander Haddock watched as his young Ensign worked.

"Med.Force, thank God. We have a patient in the back of the ship who is barely alive and I'm not sure she'll make it with the equipment we have. We need your help. Please."

Ensign Kent sat back a bit with a look of concern as he removed his headset.
"Wow," he said, "sounds serious." His commander just looked on but asked, "Who do they work for?"

Kent put his headset back on and proceeded, "Corelia, who do you work for?"
I am employed by the ICMG, Sir, was the response.

Haddock sat up in his chair as he paid closer attention, "Ambassador Holliday has worked with them a bit. Um....grant permission for docking bay six for the shuttle as it will be closest to the medical bays. I will notify the Ambassador and Doctor Tesh myself. Ensign, keep in contact."
"Yes, Sir," replied Kent as his Commander notified Dr. Tesh of what was coming.

"Commander, get a status report on her and get John back here when he arrives," was Dr. Tesh's response.

Kent then contacted the Corelia, "X-Shuttle Corelia, you are cleared for docking bay six when you arrive."
After a brief pause, the Corelia's commander responded. He sounded like he was fighting back tears, "Thank you, Med.Force." There was another pause before he continued, "I'm sending a preliminary report of her known conditions. It's the best we can do with what we have. Uploading.........now."

Quote:Acid burns on stomach, chest and legs,
Infected bullet wound in her shoulder with the slug still in.
Frostbite in fingers and toes.
Multiple rib fractures.
Severe head trauma.
Small lazer burns on her back (18 of them)
Liver failure due to physical trauma.
Internal bleeding.
Kidney failure do to physical trauma.
Concussion.
Coma.
She has lost 3 of her teeth.
"ritual" like cut on her left cheek
Loss of blood.
Left arm is completely shattered
Large welts on her wrists (due to restraints)
Musclular.. erm.. weakness (failure) due to restraints and not be able to move.
Shin bone on right leg is broken.
Deliruem.
and her left eye is somewhat damaged.

The Commander and Kent read over the report and went silent for a moment.
"Dear God," said a stunned Commander Haddock.

Kent read aloud to himself, "ritual like cut on her left cheek." He then looked to his commander, "someone very sick did this to her." Haddock nodded his agreement, took the report and transferred it to medical.
Kent, still shocked, continued, "Corelia, report received, please continue. We await your arrival."

---

The captian of the corellia had put the sip down with extra special care. Careful not to dislodge the passengers. When it finnally touched down he let out a sigh of relief before starting all the shutdown protocols.

He heard and felt the rear cabin doors opening as a small presure change.

He sat down thinking for a moment. The girl wouldn't make it. Of this he was sure.

He peered over at the comms channel knowing he had work to do. Letting out a deep breath he flicked it on again.

"Kent this is the correlia, the patient is being dropped off now. Just need to send some stuff through to you for digital signing as a receipt"

He licked his lips.

"Its very kind of you to have offered your help with this, I know you probably have questions so I'll tell you what I know first. I'm uploading her bio now"

Sending the file he reviewed it again for the hundreth time. She was a bounty hunter before joining the ICMG and they really knew nothing about her before that.
Even her age was guessed.

"Well, we don't know much about her past other than she was a bounty hunter for a while and that's about it."
"As to her condition. We don't know who did this to her or why. We have our suspicions but we really know nothing. Her vessel was boarded two weeks ago that we know of but we don't know who did it or why. All the crew were dead onboard and we really knew nothing about it."

"Our lads on here are really tired. But we need to head back. I have some credits here and was wondering if we can order a bit of food to go and we will catch some shuddeye in space."
"We appreciatte this. Truly we do and hope nina can pull through"

He flicked off his comms to "receive only" before letting out a deep breath. He was tired and this had been a difficult journey for the crew.

---

The patient was brought on to Med.Force.One and was received by chief medical officer Dr. Edward Tesh, Commander Haddock and John Holliday himself. Before he began working on his patient, John turned to Commander Haddock, "James, there's really nothing you can do. Make sure the crew of the Corelia gets a decent meal before they leave and that their credits aren't necessary. Perhaps one day they can return the favor to us somehow."

"Will do, Doctor," replied James. But, before he left, he looked at the patient. He noticed the cut on her left cheek and simply said, "Outcasts."
"Outcasts?" inquired Doc, confused.
"Outcasts," replied James, "the cut on her cheek. I've seen that before when I was in the Liberty Navy. Outcasts will leave such a cut just before they finish interrogation to remind people whom not to mess with."
He then excused himself and made his way to the Corelia.

Dr. Tesh and John Holliday began looking over the patient. Immediately, Doc took a portable scanner and began scanning her body as Dr. Tesh began to look her over. He became disgusted the more he looked.
"This is more like a living carcass," he declared in disgust. "Animals do things like this."

"We tried to clean her up a bit, Sir," explained the medic that brought her over. He then hung his head a bit, "admittedly, we don't have the resources or training to handle such cases."

"What a shame," said Dr. Tesh in a quiet voice, "such a pretty young lady and they do this to her." He shook his head as he continued, hooking a monitor to her.

"Let's get some fluid in her and type B positive blood as well, Edward, she's very dehydrated and malnourished no doubt," ordered Doc.

As they began preparing the I.V., the monitor made that dreaded steady beep.
"She's flatlining!" yelled Edward.
"No!" screamed the medic. In his panic, he made a move to begin chest compressions to which he was pulled away.
"Son, you do that and you may well kill her. Scans show broken ribs resting against her heart. DON'T do that!", he barked at the medic. He then turned, to his left, "Nurse, crashcart Now!"
Being that there were many of them on ship, it arrived as fast as he demanded it. As Dr. Tesh cleared her chest of clothing, John Holliday prepped the defibrillator. He placed one paddle on her upper chest, the other at her left side.
"CLEAR!" he yelled. He discharged the electric shock into her body, causing her to jump on the hover gurney. He body settled as Doc looked at the monitor. "Still flat!" he again yelled, "CLEAR!" Again, he discharged another charge into her chest and again her body jumped. This time, the result was a regular rythym. Doc sighed in relief, "She's back. Let's get those fluids into her, some blood and get her stable."

She was brought into an operating room where a staff waited. She was transferred to the table and any remaining clothing was removed. As they did so, Doc began scrubbing up with Dr. Tesh who was a bit annoyed with his friend and boss.
"Outcasts! How you deal with savages such as that!" he grumbled.
Doc answered with equal annoyance, "That's for another time, Doctor. We have a young lady to save."

---

At the same time, on the other side of the universe, there was another shuttle starting the journey to the Med.Force.One, from the depths of Kusari Space. On board was Lydia Minmay, confused but determined to get herself cured of all the mental problems she now have... and maybe had in her past, as she remembers the disturbing things she saw in her quarters. Additionally, she was really concerned about that growing stomacheache. Normal painkillers seemed to work for now, but it is only a matter of time she needs something stronger. And the only thing strong enough in Kusari Space is Cardamine, which she is not sure if she wants to take it. Surely, it is an illegal drug, so it would be very unhealthy to get addicted to.

Without bigger problems she moved cross and far through the galaxy, avoiding anything dangerous, like a blockade of her former and future sisters, the cruelsome battle between Kusari and Bretonian forces and Corsairs raiding in Dublin Space. But after an collision with an asteroid , while waiting for help from Omege 49, she wondered what she would have done before her transformation. Surely, she would be very angry... maybe destroying the interiour and dying in this process. For now, she feels unfortunate, but it would be an exaggeration to call it angry. It is just time....

"Calling Gran Canaria. Here is Lynn Minmay. I am stranded in Dublin, near sector.... *a short break for her to check her space map "Sector E6 I think..." confused she presses some buttons in her unarmed ship, not used to this kind of bretonian space craft. "Yes.... more or less E6, can you please send someone to pick me up? And to tow this shuttle in would be very..." she cramps down for a second, glad that no picture of her could be seen. "nice..." she pressed out, wiping the sweat from her forehead. A grip to the box of pharmaceuticals and another capsule in her stomache. The last one over that. That means she will have peace for the next 6 Hours... enough time, as long as the Zoners have someone to pick her up in the close neighbourhood.

"Here Gran Canaria. We are about to pick you up. Two Dromedair will tow you in. Oh... and Dr. Holliday wants to talk to you about the procedures. Do you want to talk to him?". Lydia wondered about the quality of the call, she can?t decide if it was the quality of the bretonian voice module or the strong antenna on Gran Canaria. Or it is normal and she can?t remember.

"Of course I want to. I would feel honored." she replied, leaning back. While two small freighters slowly moved her shuttle towards Omega 49, she talked to her Doctor, about procedures, the way of treatment and other things she wondered about. It feels like her first visit to a hospital ever... maybe it is true, but she was ready. Why, maybe there will be waiting even a true love over there, she joked with herself.

While the battered young woman was whisked into surgery, Miss Lynn Minmay was met at the shuttle bay by a doctor and his nurse intern. The Kusari doctor was holding a clipboard and wore his stethoscope about his neck. She was a young red-headed woman, probably not more than twenty years old. As Lynn approached, she heard the final instructions being given.

"So remember, Doreen, Miss Minmay is to be kept in a secure area until we can further evaluate her. It is standard procedure here," reminded the doctor with a smile. When Lynn arrived, he smiled again and extended his hand.
"Konnichiwa, Miss Minmay, I am Dr. Tenaka. I must apologize as I understand Dr. Holliday was to admit you himself but he has been called into emergency surgery. Once he gets a chance, he will speak with you."
He then bowed, "he did say that he was sorry."

He then turned and motioned to his nurse, "And this is Doreen. She will help you get settled in." He then motioned down the hallway, "Shall we? Your room is a bit of a walk but I think you will like it."
Together, Doreen, Dr. Tanaka and Lynn made a walk to her quarters. On the way, she got to see first hand some of the sights and sounds of the ship that she would take residence in for awhile. It was mostly offices and some staff areas but it was still impressive. They would pass through an encoded door where two huge, but non-human guards stood. They only looked at Lynn briefly but even that was intimidating. They passed through and into the secure area.

Finally, she was escorted into a room.
Room
There she was given her wristband.
"We try to make people who will be here awhile feel comfortable. You can watch local channels and you can page out to the aid station but you cannot call off the ship...for now," Dr. Tenaka reminded. "Dr. Holliday will be along as soon as he can."

With that, he left while Doreen stayed to ensure that she settled in.

---

Shaking the hand of her female Nurse was something she did gladly. Smiling and full of joy, she bowed her head slightly "Please... call my Lydia. I dont like it too formal. I just... feel better without it." then she nods, just before bowing again in front of Dr. Tenaka. "I understand the expertise of Dr. Holliday. Of course I have no problems, since my problem is not as urgent. If he has to safe one life, I would be happy to wait." Inside she smiled even more, knowing how peaceful her mind was.

Walking wasnt something she usually enjoyed, but she was able to see so many new things and people, especially since the nature was different. Home on the Aino it was...more uncivilized. Dirtier. The atmosphere was rougher. She really started to feel home... until she saw those two guards. She knew, that behind those gates she would be more in a prison then in a hospital, but she needs the help. "Pretty big Security here." she said, trying to sound relaxed, but failing at it. "Is it to keep people out or inside?. Like a conditional reflex, her body stiffened and her hand closing around the fingertips, showing the basic stance of Tai Chi. Right behind the doors her body relaxed, keeping the right body to her smiling face.

On the last few Meters her face slowly started to drop, she sweats a bit, but trying to keep her act together. In her room she looked around. "Wow... so... bright. It feels like I am the honored guest getting the best room in the station.". She goes straight to the bed, sitting on it and testing the softness of the mattress. "Wonderful....oh, I dont know anyone good enough, so I have no one to call. But I will rest... on the bed I think. I feel like I had no sleep for years." she put the wristband on and falls back, resting her head on the pillow. "I think, I will like it here. Doreen... there is only one thing. If it would be possible, I would like to have a few painkillers..." she wiped her sweat off and concentrated on not passing out. "I have those very painful belly aches---"

Location: Surgical Ward 7
Patient: "Nina"
Condition: Critical

"You know, John," pondered Dr. Tesh, "if her people knew better to keep some fluids in her, I wouldn't have to give her a liver transplant."
Dr. Holliday only replied with, "Heh...no kidding." He then turned to the nurse at the monitor, "how is she, Susan?"
"Stabile, Doctor Holliday. Her BP is 112 over 70," answered the nurse, "the fluid and blood have made the difference."
Nodding his approval, he entered the infected bullet wound in her right shoulder with an extractor. He could feel it resting against her clavicle. He made a slight wiggle as he gave a gentle push as he set his extractor around it. He then pulled up and removed the extractor with a bullet in the teeth. He then placed the slug on a plate and began treating the wound. He flushed it first with some water and then treated it and the infection with a cypholasporin.
"Why cypholasporin, Dr. Holliday?" asked Susan.
"When you don't know if someone is allergic to penecillin or not, you use something else," he answered. She just nodded her understanding.

Dr. Tesh himself was in the process of a liver transplant, a job he had done numerous times before with an assist from a nurse. Next to him was a blue aluminum box packed with ice that held the new liver she would receive. All blood supplies to the liver were clamped as he cut the tissues that held it within her. After several minutes, it was free and removed. He then opened the case and inspected the liver packed in the ice. Removing all ice fragments from it, he began the process of putting it in. A laser suturing tool was used to sew it into place. Gradually, the clamps were removed, one by one, allowing blood to flow into it. Finishing his last suture, he released the final clamp and made sure it wasn't bleeding. He smiled under his mask, satisfied in his work. An injection of cyclosporine was then injected into her I.V. to prevent rejection.

Before that, he had sutured several of the internal wounds inside her body that were bleeding. One rib was so broken that a stainless steel brace was installed to keep it from piercing her heart. A tube was also inserted into her left lung to relieve a collapsed lung. At this point, all sources of internal bleeding had been sucessfully addressed.

During surgery, a team of nurses immersed her hands and feet in especially designed buckets of water heated to forty degrees centigrade to address the frostbite on her fingers and toes. The immediate affects of it were treated but only time would tell how serious, if any, of the tissue damage would be. Once they finished, her hands and feet were wrapped in bandages with extra care being given to her shattered left arm and broken right leg.

Together, both doctors inspected each other's work and began to close her up. The laser suturing tool made it easy and left no scarring. Still, they couldn't help but notice the burns left over her body.
"If nothing else," commented Dr. Tesh, "we have stabilized her."
"Mmhm," answered Doctor Holliday, "such a pretty girl too. What a shame."

Much had been accomplished after 12 hours of surgery, much of which had to be done the old fashioned way. She was kept comatose as they would return a few days later to address the shattered left arm and leg. While serious themselves, her other injuries weren't life threatening and would be handled later.
As for the burns, Doc just grinned to himself knowing the burn treatment scanner that he had, the same machine that gave the lives back of some 400 Zoners after the Freeport bombings. For now, both men decided to take a break and address their need for food. Before they left, instructions were left to nurse Susan.

"I want someone with her at all times, no exceptions," instructed Doc, "if anything changes, no matter how small, call one of us."
"Yes, Doctor," she replied in acknowledgment.
With that, the two men left.......for now.

---

Dr. Tesh and Dr. Holliday met in Dr. Tesh's office to discuss the various patients aboard ship. Of course, "Nina" was the first one they spoke of. They spoke over coffee.

"I just check on her," John stated, "she's holding steady. Hopefully we can get more work done on her in a couple of days."
"John, I think she'll be fine. She's come this far. If she got to this point, she's headed in the right direction," explained Dr. Tesh.

After taking a sip of his coffee, John handed his counterpart a report, "I took these scans earlier to see how things were healing internally. Look what I found.....or didn't find."
Dr. Tesh read the scan report, his lips moving as he read, "Boy that is strange. No ovaries." He then put the report down and asked, "Are you certain?"
"Yes," John nodded, "I scanned three times to be sure. I couldn't make sense of it."

Dr. Tesh thought for a moment, "the only thing I can think of is that she was a slave somewhere and they didn't want her having children."
"Outcasts!" John grumbled, knowing they were big into the slave trade.
"Not necessarily," Dr. Tesh replied, "some criminal groups will use servants which for all intensive purposes, are slaves. They don't want the problem of extra mouths to feed or dealing with the trouble of a pregnant female so they sterilize them." He paused for a moment as he sipped his coffee, "outright removal of ovaries is extreme but it is done."
John didn't answer, only shaking his head in disgust.

Dr. Tesh then turned to the board behind him that he kept a surgery schedule, "Let's do the next round of surgery in two days. We'll have an optometrist look at that eye of hers before hand to see what needs to be done." John just nodded his agreement.

Their attention then turned to Lydia.
"Ed, she has got to be the most unusual patient I've yet to see," he commented, "I touched her wound and she went bonkers! I have never seen such a reaction. I took a video of it if you care to see it."
"I would, actually, I might spot something," he answered.

Together, they watched the video. Dr. Tesh found it very interesting that when the wounds were touched that she revealed much information but remembered nothing when he left them alone. When they finished, John commented, "I wanted to continue but I didn't want to hurt her."
Dr. Tesh nodded his understanding, "I understand. We're not here to hurt people but we may have to in a controlled way. I'm thinking it has much to do with her use of cardamine even if it was a short lived addiction."

John reviewed the bloodwork and scans on Lydia over his datapad, "Very trace amounts of cardi in her system but it's probably why her stomach is always hurting and may explain some memory problems."
Tesh sat back a bit, "Perhaps a smaller dose of nanites may fix that?"
"I was thinking of it, actually," John answered, "I'll see her in the morning."

John sipped his coffee and became lost in thought, his mind boiling with private anger over who could be so cruel. Tesh saw right through it.
"What's bothering you, John?" he asked.
John couldn't answer. He only kept his coffee mug to his mouth and shook his head.
As he sat, lost in thought, the pager on his belt started to vibrate and ring.
Looking down, John knew what it meant.
"Edward, I need to get home," he said with some excitement, "it seems that I am going to finally be a father."

"Go," smiled Tesh, "I'll take care of things here. Midori needs you."
With that, John boarded a shuttle and headed planetside.

---

It was an exhausting examination Lydia had to endure. Like she told the doctor, she went first for a bath, relaxing with some fruits and a bottle of beer she got from a very friendly nurse... she have to remember hiding the bottle. She definately doesn`t want any problems. After that she went to bed, cuddling into blanket and pillow, but sleeping only for a few hours.


Wait... let me rephrase that. Even though she continues to sleep, her body, owned by another side got up. It was fed up, getting caged in for nearly seven years. It got bored, only able to break out of the drug infested mind of her host for the absolute utmost emergencies. But now... thanks to the attack of that... thing... whatever that was, the other Lynn got caged away too. Now the third personality took over... the inexperienced Lydia... who died on that very day....friendly and nice...

She hated her. With all of her mind. She...Lydia... is that, what should be her. She just lost her thrust in humanity once...why the second time.


Slowly, the body raised from the blanket. Loosening the pony tail, she cursed for the color of her hair. Blonde is not a good color for her... but it would be too obvious if she would color it. But there are other methods then coloring. At first she controlled the position of her clothes. She heared the doctor talk about recording her on the exam, but her other self was too much of a wuzz to look at the video. She had known the position of the camera this way, but now she had to guess. Instead, she used good points, where some people would hide secret cameras as spots to hang her clothes. A T-shirt is hanging from the top lamp, her coat in front of the mirror and so on. No one will ask, Lydia is too much of a mess to get through that. That takes official cameras... but there are other ideas. With utmost care she took the sheets of her bed and folded it carefully, putting on a new one. It will be questioned at the morning, but she is sure to dodge it perfectly. Then she put on her shoes, took the old sheet and left the room.

On the floor, in the middle of the night, she walked a bit down the hallway until she reached a darker corner, where no camera could reach easily. There, she put the bedsheets into a makeshift cloak, pulling the hood deep down her face. Even though sie is now more suspicious, no one could remember her at the first moment. Then she pulled the work of the last three days from her shoe, lockpicks, made from various sources. Mostly easy to remove things like the wire of her bra or the coat hanger, but she got even a piece of cable. Thanks, Lunch Lady. Now... she can go to work.


When Lydia rised again the next morning she was battered. She felt like running a marathon, but she blamed the examination for that. She raised her body, yawned big, smiled and put on her pony tail again. It will be another nice day for her, she hoped.


Without her knowledge, some things happened in her night. Two nurses were found unconscious through heavy impact with a blunt object. Small packages of anesthesia were stolen and in Doreens Locker was a beer bottle, cleaned with medical alcohol and filled with human blood of unknown source.

It was morning and Dr. Edward Tesh was making his rounds. He first checked in with Nina who was recovering from her first round of surgery quite nicely. The infection in her shoulder had cleared up nicely and the bullet wound itself was healing equally as well. The internal injuries that she suffered were on schedule as they like to say. Her blood levels were improving but were still a bit short but this was no surprise considering the blood loss she suffered. Still, she was kept comatose as much work needed to be done. He then turned to the nurse who was watching her, "Keep up the fluids and keep her comatose. We aren't ready to wake her.
As he stepped out the door, a page came over the intercom,
"Dr. Tesh, you are needed in the secure wing. Dr. Tesh, you are needed in the secure wing."

What he found when he got there was chaos. Two nurses were found unconscious and beaten. Dr. Koji Tenaka found them and got them to a nearby ICU.
"What happened?" asked a stunned Dr. Tesh.
"No one knows," answered Dr. Tenaka, " a strange series of events. Doreen found a bottle with blood in it in her locker and some anesthesia packs were stolen."
"How are the nurses who were hurt?" asked Tesh.
"They will be fine," answered Tenaka. "Oh, and the cameras didn't pick up anything...which was weird. I was going to notify John...."
"Don't!" interrupted Tesh, "he became a father yesterday so give them some time alone. We can handle this."

While the investigation went on, he visited Lydia.
"Good morning, Lydia," said the middle aged, balding doctor, "I am Dr. Edward Tesh and I am filling in for Dr. Holliday for the next day or two."
It was at this point that he noticed the new sheets. "It's not linen day" he thought to himself. Something wasn't right but he couldn't place it but he knew something wasn't right.
"You wouldn't know what happened here last night would you?" he asked her, knowing she probably didn't.
Still, things didn't add up.
"Anyway, we are getting ready to treat you for the remains of your cardamine addiction," he explained, "it is why you are having the stomach pains. It may also attribute to your memory loss. By the evidence, you weren't on it very long which is good but still, it takes some immediate effects, primarily building addiction in the brain which may cause memory loss. Dr. Holliday will be treating you for it probably tomorrow when he returns."
As she seemed in good spirits, he left and secured her room from the outside. He then went through the secure checkpoint and spoke with the Klingon sergeant.


"Sergeant, I want you to keep men posted in this area as it seems that our cameras missed something," he began but then gave an order, knowing a Klingon's first instinct, "Do NOT kill any intruders but do subdue them by whatever means necessary." Tesh then looked up at the very large warrior, "I don't think you'll have trouble with anyone here. Be mindful that some anesthesia was stolen."
"Yes, Doctor," he answered.
The sergeant then entered the secure side with another guard, each taking up a position where no one could get out, backing themselves into the corners. As they stood, the sergeant began sniffing.
"What is it, Sergeant?" asked Dr. Tesh
The sergeant again sniffed, "Nomad" he said, "I smell nomad." Tesh became worried knowing how good their sense of smell was and how much they found Nomad to be a delicacy.
"Well, eject it out the airlock if you find it," he ordered to which the sergeant sharply nodded.

---