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<br><div><br><div style="color:#000;background-color:#fff;font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10pt"><div style="right:auto">// Challenger Corridors, E Deck \\</div>
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<div style="right:auto">Cara had left Sickbay and even with the orders to rest, there was too much to be done. She knew that Sasha had headed for main engineering, she stopped at one of the comms units and hoped that it worked =^=Nelson Samad to Spearling, what's your location?=^= She asked as the comm unit sputtered and crackled. She hoped that it actually worked.<br style="right:auto"><br>=/\= "Left Engineering a bit ago ... right now I'm crawling up the port-side jeffries tube between Decks B and C. And you, Number One?" =/\= There was crackle on the COMMs, but the voices could still be heard pretty clearly.</div>
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<div>=^=Just outside of Sickbay and heading back to the Bridge.=^= She said =^= Meet somewhere along the way and regroup?=^= She asked looking around her and wondering how they had survived at all. The ship had taken a beating and her engineering mind was going through all the problems that McDonald would be facing. <br><br>=/\= "Roger. I'll drop back down to C Deck. You come up the port side from D -- I know it's open -- and meet me outside the jeffries hatch on C Deck, agreed?" =/\= Sasha clambered back down the J tube and exited at the junction. There, she left the hatch open and leaned against the bulkhead, waiting for the XO. The smoke had been cleared from C Deck, she was glad to see ... and the injured had been cleared from the corridor. There was no-one in sight, although she could hear voices around the bend in the corridor to her right. Sounded like a maintenance team. Their
voices became softer as they apparently moved away down the corridor.</div>
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<div>Cara climbed out of the hatch a short time later "Good to see you Captain." She said as she looked around and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. She reached into a pocket and pulled out a ponytail band and pulled her hair back carefully avoiding the laceration on her head. "So what's the damage in Engineering?" She asked.<br><br>"Not good, but getting better. The Andorians have sent over engineers to help out, so I think we'll be fit and on our way soon. They're also helping out across the board as far as the other Coalition ships go." Both women sighed. It'd been a hard-fought battle, following a long build-up to that battle. "What's it like in Sickbay?"<br></div>
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<div>"Sickbay is bursting at the seams." She said "Commander Rowe doesn't have an offical count yet, but I'm thinking we've lost a lot more than we think right now."<br><br>"I hate to hear that," Sasha said. "But it's not unexpected, I'm sorry to say. We took quite a beating. We all did. Josef all right?" She looked closely at Cara. </div>
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<div>"He's safe." She said her face turning slightly more stoic "He's in sickbay with Nurse Gail. He has a few bumps but nothing serious." She said "He was happily eating a cookie when I left him." She looked down the corridor "His nanny on the other hand, didn't fair as well. She had to go back and get something and was killed when the shockwave hit." Cara explained turning back to Sasha "I suggest that we get what reports we can and determine whose still missing and start a search and rescue and get a better handle on what we have and don't have." Cara said pushing aside her personal feelings for the moment.<br><br>Sasha's face had also hardened while Cara gave her explanation. No matter how a person felt about children being onboard starships, that point was moot. She hated to hear that Josef had been even /slightly/ injured ... and the loss of his nanny was even worse. But when Cara went on
and got back to business, Sasha accepted her wishes and did so, too. "Agreed. So far the Andorians are helping out immensely ... I've heard a tentative estimate that the fleet will be ready to head back to Sol within 24 hours." </div>
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<div>"What are the damages within the fleet. I saw various things at the CIC...but it was pretty chaotic." She said "Do we have specific numbers of ships lost?"<br> </div>
<div>"Specifically, we lost all but two of our fighters. But by having the severely-damaged ships leave the battlefield and return to the nebula -- that saved us countless lives. The Andorians and Vulcans suffered bad -- the Romulans pegged them as the worst threat and concentrated on them. We all lost ships. But we'll be compiling a list when we're on the way." Sasha rubbed her forehead. "The scout ships have come back without a trace of the Romulans. They've left the area ... working long-range sensors put them making best time for Beta Quadrant. We gave them a helluva blow, Cara," Sasha said, her eyes lighting up fiercely. "Stopped them in their tracks. They'll be a long time recovering from this ... and even longer before they decide to take /us/ on again!"</div>
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<div style="right:auto">"That makes me feel better about this. I don't think this is over by a long shot." She said "They'll be back and they'll be after revenge." Cara said as a conduit sparked over head "When they do come back, they are not going to attack up front, it is going to be covert." She said thoughtfully "At least that's my thoughts."<br><br>"I wish I knew. Most of the alien races we've encountered tend to act and think, more or less, along the lines of the way /we/ act and think. Or at least in a way that is understandable to us. But the Romulans? They're too hard to put a finger on. Something drives their vicious xenophobia -- I wish I knew what that was."<br><br>"Who knows...but it is deep seated and seems to be growing more and more violent." Cara said thoughtfully</div>
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<div>Cara noticed the band around Sasha's midsection "Go get Rowe to check you out and I'll meet you on the Bridge." She said with concern for the Captain's well being.<br><br>"One of the Denobulan doctors already took care of me. And I don't want to interrupt what's going on in Sickbay. I'm sure they're busy enough without me showing up. Thanks for the thought, though," she added with a little smile.<br> </div>
<div style="right:auto">"Ok." She said "What is our best speed right now?" She asked.<br><br>"Still only full impulse. I'm told we are only a few hours away from warp drive, though. Then we'll gather up all the ships that can't make it on their own and head for home." Sasha started toward the hatch again, but turned back. "I'm heading for B Deck ... in all the craziness, we had to put off thinking about the Klingon devices that are in the old Secondary Research Lab ... I want to check them out and see if they're still transmitting. But I'll come up to the Bridge after that. I'm hoping by then, we're ready to head for home."<br><br>"Anything that is Klingon would withstand several nuclear attacks." Cara said with a smile. "I'll meet you on the bridge and see what I can do to get some initial reports going."<br><br>"See you there."<br><br> </div>
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<div style="right:auto">Captain Sasha Spearling<br>Commanding Officer<br>& <br></div>
<div style="right:auto">Commander Cara Nelson-Samad</div>
<div style="right:auto">XO<br>=========================<br> </div>
<div style="right:auto">Challenger FCL-04</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div> </div></body>
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