Chapter Text
The blaring alarms rang through the air. The whole of engineering was smothered in smoke. Consoles were aflame, leaving crewmembers twitching on the ground. Sparks flew from the exposed wires as the structural integrity of the Enterprise slowly crumbled. Shock waves from the devastating phaser fire rocked this ship, forcing the hull to crumble and crack. Fallen bulkheads and exposed wires littered the floor.
She could feel the warm blood dripping down her face. Was it even hers? The crippling sound of screams sifted through her struggling consciousness. Pushing herself off the floor, she scrambled to a communicator on the wall. She barely held back the scream as her leg gave out beneath her. With wide eyes she stared down, seeing her shin twisted to an unnatural angle. A sharp fragment of bone threatened to slice through her uniform pants. A wide trail of blood had followed her to the wall she sat against. Ostera covered her mouth to stuff a cry of pain back down her throat.
The crackle of the communicator brought her back to reality. Balancing on her good leg, she bypassed a few wires to make the connection more clear.
“I need more juice, Scotty!” The Captain huffed. At least he was still alive, the Bridge was intact.
“Lieutenant Commander Scott is down, Captain!” She yelled back, quickly covering her head as one of the bulkheads fell in a shower of sparks. “I’ll try to give you everything we’ve got!” The smoke filled her lungs as she spoke.
“Do it, crewman!”
Focusing her breath, she scanned the Engineering bay for any console that was still intact. Anything at all that could possibly get them out of this hellscape they were dragged into. Finding a suitable target for her task, she limped her way across the shaking bay. The Enterprise was shifting from side to side in their firefight. With one particularly swift jerk of the ship, she tumbled to the ground.
Blood.
The lifeless eyes of Ensign Yar stared back at her. Her skull had been split by a falling beam. Ostera gagged as she saw the pinkish brown mess of her brain as it spilled over the shards of her broken skull. Blood dripped out of her open mouth, jaw severely dislocated.
Tears blurred her eyes as she forced herself up to her knees and dragged herself over to the console. The fires were spreading. Her chest was rattling as she tried to breathe. Her hands shook terribly as she gripped the side of the console. Numb to the burning heat of the flame licked metal, she stood on shaky legs and analyzed the keys in front of her. A viscous sob racked through her body as she began punching in the formula her and Yar had been working on. Any last hope to give the warp core a fighting chance.
Everything started to go fuzzy as the warp core hummed to life once more. A wet laugh escaped her. The Enterprise steadied under her feet. Her head throbbed and her lungs burned.
Ostera barely registered the doors of Engineering being forced open. She turned to face the sounds, leaning against the smoldering console. Her leg throbbed. Her vision blurred. Was it blood? Tears?
Oh look, the floor was coming closer.
The last thing she saw was a figure in blue rushing towards her.
—
“Jim! You better get us the hell out of here! My patients are on the floor goddamnit! They need more than triage!” The gruff voice of the ships’ doctor scratched at her dreary mind.
The flashing emergency lights stung her eyes.
“Try to stay awake, Crewman! We’ll get help soon!” She could barely feel the jab of the hypospray in her neck over the throbbing, searing pain that flooded her body. Her skin was on fire.
Struggling to keep her eyes open any longer, she fell back into the soothing darkness.
—
The next time she was conscious, Ostera awoke to the quiet beeps of monitors around her. Her eyes no longer felt like weighted blankets thankfully. She soon discovered that she was in a hospital bed. There was a big window to her left, letting in the soft light of the stars.
“Welcome to Proxima Station Fleet Hospital,” A soothing voice drew her attention. An alien woman stood by the door. Her skin was a flushed light purple with delicate markings around what appeared to be gills. She had a rather large head with a dozen soft black eyes that all blinked in synchronicity. A blue nurse uniform dawned her figure, long sleeves around four arm-like tentacles.
The nurse glided over to Ostera’s bedside, checking the monitors and machines.
“My name is Strix and I have been taking care of you during your stay here,”
Ostera opened her mouth to respond, but her words were caught in her dry throat. It felt like she had been trying to swallow shards of glass. Nurse Strix seemed to notice her struggle and brought a cup of water with a straw to the chapped lips. Ostera nodded her head in thanks and drank.
“How long have I been here?” When she was able to speak again, her voice was jagged and rough. Her lungs began to ache, as if breathing were an incredible chore.
“You have been here for nearly four days. The doctors placed you into a medically induced coma so your body could heal more efficiently,” Strix replied, placing the cup on the bed side table.
Ostera thought for a moment.
“What about the Enterprise? The crew?!” The questions tumbled out of her, forcing her into a coughing fit.
“Be still. Be calm,” The nurse held her shoulders gently, stilling her trembling body as several more coughs racked though her. After a few moments, she was left a weezing limp mess.
“The Enterprise was rescued and towed to this base, where it is currently being repaired,” A small weight dropped off of Ostera’s shoulders. “As for the crew, most are quite alright, just some bumps and bruises. Unfortunately I am not sure of the total casualty count,”
Silence filled the hospital room.
“What happened to me?” Ostera finally croaked.
“Your right leg was severely fractured. A serious concussion, and second degree burns on your hands, face, and legs. You also inhaled a large quantity of smoke, causing first degree burns in your lungs and esophagus. All are healing just fine. After a few days of observation, you will be released,”
Well that would explain why her head felt like someone was smashing it with a sledge hammer and she was swallowing razor blades.
“You have had a few visitors while you were unconscious.” This piqued her interest. Who would be interested in visiting her. “Captain Kirk and First Officer Spock have checked in on you every day or so. They were very concerned about your healing process and if your family had been contacted. Seeing as there are no emergency contacts in your Starfleet records, First Officer Spock took on the responsibility of your care,”
“What?”
“Oh yes, both he and the Captain agreed to be your contact if anything happened. Very generous of them,”
Ostera couldn’t help but look at the poor nurse in shock. Why the hell had the Captain and Second in Command come to visit her bedside, not once, but several times? She had only served under them for a little over six months. She rarely even saw them as she usually stayed busy in Engineering. There had to be dozens, if not hundreds of other crew members that they needed to check in on.
“I’m not one to say, but Mr. Spock did seem rather taken by you,” Striz smiled, revealing sharp teeth, her eyes gleaming sweetly. “I’ll leave you to rest, and I’ll check back in soon. There is a chance that Doctor McCoy will pop in before I do, so don’t be alarmed,”
The thought of rest caused her eyes to droop once more. Who knew being in a coma was so exhausting.