How Many "Mellas" On Aegis

[DJ McKinny 0]

There was good news and bad news.....and the bad news was obvious. The Missouri's sickbay was a bit crowded. There was ample help. The entire medical compliments of both the ship and the former station called Aegis were busy at work. And a secondary facility had been opened.....somewhere. Still, the room was packed and there was a long line down the corridor.

 

But that led to the good news. Most of the injuries were minor...very minor. Only a handful of patients would require an extended stay in sickbay. Many of them weren't suffering physical injuries at all. A lot of the refugees from Aegis were simply in shock. Some couldn't believe what had happened. Others were dealing with various degrees of grief. Most had lost everything they owned. They arrived on Missouri with the clothes on their backs and a couple of their most cherished treasures. There were a few who hadn't been able to save anything. It was the latter group that DJ found most difficult to deal handle.

 

Her last patient had been a young Andorian female. According to her parents, the six year old and her family were relatively new on the station. Their small family unit included a pet. It was called a "mella." The father showed DJ a picture of the animal. It looked like a cross between a cat and ferret with long blue and white hair. This particular "mella" was the child's best friend and constant companion. Unfortunately, during the rush to evacuate, the animal escaped into the busy corridor outside one of the transporter rooms. The family frantically searched for it but to no avail. After half an hour, they were forced to leave it behind. The child was distraught and inconsolable. The parents weren't in much better shape.

 

What could she do for these people? Very little, that's what. There were no medications for these types of injuries. They would require time to heal, especially for the youngest of the evacuees. DJ gave the little girl a mild sedative and a prescription for several sessions with the counselor. She told the parents to stop by tomorrow if their daughter was no better. She watched them as they filed out of the room and quietly wondered where they and the other evacuees would go now that Aegis was no more.

 

The family's private tragedy reminded DJ how fortunate she was to have made it off the station with her pet. Gilbert was safely tucked away in one of the medical labs and she found herself walking in that direction. It had been quite a while since she had checked on him.

 

Opening the door to the lab, she immediately spotted Gilbert, stretched out on the floor, an empty food bowl nest to him. Another bowl with water was also nearby. He looked none the worse for the wear. In fact, he was sleeping so soundly, he didn't notice her coming into the room. Nor did he seem to care that he was no longer alone.

 

The medical lab now housed over a dozen different animals.....primarily Terran pets.....dogs, cats....a couple of turtles and a small fish tank as well as a few exotics that DJ didn't recognize. A mid sized dog of mixed parentage came toward her, tail wagging, and she took a moment to pet his silky black fur before crossing the room to greet Gilbert. He finally lifted his head as she knelt down beside him, his tail thwapping the floor several times before he decided to sit up. The mixed breed followed her more than happy to share in whatever attention she was willing to provide.

 

DJ spend a couple of minutes with the two dogs and then headed back to work. As she was about to leave the lab, something caught her eye. It was blue and white and curled up in a tight knot in a small cage on one of the counters. She stepped closer to the animal and studied it carefully. It was a "mella." Could it be that young girl's lost pet?

 

There was a hastily scribbled note taped to the cage. "Found in transporter room two" was all it said. Rushing from the lab, DJ stepped into the crowded corridor and searched for the Andorian family. She was pretty sure they would be easy to spot but alas, they were no longer in the area. She approached an opps officer who was helping with crowd control.

 

"Did you see an Andorian couple with a little girl?" she asked quickly. "They came out of Sickbay within the last 10 minutes."

 

"Yes, ma'am," he replied with a nod. "They're assigned to cargo bay 3. They're on their way down there."

 

"Do me a favor," she said with a slight smile. "Have someone down there send them back to Sickbay. Tell them we may have found a cure for what ails them."

 

He made the call while DJ was heading back to Sickbay. She didn't know how many "mellas" were on Aegis but what were the odds of more than one being found in a transporter room. Perhaps, just perhaps she would be able to help these people.