Restoration

[Chirakis 1]

Restoration

 

The unmistakable stench of death hung throughout the station, both direct and implied. Direct evidence of death came with a morgue packed to capacity. The bodies of slain renegades lay separated from those of loyal warriors and the civilians who had joined in station defense. There were, sadly, a few who had become what some called “collateral damage.” The term never passed the captain’s lips; death was death, all tragic, and more so if the death was inadvertent and senseless.

 

Implied death, the more difficult to deal with because it lingered well after the body was removed, came with latent evidence: a splatter on the deck, a torn bit of cloth left behind, or a dent in the bulwark left from a missed thrust. For months after the battle this evidence might remain, a constant reminder of the tragedy.

 

In the days to come the fullness of their loss would be known, but for now station personnel were absorbed with the magnitude of devastation they had incurred from the Romulan renegades. Stores confiscated, homes torn apart for their own use, families displaced to provide billeting for the renegades as their long-term plans for occupation took hold.

 

As reports from various departments began to pour into the control tower, Captain Chirakis exited in favor of viewing the damage herself. An attack on the station was an attack on her command, which was an attack on her person as far as she was concerned. Those responsible would pay, and pay dearly.

 

Her first stop was to SubCommander Jorahl, who lay severely wounded in sick bay. Her assurances to him that the station was safe was all she could do at this time, so she left him in the capable hands of Dr. Pavilion and her exceptional staff.

 

Kirel gave rapt attention and considerable time to the loyal injured. The injured renegades were another matter. On Romulus they would have been dispatched in short order, but times had changed, Romulus was no longer habitable, and Aegis was a joint allied station. In true Rihan fashion, SubCommander tr’Jeth Dabi had offered his services to “dispose of them;” Kirel said she would take it under advisement. They truly had no honor, and for that reason Kirel understood the disgust that those loyal to the Empire cast upon them and why they would demand retribution.

 

All departments were stretched thin, security and engineering being chief among them. While SubCenturion tr’Korjata worked to restore the defense grid, engineering technicians scrambled to contain the breach incurred by the swiftly-departing renegade warbird. Security was tasked not only with containing captured renegades but guarding those injured in the battle. In addition, the possibility of hidden explosive devices or chemical weapons was very real; it was entirely possible that the renegades had decided that if they could not have the station, no one would. As Kirel exited the security complex it occurred to her that the science department might aid them with a full sweep of the station. True, it might set back their report to the High Command a few days, but preservation of the lives of those on the station and the station itself more than justified it.

 

Yes, the station was a long way from full restoration. Progress would be slow, but to ensure a station takeover never happened again, it was necessary.