A Familiar Face

[MisterSmith 0]

"Attention all hands, this is Commander Ridire. I am hereby ordering a evacuation of the ship immediately. Report to the escape pods and to the emergency transporters immediately. This is not a drill."

 

Brian knew something had gone wrong. He had worked a double bridge shift this morning, so that he could have time off tonight. Unfortunately that wasn't going to be an option. He grabbed a tricorder with many science records, packed his most personal belongings and headed out the door.

 

His first impulse was to head towards sickbay. He knew that they would need all the help they could get getting those who were injured and supplies out of the room and into escape pods. He ran down there and was able to help alot with getttng supplies into a pod. He then jumped in right as it was going to take off.

 

To his suprise, an old friend was in the pod with him...

 

Debbie leaned back in the escape pod and closed her eyes, her satchel clutched tightly to her chest. This was the second time the crew had been ordered to abandon ship since she joined the Reaent. The first incident turned into nothing more than a big inconvenience. Debbie doubted they would be so fortunate this time around.

 

Tears spilled down her soot streaked cheeks. She forced her eyes open and blinked furiously. Crying was the last thing she needed to do at a time like this. Taking a few deep breaths, she concentrated on the sounds coming from the cockpit. From where she sat, Debbie couldn't see who was piloting the pod. But from what she could hear, they had been ordered to land at a specific point on a nearby planet. "At least there is a place to land," she thought to herself. As to what the planet was like, she'd find out soon enough.

 

Another thought pushed its way into her consciousness. She'd been avoiding this particular question for a while now but she there was no point hiding from it any longer. How many survived?

 

Debbie tried to remember the maximum capacity of an escape pod and how many of the little craft Reaent carried. She knew there were enough to accommodate every member of the crew and then some. She also knew not everyone survived to hear the order to abandon ship.

 

There must have been excessive damage. Why else would they be ordered to the escape pods. That meant casualties, probably a lot of them. Did a few dozen perish? Or was it more? If so, how many more? What about her staff? Did they all make it out? If not, who was missing? What about injuries? Would they have enough medical supplies to handle this crisis?

 

Debbie shook her head and forced the disturbing questions back into the recesses of her mind. "Cross those bridges when you come to them," she silently reminded herself. At the same time, she couldn't help glancing around the tightly packed escape pod and counting heads. "If all of the pods were as full as this one," she thought, "then most of the crew made it off the ship." But that remained to be seen.

 

She had just counted the fifteenth person on the pod when she recognized a familiar face. Brian Smith was sitting across from her near the cockpit. The seat next to him was empty. He smiled and motioned for her to join him. It was an invitation she gladly accepted.