CHAPTER III. WAR TRAUMA

The Europa had been moored to one of Deep Space 9′s upper pylons since its arrival at the station. Despite the minimal damage sustained during the skirmish against the Breen, Commander Cartier had not stopped grumbling about the condition in which she had found the vessel on its return from the hell that had been the Hikawa Maru, making a few minor interventions while en route to the Cardassian starbase.

Once they had arrived at their destination, the first thing she had done was to put her staff to work restoring the ship to maximum efficiency, aided by Miles O’Brien, Deep Space 9‘s Chief of Operations, and the station’s engineers. It was only once the ship was back to perfection again that she allowed them to enjoy the well-deserved rest that their other colleagues had already begun to enjoy.

On board Deep Space 9, not far from the station’s Infirmary, Benjamin Sisko and Kira Nerys were talking in hushed tones with two officers wearing the typical uniforms of those who served aboard the Federation vessels, one Vulcan and one Human, who had beamed over from Europa some time before to discuss reports on passenger transport.

It had to be said that, in fact, at this particular moment they were simply passing the time with as much small talk as one could make with a Vulcan, while waiting for Drs. Bashir and Pulaski, who were operating on one of the patients who had been beamed directly into Deep Space 9 Sickbay.

Ferrari’s attention, which until that moment had been totally absorbed in observing the main entrance to the Infirmary, was caught by a few words from Major Kira, likely addressed to her: «Dr. Bashir is one of the greatest experts when it comes to Trill physiology: he will surely be able to save both the symbiont Kahn and its host, Lenara.»

Ferrari turned to the three superiors, barely shrugging at the Bajoran’s comment: «I am not so much concerned about the surgery applied to Dr. Kahn, Major. Rather, who I’m really worried about is the boy, Drenkteg. It will take some time before he is able to cope with what has happened to him and, above all, before he is able to accept and understand his father’s death, right in front of his eyes.»

«His mother will arrive soon,» Sisko observed, «after all the journey from Bajor is not that long and she took the first available transport to Deep Space 9.»

«From Bajor?» Ferrari seemed genuinely intrigued by this fact, despite it being a relatively minor detail.

«Yes, she works on the planet as a civilian botanist,» Kira replied, before continuing: «A few years ago she joined an agrobiological expedition led by Keiko O’Brien.»

«I know her,» for the first time since the conversation had begun, T’Vok had taken up the floor, «For some time Ms. O’Brien has been aboard the Enterprise , so it is logical to assume that she was one of the most suitable candidates to be considered to coordinate it when the need to choose one arose.» In response, Ferrari merely asked when the woman would arrive.

«The next transport from Bajor is scheduled to arrive in a few hours,» Kira answered her, «So it won’t be long.»

«Captain, Major,» for a Vulcan, T’Vok gave the impression of being a little too annoyed, «we have a meeting to look forward to.» The remark led Sisko to a slight nod, anticipating her response: «Please, this way.»

The three officers walked towards the nearest turbolift, but a discreet cough from Ferrari caused them to stop and turn towards her, with questioning expressions – or neutral, in T’Vok’s case: «I’d prefer to stay here, if that’s alright with you. With the fact that Drenkteg’s mother will be on board in a few hours, perhaps it would be better for the boy, when he wakes up, to find at his bedside someone he sort of knows. Besides,» she added. «The order to take a few days’ rest applies to everyone. Perhaps, by staying close to him, I can somehow help him until his mother arrives on board.»

«If Captain Sisko agrees,» T’Vok observed placidly, «you have my permission, Lieutenant.» The man merely gave Ferrari a nod, before resuming his way back to his office.

*

Once in Sickbay, she was directed by a nurse to the bed where the young Ktarian was sleeping placidly thanks to a series of mild sedatives given to him by Dr. Bashir, Deep Space 9‘s Chief Medical Officer. A glance at the vital signs on the Cardassian machine immediately above Drenkteg’s head informed her that everything was normal.

On an adjacent bed, equally asleep, was one of the two Trills teleported from Europa as soon as they arrived on Deep Space 9. His condition appeared to be far less critical than that of the woman Ferrari had found with him both aboard the Hikawa Maru, but nonetheless serious enough that it could not be fully resolved aboard the Europa, even though Dr. Pulaski had managed to stabilise him, effectively saving his life and leaving little for his colleague aboard the station to do. Although she had also managed to stabilise Dr. Kahn, in Trill’s case, further intervention by Dr. Bashir had proved necessary. Dr. Bashir had been joined by Pulaski herself, as she had made it clear that she still considered both patients under her care.

Before she could return to her study of the still sleeping youngling, however, a slight movement of the man led her to approach him, contacting the nurse who had greeted her at the entrance in case it became necessary to intervene.

Gently, since the Trill seemed quite agitated, the woman placed a hand on his shoulder and one on his arm, well aware of how being in a seemingly unfamiliar place could be a source of profound stress.

«Hey,» Ferrari tried to reassure him, «It’s okay, you’re safe and sound now.»

«Safe? Safe where? What happened?»

«Easy, easy,» Ferrari had found herself applying slightly more pressure the moment the man had shown signs of wanting to get up from his cot. «You are aboard Deep Space 9, under the care of Dr. Bashir. I am Eva Ferrari, from the Europa. We received your distress call and arrived just in time to remove you from the breen pirates, by whom you were under attack.»

«Deep Space 9? What am I doing back on Deep Space 9?» Although he seemed more lucid than moments before, the Trill did not seem to have understood what Ferrari had told him, but neither did he seem to have any memory of what had happened aboard the passenger transport. A few moments later, however, something seemed to click in him, as he firmly grasped the woman’s left arm with his free hand and asked agitatedly: «What about my sister? How are she and her symbiont?»

«Calm down,» Ferrari gently urged him, as a nurse finally reached her, hypospray in hand. It took only a moment and the Trill found himself asleep again. Ferrari relaxed, dropping his arms along his sides, asking the nurse: «Will he be okay?»

The man nodded, confident: «Absolutely, Lieutenant. He just needs time, like any other patient in his condition. Dr. Bashir is convinced that he will recover soon, since he arrived on board in a much better condition than Dr. Kahn.»

The two’s conversation interrupted, as the sliding doors of the operating room opened, letting a self-propelled cot, on which lay an apparently inanimate body, and a small group of four people into the rehabilitation area. Katherine Pulaski, still dressed in the surgeon’s typical red scrubs, cast a surprised glance at her colleague, not expecting Ferrari to be there, before following Dr. Bashir, also still in his scrubs, to make the final checks on the newly operated patient.

When, at last, the two doctors returned, Dr. Bashir motioned the two women to follow him to his office, where they could talk to each other without being too disturbed.

«How is she?»

«She’s going to be fine,» Dr. Bashir replied to her, sitting down behind his own desk and, at the same time, placing the PADD he was finishing checking on its shelf. «We were able to stabilise both Lenara and her symbiote, Kahn, by operating on both simultaneously, despite the fact that at one point we were in serious danger of losing her. I worried that we would be forced to remove the symbiote in order to at least preserve her life.»

«Fortunately, we were not forced to resort to this extreme gesture,» Pulaski observed before asking, addressing Ferrari, «By the way, Lieutenant, what are you doing here? I thought the crew had been granted leave, albeit brief.»

«I asked permission to be on hand in case Drenkteg,» she gave a brief nod towards the young Ktarian, «woke up before his mother arrived. A friendly face,» she continued, «could help him calm down in a totally unfamiliar environment until the parent arrives.»