Subject: FRONTIER: To sickbay, perchance to dream

SD 70828

Two of Anne's men helped Angus and his injured comrades out of the 
cave to the area where the shuttle was to land.  After ten minutes 
Mania, one of the Frontiers type-8 shuttle craft, touched down on the 
waterlogged ground.

The access ramp dropped and Angus saw that both K'Ich Pa and Kesrick
Terulus were aboard, they disembarked carrying large boxes of medical
equipment and supplies.  The wounded personnel were loaded into the
shuttle and Ishara turned to see that they were all in before she
shut the ramp.  Seeing the extent of their injuries she cringed 
slightly, "I heard you were pretty lucky back there." she said.

Gurney took a heavy breath, "Tell that to Chambers," he replied,
"he's the one lying in a ditch somewhere on this godforsaken rock."

Ishara was sure that he hadn't meant to sound hostile, but she turned
to the controls and without further talk she activated the engines and
set the shuttle back towards the Frontier.

Angus wasn't able to judge how long it took to get back but soon they 
were in the familiar, small shuttle bay, Sampter and Sykes helped to 
get the five to sick-bay where they immediatly set about tending to 
Patrick and Louise, who had taken the worst wounds.  Once they were 
stabilised, they both turned their attentions to the others.  Gurney  
had only superficial wounds, lots of blood but no risk of permanent 
injury, so he was left 'till last.  

Sykes walked up to where Angus was lying, "How do you feel at the 
moment?" he asked.

"Tired, weak, and my leg hurts like hell on a ratspike," was the 
reply.

"Not to worry," Sykes picked up a protoplaser and began drawing it 
over Angus' leg. "I'll soon have it fixed.  Safe to say though, you 
won't be training for a few days at least, a couple of weeks maybe."

"How are the others?" Angus asked, "Any of them *seriously* hurt?"

"Well, Patricks going to be okay, but he'll need a lot of rest once 
he recovers, he won't be on duty again for quite a while.  Louise 
however, is a bit more serious, I'm gonna have to keep her here a few 
days."

"But she will..." 

"Yes," Sykes interupted him, "Yes, she will be alright, it'll just 
take time."  He then put his protoplaser back in the instrument 
cabinet.  "Ruth, could you see to Mister Idaho please, I have to check
something on the computer."

Ruth gave him a chill stare, "Of course doctor," she said in an icy 
voice.  

Angus decided that they still hadn't resolved the previous nights 
dispute. "It's a bit cold in here," he said to no-one in particular.
"I think I'll go back to my quarters for a while," he paused, "and 
find something less casual to wear," he added, examining the tattered 
shreds of blue material still clinging to him, soaked with mud and 
rain.

He reached his quarters and tapped the entry button, the door slid 
open and Angus stepped inside.  He sat down by his computer and cycled
through the ships status reports, the warp engines were still off-line
and the sensor array was not functioning.  After a few minutes he 
called up the design specs for the QPD.  *I've got nothing better to 
do,* he thought, *I might as well have a go at fixing it.*  

The first thing he did was shower and put on a uniform, he then took a 
PADD from his cupboard and made his way to engineering.  He took a 
tricorder from storage and made his way into one of the J-tubes which 
led to the weapons array.  

It wasn't hard to find the QPD, the walls around it were blackened and
small fragments of access panel littered the tube.  He looked into the
guts of the weapon and plucked a black box out of its housing, he laid
it beside him in the tube and reached in to pick out a burnt out 
component from the emitter assembly.  He took the damaged parts and 
crawled out of the J-tube.  At that moment Ramsay walked into 
engineering and when he saw Angus, made his way over to him.

"What are you doing in engineering, Lieutenant?" he asked.

Angus didn't look up from his work, "I'm trying to fix the important 
bits of the QPD."

"Are you sure you're qualified for that, you only took engineering as 
an extra course, and that's a pretty advanced piece of weaponry."

Angus grinned, "I'm probably better qualified than anyone on this ship
to repair this weapon sir, you won't know this but I was part of the 
team that designed this weapon, it was only when I saw these parts 
that I realised what it was.  I never thought I'd see this weapon on a
ship."

"Why's that?" Ramsay asked.

"The prototype was not very successful when we were testing it, and 
when we carried out a feasability study on it, it failed.  Its power 
consumption curve was far too big and we couldn't get an emitter strong
enough to channel the necessary energy," he picked up the charred 
emitter, "Obviously that hasn't changed."

Ramsay picked up the other black box Angus had removed, "I don't 
recognise this piece, what's its purpose?"  

"That," Angus replied, "is a work of sheer genius, the plasma 
amplifier, it was invented by Tech-master Fentin Quake, that's what 
allows a ship this small to wield such a powerful weapon, that's what 
prevented us from finding a suitable emitter, that's what made the 
weapon fail its feasibility test, but all the same it is a wonder of 
modern science.  And a tribute to its creator.  The only problem is 
that we can't repair it, 'cause we don't have the blueprints, we can't
replicate another because we don't have the program."  With that he 
lobbed the box into the closest waste-disposal unit, it shimmered and 
vanished in a cyclone of light.

Ramsay sighed and turned to the master situation monitor and looked at
the status report, Angus took his emitter-bit and headed to his 
quarters.

He prepared a work area on his desk but before he started he decided 
to go to sickbay to find out how the others were doing.

Respectfully submitted,
        Allan MacLennan
        [Lt.] Angus Murray

"Put your faith in God, and keep your powder dry."
        Oliver Cromwell