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     LtCmdr Maiko D'rall |
This time the cost was too high. Coronado had weathered the final assault against the Pfhor, though she had taken casualties, a few in her own department. It was a suitable cost, that a few final valiant Coronado crew would fall to eliminate the Pfhor as a threat. This time, there was no grand victory. Starfleet had not walked away with a decisive victory, and in a sick irony, neither had the bulk of the shuttlebay crew. Esperanza was gone, Marina destroyed. Before them had gone the Theresa and Diana. She had already inquired into whether they could replace the shuttles and had been informed the few left had been pushed into service with other ships, if not to replace the losses in patrol craft or to supplement Xanadu's defense. Normally it would outrage her, yet there was a symmetry to it; almost 2/3rds of the flight crew in the shuttlebay had been killed. She stood several meters back in the hallway, a emergency forcefield barely holding back the vacuum from further intrusion into the hall. The last time she had stood at such a sight had been when a subversion sphere had hit Coronado's forward saucer, almost melting its way into the ship. This time the damage was more raw. Jagged edges thrust out everywhere along the edges before the damaged sections opened up into the area where the weapons fire had literally vaporized pockets and holes. The shuttlebay was gone, having taken such a hard hit that it had decompressed within seconds, and the remaining damage had pierced the deck and taken out the repair bays and auxilliary storage. The cargo shuttles were still down there, but had been damaged and tossed around so badly that crews would have to actually pry them out of bulkheads before they could free them for repairs. The death toll was the worst. 13 had died out of a staff of 20, and another 3 had suffered serious injuries, having barely escaped with their lives. The remaining two in the bay had been working in one of the cargo shuttles and though tossed around, had survived long enough for rescue. Maiko was forced to count Coronado out of any shuttle operations for some time - weeks at least. The aft part of Coronado had sustained serious damage in the last Flea bite and now the section that had escaped had finally taken its blows. There would be a joint service for those lost, but likely not until after the battle that was sure to come. As she stared at the carnage before her, she couldn't help but wonder what she would say; half the crew in the 'bay at the time had been transfers from the Reorganization. Most she had barely gotten to know. Others were comrades she had worked with extensively. Her fists clenched reflexively. She had done the best she could to get Coronado out of the line of fire immediately, but had been forced - not ordered, but knowing full well she'd have been countermanded - to stay in the fight long enough for Farley to get his precious data. *The data had dammned well better be worth the high cost paid here today.* That hope in mind, she said a short prayer for those lost, then headed back forward. Coronado still had two flight bay members, plenty of pilots, the Captain's Gig, and a lot of work still to do... |