Mercy's Burden [Part 1]

Posted on Thu Aug 20th, 2026 @ 11:27pm by Lieutenant Soyo Hamada & Lieutenant Amu Hinamori M.D. & Petty Officer 1st Class Yoshika Miyafuji
Edited on on Thu Aug 20th, 2026 @ 11:50pm

1,549 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Kintsugi
Location: USS Tokyo (NCC-91101)- Flight Deck Sickbay
Timeline: March 27th, 2397

The past couple of weeks had been both a physically- and emotionally-draining experience for everyone on board the Tokyo, but not least of all its medical staff.

What should’ve been a major victory for them certainly hadn't felt like one, as they'd still lost too many people in the process; and even the casualties that had been worth saving were of such an overwhelming magnitude that the sickbay personnel had virtually run themselves ragged, often working long into the night to stabilize the never-ending stream of injured. Some even napped out in the hallway, in case they were needed on call.

It was a wonder, with all this chaos going on for long after the initial retreat, that Doctor Montembault hadn't offed herself; the thought had certainly crossed a few of their minds.

But now that the Tokyo had safely limped back into drydock and the casualties were offloaded that Doctors such as Amu could finally take stock of their situation- and suffice to say, the forecast wasn't looking looking good.

How, in the name of all things holy, the Tokyo wasn't listed as a total write-off was anybody's guess, but if there was any doubt in their minds, then it was no doubt indicative of the fact that the damages sustained would leave the Tokyo uninhabitable until at least early May, meaning that several crew members- especially Amu, considering she had a 1-month-old baby in her care- would have to seek temporary reassignment for the foreseeable future.

[Flight Deck Sickbay]

Amu and Yoshika were going through what was left of the Flight Deck Sickbay. It had taken serious damage during the battle and had been out of comission since. The ceiling lacked panels exposing sparking and melted wiring and conduits. The replicator was now a gaping burnt hole where it had exploded and glass and debris littered the floor. Several of the biobeds lsid in ruin, one of them tipped over onto its side and the glass between the main ICU and Amu's office was shattered yet remained in its position creating a crystal translucent pattern.

For all intense purposes, the room looked like a photon torpedo had gone off in it. Yet, Amu and Yoshika were already trying to bring order back to their workspace. The doors of the room remained open where they had become wedged after the hasty evacuation only a few days prior, and outside was a collection of equipment ordered by Amu. Although the flight ddck sickbay wasn't a priority for repair at the moment - the main ships sickbay and starbase 43's infirmary were handling the medical needs of the crew - Amu wanted to get a head start on cleaning up.

"Sorry for the wait," Soyo announced as she entered sickbay carrying a small tray laden with styrofoam coffee cups. "There was already a line queued up in front of the replicator by the time I got there, so I had to wait my turn."

She made her way over to the desk and set the tray down before handing a cup out to each of them.

"Apologies again if it's not much," Soyo expressed regretfully. "It's obviously not gonna be great coffee, but it's caffeine."

"It can't be any worse than emergency rationed coffee," Yoshika smiled weakly as she accepted the cup.

"I mean... given the circumstances, it probably IS emergency rationed coffee," Soyo lamented.

"Better than nothing." Yoshika replied. Amu nodded in agreement. "So, either of you got your temporary orders yet? I heard that most of us are getting transferred to other ships, or we can request shoreleave." She asked.

"Well, as much as I think we could all use some shoreleave, with how dire things have gotten as of late, I have my doubts as to whether or not we'll actually be getting that," Soyo admitted. "But since you bring up transfers, I did happen to speak with my son yesterday..."

Amu raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I thought your son was on the Kanna when it... you know..." she stopped and lowered her gaze. They had witnessed the destruction of the ship, as it was destroyed with all hands lost.

"No, one of my surviving sons," Soyo quickly clarified. "His name's Reo, and he's been working as an EMT on board the Fleming. Anyways, he happened to inform me that the Fleming was gearing up for a humanitarian mission out to the Pythos Colony along the Romulan border. Apparently, the colony was attacked by Herald forces earlier this month, and while it wasn't entirely destroyed, their main infrastructure has been crippled and they're anticipating casualties in the millions, so the Flemming is looking for volunteers."

She glanced over at Amu, then at Yoshika. "Now, I haven't accepted anything yet- I've still got until tomorrow evening to think it over- but if by any chance either of you are interested in volunteering, then I figured I would at least make the offer available before I agreed to anything."

"The Fleming huh?" Amu pondered. "Isn't she an Olympic Class hospital ship?"

"That it is," Soyo nodded. "NCC-55025; not as robust as the Tokyo, but Reo informs me it'll be part of a larger 5-ship task force that includes another Olympic, two Sao Paulos, and an Inquiry."

"That's quite the escort," Yoshika said in surprise. She looked up at the ceiling. "Well, it does beat cleaning up around here. But I want to bring Lynette with me. She might not be able to help much with the medical side of things, but I doubt they would turn away a good pilot right?"

"Reo assures me that they're going to need a few extra shuttle pilots on hand to ferry medical supplies down to the surface," Soyo explained. "If she doesn't already have the experience flying shuttles, they'll be willing to teach her in the holodeck."

"I'm sure that she can handle a shuttle. She is a Starfighter pilot afterall," Yoshika replied with a smile as she placed some smashed hypospray vials onto a sidetable.

Soyo glanced over at Amu. "Amu, I know you still have your son to look out for, but Reo also informs me that the Flemming has a state-of-the-art daycare facility located in one of the safest places on the ship, so you'll have the peace-of-mind that Tadase will be well cared for, even if you're working."

"Yeah. Most hospital ships do." Amu replied with a smile. "Although, I have considered sending Tadase back to Earth. Ikuto can look after him until this war is over if needs be." She explained. "It'll be painful being away from him, but his safety is far more important to me."

The two of them had already had this discussion shortly before they had shipped out to the Atarilla System, and at the time Amu had been fairly confident in her ability to look after Tadase in Ikuto's absence; Soyo, of course, had been supportive of Amu's decision, though seeing as she had navigated these waters during the last war, There was no doubt that she was conflicted on the matter. However, now that Amu had seen first-hand just how close her son had come to losing his life, even she was starting to come around to the fact that she couldn't be a super-mum who worked full time as a flight deck medic and still managed to protect Tadase 24/7.

If, however, there was any doubt in Amu's mind that she had failed as a parent by endangering Tadase and possibly ending his life before it even really started, Soyo was there to quickly dispell the notion.

"I understand that your son's life is always going to be your first priority, Amu," she expressed, placing a firm, reassuring hand on the young mother's shoulder. "And I will support you on whatever you decide."

Amu nodded. "I'll talk with Ikuto about it." She said. "Afterall, its his decision as well."

"Well, like I said, you've got until tomorrow evening to make the decision, as that's the absolute latest we can get a shuttle out here to get us back to the Flemming in time for launch," Soyo reiterated.

Amu nodded as she placed a piece of twisted metal against the wall. "I'll go speak to Ikuto. I need to see if he can meet us en-route. So he can take Tadase." She explained. She began her walk towards her office. Before she got to the door she looked back at Yoshika. "Go Yoshika. Find her, talk it over."

Yoshika nodded as Amu gave her a small understanding smile. "Thankyou doctor." she then scurried away towards the main door. She stopped briefly at Soyo. She gave her a small bow. "Thanks Soyo, I'll let you know shortly."

Soyo waited until the two of them had disappeared around the corner before letting out a sigh and returning to her own duties.

---

Posting by:

Lieutenant, Junior Grade Amu Hinamori
Chief Flight Deck Medic
USS Tokyo (NCC-91101)

Petty Officer, 1st Class Yoshika Miyafuji
Nurse
USS Tokyo (NCC-91101)

Lieutenant Soyo Hamada
Head Nurse
USS Tokyo (NCC-91101)

 

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