Xanor II is the second and only class M planet, of four planets in the Zanorthia system, orbiting a yellow sun, slightly larger than that of Earth's. The planet itself is larger than Earth and has higher gravity.

The days are 15 hours long as are their nights, making a total of 30 hours as opposed to the 24 of Earth. The average temperature throughout most of the planet is 100-130 degrees during the days and falling to near freezing at night.

Xanor II is a mountainous, rocky planet with sparse vegetation in most areas. There is a wide band of tropical jungles along the equator land masses and polar caps at both the north and south poles. There are four large land masses approximately the size of the north America continent on Earth with oceans surrounding all the areas.

There are frequent storms all across the planet and quakes are not uncommon.

A Federation Outpost has recently been established on the planet, operated by a crew of six: two scientists, two security officers, one engineer and one command personnel.

USS Nightingale-Medical Conference Room--Two days before reaching Xanor II

Dr. Mira Montgomery walked into the already standing room only conference room. She was here to brief her staff on what they would shortly be doing on Xanor II, a planet where numerous refugees arrived to escape the Khynah. Some came in their own ships having had a run in with the Khynah and needing ship repairs, some were dropped off by other ships, and some just came to this place as a refuge.

Mira walked up to the end of the conference table and stood, her padd in hand. "Ok people," she began, "here is what we're going to do as soon as we reach Xanor II. We have the use of three shuttlecraft, one runabout and one shuttlepod and I can assure you that they will be well used before this six-month mission is completed.

She tapped a few commands into the padd. "We will be working with the Nightingale's staff for the next week, after that we are completely on our own. First we will need to compile lists of all the refugees on the planet--of which there are about 3500." A gasp went up from one end of the room. "Yes, I know it sounds like a lot, but we have handled as many injured before, and most of these won't be injured. I hope", she muttered to herself.

"I will take the runabout, 'Nile', and check in with the Outpost staff around where I will make my base. After the Nightingale determines the larger groups of refugees, we will send shuttles and teams to those areas. I expect people to be scattered all across the planet. The ones who are not in a large group will be transported to the nearest one. We need these people in areas where we can get to them as quickly as possible and consolidate our resources. A security detail will be sent with each team, as we don't yet know what to expect down there. There may be violent people who don't care to be bothered. If you run up against these people, do nothing. Move on to those who want our help. There will be plenty of them."

"We have engineers who will began immediately constructing our living quarters and hospitals, as well as shelters for those refugees who have none. These will be the prefab kind which start out as a foam substance and quickly hardening in a few minutes. The biggest job there will be installing the bathrooms and environmental controls.

Starfleet has already sent food, water supplies and water purifiers as well as blankets, bedding and other essential items for our use. These are located at the outpost and will be distributed as soon as we know where to send them. Unfortunately everyone under the rank of Lt. jg will be sharing quarters, two to each abode. Lt. jgs and up will have the luxury of private quarters." Moans were heard all around the room. "Any questions?"

"Dr. Montgomery," a crewman asked, " I hear the planet's gravity is more than Earth's is that right?

"Yes it is. So everything you do will be harder on you, at least until your body acclimates itself to the planet's gravity. And since we will be there for six months, we will be adjusting our days and nights to Xanor time which is 15 hours as opposed to the Federation Standard of 12. Everyone will be issued special chronometers reflecting this change before we arrive.

"You mean we will be working 15 hours every day?!" asked Nurse Linda Emerson.

"Oh, no, not at first Linda," began Mira,

"That's a relief!" responded Emerson.

"Not really," continued Mira, "at first we will be working practically around the clock in order to get everyone inoculated and supplied with the essentials."

"That's not what I wanted to hear!" exclaimed Emerson.

"Sorry, but we must do what has to be done. After a few days things will even out and you may even get bored with the assignment," quipped Mira.

"Right sir," responded Ensign Steve Morgan. "We're stuck for six months on a planet with higher gravity and extreme weather on our own with who knows what kinds of people and you think we might be bored? Not likely," he joked. Suffused laughter rumbled around the room.

Mira looked up from her padd and smiled. "Well, probably not. But I want to impose on all of you the importance of our assignment. These people have been through hell. Some are injured and all are away from home. Some have lost loved ones, and some have lost their entire homes and everything they own. Now, we know just how cruel the Khynah are. We've been through hell too. Now we are the healers and we will do what is necessary to restore health and a little normalcy to these people's lives. I know that each and every one of you will give their best in this endeavor. Any more questions?"

No one spoke. "Good. Now, what I need all of you to do for the next two days is, go over your assignments and acquaint yourself with the information we have on Xanor II. Read all the reports from the Outpost too and if you have any questions, contact me. Your individual team assignments have been downloaded into the Nightingale's computers and you can access them at any time. So, get some rest and be prepared when we enter orbit. Dismissed."

*********** Two hours after entering orbit of Xanor II, Dr. Mira Montgomery piloted her runabout-the one she would be living in--to the surface of the planet, landing softly several meters in front of the main building of the Federation outpost. The time was noon on the large planet and it was hot outside.

On her way down, Mira noticed several hundred refugees scattered around the outpost, stretching all the way back to the river some two kilometers away. Some of these people already had shelter from the blinding sun, but most did not. She was glad to have the assistance of several engineers from the Endeavour who had volunteered to set up their lodgings here. While the prefab buildings were so simple anyone could set them up, the engineers were needed to install the bathrooms and environmental controls. And of course having the engineers here would give her staff more time to do what they came here to do which was treat the wounded and sick.

The landscape was mostly rocky with mountains and steep hills, sandy with sparse vegetation. However there were several small patches of greenery scattered about the area. Mira knew this was typical all over the planet, with the exception of the tropical forests at the equator and the polar caps. Trees and more greenery grew close to the water areas such as rivers, streams and near the oceans. Not as hospitable as Earth, thought Mira.

When she opened the door of the runabout, she was surprised at the intensity of the heat that assaulted her. "Geesh! It's like a volcano out there!" she commented to Kate MacLaughlin. Her senior staff, which included, Lt. Wendy Lynn, Lt. Cmdr. Antos Bek, Dr. Verran Lonara and Lt. Kate MacLaughlin had traveled down in the 'Nile' with her in order to begin distributing the supplies left by Starfleet just a few days ago. The runabout and the three shuttlecrafts she had managed to procure were on their way around the planet to the largest refugee groups to get a preliminary report on needs and injuries. The shuttlepod would be used exclusively to travel between each site.

"No hotter than some of the places Cam and I have been on digs," responded Kate, always the optimist.

Mira's boots crunched on the gravel as she stepped away from the runabout feeling heavier than usual due to the higher gravity and looked around at the planet, which for the next six months would be her home. There were a few flat topped trees around the outpost and except for the few green patches, the area was mostly brown and tan--dirt and sand.

"Ok, what I need for you to do now is take your padds and interview as many refugees in this area as you can, determining their immediate needs. Later today we will coordinate with the other teams as to the needs at the other three sites. I'm going to check in with Lt. Russell and inspect the supplies," said Mira as she headed for the outpost.

"Right", said Kate while she and the others began filing out of the runabout into the hot blazing sun of Xanor II, seeking those who needed their assistance.

The outpost was situated on a flat area on a slight incline about two kilometers from the nearest river. It consisted of one large circular building with several other rooms attached to the main building. These other rooms housed the medical facility, crews quarters, supply rooms, science lab and the mess hall.

Mira stepped through the door to the Xanor II Federation outpost, closed her eyes and let the cool air wash over her. The door opened into the main control room of the outpost which was circular with doors and consoles all along the wall.

Directly to the right was a room labeled "Infirmary", next came a security station, currently occupied with a young Ensign. Next along the wall was a door marked "Storage #1", another security station, currently empty, a door marked "Crew Quarters, a science station, a door marked "Science Lab", another science station and finally another door marked "Storage #2".

"Excuse me, Ensign," said Mira.

The security officer quickly jumped up from her station, standing at attention. "Commander! How can I help you, sir!" she blared out enthusiastically.

Mira would have known the Ensign was fresh out of the academy even if she hadn't already read her personal bio. No one was this gung ho except directly after graduating Starfleet Academy.

"You are Ensign Pelle?" she asked. Ensign Pelle was a muscular Bajoran woman, 22 years of age, 1.78 meters tall with short-cropped red hair. Mira could just imagine her slamming anybody up against a wall with little or no trouble at all.

"Yes sir!"

"Relax, Lieutenant. There's no need to stand at attention. I'm Dr. Mira Montgomery from the Endeavour, where can I find Lt. Russell?"

"Thank you sir. Lieutenant Russell is in the mess hall Commander. Right this way." Ensign Pelle pointed to the door marked "Crew Quarters". "I'm sorry but I can't leave my post, but it's at the end of the hallway, sir."

"Thank you Ensign. I'm sure I can find my way around," remarked Mira as she made her way through the doorway leading to the mess hall. She had already gone over the schematics for the layout of the outpost and with it being very small, it was easy to find her way around.

Mira entered the narrow hallway which had four doors on each side, each leading to the individual crew's quarters. At the end of the short hallway was a door marked "Mess Hall" which she entered.

The Mess Hall was a combination of kitchen, conference room and storage area as several crates and boxes were piled up all around. A replicator was on the left side of the room at the back while a sink and counter space with storage areas were to the right. Between these and straight back from the entrance doorway was a large picture window currently dimmed to blot out the intense brightness of the Xanor sun. In front of this stood a rectangular table with eight chairs and in the chair to the left sat Lt. Russell looking over a padd.

"Lt. Russell," asked Mira, coming up to where the lieutenant sat.

"One second," he said, tapping instructions into a padd. "Okay, go ahead."

"I'm Dr. Mira Montgomery from the Endeavour."

"Yes. Starfleet informed us you were coming. Have a seat doctor," he said without standing himself.

Mira sat down. "I need to check over the supplies left for the refugees and determine the condition of those you've already treated."

"Treated? We haven't treated anyone Dr. Montgomery."

This surprised Mira as she knew Lt. Russell and his crew had been here for over two weeks and many of the refugees had been here at least that long. "Why haven't you treated anyone, Lieutenant? I'm sure there are many injured people out there just waiting for some medical assistance."

"It's not our job doctor", he said stiffly. "My staff each have their own assignments which keep them quite busy and not one of us is in the medical department. Besides we were never ordered to help those people."

"Each one of you has had emergency medical training correct?" she asked a bit annoyed by his apparent lack of concern over the health of the refugees.

"Correct, but like I said before, we don't have the time or the equipment to treat those people."

"You do have an infirmary don't you?" she asked.

"If you want to call it that," he responded, " it's very small and we don't have much equipment, mainly just hypos and a few other small pieces of equipment."

"Show me," she ordered, standing up.

"This way," he said leading Mira back to the control room and through the door marked 'Infirmary'.

"See?" said Lt. Russell, waiving his arm, indicating the room.

Mira looked around the small oval room with its one exam bed, one diagnostic screen and counter space with storage cabinets along the wall. To the back was a clear walled isolation booth with one bed.

"This is it?" asked Mira, who was hoping it would be larger than the blueprints indicated.

"Yes, this is all there is. The storage cabinets hold bandages, small equipment and medications."

"Lieutenant Russell," began Mira, "this is quite adequate to attend to at least a few of those in need who are suffering from broken bones and lacerations, is it not?"

"True, Doctor, but if I had done that, then my crew would now be lacking those supplies. And I am responsible for the health of my crew only, not anyone else's," he stated flatly.

Mira sighed heavily. "Lt. Russell, I hope that you are never in a position to need the help of anyone to relieve your suffering," she said, turning and walking back into the control room. Lt. Russell followed her out.

"Now, show me where the supplies are kept so my team and I can begin relieving these peoples suffering," she ordered.

"Yes, doctor, this way."

"That's sir, lieutenant," said Mira. Ordinarily not a stickler for protocol, Mira made an exception in Lt. Russell's case due to his lack of compassion and the lack of respect he had shown her ever since she arrived. He was not there to meet her, he never stood up when she entered the room, and the tone of voice he used was not the expected Starfleet standard tone--which was one of respect for a senior officer.

"Yes, sir!" he snapped sarcastically.

******** The first day on Xanor II saw Mira's crew listing many of those on the planet, addressing their medical as well as other needs, treating the wounded and distributing food, water and blankets.

It wasn't as bad as she had feared as there were fewer injured than she expected and fewer still those with serious injuries. Those who did have serious injuries were transferred to the Nightingale for treatment and transportation to a medical facility.

Many of the refugees had their own ship and supplies while there were many who had hitched rides with others and still some who had been dropped off on the planet with no supplies at all.

The engineers had done a fantastic job of putting up shelters and temporary living quarters for her crew all across the planet. All officers quarters were already constructed. The others would have to stay aboard the Nightingale until the engineering crews could construct them. Some, however had elected to remain on the planet, sleeping in either the medical building or under the shelters built for the refugees. Mira admired these people and their dedication to duty.

Temporary hospitals had been set up at the three other sites across Xanor II, as well as Mira's own site which was closest to the outpost as she would be using their small infirmary along with the facilities aboard the Nile.

Now it was time to call her crew together and get their reports in depth. Mira had called her first meeting on Xanor II in the runabout's conference room which also doubled as the mess hall.

Mira took her large glass of iced tea from the replicator and slowly make her way over to the end of the conference table and sat down, rubbing her legs as she did so. Kat was right behind her with her own cool drink, moving just as slowly. It had been a long day, complicated by the gravity and heat.

"Ok, what did you find out today," she asked her senior staff of Kate MacLaughlin, Antos Bek, Verran Lonara, Wendy Lynn and the head of the Engineering crew, Ensign Terry Sauter.

It was just after dark on the planet and her team had been working for 10 hours straight. They were tired and aching from the heavier gravity and hot sun of Xanor II. While hot during the day, the temperature was now rapidly cooling off and would fall to around freezing in this part of the planet.

"Well, for one thing," began Kate," it's impossible to work without a 15 minute break every hour, at least until our bodies adjust to the heavier gravity," she said flexing and rubbing her arms.

"Noted. Make sure all teams break every hour for rest and liquids," said Mira, "we don't want anyone becoming dehydrated either. What's the stasis on our lodgings and med tents, Ensign Sauter?"

Terry cleared her throat and began. "Thanks to the help of the Nightingale's crew along with civilian engineers, we've constructed four hospital buildings at the four sites across the planet along with camp shelters for those who had no shelter at all. These consist of a ceiling only, no floor and no walls. However, we can add a floor and walls if necessary. There are about 20 of these. We have individual lodgings for all the officers, but most are without showers and replicators right now. We can work through the night to get these completed but my crews are pretty tired right now," finished Terry, hoping Dr. Montgomery would not want anymore work completed today as she was more tired that she ever thought possible, "and I would like to rest them if possible," she finished.

Mira turned to Kate who was in charge of coordinating all the camps across the planet, "Kate?"

Kat rubbed her sore neck. "Right now, all my teams are turning in for bed. They're beat and they've already eaten tonight. I don't see it as necessary to have the replicators or showers up tonight. We've been dirty before, it won't kill us," she said, rolling her neck around to ease the strain.

"Good. Ensign Sauter, you can tell your team to stand down tonight. Tomorrow will be soon enough to begin again. Do you have any questions?"

Terry was too tired to think, much less ask any questions. "No, sir, none."

"Ok, then. Turn in for the night and get some rest. You have done an excellent job today Ensign Sauter. Tell your teams I appreciate all their hard work," said Mira.

"Yes, sir, thank you sir," spoke Terry as she stood to leave. "Ensign Sauter to Nightingale, one to beam to landing site East."

"Acknowledged, Ensign Sauter." In a few seconds Terry was back at the Eastern landing site and preparing to get some sleep in her small round prefab room. She was tired and dirty and could beam to the Nightingale for a shower if she wanted, but she was too tired and decided to use the water from her water bottle to wash off a little. After which she promptly fell into bed and was fast asleep within ten minutes.

Mira took another sip of the cold, delicious tea. She thought she had never tasted a better glass of Earth tea before! "Verran, your report please."

Dr. Verran Lonara consulted his padd, pressing a few instructions into it and began. "I treated 87 people with minor injuries such as cuts and bruises and assisted in three operations aboard the Nightingale. I listed 312 others, uninjured and of those, 306 had already had inoculations. I inoculated the other six. The seriously injured will stay aboard the Nightingale and be transferred along with their families to another medical facility."

"Good work, Doctor. Kate?" Mira felt her whole body stiffening up as she sat listening to the reports.

Kate rubbed her stiff neck. "I treated 12 people and listed 33 others. All have had inoculations. I inspected our West, North and South sites as well and found all was going as expected. I have reports from those three sites as to who was listed and treated." Kate rolled her neck around still trying to loosen it up.

Mira shifted in her seat. "Great, Kate. Wendy, you're next."

Wendy Lynn and Antos Bek each gave their reports which were much the same as Kate's and Lonara's the exception being that Antos had made several appointments for counseling the following day.

"Dr., " began Antos, "I will need a private place in which to hold my counseling sessions. There are many people who have been traumatized over their experiences. It looks like I will have plenty of work to keep me busy at least for the next week or two."

Mira thought for a moment. "Antos, you may use either the consulting room in the medical building or this conference room. I will be in and out of the Nile during the day, working between here, the outpost and the med building. Check both of these out tomorrow and decide which would be the best for you. If you don't think either will be sufficient, I will authorize the construction of another building, but I don't want to work our engineers unnecessarily."

"Understood."

"Good work everyone," said Mira. "I know today has been very hard on each of you but hopefully our bodies will adjust quickly to our new environment. I would like to meet like this every night for the first week at this same time to go over your daily reports. After things settle down a bit, it probably won't be necessary to make your reports in person. You can give your reports to Kate who will bring them here herself at which time they will be downloaded into the Nile's computer base. I will download all the reports myself tonight. "

" Tomorrow, Verran and Wendy, you will be assigned a site which you will make as your permanent base. Verran, you will take the Northern site and Wendy, you will have the Southern site."

"Who will be in charge of the Eastern site?" asked Antos, thinking that maybe he would be assigned that site, but hoping not. He had enough work to keep him busy in this area for now.

"I'm putting Ensign Debra Dimera, one of our physician's assistants, in charge of the Eastern site for now. I think she will be able to handle things competently."

"Antos, I would like you to stay based here for the time being. You can travel with Kate in the shuttlepod to the other sites and counsel people in those areas. I know that there are people all over Xanor who are in need of your expertise.

"That's fine," replied Antos. "Will I be living here, in the Nile or will I have a private house, so to speak."

"We'll have Terry construct a permanent abode for you, Antos. But it may be later in the day or even tomorrow night before she can get to it. From her report here," Mira consulted her padd, "she and her staff are going to have a very busy day tomorrow and all week long for that matter with just completing the basic construction, not counting getting the environmental controls in and working."

"That's okay," replied Antos, "I wouldn't mind staying here as long as I need to." He looked around the room, "It looks pretty comfortable," he smiled.

"It's not bad," replied Mira, "but the sleeping quarters are pretty small. Including the commander's quarters."

"Kate, I want you to use the shuttlepod and visit each site every day to ensure things are going smoothly. Then you will come back here at this time with all the reports from each site. And you will be living here on the Nile for the time being also.

Kate nodded in the affirmative.

"Okay, anyone have any more questions?"

"Just one," replied Antos.

"Yes, Antos?" asked Mira.

"Can we eat now? I'm starved!"

Mira and the others laughed, "Yes, we can, if I can manage to get my muscles loose enough to move!" she grimaced as she began to rise from her chair.

********* Thus begins the Medical Department's adventures on the planet of Xanor II. Stay tuned for more adventures coming soon.