The USS Pulsar danced about the battlefield, her sleek design and small profile allowing the ship to weave through the larger Vaadwaur vessels quickly enough to take only glancing hits from their weapons while still allowing the ship to engage and destroy the smaller vessels before they could swarm her and wear down the ship’s shields. That was, at least, how the vessel fared when it entered the fray. As with all things, time took an inevitable toll on even the fastest ships in the ad-hoc Starfleet flotilla.

The once pristine hull of the Pulsar was pockmarked with scorched hull plating and noticeable flickering that could be seen through the many portholes of the ship. Each hit the ship didn’t manage to dodge rattled the shields of the small vessel, driving them ever closer to collapse. The diminutive scout ship, her design ill-suited for such a large-scale engagement, was holding out impressively well. Perhaps all the more so because of how few souls were actually aboard.

Watching the battle slip by from the Captain’s chair, Ensign Corwin Adler gripped the armrests of the furnishing as if it were the only thing keeping him from flying out of the thing. The Emergency Command Hologram, seated at the forward-most console on the bridge, was currently playing the role of pilot and giving the young Ensign a masterclass in starship maneuvering.

“Port side, large ship approaching!” the Ensign called out as his eyes bore holes into the floating holographic display that hung semi-translucently between himself and the ECH. Contrary to the hologram’s usual form, the ECH didn’t so much as spare a grunt as he slammed inputs into the console as fast as his holomatrix would allow. The ship suddenly banked to starboard, narrowly missing several torpedoes that had been sent their way in an effort to cripple them.

“Eight fighters ahead of us!” Corwin shouted frantically.

The warble of the main computer was followed quickly by four torpedoes and two rounds of phaser fire lashing out from the Pulsar. The ship had been set just prior to the battle to accept voice inputs from the Ensign to assist the automated defense systems in selecting and neutralizing targets. The rather bizarre arrangement had been surprisingly effective in keeping the Pulsar not only in the fight, but allowing the ship to make valuable, if small, contributions to it.

The ECH was bringing the ship back out of the banking maneuver and making a wide arc to bring them around behind the larger Federation ships when the entire ship lurched forward, throwing Ensign Adler roughly to the deck and forcing the ECH to cling to his console to avoid a somersault over it. Once the forward momentum had been silenced by the inertial dampeners, the hologram turned to find his young Captain sprawled out and clutching his head in what he could only assume was pain.

“Computer, transfer the Emergency Medical Hologram to the bridge immediately,” the ECH demanded with a twinge of panic in his voice.

Less than a heartbeat later, the form of the EMH appeared, signature frown plastered on his face as he droned the standard, “Please state the nature of the medical emergency.”

The maroon-clad hologram gave his medical counterpart a withering glare, “It should be obvious that the only medical emergency possible aboard this ship would revolve around our dear Captain.”

The teal-clad hologram gave the ECH an equally displeased look, “If your piloting skills were a little better, perhaps he wouldn’t be injured.”

Ensign Adler groaned loudly enough to distract the two bickering holograms before muttering, “I’m alright… I’m okay… it’s just a bump…” His tone seemed almost drunk as he squeezed the words out. The EMH flew into action, retrieving the emergency medical kit from its storage locker and tearing the tricorder out of it to scan the young man to ascertain the extent of the trauma he’d suffered.

“He will live, yes?” the ECH asked warily.

The EMH looked up at the other hologram, “If you could not harass me while I’m conducting my examination, that would be incredibly helpful…”

“Really… I’m fine…” Corwin said, trying momentarily to push himself to his feet before collapsing back to the ground again in an almost comical fashion.

“Do sit still, Mister Adler,” the EMH warned him, “You will only exacerbate whatever is wrong with you if you keep doing that.”

“Sorry…” the Ensign responded, his eyes losing their focus as he tried to look at the hologram.

After a few tense seconds, the EMH snapped the tricorder shut, “He’s sustained a moderate concussion and there are signs of neck tissue damage. If we weren’t in the middle of a battle, I would order him to bed rest…”

“I can’t go to bed now…” Adler protested a bit weakly, “We need to keep fighting…”

“Can you administer some basic treatment to allow him to continue his duties, at least temporarily?” the ECH inquired with a concerned look toward the Ensign.

The EMH let out a huff, “I can apply a cortical stimulator to reduce the swelling and restore some of his basic motor functions, perhaps give him something for the pain. But it would be a very temporary solution.”

“Unauthorized transporter signals detected,” the main computer droned, “Unknown life signs detected.”

The two holograms looked to one another and nodded silently as if they’d had some telepathic conversation Ensign Adler hadn’t been privy to. The EMH retrieved the tools he needed to care for his patient while the ECH shot to his feet and began inputting commands into the navigation console. Corwin didn’t immediately register that the ship had begun to move again as the ECH came back and knelt down beside him.

“Captain, you’re going to need to stay on the bridge. I have enabled the automated flight control and tactical response systems for the ship. It will be able to keep us moving and continue to thin out the fighters at least. I’ve made sure the ship doesn’t engage larger vessels while we’re taking care of our… uninvited guests,” the hologram explained.

“Huh? Guests? What’s… what’s going on?” Corwin blinked in confusion.

“Don’t worry about the details,” the ECH said with a smirk that was meant to be a reassuring gesture, “Let us handle it.”

“By us… you mean…?” the EMH looked over to his holographic doppelganger.

“All of us will need to pitch in, even you. That is, of course, after you tend to our Captain.”

“I’m a doctor, not a commando…” the hologram complained.

The ECH shrugged, “And our Captain there was an engineer until he got here. We’re all being asked to step outside of our base programming. No point in arguing about it when we don’t have the luxury of time or personnel to do the work for us.”

“Fine…” the EMH relented after a long pause, “I will tend to the Captain and join the rest of you later.”

“Good. Oh, by the way… I’m going to seal the bridge after I leave, so you will have to transfer your program to another part of the ship. Don’t want our Captain getting ambushed while we’re away,” the ECH said as he rose to his full height again.

“Normally I would comment on such heavy-handed tactics,” the EMH remarked before looking at the still woozy Ensign, “But in this instance, I will make allowances.”

“I appreciate your indulgence,” the command hologram said with sarcasm riddling his voice as he practically stormed off the bridge.