Who Was It? And How Bad?

[DrDMatthews 0]

The sound of her heart pounding was all Deb could hear as the turbo lift silently carried her to Deck 19. "I should have been there," she thought, impatiently tapping her fingers against her thighs. "Why didn't I leave the Bridge when Aidan first arrived?"

 

She glanced at her watch as the turbolift came to a stop. The trip to Sickbay seemed to take forever but, in reality, it was less than thirty seconds. "Come on....come on," she grumbled, urging the doors to open. A moment later, they parted and she bolted from the lift, running the short distance to the ship's primary Sickbay.

 

A dozen security officers were standing in the corridor. They noticed her the moment she exited the lift and quickly stepped away from the door, allowing her to enter. There were more security officers inside but Deb paid little attention to them. She needed to find out which of the nurses were wounded and how serious the injuries were.

 

As she surveyed the crowded Sickbay, Deb noticed a peculiar odor. She immediately recognized it as the stench of burned flesh. She'd smelled the distasteful aroma in Sickbay before, but this time, it originated here... and that had never happened before.....at least, not since she took over as CMO.

 

Deb moved toward the surgical units, assuming the wounded nurse had been taken into surgery. "I'm going to wring the Captain's neck," she groused, hurrying across the expansive room. "This might not have happened if I'd been here."

 

She finally spotted Merina coming out of one of the surgical suites. The Caitian physician saw Deb coming toward her and rushed to meet her.

 

When they were finally standing side by side, Deb asked the dreaded questions. "Who was it? And how bad?"