Did You Hear

[Ritah Lowen 0]

Doctors Lowen and Kane didn't wait for the torpedoes to launch. They headed back to Sickbay while the weapons officers were still confirming the exact coordinates. Just before they stepped into the corridor, Ritah happened to glance back at the two midshipmen as they hurried to complete their task. They were both quite young, probably no more than twenty years old. Although they hadn't been told what the payload was, they were bright enough to figure out it was probably deadly. They were more than a little anxious to be done with this particular task.

 

Ritah sympathized with them. They weren't the only ones who wanted to be rid of this assignment. She was relieved her involvement with it was finally over. Now, all she would have to deal with were the nightmares. In a way, she envied the midshipmen. She doubted they would loose any sleep over this. In their cases, ignorance was bliss, not that annihilating an entire planet would have bothered them in the first place.

 

Shortly before she and Dr. Kane arrived in Sickbay, one of the young men was kind enough to advise Ritah the torpedoes had been successfully launched. They would detonate in less than a minute at exactly 20 km above the surface. Ritah acknowledged the comm and even thanked the midshipman for updating her.

 

She didn't bother telling him the torpedoes were originally set to detonate at an altitude of 15 km. She hadn't mentioned the change to anyone, not even Sean. There hadn't been time. The Admiral had given her ten minutes. She'd met the deadline and she was certain he would be pleased. Besides, the 5 km difference in altitude would have a positive effect on the payload's efficiency and Ritah had the data to prove it.

 

Now, all Ritah wanted was to be alone. Unfortunately, she was in the middle of her duty shift and the prisoner was still in Sickbay. She was the attending physician in Dr. Mele's absence so she made her way to the biobed where the ill-fated patient lay. Crossing the room, she heard someone talking about how he had been forced to watch the extermination of his people. But now, one lone orderly stood guard.

 

Ritah took a quick look at the data displayed on the bed's small screen and resisted the urge to frown. The "patient" was almost dead and in terrible pain. At least someone had started an IV....just saline and a mild analgesic but it was better than nothing. "You're dismissed," said Ritah flatly without looking at the orderly. She heard him walk away but waited a full minute before glancing up. There were a couple of people on the other end of the ward, near the main door to Sickbay. They were engaged in an animated conversation with one of the nurses who had just come in.

 

Ritah picked up a hypo off the small table at the foot of the bed and emptied it into the IV. Taking the prisoner's chin in her hand, she slowly turned his head toward her. His dark eyes fluttered open but she wasn't sure he was coherent enough to comprehend anything. She leaned closer, pretending to examine one of his numerous facial wounds. "Go to your gods in peace," she whispered, so softly she doubted he could hear her. "And know that it wasn't as bad as it looked."

 

For a second, she thought she caught a flicker of recognition in his desolate eyes. He might have understood but she couldn't be sure. Almost immediately, his eyes closed and he slipped quietly into a deep coma where nature would be allowed to take it's course. Dropping the empty hypo onto the table, she immediately retreated to the locker room, seeking a few minutes of solitude.

 

She was there less than two minutes when the newly arrived nurse rounded the corner and opened her locker. "Did you hear?" she asked, her tone a mixture of excitement and dread.

 

Ritah closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. Was there nowhere she could hide for even a few minutes? She envied Dr. Mele. At least he had an office he could escape to for a while. Drawing a deep breath, she carefully schooled her expression and turned toward the young woman. For the life of her, Ritah couldn't remember her name.

 

"Did I hear what?" she snapped, her raw nerves a bit more obvious than she intended. "About the Admiral?"

"Now what?" thought Ritah silently. She canted her head slightly and met the other woman's gaze. "What about him?"

The nurse pulled her lab coat out of the locker and closed it. Then stepping beside Ritah, she lowered her voice to a mere whisper. "He's dead....killed by mutineers."

At that moment, Ritah remembered the woman's name. It was Victoria....everyone called her Vicki. She started to walk away but Ritah grabbed her by the forearm. "Are you sure?" she demanded sharply. "Or is this some harebrained rumor going around."

Vicki glanced around the room nervously, as though talking about it would somehow imply she was involved. "It's true. It happened about half an hour ago. A group is already in the brig but I don't know who they are."

 

Ritah stood in shocked silence as Vicki pulled her arm free and scurried away. A moment later, she sat down in one of the well worn chairs scattered around the locker room. As contentious as things already were on Manticore, she had a sick feeling they were about to get a lot worse.

Edited March 29, 2008 by Ritah Lowen