“I think she means there are some things she is not allowed to tell us,” Jessica mumbled.
“Yeah, I got that,” he answered. “That should be fine,” he assured Jalea as he led her into the ready room. “I’m sure anything you can tell us will be very helpful. Let’s go in here where we can talk more privately,” he added, motioning her to follow Jessica into the ready room. “I’ll join you in a moment.”
Jalea followed Jessica into the captain’s ready room, as Nathan stepped over to the temporary communications station that had been configured at the port auxiliary station just in front of the port exit. “Ensign, connect me to engineering, please.” A moment later, Vladimir’s voice came bellowing across the comm speaker.
“Yes! Bridge, go ahead!”
“Vlad, I hate to tell you this, but you’ve only got twenty-four hours to get this ship ready for combat.”
“I’ll do my best, Nathan!” Whatever else Vladimir said after that was unintelligible to Nathan, as it was mostly in Russian. But Nathan was sure it wasn’t for polite company.
“I don’t think he’s happy,” Nathan decided.
“No, sir,” the ensign handling the communications station agreed.
The first thing that Nathan noticed as he walked into medical was that it was less chaotic. It was still full of patients, and there were still at least a dozen non-medical personnel helping to care for the wounded. But everyone had a place to recuperate and all appeared to be receiving proper care.
There had only been two doctors, two nurses, and one medical technologist on staff when they had departed Earth. For a crew of only one hundred, it had been more than enough. And unlike many other parts of the ship, the Aurora’s medical facility had been completed and fully stocked prior to departure.
Every member of the crew had basic emergency medical training while at the academy. Nathan himself had completed the course in his first year, but had never cared much for the simulations. He had always felt the requirement unnecessary. Every ship in the fleet had top-notch medical facilities and staff, a necessary luxury for ships that routinely spent several years away from home.
Despite it being less chaotic, the main treatment room was still a mess. There were bloody bandages and linens piled in every corner, and the floors were stained nearly everywhere you looked. There were even blood splatters across some of the walls where some of the more serious injuries had probably been treated. But those that were not directly involved in patient care were trying to help out by cleaning up the room as best they could. Nathan even noticed one of the civilian scientists from Doctor Sorenson’s team, the same one that he had helped in the corridor earlier, following people around with a data pad as she frantically tried to keep notes on every patient’s treatment for their medical records. It made Nathan feel good about the people on this ship. When everything fell apart, they had all come together to try and pull through, as a team. He couldn’t help but wonder if all the people of Earth would behave in the same fashion, should the Jung invade their home.
As Nathan made his way across the main treatment area, he could feel the stares of his shipmates. At first, it made him uncomfortable, as he didn’t understand why they were all looking at him. Then he realized that they were staring at him, because he was wearing captain’s bars on his collar. The very same bars that Captain Roberts had bestowed on him earlier in this very room, just before he surrendered to his injuries. These people were no longer his shipmates, Nathan realized. They were his crew. And they would be looking to him to get them out of this mess-to get them home.
A wave of nausea began to wash over him once more, and Nathan tried to quicken his pace without looking too obvious. Was it all the blood splattered about the room that was making him ill? Or was it simply the sudden realization of the enormity of his new responsibilities? Unable to think clearly, he headed for the same utility room where he had heaved up his breakfast an hour ago. At least in there, no one would be staring at him.
Nathan again found himself hunched over the sink. Luckily, he had nothing left in his stomach to expel. But he still felt dizzy, and he definitely did not want to go back out there and face all those stares again. He had only just graduated the academy three weeks ago. And his command simulation scores had barely been passable. It had only been his natural instinct for flying that had landed him the helmsman position on the Aurora. And even then only by the grace of Captain Roberts, who for some strange reason saw potential in him. But what if he was wrong?
“Some captain,” he mumbled to himself.
“What’s that?”
Nathan turned to look behind him. Doctor Chen was sitting in the corner, just like the last time he had been in this room.
“Doctor Chen, we’ve got to stop meeting like this,” Nathan joked. “People will start to talk.” He flashed the same school boy smile again, only this time it was a little less charming and a bit more forced.
“You finally decide to let me take care of your leg?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Hop up on the counter,” she instructed, rising from her stool and coming toward him. “Let me take a look.”
Nathan used his good leg and both arms to boost himself up to sit on the counter, turning slightly to give her a better angle to his injured left calf. Doctor Chen was a little cleaner than before. She had changed out of her blood stained uniform and was wearing surgical attire. But despite her clean outfit, she still appeared emotionally exhausted.
“I noticed there’s fewer patients here now,” Nathan commented as she began to examine his leg.
“Yeah, well some of them didn’t make it.” She looked up at him, realizing that he hadn’t considered that possibility, as guilt washed over his face. “I’m sorry, that was a rather insensitive of me.” There was expediency in her manner as she cut away his torn pant leg in order to expose his wound. Nathan imagined that she had done this many times this morning. “Actually, a lot of them did make it,” she continued. “I sent the walking wounded back to their quarters to recuperate. A couple of the marines that survived were rated as combat medics, so I’ve got them running around keeping an eye on them for me. They can contact me through the comms over the med channels if they need something.”
“That’s pretty good thinking, Doc.”
“Not really,” she admitted as she finished applying the bandages that would cover his wound while the bonding agents worked their magic. “It’s standard disaster management. I learned it during my internship. Frees up beds for the more serious cases.”
“Any word on Doctor Thomas?”
“Still missing,” she told him as she finished his bandage.
“Well, I guess that makes you chief of medical for now.”
Doctor Chen said nothing in response as she finished bandaging his leg. Nathan could feel the tension, and knew it had been brought on by his last statement.
“Doc, you okay?”
Doctor Chen just looked at him for a moment. “No, I’m not,” she admitted. “I’m not okay. And I’m sure as hell not ready to be in charge. I’m only three weeks into my residency! I barely know what I’m doing half the time!”
“Hey, come on,” he urged, trying to reassure her. “Look at me? I’ve only been at the helm for a little over a week! And I’m suddenly the captain?”
“You don’t understand. All those people out there? They expect me to save them. Me.”
“Yeah, I saw those people out there, Doc. And you know what? I’m the one who got them injured in the first place! They’re out there because of what I did, because of the decisions I made! You wanna trade places?”
She stared at him again, finally asking, “Hand me the pneumo-ject from the cabinet behind you.”
“The what?”
She shook her head, a slight chuckle in her voice as she reached behind him to get the device herself. “You wanna trade?” she mocked as she loaded the pneumatic syringe. “I’ll do it, but only on one condition.”