felt the burden of responsibility for their plight and wondered if she could have done more but, she reflected, if it hadn’t been for the timely appearance of the Nahabe ships she doubted whether any of them would have survived.
The arrival of the Nahabe fleet was still something of a mystery. The Commonwealth had always enjoyed cordial relations with the notoriously secretive and insular aliens, but no military alliances had ever been formalised and the Nahabe had always given the impression that they were uninterested in wider galactic affairs. Still, she knew of the Nahabes’ hatred of the Shapers and their previous, and successful, defence of their worlds against them. Furthermore, their interference in the Hadar system via their proxy organisation known as the Hidden Hand was at least an indication that they had been extending their reach, but she wondered what had happened to finally coax the Nahabe out of their self imposed exile.
Answers had not been forthcoming from the fleet of mysterious spherical warships. They had destroyed or chased off the remaining Shaper ships still within the Solar System and had now assumed what appeared to be a defensive posture between Earth and the Moon, but there had been no further communications from the Commonwealth’s unlikely saviours. Chen knew enough about the protocols of dealing with the notoriously sensitive Nahabe to know that it was far better to wait for them to initiate any dialogue. Whatever their motives were, she was intensely grateful for their intervention.
‘Ma’am?’
She was tired, so unbelievably tired. She couldn’t remember the last time that she had had a decent night’s sleep, or any sleep for that matter.
‘Ma’am?’
She turned, a little groggy; one of the ship’s medics was standing patiently at her side. The woman’s nametag read ‘Collins’
‘Yes, what it is Lieutenant?’ Chen replied.
‘I need you to come down to sickbay so we can have a proper look at that arm.’
‘I’ll be fine. I have... a lot to do here, I...’
‘Admiral, with respect, you don’t look fine. You’re very pale, and your uniform is soaked. You’re losing quite a bit of blood. You were shot, after all. Dr Anderton said that if you didn’t come then he would come up here and order you down to sickbay for your own good.’
Chen knew that her Chief Medical Officer wasn’t kidding. He would come up to the bridge and scold her if she didn’t take the hint, and Collins was right, she was starting to feel pretty bad.
‘Okay, Lieutenant. I take your point. Maybe I do need patching up. Mr Singh, you have the bridge until I return. I’ll be in medical if you need me,’ said Chen and stood up. The room swam and she staggered, hit by a wave of nausea. Collins grabbed Chen’s good arm to steady her.
‘Shit,’ said Chen under her breath as the room came back into focus. ‘Okay Lieutenant, let’s get me down to sickbay. It wouldn’t do to have me passing out on the bridge now would it?’
With Lieutenant Collins’ help, Chen made her way down to sickbay in the bowels of the vessel. By the time she arrived, her forehead was slick with sweat and her arm had begun to throb terribly. Upon entering sickbay, she had to steel herself against the scene that greeted her. The facility was overflowing with casualties. Men and women, some bearing terrible injuries, were crammed together in rows whilst the overworked staff triaged and attended to them. There were screams and cries, pitiful pleas for aid and the sounds of sobbing. Doors leading off the main central space led to the isolation wards, where the burns and vacuum exposure victims were being held. Chen didn’t doubt that they too would be full also.
A number of her crew saluted her as she passed or offered her congratulations on the victory. Despite feeling fragile she returned the salutes and chatted briefly with her injured crew where she
The arrival of the Nahabe fleet was still something of a mystery. The Commonwealth had always enjoyed cordial relations with the notoriously secretive and insular aliens, but no military alliances had ever been formalised and the Nahabe had always given the impression that they were uninterested in wider galactic affairs. Still, she knew of the Nahabes’ hatred of the Shapers and their previous, and successful, defence of their worlds against them. Furthermore, their interference in the Hadar system via their proxy organisation known as the Hidden Hand was at least an indication that they had been extending their reach, but she wondered what had happened to finally coax the Nahabe out of their self imposed exile.
Answers had not been forthcoming from the fleet of mysterious spherical warships. They had destroyed or chased off the remaining Shaper ships still within the Solar System and had now assumed what appeared to be a defensive posture between Earth and the Moon, but there had been no further communications from the Commonwealth’s unlikely saviours. Chen knew enough about the protocols of dealing with the notoriously sensitive Nahabe to know that it was far better to wait for them to initiate any dialogue. Whatever their motives were, she was intensely grateful for their intervention.
‘Ma’am?’
She was tired, so unbelievably tired. She couldn’t remember the last time that she had had a decent night’s sleep, or any sleep for that matter.
‘Ma’am?’
She turned, a little groggy; one of the ship’s medics was standing patiently at her side. The woman’s nametag read ‘Collins’
‘Yes, what it is Lieutenant?’ Chen replied.
‘I need you to come down to sickbay so we can have a proper look at that arm.’
‘I’ll be fine. I have... a lot to do here, I...’
‘Admiral, with respect, you don’t look fine. You’re very pale, and your uniform is soaked. You’re losing quite a bit of blood. You were shot, after all. Dr Anderton said that if you didn’t come then he would come up here and order you down to sickbay for your own good.’
Chen knew that her Chief Medical Officer wasn’t kidding. He would come up to the bridge and scold her if she didn’t take the hint, and Collins was right, she was starting to feel pretty bad.
‘Okay, Lieutenant. I take your point. Maybe I do need patching up. Mr Singh, you have the bridge until I return. I’ll be in medical if you need me,’ said Chen and stood up. The room swam and she staggered, hit by a wave of nausea. Collins grabbed Chen’s good arm to steady her.
‘Shit,’ said Chen under her breath as the room came back into focus. ‘Okay Lieutenant, let’s get me down to sickbay. It wouldn’t do to have me passing out on the bridge now would it?’
With Lieutenant Collins’ help, Chen made her way down to sickbay in the bowels of the vessel. By the time she arrived, her forehead was slick with sweat and her arm had begun to throb terribly. Upon entering sickbay, she had to steel herself against the scene that greeted her. The facility was overflowing with casualties. Men and women, some bearing terrible injuries, were crammed together in rows whilst the overworked staff triaged and attended to them. There were screams and cries, pitiful pleas for aid and the sounds of sobbing. Doors leading off the main central space led to the isolation wards, where the burns and vacuum exposure victims were being held. Chen didn’t doubt that they too would be full also.
A number of her crew saluted her as she passed or offered her congratulations on the victory. Despite feeling fragile she returned the salutes and chatted briefly with her injured crew where she
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