Signs from Heaven by Phaedra M. Weldon

found the cut—vertical.”
    â€œPinch it off just above and below.”
    â€œPinch it off with what?” Sarjenka looked at Corsi.
    â€œYour fingers. Corsi’s fingers. Konya’s. I don’t care. Just pinch it off. You’ve got to stop the bleeding.”
    Corsi was already sliding her hand in beside Sarjenka’s, following her long fingers and mimicking the pinch above. “Feels like al dente pasta,” she remarked.
    Konya blanched. “I’ll never eat spaghetti again.”
    â€œNow you know why I’m not fond of Italian,” Lense said over the badges.
    Corsi then placed her other hand inside and pinched the aorta below the cut. Sarjenka left her hand just below Corsi’s to make sure the blood flow there was stopped. When she no longer felt the pulse of blood move past her fingers, she pulled them out, wiped them on her already soaked uniform, and grabbed up the tricorder.
    â€œIs his pressure creeping up?”
    â€œYes…but he’s lost a lot of blood, and he’s not getting any blood flow to the kidneys on the right.”
    Konya shifted his position. “The blood’s starting to clot.”
    Corsi nodded. “Fabian once said it looked like clotted grape jelly.” She looked down at her uniform. “I don’t think I’m going to be eating much grape jelly in my future.”
    â€œJust keep that aorta clamped. He’s got about half an hour maximum — I’ll let Captain Gold know.”
    â€œDoctor!” Sarjenka blurted out before she meant to.
    â€œWhat is it? He isn’t regaining consciousness is he?”
    â€œNo—I hope he doesn’t.” Sarjenka finally looked up at Bart’s pasty white face. His eyes were sunken. Dark circles surrounded them. She checked again to make sure he was breathing fine. A long shock of salt-and-pepper hair hung over his eyes. “I just—Could you—” She swallowed. “Could you keep your channel open?”
    There was a long pause.
    â€œYes, Sarjenka. I’ll be here.” Another pause and she thought she heard Dr. Lense sniff.
    The city shook violently beneath their feet as Sarjenka lost her footing on the blood-soaked floor.

Chapter
10
    â€œC aptain —High Advisor Nelois is hailing us.”
    Oh, boy . Gold had been sitting in his chair, feeling useless as ever. His right foot bounced up and down in a nervous twitch even Rachael couldn’t endure. “Put him on screen.”
    Larin Nelois appeared. His expression was less than cordial and his lips were drawn in a thin line. “Captain Gold, I must apologize for the Yaffie’s actions — ”
    â€œHigh Advisor,” Gold interrupted. “Tell those people to stop firing on Stratos or so help me I’ll fire on them.”
    Nelois looked as if Gold had just punched him in the stomach. “You wouldn’t dare!”
    â€œI will dare, and I will get my people out of there. Relay that message to Yaffie now. Gold out.” He slapped at the comm on his command chair’s left arm. He turned to Haznedl. “Any word from Stratos’s engine room?”
    â€œNone sir.” She turned to him. “Dr. Lense is still online with Sarjenka, but neither Commander Gomez nor Captain Scott are answering our hails. I can’t tell if their signal’s being jammed or if they’re unable to answer.”
    â€œKeep trying. And if by any chance that shield goes down, I want Faulwell beamed immediately to sickbay.”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    He sat back in his chair, his hands balled into tight fists. What was happening down there? Why didn’t they answer?

    The reason no one answered from engineering was that at that moment Gomez, Tev, Scott, Stevens, Lauoc, Krotine, and Blue were being held at gunpoint—by Historian Vanov on one side, and the Ardanan engineering quartet on the other.
    Fabian didn’t know where the Ardanans had pulled the