The comms overhead clicked on. “Bridge to Sickbay, Commander Miller has authorized the use of warp. We’ll be underway momentarily. Bridge out.”

“He knew what we were doing here,” Selara told Lieutenant Mox. “Now all we have to do is keep Captain Romaes alive until we get there.” She let out a puff of air. “Easy.”

She picked up the cautery tool. “We’ll have to be quick and dirty with this. He’ll live, but I don’t envy the surgeon who has to undo what we’re about to do. Suction.”

Lieutenant Mox applied the probe to the hemorrhage, giving Selara a better view. She inserted the tool into the wound and she heard the familiar sizzle.

“All right, crisis averted. Keep a watch on that wound,” She said to the EMH. “Now let’s get to work on those intestines!” She returned the cautery tool to its holster and picked up the tissue stimulator. “Let’s plug some holes.” Selara engaged the stimulator and applied it to the section of intestines she was previously working on.

The monitor’s alarm sounded.

“VFib!” Mox shouted while looking at the monitor. “That bleeder’s reopened!”

“Prep a cordrazine series. Hang the second unit and prep two more.” Selara shouted to no one in particular. She typed commands into the surgical frame. “I’m going to attempt to stabilize the rhythm.” A beeping from the frame, Romaes’ form stiffened and his back arched, then relaxed back on the bed. “Go with the cordrazine.”

Lieutenant Mox pushed a hypospray to Romaes’ neck and it hissed. “Cordrazine in.”

“Attach the cortical stimulator,” Selara barked to the EMH.

An urgent beep from the monitor, “Asystole!” Mox reported.

“Starting the stimulator,” She rapidly entered a series of buttons in the surgical frame. A series of beeps and Romaes’ body arched again. “Another round of cordrazine.”

Three more rounds of this, and two more units of blood, Mox spoke up. His voice was quiet, “We lost him.”

“No, I will not accept that,” Selara hissed back. “What if we,” she furiously entered commands into the surgical frame, “used the stimulator to induce theta waves? Or,” more commands, “we added alkysine to the cordrazine and amplified the-“

Mox’s hand closed over Selara’s, “Stop. You need to call it.”

Selara looked into his eyes which held a look of finality. He was right, the Captain was dead. “Computer, mark Captain Romaes Anjin’s time of death and log it into the main computer. Authorized by Dr. Selara, Chief Medical Officer.

Chirp. Captain Romaes Anjin’s time of death was marked, and logged, at 2218.

“Can you close? I need to do the post-mortem paperwork?”

Mox nodded and picked up the dermal regenerator. “Why didn’t you save him, Dr. Selara?”

Selara, now scrubbing out, stopped and looked at him, “What?”

“Yes, why didn’t you save him, Commander?” The EMH looked at Selara.

“Why doctor? Why?!” Captain Romaes insisted, his still open body turned to Selara.

Why… why… why…

Selara sat bolt upright in her bed, the words echoing in her head. It took a minute for her mind to adjust. She wasn’t aboard the Hathaway but in her rented room on Starbase 1.

“That’s not how it happened,” Selara said in the darkness. She refocused her mind and recalled Hathway’s emergency return to Starbase, her memories threatening to betray her. “The wound near the diaphragm reopened, I sealed it again, and we were able to keep him down by slowing the kayolane infusion. It was dodgy, but he made it to the base alive.”

Did he?

She threw back the blankets and walked over to the small desk. Selara activated the monitor, “Computer, display the most recent surgical notes for Captain Romaes Anjin, as performed by Dr. Selara, Chief Medical Officer aboard the USS Hathaway.”

The text appeared and Selara read it as it scrolled. “There, right there,” she pointed at the text, “‘Clinical handover was transferred to Dr. Charles Millsboro of Starbase… It is this clinician’s opinion that Captain Romaes Anjin condition is “emergently critical”, which Dr. Millsboro concurs. The following…’ We did make it,” Selara sighed and flopped back in her chair. “We made it!” She shouted to the darkness.”

Selara smiled, her memories reaffirmed, stood up, and walked into the bathroom to take a shower.