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     Captain Daren |
Death’s Day: Part Two: Awakening “Now sleeps the crimson petal, now the white; Nor waves the cypress in the palace walk; Nor winks the gold fin in the porphyry font: The fire-fly wakens: waken thou with me.” ---------------Alfred, Lord Tennyson ---------------From: The Princess When she woke up, if you could call it that, there was nothing but sound. Voices in the distance. “…pulse-ox at 35, pressure dropping…standby cardio-stimulators…” “…more power to biobed four…” “…scan is negative for…” “Doctor, she’s coming to.” This voice was closer. Doctor Veronica Halsey approached Singer laying on the biobed. “Commander, how are you feeling?” Mishelle Singer didn’t respond at first. It took her a few seconds to realize someone was actually addressing her. She was feeling a bit more conscious now, but the room was still incredible dark. “I…I can’t see you.” Halsey frowned, “You’re incredibly lucky to be alive, Commander. You were very close to a plasma explosion.” Halsey looked into the woman’s eyes. The effects of plasma on human tissue were resoundingly clear. “I’m afraid you are blind.” The room that had previously been a flurry of sounds and activity suddenly halted for Singer as she thought about what the doctor had said. “But you can repair my sight, doctor. Ocular implants. Retinal grafts.” “At the moment we’re still dealing with repairing the tissue around your eyes. The scaring has been only mildly responsive to the dermal regenerator. Once we get that taken care of, we’ll discuss our options.” Halsey touched the woman’s hand. “We’re still very busy with treating most of the critical trauma cases from the first wave. I will check back on you later.” “Thank you Doctor. Doctor?” “Veronica Halsey.” “Thank you, Doctor Halsey.” * * * * * * * They say when you lose one of your senses, the others kick-in to compensate. Hearing, smell, touch, taste are all heightened in the blind. At the moment, Mishelle Singer’s other senses weren’t feeling particularly heightened at the moment, in fact she felt downright isolated. She had been transported to a private room for the time being on USS Schweitzer, and away from the trauma areas that were taking care of the more critical cases while the battle to protect Xanadu from the hands of the Pfhor continued. She cursed. They rescue her from whatever hell Gryphon had gotten itself into, bring her here, fix her up, tell her she’s blind, and tell her nothing on the state of her ship or the crew she’s responsible for. She scratched at the dermal patches over her eyes and temples. She thought back to the moments before the explosion. The hidden Pfhor fleet had been detected using sublight speeds to enter the system and had attacked from the shadows of their cloak. She had no memory of any other ships being hit; Gryphon must’ve been the first. She heard the footsteps of someone enter the room; their breathing was calm and normal. It must have been the nurse. Perhaps her hearing was becoming more acute. “Nurse?! Nurse?” Nurse Maxwell checked a status monitor. The dermal patches were hard at work repairing the burned skin around Singer’s eyes and on much of her face. “Yes, Commander?” “Tell me, tell me what happened to Gryphon…what happened to the crew?” There was desperation in her voice. “Commander, you need to rest, relax, and heal now. Doctor Hal-…” “Tell me!” “Gryphon was destroyed Commander. The casualties were enormous. If it had not been for another ship in your battle group, the number of dead would be even higher. You were one of the lucky ones.” Singer fell silent as shock washed over her. Exactly how lucky had she been that she had to live while others around her die? [Author's Note: I've recently decided to replace the previously used "Musical Inspirations" with the new "Musical Pairings". Perhaps its a product of my training as a culinary mast- er, professional, that I often enjoy picking out complimentary and contrasting elements for things. So in the same way I pair a hearty glass of Cabernet Sauvignon with a Braised Lamb Shank, I will be 'pairing' music to some of the logs I write. Previously I had just listed songs or tracks I had listened to in the making of a log regardless of any difference or impact they have made on the final product. Now, the music I list will attempt to express similar feelings/emotions that are contained in the log. Are you confused yet? Good, I am too... ;-)] Musical Parings: Moonlight Sonata - Ludwig van Beethoven Captain William Daren Commanding Officer (IC) USS Coronado NCC-97901 Sim Executive Officer http://www.jestertrek.com/coro2400/bodies/depts/command.html#co ******************* As portrayed by: Chris Catterson Long Island, NY ccatt@optonline.net |