As he opened his eyes, Tom stood up and looked around. He was back on the bridge, but alone this time. "Computer," he asked in a harsh voice, "where is Ensign Kim?"

"There is no Ensign Kim listed in the crew manifest. Did you mean Commander Harry Kim?"

"Yes! Where is Commander Kim?" Tom asked furiously, barely restraining the impulse to yell.

"Commander Kim is not on board," returned the impassive voice of the computer. Tom ground his teeth, steadfastly ignoring the inner voice that told him he'd been doing it a lot lately, and that it was bad for his health. "Computer, how many others are missing?"

"All other personnel have been accounted for," the computer responded.

Well that's something, at least, he thought before quickly checking the chronometer. They had been on the array for four days.

"Paris to sickbay."

"Sir, this is crewman Blix. The doctor and all the medical staff are dead."

"Of course, they are," responded the Captain in frustration. "Have you activated the EMH yet?"

"Uhh, no sir," came the chagrined voice of Blix. "I was trying to work out how to use the medical tricorder myself."

Tom closed his eyes, took a calming breath. "Computer activate the EMH," he said.

Over the open comm. he could hear the standard EMH greeting line: "Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

"Doctor," he said quickly, having already experienced a preview sample of the EMH when he took command and in no mood to deal with the Hologram's inbuilt snarky attitude. "This is the Captain. We have experienced a ship wide emergency. The medical staff are all dead and there will be no replacement staff for the foreseeable future. I need you to see to any injured crew; Work with crewman Blix in the meantime, until a more knowledgeable crew member becomes available to assist you. Check with me before assigning medical duties to someone else. "

"Of course, sir," said the EMH. "I..."

Tom interrupted quickly. "Give me a status report on Lieutenant Stadi as soon as possible. Crewman Blix, I want detailed reports on crew status for each department ready for review and in my ready room within one hour. Paris out."

Tom repressed a growl of frustration. Slapping his leg in anger, he began to pace. Then, catching a glimpse of the still active display screen, he noticed something troubling. Tom quickly moved over to the communications console to confirm what his eyes were seeing. The Val Jean was gone.