Deep Space Four, Stardate 2292.245

Dr. Rani Naik had been Chief Medical Officer on Deep Space Four for just over three years. She had always known she wanted to be a Starfleet doctor. The idea of visiting new worlds and meeting new people was one she dreamed of from an early age in the suburban Atlanta town she'd grown up in. Atlanta was a pretty diverse place as far as the variety of humans, but not many aliens resided there so she'd left immediately following high school to pursue her dream. She'd had the opportunity to travel to many places on Earth during her years in pre-med and medical school and had done her residency at Starfleet headquarters in San Francisco, where she specialized in xenobiology.

Her first assignment had been the U.S.S. Republic. That had been over eighteen years ago. From the Republic she'd gone on to the Bonaventure and then to the Haven, followed by the Charon, Niagra, and Horizon. Such was the life of a junior medical officer in Starfleet. She'd once thought she'd never grow weary of traveling from planet to planet and perhaps she wouldn't have if she'd been able to stay on one ship but constantly changing assignments had grown tiresome. As she'd approached her fortieth birthday, she'd found herself longing more and more for some stability. So when the opportunity arose for her to take over as Chief Medical Officer of Deep Space Four, she took it despite the fact that she had never envisioned herself working on a space station, particularly one so remote.

On the Horizon she'd been one of three doctors but on Deep Space Four the entire medical staff was comprised of only three people - herself, Ensign Santos, a nurse, and Crewman Janda, a medic. This had taken some getting used to but despite the small staff complement on the station, it wasn't the quiet and boring place she'd envisioned. Cargo ships with their crews were constantly coming and going. It wasn't all that different from being on a smaller starship except that she was the one staying in one place. At times she did feel a bit claustrophobic on the the station, though, so she spent her vacation time on the nearby planet of Senes. Senenan cargo ships frequently stopped at the station and the interactions she'd had with their crewmembers revealed them to be a warm and hospitable people. The Sea of Lataan in Hakar had become a favorite vacation spot for her.

At the moment Dr. Naik found herself in her office, just off the main sickbay room, doing administrative work, which, along with research, is what occupied most of her time these days. Though the station itself was often bustling with visitors, sickbay did tend to be relatively quiet. She had few patients and those she did have usually came in for minor illnesses. The most serious situation she'd ever treated in her three years here had been outbreak of a virus that originated in the Tarod system. Presumably it had been brought onto the station by a crewmember on one of the visiting cargo ships. It had spread quickly and soon most of the Starfleet personnel on the station had come down with it. It had been a minor emergency since most of the staff had been unable to perform their duties for several days. However, the virus had not been life threatening and soon things returned to normal.

Dr. Naik was beginning to think that normal was a little too boring and that she was losing some of the skills she'd picked up during her xenobiology residency. She'd become very close to the other personnel on Deep Space Four and she wasn't ready to move on yet, but she'd had to admit she'd been a little miffed when she'd learned that Starfleet had recommended the visiting Vulcan ambassador bring his own doctor with him. However, she then had to remind herself that although she had treated some Vulcans during her various ship assignments, it hadn't been that many and she had yet to treat one since being assigned to Deep Space Four. She should be grateful for assistance should she need it, she told herself. Not that she expected the ambassador or his aide to need any medical care during their stay. The ambassador was 127, which for a Vulcan was comparable to a human in their early 60s. More likely to become ill was his human wife, aged 84, though records indicated she was in excellent health.

Naik continued on with her "paperwork." Though paper documents had been discontinued centuries ago, the term had stuck. Suddenly, her door swung open and she turned in surprise to Crewman Janda.

"Dr. Naik! There's been an explosion on the Seenan ship! They're transporting an injured crewmember here now!" He turned and sprinted out the door before she could reply.

She ran after him into the main sickbay room, which consisted of six biobeds that usually remained unoccupied, giving the bay an empty and open feel. She was in time to see three people materializing onto the floor near one of the beds. Ensign Santos was already standing by ready to assist. When the Seenans materialized, she saw that two of them were kneeling over a third. One held a bandage over the injured man's head and the other over his upper left arm. The bandages were soaked green. Seenans, like humans, had iron based blood so she knew this must be the Vulcan crewmember she'd seen on the station. He'd been on Deep Space Four several times but she'd never actually met him, only passed him in the corridors. He'd always nod his head at her as was Seenan custom and occasionally he'd even smile. She'd found that odd at first but then figured he was only trying to fit in with the Seenans and humans on board the station. Vulcans were a rarity here.

She didn't have time to think further about who he was - he was injured, so she got straight to work. Santos and Janda lifted him onto the nearest biobed and she pulled her tricorder out and began to scan him. He had lost a lot of blood due to a severing of the brachial artery on his left arm and through lacerations on his head.

"Santos, get working on his arm! Janda, help me get these bandages off his head!" Santos began removing the arm bandage while she and Janda carefully pulled the head bandages off. The tricorder revealed significant occipital lobe damage. It appeared that the explosion had caused something to hit him on forehead with such force that his brain had hit the back of his skull, causing severe swelling. That could cause a lot of damage if not quickly reduced but first she had to get the bleeding under control. She and Santos were able to close the wounds relatively quickly but he had lost too much blood. The tricorder indicated his blood type was S- and though they did have a small supply of S-, he would need more.

"Santos, get out whatever S- blood we've got and get him hooked up." She was about to tell Janda to check the records for the supply of S- at the two nearest starbases, Deep Space Five and Starbase 718, when she remembered that there were three other Vulcans on board.

"Janda, see if any of those Vulcans on board have S- or T- blood!"

"T-, doctor?"

"Yes, it's the Vulcan equivalent of O, a universal donor." Janda should have known this but he was young and inexperienced. Deep Space Four had been his first Starfleet assignment and this had also been his first real emergency situation. He would learn with time.

As Janda contacted the ambassador's party and Santos got the patient hooked up to the IV, Naik took notice, for the first time, of the two Seenans who had beamed in with the patient. They now stood silently at a distance, having made room for the medical staff to get to work. Both were covered in green blood. One of them she had seen before at the station, a man in his early thirties. The other, she now realized, was a teenage boy. His mouth hung open and his eyes appeared glazed over.

"Are either of you injured?"

"No, doctor. Losha was the only one injured," the man said. "Naalem," he said, looking down at the boy, "was outside the cargo hold when it happened but is uninjured. The explosion appears to have been localized to bin 3. The captain and first officer are investigating the cause now."

"The patient's name is Losha?"

"Yes, doctor."

Losha, she thought, had been the name of the manager of the resort she'd now twice visited on the Sea of Lataan. A Seenan name.