*** Main Sickbay * USS Chimera *** Rangi stood in the silent room looking down at Sean McTaggerts face. An hour ago she had transported to engineering in responce to the emergency call and had found a living nightmare. Materialising at the point of the summons, she found herself beside the lifeless and mutilated body of McTaggert. The tear stained face of the pretty Trill engineer had looked up at her helplessly. The whole area was in chaos, with people screaming and running around.... people Rangi didnt know. Old people, crippled and infirm yet wearing the yellow uniforms of engineers. And in a moment of chilling realization, Rangi knew who they were. One red uniformed figure stood out, his face as ashen as Rangi knew her own to be. Gwen McKennas fist had clutched the XOs uniform below his collar, her whitened knuckles pulling at the fabric. "Do something. DO something" she'd pleaded, her voice pitched high with hysteria. She had beaten her other fist against Shanes chest imploring him to help her, then collapsed against him, totally distraught. Rangi had tapped her combadge, calling for the backup she needed, for one doctor had not been enough to cope with so many. Shane had recieved a call from the Bridge. +Taps+ Commander Guzman...please report to the Bridge. The cool collected voice of Samantha Palmer seemed out of place in the mayhem. Shane had tried to disangage himself from the sobbing woman clinging to him, had replied he was on his way and met Rangis eyes above Gwen McKennas head. She had taken the woman in her arms, murmuring comfort and Shane, laying a hand on Rangis shoulder had told her he had to leave and that he would come to sickbay when he could. 'I love you' his expression had told her and she had watched him stride away, the sounds of commotion all around and turned back to find Maikai had arrived and then Mercedes too. Besides McTaggert, four others had lain dead or dying, grown old and suffering in seconds the ravages of years.But in others there had been an opposite effect, and in one case, dramatically so. "On a starship? I'm on a starship?" The eight year old boy had pulled the suddenly overlong trousers up around his knees, looking with awe at the warp core, his eyes as big as saucers and beside him two ensigns had exchanged a startled expression at the lieutenants question. Now Rangi stood in the small morgue looking at Sean McTaggert remembering his words to her in the Jefferies tube. { "There's something going on here..... I still can't put my finger on it, but I know something is fishy here.....My lady is not behaving as she is supposed to..."} How worried he'd been, how aggitated, living on stimulants to keep awake until he could find what he knew was wrong. {I'm sorry they wouldnt listen to you} she told him silently. A footstep sounded on the cold floor of the mortuary. Rangi glanced around. "Is it ok to come in here?...I hoped I might..spend a few minutes?" Rangi recogised the engineering specialist who stood hesitating just inside the doorway. "Ofcourse" she said quietly and the young woman walked slowly forward.Rangi pulled the cover higher across Seans upper body, careful to hide his wounds."I'll be outside." she said. Axa reached forward and touched Seans face and her voice trembled when she spoke. "I wish we had never come to this forsaken place." she said. Outside, the sickbay was full. {All this from engineering} she thought, taking a deep breath and sighing it away. She looked at the patients one by one and her eyes came to rest on Scott Fisher, sitting beside Gwen McKenna comforting her as best he could. She knew he and John Kaiser had been good friends. {It is a forsaken place} she thought and walked slowly across the room to meet them. *** End Log *** LtCmdr Rangi Summers CMO/2XO USS Chimera