Subject: Grail: "The Great Brightness" - 'Face Death when She Comes'

<<Stardate 47307.31 - 12:45>>

<<SickBay>>

"Nurse, give me the sealer" Oku Ramin said, seriously speaking.

The red-dressed nurse extended Ramin a cylindrical device.

"Computer, arterial pressure"

"Arterial mean pressure at 45,2 millimeters of mercury"

Ramin knew that was low for a human. Thirteen more minutes and the guy was history. He felt he didn't piss off the whole Transporter staff for a medical emergency transport because of nothing. This man and a little girl counted on him. And this man had, due to the passage through the GB cluster, a cut aorta (main artery of the body).

Due to the energy restrictions, Ramin was operating just as they did on the mid-21st century: some energy sealers, laser scalps and open surgery. Dr. St. Claire was just there, with Ramin.

"Shall we, Miranda?" Oku asked Dr. St. Claire, who was concentrated on holding adjacent structures to open the field for him to operate.

"Given the situation the aortoplasty should be immediate, but I think the prosthesis will hold" replied Miranda "let's get over with it"

Ramin activated the sealer over the sustaining structure he applied to the cut aorta before the transport, trying to fix the artery. It was a delicate procedure, for one deviation and the artery could be just shattered.

Then the ship shook. Harder than before. Some patients fell from their beds; some grabbed onto something. The nurses couldn't keep on their feet. Dr. St. Claire lost balance and fell over the patient. Oku was hit by something that struck him on the chest, mildly but enough to make him drop the sealer into the patient's abdomen.

Then the lights went out. Everything. People there began to scream. Hopefully, Ramin used a chemical anesthetic - which means the patient will remain unconscious - but the big artery started to bleed because the prosthesis broke. But neither Oku nor Miranda could see that.

Ramin started to incorporate and get to the patient. His reflex action was to get the artery and stop the bleeding, if it was (he couldn't know the artery was ACTUALLY bleeding). Dr. St. Claire, in the meantime, tried to light the area with the light of the laser scalpel (pointed to the floor for safety), but it wasn't enough.

Three minutes passed that way, Ramin holding the non-stop-bleeding artery and Miranda firing a laser scalpel to the floor just to make some light.

Suddenly, the lights came up and with it all the systems. But the blood bathed the floor, the whole abdomen and the people around.

What was the surprise of everyone to see the patient's neurological scans were blank. Ramin and St. Claire looked at each other, and then, as by telepathy (although neither of them were telepaths), started closure procedures and resuscitation maneuvers. The emergency medical hologram activated automatically and helped by attempting to stabilize the vital signs. Transporter medical beams were activatred by nurses to attempt reinoculation of blood into the vessels. Cloning procedures were initiated for direct blood regeneration.

After ten hell-minutes, everyone stopped attempting anything. Ramin gave the order to stop. Dr. St Claire only had to say:

"He's dead, Oku".

Faces became grim all over the place among the medical staff. Patients who were conscious started to look and ask. Silence was starting to conquer the former noise.

"Computer, initiate log"

"Medical log, stardate 47307.31, 1302 hours. Because of a system failure, the surgical procedure to Ensign Rumahwal Jamarshawhan, 31, a Science officer, was not finished on time. The patient died on stardate 47307.31, 1258 hrs. due to massive hemmorrhage caused by aortic dissection. Death has been confirmed.

"End log. Computer, record log for Starfleet archives under personal file, Jamarshawhan, Rumahwal Gorelan, Ensign."

"Computer" said Dr. St. Claire "End emergency medical hologram and surgical table functions"

Some nurses put the body into the freezer. The others started cleaning and decontamination. In thirteen minutes everything was clean, stored and... death silent.

Then Ramin remembered the girl. The man's daughter was outside, waiting. So Ramin stood up and walked through the door. Then he saw her, crying.

When the litle girl saw the red-eyed doctor, she opened her eyes. She seemed to speak with her eyes "What...?"

Ramin got closer and all he did was look at her. His heart was torn to pieces. "How will I" he thought "tell her her father died?" He wanted to run away and hide. But his duty, now, was to face that situation.

"Little one" he said, "your father... er... he had a complication"

"Did he fall with the quake?" she asked, obviously talking about the shaking.

"No, but... we all falled. He just... went to sleep"

"For how long?" the girl asked

"For... forever, little one"

And he looked down. The girl started to cry, loudly.

Oku couldn't stand being that apart from her, so he kneeled and hugged her. She answered by hugging him stronger and crying.

"WHYYYYYYYYYYYY? she said among her tears"

"Only Dosha knows" Oku answered, "only Dosha knows"

<ten minutes later>

The news by speaker of clearing the star cluster was received with sorrow in Sickbay. Someone there might have thought "was that fair?" At least, someone else might have thought there and then, this life wasn't lost in vain. Not in vain, for they are safe in that new region of space. How many lives, a third person thought, will be lost in situations like that one? When death comes this way, face her. As Vulcan philosophy reads "the needs of the one are less than the needs of the many"...

The next half hour was spent by Oku in telling Dr. Ramius the whole incident, with minor detalis included. Ramius reported to the bridge and Ramin, then, went out. He just wanted to be alone.

Alfonso a.k.a. Oku Ramin