“I’m walking out that door.”

“Sir, I have orders to–”

“I know all about your orders! My ship is under attack! Now you either get someone in here with my clothes or so help me I will walk on to the bridge and assume command of this ship wearing nothing but a surgical glove!”

The enlisted medical staff peered out from laboratory storage. To them, a Captain might as well have been an emperor wearing golden armor and riding a dragon through the halls. They were used to reporting to buck petty officers and the occasional ensign. Having him roaring and spitting fire in their trauma unit was most unsettling, especially when he started barking threats to have them all busted down to mudrollers and assigned to the bowling alley.

Colonel Moody managed to twist himself far enough to one side to see what was going on. It was a painful move, but the voice of reason had to be heard. “Hey Cap? I don’t think the doc was kidding when she said–”

Hunter threw himself back against his pillows. “Whose brilliant idea was it to give the XO and Chief Medical Officer jobs to the same person?”

“Yours,” Doctor Doverly said as she strode into sickbay. “Are you still huffing and puffing?”

“Don’t you start with that ‘huffing and puffing’ thing again. You get me crutches, a bed with wheels or three sturdy crewmen and get me back on the bridge of this ship or by all that is good and right in this world, I’ll–!”

“Acknowledged, Skipper! I’m sorry, but you’ve been overruled,” Commander Doverly replied, checking the Captain’s charts.

“By whom and under what authority?” Hunter roared.

“By the Chief Medical Officer of DSS Argent,” she replied calmly.

“And that gives her the authority,” Moo said, wincing as the metabolic stimulators on his broken wrist lowered the temperature around his hand in preparation for another treatment.

Doverly took out a portable medical scanner and re-examined the contusion on the side of the Captain’s head. “You’ve had a concussion, Jason. That and you’ve got a broken ankle and two broken fingers. I can mend the easy stuff, but if that concussion isn’t evaluated properly it could be very dangerous for both you and the ship.”

“Austin to XO.”

Doverly keyed her headset mic. “Go ahead, lieutenant.”

“I have assumed command on the bridge as Acting Officer of the Watch. Target Kilo X-Ray One is burning in space.”

“Very well, signal Archangel Zero to return to CSP pattern and stand by for further orders. Doverly out.”

“You and your combat space patrol,” Hunter sighed. Annora smiled. A moment later, the emergency medical team brought Ensign Walls in to the trauma unit and placed him in one of the life sustainer units.

“Is Walls going to be alright?” Hunter asked. Doverly looked over at the ensign’s LS unit and verified he had been secured properly.

“I think so. He’s got a lot of injuries from the last attack. I think he got a little overzealous stalking around the bridge during his moment as Admiral Nelson directing his gunnery. I have to say, he scored some points. He just has to remember to fasten his seat belt before he starts flying teeth-first into enemy weapons fire.”

“What happened to him?” Moo asked. Then he groaned as the stasis units nearly froze both of his feet.

“Same thing that happened to us,” Doverly replied. “He tried to knock Argent over and the ship won.”

“Am I going to be like this for long, Annora?” Zony whined. She stood in the doorway to the trauma unit with her arm in a sling and a bandage around her head. “I can’t run transmitters properly pecking around with one finger!”

“Well don’t you look like a forlorn little orphan!” Doverly exclaimed. Zony stuck her lower lip out. “No reason to be sad, lieutenant. You’ll be good as new in a couple of days. Where is Yili? Wasn’t she with you?”

“She grabbed an oxygen injector and a stim scanner and said she was going back to engineering. Said she was worried they would mess up damage control on the energy systems after all the re-routing she did.”

“I’m telling you, trying to keep all of you under control and properly treated is like trying to corral two litters of six-week-old puppies!” Annora exclaimed. “Zony, you need to be off your feet for the next six hours.”

“I have to get back to the bridge, Doctor! Austin can’t run the whole ship by himself!”

“Bed Five. Now. That’s an order, lieutenant.” Doverly’s voice had that combination of motherly certainty and command tone that told the Argent Signals Officer she wasn’t kidding. Zony sighed.

“Fine.” She slouched over to the LS unit and plopped herself down, staring at the ceiling with a pouting look on her face.

“How are you doing, colonel?”

“Don’t ask,” he replied. “These machines you’ve got me hooked up to make me feel like I’m living in a delicatessen refrigerator.”

“Well, at least you won’t be wandering off.” The doctor met the Captain’s gaze. “Another word out of you and I’ll pump you so full of sedatives you’ll forget your name.”

Hunter made a face then collapsed on his pillows again.

“Janice, you can tell the orderlies to stop hiding in the lab now,” Doverly said to one of the nurses still working on Ensign Walls’ LS unit. “I have to go find our engineer before she falls and breaks something else,” She handed her blaster to the nurse. “Set this on stun. If any of these delinquents tries to leave sickbay, shoot them.”