Chapter 8D
The Doctor was still in Kate's room when Anya returned. Kacey quickly gave up the chair next to the bed so that Anya could be near Kate. She took the chair next to Anya.
"As I was just telling Colonel O'Malley, Commander, the anti venom we gave Captain Jensen is slowly working. Since she received the injection, her temperature has come down over a full degree. She is still not breathing on her own. That I believe will change as the injection continues to fight the venom, the hornet injected her with. It is a slow process, to avoid sending her into shock. Which at this point could kill her. If the Captain stops improving we will give her another injection in the morning."
"Could the ice blanket be the cause of her temperature coming down?" Kacey asked.
"It is possible. We will know more now that we have completely removed the ice blankets. This is the true test. Her heart beat is still strong. Her lungs were the only organ affected. While that in itself is serious, the machines are forcing her lungs to work until the serum takes over and reduces the swelling so that they can work on their own. We will kept a close eye on her over the next several hours." The Doctor stated. " I asked Colonel O'Malley if someone from the family will be with Captain Jensen."
"We can not leave her alone, Doc." Kacey stated.
"May I remind you Colonel, that with the Captain out of commission, you are the ranking officer."
"No, you are wrong, Doc. Dad is the First Officer. He is the second in command. I am a Marine, not Space..."
"A Colonel out ranks a Commander, even across service lines."
"The Doctor is correct, Kacey, you are in command."
"Lass." Liam said, as he came into the room. "You are acting Captain and your crew is on the Bridge awaiting your orders."
"Dad, I can not do that. This is Kate's ship."
"Tis still Katie's ship. You are just keeping it safe for her."
"Anya what...?" Kacey knelt by Anya's side.
"Listen to me Kacey. I have complete confidence in you. So does Kate. If she were awake she would tell you the same thing."
"If Kate were awake, I would not be in this position."
"I have never known you to shirk from your duty. Do not start now little sister."
Kacey looked from Anya to her father. She saw their confidence in her reflected back. She nodded and stood up. She leaned over Kate and whispered in her ear.
"I will take good care of your ship, until you recover, Kate." She kissed Kate's forehead, straightened, adjusted her fatigues and squared her shoulders, as she accepted the mantle of command.
Liam saluted his daughter. She stood straighter and returned his salute. Kacey left Kate's room with Liam close behind her. They entered the lift.
"Bridge" She said in a clear voice. The lift door opened seconds later they stepped onto the Bridge.
"Acting Captain on the Bridge. Rhea stated, calling the crew to attention.
"As you were." Kacey stated. Liam walked to the First Officer's chair. Kacey looked around the Bridge.
Come on O'Malley. You have seen Kate doing this a hundred times. Get your head out of your ass and run this ship for Kate. Kacey told herself. She walked to the line of Command chairs. She went to her chair until Liam pointed to the Captain's chair instead.
"Report."
"We are holding orbit one thousand kilometers above the planet."
"Was the mapping completed?"
"Yes it was Colonel."
"Send out warning markers so that anyone who comes after us will be able to avoid this Hell Planet."
"Aye Colonel."
Kacey looked at Liam. He smiled, giving her a nod to tell her she had done the right thing.
"I think we have learned all we can from this planet. Lieutenant Minor take us out of here warp four. Time to continue our journey."
He smiled. "Yes ma'am. Warp four."
Andromeda left orbit under the skillful hands of Lieutenant Minor.
"Colonel, the warning beacons have been sent out."
"Thank you."
"Well done lass."
Kacey looked up at Rhea who nodded her approval.
"Thanks dad." She blew out a breath.
"Lass would ye like to put out a ship wide announcement?"
"No." Kacey stated.
"Let's try that again, shall we. Lass would ye like to put out a ship wide announcement?"
Kacey went to decline again, but the look on Liam's face told her not to.
"What would I say?"
"Ye can start by telling that ye are acting Captain. Give them an update on Katie's condition. Maybe thank them for all the volunteers."
Kacey closed her eyes and took several deep breaths to gather her thoughts and ordered, "open ship wide channel."
"Channel open Colonel."
"Attention Crew and residents of Andromeda. This is Marine Colonel Kirsten O'Malley. Due to the injuries Captain Jensen sustained on an away mission, I am acting Captain. Captain Jensen remains in Sick Bay. She is responding to treatment. We all hope she will recover soon to resume her command. My family and I want to thank everyone who volunteered and are still volunteering to help make the serum needed to save her life and the lives of anyone, who in the future may be hurt by creatures we are not familiar with. We are hoping for a full and quick recovery. We will keep you posted on Captain Jensen's condition." Kacey stopped. "Close channel."
"Well done, lass."
"I hope I never have to do that again."
Kacey's announcement played throughout the ship. Anya and Patricia listened to her assume command of the ship. Through her grief at Kate's illness, Patricia felt the swell of pride as Kacey stepped in to fill Kate's position and continue their journey.
"I was wrong to blame her for Kate's injury."
"Yes Patricia, you were. Kacey carries enough guilt without you adding to it." Anya told her mother in law.
"You are angry with me also."
"I am not angry with you Patricia." Anya said as she continued to hold Kate's hand. "But tell me this, Patricia. Would you have been so quick to blame Kate if the situation was reversed and it was Kacey laying here?"
"Kacey asked me the same thing. I love both of them equally. Kate has never given me cause to worry like Kacey has. She was always the sensible one."
"That is not an answer to my question. You are doing Kacey a great disservice. We are hundreds of millions of kilometers from Earth. None of us expected that other worlds would have the same type of creatures that any one of us are allergic to. We did not expect to run into this problem"
"To honestly answer your question, I do not know, if I would react the same way. From the day Kacey was born, I worried about her safety. She has a restless energy that as a child was extremely hard to channel. She could never grasp the thought that all that energy could result in injuries. Even today she has not fully grasped it. Then when she started playing the violin, she was able to channel some of that energy into her music and I could rest for a short time from her constant motion. Both are extremely courageous and competent women, that I am proud to call my daughters. Kate has always been more self assured while Kacey was and is more stubborn and sensitive. There are times when I still see that little girl who tried to conquer that large staircase no matter how many times she got her backside slapped. She kept trying until Liam put up that gate. Even then I could see her trying to work out how to get past it. Physically, Kacey is the stronger of the two, while Kate is emotionally stronger. That does not mean I love one more than the other. I just don't know how I would have reacted."
"You seem to be so much harder on Kacey than I have ever seen you be with Kate."
"Kacey has always needed a firmer hand. She still does. But she is and will always be my baby. Please don't ever tell her that. We argued today for probably the very first time. Oh, we had disagreements in the past, that she would always defer to me whether she liked it or not. Today we argued as one adult with another on equal terms. She told me that she would do what she had to do and if I did not like it, then that was too damn bad. I so regret blaming her for Kate's injury. I know my words hurt her deeply enough to strike back. I need to undo the hurt I inflicted upon her with my words, but she will not talk to me. She barely tolerates my touching her."
"Give her time, Patricia. Yes, she is hurting and angry and very worried about Kate. Now she has a ship to run on top of every thing else. She needs time to process everything. When Kate wakes up she will talk to her."
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Andromeda moved through the stars as it left what the crew now called the Hell planet behind. The stars zoomed past in the view screen. Space around them was quiet. Kacey watched the stars without really seeing them. Her mind was in Sick Bay with Kate. Two hours have gone by since she gave the order to break orbit.
Liam leaned over. "Do not worry about Katie, lass. She is strong."
"I really want to be there with her dad." Kacey said and rubbed her eyes. "Do you think I should send the Stingers out?"
"What do your instincts tell you?"
"I do not have the instincts Kate has for this."
"No lass ye do not, but ye have a whole different set of instincts."
"My instincts are telling me that it has been a hell of a week and that the pilots are tired. Tired pilots make mistakes."
"Seems to me ye have your answer."
"Are the sensors showing anything we should be aware of or worry about?"
"There is a mass five hundred million kilometers away. Nothing closer."
"How long will it take us to get there at our present speed?"
"At least a week, Colonel.
"Colonel O'Malley to Major Anderson."
"Go ahead Colonel."
"Mike give the pilots the night off. Tomorrow we can start up the guard flights again. And Mike tell them thank you for everything they did to protect the Captain and ground crews."
"I will pass on your words, Colonel."
"Is there anything else I should be doing dad?"
"Aye lass there is. It is twenty two hundred hours. This is where you turn the Bridge over to what is left of the Beta shift. You can visit with Natalia before you go back to Sick Bay."
Kacey stood up. "Lieutenant, you have the Bridge." She spied Rhea still behind her console. "Still here Commander?"
"As long as the Captain is on the Bridge, so am I. That goes for acting Captains also."
"Thank you Rhea. Thank you all. Now I am going to see my wife and nieces before I return to Sick Bay."
The three left the Bridge.