Joshua Cook
He stood ramrod-straight in the middle of his quarters. He stared at the door. He waited. Waited for her to walk through, that smile on her lips. Waited for a nurse to walk in and tell him she was fine.
Waited for something… anything.
The minutes ticked into hours.
He was going through hell, and he deserved it.
He had no idea how long she’d been lying there behind that couch, but one fact stood – he could have got there sooner. He’d turned away from her door, his mind filled with Carinthia’s stupid lies, and that may have cost Mimi her life.
Josh could barely feel his body – everything felt numb.
He received a call. He jerked as he brought his wrist device up.
“The Chief Medical Officer requests your presence in the medical bay,” an automated computer voice intoned.
Josh swallowed.
He ran for the door. He didn’t stop running until he stormed into the med bay.
The CMO – a tall, willowy alien – stood in the middle of the room, clearly waiting for him.
Josh approached with caution, his breathing so strained, it was a surprise the med bay’s scanners didn’t go haywire.
He reached the doctor.
“Doctor, tell me she’s okay,” Josh begged in a croaky voice.
The CMO – Doctor B’Na – wouldn’t make eye contact. The lanky alien shook her head.
“Doctor?” Josh felt his world crashing down around him. “Mimi, she’s fine, right? You’ve figured out what’s wrong with her.”
“I’m sorry to tell you, Commander, Mimi has passed away.”
Josh blinked.
He breathed.
He stared.
But he didn’t understand.
He couldn’t.
She… she couldn’t be dead.
“We didn’t find her in time,” the doctor continued. “For some reason, her bio signs dropped off our scanners, and the medical watch… didn’t work. There was a glitch in the system. We were not alerted of her true condition until it was too late.”
Josh’s mind slowly shut down around him as one phrase repeated in his head: we didn’t find her in time.
He’d turned away from her door, too disgusted by the possibility she’d been disloyal to face her.
In doing so, he’d let her die.
“Special Commander, I can see that you were close to Miss Chester. I will notify the captain, and you will be placed on bereavement leave. You have my condolences. I’m very sorry for your loss.”
Josh stood there. Colder than an ice core. Stiffer than steel.
She was dead.
Mimi was dead.
The end of Episode Two.