The emergency klaxon shattered sleep two hours later.
I jerked awake, medical training kicking in before conscious thought. Zorn was already moving, reaching for his uniform with practiced speed.
"Report," he said, activating his comm unit.
Captain Tor'van's voice crackled through. "Medical emergency in Sector Seven. Explosion in the electrical systems. Multiple casualties. All medical personnel to bay immediately."
My heart dropped. Sector Seven. Electrical systems.
Elena.
I was dressed and moving before Zorn finished acknowledging the order. He caught my arm gently. "Bea. Stay calm."
"That's Elena's sector." My voice came out too tight. "She works late. She's always working late."
"We don't know casualties yet. Don't assume."
But I was already assuming. Already calculating probabilities and survival rates and all the ways electrical explosions could kill someone. Already feeling the familiar weight of dread that came with loving people in dangerous situations.
We ran through Mothership's corridors, joined by other medical staff responding to the call. The medical bay was controlled chaos when we arrived—teams prepping trauma units, gathering supplies, setting up triage stations.
And then the first casualties started arriving.
Burned. Bleeding. Unconscious. Zandovians mostly, their larger frames absorbing damage that would have killed humans instantly. But among them, carried carefully by a massive security officer I recognized as Vaxon...
Elena.
Unconscious, burns across her arms and face, breathing shallow. But alive.
Vaxon's expression was murder and terror combined. "Help her."
I switched into trauma mode. "Table three. Now."
He laid her down with impossible gentleness for someone his size. Didn't move away. Didn't speak. Just stood there with fists clenched, watching as we worked.
Zorn moved beside me, our rhythm synchronized from months of practice. Assessing damage, stabilizing vitals, treating burns. Elena's injuries were serious but survivable. She'd been close to the explosion but not at the center.
Lucky. Impossibly, terrifyingly lucky.
"She'll recover," Zorn said quietly, meant for Vaxon. "Full recovery. No permanent damage."
Vaxon's shoulders sagged infinitesimally. "She was alone. Working late again. I told her—" He stopped, jaw tight. "I told her to rest."
"She doesn't listen." My hands moved automatically, treating burns, checking neural responses. "None of us do until the universe makes us."
"She could have died."
"But she didn't." I looked up at him, this massive, dangerous Zandovian who looked devastated over an unconscious human electrical engineer. "She's alive. That's what matters."
Elena's eyes fluttered. Opened. Focused on Vaxon with confusion that shifted to irritation.
"Not... your fault," she managed, voice raw. "Equipment... malfunction. Not..."
"Shut up," Vaxon said with zero heat. "Save your strength."
"You... shut up."
Even injured and burned, Elena couldn't stop arguing. I almost laughed except nothing about this was funny.
