‘Nurse Munene, let’s roll,’ one of them, short, dark-haired, and sweet, who went by the name Rehema, called out. ‘The shift starts in two minutes.’
‘Can’t a woman drink in peace?’ Sheba grumbled as they hauled her from her desk as she downed her last mouthful ofkahawa.
When they got to the principal ward, she shed her morning lethargy.
She took to the center of the floor, where more of her new colleagues assembled: a young attendant, Kaelin, and the junior medic-in-training, a local Tansinian, Matteo.
‘Quick huddle,’ she announced as the team gathered in a tight circle.
‘Listen up, crew,’ Sheba began, her voice commanding and cutting through the background chirrup of the monitors. ‘We’ve a busy rotation today. I want Miller on surgical prep, and Jax handling the supply inventory for the east wing. If those winds increase, I want everything lashed twice. Rehema, you’ve got Wards 5 and 6, Terry, 3 and 4, and I’ll take the rest. Matteo, you’re filling in for Dr. Imani until her shift is up in three hours.Check your IV flows, monitor the floor, maintain your focus, and for the love of the gods, keep your heads up.’
She distributed the digital assignment pads with the efficiency of a general prepping for a siege.
The huddle broke, and her team scattered to their posts while she set off on her rounds.
Villagers and miners arrived hourly from the outlying plains and forest settlements.
Their complaints ranged from fractures sustained in falls to burns from volatile moss resin, and even miners worried about lung damage from quarry pits.
They presented alongside women readying to give birth, and aged members of the community getting their medication scripts filled.
Her Director of Nursing position was more hands-on here in Lattaya than in her previous roles, as she filled in for any short-staffing gaps.
Sheba supported Linh, Imani, and Toma in surgeries and assisted on minor clinic visits.
Between cases, she managed the younger nurses, guided them in their work, answered questions, and offered advice on balancing their workloads.
She found joy in her role, for the rewards out here were more real.
The gratitude of the locals was authentic, far removed from the hard, jaded edges of her patients in Eden II and New Malindi, or the battlefields of Alloria.
The Lattayans’ love of life was infectious, and they found every reason to laugh and joke.
They also had a penchant for sharing their food, their harvest, and appreciation, draping the clinic’s doctors and nurses in flower garlands.
After morning rounds, Sheba ducked into the comms tent and pulled the flap closed behind her, muting the sounds of busy activity.
She activated and dialed a holo comm link, waiting as the signal pushed past meteoroid debris, asteroids, and comets.
Her call was picked up, and Ki’Remi Sable’s image resolved, glimmering onscreen.
He stood in the ready room of his mercy ship.
His dark honey skin reflected the cool light of the instrument panels, his silver eyes warm, and his mouth full and expressive, curving when he caught sight of her.
‘Nurse Munene,’ he rasped. ‘Looking good, mama. Tansinia Minor suits you.’
She smiled, hiding a pang, for Ki’Remi had once been, for a short time, her gentle, caring, passionate lover.
Their connection fizzled out into a friendship over time, but she still had a soft spot for him and hella lot of respect.
‘I don’t know what to believe when all you Riders are such smooth talkers. How are you, and how is the Gamma Algenib sector treating you?’
He grimaced.
‘How bad is it?’
‘It’s wild,’ he replied, leaning one hip against a console. ‘A mining collapse on Aqqari tore through three subterranean levels, causing intense destruction. We’ve got twelve dead, and my team is dealing with crush traumas, inhalation damage, and burns from a reactive ore. We’re stabilizing, but we’re freakin’ stretched. Enough about us, tell me more about your collision.’
