“Commander…” Seth gasped.
Seth had assumed that Ariele had been killed in the initial attack aboard the Excelsior, since she never appeared on the bridge whenever he talked to Santiago. The Dragonfly must have transported her over as one of the injured crewmen. She stood there with heavy burns on the entire right side of her face and hands, and her hair was disheveled. But for the most part, she was alright.
“I think it’s about time you found yourself a first officer to start covering you,” Ariele said.
Seth got up and dusted himself off. “Happen to know anyone good for the job?” he asked her.
Ariele responded with a partial smile. “Of course not. But I’ll let you know when I see one.”
The two looked over to one last humanoid who was wreaking havoc in Min’s office. All of the patients and doctors who remained tried to keep their distance from him. Seth and Min had to stop him quickly before any explosives were placed anywhere, because once they were activated, it seemed like there was no way to stop them.
“Captain,” Min said from afar, looking closely at his medical tricorder. “The Annecta humanoids…their underlying physiology…is human.”
The captain looked somewhat confused. “So?”
“They may have muted pain receptors, but…” Min quickly sneaked up from behind the unsuspecting humanoid, and made a sharp pinch to its neck muscle. The humanoid jerked his head, and then collapsed. Everyone just stared, but immediately recognized what had just happened. Min had used the Vulcan nerve pinch against him.
“What?” Min asked everyone. “I’ve been doing that since grade school.”
Seth stood amused by the cleverness of his doctor. “Come on,” he started. “Let’s all get back to the bridge.”
