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came instructions, “Doctor Calagura to patient intake: code green. Doctor Francis Calagura: code green.”
    “Busy night for you,” Dana sympathized.
    He nodded. “One after the other… They never warned us about this in medical school.”
    “Everyone would change majors,” Dana taunted, munching the last of her snack cake.
    “Many do, even after getting their MD’s. Can’t take the hours. I’ve thought about it myself.”
    “I have, too,” she admitted.
    “You? Dana, you belong aboard a starship. You’d make a great science officer.”
    She scoffed, “Like DOC would ever let that happen!”
    “You off today?”
    “No, day shift.”
    “Better get some rest then. Doctor’s orders.” He winked.
    She nodded. “Yes, sir, Doctor. I just want to check on my patient before I do.”
    He gave her a mock Galaxean salute, right hand over his heart.
    Dana Cartwright watched her friend   through the clear panes of the scrub room wall, as he once again washed and sanitized his hands. She left in the opposite direction, going to find patient Kieran Jai’s room on the Medical Center East - Critical Care Ward.
    She entered without knocking, went to the sink there to wash and then pushed past the AN? “Vitals?”
    The device called out several key statistics, all within parameters for an Alphan male Kieran’s height and age. She was satisfied with the situation and could leave confident that his condition was stable. Still, she programmed the AN to page her if anything changed.
    Tempted to linger while looking down as he slept, she recalled his loving kiss and the lovely memories he’d shared with her. No one had ever touched her soul so deeply. Was it an Alphan thing? The anatomy and physiology text barely touched on the incredible psychic powers Alphans possessed.
    The kiss, however, certainly crossed the ethical line between patient/doctor relationships. Conflict of interest? Maybe more... She didn’t dare let it happen again! He faced some complicated surgeries and a great deal of physical therapy, none of which were her specialty — although she knew more than most about Alphan physiology. Perhaps assisting on his surgeries would be acceptable.
    Dana gently rested her hand on the clear coffin lid, wishing him a good night before she left the patient room heading down the corridor toward her office.
    Her heart was heavy as she finally lay down to rest on the settee in her small office, still wearing her scrubs. Exhausted, she put all her worries over neuro scans and vital signs aside and shut her eyes. In minutes, she was flying — soaring over a red rock canyon with the wind caressing her face and the beauty massaging her eyes.
    The hang glider obeyed her gentle commands as if they were one. She’d never known such freedom. Never.
    This was Kieran’s memory and what a wonderful gift it was — truly a treasure.

    Chief Rocky walked the crash site one last time as the sun was rising in the East, to make certain with his eagle eyes that no piece — however tiny — escaped.
    “What a night!” He finally got to remove his helmet and switch off the transmitter. The still image counter read 186,284. “Well, shoot, that’s the speed of light per second.” He chuckled, sighed, and then used the visor of the helmet to scratch a persistent spot between his shoulder blades.  
    “Glad I’m not on the inspection team!” His guys were already wrapped, heading for the showers, a meal or to be — or maybe for a stiff drink at the local pub. “Yeah, that’s what I need… A few tall ones with a whiskey shooter or two.”
    He dusted off his overalls. “Need a decon-crew here though.” He called to maintenance to send up the sweepers. A quartet of big ass vacuum cleaners flew up from the lower level storage garage and began a grid pattern to suck up all the residual dust that the Northwest wind hadn’t already dispersed.
    Rocky started down the ramp to the lower level, to his gear locker, to stow the hardhat