Peter arrived in the ICU as fast as he could from the Galleria where he had been eating at one of the fine restaurants located on SB34. As he entered Capt Reich's room he caught the tail end of what Dr. Jovic said and his heart sank. It was obvious to him that everyone in the room was in a time of reflection for the Captain.

The Lieutenant did the very same by thinking of when he first came aboard Oriskany with MGen Alderez and the Marines from Infiniti and cleaned out the Deltaurans, and remained aboard when they completed their task. He met Capt Reich for the first time in the Briefing Room when they discussed their readiness to enter the Deltauran Realm. Peter was impressed with the Captain then and his heart sank even lower now that his CO's life was coming to an end.

Peter could see by the Doctor's reaction to all of this, she and the Captain were somewhat closer than everyone else in the room. He knew how bad she must be feeling and when her eyes met his, he just whispered...

Lt. Graham: I'm sorry...

There was not much else he could say, so he just remained silent and prayed for the Captain's life to end peacefully and with the knowledge that he was surrounded by the people who cared about him.
_________________
Lt. Commander Peter Graham
Chief Security/Tactical Officer, USS Oriskany

The Fleet Admiral stood in the doorway to Capt Reich's room to show his presence for those interested in knowing the Captain had the highest ranking officer in Starfleet there with him as he passed into eternity.

Jaeson didn't say a word as he stood by the door and meditated positive thoughts for the Captain to pass peacefully without any suffering. He did keep an eye on Dr. Jovic who was monitoring Capt Reich's vitals. He knew the Doctor would be the first to know when the Captain's life has passed before all of them.
_________________
Fleet Admiral Jaeson A. Skyner
Commander in Chief, Starfleet Command
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Even though the Chief was not an empath, it would be impossible for him not to sense the grief in the room. He felt Dr. Jovic lean into him for some support so he put his arm around the Doctor as they waited for Capt Reich to take his last breath. Lewis kept quiet and just held Dragana as she tried desperately to reach the Captain's mind telepathically to possibly let him know they were all there with him to say a final goodbye.

Now, it was just a matter of time before Capt Sean Reich would enter immortality and be remembered by all those who respected and cared for him.
_________________
Mr. McCloud

Dragana appreciated the support from everyone in the room, especially from Lewis whose arm was around her. She knew this was going to be a difficult time for her and all the members of Oriskany's crew. The Doctor tried persistently to contact Capt Reich's mind using her telepathy but to no avail, his mind was apparently gone.

It was a short time later that their Captain and friend took his last few breaths and passed away. In a matter of moments, all of the monitors indicated there was no longer life in the Captain's body. Dr. Jovic could feel the loss in the room from everyone in attendance, especially from young Alexander. She whispered her condolences to the boy.

Lt. Commander Jovic: I'm so sorry, Alexander. Sean was a good friend and meant a lot to us all, he will be missed.

The Doctor then turned to the Med-Deck staff and made the official announcement.

Lt. Commander Jovic: Show the time of death for Captain Sean Patrick Reich in the Medical Log as Stardate: 239512.15. Due to his Do Not Resuscitate order on file, no efforts were made to resuscitate the Captain.

Dragana took the blanket that was covering the lower half of Sean's body and extended it to cover his head. The wait was now over, Capt Reich was gone and the mourning process would have to begin for them all in each their own way. She leaned into LtCmdr Little and spoke words of gratitude to him softly.

Lt. Commander Jovic: Thank you for being here, Lewis.

The Doctor hugged the Chief as her way of showing him gratitude for being there for her, she considered him to be another good friend. Dragana remained at Sean's bedside along with the others that were there out of friendship, respect and support for Capt Reich. His death was surely a tragic loss to everyone there.
_________________
Commander Dragana Jovic
Chief Medical Officer, USS Oriskany

Michaelangelo reached down and put his arms around Alexander to hug him during which was apparent to be a difficult moment for them all. He knew the boy was brought back from the Mariposa in Sector Epsilon by Capt Reich when he was still the XO of Oriskany. It was truly sad for the kid to lose both parents out on there and come back here to lose the man who saved him from the Deltaurans. This had to be harsh for the little guy...

Lt. Boffi: Don't worry Alex, the Captain isn't suffering anymore. He's at peace now.

The Lieutenant hoped his words would help the young boy through this time. He continued to hug Alexander in his chair from behind as the boy cried over the loss of Capt Reich. This was tough on the Chief Ops Officer too, on one mission he lost both Capt Harris and Capt Reich. Michaelangelo hoped their next Captain would have better luck on their next mission.
_________________
Lt. Commander Michaelangelo A. Boffi
Chief Operations Officer, USS Oriskany

James watched Lt. Boffi comfort Alexander and that brought more tears to his eyes. He grabbed another tissue from the pack on the small table and wiped his face. His thoughts remained with losing his Captain and his friend. Sean was the one who promoted him to XO of Oriskany, a position which he cherished.

Cmdr Kee: The Captain promoted and selected me as his Executive Officer, something I will always remember and hold in my heart. I'm going to miss him always as my friend above all else.

The XO grabbed a few more tissues and dabbed his eyes. He was truly saddened by what happened to his friend. The adventure they had in Sector Epsilon he would never forget. James thought they were going to have many more of them to come, before this atrocity.
_________________
Commander James L. Kee
Executive Officer, USS Oriskany

The Chief Flight Control Officer bowed his head and said a prayer in Hindi for the loss of someone he truly respected. Ajay hoped Capt Reich's soul would find the peace in death that he could not find in life. He spoke softly with his head still lowered.

Lt. Centares: Captain Reich promoted me to a full Lieutenant and assigned me as the Chief Flight Control Officer after Lieutenant Paul Thompson was killed during the Deltauran intrusion aboard Oriskany. He wasn't required to promote me to that position, but he did so on his own and I'm grateful for that. May his soul find joy and happiness in the everlasting lights of paradise.

The Lieutenant remained somber after he spoke aloud to those in the private room in the ICU. After so much loss that occurred in Sector Epsilon, he realized the abandoned vessels were still out there and a ship would be needed to coordinate the safe return of those ships to SB34. With Oriskany in need of repairs, he figured Adm Arayuss would be sending another ship to take on the task that was originally Oriskany's mission.
_________________
Lt. Commander Ajay K. Centares
Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Oriskany

Lewis was saddened by the expressiveness of the crew members that had something to share about Capt Reich. The Chief never got a chance to really know him, but he did respect Sean as Captain of Oriskany. He could see how much Dragana was feeling the loss and whispered a Romulan phrase to her in hopes that it would bring her some peace.

Lt. Commander Little: Jolan Tru, Dragana.

The Chief remained at the Doctor's side through this difficult time for her. He was also looking forward to getting to work on the repairs on Oriskany as soon as possible, after all he's their Chief Engineer and that was his job. He really didn't want a bunch of Engineering Staff from SB34 crawling all over his Engine Bay without him there to supervise.
_________________
Mr. McCloud

The Doctor smiled up at LtCmdr Little and hugged him for his support and kind words towards her. She really appreciated his friendship and looked forward to drinking some Romulan Ale with him later on when the time permitted. Dragana decided the Romulan phrase would be a nice way to console Lewis at this time as well.

Lt. Commander Jovic: Thank you, Lewis. Jolan Tru to you as well.

Oriskany's Chief Medical Officer looked around the room at the solemn faces and caught the eyes of Adm Arayuss. She spoke to the Admiral from where she was standing beside LtCmdr Little and where young Alexander was seated.

Lt. Commander Jovic: I'm sorry, Admiral. I did everything I could, short of disobeying his Do Not Resuscitate Order on file. I do not believe the Captain would've wanted to remain an empty vessel living on life support. It was just not his way.

The Doctor was very interested in knowing what happened to Capt Reich and what caused his condition. She truly felt the best people to find out was the autopsy staff here aboard SB34. They would be able to discover the reason behind the death of their Captain and friend.
_________________
Commander Dragana Jovic
Chief Medical Officer, USS Oriskany

The feelings of sadness Aeryck was picking up empathically from the others in the room were almost overwhelming, and the Admiral did his best to maintain decorum in front of all the members of the Oriskany's crew that were present, as well as the Command Staff that was in the ICU. The feeling of loss was so prevalent that had is not been for Dr. Jovic apologizing, the CinC's eyes may have teared up too.

Adm Arayuss: I know you did all you could, Doctor. I don't believe Sean would've wanted to be a vegetable on life support either. We'll know more about the cause of this travesty after the autopsy we will have done right away.

The Admiral turned towards Ens Russ and spoke to her in an official capacity.

Adm Arayuss: Ensign, go and inform Admiral Martinelli personally that Captain Reich has passed away and that we'll be having an autopsy done as soon as possible.

Aeryck felt really bad for the boy seated by Sean's bed, he had been crying since they arrived, even though he was being comforted by Dr. Jovic and Lt. Boffi. The Admiral was going to have to refer the boy for counseling, not to mention he was going to need to making living arrangements for the child.
_________________
Admiral Aeryck M. Arayuss
Commanding Officer, USS Sutherland
Commander in Chief, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets