Casualties (Part 3 of 7)

Posted on 26 Sep 2014 @ 7:53pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Lieutenant Commander Dea Mialin & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant Olsam Mott & Lieutenant Commander Amynta Markos & Commander Andreus Kohl & Commander Luke Wyatt & Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D. & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Ensign Jaana Voutilainen & Lieutenant Elijah Williams IV, M.Sc. & Lieutenant JG Grayson Jones & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Amon Mormont & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Alexion Wylde
Edited on on 26 Sep 2014 @ 8:26pm

2,604 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 3, Sickbay
Timeline: MD 07 - 1550 hrs

Previously, on Casualties (Part 2)...

Elijah stood there awkwardly. Did he leave? Did he go? Did he help? He wasn't sure, infact he was too drained to even decide. Moving, he had thought, would only cause pain. He closed his eyes and tried to focus then reopened them at the sign of a commotion that wasn't too far from him. The commodore was yelling, or at least demanding answers. The woman doctor wasn't having any of it. He watched, almost in fascination at the exchange. He had never met the commodore personally, any other time he probably would have been nervous and intimidated by the Orion female.

His feet were moving toward the biobed before he realized they were even carrying him toward it. He removed his gloves and just tossed them haphazardly to the deck. The place was a mess anyway. Once at the biobed he looked on, what he saw didn't phase him in the least, then he turned his attention to the commodore. "Commodore," he said in a steady but diplomatic tone. "Why don't we let the doctor do her work." He extended a hand to the woman.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

Lirha cocked her head to the side, the adrenaline still surging through her at seeing Siren being operated on. She didn't exactly register the obscenities thrown at her right away, but instead focused more on the lack of information she had been given. Though she wasn't a medical doctor nor surgeon, she'd seen the basic readings of Siren's reading in the transporter's medical filter when the beam in occurred, and hadn't noticed anything that would require such extensive open-abdominal surgery in plain view of the entire medical bay. Surely there was a way to treat injuries which didn't involve cutting a person open, of which she could think of at least five medical instruments off the top of her head, and she began to seriously question what was going on in front of her especially with an apparent refusal to share any information and a blatant violation of medical privacy. There wasn't even a curtain set up to shield the other members of the crew from seeing every organ inside of Siren's insides.

Then she heard Elijah's words, but the acknowledgement of being obscenely told to get lost next overrode everything else in Lirha's mind and within a split second she had quickly pushed Tuula away from the Siren and drawn her phaser from her hip which now was aimed squarely at the doctor's chest.

"Explain to me why you have cut her open, NOW! Or I will shoot you and have you dragged to the brig while I summon the EMH to answer the questions that you will not." The commodore's normally-light green eyes were now extremely dilated with rage, and nothing less than an appropriate answer would prevent her from defending her fiance at all costs.

Tuula froze. She hated phasers. She'd never had one pointed at her before, least of all by an irate flag officer whose girlfriend she was wrist deep in only moments ago. Underneath the surgical mask, she opened her mouth slightly, but no words came out.

Elijah found himself flinching but quickly composed himself. He was unsure why the doctor couldn't answer the questions but then again the commodore pulling a phaser seemed over-dramatic. She wouldn't shoot the doctor would she? he wondered. He had wondered if this was a power play. He wasn't any good in these types of situations but he knew he needed to do something. "The cave floor ruptured beneath and we all fell quite a bit, some were hurt more then others." He couldn't give more of a report then that. "Doctor," again his voice was diplomatic. "I know you are trying to save PO Hex, it's not unreasonable for an explanation." He looked back to the commodore. "Ma'am, the phaser isn't necessary, it may make an already tense situation worse." He paused then continued. "Please, we can talk about this without harsh words and weapons."

"Okay, enough," Dr. Alexion Wylde said sharply from where he had been watching the unfolding scene from the archway, now suitably clean for treatment. He moved over with a firm stride, moving to look at the readouts on the side of the biobed. "Nurse! Get a screen around this bed now to preserve Ms. Hex's privacy," he called out, not particularly caring which Nurse fulfilled the order.

"Yes, doctor!" Pixis springed into action and pulled the iridescent curtain to create a much needed barrier between Hex and the prying eyes of all of sickbay. In moments like this he felt like an extra in some holonovel. A medical drama with too much blood and antiquated terminology. Except this was quite real. The blood especially was all to apparent. The stench of it filled his sinuses and he wanted to shove his head into a vat of isopropyl alcohol to cleanse it all away.

Alexion glanced over the readouts, shaking his head with a deep frown. "Open surgery is not always the answer, and it is certainly not always the first course of action, especially in such an unsterile environment," he advised lightly but with the crisp, firm tone he had taken with his students back when he had taught medicine at the Academy. "She was sliced open by some kind of energy tendril. Use the regenerators to stop any internal bleeding and get her closed up, as quickly as possible now."

Seeing that at least some privacy and a bit more attentive care was being given to Siren, Lirha slowly yet cautiously lowered her weapon and re-holstered it at her hip with a soft click when it entered it its protective casing. In hindsight, she'd never have thought to pull it on a member of her own crew, but Siren meant more to her than the galaxy, and her protective instincts were far beyond what most other humanoid races could comprehend. Lirha was, first and foremost, an Orion, and Siren was, first and foremost, her future wife. Nothing would come in between that on the commodore's watch.

"Tell me her condition...will she be okay?" Lirha repeated although this time a bit more calmly now that another doctor had arrived to assist.

Elijah held in the sigh of relief that wanted to bust out. He swore he would have wet himself if there wasn't so much going on. He wasn't good at diffusing these types of situations, this was why he kept his head down and why he kept to himself. Though, he also knew speaking up was the right thing to do, it all could have spun out of control. He had been relieved that Doctor Wylde had come in and said what was what.

Turning back to the patient, Tuula gripped her vascular regenerator and got back to work. "She'll be fine, so long as people stop interrupting me and shoving phasers in my face." She gritted her teeth in frustration. She wanted to impress her colleagues, but now she was getting threatened by the commodore. She could handle that, but getting second-guessed by Dr. Wylde in front of her hurt. If only people would just leave her alone, she knew she could do this. "Doctor, I need to repair her internal bleeding and the lacerations to her internal organs before I can start closing her up," she said in an unnaturally calm and monotone voice, concealing her anger and frustration.

Tuula shook her head at the sight of the nurses running off to get a privacy screen. "And can someone please tend to my sister?" she added, her voice starting to crack.

Alexion watched with a focussed frown, his arms folded as he stood close to see both the readouts and the work being done. He arched an eyebrow at Tuula's words, unimpressed; both by her assertions of regenerating and the diversion to her sister's injury. He'd seen the laser-scalpel in her hand. She had cut her open further, not healed her up. The phrase 'trigger happy' came to mind. When he'd joined up, he'd admired that Starfleet medicine utilised sophisticated technology, like his own culture had, that could regenerate and heal without the need for open surgery. The ex-Academy medical instructor wouldn't give her the full on lecture in the middle of a crowded sickbay and over a wounded patient, but he was considering it once the trouble had died down. "We need to work with speed now, she needs to be closed," he replied in a similar tone to hers. "She has been unstable for some time now. Remember, regeneration can continue once she is closed and so more stable."

"I just need to..." Tuula trailed off, deep in concentration as she hurriedly tried to repair a severed intestine. Using her gloved fingers to keep the intestine in place, with an autosuture she carefully begun regenerating the tissue, reconnecting the small intestine. As she did so, she was interrupted again by an alarm on the biobed. She glanced over at Siren's readings. "Vital signs weakening! I need..." she paused for a split second. She'd already given the patient 10ccs of cordrazine, any more and she would risk killing her. But to do nothing would mean that she would surely perish.

Alexion looked to the readouts with clear concern, the alarm making him hold his breath. She was close to completely crashing. There had been so much bloodloss, even back in the mine, and it had taken a long time to get her back here. He shook his head, having to make a quick decision...risk losing her, or use his Transference Talent to help, something he didn't like using on other species.

The worsening readouts on the biobed panel made his mind up for him.

Moving forward, Alexion knelt at the side of the bed, rolling his sleeves up as he glanced to Tuula. "I need you to trust me, Doctor, I am going to use my species' ability to force the internal injuries to heal..." he held her eyes, his own sincere. "Can you close her up while I work on the internal bleeding? I cannot do both," he asked of her as he laid his hands on Siren's exposed skin, just above the open wound.

"I just need to... got it!" Tuula pulled her autosuture and blood soaked hand out of her patient's guts. "I hope this works," she added as she released the retractor, allowing the incision to close and allowing her to remove the blood-soaked instrument.

Taking a steadying breath, Alexion's frown deepened with concentration as he started the transfer of energy, through the skin on skin contact, into Siren, forcing her body to heal the internal wounds even as Tuula battled with the main open wound. He poured the energy into her, as much as he could afford at least, having already been with the away team for hours and having needed to eat for a good while now. His gaze glazed over, and he didn't really see anything as he kept the transfer going for as long as he dared.

Tuula shook her head in disbelief as she passed the autosuture over the open wound. She was about to push Alexion away when she saw the patient's readings. They were improving. Quickly, she passed a medical tricorder over her body. "Whatever you're doing, it's working," she said before picking up the autosuture in her bloody hands once more.

Alexion nodded, breathing harder with the continued effort, licking his now dry lips. He forced the energy into the prone woman, his head tilting absently to one side as he concentrated on manipulating it to work where needed. He finally sat back on his heals with a sudden pull backwards, catching his breath as he took his hands off her. "The major internal injuries are fixed, she should be okay," he said quietly to Tuula, shaking his head, not having the energy to spare to keep going, not if he wanted to keep working in the Sickbay. "The rest you can regenerate as normal, it will not affect regular treatment methods," he nodded to her, slapping her shoulder in a comradely fashion before pushing himself up with a slight groan of effort, not stopping for more conversation as he made his way around the screen to fetch a hypo to press to his own neck to compensate for how bloody hungry he was. With that, he walked forward to work with the rest of the away team.

Lirha couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. At first she had watched Siren's beautiful body being desecrated by an obviously incompetent surgeon who had almost just killed her in the process, then miraculously Doctor Wylde had been able to step in and use some sort of ability she didn't understand to restore her vitals and bring her back from the cusp of death. With green fists clenched at her side and her hand still centimeters from her weapon, Lirha's heart pounded with anxiety inside of her chest until she heard the man's report that she would be alright.

"Yes, repair her wounds. Quickly," Lirha instructed Tuula just for good measure in case she hadn't heard the command the first time.

"You know, I work better without distractions," replied Tuula in a caustic tone, not taking her eyes off her work.

Stepping closer and bumping into the side of Tuula's chair to see what exactly she was doing and how she was doing it, Lirha huffed at the woman's response and instead stubbornly stood mere inches from both her fiance and the surgeon to personally oversee the mending of her wounds. "Well? What is taking so long?" she said with agitation while also taking one of Siren's limp hands and squeezing it softly with reassurance.

This was the last straw for Tuula. She placed the autosuture on the tray next to her. "You want to know what is taking so long? I'm trying to perform delicate medical procedures, but I keep getting interrupted by some green-skinned psycho won't just leave me alone and let me do my work." She was shouting through a bloody surgical mask. "You're not a doctor, so why don't you go bother someone who isn't busy trying to save lives? Or do I need to call security and have you removed?"

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CDRE Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

Crewman Apprentice Abbey Wyatt
Scientist's Mate
USS Galileo
(Pnpc by Jake)

Lt.JG Luke Wyatt
Chief of Secuirty
USS Galileo

LTCMDR Dea Mialin
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (J.G.) Tuula Voutilainen, M.D.
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Aria Rice
Security Officer
USS Galileo

Master Warrant Officer Amon Mormont
Security Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Markos]

Lieutenant Markos
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

SWO Alexion Wylde
Medical Doctor
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

Ensign Jaana Voutilainen
Stellar Cartographer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Elijah Williams, IV
Geologist
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Olsam Mott, M.D.
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

LCDR Allyndra Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

CN Finnix Pixis
Nurse
USS Galileo
[PNPC Miir]

ENS Grayson Jones
Asst. Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

LT Andreus Kohl
Asst. Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

EMH Mark-X
Medical Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Holliday]

LTJG Naois Mercy
Medical Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC T'Vanna]

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