Blood Sacrifice

Posted on 09 Apr 2015 @ 5:11pm by Commander Andreus Kohl & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant Olsam Mott & Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D.

4,008 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: Episode 08 - NIMBUS
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 3, Sickbay
Timeline: MD 01 - 1300 hours

[ON]

Sickbay had been Andreus Kohl's first home aboard Galileo. He certainly had spent more hours in this one compartment than in any other during his years aboard the starship. It was where he had had his first emotional break down; it was where he had been promoted to Chief Medical Officer; it was where he had nearly been killed by Klingon intruders; it was where he had danced with Pola Ni Dhuinn; it was where he had been paralyzed.

On this day, the Gal's Sickbay felt alien and terrifying to Andreus Kohl, as he stood waiting outside the Chief Medical Officer's office. Possibly, it was because he had spent the past few days serving Bridge duty aboard the USS Nautilus. Possibly, it was because his legs were bare in this cool and sterile compartment.

Kohl crouched down to the floor, and began unstrapping each of the motor-assist bands wrapped around his calves and his thighs. After he removed the mobility assistive devices, Kohl stood up again and tried to straighten out his surgical gown. It wasn't the crimson surgical gown of the medical staff; no, it was the silver-blue surgical gown of a patient.

Allyndra could hear the rustle of the gown from the medical lab. Things carried in the sickbay especially since it was empty. She had talked to her friend and they had made arrangements to try one more time before the diplomatic functions started. All of last night she had prepared and tested as far as she could and made ready. She had tried to force herself to sleep through alpha or at least part of it but it had been of little use. It was going to be one of those all too long days again.

The one thing about being temporary second in command of the Galileo was the ability to order everyone out of the this place. What went on in here was between her and her former superior. Kohl had come over and was now awaiting her in the outre sickbay. She had been stalling a little, still a little uncertain of the procedure and the fear of another failure. The first had not been entirely a failure but in her mind something less than that one hundred percent was as good as zero.

She returned pushing a small cart with a tray covered with a sterile pad. "You can stand without the bands! You have made progress! Can you walk without them?" she asked curious. She had not had time to make an examination yet.

As if to demonstrate his answer, Kohl took one step, and then another, and he followed Allyndra at the pace she set. "I can stand, I can walk, and if you put me on a level treadmill, I can perform something resembling jogging," Kohl said. His good-humour was so fake, his face hurt from smiling. As an afterthought, he added, "I can even perform sexually."

Allyndra nodded in appreciation the effort at his own rehabilitation had produced. She had also hoped that perhaps some had been to the initial procedure still working a little of its magic. "Excellent! You have made excellent progress."

Olsam came out of the surgical bay clad in his red surgical gown, which covered him so tightly and completely that his face looked like a tiny blueberry that had been sewn on to the garment. At seeing Kohl with Allyndra, he feigned shock. Or, perhaps, he was actually shocked. It was almost always impossible to tell. "Hey, Andreus! What're you doing here?"

"I am here," Kohl said with a level of excitement to match Olsam's shock, "to have therapeutic genes injected into my body."

"Really? It's a good thing I'm prepping for that procedure then, huh?" Olsam grinned.

Kohl narrowed his eyes at Olsam in puzzlement. He blurted out, "Then who were you prep--"

The conversation was interrupted by the whooshing sound of the door opening, and a familiar Finnish-accented voice. "Hello!" exclaimed Tuula, quickly sizing up the scene in front of her. "I'm not late, am I?" she asked, worried. "I wouldn't miss this surgery for the world!"

Olsam gasped and turned to Allyndra. "You didn't tell me Tuula was coming!" He turned back to Tuula. For a few moments, it seemed as if there wasn't even a patient in the room. "Tuula! I'd hug you, but then I wouldn't be sterile anymore. I mean, my clothing wouldn't be sterile. I'm not sterile, of course. I'm perfectly virile. Uh, anyway, it's good to see you! I'm so glad you're here. We've missed you. Shirley has been so mouthy."

"I missed you too, Olsam," replied Tuula in a warm voice. She could feel butterflies in her stomach as she approached the Bolian who was the object of her affections. Even though they had only been apart for a few days, Tuula had spent many an hour thinking about him. It was strange; she didn't realize the feelings she had for him until Rebecca made it clear to her. And ever since then, she couldn't get her mind off of him.

Still, she had to stay calm. It wouldn't be appropriate to be too flirty with her mentor in sickbay, especially not with Allyndra present. Not to mention that she didn't even know how he felt about her yet, and given Starfleet regulations and his position of authority, any pass that was too forthright could end in disaster if he didn't feel the same way. Sussing out his feelings would be even more delicate of an operation than brain surgery.

"As bad as Shirley is," continued Tuula, "she can't be any worse than these Red Squad doofuses I'm surrounded with on the Chronos." Looking up at Olsam, she let out an affectionate sigh. "Can you believe one of them had the gall to quote regulations at me?"

"Really? How absurd," Olsam huffed. "I hate regulations! Especially when people quote them. Who's got the time to keep up with all those things, anyway? Did you know Starfleet Medical just revised its regulations on the storage placement of dermal regenerators? The storage placement of dermal regenerators. Just stick them in the damn closet, we all know what they look like!"

"Don't even get me started," added Tuula, making a point to agree with her mentor. "What does it matter what colour my hair is so long as I know how to fix a scratch or do an emergency appendectomy?"

Of course, it was only after she offered Mott the rhetorical question that she realized that he likely lacked the same perspective on Starfleet hair regulations as she did, what with his lack thereof.

Allydnra waited patiently while the two others went on and on. Finding an appropriate spot she interjected, "Just claim," she said as she touched her own long hair. "That it is for cultural reasons. All sorts of exceptions are given for that. Now then if I can have your attention to what is going to happen?

She waited a moment. "In my research on what went wrong with the rejection the first time I have determined that there are a set of factors that activated in response to the injury. I did the study while studying my own fingers," she said holding up her left hand and wiggling the fingers. "There are aspects to our physiology which the extra genes work with. One cannot just simply do a vector inject and hope that they will work. So here is how the procedure has to go. First this hypo here," Allydnra pulled the sterile pad back to expose the hypo. "Has a concentrated gene vector as previously. Kohl will get that and then in order to properly activate we will have to generate the proper signaling. What you are going to do is cut a couple of my fingers off and then do a transfusion to Kohl from me. My body will respond with the necessary signals to activate the genes. It is a sort of hydrodynamic vector response. Questions?"

"Wait... you want me to cut off your fingers?" asked Tuula, surprised at that detail of the prodcedure. She had never done an amputation before. At least, a real one, not on the holodeck. And especially not on perfectly good appendages.

"Yes, two should work. Perhaps the small finger from each hand as a suggestion so that I have enough use of each," Allyndra replied matter of factly. "Anesthetic to the site will be appreciated." Allyndra looked to Mott, "Well it seems Tuula will be doing something of the surgery so that leaves you with setting up and monitoring the transfusion. I think I have," she pointed to another device nestled on the tray, "the filter set up right so that not everything but the factors and bit will cross over. Any questions before I get my own gown on?"

"Wait," Kohl said, and he sounded all kinds of thick. This wasn't very much like the treatment regimen the last time Allyndra had attempted to heal Kohl through methods other than rehabilitation and strength training. Dumbfounded, Kohl asked, "You want Tuula to cut off your fingers?"

"Yes, it is the only way to activate the necessary signaling factors to activate the genes properly. That is why last time the treatment did not work as it should have. Please," Allyndra smiled and touched Kohl's shoulder, "it is alright, they grow back and with proper local anesthetic I will not feel a thing. Now then, we need to get started, there is not a lot of time. I will get a gown on while Mott does the initial injection."

Allyndra looked at the others, "I will be back in a moment." She kept everything sounding calm but she was not going to be deterred in this. She wanted to prove that she had found the right combination this time. She went to the lab again and already had the gown ready all she had to do was to strip off her uniform.

Olsam turned from the medcart to reveal that he'd been preparing a real needle. A very long, very sharp, very dangerous looking hypodermic needle attached by a thin tube to the equipment Allyndra had indicated earlier. The way his face was constricted within the surgical gown and the size of his grin gave a disturbing effect that was undercut only slightly by his cheery disposition. "Sorry, the gene suspension doesn't do so well in the hypo, so we've got to do it the old way. Are you afraid of needles? Probably not. You look brave. It's a simple procedure - I'll just jab this hypodermic needle in your arm while Allyndra cuts her fingers off."

Kohl's gaze shifted pointedly between Olsam's lips and the hypodermic needle in his grasp. Nodding vaguely, Kohl said, "I'm fine with the hypodermic needle. (I'm a nurse, remember?) What I'm not fine with is your use of the word Jab. Can you apply the needle? Inject me with the needle? There's got to be an alternative to jabbing."

"Apply the needle to what? And if I 'inject' you with it, then it's just gonna go all the way in. I'm afraid I'm just gonna have to jab it. But I'll do it gently and try to avoid the bones," Olsam said, grinning a little.

"Fortunately," interjected Tuula, interrupting the conversation about needles and injections, "the laser scalpel seems to be working fine, so I don't have to resort to the old fashioned method on that front. Which is just as well, because my bone cutter is probably dull from not having been sharpened in over 400 years," she added nonchalantly, as though it was perfectly normal to have antique medical devices for amputations lying around one's quarters.

Allyndra returned from the lab now in a gown that was barely clinging to her shoulders. The things had never been designed to accommodate someone with meter and half wings and thus was mostly open in the back. She used one hand to more or less keep it closed before shifting deftly onto the next biobed. She took a deep breath and nodded, "Ready?" It was a question but also a statement. She did not really relish being four fingered for another month but it was just one of those necessary things as near as she had been able to determine.

Although Kohl had been lurking in the vicinity of a biobed, he hadn't succumbed to sitting upon it yet. As he watched Allyndra sit herself down bodly for her own self-mutilation procedure, Kohl couldn't think of a reason why he should be any more hesitant than she was. Kohl settled himself on the biobed beside Allyndra's, and he suggested, "Yeah, how about I get some analgesic for myself?"

Though she kept an outward calm she was sure that her real feelings were being echoed in the monitor. She could feel all three hearts going like syncopated drums but if done right she should not feel any real pain, well until the anaglesic wore off. Growing things like fingers was never pleasant. She waited staring at the ceiling. It was a view she had never seen before and she wondered as she lay there if perhaps something other than plain sterile white might be nice. "Please get us hooked up before you do the amputation please, otherwise will have to start all over."

Olsam nodded wordlessly and took charge of the machine that would conduct the necessary gene suspension from one patient to the other and, from there, move through a series of minor procedures and corrections to activate the Akkadian regenerative properties and direct them toward Kohl's damaged nervous system. It was only half as complicated as it seemed, just a matter of hooking the two up and monitoring the programming Allyndra had input.

"All right, I've got 10 cc's of morphenolog for you. Nothing but the best for my friends," said Tuula, before flashing Allyndra a smile. She made the decision to go with a something a little stronger than the usual metorapan, knowing how painful the procedure would be and how finicky metorapan could be on species with unusual physiologies. "Allyndra, is there anything else we should know before you start seeing pink dancing elephants?"

"Just monitor the Lieutenant Commander closely. This is a first time and while I do not think there will be any untoward side effects, we are in somewhat uncharted territory here." Allyndra replied. "OH!" She suddenly said as Tuula pressed the hypo. "Make a note to have the ceiling repainted it looookkssss sooooo.......duh duh dhulll..."

"I'll get engineering on it," replied Tuula as she placed a hand on Allyndra's shoulder to calm her down before the procedure began in earnest. "Hopefully Ensign Michaelangelo isn't too busy over the next couple weeks," she added, reaching for the small tourniquets to be applied to her bosses pinky fingers.

From where he was laying on the other biobed, Kohl had craned his neck to watch Tuula and Allyndra intently. Kohl had seen for himself the trauma to Allyndra's hand during the last mission, and had seen her miraculous recovery, but he was still struggling with this part of the treatment. It wasn't something Allyndra had mentioned. Staring up at Tuula, still gaping in bafflement, Kohl asked, "You're really going to cut off her fingers? Just so I can dance better?"

"Fortunately, they grow back, thanks to some sort of miracle of Akkadian physiology," replied Tuula, carefully tying the tourniquet around Allyndra's pinky finger. This was a unique procedure; not only was she amputating fingers, but the methodology was almost antique. She couldn't use a regenerator to close the wound, otherwise Allyndra's fingers wouldn't heal properly. Which is why she replicated a whole pile of gauze and some old-school bandages. "And it was Allyndra's idea, and she consented to it. Otherwise I wouldn't even dream of slicing off her fingers. That would be highly unethical."

Although he spoke at more than a whisper, Kohl said softly, "I hope I'm worth her suffering..."

"Me, too," Olsam said, looking up from the transference device. "Even if you weren't, though, she'd probably be happy to do it. She'll get to write a paper on experimental regenerative techniques, and you know how much we doctors love to write papers on experimental techniques. Especially if we have a rival, like Dr. Voorhees." The Bolian's eyes narrowed while uttering the name. "Who thinks he's just so clever... We'll show him. Yes, we'll show him. So! Right, then, Tuula?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Tuula, looking back up at Olsam. "Just give me one minute here while I... okay, done! I'm ready to perform the amputation as soon as you stick it in her... I mean, squirt those fluids into her..." Tuula sighed at her inadvertent verbal slips in Olsam's presence, her face turning red as she wondered what he thought of all this. Freud would certainly have something to say about it if he were here. She cleared her throat. "What I mean is, I'm ready to proceed as soon as you insert the nipple-- NEEDLE!"

Olsam raised an eyebrow at Tuula. She was normally much more eloquent than that, and he didn't know her to stumble over her words. But stuttering and mixing up words like that was a symptom of the Tarkalean flu. And so was uncontrollable blushing. And if she had the Tarkalean flu, she could transmit it to her patients. Of course, Bolians were immune so he would have been okay, but if there was an outbreak of Tarkalean flu on the ship, he would be inundated with a ton of paperwork. And that would be truly a disaster.

Just to be on the safe side, Olsam set a medical tricorder to silent mode and placed it within reach, enabling him to scan Tuula surreptitiously while she was distracted. Hopefully, he would get an opportunity while Tuula was busy slicing off Allyndra's fingers. With the transference device all set up, he held the needle aloft. "We're ready to get started. Inserting the nipple now."

Realizing what he said, Olsam gasped, sucking a large portion of the air out of the room. Was it possible that Tuula had a new strain of the Tarkalean flu that not even Bolians are immune to? "Needle! I mean needle!" He looked down at Tuula, who was blushing even more intensely. Her symptoms were clearly getting worse. "I'm sorry. All this nipple talk has got me all mixed up. Now I've got nipples on the brain. Is that what you want, Tuula? Because if it is, you succeeded!"

Olsam cleared his throat and refocused on the task at hand. He would definitely have to do some scans later. "Okay, inserting the needle now."

Utterly silent for once, Kohl watched the hypodermic needle with wide, fascinated eyes. The needle drew closer, and closer, and finally pierced his flesh. Kohl supposed the only advantage a hypodermic needle had over a traditional hypospray was the way he could watch every cubic centimetre of the liquid vector --filled with therapeutic polymer molecues-- drain into his bloodstream. Once the injection was complete, the pre-programmed biobed rolled a surgical frame over Kohl's midsection. Once the tubes from Allyndra's biobed were connected, the frame was equipped to facilitate the blood transfusion into his circulatory system.

"We're almost ready, Mr. Kohl," said Tuula, holding Allyndra's hand in hers. She turned back towards Allyndra and tried to get her attention. "Are you ready, Allyndra?" she asked in a soft and gentle voice, wondering if she could even comprehend what she was saying given the amount of painkillers in her system.

"Ola po'awis; Ola k'inah; Ola ho'k'olea" Allyndra repeated the phrases over and over with a nod of her head.

"That's good enough for me," said Tuula as she activated her laser scalpel. She stared down at Allyndra's little finger for a moment and took a deep breath. "Don't move," she said, holding her hand over a tray to contain the blood and holding the laser scalpel with the other all while trying to remain calm. This was a strange procedure, a new one to her, but hopefully it would be worth it. She took one last look into Allyndra's eyes. "I'm sorry," she blurted out before quickly and deftly slicing off her finger.

Quickly, Tuula placed the laser scalpel aside and reached for the gauze. The tourniquet she applied had slowed the bleeding, but she did spill a few drops on the floor and onto her smock. As she wrapped Allyndra's hand, her eyes fell on the finger that was just sitting there on the metal tray in a small pool of blood. She hoped this would be worth it.

As mind-numbingly horrified as Kohl had been at Allyndra's blas willingness to sacrifice her fingers for him, he couldn't think of looking away. From where he was laying on his biobed, he craned his neck to watch Tuua's swift work, removing Allyndra's finger in a clean amputation. "Huh. That is a clean cut, Lieutenant," Kohl said admiringly. On Allyndra's behalf, he added a soft, "Thank you."

Allyndra felt nothing but she could smell the slight stink of burned flesh. She kept up her repeat of the phrase. "Heal hearts, heal mind, heal body," it helped take her mind off things. She was very little worried, she had lost more than two little fingers and they would grow back. What occupied the back of her mind was that her body's response to the injury would activate not only her genetic but the ones she had put into Kohl. "Hurry please, we must get a certain concentration of factors."

"Right away, Allyndra. That is, if Tuula will stop distracting me with her nipples," said Olsam, shooting Tuula a disapproving glance before returning to his work. "I'm detecting increased cellular regeneration, beginning the transfusion... now! Tuula, the other finger, quickly!"

"Right," said Tuula as she grabbed Allyndra's other hand. A few seconds later, her other pinky finger was lying on the metal tray next to the one she had cut off already. "Look on the bright side, Allyndra," said Tuula as she bandaged up her other hand, "we've got dinner with the Klingons tonight, and you can impress them with a tale of how you lost your fingers in glorious battle."

"They'll eat that right up," agreed Kohl.

The effects of the drug were wearing off. Thankfully so far the areas only tingled slightly. "It best be a good story why only the little fingers of each hand. None the less I plan to attempt to drink them under the table." She shifted her head.

"Let us hope this time for full recovery," she held up one hand and looked making a bit of a face. "Well another month before these are back. I am going to say with the initial work, and your own work perhaps a week. Anything unusual let us know alright?"

At this point, Kohl had been peeking under the biobed's surgical frame, fascinated to watch the mechanisms undertaking blood transfusion from up close -- from closer than ever. "Hmm?" he said. "Oh, yes, yes, you will know about my every new symptom or sensation. I'll keep you, and my CMO aboard Nautilus, well-informed."

"Thank you," Allyndra replied and then looked back at the ceiling. Her hands were starting to hurt now. "A bit more anaglesic and PLEASE remind me to have the ceiling painted or holoemitted. One never appreciates what a patient has to put up with until you are one."

"Agreed," replied Tuula as she loaded up another hypospray full of morphenolog. "5 cc's of Morphenolog coming right-- Olsam, quit scanning me with that damn thing!"

[OFF]

LCDR Allyndra illm Warraquim
Acting XO
USS Galileo

LCDR Andreus Kohl
Acting XO
USS Nautilus

Lieutenant Olsam Mott
Acting Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

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