Chaos Theory (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 06 Aug 2012 @ 7:21pm by Lieutenant Commander Pola Ni Dhuinn M.D. & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Commander Andreus Kohl & Commander Scarlet Blake & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Chief Petty Officer Lucalin Mrina Ph.D. & Ensign Varek & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Marek Pawlak (KIA) & EMH Mark X-C "Shirley" & Verity Thorne

2,756 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 4, Sickbay
Timeline: MD 08 - 0130 hrs

Previously, on Chaos Theory (Part 1)...

"We should proceed to the next patient, doctor," Varek suggested, losing no time in turning towards the people spread out before him.

"Agreed Ensign, come now, let's leave Mr. Mrina to recover." Putting the tricorder back down on the tray, the EMH headed off into the jungle of patients to see where he would be needed next.

Exhaling quietly in relief, Delainey waited until the EMH and Varek had departed before she placed a reassuring hand on Luca's. "I should see to the others, but I'm glad you're ok, Luca."

And Now, the Conclusion...


[ON]


As Pola moved on from the next patient, she had turned towards the door, to check on the patients in the corridor. The doors were standing wide open to allow quick and easy access for both the patients and the staff, any hinderence meaning precious seconds lost. The lack of sleep and pressure of being both a Doctor and CMO was starting to set in, exhaustion coming and going in waves as she fought to battle with it all.

From further down the corridor, a melodious voice rasped out, "Help me..." The breathless plea for assistance heralded the arrival of Chief Petty Officer Eda. Normally, the lithe Deltan was the personification of poise and grace. Now, she was stumbling across the deck as if every step demanded an impossible effort. Her hairless head was smeared with a hand-print of blue blood --not her own-- and the front of her uniform jacket looked wet with ichor as well. Hefted over her shoulder was the petite form of Betohta Izred, a Bolian Petty Officer from Sickbay. "Somebody, help me with her!" Eda cried out.

Rushing forward, Pola came to Eda's side and started a scan on her medical officer on the Deltan's shoulder. Ushering them towards an empty space on the floor, she tried to take in the realms of information being fed to her by the scanner. "What happened?"

"She's still breathing. I can feel her breathing against me," Eda reported. Her medical training focused her thoughts on her patient's vital conditions first, as she lowered Izred to the floor more roughly than she intended. "I think I stopped her bleeding from the major blood vessels, but she's still bleeding all over. Bat'leths have too many points on them," Eda said. She took a deep, deep breath and then she continued. "We were attacked by Klingons outside Engineering. They thought we were science officers? They thought she knew where to find something-- some project?"

As Pola listened to Eda explanation, she felt a rush of anger go through her. First Lin and now Izred. This was personal now as there were her staff, the people who were her responsibility. She had placed Eda and Izred out there, in the line of danger and look what had happened. It was the same with Lin, she had authorised the release of the gas which now had her dangling on the edge of death. Looking at the tricorder images she started to realise Izred had had multiple organs damaged. She had a deflated lung with the second lung currently labouring under the strain. It looked like the same stab wound also hit the woman's intestine which was currently flooding the body with toxins.

As she reached up for a solution of inaprovaline to try relax the remaining line, the tricorder in her hand started to let out a loud beeping noise, indicated that the woman's heart had stopped. Reacting quickly, Pola moved to straddle her waist at her thumped the woman's heart a number of times to try get it restarted. "Get me 25cc's of lectrazine NOW!"

Eda slung the medi-kit off from over her shoulder and cracked it open. Laying it open on the floor, she snatched out one of the prepared hyposprays and quickly adjusted the dosage setting. Eda slapped it into Pola's hand.

Placing the hypospray against Izred's neck, Pola continued the heart compressions, "I need a cardiostimulator now!" Her voice was raised as the panic in her words became apparent. Even though each of her patient's lives meant something to her, this person here was one of her staff.

Nodding at Pola's instruction, Eda opened one of the pockets in the medi-kit. As much as she wanted to give Pola words of encouragement, and as much as she knew she should be treating patients of her own, Eda could do nothing but watch if Izred would survive. Eda lifted the small cylindrical cardiostimulator from the medi-kit and handed it over to Pola.

Configuring the cardiostimulator to shock the heart, Pola pressed it down over Izred's heart before releasing the shock. As the tricorder continued to beep, she waited 5 seconds before reshocking only to have the same results. As she increased the shock strength, she tried a third time and still with no success. With her uniform and hands now covered in blue blood, she sat back as she took the tricorder, finding that her medical officer was still flat lining. As a tear fell down her cheek, she indicated for an officer standing to the side, to take the body to the morgue where she would be looked after from there.

A low and guttural sound came from deep in Eda's chest when she didn't know how else to express her horrified disbelief at Izred's passing. The young Bolian had only known twenty-one summers. Only twenty one. Eda looked to Pola, and in seeing the other woman's distress, she was compelled to enfold Pola in a hug. Eda said a quiet prayer for Izred, but as she looked over Pola's shoulder, she could see Nurse Kohl flagging her over. Another chance. Another chance to save someone. That was all she needed. Eda released Pola, and then she was on her feet, and then she was gliding into the ICU, and then she was looking over the mess an exploding console's polyduranide shrapnel had made of Andrew McCann's body. She set to work. Another chance.

Wiping away the tear with the shoulder of her jacket, Pola found she was only smearing blood across her cheek. With a movement of frustration, she stripped off her jacket and underskirt, using the under shirt to wipe away the blue blood from her hands. Only stopping to reattach the comm badge to her vest, she picked herself up as she gave herself a mental kick. Pull yourself together Pola, you've got a job to do. Looking around she identified the next patient requiring urgent attention and moved in that direction.

Varek closed his tricorder over the bodies of the two men, Mark Davidson and Charlie Jackson. He glanced over his shoulder to the EMH. "He has extensive slash and puncture wounds," the ensign said swiftly, gesturing to the warrant officer, "and a large transfusion is required. Our resources might be wasted and others would die. We have a chance to save this one." He indicated Jackson. "Severe third degree burns, but we can treat him with a higher chance of success."

The ethical subroutines of the hologram were being stretched to the limit right now, here he had two patients, one of which was guaranteed to die if he chose to save the other, but if he tried to protect both of them, then they would both expire before any treatment could be completed. The EMH decided that he had to at least try. A burn victim was a relatively simple procedure compared to puncture wounds, and he would at least be able to pass that duty onto his assistant for a few minutes.

"We take both. Mister Varek - take Jackson - apply 5cc's of kelotane and follow it up with 50cc's of an analeptic compound, it doesn't matter which one at this stage."

If Varek hadn't been Vulcan, the EMH might have sworn he received a disapproving look from the ensign, but it lasted only a moment and was gone. "Of course, doctor." He moved quickly but collectedly to follow the holograms orders.

Turning to the far more injured Davidson, the EMH flipped open his tricorder and started analysing the situation. His body was a mess, damage to several major organs, but so far no damage to any of the vital blood vessels, his chances were slim, but he was still worth the effort to save, as any human would be.

Grabbing a hypospray, he quickly adminstered a dose of delactrovine and inaprovaline to bolster the patient's cell structure and prevent cardiopulmonary shock from setting in, that would at least buy the EMH a few minutes.

The situation was not good, the patient's lung capacity had fallen substantially and his heart rate was dropping faster than the EMH could keep up.
Reaching for the instrument tray, he grabbed a synaptic stimulator and quickly attached the small rectangular device to his patient's forehead, setting the device for continuous pulses in three second bursts, as long as he could keep brain death from occurring, he had a chance to succeed.

With that set up, the hologram moved onto trying to at least treat some of the damage, deciding that his first port of call had to be the young officer's lungs. A vascular regnerator in one hand, and a neurolytic probe in the other, the EMH set to work trying to repair the damage in the young man who lay in front of him.

He would not get much of a chance, as he did so, the doctor's worst fears were confirmed as the heart rate monitor on the biobed dropped to zero, cardiac arrest had set in. Throwing the tools in his hands back to their tray, he grabbed a cardistimulator and placed it on Davidson's chest, activating the pulse once.....twice.....three times.....four.....nothing.

His subroutines quickly analysed through the variables, there was nothing he could do here, even if he could get the young man into a stasis chamber, there was simply no time to repair all the damage....he was gone.

Unhinged by emotion, at least for now, the EMH spun round to the second officer who did not seem to be in a much better condition. Varek had administered the medication as required, but it did not seem to be having any effect, in fact if anything the humanoid patient was getting worse.

Grabbing a tricorder, he flipped it open once again and passed it over the patient. He too was in a poor condition, the damage the burns had caused had been allowed to set in for too long whilst his crewmates had been trying to bring Jackson to Sickbay, and neural shock had taken it's toll. There was nothing anyone could have done further for him.

"Time of death... 0142 hours... thank you Mr. Varek... but there's nothing more we can do here... for either of them."

The vulcan was silent for a moment, watching the EMH as he set down his empty hypospray. Then, "We should move on to the crewmen in the corridor, doctor."

"No rest for the holographic amongst us I suppose... very well. There's nothing more we can do here... arrange for these gentlemen to be taken to the morgue immediately... at least we can free up the biobeds for new patients."

"Yes, doctor."

The hologram sighed as he picked up the medkit and headed off to the makeshift triage areas that had been assembled in the corridors of the Galileo.

Finishing up on a patient, Pola spoke to him softly as she lay her hand kindly on his shoulder. "I know that this is difficult right now Cian but I promise that we will get you through this." The patient had had a panel blow up in his face in the bay the probes were secured within. They had managed to save the sight in his left eye but the right eye was too badly damaged and would require an occular implant once things had calmed down.

Continuing to rub his shoulder gently, Pola reached over to pick up a hypospray, "I'm going to give you some melorazine to help you sleep right now. Once you've rested I'll be by to see how your getting on." As she watched Cian slowly nod his head, the bandage around his eyes helping to protect against the glare of the lights, she applying the hypospray to his neck and stayed with him until he was out cold. Pulling a blanket up around his chest, Pola paused for a moment until an alarm sounded through the sickbay. Recognising the sound as an alarm set up on the critical patients, Pola broke into a run as she headed for her office.

As she ran in through the door, her attention was drawn to the body of her nurse Lin who body was bucking and shaking as it was ravaged by convulsions. Grabbing a hypo of inaprovaline, Pola silenced the alarm as she started the scan. The body suddenly went still as the tricorder indicated that the heart of the patient had stopped. Starting heart compressions, Pola's focus was on the tricorder trying to find an indication of life. The radiation had moved through the woman's body, shutting down one organ after the other, none of the medications able to stop it, so sever had been the exposure.

As she continued the chest compressions, hours seemed to pass but in reality they had only been minutes. Realising that even if the heart started the rest of the body was beyond repair, Pola forced herself to pull back. Picking up a PADD, she noted time of death and picked the body up herself, cradling the body in her arms. Moving towards the morgue, she found a space to lay down the nurse before pausing for prayer. Two senseless deaths of people who were her responcibility. Both people she had placed in the path of danger. They had saved life's but when they'd needed the help, she'd been unable to save them.

Wiping away a final tear, Pola looked around her at the bodies covering the tables and floor, each a person who'd suffered a senseless death which should not have happened. This was the life a person opened themselves to when they joined Starfleet but it didn't make the deaths anymore right. Each of these people had died to defend and make safe the rest of the crew but what comfort would that bring to their families?

Giving the bodies one last glance, Pola went to straighten her uniform before remembered she'd had to remove the jacket. Giving Lin's shoulder one last squeeze, she pulled up the sheet and made her way back into sickbay. There was still more patients to be looked after and she would do her job until each person was treated.

As Pola came striding out, Andreus Kohl was pushing another anti-grav gurney into the morgue. Laying face-up on the gurney was the bloody shredded body that used to be Andrew McCann. He had been an opinionated scientist who loved painting watercolours for his colleagues. His sightless eyes seemed to be staring right at Pola. From the brief time Kohl had known Pola, he already knew she would want to know. Pola would need to know.

"LCARS panel shrapnel in his right ventricle caused a rupture," Kohl told her softly. "I'm sorry, we lost him even before Eda could get a surgical frame over top him." Without stopping, Kohl pushed the gurney the rest of the way into the morgue. If he noticed Vera Lin in there beneath a sheet, he didn't say anything.

Watching Kohl walk away, Pola started to realise that she couldn't wish for a better staff. Today they'd shown her an ability to pull themselves together and work together. They'd lost alot of people but at the same time they'd saved an awful lot more. She knew that they weren't finished yet, there was still far to go but she knew they would all help each other to get there.


[OFF]

Lieutenant JG Pola Ni Dhuinn
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

EMH Mk-X
Emergency Medical Hologram
USS Galileo

Ensign Andreus Kohl
Nurse
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Counselor
USS Galileo

Ensign Varek
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Scarlet Blake
Counsellor
USS Galileo

Crewman Verity Thorne
Chaplin
USS Galileo
NPC'ed by Ensign Scarlet Blake

Chief Petty Officer Lucalin Mrina, Ph.D.
Bioengineer
USS Galileo

Chief Warrant Officer Markum Quinn
Chief Engineer
USS Galileo

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