Medical Emergency
Posted on Wed Jan 22nd, 2025 @ 8:20pm by Lieutenant Ame Solis M.D. & Lieutenant Commander Savin & Lieutenant Didrea Zade & Ensign Ezmyrae Varin & Senior Chief Petty Officer Mason Malone & NVeid tr'Rehu
Mission:
Pandora's Box
Location: USS Athena: Sickbay
Timeline: MD5
4809 words - 9.6 OF Standard Post Measure
With the call of an emergency, all hands were on deck in Sickbay. This was a first for Ame on the Athena, but not the rush of adrenaline. Her lab coat had been discarded in her office as she needed to be able to move, sleeves already pushed up to her elbows, leaving her forearms exposed. Her eyes cast over the room, taking in the last moments of apprehensive silence.
The familiar hum of a transport broke the otherwise silent sickbay, depositing three figures onto biobeds. The EV suits they had worn to the surface were taken care of by the medical transport, leaving them in their uniforms.
The first was Mason, looking roughed up but the only one conscious of the three. Next was Ensign Iska, or what was left of him. Half of his face was bloodied and bruised, his uniform was torn in several places and burnt in others, and his limbs settled in ways that indicated they were broken. On the adjacent bed was Lieutenant Zade, sporting injuries similar to Iska, though generally less severe. The amount of red in her hair that glistened faintly under the sickbay lights was almost haunting.
Not long after the transport completed and the biobeds had time to start monitoring, a series of alarms went off. From Iska's bed, the alarm indicated that he had crashed and wasn't breathing. From Zade's, it was an indication that her vitals were near critical levels.
The transporter’s shimmer dissipated, revealing three figures sprawled on the biobeds. Time seemed to stretch as Ame’s sharp gaze assessed the scene: Iska’s broken and bloodied form, Malone’s battered but conscious state, and Zade’s alarming injuries. She didn’t waste a second. “Savin, you’re with me! NVeid and Myra, take bed two. Zorak and Marcus, bed three,” she ordered, her voice firm as she gestured to Zade and Malone in turn. Before the final words left her lips, Ame was already moving, rushing to Iska’s side as the biobed’s emergency protocols activated in a flurry of urgent alarms.
Savin hurried after Ame towards the most severe patient and as he approached the bed he could see that there was very little they could do for the young man beyond just making him comfortable and perhaps pain free in his last moments. He shook his head, and expression of sadness on his face as he prepped a hypospray and pressed it against the young man's neck. "Massive internal bleeding," he reported, "systemic organ failure, brain damage due to blunt force and aerodynamic trauma." He pushed another vial into the hypospray and injected its contents into the patient's failing bloodstream. "I suggest we make him comfortable, there is nothing we can do that will save him."
Mason sat on the third bed, silently waiting, his eyes unfocused and staring at a distant wall. He heard the flurry of voices around him, but he wasn't paying attention. Everything had gone so fast, he was trying to piece together what exactly had happened.
Marcus Ellison, a tall Human with dark auburn hair, beat his partner to the biobed by only a couple steps. Their patient, a dark-haired Human, looked like he was shaken but fortunately not in shock, so he tread carefully as he flipped open the tricorder. "I'm reading a second degree burn on the cheek and shoulder, two cracked ribs, and several foreign bodies in the abdomen and thigh, likely debris. Fortunately, they are quite shallow and will be quick to remove." Looking up from the tricorder, he grabbed a hypospray before he spoke to Mason. "I need you to lie down so we can effectively treat you. I'll also give you something for any pain."
Meanwhile, NVeid had hurried to Zade's side, quickly reading the monitor to find an extensive range of internal and external injuries. "Prep for surgery," he told Myra, "you will assist me. We have no time to lose if we want to save her." First they had to stop the internal bleeding, which would be a challenge. The sterile field snapped in place while nurses provided the pair with surgical gowns. "Ready?" He asked, not sure if the young woman had ever performed this kind of extensive surgery.
It didn’t take much for Zorak to arrive at Mason’s side, though anyone could have beaten him there. “Right, right. Dermal and osteo regenerator,” he muttered as he picked up the devices, placing them on the tray for easy access. Gently, he slid a hand behind Mason’s shoulders, encouraging him to lean back as he helped guide him down the bed. “We’ll have you fixed up in no time. Right, Marcus?”
The Bajoran did her best not to be blinded by who it was on the bed. Furiously, she attempted to find the source of the bleeding, sealing the exterior wounds as best she could to keep the pain relief in. Her eyes lifted briefly to meet Savin’s. “I’ve got Rimal. There’ll be more incoming. Prepare the holodeck as a makeshift trauma centre.”
She couldn’t leave him. Not yet. Ame stood frozen for a moment, the steady beeping of the monitors the only sound in the room, punctuated by the distant hum of the ongoing chaos in sickbay. Her hand rested gently on Iska’s, her thumb brushing over his knuckles, a rhythm meant to soothe him even though he could no longer respond.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, the words barely audible against the noise of the room. Her eyes lingered on his face, her heart heavy with the weight of what had been and what could never be. The room seemed to grow quieter around her, the slow beeping of the monitor fading to nothing.
Savin nodded solemnly as he sensed her grief. He gently touched her shoulder in a silent offer of comfort before issuing the orders to ready a holodeck. He stepped aside to give her some privacy as obviously the young man had meant something to her, but he watched her all the same for a moment before heading down to the holodeck.
Mason turned his head slowly, as if seeing the two medics for the first time. "I'm fine," he said softly as he was eased back. He felt the pressure of the hypospray against his throat and heard the telltale hiss of something being injected. "I'm not in any pain." He wasn't aware of any because adrenaline was still coursing through his veins. His right hand still tightly held the phaser, but he didn't seem aware of it. "I'm not worried," he added, "I'm fine. Help Zade and Iska first, they need it more. I'm just scratched." His voice was soft, laced with worry as he spoke, his eyes still absent despite looking at the medics.
The question had snapped the Trill back to reality, her distant gaze having settled on the Security Chief's face as the sudden familiarity of the medical alarm's insistence provoked an association there just wasn't time for. Myra's wide eyes met NVeid's and the man's stoicism under pressure restored enough equilibrium for her to nod, arms outstretched as the gown was pulled into place for her.
Giving the young woman a nod of approval, the Romulan hybrid set to work, explaining what he did as he did it, reasoning this emergency might as well be educational. They worked fast, they had to if they were to save the security chief's life and there were a few moments where she threatened to slip away from them. "Keep an eye on her vitals, she is still bleeding somewhere and I'm not seeing it." Perhaps Myra would see something, because he wasn't. It wasn't a test, he knew that there was still a bleeding but with the speed which they had to work at, he couldn't possibly see them all. This was exactly why he had help.
There was no real need for the instruction. Since she had arrived at the bedside and been confronted by the stark reality of a prone Trill bleeding slowly to death in front of them, Myra had found no better place to focus her attention that the display relaying Zade's erratic vitals. It had always been difficult to explain, why her choice to continue her career path whilst recovering from her own trauma hadn't seemed as confronting as it might once have been, once she got her head around it. A Trill's ability to compartmentalise perhaps went without saying, they were a species who had adapted to duality after all, but despite feeling alarmingly calm once the initial adrenaline spike had levelled out, Myra was still hyper-aware of all the directions her mind took off in, and the fact that at least some of those pathways were drawing information from personal experience rather than professional practise.
A trail of dappled skin, smeared with blood, exposed at the shoulder by an obliterated uniform and brought into sharper focus now that the fabric was being systematically cut away.
A blip from the monitor dragged her attention back to its primary focus, but her brow puckered, the itch of a half-realised suspicion not yet clarified.
The moment seemed to stand still for the Bajoran doctor but she tapped along the controls on the biobed surround, there was nothing more she could have done than be present. With a shimmer, the lifeless form of Rimal disappeared, leaving behind only charred marks and streaks of blood on the bed. Her breath caught as the biobed opened again, a stark reminder of what they’d lost. She lifted her gaze to the other beds, NVeid and Myra could be left with the situation in hand but bed three contained a face she hadn’t seen before.
A quick jog and a slide between Zorak and the bed she slipped her hand under Mason’s head, “We know you’re fine, we just need to make sure the fine isn’t hiding anything.” Her eyes glanced to Zorak, “I’ve got this, Savin is in the holodeck prepping for more casualties.”
The Bolian blinked, his ridged brow furrowing as he looked between the doctor and Mason. “Right, yes, you’ve got this,” he muttered, a touch of fluster creeping into his tone as he stepped back. His hands hovered awkwardly, unsure of what to do now that his efforts had been redirected. “I’ll, uh, check on Savin in the holodeck. More casualties, you said?” He paused, looking like he wanted to say more but thought better of it. Instead, he gave a brisk nod. “You’ll call if you need anything,” he added, his voice a little firmer as he turned and hurried off, his boots thudding against the deck as he disappeared down the corridor.
"Blood pressure is dropping. Administering ephedrine."
This time, Varin resisted the urge to avert her gaze and watched the slow yet inadequate climb in numbers with mounting frustration. Hypotension under anaesthesia wasn't uncommon for her people, there was plenty of evidence in her own medical notes to indicate a similar reluctance to cooperate.
Particularly when it came to blunt force trauma of the lower abdomen.
The burst of inspiration was enough to tear her gaze away, startled eyes flitting towards the surgeon. "Check there's no glandular damage." She gestured towards Zade's stomach, where the imperceptible fold of skin masked an internal incubation system primed for elevated blood flow.
"Good thinking," the Romulan hybrid praised softly. While a surgeon, there were species he wasn't that well versed in and if asked he'd have to admit he had never performed surgery this extensive on a Trill before. "At least she isn't joined...that would've been catastrophic. We'd be working to save a symbiont instead of her."
It wasn't a statement that Myra knew how to respond to. The implication that Zade's condition was somehow fortunate by comparison to another hypothetical complication hit too close to home and the young Trill clenched her jaw to force herself to focus on the woman's vitals. "If she took any sort of significant abdominal impact, there could be damage to the suprarenal arteries. Genetic predisposition to complications in the area," she added by way of explanation. "Right side," she further directed. "The host site presses right against the artery there."
NVeid only nodded, his focus on stemming the directed bleeding.
Moving up to see the outcome of Ellison’s scan Ame passed him the dermal regenerator and collected the other device to tend to Mason’s ribs. “Zade is in good hands and Rimal… Rimal is being taken care of.” Her lips pressed together briefly as her eyes met Ellison’s, the weight of unspoken words heavy in the air.
There was something she wasn't telling him, from the look on her face, he just knew. There was a certain vibe in the air he couldn't quite define, so he just gave a minute nod. "She's in bad shape," he whispered, "I couldn't dig her out that was too dangerous and I couldn't see Iska. I don't know what happened exactly, one second I'm behind Zade and the next I'm thrown away like a rag doll. I think my suit is damaged, and I don't remember taking my helmet off but I must have...." He closed his eyes as he tried to rub his cheek, wincing as his left arm refused to cooperate. "I got shot at... I shot the enemy..." He looked up at Ame, shifting gaze between her and Marcus. "Did you get him too? He's badly hurt too, he was bleeding." He shook his head again. "Just help Zade and Iska," he repeated, "I'll wait, I won't go anywhere... but please tell George where I am? He'll be worried..."
Marcus took one look at Ame, recognizing that hint of somber professionalism, then spared a very brief glance at the empty biobed behind her that was already being self-cleaned. Three transported in, but only two of the security officers were still present, and the amount of blood remaining on the bed suggested that not all three would leave sickbay. "Senior Chief, they are being cared for as we speak," Marcus said, turning his attention to Mason's burns. The man was clearly stressed, and he figured that the news of a fatality could make an already anxious patient unable to sit still. He was sure to keep his tone gentle, despite the ongoing alerts happening behind him in the sterile field. "The three of you were the only ones we received."
It took a slow and tentative movement for Ame to wrap her hand around Mason’s, setting down the regenerator with her other, to try and intercept the phaser in his hand. Her fingers found the setting, setting it to low as she couldn’t reach to deactivate fully from her position. “I’ll make sure we let George knows where you are and that you’re okay. He’ll be glad to have you out of here.” This was her first interaction with him, and it wasn’t even about baseball. “Let me take this for you.” Her lips pressed together in the best reassuring smile she could manage.
Mason surrendered the phaser without argument, letting it drop into her hand. "Thank you ma'am," he murmured, "then he got away...but I doubt he'll get far." He fell silent, staring off into the distance, listening to the various alarms going off around him. Sounds he couldn't place no matter how hard he tried.
The beeping behind Marcus stopped, prompting him to quickly turn his head. Silence was either a good thing or a very bad thing. Above the biobed, the indicators on the monitor were no longer in orange areas. While he couldn't read the exact numbers, Zade's vitals were low but no longer critical, and he silently congratulated his peers behind the sterile field with a quiet sigh of relief. She wasn't his patient, however, so he quickly redirected back to Mason's burns, finishing the one on the shoulder.
Mason turned his head as the burning in his shoulder was suddenly gone. "I guess if got lucky, didn't I? I only got thrown aside...I think..."
"Lucky, indeed." The lack of presence in Mason's words, in addition to the unfocused stare, prompted Marcus to glance at the monitor above the bed. "His pulse is a bit high, Doctor," he pointed out. It was about normal considering he just came out of a stressful situation, but normally it would have started returning to normal by now.
Ame carefully set the phaser aside and picked up the osteogenic stimulator to work on the cracked ribs as indicated by the biobed. The analgesic had done its job, and the physical damage was almost resolved, the silence on the other bed caused her to glance over Ellison’s shoulder. Completing the last rib she paused for another hypospray to help handle the effects of shock that Mason was experiencing. A careful press and hiss to send the drug through his body.
The moment of silence from Zade's monitor was only that, a moment. While very subtle, nearly imperceptible, her battered form seemed to relax into the biobed, and at the same time a new alarm began to sound. The jarring noise that sounded for Iska sounded again, creating a new urgency behind the sterile field.
NVeid narrowed his eyes as alarms started blaring and he muttered something in his native language the UT refused to translate. "Ensign, I need you to focus on stopping the bleeding, while I focus on repairs. Can you do that? If you feel faint at any time you'll need to let me know. But I can't complete this without your assistance. You're my extra pair of eyes and hands."
The only response was continued compliance. There would be time later, perhaps, to ruminate on the unlikelihood of her first surgery involving injuries she was so personally familiar with but Myra had shut down her emotional response to focus on information recall. At the time, they had told her it was stupid to fixate on her treatment records but there was only steely vindication in her expression as she pushed a hypospray loaded with prior knowledge into Zade's neck and then moved down to stand opposite NVeid, accepting the hemostats from him.
In the moment without noise, Marcus repaired the cheek burn on Mason and also found a cut on his head that he also fixed up. He was prepping to work with Ame to remove the foreign objects when the jarring "someone is close to dying" alarm returned, making him tense out of a mix of surprise and dread. "Alright, Mason," he said, his voice slightly strained as he focused on ignoring the new emergency behind him. The last thing Ame or their patient needed was the nurse losing focus. "You'll feel some tugging as we remove these debris pieces. If you need a moment, let us know."
"You could just sedate me," Mason whispered absently as listened to the alarms. It didn't sound good at all, whoever they were working on. "I don't know how bad it is... I'm not feeling any of it, I wasn't aware of it until you told me." He briefly made eye contact with the nurse. "Shouldn't I get out of this suit?" Was he even still in his suit? He felt so disconnected right now, so unsure of what had actually happened. The tension in the air told him something was going on and they weren't telling him, but his own confused mind wasn't able to connect the dots. And why was it so hot here? "Can I have some water?" He asked softly, "I don't feel so good..."
They worked fast, NVeid couldn't remember a surgery that was so life threatening. Well he could, but it wasn't one he had been the primary surgeon. "Our priority is saving her life, her symbiont pouch will have to wait. It is severely bruised, and I'm detecting haemorrhages but there's no immediate risk of ischaemia. We'll keep watch."
Eventually, at some point, there was hope that Myra would recall the man's own experiences enough to view him as sympathetic to the plight of the disabled. In the moment, the casual disregard for the potential loss only another Trill could truly understand sent a cold shiver down her spine. Once again, she sent the reaction elsewhere, and kept her eyes on the updated scan results. "Blood pressure is stable but still within range for hypotension. She'll need another transfusion if her numbers drop again."
"Keep supplying fluids," he suggested, "plasma and packed cells. We can't risk another drop, her heart won't take it. You seem to be our resident Trill expert, I need you to keep me informed as I know too little it appears. I have stopped the bleeding but the situation is precarious. We need to start repairing her ribcage now, or her lungs will keep collapsing on us. As soon as she's stable, we'll focus on the pouch." He made a mental note to himself to seek his current assistant out after this. Given her knowledge as she showed it, there was much he could learn. But there was also something else, things he sensed at brief moments that were intense but just as quickly disappeared.
“Do you need more hands?” Ame called to the other bed, leaning over the one in front of her to activate the infusor built into its surround. The symptoms of shock and the surge of adrenaline could be dangerous, “I can understand why you’d like a drink, right now I need you to ride out all this adrenaline. Once we’re through, I’ll get you that water.” She was calm, again her eyes flicked up to the readouts overhead to assist with the debris listening out for a reply from bed two. His request to be sedated would have thrown more issues than she cared to think, he wasn’t trying to move so it wasn’t required. Her attention moved to Ellison, “I’ll patch as we go.” She confirmed to him quietly.
"Yes, Doctor," Marcus responded, grabbing the tools he needed to remove the debris.
Mason didn't immediately answer beyond a faint nod. "How are Lieutenant Zade and Ensign Iska?" He asked softly, after a few seconds of silence, trying to remember if he had asked before or not. He winced as they touched a particularly tender spot, but tried hard to hold still otherwise.
How the hell could Marcus explain to someone in shock that one of his crewmates was dead and the other was dying?? He briefly looked up from the embedded debris he was in the middle of removing to try and seek nonverbal guidance from Ame, but her attention was divided between retrieving the removed objects and keeping tabs on the chaos right behind him. Looking to Mason, the nurse put an assuring hand on his shoulder. "I know you're worried about them, Mason, but trust me when I say they are in good hands. You did your duty to get them to us so we can treat them."
Mason nodded, yes, he has done his duty but he couldn't help but wonder if he shouldn't have left her side. But what did he know, he was only a field medic aside from his regular duties. He was no medical officer.
NVeid didn't look up from his work, he couldn't afford to. "You can monitor her vitals," he answered, almost curtly. "Or provide her with more fluids."
Choices were being weighed in the Bajoran’s mind, Mason’s body was clearly fighting everything he’d already been given to try and get him to a position of rest. There was a clear struggle on the other biobed and the risks were unevenly matched. Ame patched as Ellison removed the deeper pieces of shrapnel, quick to stunt bleeds and keep an eye on the former Marine.
Looking back to Ame, Marcus said, "there's only a couple pieces of debris left, I can finish here." The rustling of fabric behind him told him how quickly his peers were working, and therefore just how delicate the situation was.
Ame nodded and moved from her station. “Scrub me in.” She commanded as the nurses scrambled to get her ready to assist with NVeid. Positioning herself at the foot of the bed she began a fluid infusion and monitored all readings.
With a third pair of eyes on the scene, Myra hesitated a moment before glancing at Ame and then attempting to focus on keeping her hands, still holding the clamps, steady. "I'm worried about adrenal hemorrhage," she quietly informed the Bajoran. "She's unjoined, there should be no isoboramine in her system."
The Bajoran’s hands remained steady as she worked. She was there to support and monitor. “No sign of isoboramine.” Ame confirmed with a glance toward the Ensign, “Adrenal haemorrhage is a possibility, but right now her vitals are stabilising. If we push too hard or too fast, we’ll risk destabilising her again.” Carefully she adjusted the fluid levels watching for the faintest changes that could snowball.
"Stabilise first, repair later," NVeid suggested carefully, "we can do further repairs one at the time but for now I recommend on replacing fluids and stopping internal bleeding." He briefly glanced up towards Myra, who seemed to be their resident expert on Trill. "Unless Miss Varin has different suggestions, then I will defer to her expertise."
The sterile field deactivated with a soft shimmer, instruments retracting like quiet sentinels retreating from their task. Ame peeled off her gloves, the scent of antiseptic and blood clinging to her skin, a haunting reminder of the day’s grim events. Exhaustion, a deep ache in her bones, tugged at her, yet the weight of responsibility kept her shoulders locked in place. She glanced at Myra, the young Trill's face pale with fatigue, her eyes reflecting the ordeal they’d just endured.
"Ensign," Ame addressed her voice creaking with exhaustion, "You did well. Get some rest. We'll need you again in the morning."
Her gaze lingered on the young officer for a moment, but her attention soon shifted back to NVeid. Their eyes met—no words needed. He’d been there when it mattered. "Thank you for your help," Her lips pressed together, struggling to find what it was she wanted to say. "I'll leave Zade in your capable hands for the night."
The hum of Sickbay faded as she slipped out, the heavy door closing behind her, offering a brief silence that felt almost sacred. She made her way to her office, the weight of the day pressing in on her, familiar and unyielding. She sank into the chair, worn leather giving little comfort against the bone-deep fatigue. A sigh escaped her lips, and she activated her console, the cool light casting faint shadows over the tired lines beneath her eyes.
Her fingers hesitated above the keyboard, a moment of stillness before the familiar task of compiling reports began. Each keystroke felt heavy, burdened with the gravity of what they’d faced.
"Senior Chief Petty Officer Mason Malone: Second-degree burns to the cheek and shoulder, two cracked ribs, several minor lacerations. Treated with dermal regenerator and osteogenic stimulator. Recovering well, discharge to follow." George had been contacted as promised and at last he had found some rest.
Her fingers lingered over the next entry. The weight of the words settled like stones in her chest. "Ensign Rimal Iska: Fatal injuries sustained. Cause of death to be confirmed with further medical review."
A brief pause. Her eyes closed, a wave of exhaustion and something heavier threatening to drown her. But there was no room for that now. She could not give in to grief, not yet. There were others still depending on her.
"Lieutenant Didrea Zade: Moderate concussion, three fractured ribs, dislocated shoulder, minor lacerations and contusions. Ruptured splenic artery, repaired. Symbiont pouch bruised but intact. Recovering in the intensive care unit."
Ame leaned back, her hands pressing into her face for a moment, willing away the fatigue that clouded her thoughts. The console’s light reflected in her eyes, the faint lines of time and responsibility etched deep. The day had tested her, her team, yet they had saved a life. That, at least, was something to hold on to.
A message blinked urgently on her screen, but she ignored it, unwilling to break the fragile peace. It could wait. For now, she sat in the darkness of her office, allowing the silence to be a balm, if only for a moment.
