A Healing Hand

Posted on Mon Apr 15th, 2019 @ 12:49am by Ensign Fiona O'Dell & Lieutenant Asa Dael & Lieutenant Mona Gonadie & Ensign Briaar Gavarus

Mission: Detours
Location: USS Hera, Deck 12, Sickbay
Timeline: 2396

With the duo of errant test pilots rescued and recovered, they were brought aboard, where both very politely requested to remain in their EVA suits until they got to sickbay. As both were still currently swamped in their own waste, neither really wanted to live it down on the flight deck, nor in decontamination. Plus, one look at O’Dell’s injuries and the flight crew medic insisted she be taken to Sickbay to remove her half-melted gloves, which had been fried by the electrical surge that had racked the small craft.

It had been a quiet day in Sickbay so far. Doctor Asa Dael was reviewing a birth plan with the two primary nurses assigned to the delivery when the two pilots came into Sickbay. They appeared unsteady on their feet, and Asa couldn’t help but wonder what their EVA suits hid. Jogging over towards them, the doctor directed Ensign O’Dell to bed 3 and Ensign Gavarus to bed 4, drawing a privacy screen around the duo.

“OK, so, before I start peeling off suits and potentially causing more damage, I’m hooking into the readouts on your suits to get an idea of what’s going on. While I’m doing that, would one of you like to describe what happened?” the doctor inquired.

Before they could respond, Mona came in, worried and fluttering like a bird over the two. "Oh my goodness! You two are lucky to be alive! Doctor, are they going to be ok? No, wait, I'll be quiet. If you need any help, just let me know." Reading the situation a bit better, she calmed down and composed herself.

Sitting uncomfortably on bed 4, Ensign Briaar Gavarus fidgeted in the EVA suit she desperately didn't want anyone to know she had peed in. Still, the generally irritable Tellarite was more worried over her friend in the other bed. "I'm fine. Nothing really happened to me, so just make focus on O'Dell, really."

The protest was somewhat weaker than her usual complaints as her attention was split. "But... we were taking the Cyclone for the scheduled warp test, on the assigned route, when we hit what the sensors reported as a quantum filament. We lost all power and fell out of warp..."

Nodding understanding, and seeing nothing urgent on Gavarus’ display, the doctor could also hazard a guess as to the reason she was still in her suit. Those medical sensors really did record full vitals- including fluid amounts. Not wanting to embarrass her, Asa hatched a plan.

“Ok Ensign, please go to medical suite 1 and change into a spare uniform. Feel free to use the replicator and the shower if you like. I know a burst of hot water always makes me feel better after a shock, I’m willing to bet it will help you too. Once you are dressed, please return so I can give you a full exam. Hit the call button if you need anything, ok?”

"Uh..." was all Briaar Gavarus muttered out as she shuffled to her feet, watching O'Dell in the other bed. "Aye... Aye, Doctor." Reluctantly, she clomped out to medical suite 1 as requested, looking back over her shoulders as she went.

Turning to O’Dell, Asa saw the melted ruins of her gloves.

“I’m going to have to take these off, and it’s going to hurt. A lot. So first things first, I’m going to deliver a sensory blocker through your suits med-port. You may feel dizzy or disoriented, and your spatial processing is going be well, wonky, for lack of a better word. You ready to proceed?” Asa’s tone was professional but caring, they would save O’Dell from what embarrassment they could also, but taking care of her electrical burns would need to come first.

“Aye, Doctor. When we hit whativvir it was, it caused a feedback surge that arced from the point of contact through the flight control yoke, up one arm and down the other, and out into the ship’s computer, and everything in between got a wee bit crispy fried,” O’Dell reported. “Me gloves sealed it oop, but it, ah, it hurts all through and… “

Holding out her gloved hands, the hard points showed considerable scoring, and a few of the fingers of the gloves were fused together. When she picked her arms up, the pilot winced, clearly trying to be stoic about the pain as her fingers twitched and the left hand spasmed a bit. The armor’s self-sealant was evident in both palms, as well as a patch on the left hand that had been applied in addition to the self-sealant.

“I’ll be able to play the harpsichord agin, aye?” she asked, trying to make a joke to make light of the damage. “And, as I’m sure ye kin tell, I could really use a decon shower too. I, uh, didn’t do so good when it all hit me…”

“I’d be surprised if you didn’t have a reaction, Ensign,” Asa said in a consoling tone. “Let’s get you patched up first, then you can shower away.”

Removing the glove proved a bit difficult as the sealant was reluctant to release its hold, and parts of the glove were melted to her skin and took off the top layer of skin or two in the process. After a bit of finagling, Asa had cut off the top half of Ensign O’Dell’s armor and was carefully maintaining a neutral professional face as they inspected the damage.

For her part, O’Dell tried to be stoic, but failed rather spectacularly. Tears flowed freely and even through gritted teeth she whined and cried out on more than a few occasions. The more she saw of her hands as they were slowly extricated from the ruined gloves, the harder she cried despite her efforts to comport herself as an officer.

The lightning patterns crisscrossing her skin spoke of high voltage electrical contact, and created a web of pain over O’Dell’s arms and chest. The hand that bore the brunt of the current’s exit from the body showed extensive nerve damage and a hole piercing through the palm of her still-spasming left hand. After glancing at O’Dell’s cardiac pattern, Asa administered additional pain blockers and cardiac stabilizers. The doctor then applied biomimetic gel to stimulate growth of tissues in conjunction with the tissue knitter they were already preparing while the gel dried.

As the whirring of the dermal regenerator worked in Asa’s hand sounded, the doctor asked, “Are you having any difficulty breathing? What is your pain level on a scale of 1-10?”

“Me breathin’s okay, sir. Joost… it hurts a fair bit. It was aboot an 8, now tis aboot a 6 maybe? Me arms hurt, me chest hurts, me head hurts and I’m cold and wet and I smell godawful. But I’m g’win ta be okay, right? Ye can patch me oop, right?” There was a none-too-subtle hint of desperation in the puny pilot’s voice, though she was trying to be positive.

From the other room, Gavarus came rushing out at the sounds of O'Dell's pain, still trying to tug the spare uniform down over middle her as she stumbled slightly. "What's going on?! Are you going to be okay, O'Dell? Why is she, Oh my gods, What the HELL!?"

“Aye, Ensign, you are going to be ok,” Asa said soothingly. “A 6 is still a lot of pain, let’s see what we can do about that before we continue, ok? I’m going to heal the skin on your back first so you can lie back. When you feel me direct you to do so, please recline- but not until then.”

Facing a panicked Gavarus, Asa said smoothly, “She’s going to be fine, we are working on it now. Stand with Ensign Gonadie please, I’ll be with you shortly.”

“It’s okay, I’m okay… joost… I’m joost, ye know, being a big baby aboot it, that’s all. The Doc’s got me,” the tremulous voice that came out of O’Dell as she tried to reassure her fellow survivor wasn’t terribly convincing, but she made the effort and even summoned up a smile that didn’t last.

After grabbing a nearby numbing wipe, Asa gently wiped it across O’Dell’s back, removing any particulates as they went and numbing the skin against the healing process to come. The combination of nerve and dermal regeneration at the same time was often uncomfortable, but Asa endeavored to minimize that as much as possible. The electrical burns were not as intense across O’Dell’s trunk, but Asa was still glad to have them healed before the Ensign went to lay down.

“Ok, lay back for me now please,” Asa said softly, guiding O’Dell’s head to the correct position on the biobed. The movement sparked an increase in blood pressure and respiration, signaling the movement was still painful.

“I’m going to administer a more heavy duty painkiller now. This one also has a muscle relaxer and anti-spasmodic effect, so you are going to feel like you are made of jelly. No need to fear, that’s all part of the process, ok?” Asa said, preparing the injection in a series of easy movements.

Turning to take in the rest of the room, Asa said to Mona and Briaar, “Shoo for a moment, ok? It’s time for a bit of privacy here, but I promise to come back to you as soon as I can.”

For her part, the anxious engineer looked over at Ensign Gonadie, then back at Doctor Dael then over the O'Dell in a mild panic she was trying to contain. "Uh... um... yeah... uh... aye." Gavarus stuttered, as she stepped back.

“I’m in good hands, ye great lummox. The Doc’ll fix me oop right as raid, nivvir ye fret!” the pint-sized pilot chirped, forming her cooked digits into as good a thumbs-up as she could manage under the circumstances.

"Right, Doc?" the wee redhead asked under her breath.

"Right," Asa said with a smile.

Mona nodded and motioned for Gavarus to follow her over to one of the biobeds. "Don't worry, Doctor Dael is the best in Starfleet. Now, I might not be a medic, but I've gotten a fair bit of practice with a tricorder and various regenerators if you don't mind me looking you over while they're busy."

Rolling her eyes, Gavarus was irritated by the undue attention but relented with a sigh. "Fine, but I'm telling you, I'm fine."

Then facing O’Dell, “I’m drawing the privacy screen now. No one is going to be able to see around this biobed. I am removing the rest of your armor and I’m going to use the numbing wipes to clean you off so we can complete treatment. I know your instincts are to be embarrassed, but please don’t be. It’s just me, and part of medical training is seeing everything firsthand, and bodily fluids are part of everything. I do need to make your skin sterile though, and this is the most expedient way. Ready?”

Blushing deeply, already embarrassed to have been exposed as much as she had been, the miniature Mariposian nodded. The asexual doctor was built not dissimilarly to her, and between that and the frail physician’s reassurances, O’Dell felt secure with them, particularly now that it was just the two of them. “Aye Lieutenant. Whativvir ye say.”

Offering a smile and pat of reassurance, Asa set about removing the ruined armor and sanitizing and healing the burns on O’Dell’s skin. As the dermal regenerator clicked off, Asa withdrew a gown from the storage drawer of the biobed and helped the ensign drape it across their exposed underdeveloped form. They gathered the ruined armor in a heap and wrapped it in a sheet, depositing the lot in the nearby matter reclamator along with the used numbing wipes.

There, no evidence of any embarrassment left for friends waiting to see her to see Asa thought.

“OK, it should hurt less to be touched now, so I’m going to set about correcting the nerve damage. You also have a few fractures along your ribs that we are going to set to right. Before we begin, any peculiar sensations or tastes?”

“Mmmm all good, Doctor. Daaaaahhctor… doctorrrr… thas a funny word, aye?” the pixie pilot grinned ear to ear as she lay down, wincing slightly but clearly feeling relatively no pain, as her low body weight had been easily overcome by the more aggressive painkiller. Lying back, she began to ramble as the doctor went to work on her injuries. “She saved me life oot there y’know. Ensign Gavarus. She’s a big scary looking spalleen, boot she’s got a heart a’gold that one. She’s m’friend…”

“Friends are good. OK, so pain level negative seventy trillion, let’s let your friends in before they have an apoplexy,” Asa said cheerily.

Dropping the privacy screen, Asa turned to the other two, “Ladies, if you would care to join us, I was just about to begin regenerating nerves and healing bones. But Ensign O’Dell is feeling just fine, better than fine actually, if you would like to go first Ensign Gavarus?”

The anxious Tellarite barely needed approval as she nodded frantically and stepped quickly to the side of the bed. "O'Dell? How are you doing? The Doctor says they gave you the good stuff?"

The pale white face surrounded by the mass of even frizzier than normal curls post-electrocution lit up at the sight of the big Tellarite woman. “Briarrrrr! Brrrrriarrrrr… thas funny because yuir like a briar patch, all thorny an’ prickly.” The diminutive drugged dame was clearly feeling no pain.

Stifling a snorted laugh, Briar bit her lip. "Yeah. That's the good stuff, alright. I should have told them you get drunk off of synthehol."

“So I need ta… I naad ta tell ya something, aye?” Noting the somewhat bemused expression on the face of the titanic Tellarite, the munchkin maiden frowned a bit. “Now doan, doan be lookin at me like that ya great beastie, or I’ll climb up there ta give ya an earful. But I’m bein sher- I’m being sherioush. Your my fren, Briarrrrrr. Yer me bes’ fren, an ye saved me life oot there. If it’d been joost me oot there I’da died alone in the black an’ they might never’a found me. But ye saved me, cuz we’re friends an I love yeh, ye great duine mor stook...”

It was clear that she was reaching by the last bit, as that definitely wasn’t Federation standard.

"I caught maybe twenty percent of that, Fiona. But I'm not about to let you die so you get out of getting chewed out by Lieutenant Dox. Look, nobody else on this ship will put up with me, Leprechaun..." Her voice cracked somewhat unexpectedly, feeling somewhat overwhelmed in the moment, "So you're stuck with me, like it or not." Gavarus had the broadest smile it was possible to have with her thick, pig-like jowls.

“An yuir stuck wi’ me, ya grumpy oversized leviathan of an engineer, cuz no one else wants a pilot who needs a booster seat for a pal. Hee hee! Thas a funny but isss true, Ah do need one. Doc’s fixin me all oop, me hands dinna hurt n’more…” Looking at the raged hole in her palm, Fiona’s eyes opened wide again. “That’s prolyl fuir the best… hey!” Hey hey hey! This’s important.”

"Have I gone anywhere? Talk to me. What's wrong?" Gavarus replied.

“Y’have to tell Chief Gonadie that the de-cen-tra… luh-zation of the critical systems is essential, we found oot in testing. Cuz if the main computer blows she’s like a country boy- all bull an’ nae brains,” It was abundantly clear that while it might have been pertinent, the tiny test pilot’s priorities were not currently firing on all cylinders. “So you gotta tell her that. S’super important, cuz s’a design flaw that near got us killed, so she’ll want to know. S’nae her fault, she dinna build it all, but she needs ta know. She won’t be mad, she’ll wanna know. So you gotta tell her, in case I dinna make it. Aye? Aye? Aye?”

"Fiona, she's right here. She hears you. It's all good." Gavarus nodded.

Mona pulled out a small PaDD and jotted down some notes, mumbling to herself. Move the planned triple redundant power system upgrade up on the schedule... reinforce that... rewire those... remove more Romulan leftovers..."

“No one is dying today, and everyone is going to have plenty of opportunities to profess their undying love later…“ Asa said patiently with a smile, “But for now, let’s get those nervous systems functioning again so we can get O’Dell here off the pain meds.”

Nodding, Gavarus stepped back away from the table to let the doctor work, grinding her teeth slightly in her frustration of being useless in the moment.

They set about regenerating nerves, healing fractured bones, and resetting the delicate neuro-electrical balance in the ensign’s body. Soon enough the spasms in her hand had stopped and she was no longer in danger of neuralgia. The adrenaline that had flooded O’Dell’s system was back to normal parameters, and the risk of shock had passed. All that was left to do for the little sprite was rest.

“That should do it,” Asa said brightly, “You will need to come back in 48 hours to have your reflexes tested, but you should be just fine, it’s just a precaution. I want you on light duty for the next 2 days also. Your body has been through a lot, and it needs time to rest to get you back to 100%. I also want to know about any issues with sleeping, eating, or flashbacks to the event, understood?”

The pipsqueak pilot nodded solemnly, still clearly stoned on pain meds, but she flexed her hands experimentally. Seeing them respond and feeling no pain, she hugged the petite physician who was still bigger than she was. "Thank you, Doctor," she whispered in the physician's ear. Protocol clearly wasn't high on her priority list at the moment. "Ye saved me hands, ye saved me life. I'll ne'er forget this."

Returning the hug gently, Asa said, “I sincerely believe you will not remember most of this, but you are welcome. Piano will be excellent physical therapy for you by the way, I look forward to hearing you play.”

After slowly extricating themself from Ensign O’Dell, Asa began to scan the looming figure of Ensign Gavarus.

“You seem….better than expected, honestly. How are you feeling?” they inquired.

Still focused on O'Dell, Briaar peered over Doctor Dael's shoulder as they talked. "Huh? Oh, I'm fine. I said I was fine and I'm fine. I took some of the power feedback, but it was much less then her's and my suit absorbed it. I'm fine. Thick skinned and all. She's going to be okay, though?"

“She’s going to be fine,” Asa replied smoothly, “You can go sit with her now, if you like. But I warn you…the pain meds won’t wear off for another 4-6 hours- perhaps longer considering her size. She will likely be quite, um, friendly? Until they do. Same orders for you, by the way, check reflexes in 48 hours, and I need to know immediately about any sleep or eating issues, or flashbacks to the event, aye?”

"Yes, Doctor. I will, all right?" Briaar was letting her frustration get the better of her and she was getting snappy.

"Doan ye be snarly ta the nice doctor who patched me oop or I'll gnaw off yuir kneecaps!" the stoned sprite threatened, sliding slowly off the biobed, toes probing to seek a ladder or step that normal people would not need. As gravity won out, she landed on her feet, then regained her balance by leaning against the bed. Blowing the mop of bright red curls out of her face, the little leprechaun took a step forward, only to faceplant against the tall Tellarite's hip.

"Ah may need a weeeee little bit'o help getting back to me quarrrrrters..."

Holding O'Dell steady, Gavarus smirked slightly. "Look at it this way, O'Dell. If you DO fall, you won't have far to go. I've got you."

"Um... Sorry, Doctor. I didn't mean to... Uh... get 'snarly'." Gavarus tilted her head slightly as she pushed out a strained apology which was something she was unaccustomed to doing.

“No need to apologize,” Asa said, smiling in amusement at the pair, “I get snarly to protect people I care about too. Just be sure to take care of yourself too, ok?”

Mona chuckled softly as she finished making notes and tucked the PaDD away. "Thank you, Doctor. Do you mind letting me know when they're both cleared for duty? It seems we have a lot of work to do on the Cyclones and I'd rather do it with these two lovebirds."

"We're joost good friends!" the pocket-sized pilot protested, her brogue thickening. "People kin be that, channow. Joost good friends." Patting at the large three-fingered hand on her shoulder holding her up that was bigger than her head, O'Dell smiled beatifically as she leaned into it. "Ah do loove ya, tho. Yuir mah beeeeeest frien."

"Oh, for the love of... I'm going to have to carry your tiny ass, aren't I?" Gavarus smirked as O'Dell leaned against her.
"C'mon, Leprechaun. Let's get you to bed."

"If Ah had inny dignity left, I'd be right mortified," the lightweight lass mused as she was toted like luggage.

"There's always sensor logs... I'll show you when you're sober."