KO'd

Posted on Mon Dec 30th, 2019 @ 11:23am by Emergency Medical Hologram (Adam Power) Mk X & Ensign Briaar Gavarus & Ensign Fiona O'Dell & Petty Officer 3rd Class S'Rina Wil'I'Ams & Petty Officer 3rd Class V'Nus Wil'I'Ams
Edited on on Tue Dec 31st, 2019 @ 11:43am

Mission: Neutral Zone Neutrality
Location: USS Hera, Deck 12, Sickbay, trauma ward
Timeline: 2396

There were sounds, but they all smeared.

There was light and dark in front of her eyelids, but only dimly perceived flashes.

Briaar was there. She was upset and cursing a lot. Fiona wanted to wake up to get in on whatever row she was having, but she realized it was because she was hurt again.

Stewwwwwpid. Yeww were stewwwpid and ye let yer guard doown. Klingon nailed ye like hittin a tree at 90.

Like havin a tree hit ye.

Hah! S'funny.

Wish I could tell Briaar.

I've got to wake oop or ah'm g'win ta slip into a coma.

Alreet, git oop ye lazy layaboot! Slackerr! Guid fur noothin! G'wan, ye scallywag, shove off and get a move on!

Calling up the memories of her father rousing the household, the Mariposian maiden struggled to rise to the surface, to consciousness. Even as her arms came up a bit and she tried to rise off the biobed, her eyelids fluttering.

"Okay, so she's got a concussion! You're a super hologram frickin' SPACE doctor! UNconcus her for f*** sake!" Briaar Gavarus shouted, her cheeks still wet and her eyes red and puffy from the tears that were still flowing. "Shit!!! She's coming around! She's moving and shit."

Nudging the photonic doctor without thinking, the towering, two-meter tall Tellarite engineer went to the side of the bed in a panic, biting her bottom lip as she wanted to touch her tiny, red-headed life partner but held her hands back out of fear of hurting her further, "Fee! You're gonna be okay. The doc is here and he's gonna fix you right up, okay?!"

"FIX HER RIGHT UP!!!" She shouted at the photonic physician, her porcine puss contorted with emotion and tears.

“Briaaaar,” O’Dell managed to croak out. She wanted to tell her poor girl to calm down, let the doctor do his job, to stop beating herself up over the testbed failure. But struggling toward consciousness, she lacked the capacity. Instead, she pawed at the darkness until she felt the rough, calloused three-fingered hand of the temperamental Tellarite. Gripping it with all her strength, she held onto that lifeline as she fought against the pounding in her head, to rise and wake.

No O’Dell was ivvir a quitter, and ye dinna get ta be the first! the memory of her father groused in her mind, and Fiona O’Dell tried to push back against the pounding in her head. Git oop, ya drunken sot! Briaar needs ye!

In Sickbay, the little redhead groped about until she found the hand of her partner, and wrapped her small pale fingers about one of Gavarus' fingers.

Feeling Fiona's tiny hand in her own, Briar leaned over and lightly cupped her own thick hands around that week grip as gently as possible. "Fee, I'm right here. The doc'll have to have security pull me out of here. I've got you. I'm not going anywhere, just relax. It'll be okay."

Then she whispered under her breath, trying to fight back the panic at the circumstance she blamed herself for, "It'll be okay... It'll be okay... It'll be okay...

"D... D... Doc... Make it be okay." She pleaded with the holographic doctor. "This is all my fault. I had the forcefield regulated but it reached the upper level of its input vector and it didn't compensate like it was supposed to by increasing its power output. I... I missed something in the sensor input or... I don't KNOW! But I screwed up and this shouldn't have happened! That hit never should have gotten through! I thought I accounted for everything!"

As she spoke, running through the scenario in her head and trying to figure out what went wrong, her anxiety continued to spiral, sobbing. "This is why I should have never left Tellar Prime! My mom always told me I'd screw something up and someone important would be hurt because I don't know what I'm doing. S... S... She was right. I'm just a f*** up. I shouldn't be here. I... this is all my fault. Fiona's... she's so much better than... She deserves better... This shouldn't have happened."

"Ensign Gavarus, you do your race credit with your contributions to this ship and with your... rough demeanor. However, I insist that you allow me to do my job as I see fit," Doc Power, the EMH, berated her as he readied a hypo and injected it into the midget Mariposian. "Her physiology is quite unique even among her own people and if I overdose her, she'll pop out of here like a mad squirrel on espresso and hurt herself more than she already is, not that a mild concussion is anything to worry about in this day and age."

Sliding aside just enough for Doctor Power to get in, but not relinquishing her grip, Gavarus sniffled and nodded. "O... O... Okay, Doc. Sorry... I... She's gonna be okay, though, right?"

"Perfectly fine. Just no heavy lifting, no alcohol, and limited duty for at least a day," Doc powers added as he studied the biobed readouts before adjusting the hypo and injecting just a tiny bit more of whatever cocktail was in it. "Her brain was pretty rattled so if any signs of dizziness or nausea crop up I want her back in here immediately."

“S’alreeeet… Briaaaar… m’okay…” O’Dell managed to get out as she struggled to open her eyes. “Joos a lil… hard ta… wake oop… ana doozy... of a... hangover...”

"FEE!!! You're okay!!! Oh, thank gods! And the Doc! Holy f***in' SHIT!" Briaar exclaimed as she leaned in and hugged the tiny test pilot on the biobed.

"Mrrphrglr," O'Dell responded, smothered in the hug. Gingerly she reached up and patted the thick meaty arms of the prickly pig who'd been through the emotional wringer. "Course m'okay, m'a test pilot. S'what we do, aye? Figger out how ta break stoof so no one else can, aye? Shhhhh, s'alreet, s'okeee, nae harm done. M'in one piece- she dinna knock me block off, and the Doc'll git me back oop ta snuff. Shhhhhh, saaaalreet, there there."

Trying her level best to stop crying, Briaar leaned back just enough to give her Lilliputian life partner a little air and wiped her porcine snout on her sleeve. As she spoke, the words were stilted as she gasped between each word like a child trying to talk and cry at the same time. "I... I was... *HORK*... so... *HORK*... so... *HORK*... worried! I'm... I'm... *HORK*... so sorry, Fee. I'll... I'll... *HORK*... figure out... figure out what went wrong."

"Ah think it was too many comin too fast, and when the big gel switched to full strength the compansators weren't ready, an' they reset. If I understood yuiur technical manual on it, that's what happened. We joost need to tewak the compensator's variable for a wider variable of input. least, that was me thought." As a test pilot, O'Dell read the technical manuals and understood what she was testing, in order to be able to effectively push it to it's limits. Thus when the technology failed in testing, she had input, instead of simply shrugging and leaving the work to others. Which was part of what made the unlikely duo such an effective team- both respected and contributed to one another's craft.

"S'nae yuir fault, Briaar. S'okay, I'm alreet, and we have ta get back to testing, aye? And we have to let Petty Officer S'Rina know she dinna kill me with one punch, aye?" Patting her emotionally overwrought other half, O'Dell patted the emotional engineer. "Doc, kin we go now?"

While she most certainly did not feel up to it, Fiona O'Dell was often determined to prove herself, and this occasion was no exception. If the doctor cleared her, she would return back to work. It would reassure all parties involved, and it would increase the odds that the project would continue, which was her idea to begin with.

The holographic doctor rolled his eyes as he moved off to take care of some other busywork. "You'll make a wonderful senior officer, Ensign O'Dell. You're already ignoring medical advice. As much as I'd love to keep you under observation and make sure you get another few hours of rest... Just please do your best not to strain yourself, hmm? If I see you in here again because of foolishness, it's going on your record. And remember, no heavy lifting, no alcohol, and limited duty for at least a day."

"And you," He fixed Briaar with a scowl and a pointy finger. "If she so much as looks dizzy, I want her back in here. Understood?"

Straightening up, the towering Tellarite wiped her snotty snout on the sleeve of her uniform again, sloppily as she sniffled. "Y... yessir, Doc. I will. I'll keep an eye on her for sure. Both, even. I promise."

Rolling over to get out of bed, the wave of dizziness that struck her had O'Dell clinging to her partner's beefy bicep for support, and her stomach began to rebel. Trying to push through it to make a show of being fine, the background headache came crashing to the forefront and spots danced before her eyes. Easing herself back onto to biobed, Fiona mustered a sickly grin as she spoke in a particularly strained and squeaky tone.

"Wahhlll, maybe I should listen to the Doc and give it a few hours layin' doown, joost ta be sure, aye?" Eyes closed to stop the room from spinning, O'Dell scooted over in the biobed and patted the empty space. "C'mon, Briaar. I dinna think there's inny regulation against it, and I'll sleep better if yuir here, so climb in, aye?"

Biting her bottom lip, Briar tried to conceal her concern and emotions, but let out the lightest of sighs, glad Fiona was deciding to rest, rather than push herself too far, as was her habit. And though the biobed was small and fitting her massive posterior on it next to her partner would be a struggle and a half, she did so happily.

Tucking a meaty arm under Fiona, Briaar awkwardly scooched onto the biobed, which creaked slightly in protest at her prodigious girth. "W... we're gonna have to lash together like frickin' otters to not fall off this shit, but yeah. Y... y... you need to get some rest, Fee. Here go."

As awkward as the fit was and with much of her ass hanging off the bed, it just felt good to know Fiona was in her arms and was going to be okay, so Briaar let out another sigh, and a legitimate smile crept across her face for the first time in hours. "Crunching the data can wait until tomorrow, and I'm sure Jaeih won't mind watching Minnie a bit longer."

"Aye we'll bribe her with a night oot or somethin'," Fiona agreed as she yawned, snuggling against the portly panic-stricken porcine. It took all of three minutes for Fiona to have curled up, as was her wont, tucking herself in close to her paunchy partner in a compact fetal position. It gave Gavarus more room on the narrow bed, and in short order Fiona was out light a light, sleeping soundly- secure with her bestie beside, her, making her feel safe from harm with her reassuring presence.

With a hint of a smile, Doc Power activated the privacy screen around the biobed and dimmed the lights. "Let me know if you need anything. I'll let command know you'll not be back to work today."

-----------------

Hours later, two Klingon warriors strode through sickbay, bickering in whispered Klingon.

"I do not wish to do this thing, my sister. I do not think you are right about how it is supposed to be handled in Starfleet. They have... HR." S'Rina invoked the dread subsidiary of Ops that transferred, assigned or reassigned based on 'the needs of Starfleet'.

"Nonsense, sister. Nothing occurred that will require the involvement of that department, particularly if you address the situation now." V'Nus said as she walked slightly ahead of her reluctant sister that had inadvertently injured the tiny test pilot during the test earlier in the day. "And you and I can grapple all day and all night, but that will not quell the voices that are vexing you, sister. This must be done and there will be no better time than now."

"This is an honor thing, isn't it?" the thick and muscular Klingon woman growled in her native tongue, spooking a nurse as she passed.

"It's simply how these types deal with things, sister." V'Nus gestured with her head to the biobed where Fiona was tucked tight against Briaar's belly. "They are... emotional creatures who need reassurances. And we work with them, so their ability to trust us is essential to our tasks in security. Thus... you need to... speak... to them."

"So SPEAK." V'Nus rose her voice and pointed to the biobed, where the space swine was snoring rather loudly behind the sound-dampening privacy screen. Rolled onto her side out of practicality. O'Dell was curled up between Gavarus' belly and snout, with one hefty arm laid protectively over the ginger girl.

"They are both sleeping. I should come back later. You know how they get when they get woken up by a Klingon," S'Rina began, mimicking the surprise, shock and often terror on the faces of their humanoid shipmates upon waking up in surprise to a Klingon. Head tilting, her ridged brow furrowed in consternation. Eyeing the scene, the warrior without a house attempted to understand the tableau. "So the big one protects the little one, while the little one takes the risks, is that how it works? I do not understand these two, but... this. Seeing this, I think it makes sense."

"Indeed. They are... strange. But we have seen them work in the gym, argued with them. The large one builds the contraptions the small one tests. They fight for each other with honor and let their passions drive their... odd behavior. And for one so small, she has little fear." V'Nus said with narrowed eyes and a smirk, "I shall wake them if you fear her reaction, little sister."

"I fear nothing!" S'Rina snarled, then lowered her voice to speak again. "I know of what you speak... I could see the fear in the little one's eyes when she faced me, but she did not shirk nor avoid the danger. They are odd, but in their own way, they are honorable. As ill-equipped as she is for battle, the big one was ready to fight me had I not stood down. It was worthy." Sighing and shaking her head, the younger of the two sisters growled in her chest, frustrated by the demands of honor and the fact that she felt badly for accidentally injuring the little one, which had clearly traumatized them both.

Stepping in through the privacy screen, Petty Officer S'Rina debated how best to wake them, and settled on calling them by rank, as both were the same level of junior officer.

"Ensign. It is Petty Officer S'Rina," she barked lightly, trying to find a line between her authoritative 'Security' voice and something not quite so intimidating, which was most certainly not her strongest suit.

"SNORT... Huh, whazzit...." Briaar muttered groggily as she began to stir. As she did, she began to lightly roll and her ample ass started to slip off the biobed. "Ohshit!"

Reaching over her diminutive partner, she grabbed the other end of the bed and stabilized herself, noticing the Klingon woman with the strange expression while she inadvertently buried Fiona's face in her ample bosom trying to not fall. "Shit... What? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Mmmphhrrnngrndrmrph!" O'Dell shouted in muffled tones into the ponderous breasts of her partner, each of which was roughly the size of her head. Squirming her left arm free, Fiona 'tapped out', a pre-arranged signal that they both knew 'back off, I can't breathe/you're going to break some part of me/Staaaahhhp'. As the tubby Tellarite gripped both sides of the bed she shifted her weight to roll off the midget Mariposian, O'Dell gasped in a seemingly exaggerated grateful, sucking, groaning breath of air. When she slept, her respiration was shallow and she needed far less oxygen than when awake and frantic.

Despite herself, and despite her reason for being there, the eyes of the Klingon warrior opened wide and she laughed at the sight. It was comical on a number of levels, but the interplay between the two was genuinely comical to her, and she could not help but laugh, which in turn brought both of the parties on the bed's attention to fix back to her. Then it was O'Dell's turn to pop her eyes open in recognition, and she reached out a hand to the Klingon security officer, waving the hand in a lassie-faire manner.

"I know, ye feel terrible and ye dinna mean ta hurt me. Nae, nae, nunna that. ye did exactly what ye were supposed to do, and in the test the equipment failed. At a bad time, aye, but twas nunna yuir fault by any measure. I dinna blame ye and ye're nae allowed to either. Ye stopped, didn't ye? Soon as the field failed? Then there ye go. Ye followed orders. Well done, Petty Officer."

"I asked ye ta do it because yuir good, and I trust ye. I still do, and I want ye in on the second round of tests, aye? We figure oot what went awry this time and we fix it, then we try again. Tis the way, nae?" The scrawny experimental engineering aeronaut nodded with a cheerful smile that sold the sincerity of her words. To her it was simple practicality. "Besides, now I can claim to have taken a full punch from ye and lived, aye?"

Scooching up a bit, Briaar put a leg down to the deck to help support her not insignificant bulk a bit easier as she rubbed the back of her neck, which was more than a little stiff from sleeping awkwardly on the biobed, "Well, I think the field was still absorbing some percentage of kinetic energy, but I'll have to look over all the... uh... the data. Yeah."

"Sorry I freaked out at you, Petty Officer." The anxious Tellarite hemmed and hawwed. "Thanks for not knocking MY block off for it."

Looking at her sister with a raised eyebrow, V'Nus simply nodded and deferred to the more emotional of the two sisters to decide what to say.

Raising her chin, S'Rina looked down at the space hig who was struggling to manage a graceful egress from the biobed. "You... spoke with passion, and... there was strength in your words. I... respect you for coming to the defense of your... other. You owe no apology for acting..." S'Rina shot a questioning look to her sister, who half-shrugged, half-nodded.

"Honorably. You acted with honor, so owe no apology. I followed orders and also acted with honor, and should not feel guilty about harming the Ensign. I sought to make it right if there was bad blood, so my honor is still intact." S'Rina listed it all off, attempting to navigate the maze of Klingon honor structures as her sister, ever the expert, nodded to the affirmative at each point.

"Aye, so coom back to the gym in the mornin' and we'll try agin, aye?" O'Dell grinned as she helped push her pudgy partner off the biobed. "In the meanwhile, Ah think I need to git Gavarus here to a proper bed, or she'll be a pretzel in the mornin. We're cleared by the Doc- kin ye let the powers thet be know we're off to quarters and checkin' oota Sickbay fuir us?"

Watching the odd could lean on one another as the little one took care of the big one, S'Rina shook her head. "Yes, Ensign. I will check you out of Sickbay." Turning to her sister, S'Rina switched back to Klingon.

"Honor is complex, sister. But love... love, it would seem, is very, very odd."