Medical Preparation

Posted on Wed Nov 21st, 2018 @ 4:23pm by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Lieutenant Asa Dael

Mission: Escaped Pantheons
Location: Main Sickbay
Timeline: 2395, en route to the Galactic Core

Walking down the corridor towards sickbay, Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie Dox had a little less spring in her step than usual. The festivities of the earlier evening and one too many Romulan Ales were still lingering with the young pilot, but it was nothing she couldn't manage. To anyone who hadn't witnessed the impromptu karaoke session that the ships doctor had engineered the night before, everything would appear perfectly normal with the short, rotund officer, but she was still feeling it.

The doors hissed open as Dox arrived at the U.S.S Hera's sickbay, holding in her arms a somewhat clunky looking flight helmet. She didn't immediately see the ships Chief Medical Officer, Asa Dael, so she announced her presence. "Doctor? Good morning, I'm here for the consultation I asked about in yesterday's memo."

The previous evening did a world of good for Asa. They had been planning that little ambush since the first meal shared with Lt. Dox when she mentioned a love of metal. That so many officers had been in attendance and participated only added to Dael's pleasure with the evenings events.

Hearing their name, the doctor bounced out of their office. "Good morning! How are you? That was so fun last night, thanks for playing along! You were great!" they enthused.

"So, what can I do to help you today? You feeling ok? You look a bit tired. Have breakfast yet?" the doctor inquired. Somehow the first thing they offered was always food or drink, but so far no one had complained.

"I'm okay, Doctor. Thanks, and no thanks. I just had breakfast." Dox replied with a smile. "As for being a little tired, one does not drink if one is not prepared to pay for it the next morning. I hydrated well afterwards, so I avoided a hangover, thankfully. I'm just a little tired, still. I've not been getting as much sleep, as usual, the last few days is all."

Changing the subject slightly, as Dox didn't want to linger on the fact that she's been being woken up by nightmares for the last few nights, she instead held up the helmet in her hands. "I brought the flight control helmet I mentioned. Ensign Gonade designed it to create a 360, view of space while flying that enables a pilot to see as if the ship was essentially invisible. It also projects in the color spectrum as her species sees things." Dox placed the helmet on the table next to where she was standing. "The problem is that the sensory input is extreme and tends to cause nausea and migraines with prolonged use. I need to calibrate it to my own brain and, hopefully, figure out how to get past nausea and headache problem if it's going to be useful for our upcoming mission."

The doctor nodded and leaned over to pick up the helmet. They scanned it quickly with a medical tricorder, and then pulled up a PaDD to review the details on the differentials in color spectrums across species.

"Right, well, first thing- help me understand, what is the advantage to providing you with additional color spectrum inputs? That's going to definitely cause migraines, no two ways about it, your brain just isn't wired for that. Help me understand the tactical advantage, and maybe we can adapt it. As for the motion sickness, I have a theory or two, but I would need to see this in operation. Will it still function effectively in here?"

"Yes, it should. It still has a hardwire connection for quicker data transfer with the ships sensors, but it can attach to most computer data ports on the ship." Dox gestured to the tied up cable bundle out the back of the helmet. "As for the added spectrum data, Ensign Gonadie's species can percieve color on a spectrum so... advanced... that she can SEE what are essentially flow patterns in otherwise empty space. Like how birds can see air currents and hot air flow in an atmosphere." Dox began to smile, as talking about this aspect of flight brought out the excited pilot in her.

"It's all data our sensors can detect, of course, but for our upcoming mission the advantages of me being able to SEE these currents in real time could be... invaluable." The excitement was slightly burst as she chuckled slightly. "Which, of course, would be partly negated if I can't fly because I'm throwing up all over the helm."

"No, that makes perfect sense actually," Dael replied. "Often the first step in processing new information is learning what to call it. These colors are unfamiliar to you, therefore they are causing sensory overload. But if you have names for them, and learn to say them and focus on the properties and shades of each color, it will be less overwhelming. Ask Gonadie for the names of the colors- then let's program flashcards or something where you can work on identifying the colors one at a time, then two at a time, and so on until they feel more comfortable. It shouldn't take too long to learn once programmed. No different than learning about maroon versus red growing up, really."

"Now, the motion sickness," Dael continued, tricorder whirring, "That is something else. The crystals deep in your ear canal are what monitor your balance and ensure equilibrium. They operate based on the subtle movements of your head. However, since you aren't actually moving when wearing this, the micro-crystals do not know how to compensate for the shifts in perception. Early 21st Century Humans experienced the same thing when VR headsets first came more into fashion. Most of the holistic methods for addressing this aren't going to be enormously successful, but I posit we can program some nanobots to compensate the micro-crystals in your inner ear. They will sync up with the helmet and help you keep your equilibrium. Are you open to that solution?"

"Doctor, I didn't even know I HAD crystals in my ear, so I'm all for trying whatever you suggest," Dox replied, hopeful that the Doctor's suggestions would bear fruit. "And I'll touch base with Ensign Gonadie to talk to her about your idea. Thank you."

"Of course. If you like, we can go ahead and put in the nanobots now. They became standard treatment for individuals with chronic vertigo back in 2387, so it won't take a moment to go ahead and replicate them. Just a quick hypospray in the ear and they will find their home and we can check the efficacy?"

The doctor was already moving to the replicator as they spoke, preparing the replicator for its assigned task.

Watching as they worked, Dox's tone shifted ever so slightly at the thought of the hypospray. She genuinely liked Doctor Dael, but for reasons she could never quite articulate, medical procedures of any kind tended to make Dox uncomfortable. But she was determined to push past such nonsense in her head. "Thank you, Doctor. I've only got about two more days to get this system up and running before I'll be out of research time, so the..." She paused momentarily as her throat went dry. "...the sooner the better."

Sensing the tension in their friends voice, Dael moved back and took the seat next to Dox, placing their hand over hers gently.

"Hey, wanna know a secret? I hate shots. Absolutely hate them. Doctors aren't supposed to mind, right? But a lot of us do. It's never fun thinking something is gonna happen to your body, but I promise, this won't hurt. It's kinda like getting some air and a few water droplets blown in your ears. It feels weird, but no worse than when you touch something that's sticky for unknown reasons, or when your food is slimy when you weren't expecting it," they said with a smile.

"So, whaddya say? Ready to be a cyborg?"

Blushing slightly, Dox smiled at her friend and relaxed a bit. Thanks, Doc. I know that all in my head... But my stomach can't ever seem to learn it." She chucked awkwardly. "Cyborg me up."

“I get it, really,” Dael replied softly. Without further torture of the intrepid pilot, they put the hypospray first into Dox’s left ear canal and then the right, gently depressing a plunger that propelled the nanobots into the woman’s ear, where they immediately would sense the inner ear crystals and seek them out to attach to.

Doc moved back to sit next to Melanie and said in a low, soft tone, “OK, so the nanobots are doing their thing right now. We are just going to give them a moment or two to get nice and settled in before we talk above this tone, or until it’s a great idea to walk. You won’t even notice them once they are settled, but let’s just take a moment and rest right now, ok?”

Not waiting for Melanie to respond, Asa continued, “I have a thought on the migraine problem too. It’s a short term solution until Gonadie can work with you to fully define and become desensitized to all the new colors you are seeing. I can sequence your neural activity while you are using the helmet and determine ‘vibration’ you are at, so to speak, when the headaches start to come on. Then we can block the pain receptors that are acting in response to that vibration. It’s not a long term option- pain has a purpose in the body- but it will be safe enough to do for a few weeks. What do you think?”

Replying softly and slowly, Dox took her time as she was feeling stability come back into her brain after a few moments of vertigo. "Yeah... that sounds good, doctor." Her eyes gently shut to help her focus on her equilibrium resetting, she thought out each response to be as short and to the point as was possible. "I'll defer to your expertise here." But she was smiling at Doctor Dael, genuinely thankful to her friend for their gentile bedside manner.

Slowly, Melanie reopened her eyes and lifted her head back up to normal as she began to feel normal again. "Ooh. There we go. That feels better. Much better. Thanks, Doctor."

“Of course, that’s what they keep me around for after all. So, ready to try those bad boys out? Let’s do a quick test and let me see how everything is clicking, ok?” Dael replied, still speaking softly, but with a return to their usual jovial nature.

"Sounds good. Are we talking a basic coordination test or something with the rig?" Dox replied.

"Let's start with basic coordination, and then move to a full test of the rig. So, please go ahead and put the helmet on and see if you get any nausea or other motion sickness from the motion differential. Then we can focus on the pain receptors from the color spectrum," Dael instructed.

"Absolutely. Just one moment." Dox reached up and pulled the thick bun of auburn curls down to let her hair fall to her shoulders. Awkwardly, she chuckled as she picked up the helmet and put it on. "I have an appointment this afternoon with the ships barber. This this doesn't fit right with my hair up and it gets tangled in the cables and I'm sick of fighting with it." It was obvious that she was making uncomfortable small talk as the idea of cutting her hair made her nervous. "Anyway, plug me in to a data port, Doctor. Thanks." Dox felt around to the back, pulling the cables forward and fussing with a mess of hair already tangled up in them.

For their part, Asa laughed. “Well, we can both see I have an affinity for short hair. I’m sure it’s going to look great on you. Besides, if you hate it, we just give you a hair growth supplement or a fancy weave. I bet’cha the counselor would know some great styles, she seems pretty darn hair adept.”

After moving to pull the cables into a data port and seeing the pilot was settled into the helmet, Doc Dael said, “Ok, now start slowly and describe what you are doing and what sensations you are feeling. Disregard the whirring you hear, it’s just me being a nervous nelly and scanning you the whole time. Whenever you are ready.”

Without hessitation, Dox reached up and pushed the activation button on the side of the helmet. There was a quick humming sound that flaired up then faded back down as the projection filled her field of view. A perfect, three dimensional representation of space outside of the Hera as it was at that exact moment.

Of course, at that exact moment, Dox hadn't realized she was sitting facing the rear of port and was momentarily startled. "Oop. Hold on, this is weird. I'm facing the wrong way and space is warping away." She turned on the table to sit facing forward to the ships motion. "There we go. That's better."

The effect of Doctor Dael's nanobots was immediate. "The first thing I can notice is what I'm not noticing, Doctor. There's still some disorientation, but it's significantly reduced. Yeah, this is a big improvement so far."

“Good, I see readings from the nanobots, they are learning with you and adjusting. Is it possible to tilt you perception a few times and give them a run for their money? Let me know if the nausea increases and we can use a chemical solution also as needed," the doctor replied, tricorder in hand.

Turning her head towards the sound of the doctor's voice, Dox replied. "Sure thing. Um... Okay, do NOT laugh." She put her hands forward as if she was at the helm of the ship, and began gesturing side to side. As she did, she bobbed and turned her head accordingly, as if she were flying.

"Feels better. There's a little bit of... like a drag. Like my vision is a little slower then my head. A wobbly but much more bearable."

The wirring sound stopped for a moment, and Dox could hear the sound of buttons being clicked nearby, then a higher pitch short burst of whirring before the normal pitch resumed.

"OK, that should adjust that. You have slight asymmetry in crystal structure, but nothing the 'bots can't adjust to with a little help. Let me know how that feels and please turn on full spectrum color visuals and lets see what that does. Don't worry about looking silly, I think you forget who you are talking to," the doctor said, mirth in their voice.

Smirking at the thought, Dox replied. "Okay. Here goes." She reached up to a second button along the side of the helmet and pushed it. The projection rippled slightly as an entirely different spectrum of colors, generally invisible to most eyes flooded Melanie's perceptions. It was beautiful, but also overwhelming. "Yeah... Yeah. There it is."

Shutting her eyes almost instantly at the momentary sensory overload, Dox slowly reopened them to take it all in. After the initial moment, the visual information seemed to regulate a bit and the momentary disorientation faded. "There we go. It's getting better, Doctor." Dox proceeded to move her head around as before. "Yeah. Still... A lot. But much better."

“Ok….better is good….but your pressure spiked right before you first made the switch to full spectrum. It’s back down to within parameters, but the anxiety you feel dreading the migraines and sickness might be feeding into them. Either that, or the visual stimulation is causing an anxiety response. Or both…any way about it, I’m going to recommend a blood pressure regulation device be in use while you are using the helmet. It looks like a small bracelet that will deliver small doses of blood pressure through your skin if needed. The pain blockers can be delivered this way as well. Please continue as you normally would and let me know what adjustments you feel and if or when the pain starts. If you feel something touch your wrist, that’s just me, ok?” Dael spoke in a measured, melodious tone. They didn’t want Dox worrying unduly- but they were glad she had sought a medical opinion. Long-term spikes in blood pressure like that were not healthy.

"Okay. So... I just keep... um... pretending to fly here." Dox grinned a little aiming her head towards where she's marginally sure Doctor Dael was standing. The young pilot began adjusting her position and moving her head as if at the helm. "How's am I looking? So far, feeling pretty smooth."

"Yeah, gotta say, looks good so far. I know this feels weird. How long do you usually get before the migraines kick in? I want to make sure I program the med-bracelet for the right pain receptors to block."

Pausing to remember correctly, Dox replied. "My best time in running sims today was... 35 minutes."

The doctor ran some numbers quickly in their head, then came to a conclusion, "Ok, I think that gives me what I need. I'm programming the med bracelet to provide dermal relief to the mechanical and sub-chemical receptors along your ninth-facial cortex. Which, roughly translated, means no more headaches. In theory."

Dox felt a clasp of a bracelet around her wrist, gently touching the skin to make sure it made contact.

"This should do the trick. Wanna try it out in some sims and let me know? I have it programmed to take vital signs and record whenever it is turned on, which will happen automatically when touching your skin and the helmet is activated. Now, I'm also seeing signs this is going to impact your metabolism. That is to say....this is a huge drain on your system. I want you in here every week for vitamin level checks and to make sure there are no long term side effects as you go. And...eat protein. Lots and lots of protein," the doctor concluded.

"Will do, Doctor." Melanie pulled the helmet off tugging on her hair as she did uncomfortably. She muttered to herself lightly "Yeah. This has got to go." Then turned to. The doctor again. "Thank you very much. I appreciate you making the time for me today."

"Anytime!" Dael chirped. "Now get out there and fly us where we need being!"