Not All Medicine Is Laughter

Posted on Thu Feb 7th, 2019 @ 7:51pm by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Captain Enalia Telvan & Lieutenant Asa Dael & Emergency Medical Hologram (Adam Power) Mk X

Mission: Earthly Visitation
Location: Main Sickbay
Timeline: 2396, during Shore Leave

The Sickbay of the U.S.S. Hera was unusually quiet, with much of the crew away for much needed shore leave, but along the wall of bed, one was abuzz with activity. But Chief Medical Officer Asa Dael wasn't the physician running around the table this time. This time they were on it.

A supposedly relaxing day at a beach in Madagascar led to an extremely violent kidnapping that ended up with the ships young doctor the victim of multiple, agressive beatings, vicious knife wounds and a bullet holes.

At Asa's side, holding her hand tightly was their friend and fellow shipmate, Mnhei'sahe Dox. "Asa, honey. We're home. We're on the Hera. Everything's going to be okay. I'm right here."

Meanwhile, the ships hard working EMH and Nurse Vimes were at the table, checking sensor readings and trying to work around the red-headed Romulan who refused to leave her friends side.

"Did...did you see a green sphere of gas as we left? I..I think they got away, but Mnhei'sahe..those people," Asa said through their sobs, "They were going to sell us. We have to stop them."

The young El-Aurian had a death grip on Mnhei'sahe's shirt front, unwilling to let go, fearing somehow this was an illusion and they would wake up back in captivity on Mars. Asa stared at Mnhei'sahe though huge wet eyes, hurting but thankful their friend had come to the rescue like an avenging angel.

"I didn't see anything like that, Asa. Not when I was there or on my ships sensors. It was just you and the three attackers." Dox didn't mention the two bodies she picked up on her sensors. Whatever had happened, Asa would say so when they were able to.

"And don't worry about them. I... We have them in the brig and their transport in tow. You're safe and they won't hurt anyone else." Dox didn't want to add to Asa's stress by bringing up how close she came to simply killing all three of the attackers for what they did to them.

Sniffing, Dox winced slightly as her nose, broken in the fight, began to bleed again. She wiped the blood on her sleeve before Asa had noticed.

Smiling weakly, Asa slowly released Mnhei'sahe's shirt, relaxing a bit and replied, "They must have gotten away. Thank you, you saved us both. If we can find the person who hired them, you saved so many more, Mnhei'sahe. Do they need treatment? I...I dont know if I can do that."

"We'll find them, Asa. I can guarantee that." Dox looked into her friends eyes, reading the near panic behind them. She had never met anyone even half as compassionate as Asa Dael and seeing their pain put the young pilots stomach in a knot as she sniffled up a little trickle of blood. "But for now, let's focus on you, okay?"

Turning to the EMH working on them, Asa asked, "What's the verdict? I think that antiquated freaking gun nicked my tertiary kidney, it hurts enough to have..."

The EMH and Nurse Vimes were working as efficiently as possible, muttering to each other what they needed, having worked out a system between them to speed things along long before now. "Frankly my dear, you're lucky to be alive. Any other person, this sort of thing would have shaved twenty or thirty years off your life at minimum, if not outright killed you. Being El-Aurian, though... I'm sure you'll make a full recovery and live longer than even me."

He then took a deep breath and continued. "As for your injuries... We've stabilized your projectile trauma for now. The internal bleeding is stopped and the biobed is running a full body tissue knitter for your massive internal bruising. As for your multiple lacerations and cracked bones, we'll have to use the osteo-regenerators manually on them. Your tertiary kidney, I've had to patch. That's going to be sore for several weeks. You also have a chemical imbalance I can't explain and without knowing what drugs they injected you with, I won't be able to counteract them. We may have to just let that work out of your system naturally."

Listening to the list of injuries, Dox felt that knot of pain for her friend slowly turn back into anger as she thought of Asa's attackers. But for Asa's sake, she buried those feelings.

Letting the words sink in, Asa wondered how terrible they must have looked when Dox found them. They hadn't realized they were quite that close to death, it has all been adrenaline and survival in the moment. It took a moment for the Doctors final comment to sink in, but when it did, Asa realized what he might be saying.

"Drugs? Oh, no, none of that. There was a being made of gas they were trying to sell off... its, it's how they found me," Asa said weakly, "I had just met Vrildi when they swarmed. The leader sucked Vrildi into a pressurized, gravity enhanced holding container. When we were escaping, Vrildi sheltered in my body to evade recapture while they helped me get to the communications room. That is probably it... I have felt so empty and lost since Vrildi left. Our joining was so complete.. and now it's just me. I'm just here and I keep almost dying and maybe the universe is trying to tell me something you know?"

The words came out in a rush, before Asa truly knew what they were saying, but when they finished the sentiment it felt true. Asa reached towards Mnhei'sahe with one trembling hand, tears flowing freely and silently as they closed their eyes against the now harsh light.

At which point, Dox could no longer keep the tears from pushing out from her eyes. Taking Asa's hand and holding it flat against her own torso just below her right breast, Dox whispered to her friend. "It will never be just you, Ravsam..." she cooed the Rihan word for a sibling. "We're all here for you."

"You feel that?" Dox held her friends hand over her heart. "That's where you live. You live in here. And I'm not letting you go anytime soon."

Then the emotional Romulan turned to the EMH, speaking softly. "Doctor, that Imbalance... can you isolate it? Get us a sample or even some kind of energy signature. If this Vrildi was a target, we may need to figure out how to find them for Asa. Any information we can collect now might be crucial. Thank you."

Then Dox looked back at Asa. "And please, turn down the light for them."

"Thank you, Mnhei'sahe," Asa replied reverently, soaking up Mnhei'sahe's strength through their touch.

Looking between Asa, Dox, and Nurse Vimes, the EMH had no choice but to nod in aquiessence. "Ok... I'll do what I can. Computer, dim lighting to seventy percent and begin analysis of anomalous phyto-enzymes and compare to all known gaseous entities." As the computer complied, he set about with osteo-regenerators and scanners to make sure they got all of Asa's cracked bones while Nurse Vimes took care of her external lacerations and bruises. "Now please relax or I'll have to give you an extra dose of painkillers."


Favoring their physician with a weak smile, Asa tester their hands at their side as they tried to ignore the feeling of a broken body being knitted back together.

"Aye, Doctor. Sorry to be a bad patient, it's just been one heck of a day, " Asa replied. "Was my pituitary impacted? That might explain why I feel so... wonky."

The EMH nodded his head with a hint of exasperation. "It's bruised, just like everything else. Lieutenant Dox, do you mind getting the bottle of special medicine from the desk in the Chief's office? It looks like a small bottle of blackberry brandy. And find a small cup as well, please. Guess what else nearly ruptured?"

Turning slightly towards the Doctor, Dox stifled her immediate reaction of irritation. She didn't want to leave Asa's side for as much as a second and wondered if he was just trying to get her out of his way. But he was in charge the and she wasn't going to fight him on it. "Aye, Doctor."

But she leaned forward and kissed Asa on the forehead lightly. "I'm just running to your office for a second. I will be right back."

Then, hesitantly, Dox stepped back and walked quickly to Asa's office, wiping some fresh blood from her nose on her sleeve.


"Thank you," Asa replied to Dox, then arched an eyebrow in an approximation of humor at the EMH eternally enthusiastically exasperated expression.

"It's always the dang splenic kidney, isn't it? What's the verdict then, how long have I managed to bench myself? "

"I'm going to say bedrest for three days. Maybe four. I'll leave that to your discretion. Then light duty for at least two months. I also recommend counseling." The EMH finished up and nodded to Nurse Vimes. "The biobed should be done with the deep tissue knitting in about twelve minutes. While that's doing its thing, we should check on our other patient."

After a moment, Dox came out with the bottle she was sent to retrieve and a small cup. "So, this bottle that looks like blackberry brandy appears to just BE blackberry brandy."

"How very astute of you. Sometimes the best medicine is the oldest medicine." The british modeled holographic doctor grinned as he took the bottle and cup, pouring out a measured amount for Asa and resealing the bottle. "Nurse, if you could please see to the Lieutenant's injuries, I'll finish up here."

"Yeah...I should get back to Asa." Dox said, pearing past him to his friend on the biobed.

"Of course, Doctor," Nurse Vimes replied smoothly. The implacable nurse was a veteran of more than one wounded senior officer and knew how to keep her head on in an emergency. She could immediately see there was going to be no separating the CMO from the CFO, and simply brought the necessary tools over time where Dox was watching Asa.

"Look at me for a moment please. I need to set the bone first, would you like pain medication? It is highly effective but may leave you a bit woozy," the nurse asked Mnhei'sahe.

"Huh?" Dox asked, forgetting for a moment that her nose was broken. She looked over at Asa and didn't want to risk getting woozy and not being able to be there for them. Rolling her eyes for a moment, Dox just looked at Nurse Vimes, frustrated, as she replied. "No, just go."

Dox took a breath, cleared her mind and let out a breath.

Having received the expected answer, Nurse Vimes placed a thumb on each side of Dox's nose and with a crack realigned the bones. Before Mnhei'sahe had a chance to react, the nurse was working with an osteo-regenerator to repair the bones. Holding up a finger to warn Dox not to move, she then used the tissue knitter to correct tears to the surrounding cartilage. Then with a motherly pat to Mnhei'sahe's shoulder she went to check on Asa's vitals.

Wincing, as tears pushed out of her face, Dox sarcastically mumbled, "Thanks." before lightly rubbing around her nose, though not touching it directly.

The holographic Doctor shook his head and made sure Asa had a good grip on the small cup of brandy. "You take your time with this. The Captain is recovering in the radiation ward so I'm going to check on her and let her know you're aboard and being treated as well. I won't be gone more than a few minutes, ok?" With a warm smile, the EMH patted Asa's knee and headed back deeper into sickbay.

"Wait, what?" Asa called, but realizing they would be more of a hindrance than a help to the Doctor, Asa sipped the brandy slowly, trying not to make a face at the burn.

"Mnhei'sahe, what the hell is going on today? I went for a swim and wound up on Mars, you are flying to save me in a new, non federation ship, and the captain is in the radiation ward? How are you, by the way, I know Nasal resetting smarts," the weary CMO inquired.

Walking over to Asa's side, Dox watched the EMH as he walked away with a curious glare. "With the Captain? I have no idea. This is the first I heard of it too. When I picked up your message, I couldn't get through to her, Rita or Sonak. I had no idea why so I just took off and told the Hera to send back up."

Then, she placed her hand on Asa's leg, lightly rubbing her mended nose. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Bit of trivia, it gets broken a lot. As for the ship, it's mine now. A gift of the Artan Pirate family of which I was recently folded into as a Baroness under Schwein by the Captain."

"Congratulations, Mnhei'sahe. You deserve it and more, thank you for coming to rescue me," Asa said, leaning back in exhaustion.

A couple minutes passed after the EMH left before there was a loud crash.

“WHAT?!” The screamed question was loud enough to be heard through the security field and two closed doors. Moments later, the Captain herself came storming out of the Radiation Treatment Ward, her skin still splotchy from her recent burns, dressed in nothing but a minty blue medical robe and trailing an IV floating along hooked to her right wrist.

Her eyes were filled with death and rage at what she had been told by the EMH who was futilely trying to get her to calm down. “Please Captain, I insist that you return to your treatment.”

“Insist all you want! I feel fine!” Indeed, in her current state, she looked like she could easily tear the arms off a mugato if she wanted to. Enalia stood behind Dox's shoulder and looked down on Asa and Dox in full Pirate Queen mode, shadows seemingly warping around her to create an almost sinister effect that lit up her eyes with a thirst for death and vengeance. “Now... Tell me who did this to you so I can make them pay." As she spoke, the intent on her voice was clear. They would pay with their lives and they would suffer dearly as they did so.


Asa took in Telvan's appearance, noting the half drained IV bag and signs of healing skin. OK, no clue what happened but she is healing, and the EMH knows what he is doing. If you want her to heal, answer her questions. You can do this Asa, no tears. Just an officer making a report. Asa thought , emotionally and physically drawing breath before responding

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I don't entirely know. The kidnappers were led by a man named Jake, but he was a mercenary of sorts, procuring rare life forms for someone he referred to as The Collector. We were beamed to Mars with a Federatuon style transporter though, and there were signs of the abandoned hospital being in use for a bit, possibly as a base. Security may have gathered data from the scene, and I am willing to bet Jake will roll over on his employer. Speaking of, if he has been brought aboard he will need medical treatment. I recommend the Doctor only as Jake is a skilled combatant and may try to injure someone. I would also like to recommend Mnhei'sahe for a commendation. She...she saved my life, ma'am. If I may ask, are you well?"

Asa spoke in a level tone of voice, but their hands were trembling as they continued and to their shame tears would not stop flowing freely from their eyes. Having said their peace, the doctor dared to make eye contact with the Captain, hoping to gauge her reaction.

Enalia was burning with a cold anger that only those in similar positions to hers knew well. One of her people had almost been taken and had their freedoms stripped from them and she wasn't going to stand here and take it. "The Collector then? Baroness Dox, as soon as you're able, please relay everything about this to Baroness von Alcott. Have her interrogate the prisoners and... Handle... the Collector."

Being referred to by her title of 'Baroness' rather than as 'Lieutenant' was both slightly startling and expected at the same time. Dox knew this wasn't Enalia Telvan, Starfleet Captain. The rage in her eyes, so familiar to Dox, meant that this Princess Enalia Telvan of the Artan Family. And it meant people were very likely going to die for this.

And in that moment, though Dox had stopped herself from killing Asa's attackers, she felt glad in spite of herself. "Aye, Captain." Dox replied, coldly.

Enalia then looked down at her hands and relaxed, noticing that she'd been clenching them tight enough to cut into her palms with her fingernails. The look of surprise on the captain's face when she saw that showed that the cold rage surprised even her. "I uh... Yeah, I'm fine. Just some chroniton radiation burns. The main thing is that Rita and Sonak are still with us and perfectly fine."

"Captain, will you please return to your treatment now? Think of the symbiont..." The EMH rested one hand on her shoulder as if to guide her back to the Radiation Treatment Ward. "And now I have to treat your hands too?"

Snapped out of the moment by Captain Telvan's comment regarding the status of Sonak and Rita, Dox walked over behind the two as the EMH was trying to direct Telvan back. Her cold expression replaced now by concern. "Captain. I'm sorry, but what happened? I was with Ri... Commander Paris on shore leave just the other day."

The spotted and radiation burned woman let herself be shuffled off like some invalid at this point. "Well... You know how Starfleet Command has all those transporter pads all lined up in the lobby constantly going? She decided to take a tour and it didn't go well and Temporal Investigations got involved and one thing led to another and I had to go see Ambassador Spock in the past and the shard timeline she's from no longer exists..."

Following behind slowly, Dox froze in her tracks. "Oh my God..." She muttered as the blood flushed from her face. The fear she held on to for Rita Paris regarding transporters gripped her harder than any fear of her own. She stood, glancing at Captain Telvan and back to Asa. She thought of Rita who was like a sister to her. She thought of Sonak with whom she had shared the totality of her mind.

Standing in the middle of Sickbay in shock as the Captain was lead away by the EMH, the young Romulan realized that span of a single day, she had almost lost the four people that were more important to her than her own life. "T... Thank you, Captain. I'll talk with Baroness Von Alcott immediately."

"Thank you. I'll be in... Stop prodding me..." Enalia swatted at the EMH.

"I'm sorry, but if we don't get you back to your treatments as soon as possible, we'll have to add another twelve hours." The holographic Doctor ushered her as quickly as he could back deeper into sickbay.

Hanging her head slightly, Dox took a breath and stepped back over to Asa, standing by the side of the bed, struggling to keep herself from weeping for her friends benefit. Instead, she pulled a tissue from the table beside them and gently padded Asa's tear soaked cheeks. "Rest now, honey." Dox whispered.

Earlier that day, she stopped herself from murdering the three men that hurt Asa. But she didn't know if she could make that choice again and she wasn't sure she wanted to.

"I will...and I think we all need a vacation after this vacation," Asa said in a vain attempt at levity. They closed their eyes and let sleep claim them, time to rest now for tomorrow held concerns enough of its own.