Aftermath

Posted on Sun Jul 26th, 2020 @ 3:24am by Sublieutenant Seira t'Reiza & Centurion Nancy Gable & Lieutenant Kaol Ralaa

2,393 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Chapter I: Resurgam
Location: Remains Of The Colonial Flotilla
Timeline: 238612.21

Disjointed voices filtered into Seira's hearing as it faded back in, followed by light through her eyelids and blurry shapes that somewhat resolved themselves as she slightly blinked her eyes. The more aware she became though, eventually led to the last clear memories she had--fire and debris and pain as she was pinned to the ground by fallen metal--and her eyes went fully open and wide, shifting without thought as if to free herself...Then stopping abruptly with a gasp that bit back crying out further, as pain shot through her body; and as she finally came to herself enough to truly take in her surroundings.

Nancy was passing by, half-staggering honestly after so many hours of surgery and emergency care, and heard the sharp gasp. Knowing how Romulans were, she quickly administered a pain-killer before there was any chance to object. Amputation left a level of pain that even the most stoic shouldn't accept, especially since the psychological impact would be more than enough pain to have to handle. "Rest," she advised. "You were badly injured, but you're going to survive."

The pain dulled slightly, but so did Seira's vision, images that had finally started to sharpen blurring at the edges again. "...Who attacked us...? What..." Somewhere in the barely-coherent reaches of her mind, beset by pain, blood loss, shock, and drugs, years of military training kicked in enough for her next words: "...What happened, ma'am?"

"I wish I knew," the doctor sighed. Other than determining that the ship was beyond the attackers and so more casualties wouldn't be streaming, she hadn't much time to consider tactical matters. "Based on the boarders I saw, I'd say pirates, but I haven't heard anything definitive. It's over though. Right now, we're just focusing on recovery."

Kaol looked up from one of his other patients when he saw motion from one of his first patients during this entire fiasco. He sighed as he remembered the moment he realized he had to amputate the young Romulan's arm. He had gone toe to toe with his Chief Medical Officer, confident in his abilities to give the arm a fighting chance... only for Gable to be right from the start. He wasn't sure what made him feel worse: failing his patient or being wrong. He felt like crap, especially in this instance, when both resulted in the same outcome.

He made his way to the young woman, nodded at Gable as he addressed his patient, "Hello. My name is Dr. Kaol Ralaa. Your injuries were severe when you came to Sickbay. I did everything I could, but I was unable to save your arm. Your body took quite some punishment and it will be a long road to recovery, but I'm going to make sure you get the best medical care possible. You should rest. But do you have any questions for me?"

Tracking what the doctor said was far harder than normal, but that wasn't the only reason it took a moment to comprehend what he was saying. By the time Seira did, at the end of Ralaa's words she didn't respond with questions, but with an automatic, perhaps somewhat desperate set of movements, bringing her arms up to sweep aside the thin blanket covering her. Only the left responded, and revealed bandages covering her abdomen and her right hip and thigh, with no time yet for more involved regeneration treatments....and swathing her right shoulder, which ended abruptly. Another spike of pain at the motions involved to reveal things wasn't nearly as successfully suppressed in reacting to as before; and Seira's cheeks flushed dusky olive against unnaturally pale skin, embarrassed at the whimper and sob that escaped her, like a small child, not an officer with two superior officers present and dozens of subordinate crewmen no doubt also patients nearby.

Under normal circumstances, this would be the end of any assignment one held at the time: Personnel this badly wounded were returned to more advanced medical facilities in the core worlds, with the capacity for more advanced treatments and prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation that might eventually return them to duty. But that would be impossible now; returning to the fold of the full Empire proper at this point would not only mean abandoning the cause they had sworn themselves to, it would also likely lead them to execution, not salvation.

She tried frantically to get her voice under control before she spoke, but despite her best efforts it still nearly broke on her next words as she looked up at Ralaa and Gable, shame settling into her stomach beneath the bandages at the fact that she was fairly certain the tears she tried to hold back in the corner of her eyes would be noticeable still. "...What happens now, sir?"

Nancy's heart went out to the young woman, but she knew well enough by now that any show of comfort would only make this more difficult. "At the moment, you rest. Once you're more stable, we'll work on designs for a prosthesis and after we get to better facilities, the doctor here will attach it," Gable said with a nod to Ralaa.

Kaol smiled at his patient, not out of any pleasure, but because she needs to see a friendly and confident face. He has seen that look before, it's one that he was desperately trying to avoid having to see: a young officer with their entire life and career ahead of them, suddenly faced with a life changing injury, and the risk of not being able to get back to a level of physical capability that they have trained their entire lives to get to. "We will get you back to duty as soon as your body is ready. What Dr. Gable did not say is that better facilities or not, I am the best doctor in this quadrant," as he winked at Gable. "So when I say we will get you back to duty, I mean it. When it's time," he pulled out a PADD from his pocket and showed it to her, "I have some excellent ideas on the prosthetic. Now get some rest and if you need anything or have any questions, just have a nurse come get me. It doesn't matter if you just want to vent, cry, or curse at me. I'm here for you."

Gable rolled her eyes at the bragging - she would make a point later of reminding him that she had been the one who had been right about the arm - and then had restrain a different reaction at the rest. She had never seen a Romulan doctor say anything of the kind, and looked at patient, trying to read her reaction since that kind of behavior would make even some humans worry that their outcome was in doubt.

Inasmuch as she could process it all right now, Seira found Ralaa's first words and most that followed reassuring. His last, however, threw her for a loop; he sounded more like one's trusted uncle than one's commander or doctor; and it once again confused her and left her feeling off balance...not to mention reminding her it was entirely possible she would never see her own such family again; not only for the threats facing their people, but because she was uncertain as to what their judgement of her involvement in the cause at hand would be: She could very well find herself disowned, or worse; and had to push that thought aside as best she could in her current state, taking refuge finally in the only response she could be certain of, to any of this. "Yes sir."

Kaol's smile never wavered, "Don't call me, 'sir.' I'm your Doctor, not your superior. We are in this together. And if anything, I work for you. This is a lot to take in. It will get worse before it gets better. But I'm here, every step of the way, okay?"

And that reminded Nancy so much of a human medic she'd known, that she found herself eying Kaol's hairline, halfway expecting to see hints of blonde roots. If not for the arrogance, he could be Gunnar with an MD. No, that wasn't fair - Gunnar wasn't that oblivious to normal Romulan expectations. "What he means is, since he considers 'Doctor' a superior title, he'd prefer it," she said tartly. "And he'll be available when he's not tending to the several dozen other wounded we have here, but you've got nothing to worry about because you are going to be fine."

Kaol shot Gable a look, wishing she was a Betazoid, because he had some choice words for the CMO that shouldn't be spoken in front of his emotionally fragile patient. How dare she try to belittle his care for his patient!? Does she think this is a game?
Does she think so little of him as a medical professional that she finds it appropriate to antagonize him in front of someone who has been entrusted to his care? Does she want him to wave a bat'leth around like her? "And each and everyone one of them will get the best care that I can provide, Dr. Gable," he responded curtly.

Seira tried to parse the strange dynamic between the Centurion and the Lieutenant, but whatever she'd been given was continuing to take further effect every moment, making it harder and harder to concentrate. She stopped trying, finally; letting her eyes drift closed, and herself drift off into a drug-induced haze and slumber.

Gable looked at the patient just long enough to be sure she out before turning and looking straight up at Kaol. "You had better provide each and every one of them the best care the self-proclaimed 'best doctor in the quadrant' can provide, Lieutenant. Otherwise I'll put your medical skills to work scrubbing bedpans."

Kaol double checked to make sure his patient is unconscious before turning to Gable. "I don't know what the hell your problem is with me, you bat'leth wielding psychopath... but I do NOT appreciate being talked down to. You may be my CMO and you may very well banish me to scrubbing bedpans, but you will NEVER question my dedication to my patients or my skills as a doctor. Check their charts if you want," he waved at the rest of the patients in Sickbay. "Triple check for all I care. I have dedicated my life to my patients and none of your ridiculous posturing and backhanded comments will change that," Kaol shoves Seira's file into Gable as he storms off.

~You're just lucky we need doctors or I'd smack you upside the head with that bat'leth...~ Nancy headed right after him. She'd been a nurse before a doctor and her tolerance for prima donna surgeon tantrums was practically non-existent. "I don't need to check a damn thing. You may be a decent doctor, but you were wrong about that arm, and if you'd listened to me you might have had time to save more patients. So I will question your skills and your judgment, not to mention your vainglorious self-assessment of dedication." Kaol might be Romulan and head taller than her, but size and strength meant nothing when she had her back up, not to mention her Klingon blood up. "Don't imagine I don't care about these patients as least as much as you do - I stepped up and defended them." She scowled at him. "And I don't freak them out by being overly solicitous. These are Galae soldiers - they don't expect to be coddled; not unless they're a lost cause."

"Vainglorious?" Kaol scoffed. "Do you seriously think I'm in this for vanity? I don't give a damn what kind of soldiers they are. This can be a room full of assimilated Klingon Borg and i will still treat them all the same way. Everyone that enters through those doors deserve a chance to walk out of here in the same condition they woke up to this morning. Sometimes it doesn't work out that way and it grates at me that I couldn't do better for them. If you could only see past your pettiness, you could've figured that out about me... instead of wasting both of our times with this ridiculous discussion. Just because I don't run around picking fights doesn't mean I won't stand up to you." Kaol is utterly flabbergasted at the audacity of Gable. Is this what being in space does to people? Make them lose their damn minds?

"Iff'is is gonna turn into a duel, don't think you 'ave enough space...." The raising voice tones just-barely roused Seira just enough to speak the slurred words, half aware, without even opening her eyes.

Gable been about to make a comment about how it was hard not see vanity in a self-proclaimed 'best doctor in the quadrant', but at Seira's murmered comment she burst out laughing - a response borne of exhaustion and the absurdity of the situation as much as the fact that she was about a hair away from breaking his jaw. "Don't worry," she grinned. "It wouldn't be much of a fight. Now you," she looked pointedly at Kaol, hands on hips and head rocking side to side as she spoke, "get back to work and prove you have any right at all to stand up to me, because so far your mouth is writing chits your talent can't cover."

Kaol took a calming breath, "Finally, you're talking some sense. Now stop waking up my patient and let me do what I do." If this is going to be his life from this moment forward, he was definitely starting to regret signing up for this. If it wasn't for the patients and the need for good doctors out here, he would've gone back to his practice as soon as he saw Gable appear with a bat'leth. Absolute insanity.

Doing what he did seemed to amount to bragging and insubordination, but Gable let it drop. For now. She had no idea how he'd lasted this long in the Galae without being flayed alive for that attitude, but either he was a Senator's son or a better doctor than was so far evident. Right now, however, there were other patients to tend to.

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