Recovery

Posted on 12/05/2020 @ 12:31am by Captain Cian D'Anvers

Mission: S3E1: Time of Change
Location: USS Crazy Horse, Sickbay
Timeline: Day 42 at 0000

Tahlin fought through a wave of pain, blurry images, and sheer tiredness to find herself in Sickbay. Groggily, she looked around. "What hit me?"

"Don't worry about that right now, Lieutenant," replied Chet, loading a hypospray with a pain killer and pressing it to her neck. "Just concentrate on relaxing and we'll make sure you heal fully."

"Thanks..." Tahlin winced as the hypo took effect. "Sickbay... How'd I get here? I remember... We were on the station... Orions... Colonists... Somebody shot me, I think... Is everyone else all right? Did we get them all out?"

“I’m not fully sure because I came in when you were already here, but I would imagine it was an emergency beam out, if that was possible. If not, they’d have brought you back on the shuttle and beamed you to Sick Bay from there,” replied Chet, taking out his tricorder and running scans. “Everyone else is fine. Don’t worry about them.”

"Thanks... How bad is it? Just tell me--it'll only make it worse if you delay... How close did I come to entering the Celestial Temple?"

Grimly, Chet said, "completely honestly, I'd say five, maybe ten minutes? I suppose that means the Prophets weren't quite ready for you. They must have something important for you to do here."

Tahlin laughed, weakly. "I appreciate it, despite your antique humor..." She licked her dry lips. "Am I allowed to eat and drink?"

"Absolutely," replied Chet. "What would you like? The replicator makes a decent squash soup."

She wrinkled her nose. "Never cared for Terran squash... However, there's a Bajoran dish that's similar... Kava root stew, please."

"Coming right up!" announced Chet. And instead of sending a nurse or medical corpsmen to get it, he went himself. He returned only a few moments later with a bowl of the stew in hand. "Here you are," he said, setting it on a cart that he rolled over to her bedside. "It smells delicious!"

"Thanks..." Tahlin picked up a fork, and started to eat. "So, what's my prognosis?"

"I want to keep you overnight, just as a precaution," replied Chet. "And if you're willing, I'd like you to wear a health monitor for another day. And light duty for a bit, of course. But you should be just fine."

---

He'd already been once, while she was being treated, but now that things had calmed down considerably, Cian found the time to return to Sickbay to once more check up on Lae'Or's condition. He entered and looked around for someone who could direct him.

"Hello, Captain!" greeted a diminutive nurse as she approached. "How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Doctor O'Hamlin," he said. Sickbay, a truly terrible name, was one of those places where he had never felt quite at ease, tied as it was to injuries and pain. Still, he liked its Chief Medical Officer and the personnel under the good doctor's command were both professional and pleasant.

"Right over there," answered the nurse cheerfully, pointing to the private room with the open door where Chet could just be seen speaking to a patient.

"Thank you," he said with a grateful smile. He followed her directions and ended up with both Doctor O'Hamlin and Lieutenant Lae'Or, both of whom he had wanted to see. His gaze traveled immediately to his Chief of Security and he found himself relieved to see that she was awake and alert, clearly on the mend. "Hope I'm not intruding," he said as he stepped into the room.

"Captain!" greeted Chet cheerfully. "Perfect timing. I was just about to contact you to let you know that the Lieutenant is awake. And has an appetite, as you can see, which is a good sign."

"I see," Cian said and there was genuine warmth in his smile as he greeted her. "Glad to hear you're recovering, Lieutenant."

"Thank you, Captain... Things... Itch a bit... Skin grafts, right, Doc?" Tahlin asked Chet.

"Yes," answered Chet. "It should subside within 24 hours. I can get you an analgesic cream in the meantime if you like."

"I'll manage... Some of the religious rites I participated in as a teenager were a lot worse... Captain, how is the ship? Where are we? Did we get everyone out?"

"There's news," Cian said quietly. "Let's see. The Santiago is here and it will handle things from here. We're ordered back to Earth and are already en route. As to what happened on the station?" He ran one hand through his slightly disheveled hair as he said, "There's no easy way to put this so I'll be direct. Master Chief Boudreaux died on the station before the away team could get to him. They found Lieutenant Syndel, they'd apparently been captured, and the colonists, all alive. But well, Syndel, she ... killed one of the guards. One of the stunned guards."

Tahlin looked off into the distance for a long moment, eating mechanically. "I'll have to send a message to the man's family... As for the Lieutenant... She's lucky we weren't at war--that would be a war crime under interstellar and Federation law. I assume she's in the brig?"

"Yes, of course," Cian said. "She was sent to Sickbay under quarantine and then moved directly from there to the Brig where she will remain until we reach Earth."

The Bajoran turned to Chet. "I know I probably shouldn't be up and about yet, but I'd like to ask permission to at least check on my people, get a status report, maybe issue a few orders... Especially about the lieutenant."

“I’d prefer if you could do that from here,” replied Chet. “Although, I suppose I could put you in a hoverchair and send a nurse with you if it came to that.”

"It won't," Cian said with a slight shake of his head. "She'll stay put until you think she's ready to move about. We clear on that Lieutenant?"

"I wasn't planning on going anywhere, Captain, Doctor... Unlike some Starfleet types, I know when to calm down and stay put..." She winced. "Dammit, apparently, talking aggravates things a bit." She stabbed a bit of vegetable in her bowl as though to deal with her frustrations in a non-violent way... At least to flesh and blood/technical entities.

Cian caught the barb, of course, a sentiment shared by many on the vessel. The rumblings of the crew as word spread about Syndel's actions had become a whirlpool of shock and anger, outrage and disbelief, loyalty at war with personal values. The notion came to him that Lae'Or needed rest, time to think it all through, something he himself needed as well. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Lieutenant. Rest easy. Take the time to heal. We've got it covered for now. And now, if you'll both excuse me ..."

"Of course, Sir... You're busy--thanks for taking the time to visit me."

"I'll keep you updated on her progress, sir," Chet promised.

"My pleasure," Cian said. "And thanks, Doc." He made an orderly retreat; medical facilities were never comfortable places. They were reminders that the body could be quite fragile, no matter how good the treatment.

"I wonder about him," Tahlin told Chet as the captain withdrew. "He's always so... Guarded... But, I'm thinking you'd say my recovery is more important?"

"Most definitely," agreed Chet. "I've got a few things I have to do, but if you need anything, nurse MacIntosh here will be happy to help," he added, nodding to the young man assigned to attend to her. "Try to get some rest, too, while you're at it," he advised and with a sideways grin, left Lae'Or to her stew.

A Post by:

Captain Cian D'Anvers
Commanding Officer
USS Crazy Horse

Lieutenant JG Lae'Or Tahlin
Chief of Security/Tactical
USS Crazy Horse

Lieutenant JG Chester O'Hamlin
Chief Medical Officer
USS Crazy Horse