Moving Back

[Isabeau Delevan 0]

She could hear Nick--she just couldn't see him. Isabeau carefully picked her way through the haphazardly heaped cartons that contained the guts of Aegis' Sickbay until she arrived at Nick's office. His chair was turned away from the door and it sounded like he was busy talking with someone in Engineering regarding power fluctuations to the dedicated grid used by Medical. She folded her arms across her chest and waited for him to finish. She'd helped pack Sickbay up--a couple of times and knew that right now was the calm before the storm. Once they got started, they would work steadily through until the basic equipment and supplies were in place and ready for action. The nice thing about this unpacking was that it might be the last time they had to do it for a good long while.

 

Nick sighed as he deactivated his commbadge. He was starting to get frustrated and they hadn't even begun unpacking yet. This was going to be a long day...probably one of many. As he turned his chair around he saw Isabeau standing amid the boxes and crates that hopefully held the contents of his office. "What's up?" he asked, hoping she didn't have any bad news.

 

His face told the whole story, and she gave him a sympathetic smile, "Nothing, just wanted to say good morning before beginning to tackle the beast." Glancing to his office window, she wasn't surprised to see his view blocked by crates and noted that one of them was marked 'Medical-Small/Surgical'. Medical instruments. She made a mental note and turned back to him, "Anything you want us to do first? I thought maybe get one surgery completely ready just in case? Although, we do have the Mercury available if anything happens before we're finished.

 

"I'm sorry, Isabeau. Good morning. But you know, remembering your manners is not easy in a mess like this. How about we just make a hole in the bulkhead and space everything?" For some reason the image of all those boxes floating around the station amused Nick. "I guess with Drankum in charge of the station, however, we'd have to pay for everything ourselves. We need a couple of biobeds operational and one surgery unit. If we need more we'll have to use the Mercury's sickbay. I just have no idea where to get started." Nick looked around his office and felt a little desperate. He should have taken some leave and come back once everything was cleaned up again.

 

Isabeau lowered her eyes and bit her lip, willing the grin trying to break free to behave itself. He ran a complicated department with ease and could handle the most delicate surgery while a life hung in the balance without turning a hair but the thought of having to unpack everything clearly had him wanting to rip that hair out. "I guess we'll start with clearing space around two exam stations and getting one surgical suite stocked. We'll concentrate on making sure those three sections have green lights on all diagnostic tests. If we do that and get the drugs stocked and re-inventoried we'll be back in business."

 

"Yes, we'll be back in business," Nick agreed with a nod. "I'll be glad when this is over. You'll have time for your project, too...and flying lessons." Now it was Nick's turn to grin. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on between Isabeau and Riley but he was determined to find out.

 

She smiled pleasantly, ignoring the wise-ass quality of his grin and the reference to flying lessons with very little trouble. "Thank you for reminding me, I still have to check with Lieutenant Feretti to see which lab she can spare for the project-I don't want to bother her right away since Science has its own unpacking to do."

 

Nick nodded. "Yes, I'm sure they are busy at the moment just like everyone else." Nick's grin spread a little wider as he realized Isabeau was trying to avoid talking about Riley. Well, he'd let her have her way for now. But he'd definitely come back to it eventually. "Remind me, what exactly is that project of yours?" He felt bad for not remembering but there had been so much happening on Aegis lately that he kept forgetting some details.

 

"The Maelefica Project" she responded, her expression brightening. "It feels like it's taking me a long time to get back to the research centered around a particular plant that was discovered on the planet of the same name. The plant itself is called the letum bellum. It produces a very virulent toxin of which even a tiny amount is an incredibly powerful paralytic but when distilled and combined with several other elements has the effect of restimulating brain activity. There's three of us working on it and my portion is experimenting and trying to develop optimum laboratory growing conditions. This plant is pretty picky and hasn't been any too cooperative."

 

"Ah, yes, Beautiful Death. It sounds like a very interesting research project. If I remember correctly I already offered my assistance." Nick smiled as he said this. He was indeed very intrigued by the reports he had read so far. This new stimulant, if it was ever developed for regular use could be quite useful.

 

"Yes, you did, Nicolas, and don't think I won't hold you to it," she smiled, making the words a promise. "I'm looking forward to getting into the lab and setting up the first trials, but before that can happen...we have some unpacking to do."

 

Nick sighed as he looked around his office again. "Yeah, unpacking, right," he said, getting up and walking towards the door.