That's Gotta Hurt

[Nicolas Lepage 0]

On his way to sickbay Nick had talked to the Missouri CMO over the comm system. Common courtesy dictated he at least ask if his assistance was welcome. As expected, the head of the Missouri’s medical department was glad to have some help.

 

As soon as Nick entered sickbay, he looked around to see where Chirakis was being treated. It took him only a few seconds to spot her. The biobed that held her was surrounded by various medical personnel. A young Ensign was barking instructions to some med techs. Nick approached and got a questioning look from the Lieutenant.

 

“Doctor Lepage,” he introduced himself, “CMO of Sky Harbor Aegis. What’s her status?”

 

Immediately, the young physician rattled off a number of figures. While listening Nick checked the readouts on the monitor above the biobed. When the Lieutenant had ended, Nick nodded. “Have you administered any medication,” he asked while trying to assess the severity of Chirakis’ injuries.

 

“100 cc Asinolyathin. She’s unconscious but removing the suit will be painful,” the Ensign answered promptly, looking at him as if waiting for his approval.

 

Nick considered her decision for a second then nodded and said, “Good thinking. Add 400cc Corophizine and Vertazine each. With those burns the risk of infections is comparatively high. They also need to be treated with Dermaline Gel as soon as possible to prevent scarring.”

 

DJ approached the biobed just in time to hear the tail end of Nick’s conversation with the Missouri’s attending physician. She’d been delayed trying to find a place to park Gilbert. A corpsman, who couldn’t have been more than 18 years old, volunteered to take him to one of the labs. He promised to make sure the dog was comfortable and wouldn’t get into any trouble.

 

More trouble was the last thing she needed right now. DJ had been with Chirakis when the Commander was finally retrieved from Aegis. With no equipment available for a proper scan, she’d been forced to do little more than observe the unconscious Bajoran. The burns had been obvious. Undoubtedly, there were other injuries hiding beneath them.

 

The biofunction monitor attached to the biobed provided information on the patient’s vitals. DJ studied them closely as she squeezed in beside Nick. It indicated Chirakis was in shock which came as no surprise. “We should activate the K3 Indicator to monitor her pain level,” offered DJ. “She’s already shocky. Additional pain could put her off the edge.”

 

“First I’d like to assess the trauma. We’ve got second and third degree burns but I’m sure there’s more. Oxygen saturation’s a bit on the low side. Pneumothorax maybe.” Turning back to the Ensign Nick added, “We’ll certainly need Dermaline Gel, Metropan and an osteogenic stimulator. We’ll also need a generator for a bioregenerative field when we’re done here.”

 

Nick punched some of the SSF’s keys to start the first of many scans they’d have to do to find out how extensive Chirakis’ injuries were. The standard monitor provided the basic vitals but not much on tissue damage. What they needed to find out was whether Chirakis’ internal organs were still intact, if there were fractures and if she had sustained any trauma by being stuck in the transporter for such a long time.

 

“We’ve got some broken bones,” quipped DJ as the team surveyed the scan results. “Looks like three ribs and the left humerus.” She shook her head slightly and sighed in relief. “A few burns and broken bones.....she’s lucky....very lucky. And so are we.”

 

“There’s some air in her chest cavity. But it looks like there’s only minor damage to the lung.” Nick was also perusing the readouts. He had to agree with DJ. Considering the circumstances, Chirakis had sustained surprisingly little injuries. “She must have hit the bulkhead when the structural integrity of the station failed. The burns look like plasma burns. There probably was a plasma leak before the station collapsed.” He paused to consider the data carefully. “I suggest we treat her with antibiotics and Dermaline Gel for the burns. Otherwise standard procedure for the fractured bones, bioregenerative field for a few hours and the pneumothorax is almost negligible. I’d say no treatment needed but we should keep her here for the night, see if her condition deteriorates.” He looked questioningly at DJ.

 

She glanced up at him and nodded in the affirmative. “Sounds like a reasonable plan.” She paused a moment to look at their patient. “If she’s going to stay here overnight, we might need to keep her sedated. Knowing the Commander, if she wakes up, she’ll want to leave....immediately.”

 

DJ’s last remark made Nick smile. “Yeah, good idea.” He picked up the PADD that was lying next to the biobed and wrote down his orders. While Chirakis was definitely the highest ranking patient in sickbay right now, there was not much more he could do for her. The nurses and technicians would administer the treatment.