On the march ...

[T'aral 0]

T'Aral carried her end of the Captain's litter as smoothly as possible. Looking over at Leutenant Haruno, she noted that Leutenant MrKath was being carried as best as one person could carry him - but that was just the problem. She had prepared a litter for the Caitian and had directed that two people were to carry him, however the other officers thought better.

 

After a quarter-hour of walking the group paused, which gave her a chance to examine her patients. Her tricorder confirmed her concerns: although the emergency cast held MrKath's leg firm, it did not hold his ankle. The movement of the march with MrKath not on a litter caused the fibula and broken tibia to shift within the cast, complicating the fracture. It was precisely the condition T'Aral had hoped to avoid when she made the litter in the first place, insisting that two of the others carry her patient. Now there were complications, and the litter had been left behind so now it was molten slag.

 

Perhaps it was her own error, but T'Aral had thought that she had the respect of her fellow officers - at least when it came to medical necessity. She realized that it was illogical for her to assume this was the case. Her efforts to carry out her responsibilities were consistently met with antipathy; as she was not respected before, it was illogical to assume that she would be respected now. Perhaps it was that she was the medical officer, rather than someone who actually aided in ship's operations. Perhaps it was that she was a Vulcan; the general intolerance of the Vulcan Way was something which had to be accepted by any Vulcan who sought experience beyond the limits of their own people. Perhaps it was that, as the medical officer, her duties tended to isolate her from the rest of the crew. Perhaps it was Leutenant Tauariki's obvious emotional attachment to Ensign Askade ... an attachment which seemed to preoccupy the Leutenant to the point of neglecting other obligations.

 

Perhaps it was some of all these conditions, but then it was all irrelevant - what was done was done. Fortunately, the complications had not yet severed nerves or arteries within the cast. T'Aral wound a brace to secure MrKath's foot relative to the cast to avoid any further damage, then set about dealing with the rest of the Leutenant's injuries. She prepared a hypo mixture of trianoline and anetrizine, then administered it to MrKath. It was a calculated risk: the combination would both ease the Leutenant's pain and clear his head from the concussion, but that would probably leave him feeling that he could do more than was sensible. Under the circumstances, however, they needed every clear head possible. Even if he couldn't walk MrKath could hold a phaser, and that was as needed as anything.

 

With that completed T'Aral turned her attention to the Captain. Although her supplies were limited, she spared Caelstorm an injection of Dymitrol. It wouldn't help her balance, but at least she wouldn't be suffering from nausea - no doubt to the relief of others. It was unfortunate that they had to keep moving; given time the Captain's condition could be cured. The nerves in the Captain's vestibular system were simply disrupted: all that was needed was to relax and reset them - a simple application of neuropressure would do the trick. The problem was that simple did not mean swift: the technique required time, which was something the group didn't have at the moment.

 

Packing up the medical kit and returning it to her back, T'Aral took up the Captain's litter and moved on. Commander Wesley indicated that contact with the Creek was unlikely. It was unfortunate: Leutenant MrKath would need proper treatment soon, and T'Aral was neither prepared nor equiped to perform field surgery.