A Delicate Matter

[Chirakis 1]

A Delicate Matter

A Joint Log by Schawnsee and Captain Chirakis

 

Dr Schawnsee was setting things up in the Isolation unit so it would be more private for the Captain. She loaded a hypo with a local anesthetic and set it aside, then went to her small cubical and picked up the micro tools needed to separate the minute muscle tissue from around the device. With the amount of time it had been inbedded in the captain’s arm, it was no doubt intertwined with lots of muscle and nerve tissue. She just hoped it wasn’t too bad. She placed the Microtools into the sterilizer to prepare them for the surgery then gathered her normal surgical supplies and drape and stood back, looking at everything she had gathered trying to think of anything she may of forgotten. Looked like she was now just waiting for her patient to arrive.

 

Not long after, Captain Chirakis entered the medical facility. She was dressed in civilian clothes as alpha shift had ended a good half hour ago. Appearing unusually relaxed, she paused to speak to a med tech, who pointed her in Schawnsee’s direction. A few greeted her as she wandered through the main area, but she eventually approached the isolation unit and paused at the door.

 

“Doctor?”

 

Kat looked up seeing the Captain standing at the door. "Come on in Captain. I have everything ready for you.”

 

"As I expected, Doctor. Well prepared." Her eyes swept the unit as she entered, then she reached into her pocket to retrieve the data crystal that contained the code needed to access her subcutaneous implant. "And I am prepared as well,” she said, holding it up. “Mr. Roberts is in command during the procedure, and you'll be glad to learn that no, the station will not explode if you attempt to remove the implant. We'll have to leave that to Mr. Rov for now,” she said, half in jest. “Director Torak is aware of the procedure, so all is well with the universe. Where would you like me?”

 

Kat smiled at the Captain. "Im glad to hear that. Please take a seat in this chair for me. I hope it’s comfortable enough for you."

 

“Would you like me to remove my outer tunic?"

 

Kat moved around to the side and lifted an apparatus for the captain to place her arm on. "Yes sir, I need your arm bare for the procedure. I would still like to keep as sterile as a field as I can. After you take it off please place your arm in this cradle. I didn't want you to have to try to hold your arm up for the entire procedure as it may take a while."

 

"Of course," the captain replied flipping back the tunic clasps.

 

"Ill be right back. Get comfortable; I need to gather the last of my equipment."

 

Kat stepped out to the sterilizing unit. It had been a while since she had to perform microsurgery. Thankfully it was a skill that is never forgotten. She stepped back into the room with the Captain and closed the door behind her. "Are you comfortable enough sir? would you like a pillow?"

 

"Thank you, Doctor. This is fine," the captain replied, draping her tunic across the back of the chair.

 

Beneath the captain’s outer tunic lay a history of her encounters. Scars across her upper arms appeared to be from some kind of dagger, sword, or possibly a bat’leth. Several injuries dug deep and healed in a gouge; it was hard to tell what could have possibly made those. But one unmistakable mark from a large whip snaked from her back around her shoulder.

 

Kat moved around the Captain, her eyes drawn to the marks on the Captain’s upper arms and the whip mark around her back and shoulder. Her mouth about hit the floor seeing all the healed wounds, but she gathered herself together as she pulled on her gloves and got herself ready for the procedure.

 

"Captain, it looks like you have seen a lot of action." Kat grabbed a dish and moved it in front of her. "Can you place the chip in this dish? I would like to rescan your arm to make sure we are in the correct place."

 

“Of course, Doctor. And there is no need to be so formal in this setting. Kirel is the name given me by my parents.”

 

Kat’s smile widened. "Thank you, Kirel, and if you like you can call me Kat. I like the more personable touch.

 

“Just so you know what’s going on, first I’m going to give you a local anesthetic around the device area. If it gets too uncomfortable for you then I can give you a general, but I’m hoping that will not be needed. After that I will start cutting down to the unit and start the process of removing the entwined tissues from it. I really do not want to take out a section of muscle from your arm. That could cause more trouble that just leaving the device alone."

 

"I appreciate your attention to detail and your delicacy... Kat." Kirel smiled easily as she used the doctor’s given name for the first time. "Removal of more than necessary would definitely hamper my ability to defend myself - or anyone else. But please,” she gestured with her free hand, “do as you must."

 

Kat nodded and placed the chip in the scanner, then rechecked the location of the device: exactly where she had placed the mark earlier. Placing the hypo against her arm in several places around the location of the device released its content.

 

"Ca…,” she stopped to correct herself, “Kirel, I’m going to give it a moment to numb the area before I start cutting. I wouldn't want you to feel anything and come swinging at me with your other arm." Kat smiled as she placed the hypo aside once more.

 

"A wise choice. With the number of hostile encounters this station seems to draw, we need all our physicians intact." Kirel relaxed into the chair as the anesthetic took effect. She seemed content, as though she were being relieved of a heavy burden. Her eyes closed, but the biochair's readouts clearly showed she was not asleep.

 

"By the marks you already have I assume you are one heck of a fighter. I wouldn't want to feel that rage first hand." As she was talking to the CO, noticing she was relaxing, she began cutting down to the device. She managed to get to the device quicker than she thought and what she found amazed her.

 

"Captain, did they say anything about the device being encapsulated when they implanted it?" The odd look on Kat’s face gave her away.

 

Kirel's eyes popped open; eyebrows shot to hairline. She glanced at Kat, then to her own arm. "No, they did not. The original device was integrated with the surrounding tissue as I mentioned before. Show me."

 

"I haven't removed it yet, but by the look of what I'm seeing it’s actually going to be a lot easier than we both expected. Apparently your body didn't like the object being there and built a casing of sorts around it. There’s a thin tissue layer surrounding the entire device." She debrided the encapsulating tissue from the normal muscle tissue as she spoke.

 

"This is a good thing. It means that it’s not entwined into your nerve or muscle tissue as I first thought. This shouldn't take long at all."

 

"Good. Good." The captain had tensed. Her eyes remained open and she studied the ceiling for the rest of the procedure, focused as though deep in thought.

 

Kat continued her work, making short time of the removal. She looked at her patient’s face and saw the concern. "Are you ok, Kirel? By your body doing this it's making the entire procedure a lot simpler as well as a lot easier on your body. Your down time will be greatly reduced." She completed the removal of the device and dropped it in a receiving dish with a ping. "There you go; its out. Now all I need to do is close the wound and I can do that with a regenerator."

 

“Perhaps I misunderstood,” said Kirel, returning her attention to Kat. “Are you saying that this is normal? It’s the original implant, but that my body compensated for the intrusion and encapsulated it so keep it from damaging the surrounding tissues?”

 

Kat continued repairing the surgical site by moving the regenerator over it slowly. "In an odd sort of way.... yes. the body has a way of doing just that: surrounding a foreign object in a simple protein tissue if it can not remove it. I suspect they placed an antibiotic on the device when they implanted it. Your body couldn't fight it off so it formed a barrier so it wouldn't harm the surrounding tissue." Kat placed the regenerator on the tray and cleaned the area.

 

“Good to know, Doctor. But I must have the item that was removed to verify that it was the original.”

 

Kat scanned the item and then the captain’s arm with the tricorder to verify that it was removed. "I have it right here, sir." She retrieved the pan and showed it to the CO. "I can place it in a container for you if you wish. Do you need to see the actual device? I can slice the membrane to expose it for you."

 

"In a sterile container, please, Doctor. I'll leave the analysis to the experts. Are we finished, then?"

 

"Yes sir, all done. I'll take this over to the dissection microscope and place it in a sterile field there to open it up then place it inside a sterile specimen container for you. Even though it wasn't as extensive as we first thought, I’d like you to be careful for a day or so and allow the surrounding tissue to get back to normal. I’m also going to give you an antibiotic just to be safe, before you leave."

 

Several hours later, Captain Chirakis sat in her office studying the device. It appeared to be the original and it had acted as such, so there was little chance it had been switched at some point. Still, there was no harm in having Intel Medical study it for verification.