A Startling Revelation

[John Randall 0]

OFFICIAL LOG

LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL

USS CHALLENGER

 

(Personal Log Stardate 11603.28)

 

The next three days went by with the medical staff continuing to treat and analyze John's injuries and burns. The burns themselves were now healing quite nicely, as Dr. McCoy had stripped away the old plasti-skin covering John's burned areas, and had replaced it with a new and updated version that had recently been developed by a team headed by her famous father, Dr. Leonard McCoy. Joanna's father had told her it was the closest thing to actual human skin he had ever seen, and gave his daughter permission to try it on the Challenger's chief engineer. He asked to be kept informed, which Joanna promised to do, and her medical team installed (for want of a better term) the new version onto John's burned areas.

 

That had been three days ago, and Dr. McCoy was very pleased at the way the new skin had been accepted by John's body. The burned areas were rapidly disappearing, and John's sister Victoria actually burst into tears when Joanna brought her in a couple of days later to show her the progress that had been made. Victoria had seen the burns on her brother's body when they had first brought John into the hospital, and when Dr. McCoy eased back the sheet covering him, that was when Victoria had put a hand to her mouth and had burst into tears at the remarkable results.

 

The angry deep red skin that had covered John's entire left side was now gone. There was still healing taking place, but for the most part, the engineer's left side was whole again. The medical team had performed a follow-up procedure on John's skull fracture as well, and the X-rays were showing that the fracture was knitting together nicely.

 

John's vital signs had normalized for the most part during the three days, and on the morning of the fourth, after consulting with a couple of the specialists she had brought in, Dr. McCoy informed John's family that she thought he was ready to be brought out of the coma that had been induced upon him on the Challenger.

 

Denise was a little apprehensive about it all, but Joanna talked with her in reassuring tones for a few minutes, and John's mother at last nodded in agreement. Victoria was very excited; her brother was about to come back to them.

 

The medical team gathered around the glass cylinder housing John's body. Victoria positioned herself at the head of the tube, awaiting the command from Dr. McCoy to slide it back. Joanna told her that she, Victoria, would be responsible for communication with her brother; John should be reassured at seeing a family member when he regained consciousness, Dr. McCoy explained, and Victoria nodded eagerly. Joanna patted her on the shoulder, then nodded at the head nurse to begin the procedure.

 

The nurse entered a code into the computer panel at the end of the tube, and the team waited. Only a few moments passed before John's vital signs went on the increase, and Victoria kept a sharp watch on her brother. A few minutes later, John's eyelids began to flutter, and Victoria put a hand to her mouth, silently cheering her brother on as he fought to regain consciousness.

 

Another few minutes later, Victoria gasped as John's eyes opened for the first time in weeks. She noticed the puzzlement in his eyes as he looked at the ceiling, then he slowly turned his head to the right, and his eyes made contact with hers. They widened fractionally as he saw her, then he visibly relaxed, and Victoria knew he recognized her. She smiled bravely at him, fighting back tears, and looked over to Dr. McCoy.

 

Joanna nodded to her with a gentle smile, and Victoria immediately pushed the button retracting the glass tube from John's body. She bent over his head and took her brother's hand in hers. "Hi, Johnny," she whispered, nearly overcome with emotion. "It's me, Vicki," she continued, and John's eyes closed briefly, then riveted on hers. "You're on Centaurus in the university hospital, honey," Victoria went on. "You've been in a medically induced coma for a couple of weeks. Johnny, I don't want you to try to speak, or to do anything. You need to focus on regaining your strength.

 

"The first thing I want you to do is squeeze my hand," she continued, and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. A second later, she was thrilled beyond words as John gave her hand a firm squeeze in return. She looked up at Dr. McCoy, who had come around to the other side of the bed, and Joanna smiled and nodded at her. "That's great, honey," she said, smiling at him. John's eyes never left hers.

 

"Now, I need to ask you some questions," Victoria continued. "I want you to answer by blinking your eyes once for yes, and twice for no. Do you understand?" John blinked once, and she smiled again, mainly in relief that her brother was fully aware of what was going on.

 

"All right, then," she said. "Do you remember what happened to you?" John blinked once. "Did it happen aboard the Challenger?" Again Randall blinked once. "Was what happened to you an accident?" she asked, and to her horror, her brother blinked his eyes twice. She instantly looked over to Dr. McCoy, who was just as startled as she was, and Joanna moved closer to the bed.

 

"Johnny, are you saying what happened aboard the Challenger was not an accident?" Victoria asked again, a little fearfully, and again John blinked his eyes once. She again looked over at Dr. McCoy in horror, and Joanna quickly inserted herself into the conversation.

 

"Lieutenant Randall, can you hear me?" she asked, and John slowly turned his head, making eye contact with her, then blinked once. Victoria held tightly to her brother's hand, now frightened at John's revelation. "I'm Dr. Joanna McCoy, and I'm in charge of your case," the doctor continued. "I need to ask you a question, Lieutenant. Are we starting to venture into Starfleet classified territory here?" John blinked once at her, and she nodded.

 

"I thought so," she said. "All right, this is a good start. I want you to rest now, and we will get back with you later on." John blinked once, then turned his head back to Victoria, who smiled bravely at him. She squeezed his hand, and he returned it. She then bent over to kiss him on the cheek. "I won't be far, Johnny, I promise," she whispered, and kissed him again. "It's so wonderful to have you back with us," and her voice quavered a little. John squeezed her hand again, and she smiled at him. She then released his hand, and he closed his eyes.

 

The women stepped away from the bed, and went into a corner of the room. Victoria was frightened, and Dr. McCoy knew it instantly. "Dr. McCoy, Johnny is saying it wasn't an accident!" she said, horror in her voice. "What is going on? What happened to him? What did they do to my brother?!" Joanna quickly took her by the shoulder. "Vicki, you need to calm down," she said. "Right now, I need you to be strong for your brother. He's not out of the woods by a long shot, and I need you to concentrate on him. Leave all this other stuff to me. You focus on your brother. You were a very stabilizing force on him right then, and I need you to maintain that. Can you do that for me?"

 

Victoria stared at her for a moment, then took a deep breath, and nodded. "All right, Doctor," she said. "I trust you. I will look after Johnny. But, I want some answers, too," she concluded, and Joanna could see the determination in her eyes. "I will do what I can, Vicki," she said. "Frankly, I'd like to get some more information myself. And don't forget, I have a little pull at Starfleet should I need it."

 

Victoria actually smiled at that. "Yes, you do, don't you?" she said, and both women laughed softly. "I've never been more grateful than now that you are who you are, Dr. McCoy. From the stories I've heard, your father wasn't one for being jerked around, and I believe you're a lot like him in that regard."

 

Joanna nodded. "Sometimes too much for my own good," she said ruefully, and Victoria giggled. "But, I think this is one time where I can put that asset to good use. I will find out something one way or the other, Vicki, you have my word on that." Victoria nodded and gave Joanna a brief hug. "Thank you for everything you did for Johnny," she said. "We are in your debt."

 

Dr. McCoy waved it aside. "Your brother did a lot of it, Vicki," she countered. "He's a strong man, and a strong-willed man. I know a couple of men like him, and they served on the same ship as my father. Now, you look after him, and leave the rest of it to me." Victoria nodded and went back to her brother's side, kissing him gently on the forehead as he lay there sleeping.

 

Joanna watched them for a moment, and made a mental vow to herself: she genuinely liked this family, and she was going to find out what had happened to Lieutenant Randall aboard the Challenger. She was not without her ways of getting information, even at the classified level, for she had help there, and she was confident she could convince her father to help her. She also planned on talking to Lieutenant Randall again as soon as he got stronger. She squared her shoulders and left the room, heading for her office.

 

END LOG