Elements Protect Us!

[Vilanne 0]

Meritorious Achievement Award

 

<<Hearty thanks to all those who participated with their own logs, responses, and permissions! Included are Lieutenant JG T'Prise,Commander Precip, Commander Mele, Lieutenant Chalice, Ensign Silviu, Commander Farrington and Nurse Nancy. I tried to be as accurate as possible with the Romulan references, however, even various web sites contradict numbers. >>

 

As T'Prise watched over Vilanne's shoulder, and Vilanne over Mele's, the probes were placed up to RomRat's formed body. Though many errors were encountered during its construction, mainly having to do with reproductive organs, the fur-less body of RomRat was eerie to behold. Its body was covered with a nearly translucent skin, pigmented slightly with a pink hue, but you could still make out the organs beneath. It was amazing to look at; however, if this object had any brain function, the medical staff would have been very surprised.

 

Chief Mele sent a mild wave of energy into RomRat, while everyone looked on in hopes of creating… creating a living thing. What a remarkable feat this certainly would be, having been through all of the error messages that were encountered during its inception. The tiny thing looked so helpless, and unmoving.

 

The heart beat… once.

 

They all stood around watching, waiting; no one was breathing.

 

The overhead monitor was attached to the monitoring arm that was over RomRat – practically covering it. There was no synaptic response, the neurons weren't changing color with any activity, and it was unconceivable that anything was going on inside this body. Vilanne adjusted a few things on the console and Kyle hit it again.

 

One more beat, then nothing.

 

"Ventilator," Mele ordered. Cesar had produ ced additional connectors for this small rodent, just in such a situation. Luckily, this century didn't provide for economic consideration when it came to providing everything possible to keep a life alive, such as it did in the 21st century. The medical community was known to 'unplug' anyone that was a financial drain on their way of life when the economy was so far gone that only a few could afford more than a couple days in a medical facility. The Manticore staff put their medical and scientific minds together doing everything possible to bring this rodent to life. Hypospray injections were being shot into this little body, more equipment being used to try and get it functioning on its own.

 

They had even manipulated the functional magnetic resonance 3D imaging machine to do readings for this experiment, which gave neuroscience a way to trace blood flow associated with neuronal activity. These scanning methods enabled researchers to see how different regions of the brain activate as a person thinks or acts. The Manticore staff hoped that the modifications enacted would also help them verify that RomRat's organs were working as defined b y the regenerator.

 

It was of no use. The body of RomRat had the best and most expensive resuscitation efforts being applied but it wasn't doing anything on its own. After a brief pow-wow of all the minds joined in the effort, determined that the best they could do would be to keep its organs alive while they tested the anti-virus serum.

 

The first people started streaming in after they received their orders to undergo Romulan transformation. Shortly thereafter, the ships computer started chiming in with a basic training program to get the staff going on the mission to emulate speech patterns of the Romulans they were about to encounter. "ie – Yes," there was a pause, then, "na – No."

 

Since T'Prise was already in sickbay, Chief Mele had Dr Chalice start surgical procedures on her first. She already had the pointed ears, though just as with typical Vulcan characteristics, she was slightly taller and slimmer than the average Romulan. Vilanne finished her initial scans, then stopped to consult with the patient.

 

"These aren't going to be permanent." Vilanne held up the replicated ridge enhancements for her brow. "Of course, you won't need a set of ears, since yours are already finely shaped and ready for this mission. I may, however, need to alter your hairline slightly so that it all fits under these neat wigs we have." She held up the wig piece and twirled it around on the tip of her index finger while the hair spun out in a perfect radius.

 

T'Prise, in the typical Vulcan fashion, lifted a quizzical eyebrow at the hair piece for a moment before deigning to nod regally, allowing Vil to do her job.

 

"io – One," with a pause between each integer, "re Two; thi – Three; sev – Four; ko – Five." The overhead repetition was rather annoying, but it was required due to the circumstances in which everyone had to be quickly trained or re-trained in the basics of their language. "kil – Six; yo – seven; yil – eight, pie – nine, dev – ten."

 

"Are any of these implants known to have side effects, or aggravate preexisting conditions?" T'Prise asked, in a solemn and detached voice. "I am concerned that they may induce a headache."

 

"ie," Vil response wasn't directed to T'Prise, she was practicing for the mission responses. She continued, "Hann'yyo, that's Thank you, for your help. I have to be honest, I don't know whether or not there will be problems with headaches. I won't be going through the sphenoid,ethmoid or any part of the parietalbones, but I am going to attach to them through regenerated fascia to the frontal. I'm pretty confident that it shouldn't aggravate any conditions we've been treating you for."

 

Both women were silent for a moment, both unwilling to engage in yet another debate, the gravity of the situation creating a solemn atmosphere in sickbay. Neither wishing to address what might be causing the headaches in the first place.

 

"Lloannen'galae – Combined phrase of an aggressive nature; a term for any Federation vessel, whether civilian ship, Starfleet or an armed aggression. Caution must be taken immediately if one is identified as such." Vilanne grunted to that comment and mumbled, "Duh!"

 

"I meant no offense, nor to imply that you are at all unethical in your medical practice doctor," T'Prise offered after another silent beat, her voice steady, but her betraying her inability to understand the need human need for reassurance. "I was merely curious as to the medical ethics regarding experimentation on live subjects, or the creation of live subjects. While I understand the need for such practices in medical development, the current technological advances of the Federation have made computer and holographic simulations a much more viable option. That is also not to say that I have any misgivings regarding your skill as a medical professional, but my unfamiliarity with cosmetic medical procedures invites questions."

 

Vil looked T'Prise over, took in her demeanor and tried to see past the Vulcan's logic and began to formulate an answer to end all of these rationale theories she was reciting. She chose not to go back to the volleyed conversation, in fear that Mele would come over her shoulder and "end" it yet again. "It's only a minimally invasive topical cranial extensor enhancements. I'm not going to go into your brain, nor will I be removing an eye or anything. You've got to trust me.... just as much as RomRat did when we injected him. His brain, unlike yours, wasn't alive. We had to keep him functioning; he was not able to do any of that for himself, therefore not being a 'living' creature, simply a piece of test equipment." She felt sneaky having slipped the comment in to clear the air on their prior volley.

 

"Lloan'na - Federation Staff, or civilians associated with the Federation."

 

They stared at each other for a beat, each assessing the other. A flicker of assent came into T'Prise's eyes and she lay back on the biobed, indicating that the doctor could begin the procedure.

 

Vilanne placed the brow ridge enhancements on her forehead before beginning, adjusted them a few times to get them in just the right spot. T'Prise was put under a very mild sedation, though she was alert, any indication of pain was being removed by the ongoing hypo. She worked quickly, inserting the ridge up through the small laser slice inside the nose, and pushed it up under the skin until it reached the optimum spot around the brow area. She attached them by pressing them against the bone, which released the fascia's adhesive. Vil started counting while waiting the appropriate seconds, "... three, four."

 

"yil - eight, pie - nine," the overhead chimed in again. "Ten, eleven... what, wait, where was I?" She released her hand from the ridge and thought to herself, 'did I wait long enough?' She stopped the sedative from flowing into T'Prise and watched as she became fully alert again.

 

"We are all set, just don't play with the ridges for a dieRha, an dierHa, a Dierha," she paused, then just blurted it in common federation, "an hour, for goodness sake." She extended a hand to help T'Prise off the biobed, making sure she looked steady.

 

"Thank you doctor," T'Prise intoned politely, quickly gaining her equilibrium. She paused for a second, as if to say something else, but instead nodded again and moved off in search of Ensign Macen.

 

"Next!" The lines were building as orders were being distributed among the crew.

 

"rekkhai – Sir." Vilanne was only conscious of some of the overhead training program. She thought to herself, "rekkhai, that'll be a word we ll need to use somewhere, remember that one, rekkhai."

 

You could hear the overhead in sickbay repeating a general round of words and phrases for the crew. "Hann'yyo rhissiuy - Thank you very much", "hteij'rhae - activate transporter", "ahrrein'firh - Observe caution", "vaed'rae - Attention!"

 

Precip winced.

 

It was there again. Despite all the treatments something just wasn't right. He should have been better by now. The medications... the hydration therapy..

 

Nurse Nancy was faithfully caring for the sick; thankfully most of the sick no longer were. She was still such at trooper ushering in the steady stream of crew to the various surgical locations so that the doctors didn't have to wait for a patient prep. She continued her double shifts waddling around sickbay, taking care to stay out of Vilanne's way, since the 'incident' hadn't been addressed… yet.

 

Precip turned over to the bucket Nancy had been faithfully replacing. She'd been doing it for over 48 hours straight. Now another one needed swapping out. Mitar spat out the blood that continued to line his mouth.

 

The nurse took the bucket and replaced it with a clean one automatically. She also dumped and rinsed out the water cup, placing fresh refreshment in its place. She was grateful that there were only a few left that were poisoned, though she didn't like the way some of the patients 'went away.'

 

"au – you, typically used as the first syllable," The overhead recording was making announcements, instead of brief word bits. The crew would have turned it down had they not had most of the command staff in there participating in the alterations.

 

Mitar heard the translation program above, "Blast. ! He was needed elsewhere than a biobed....this mission...the mission required his presence... but..."

 

Precip curled into a fetal position with a sudden TEAR of pain in his abdomen. It didn't go away this time... "Moving on to Rihan also known as Rihannsu phrases; hteij'rhae - activate transporter." "My.. gosh," Precip said through gritted teeth. He saw Nurse Nancy approach. "Something's wrong," he barely got that out as he grabbed his abdomen as if he had been shot by a phaser. His face was grimacing in pain. Nancy knew that look and understood his pain, well at least she'd been trained well enough to understand what to do when someone was in this much pain. There was a hypospray already ordered for this patient. She picked it up and was just about to inject him when he blurted out, "Nurse.... Nurse Nancy? I ...need....a .. Doctor.. fast! This is not routine....Please!"

 

Nancy heard him clearly, even in his painful digression. Pressing the hypo against his neck, she injected him with enough medicine to take the edge off, but not enough for him to be knocked out because he couldn't be lethargic when trying to explain this symptom to the doctors.

 

"llilla'hu - adequate, just enough," the overhead was relentless. Precip tried to focus on the Romulan lessons being broadcasted in the bay....anything to keep his focus off whatever inside him was seriously wrong.

 

She approached Chief Mele, who waved her away while his hands were overly full. She waddled over to Cesar, also with his hands full of prosthetics attempting to fit them on his current patient. He turned to her and politely declined, explaining how he had a waiting list behind this patient.

 

It took a brave woman to approach Dr Chalice in the midst of what may have been the busiest day in Manticore's Sickbay that Nancy remembered since, well since prior to this mission. She waddled quietly to the opposite side of the biobed across from Dr Chalice and paused, waiting to catch her attention.

 

"h'tah-fvienn - "Come over here." Precip was still holding his abdomen, while he was seen mouthing 'h'tah-fvienn' repeatedly.

 

Vilanne lifted an eyebrow and looked up at Nurse Nancy's rounded frame across the biobed. "What is it, Nancy?" she grumbled in between pressing the brow arch into someone's bone. Nancy hesitated momentarily, "Its Mr. Precip. He's having severe abdominal pain, not like the previous hours, but much worse."

 

"batlem – wounded, only in battle but not injured in some non-combat way." It wasn't right to have the computer generating terms of battlement, as if they were of endearment. Nancy bit her lip thinking about what battle Vilanne could bring on at this moment.

 

"Don't I look just a wee bit busy here Nancy?" Vil's temper was under control, but her words were stern. Nancy felt the tension in20the air, but pressed on, "He's been medicated to the maximum of his prescribed dosage, but he's clenching his abdomen and begging for a doctor." The urgency in Nancy's voice was clear and Vilanne knew better than to bring up 'the incident' during such a busy time. "I'll be right over there," as she used the laser to close the small incision up this patient's nose.

 

She approached Precip, tricorder in hand. She was already scanning him before she was next to the biobed. Clearly he was in pain as she tried to remove his hand from being pursed into his abdomen. "Just relax, re lease this hand, let me poke around and find the problem so I can fix it."

 

"Please do," as he winced again. "If that Lt James managed to convince the Captain to go on with his plans, he'll need his command staff," he paused again, made an undecipherable sound, "aaghhh," then moved his arm and clenched the side of the biobed to allow the doctor access, the best he could through gritted teeth.

 

"I don't believe you'll be going on this mission Mr. Precip. There is internal bleed that we are going to have to close. You may have broken blood vessels which may have split further each time you retch. I may have to put a tube down your throat to keep you bile free, at least until we make you more comfortable so your body can start healing."

 

"diserhn – assistant, clearly one that was under one's foot." A couple folks chuckled to that one, knowing how the Romulans were known as the dire threat and great enemy towards the Federation but also how they get promoted.

 

He growled at her while she was poking around his abdomen, "This mission is more fouled up than I am if we expect to learn Romulan in a few hours," hearing another phrase. "I must go....my team needs me." His torso started to rise, until he winced again, followed by a Bolian obscenity which oddly sounded Romulan.

 

He relaxed immediately, "I am not going anywhere." Vilanne's hand was on his shoulder, as if she could actually hold him down. Mitar finally conceded, placing his hand on his head. "My team....Tell Mcfly to work with Faldek, and to take orders from yourselves… the Medical Staff. This mission is medical, so no brute force necessary....you'll (medical) be in charge." With that, Precip lowered his eyelids and gave in to what his body wanted to do; shut down.

 

Vilanne considered how much of the sedative he would need after all this. She nearly knocked him out then placed the tube down his throat, began the suction regime, then could only wait. She pushed the biobed cover over his chest, adjusted its console for a few settings and said a little prayer for his insides.

 

The command staff stayed back while the rest of the crew was being "treated" with the Romulan prosthetics. Vilanne felt them eyeing all the work as the patients got up off the table.

 

"vah-udt - Who are you?" The overhead continued to chime in. The unintelligible words were not familiar to most folks, though there were a couple patients who were attempting to correct the computer's pronunciations or definitions. "ch'Havranha - singular Native of Remus, or ch'Havrannsu - plural Natives of Remus."

 

Vilanne looked up from her patient as she finished, a young ensign who was already playing with his ears, but mentioned, "Now that one will help us, but some of these others are... weird." She was referring to the computer'scontinual barking on the overhead. "Wait, wait, don't pull on them for 2 hours. They have to settle in." Vilanne chased his hands away from his new toy. "Don't do that on the mission, it'll be a dead give away." She watched the kid leave her biobed just as the next patient walked up.

 

"Well Commander, it'll be my pleasure. What'll it be today?" Vilanne tried to make light of the fact that she'd been on her feet for nearly 48 hours at this point... well, at least on duty while most of it was sitting at the table, monitoring RomRat being built.

 

"We aren't doing anything more than facial features, being that we can cloth everyone and cover the rest. We aren't planning on being scanned for such a quick mission, unless you want something more? There are forehead ridges that extend the brow; some folks have a small nasal implant that adjusts their facial structure." She picked up a couple ear implants, and held them to the side of her head, "And of course, the ears. They are the hot item today."

 

For the most par t, Commander Farrington was still in a meeting.

 

'Oh, can't forget the bonus, you get a special wig - customary Beatles hair cut of course. I think they can endure a small wind storm too." Vilanne spun the wig around on her finger just as she was getting down to work.

 

She may have been on Vilanne's biobed waiting her procedure, but she was only discussing the mission with the senior staff that were either around her also getting themselves 'done' or the couple that were standing next to the biobed watching every move.

 

Commander Farrington gave Dr Chalice a look that would have bore a hole through bar of latinum.

 

Dr Chalice shut her mouth and began working without ano ther word. She was having too much fun doing all of these alterations on everyone, and with all the people buzzing around sickbay, she was elated. However, she fixed her composure to be in medical mode and finished Jami in no time. The alterations were going faster and faster. She'd been taught by the best on the Manticore. She helped Jami off the biobed and looked around for her next patient.

 

Kyle was motioning to Vilanne to come over to his biobed. Vilanne had completely forgotten that they were also to get these enhancements.

 

Vilanne always liked watching Chief Mele's steady hands in the surgical suite, but this was different. He had her face in his hands – literally. She wasn't vain, and certainly didn't mind going under the laser for this transformation. She did, however, have a screaming inside her that wanted to be off the table. For some reason, there was an angst that irked her more than she's ever felt before. Chief Mele had to mildly sedate Vilanne while he did his work. He knew the reason but didn't mention any word of it to her.

 

"ie'yyak-hnah – Fire phasers!" Someone was overheard saying, "That's not one the Federation wants to hear up close and personal."

 

She was pulling out her hair – in her mind of course, but the sedative was working to at least give her enough composure to lay still and get through it. He was gentle with her, and thorough. She sat up after he stopped the sedation. She pulled up a shiny tray and took a look, much like all the rest of the patients did. She stared at herself in the marred reflection, not really recognizing herself. The ears were cute, pointed and stuck out between two tufts of hair. The wig was dark, much darker than her own hair. Her brows were fascinatingly large. She chuckled at the sight that reflected towards her, and was glad that this ordeal was over… or was she.

 

"aehallh - an illusory creature, cognate to "nightmare" in Terran tradition that "rides" the dreamer to its perdition."

 

The computer was right; the USS Manticore's Dorsal was going to be a dreamy ride … right into perdition.

 

"Kholairlh-a deleth mnevher - Elements protect us!"