Growing Pains

Posted on 15 Sep 2015 @ 3:12pm by Commander Norvi Stace & EMH Mark X-C "Shirley"
Edited on on 18 Sep 2015 @ 11:22pm

1,681 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 09 - Empires
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 3, Sickbay
Timeline: MD 04 - 0820 hrs

ON:

Having left the bridge to head to her quarters, Stace hurried down the short corridor that opened onto her trashed room. She sighed and then looked about her, knowing that she only had about fifteen minutes to get it sorted before she met Gyce in the shuttlebay. She brought her hand up to her brow and emphatically wiped it with a futile expression as she then began to hurriedly organise what she could before she slipped into another EVA suit.

Once her quarters were in some sort of order, she took off her jacket and began to lift up her grey undershirt. Standing before the mirror a darkening bruise caught her attention on her abdomen. She furrowed her brow in a questioning glance and then inspected it with her own eyes, outside of the reflection of the mirror. Suddenly the bump she jarred herself with when the Gally lost its artificial gravity cascaded into her mind as did the dull ache into her belly. There was something to be said about the pain relieving properties of adrenaline. The dull ache now seemed to flood into the pit of her belly as she crippled over a bit with the shock of it. Anything near to the Symbiont's pouch scared her as though she was developing a newborn and she cradled it as she went down into a seated position. She tapped her combadge, got up and made for the door.

"Stace to Holliday. I'm experiencing some abdominal pain from a bump I think took earlier. I'm going to sickbay to get it checked out. I'll keep you informed."

"Understood Commander. Holliday out." Came the Captain's reply. He would have been grateful to have his XO on duty with him, however if she wasn't at peak efficiency, she had no place on his Bridge.

Sickbay

Stace walked into room and looked about for anyone to help her. But with the repairs now beginning and the crew dotted about getting ready for the away mission, she thought it prudent to active the EMH without the need to worry anyone.

"Computer, initiate the EMH program."

"Oh no need ma'am! I'm already here!" Came the reply from within the laboratory to the side of the main Sickbay area. After a few moments the hologram sauntered out from her studies of Lieutenant Kohl's blood sample and made herself presentable to the ship's XO.

"Well ok then - please state the nature of the medical emergency." She chimed before picking up a tricorder and holding it expectantly.

A little taken aback by the EMH's already existence, Stace blinked for a beat and the relaxed into a more congenial stance. Her hand automatically covered her torso as she scrunched up her nose with another pang of pain. "I took a knock when we came through the rift," she explained. "I didn't notice it at first but now it's began to bruise and I'm feeling quite a bit of discomfort. With the Symbiont..." her voice trailed off as she tried to steel herself against another wave of pain. "It's just something that I haven't felt before and I'm a little concerned."

"Well of course." Replied the hologram as she brandished the separate hand scanner from her tricorder and began passing it over the Trill's midsection.

"Hmm...you were right to come to Sickbay. Looks like the symbiont took some damage as well. Neurotransmitter levels are way off from normal.....I think you should take a biobed Commander. I have work to do." She announced - gesturing towards the main biobed as she disappeared to gather instruments and a trolley from the store room.

"Work to do on me?" Stace questioned with a furrowed brow. "It doesn't feel that immediate and I'm really needed on the away mission."

"Any time today please Commander. Photons wait for no man, woman, or symbiont!" The EMH called as she reappeared with a collection of gadgets, widgets and hyposprays.

"How long have you been feeling.... not yourself?"

"Just now," the Trill replied as she walked over to the biobed and slid up onto it. "With everything that's been happening, it was only when I went to get changed and noticed the bruise that the memory of the collision - and the pain - began." She spun her legs up to the bed and laid down slowly. "What... what are you going to do, Doctor?"

"Oh nothing too serious. Just realign a few neurotransmitter levels and regenerate some of the symbiont's damaged tissue."

The hologram replied nonchalantly as she prepared the series of hyposprays she would need.

"There's nothing to worry about I assure you. My program contains almost fourteen gigaquads of data on this exact procedure. It is a simple case of administering a series of enzymes to trigger the release of compounds within the symbiont's body and your own to restore equilibrium. Then the vascular regenerator is used to penetrate your skin and repair that of the symbiont. Neither of you will feel a thing, I promise."

Stace steeled herself against the procedure. It wasn't that the EMH was to perform it. In fact, during her lifetimes, she trusted computers more than the folly of man. But her Symbiont was so precious to the Trill that anyone, man or machine, tampering with her physiology was petrifying. But if left untreated then who knows what the end result may be. She inhaled, paused and then nodded. "All right, go ahead, Doctor." But before the procedure began she stopped her. "This will only take a few minutes, right? I'm needed back on duty."

The EMH administered the first and second hyposprays in quick succession, before looking at the bedside display to see the change in readings that her program had been expecting.

"It shouldn't take long at all no, however I will be ordering you onto rest duty for a few hours afterwards. The symbiont will need to rest and having you moving around and jiggling it certainly isn't going to help."

The hologram smiled as the readouts obeyed her thoughts and administered a third hypospray.

"There....that looks like it's doing the trick." Before picking up the regenerator and beginning to pass it over the Commander's abdomen.

"I trust you will follow doctor's orders? Or are you going to be stubborn like our Captain?"

"Do I have a choice?" came the Trill's defeated reply. "Be level with me then," she then asked, flicking her attention over to the readout and back to the hologram. "Am I putting my Symbiont in danger if I don't rest? It's rather important that I'm out in the field and we're kinda backed into a corner with everything going on."

"Well..." Shirley replied as she deactivated the regenerator and let it drop back onto the equipment tray at the side of the biobed.

"It is neither going to harm or risk your symbiont if you go back to duty right away....however I believe it would be doing him...her...it...I'm never sure which pronoun to use...anyway. It would be doing the symbiont a favour if you were to relax for just a few hours. Sort of let it find it's bearings again."

The EMH realised of course that as a ship's physician she had the authority to relieve the Commmander of duty, at least temporarily and force her to rest, but there was no immediate danger if she returned to duty.

"Returning to duty now however will leave you with some lingering sensitivity in the surrounding tissue, which may be...uncomfortable for an organic."

Stace sucked in the air through her teeth and then held it in her cheeks before blowing it out in a long, exasperated exhale. "I don't want to risk it," she said flatly. And the thought of not having to don the EVA suit again made her smile. "I can pick up the efforts in a few hours. Am I okay to return to my quarters or would you prefer I remained here?"

"Where would you be more comfortable?" Shirley replied, taking the time to gather a few last minute tricorder readings, before smiling and closing the device for the final time.

"There is no requirement for you to stay here if you do not wish to. Just make sure if something starts feeling...strange...you come straight back. I've also set the computer to monitor your vital signs for the next six hours as a precaution."

Stace sighed and then swung her legs back off the end of the biobed. "I don't want to take up valuable time or space so I'll return to my quarters and drop off to see the captain en route. Get his opinion on what I should do." She smiled at the EMH and nodded. "Thanks for assisting me, Doctor."

"You are welcome Commander...oh....if you wouldn't mind shutting my program off? My lab results are going to take several hours to process and otherwise I become just a photonic doorstop."

Shirley called back, anxious to get back inside the processors and databanks of the ship to see what nefarious plot Dr Mott had been conconcting in her absence.

"Of course," Stace said as she made her way to the door. She smiled to the EMH and then said, "Computer, terminate EMH program," and took a step out into the corridor. She paused for a moment and considered her state, and the thought of missing out on the opportunity to assist with the mining efforts. Instead of Holliday, Stace tapped her combadge and contacted the Bajoran investigator. "I'm running a little late to the shuttlebay, Lieutenant. I'll be there in ten minutes." She then continued back to her quarters with a relieved smile on her face.

Passing by the bridge, Stace popped her head into the circular room, caught the captain's attention and said, "Clean bill of health, Captain. I'll contact you once Lieutenant Benice and I have launched."



[OFF]

EMH Mk X-b
Emergency Medical Hologram
USS Galileo
[PNPC Holliday]

Commander Norvi Stace
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

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