The Old Shoulder

Posted on 08 Sep 2018 @ 7:46pm by Master Chief Petty Officer Kai Mazen & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D.

1,744 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Avondale Shipyards - Sickbay Surgical Suite
Timeline: MD 140 1500 hours

ON:

Scheduling for surgery was usually done early but due to scheduling already booked this one would be later in the afternoon. It was not a complicated procedure but still needed a surgical suite to work in.

--pre-surgical prep area--

Allyndra had arrived a good hour and half early to get prepared and meet with the nurses and rest of the surgical team. While she was going to be there, she would take secondary position. Tuula had studied surgical procedures much more then she had. She had met with the Master Chief briefly and reassured that with tissue regenerators and from the detailed scans done a bit earlier that it should be relatively quick procedure and recovery. They would probably keep him over night for observation but should be out the next morning.


--pre-op--

"Good afternoon, Chief Mazen," a pretty blonde nurse had come in. "Could you please state your full rank, name and date of birth please."

"Master Chief Hospital Corpsman Kai Edard Mazen," Kai replied. "Born 30, April, 2332. Fifty-Nine years young and still kicking!"

"Very good, that is a match. I am Nurse Sheldon and will be your pre-op and post-op nurse. The surgeon will be in shortly to talk to you and then we will get you ready for the procedure."

"Thanks," Kai said. He wasn't really nervous. He was looking forward to the potentially, highly likely, positive results of the surgery. Whether Kai liked it or not, he was in his middle years and though he'd taken good care of his body, his previous job had subjected that body to significant abuse, both in the field and in training. Pushing yourself to perform at 110% capacity all the time took a toll on you. The adhesion was part of that toll, but a repairable one. Now that he was almost on the table, Kai wondered why he hadn't had it dealt with earlier.

Kai's thoughts were interrupted by a distinctively female voice with a distinctively Nordic accent. "Hello," said the teal-shirted woman, having just rolled around the corner in her wheelchair. With her hair tucked under her skull-print surgical cap, her multiple non-regulation ear piercings and neck tattoo were on full display. "Hi," she continued, turning to face Kai. "Thank you, Nurse Sheldon" she said with a quick nod to the side as she approached the patient. With her sleeves rolled up, a number of additional tattoos were on full display, most notably the dagger on the inside of one of her forearms which became clearly apparent as she approached. "You must be my patient. I'm Dr. Voutilainen; I'll be the one who will be cutting you open today," she said in a tone that was perhaps a little more upbeat than is expected in a medical setting.

"Uh, yeah," Kai said. The surgeon was a bit of a shock, but Kai adjusted quickly and with little fuss. You didn't see many people in wheelchairs these days, but he'd seem some here and there. Most damage that would put a person in a wheelchair could be treated, with the patient fully or at least mostly recovering. Whatever had happened to Doctor Voutilainen, whether it was an injury or something she'd dealt with since birth, must have been serious for her to need the chair. "Hiya, Doc. As long as you only take what doesn't belong, and then put everything back together again the way it should be, yeah, go ahead and cut away...but maybe wait until after I'm anesthetized, okay?"

"Oh of course," replied Tuula with a wave of the hand. "Don't worry, this is going to be a minimally invasive procedure, so we're only going to need to make a small incision to get a probe in there. From there, I can vapourize the excess scar tissue. Think of it like a tiny disruptor that I'll be controlling underneath your skin."

Kai grimaced. He had enough experience with disruptor bolts firing off in his direction outside of his body to subconsciously object to a disruptor fire going off inside his body. But he of course knew how procedures like this one worked, in theory, anyway, and had used both solid and laser scalpels on people in the field, so he wasn't exactly squeamish.

"That makes me feel a whole lot better," Kai said. Then he grinned. "So, how long have you been slicing and dicing people in a professional capacity? If you were a serial murderer prior to joining Starfleet, you can feel free to leave that off your resume."

"Well, I started out on holographic patients pretty early on in med school," explained Tuula in an upbeat tone. It was a relief to see that the patient wasn't afraid of the operation and in fact was taking an interest in her work. "Though, I did have some prior experience performing surgeries on my sister's teddy bear, so you could say I've been doing this since I was about six years old."

"And did the teddy bear survive the procedure and recover fully?" Kai asked, grinning.

"Definitely, though there was some scar tissue because I didn't have a dermal regenerator that would work on fabric," explained Tuula, before glancing over at the biobed. "So, do you have any additional questions about the surgery before we get started? If not, feel free to get comfortable on that biobed over there while we prepare the anasthetic."

"No more questions," Kai said, laying on the biobed as instructed. "Ready when you are."

"Excellent," said Tuula as she rolled towards the side of the biobed. Pressing a few buttons on the side, she deployed the sensor cluster which closed in around the patient. "Nurse Sheldon," she called out, "Can you fetch the probe, and ten cc's of anetrizine?"

"Yes doctor," the nurse replied. She then turned her attention to the patient.
She got the required dose and then let the other doctor know the surgical procedure was about to get started. Privacy/containment shields dropped into place.

Allyndra stepped in and nodded to Tuula. "Just here to observe, and lend a hand if needed. Ready?"

"Almost," replied Tuula, "one second. Computer, launch playlist Voutilainen gamma four."

As the sound of orchestral music filled the room, Kai heard the hissing sound of a hypospray, and within a few seconds, he was out.

********************************

(tag - Kai will wake up in his groggy state a little while later, with Gilbert and Sullivan playing, so he may be confused.)

Allyndra was running a scan over the area. "Nice work doctor," she said to Tuula. "It looks like brand new. Our patient should be coming around any moment."

"Thanks," replied Tuula, blushing a little at the compliment. "There was a little more damage than I expected; he must have been in paint and trying to tough it out for a while," she added. For some strange reason, so many Starfleet officers would rather put up wit pain than make a visit to her sickbay.

"Well let's see if our patient thinks so," she replied and then said a bit more loudly, "Chief, chief, time to wake up now."

"Mmmmm..." Kai said. "Uhhh...ready when you are. Let's get this over with."

"Still a little groggy," mused Tuula, before glancing around sickbay. "Well, in my professional experience, there is nothing that gets a patient up and at them faster than a little patter song. Computer," she called out, "skip ahead to 'I've got a little list,' and increase volume"

As someday it may happen that a victim must be found,
I've got a little list, I've got a little list,
Of society offenders who might well be underground,
And who never would be missed - who never would be missed...

As the music filled the room, Tuula couldn't help but hum along to the whimsical and slightly morbid tune as she checked the patient's vitals.

"Computer please decrease the volume by one third," Allyndra said after a few moments. She was not sure that volume of music was needed.
"Chief, everything is over and went well. We will keep you under observation overnight just to ensure no medication reaction or anything else develops. In the morning would like to put you through a physical routine to ensure everything is working properly."

"An exam to see if everything is working properly?" Kai said, still feeling a little goofy. "Sounds fun, Doc. It's a date."

"Oh please," replied Tuula with a wave of her hand. She knew he was probably still a little groggy from the gas, so she could make light of the situation. "You couldn't handle me in perfect health, never mind while recovering from surgery."

"Tuula!" Allyndra admonished.

"What?" asked Tuula, brushing off the admonishment. "Don't worry, Chief," she added, turning back towards the patient, "I didn't do anything that would affect that."

Kai sighed. His head was clearing, and he wasn't really as groggy as he had let on anyway.

"That's good, Doc," Kai said, chuckling as he spoke. "Because I'm not done with that just yet."

“Good,” replied Tuula. “Though I also do vasectomies, so keep me in mind when you are.”

Kai laughed again.

"A vasectomy puts an end to sex for procreation ," he said. "Recreational sex would still be on the table!"

Allyndra just shook her head, "Well I was hoping to start off a bit more professionally. Well maybe if you get interested you can always stay for the night and maybe a bite." She made a quick flash of those sharp teeth.

Kai laughed.

"Whenever you want, Doc, I'm ready for you!" Kai said. He started to nod off again. "But...maybe let me catch a quick nap. Those were some impressive drugs you gave me. If you get desperate, feel free to take advantage of me in my sleep. All flirting aside, ladies...Doctors, thank you very much. This should keep me in the game a while longer. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Kai yawned, then lay back on the bio bed and closed his eyes.

"Then we shall see you in the morning," Allyndra said and nodded to Tuula. "Doctor, let's let our patient rest. I think we have overwhelmed him a bit."

OFF

Master Chief Hospital Corpsman Kai Mazen
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo-A

Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen, M.D.
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A

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