Down, but Not Out

Posted on 15 Dec 2015 @ 6:43am by Commander Terry Walsh & Commander Jayla Kij

1,466 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Rude Awakening
Location: Gavara System/USS Black Hawk
Timeline: MD 9 || 1120

The 325th Black Knights continued their assault on the O’Carroll. That is, until she came to a stop and ceased fire on the squadron. “Alpha One to Black Knights, cease fire and stand down. But keep your guard up,” said Terry. The fighters began pulling back off the Akira class ship and hovering nearby.

“Bravo One to Alpha One, should we address the adrift fighters?” K’lara asked.

“Yeah, we need to see to that,” replied Terry. “Those of you with a wingman adrift find them and stay with them until they get back into Hawk. Then rejoin the rest of the squadron. Bravo One, you’re in charge. I’ll make sure the pilots report to sickbay, even if they say they’re fine.” Several of the fighters broke off and headed toward their disabled wingmen.

“Understood,” replied K’lara. “The rest of you form up on me. We’ll stay within range until we get the ‘all clear’ from the Captain.” They then entered formation with K’lara and remained focused on the O’Carroll.

With things somewhat calmer, Terry allowed his mind to ponder other things as he gently piloted his Valkyrie to the field of disabled fighters. There was going to be a lot to do when they all returned to the Black Hawk. But what he was really looking forward to was the end of the day. No more meetings. No more debriefings. No more reports. No more things to sign. No more. Just a sonic shower, some calming classical music, and a sit-down with a glass of wine.

Then he thought about Mackenzie and how he might come up with a way to spend some time with her. He wouldn’t need the calming classical music then. Probably wouldn’t need the wine, either. Would certainly still need the sonic shower.

***

As Terry exited his fighter, he saw that three of the five pilots being helped out of their fighters by engineering staff. Two of those three didn’t appear to be moving. “Crap,” he said aloud. Then he tapped his combadge, “Commander Walsh to Commander Kij, we have a medical emergency on the flight deck. Three of my pilots are injured and two of them don’t appear to be moving!”

***

"I'm on my way!" said Jayla, grabbing a medkit and heading out the doors of Sick Bay. One of her nurses automatically followed, but she didn't bother stopping to see which one. On the turbolift, she realized it was Hurley and grinned at him. He was easily the best nurse on the ship.

After only a few minutes, they burst into the fighter bay and Jayla immediately went to one of the non-responsive pilots and pulled out her tricorder. "Concussion," she said quickly. "Not a serious one, thankfully, but it's bad enough to have knocked him out. How's that on, Hurley?"

"Blood loss," came the reply. "Very minor concussion. Broken ribs."

"Switch," said Jayla and the two traded places. "He's gonna need several units. I think the concussion came after the blood loss. The two in conjunction caused him to pass out. Kij to Sick Bay," she said, tapping her combadge. "I need... three units of blood, type B pos, in the fighter bay."

=/\=On my way with it now, sir,=/\= came the reply.

"In the meantime, I'm gonna get these lacerations taken care of," she added, working on the cuts that were visible as well as placing a subdermal regenerator on the abdomen to take care of the internal bleeding. "He may develop a hematoma, but that's easy enough to drain."

Terry simply stood back and watched. He learned a long time ago not to get in the way of medics and doctors during their triaging. He did, however, let K’lara know that he would be late in returning with the rest of the pilots. He wanted to make sure that his injured pilots were taken care of.

He started to walk over to Doctor Kij when he felt light-headed. He put his hand on the side of a fighter to catch his himself. “Doc, I don’t think...” The flight deck began spinning. Terry fell to his hands and knees, unable to retain his stomach contents.

Jayla cursed under her breath. "Hurley!" she snapped.

"Got it," said Hurley, finishing the settings on the cortical stimulator for the guy with a concussion and hurrying to Walsh. He turned his tricorder on the Commander. "I think it's just shock," he said. "No concussion or anything. I'm not reading any major bleeding. You might have to have a look when you're done with that one. You okay, man?" he asked Walsh.

Terry sat back and looked up at the man. “Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. Guess that’s what happens you don’t ease into something extreme that you haven’t done in a while. Like flying a starfighter in combat.” He looked at the floor and chuckled. “Don’t remember eating that.”

Hurley chuckled and clapped Walsh on the shoulder. "You'll be all right, man," he said. "Just sit here for a bit. Hey," he said to a passing ensign. "Would you get him a glass of water?" The ensign nodded and hurried off. Hurley returned to the man with a concussion. "What's his name?" he asked. He hated just thinking of people as "he" or "she" if they were patients."

Terry looked down at the man Hurley was working on. “His name is Anthony Reyes, Lieutenant Junior Grade.” The ensign brought the glass of water back to Walsh, who was still sitting on the floor. “Thanks,” he said, taking a drink. It was cool and felt good going down.

Another nurse ran into the hanger bay with three units of blood in a cooler. She hurried over to Dr. Kij and set the cooler next to the injured man and began readying to transfuse him. "I think I've got the internal bleeding well enough in hand to start," she said. "He'll lose some more, but we have to get him stabilized before we can get him to Sick Bay."

“Speaking of Sick Bay, Doctor, would I be able to accompany them? You know, waiting room kind of thing just to see how they come out. According to Hurley over there, I’m gonna have to sit here for a while anyway.”

"Absolutely," said Jayla, throwing Walsh a grin. "And yeah, you definitely should sit for awhile. If it really IS shock- and I trust Hurley's judgement on that- you shouldn't be doing much of anything. How are the others? Still responsive?" she asked, glancing at the other three injured pilots.

“Yeah, they’re talking and moving around, though not as fast as normal. But they can walk.” Terry motioned them over. “They can walk with me to Sick Bay to make sure I don’t fall or pass out,” he suggested. “We could meet you there...where I would sit and drink water as long the Doctor tells me so.” He chuckled a bit. This report was going to make one dandy of read.

"Once we get this guy stabilized," Jayla promised, watching her tricorder carefully. "I don't feel comfortable moving him until his blood pressure comes up a bit. Shouldn't take long. Once we get this blood into his veins, he should even out a bit."

Terry hadn’t realized how extensive the injuries were or how much they affected simple movement of the body. He sat patiently and watched Doctor Kij work. Even after centuries of technological medical advancements, basic medicine still seemed the same. At least to Terry. But he wasn’t about to purposely say anything that would betray the depth of his ignorance.

"All right, he's safe to move now," said Jayla once the pilot's blood pressure was stabilized. "Can I get three more people to help lift him onto the hover stretcher?" Three other pilots quickly came to her aide and they got the injured man onto the stretcher. Once activated, the stretcher could be controlled by one person. "How's that one?" she asked Hurley.

"He's all right," answered Hurley. "I'll get him to Sick Bay shortly. You take care of him" he said, nodding towards the man on the stretcher.

Jayla nodded. "Coming, Walsh?" she asked.

Terry stood carefully, not wanting to aggravate any remaining dizziness or his stomach. Everything seemed good so far. He finished his last bit of water and handed the cup to a passing Ensign. “Right behind you, Doctor.”

***

He had been in Sickbay for about ten minutes when the comm system sounded. He had just been called to Transporter Room Two. Commander Walsh excused himself and left the area. He then tapped his commbadge, “Walsh here, on my way.”

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