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The Betazoid eyes locked with that of his chief. Jazzin was always called ‘soft-hearted’, ‘sweet’, and ‘gentle’, but when he returned the Vulcan’s gaze, there was a hint of hatred in them, if only for a very brief moment. He averted his gaze as Vock made his point. ‘Damn you,” he thought.

“Abort the procedure,” he said, after a long pause. Two nurses, silent, moved to comply, taking away the surgical tools.

He took a long deep breath, both hands resting on the biobed, before extending one to lay across Mclure’s forehead. His telepathic abilities could only just detect the flicker of electrical impulses that were flickering across the Human’s mind. But there was no conscious thought. The scans didn’t lie, though he hoped by all the stars they would, and he could have detected something. But there was only the falling away of the ‘self’. The man would be brain dead. Vock was right.

“Doctor Lauren,” one of the nurses; Kella - put her hand on his arm.

Jazzin cleared his throat. “Give him tetrovaline. It’s not like we’ll have to worry about the adverse effects. A heavy dose … 25ccs.” He straightened up, patting Kella’s hand as he did. She had been kind, sympathetic. Hie eyes darted over to the Chief Medical Officer who was attending Kavad. ‘Not like you,’ he thought. “No need for analgesia; he won’t feel anything. Have his personnel file sent to my PaDD, so his family can be informed when it happens.”

After Kella affirmed, the Betazoid made his way to Kavad. He didn’t look at the Vulcan. “Are we going to try and save this one? Or are we going to mark an ‘x’ on his forehead and move on … sir ?” He could not keep the bitterness from his voice. Maybe if the Vulcan had shown some sign of compassion, but … well, he was a Vulcan after all.

Vock looked at Lauren and cocked an eyebrow. “I fail to see what applying ritual ink to the patient would accomplish, Doctor. Although in some cultures, it has been an effective placebo for pain management.” and he looked back at Kavad.

Jazzin exchanged a look with the attending nurse who, despite the situation, raised a sardonic brow before returning to her work. ‘No irony … of course.” He thought.

Kavad was not as bad off as Mclure, but he was not at all in good shape. Internal scans showed multiple broken ribs on the right and left sides, a dislocated shoulder, spiral fracture of the femur, a severe concussion, and second and third degree burns across his face, chest, and arms. A dermal re-generator and dermagel had already been applied by Vock to various areas, and Vock said “Before we can utilize the osteo-regenerator, we need to ensure that it can affix properly above the fractures. Dermal regeneration will have to take priority, so we will need a full pain management program in place for the next twenty four hours, but no opioid-based substance. They cause the brain to swell in humans, and with the concussion that would be ill-advised. Twenty four hours should allow enough time for the burns to be healed sufficiently. We will need to keep him unconscious and immobile until we can get the osteo-regeneration begun. Once we have the fractures into second stage repair, we can slowly bring him back to consciousness.”

His feelings about Vock aside, the Betazoid began tapping away at the PaDD he held, developing the care-plan for Kavad. Though the Vulcan was being pretty thorough, Kavad was still, essentially, Lauren’s patient, so he made sure to be the one who was going to make the decisions. Kavad’s condition was, luckily for the Betazoid, manageable.

“Yes, sir,” he said, without looking up. “We’ll use triptacederine and metorpan for the pain. Also, high, controlled doses of merfadon to keep him under.” He tapped this into the PaDD, setting up a schedule for when the medications were to be administered over the next 24 hours. He looked at the nurse. “I think systemic dermaline as well as gel, since it’s pretty benign and has no contraindications with what else I’ve prescribed.” His black eyes looked up to the attending nurse. “We might as well start the dermal regeneration as soon as we administer the medication, so could you have that ready for me, Lilian?”

“Of course, Jazz …” Her eyes flicked to Vock. “I mean; of course, Doctor Lauren.” She moved away to gather the equipment.

Vock didn’t appear to notice the exchange, as he was looking intently at Kavad. Suddenly his head snapped around and he said “Wait. Kavad… Kavad… that name…” and he looked at the patient with an intensity that was palpable. “That is not necessarily a human name.” and he picked up the PaDD next to Kavad and began tapping commands. I’m checking the ensigns file before we administer any sedatives. We must make sure he is entirely human. If he is not, there may be contraindications with some.” and then his eyes began scrolling the data displayed. “Yes, here. Grandfather is Aldean. That is fine. They are similar enough to humans to not cause an issue. But monitor his vitals closely.”

While his manner was certainly… abrupt… there was no denying that Vock was a good doctor,

Lauren gave up all pretence at patience with his Chief. “Do you really not think I would have checked the genetic profile via scan results for any contraindications, or that our computer isn’t sufficiently advanced enough not to compile such a profile the very first time we scanned him?!” He asked, with a high degree of incredulity. He shook his head; he was angry. Would this man keep undermining him? He was going to pray to the Sacred Rings of Betazed that he never have to work alongside his chief again, aside from obligatory staff meetings. “It is literally the very first thing the computer does … how else how are we to know how to treat any patient? With all due respect, sir; I might not hold your rank or position, but there is a reason I am stood in this Sickbay, and that is that Starfleet deemed me good enough to my job as a health care provider.”

He lowered his voice. “And pointing out the obvious in front of the staff that I am meant to command while on duty is not helpful.”

Vock loked directly at Lauren for a moment and the moved close to him, looked down at him and said “The computer is not infallible, Ensign. Especially when the patient in question is not a member of the crew. Multiple checks are not a slight to you or this staff. It is simply good practice.” and then his voice dropped eerily soft so that only Jansen would hear him. “And unless I am mistaken… you are not in command here. You are an attending physician in the Medical Section, and an Ensign speaking to a Senior Officer in the presence of the Commanding Officer. I suggest strongly you remember your protocols. I understand that you are frustrated and perhaps even angry. But that is no excuse for such outbursts.” and he stood back and spoke normally. “I take we have an issue. This we will discuss in my office upon my return, Ensign.”

Jazzin took a breath and nodded. “Yes sir,” he said, dutifully. That was a meeting he was not looking forward to. But when it happened, he intended to keep his head, when it did. He didn’t want to have to work in hostile work environment, and the Betazoid was not cut out for that kind of atmosphere.

He glanced around, and the nurses who seemed intent on listening, got back to their own work quickly. “I’ll hand over to the next duty doctor when they come on shift, and will await your summons when you wish to … talk.”

Silence had gathered among the nursing staff who, although attending to their duties, were listening most intently. “But I believe you have business with the Captain,” he didn’t even bother to say ‘sir’, anymore. “Like you said; we can handle it.” ‘Despite how little you seem to hold the rest of us in any regard.” He thought, and was glad the chief was not a Betazoid.

Seth had been hovering, true to get word to look out for Vock regardless of his short, clipped manners. His lesson to the young Ensign seemed unduly harsh and uncalled for. Had the young woman at his side not offered a comforting touch, no doubt Seph would have. The retort from Lauren she let slide because, in that moment, the new Vulcan crewman, in her mind, deserved it.

Jazzin didn’t have the same luxury. Betazoids felt deeply, and they felt everything around them. He knew he was, in a way, being prejudice against the Chief for what he was, but he was from a species where hiding your emotions was seen as a sign of something wrong; on Betazed, you expressed how you felt. It was natural … for him.

Ens. Lauren
Med

Natalie strode into Sickbay, her empty sleeve pinned up she walked directly over to Ensign Lauren “Ensign how are your patients?” She asked glancing at Vock and the others “Ideas about what happened?”

CO

Seph crossed her arms and stepped back to make space for the CO. She kept silent still because she figured Vock was better suited to say what happened.

Seph
CSO

Will give James a chance to respond here, considering all that was posted!

Alex

At the sound of the new voice, Vock turned and saw the Captain. Standing up straight and with a slight nod, he said “Captain Greer, I presume. Lieutenant Seddk Vock, reporting for duty… albeit in a most unforeseen manner.” A minor look of something, concern? Confusion? It was hard to tell as it was so quickly gone from the Vulcan’s face, but then he said “I have an idea, yes, Captain. But I believe it would be more prudent to discuss that with you… privately. And Doctor Lauren and I are indisposed at the moment. Once we have Ens. Kavad stabilized I can let you know, Captain. I do not expect it to take too much longer. Ensign Lauren appears to be capable, so that will decrease the time needed to see to Mr. Kavad.”

Vock, CMO

‘Capable … a real charmer, this one,’ thought Jazzin, but he too came to attention when the Commanding Officer entered Sickbay. “Captain,” he said, with a respectful nod. He shot Seph a glance; her presence during this entire affair had been comforting; he empathic senses could feel the warmth coming from her, and he couldn’t help but wish in that moment that she were to be his new boss; not this logic-dictated Vulcan who seemed determined to (perhaps unknowingly) bend protocol to set himself at the head of the situation in Sickbay.

But the Captain had asked a question. “We have two Human officers. Over there,” he motioned to Mclure, who was being tended to by two nurses. “Is Ensign Mclure. Unfortunately, his injuries are such that there isn’t anything we can do other than make him comfortable. This,” he placed his hand on Kavad’s arm, his eyes flicking to the man’s burnt and bruised face. “Is Ensign Kavad. A plan of care has been set up and I’m just about to start treatment.” He glanced to Vock, his gaze darkening slightly. “Sir; since Ensign Kavad is my patient, and we have a solid care-plan set up; I see no reason why myself and the nurses on shift can’t take care of him while you speak to the Captain. It’s nothing but sedation and pain management for the next day or so, so myself and the next duty doctor should be more than capable of handling that.”

The Betazoid also glanced to Seph. “Thank you, Lieutenant, for helping us in Sickbay. Your kindness and care for these patients … well, it has been much appreciated.” He gave her a short smile of gratitude; the feeling of warmth from her had lent to his strength in such a high-stakes situation such as this. “I owe you one.”

Ens Lauren
Med

Vock nodded once in agreement. “I concur, Doctor. And I believe that the two are in capable hands.” and he turned to face the Captain. “I can speak with you now, but if it is acceptable I would like to change before hand.” and he gestured to his burned and torn uniform. “The Chief Science Officer has offered to accompany me, Captain. She can ensure that I make it to your office and do not experience any set-backs regarding my arrival state.” and he looked at the CSO. “If that offer still stands of course, Lieutenant.”

Ens Lauren
Med