Posted by Lieutenant Commander Gravel Mardusk (Chief of Security) in Concurrence of Jurisdiction

Posted by Lieutenant Cara Esmé O’Farrell (Counselor / Education Specialist) in Concurrence of Jurisdiction

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Gravel Mardusk (Chief of Security) in Concurrence of Jurisdiction

“Yep, follow me.” and he led her to the lift and to Sickbay. As they arrived, Mardusk tapped his commbadge. =/\= Mardusk to Beta team. Keep eyes on Secondary Sickbay. Counselor has been requested for emergency consult. =/\= There was a few seconds and then a voice said =/\= Copy. En route. =/\= Gravel looked at Cara and said “You go. I’m going to observe and make sure everything is okay.”

Mardusk

Cara nodded her mind on whatever the problem might be and walked through the doors, looking for the duty nurse, but was stopped by the sounds of hysterical screaming. Cara made her way into the main bay taking in the scene. A young man was curled on the floor between two beds, with the duty nurse and a couple of medics and two engineers surrounding him, all talking over each other, loudly trying to be heard over the screams. Years of experience and training meant Cara caught the sound of his hyperventilating between the hysterics, the fine sheen of sweet, and once getting closer, the completely dilated eyes despite the bright lights and the medical bay, and the fine tremors.

Every time the nurse tried to get close the young officer would try to scramble away. Cara set a hand on the nurse’s shoulder. “Oh Lt O’Farrell. I don’t know what to do. He was in some kind of accident, they brought him in, he was only semi conscious and then he just…well you see.”

Cara nodded, “Let’s back up, everyone, and stop yelling. He can’t process what you are saying anyway and the raised voices will only make the attack worse. What’s his name?” She asked looking at the two engineers. “Crewman Poltier, Lt.” Cara turned and walked over to the long counter and took a PaDD and inputting her credentials pulled up his file, and in a hunch, she did a search for session notes with his name. She returned and sat on the floor, far enough away to give him room to move, cross legged because that was more relaxed than crouching and ready to move. And Cara waited.

Cara

As Cara moved into position to deal with the patient, Mardusk looked at the Nurse and nodded her over. “Ok, what happened and what is going on?” The Nurse looked up at Mardusk and said “The two Engineers brought him in. Said he was working and caught a surge of power from a conduit that knocked him over a console. They carried him here. He was semi-conscious, but when we laid him on the biobed to begin scanning, he suddenly became aggressive and hostile. He hit one of the medics and then tried to run, but collapsed then you and the Counselor came in.” Mardusk nodded and said “Ok. You stay, one medic. Get veryone that can get out, out. Then lock down the door.” and he turned back to the scene before him.

Mardusk

The nurse nodded, ushering the two engineers out of the room, sent one of the other nurses with the injured medic to primary sickbay and then everyone else out the door and locked it.

The man continued to scream, but Cara was able to hear snippets of the conversation. There was only a few ways the man could move. Over the biobeds or past her. Cara was far enough back the man could get past her, but she could, quite literally, roll safely out of the way. After several minutes the volume began to lessen and there were longer moments of breaths between. Cara took the time to glance at the files she’d requested, her eyes going wide over a couple of points. She turned her gaze back to Poltier, and finally got a good look at his hands, one was very badly burned. Probably from the power surge, and that meant there had to be an exit mark somewhere. She waved the nurse over quietly and in a hushed voice, “Has he ever been treated for burns before? Any history of this behavior before?” The nurse went to the computer and looked through his medical file and, “He’s been treated for plasma burns before, a welding accident once, but no record of this type of behavior.” Cara nodded, “I want screens on either side of the biobeds and reduce the lumens of the lights by 5.” Quietly she tossed back to whoever else was in the room, “I want ya outta his line of sight. Wherever ya gotta be ta stop him ifin’ he runs, but I want his focus on me not on the rest of ya.” Cara turned back…he was going to run out of the energy to scream in another minutes.

O’Farrell

Mardusk motioned the nurse behind the desk and then he stepped just out of sight around the central office wall.

Mardusk, CoS

Before the nurse stepped away Cara motioned her over one more time. “Can ya make something up for pain and a sedative?” The nurse contemplated. “Low dose, until I get better scans.” Cara nodded, she wasn’t certified to give medications but anything to get him calm enough the nurse could treat him. A hypo was placed at her side and then the nurse scurried behind the desk.

The body needed oxygen and his breath became gasping rather than hyperventilating. “Potlier isn’t it?” Cara spoke very softly, he could hear her, but it was low enough he’d have to concentrate, he couldn’t start yelling and screaming again. He didn’t answer but nodded, an automatic response. “Yer friends are worried about ya. Said ya got hurt.” He half lunged at her, “DON”T TOUCH ME.” Cara stayed still, the lunge was a protective gesture not aggressive. She took a breath and let it out nodding, “Okay, I’m not gonna touch ya, Lad. What did you have for breakfast this mornin’?” Potlier face twisted into confusion and then he looked at Cara for the first time. “Umm…oatmeal. W…who are you?” Cara smiled, “Lt O’Farrell.” Potlier studied her for a moment. Inwardly Cara thought at least her red hair was good for something. It distracted people. “I haven’t seen you before.” Cara shifted her weight forward slightly judging his reaction, “I arrived five days ago. I’m still gettin’ settled. Atlantis is really big.”

Potlier nodded but leaned back in response to her movement. Not quite there yet are ya lad? “She’s a wonderful ship. Her design is elegant and…” the conversation went back and forth for several minutes. Each time his attention wandered Cara gently redirected him. He leaned forward in his earnestness placing weight on the injured hand, which drew his attention away from her. He winced craddling it…the haunted look returning. “Tha’ looks like it hurts. Do ya want somethin’ for it?” She pointed, she thought carefully, at his hand. “I SAID DON’T TOUCH ME!” And he really lunged at her that time. She rolled out of the way. So much for the gentle approach. “Now lad I said I wouldna touch you so ya donna touch me. Now ya really in trouble. Sit down or we’ll make ya sit.”

Cara

At the second lunge Mardusk took three steps forward which put him one step behind O’Farrell. “Crewman…” the sound of distant thunder in mountains that was the rumble of the Security Chief’s voice filled the space between him and the patient. “You have seen me before. So listen to her. She’s here to help you. And no one will touch you unless you try to touch them first, okay? So let’s take a breath, start from the top. We just want to help you… whatever form of help that needs to take, ok?”

Mardusk

Dear gods the man was silent. If she hadn’t been watching Potlier so closely and seen the widened eyes and recognition that told her someone was there, she would have jumped at the sound of his voice. Potlier opened his mouth and closed it, trying to reconcile events that he wasn’t totally aware of. “I was replacing a power transfer conduit…” he looked down at his hand and Cara saw the reaction on his face before the panic set again, “Ya know I’m hopeless with that Potlier, what is a power transfer conduit?” It was an idiotic question, of course she knew, but the absurdness of the question distracted him and he began to explain it to her. While he talked she moved slowly so that she had his back to the biobed. Locked into a technical explanation now when he paused, “Do you know what happened?”

Potlier looked back at the blackened skin, there was a pause while Potlier had to decide if he would panic or answer, “power surge…hit…hit me.” Cara nodded and she stepped toward him one pace, and he backed up towards the bed. “You’ve seen burns like that before.” It wasn’t a question but Potlier nodded anyway. “Worse, when I was a kid.” Cara took another step towards him and he bumped against the bed. “It was really bad wasn’t it? Damaged his lungs.” Potlier looked up at her and she nodded at him and another step. Potlier didn’t want to talk about it, but that was the problem he’d never talked about it. He couldn’t back up, so he sat on the biobed scooting away from her. “He was in a bit of pain wasn’ he?”

Cara held up the hypo, “I’m goin’ ta put this right here on the bio bed,” she held his gaze making sure he wasn’t going to lunge at her again. She set it down. “That will stop the pain. You just have ta take it.” Potlier looked at it and then at his hand. Cara was pushing more than she really wanted to but the man was hurt and needed medical attention. She waited letting the tension build for him a bit, see if he would go ahead and take it. After what felt like several minutes but was only one Cara made the decision for him. “Your da wouldna want you ta hurt the way he did. Now you are gonna take that, the nurse has ta treat that.” Potlier looked at her and blinked and she nodded at the hypo. He picked it up and kind of stared at it and then pressed it to his arm and there was the pop-hiss of the meds going in. He looked back down at his hand, “his whole chest looked like this…” Cara nodded, counted waiting for him to start swaying as the sedative kicked in.

O’Farrell

It took a moment, but start swaying he did. In fact, the sedatives kicked in fast. A few sways and he fell forward… only to be caught by a large arm. “Easy there, my guy.... I got ya.” Mardusk said softly and picked up Potlier and gently laid him on the biobed. His turned his head to look at the nurse, but kept one hand sitting on the center of Potlier’s chest. “Ok, unlock the doors and let everyone back in. And you can check out our friend here.”

OOC: leaving room here for medical

As the nurse opened the doors and came to examine Potlier, Mardusk watched but said quietly to Cara “Nicely done, Doc. I guess we’ll keep ya around.” and grinned slightly.

Mardusk, CoS

Cara turned to the nurse, “Call me afore he wakes up. If medically possible, I strongly suggest ya keep him sedated until yer finished. The behavior will repeat, the only unknown is the intensity at which it repeats.” Cara moved away from the biobed to give the nurse and medics room to work. The smile she cast Mardusk way was sad. “Nay, that was the easy part.” She bent down and picked up the PaDD she’d been using off the floor and glanced at the screen and then swore softly in Irish. She looked over at Potlier, who was well and truly out from the sedatives and the sudden release of tension. She tapped the PaDD against her leg a moment and then turned back to Mardusk. “Any chance I can see the video feeds?”

O’Farrell, CNS