Posted by Captain Chris Taggart (Captain) in Main Sim: Romulan Sickbay - An Unwelcome Homecoming [TAG T’Aria]

Posted by Ensign Kastarak (Doctor / Counsellor) in Main Sim: Romulan Sickbay - An Unwelcome Homecoming [TAG T’Aria]

Posted by Lieutenant Symar (Chief Medical Officer) in Main Sim: Romulan Sickbay - An Unwelcome Homecoming [TAG T’Aria]
Posted by… suppressed (22) by the Post Ghost! 👻
(Snip)
“I…” Symar paused for a few seconds, weighing up his options, “You’re right, personal matters come later, I have a patient to attend to, I will be in Sickbay, observing Kastarak performing the surgery, you know what to do if you need me.” He gave a small nod and slid back into Sickbay.

-Lieutenant Symar: Chief Medical Officer-

Hardness touched her face as she watched Symar disappear behind Medbay doors. She lingered mere heartbeats, long enough to recognise the twinge of guilt tightening her chest like a barrel on a hypospray, before turning in swift pursuit of the nearest turbolift. Entering, she requested the bridge and let the recessed whirs of its ascent reminder her of her duties. Time was finite. They needed to find shelter quick.

---

“Report,” T’Aria ordered as she slipped onto the bridge staffed with the few NEs accompanying them to Qo’noS.

“Sensor scans indicate a main sequence star less than 100 AU from our present location,” reported an NE scientist, “five D-class rocky planets. Between the third and fourth planets, there’s a region polluted with planetary debris and asteroids. It’s likely leftover matter from the system’s formation.”

“How far is the region from its host star?” T’Aria approached the scientist who peered into a sensor viewport that stained his face with pale green light. “And what is the behaviour of the star?”

“125 million km,” he drummed his fingers against the sensor’s outer shell to allow him time to gloss over the information provided by sensor scans,” from an M6V-type star prone to stellar flares.”

The debris field was at a distance comparable to the Earth from Sol, but it was close enough to endure the consequences of stellar flares. Without shields, ionising radiation from a volatile red dwarf could damage their systems, endangering Taggart and their crew. It wasn’t an option. They needed an alternative.

“Understood,” T’Aria said. “What are our alternatives?”

There weren’t many. Taggart’s tactical decision to traverse scarcely populated space protected them from the threat of Federation and otherwise hostile troops, but also ushered them into a sector of space so vast that it felt comparable to a desert. Few systems to see and even fewer in which to hide. T’Aria combed through the options provided by the scientist, ranging from stellar nurseries to regions bombarded with sensor-scrambling radiation. Again and again, the prospect of distance and shield use prevented her from ordering a course change, that was until he mentioned a system behind them.

T’Aria wasn’t sure that Taggart would appreciate backtracking, but she determined that his health was more important than adding an hour to their mission. She would deal with the fallout of that decision later.

---

As Symar came back into sickbay Chris watched him. “Everything ok doctor? You’re not second guessing yourself are you?”

Chris

By this time, Kastarak had made the necessary preparations in Sickbay itself. All he needed was to make the final scan of the captain, but he would have to do that just before the ship left warp and cloak, and then immediately after, the plan was to make the transporter extraction.

Things just needed to be in place. The ship would need to be in a good place in space, cloak and warp and shields off line, the brain properly scanned and its molecular bindings all accounted for, and then the go-ahead from both the patient and Kastarak’s own supervisor. All things going as planned, the procedure should be simple. What was more difficult to assess, for Kastarak, was how others might act. Would it all go as streamlined as he envisioned?

– Dr Kastarak

“I am not capable of expressing doubt in the same way as humans Captain, I am confident in Ensign Kastarak’s ability to complete the extraction with my assistance.” Symar needed to make sure he stayed in character in front of the CO, at least until the time was right.

-Lieutenant Symar: Chief Medical Officer-

Chris chuckled a bit. “I was not meaning anything by it Doctor. Besides, sometimes it is good to express doubt or to even feel it. It would not be logical to assume any being can know everything all of the time and be fully confident in their decisions? Right?”

OOC: Ric, you still happy to have Kastarak perform the surgery?

-Kieron-

OOC: Yes, sir! - Ric

Kastarak was triple-checking the calibrations on his medical tricorder and on the various other apparatuses needed. The captain would be in the biobed, and it was important that the measurements from all apparatuses fitted one another. He was ready. He just needed for the all-clear from Bridge. Then the captain would be rid of his tumour in a matter of seconds.

“Captain,” he said, while turning to his patient. “How are you feeling?”

– Ensign Kastarak (physician/counsellor – up-and-coming surgeon at large!)

“I am ok. I am getting sleepy laying here and a bit cold to be honest. If I could have a blanket or something like that that would be great. Other than that, I am good to go whenever you all are.”

Chris

“That is a most logical thought Captain,” then turning to his Junior Officer, gave a curt nod and said, “Kastarak, you may proceed.”

-Lieutenant Symar: Chief Medical Officer-

That was not a logical thought, said Kastarak contrarily in his mind. Symar needs to mask better if he wants to appear more Vulcan. The logic required that for the surgery to move on, T’Aria needed to give a go-ahead for the ship systems to be fully aligned. While in warp, this surgery would be impossible. That the captain was cold was logical, surely, but that Kastarak could proceed most illogical.

He decided to help Symar save face by acting on Symar’s order by “interpreting” it as if it meant getting a blanket for the patient. Kastarak went to the nearest cupboard, where he knew blankets were stored, and brought down one. It had a somewhat strange, though subtle, smell. Perhaps it was from some organic plant or animal indigenous to Romulus? He would have to make a DNA-test on it to still his curiosity at some other point.

“Here, captain,” he said, while pulling the blanket over the captain. He was neatly tucked in now, almost like a burrito, Kastarak thought for himself. Was he hungry? Why did he think of food? Was he also dysregulated? Had Symar’s illogic infected him?

“Ah. Thank you very much Kastarak! That’s much better.”

Kastarak took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and went back to a serene state of mind. He was ready to perform the surgery whenever T’Aria gave the go-ahead. Everything was in place.

– Ensign/Dr Kastarak

[O]T’Aria to Kastarak.[O] Her voice burst from the commpanel not seconds later. [O]We’ve located a system 275 AU from our present location. There is a gas giant with an intricate ring system that should be sufficient to cloak our vessel long enough for you to conduct the procedure. We’re en route. It will take 30 minutes to reach the system at maximum warp. Is this within acceptable limits for your patient?[C]

[o] Kastarak here, a wait of 30 minutes is acceptable. I look forward to hearing an all-clear soon after that. [o] Ever since learning Federation Standard, he had found a fondness for the expression “look forward to”. It was metaphorical, yet succinct. He did not use it in the emotional sense of “hope”, but rather in a matter-of-fact, insinuating wait and expectation. He had found that using that expression alleviated emotional tension in the recipient that could be caused by alternative more “cold” expressions such as “I will wait” and “I expect.” Even though T’Aria shared his culture and native tongue, he had found himself using these human-catered expressions even with her, but only when they were speaking Federation Standard.

Kastarak then proceeded to his patient.

“Captain,” he said to his patient lying under the blanket. The captain looked so passive to Kastarak. Usually, the captain would have an aura of authoritativeness, command, and so on, but he looked frail. He didn’t look sick, but more like he was a patient. Clear communication for the patient’s agency was imperative.

“The first officer has got back to me. In around 30 minutes, the ship will likely be prepared for your extraction. Do you wish to make any preparations for yourself? Speak to someone? Do you wish for company or to be alone?”

– Ensign Kastarak (physician)

OOC: Oop! My bad, Symar’s logical thought comment was in reference to Taggart’s earlier comments!

-Kieron-

— T’Aria

Symar stood for a moment, taking in the situation around him, this was going to be a very difficult mission, for everyone involved.

-Lieutenant Symar: Chief Medical Officer-

“That’s fine Kastarak. Tell her it’s a go and remind her that she is the Captain now. I’m just a crew member now until the CMO says otherwise. But I’m good to go.” Chris shimmied on the bed a bit to get more comfortable after he said that. “Ahh. That’s the spot.”

Chris

William walked into Sickbay, well it was more like stormed in his usual stiff dignified manner, stiff back, hands clasped behind him but his usual blank expression had an unusual expression, a frown “Doctor” He said to the Chief Medical Officer, he looked at the Ensign standing there but quickly dismissed him from his thoughts and turned his attention to the Captain in his bed “Taggart” he spoke pointedly, his accent rougher than normal “It appears my junior officer was not mistaken” He unclenched his jaw “I’ll have to apologise” He said to himself mostly “I take it this means I have yet again risen to Acting First Officer” He said to the Captain.

CSO, 2O

Chris had his eyes still closed. He could picture William’s stance in his mind and he chuckled slightly. Opening his eyes he saw that he was correct. “You know you are the most Vulcan human I know, but with emotions sometimes. As per Starfleet regulations when the XO takes command of a ship the Second Officer is supposed to act as the new XO. However Will. There is another clause. The Acting Captain has a right to choose their Acting XO. So you should go bother her and find out if you’re the Acting XO and let me possibly die in peace if this doesn’t work out. I don’t want my last thoughts or memories being of reciting Starfleet Directives. I hope that answers your questions Will?”

Chris

William shook his head “Who else is an option?” He pulled his hands from his back, putting his right hand through his hair “Valharra is too inexperienced, Blaze is too much like me five years ago to do the job and Symar is needed here” He sighed “and placed a hand on the Captains shoulder “Just try not to die” His expression seemed to soften “How are you feeling?” He asked, a slight hint of concern in his usually calm and emotionless voice.

CSO, 2O

“Well you are right about that. You are the acting XO as of now. and I am doing ok Will. I am just tired and my head hurts. If this works, it will save my life and these two can get a medal for a new medical breakthrough. I just wish I didn’t have such bad luck all of the time. If it’s not one thing it’s another you know.”

As soon as acting captain T’Aria had given him the all-clear, Kastarak initiated the extraction procedure. The tumour had been mapped out on a molecular level, so once the extraction was done, each and every tumour cell – and nothing else – would have been extracted from the patient’s brain.

It was the first time he had performed this procedure. Symar, who was – for the sake of the gallery – “supervising” him, wasn’t really doing much, but Kastarak knew the comfort he would probably give Symar by allowing Symar to stand next to him.

Not even a second later, the extraction was complete. A mass of cells had been transported out of the captain’s brain, now lying on a dish next to Kastarak. He scanned the mass, hoping it was the cancerous mass…

“Captain,” he said, turning to his patient. “The extraction is complete. How are you feeling?” Meanwhile, Kastarak scanned the captain’s body and brain for any indication of trauma, internal bleeding or other signs that the patient might be unwell.

Chris didn’t respond. He just laid there. He was still breathing and breathing normally but did not respond and his eyes were closed.

– Dr Kastarak

Symar tried hard not to grin, the kid certainly knew what he was doing, “Congratulations Doctor Kastarak, can you confirm that this is the mass we were looking for?”

-Lieutenant Symar: Chief Medical Officer-

Chris

It confused Kastarak that the captain did not respond. All measurements looked normal, the mass appeared to be the cancerous one, yet the captain seemed unresponsive.

“It might be a bit too early for congratulations,” cautioned Kastarak, “the captain seems unresponsive, yet, all measurements appear normal. Any suggestions, Dr Symar?”

He turned to the captain once again,

“Captain? Can you hear me?”

– Ensign Dr Kastarak

Chris frowned a bit and let out a breath. “Yes, I can hear you doctor. I was just enjoying the quit in my mind. I know longer have what it was that was bothering me. I can think more clearly, my brain doesn’t hurt and no headaches. Thank you both for the gift of life. I am no longer in constant pain.”

Chris

“I would recommend caution Captain, your psyche may be somewhat fragile for at least the next few hours. It would be logical for Commander T’Aria to remain in command for the time being.”

-Lieutenant Symar: Chief Medical Officer-

“That’s fine Lieutenant. I’ll just go to sleep if you don’t mind.”

“All measurements look as expected, sir,” added Kastarak, realizing quickly that it wasn’t clear which “sir” he was speaking to, but he decided not to clarify. After all, it might go well with either of them. “I agree with Dr Symar. We would need that you rest, after which we would recommend neuropsychological assessments.”

Kastarak then went the console and called the acting captain, [O] Sickbay to Bridge, surgery is complete. The implemented offline procedures are no longer necessary.[/O].

– Ensign/Dr Kastarak

“That’s fine Kastarak. She can stay in command until you all deem otherwise.” He closed his eyes and smiled.

Chris

“Very good, captain,” said Kastarak, “we’ll do the neuropsychological assessments later on. You rest now. Nurse Sutalo will check in on you later too.”

– – Ensign/Dr Kastarak