Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Zaril Dovek (Communications Officer) in Main Sim - Sickbay: Five Days Later

Posted by Gamemaster OZ (GM) in Main Sim - Sickbay: Five Days Later

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Leah Hart (Nurse Practitioner/Counseling) in Main Sim - Sickbay: Five Days Later
Posted by… suppressed (17) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Alpha shift was winding down, and Beta shift was due to step in.

Monitors thrummed with their steady cadence, the dimmed lights reflecting off polished biopanels. A handful of orderlies moved about in quiet routine, wrapping up the day’s final reports and readying equipment for the next rotation.

At the far side of the ward, Lieutenant (j.g.) Dovek, the communications officer, remained under sedation. His vitals showed stable but carefully managed readings; the suppressants kept his body from consuming itself after the terrifying and insatiable hunger that had overtaken him earlier. Nutrient drips and automated monitors maintained a precarious balance, preventing a relapse while the medical team worked on longer-term stabilization.

Leah was sat on a stool at Dovek’s bedside, watching the monitors, yes, but also casting out a calm feeling his way. She was no empath but she could channel a sense of calm and knew if she felt it clearly, then those around her could also feel it, even if they weren’t aware of it. It was that whole ‘chaos was contagious’ mentality.

The wall chrono ticked past the scheduled shift change. Then five minutes. Then ten.

NE Lieutenant (j.g.) Sovak, the Vulcan physician assigned as attending doctor for Beta shift, had not arrived. His communicator remained silent despite repeated hails from the duty nurse, and Sickbay’s roster flagged him as missing from his post.

Staff exchanged uneasy looks. Sovak was Vulcan, and Vulcans were never late.

A soft alert chimed at the nurse’s station: No acknowledgement from Dr. Sovak. Duty transition pending.

The sterile calm of Sickbay lingered, broken only by the quiet hiss of Dovek’s respirator and the insistent tick of the chrono, waiting for someone to act.

-OZ

Leah moved over to the wall and activated the communicator. [O]Sickbay to Dr. Sovak.[o] While concerned, she was far too trained and experienced to panic over small anomalies.

~Leah Hart, NP

There was no response.

-OZ

Her face shifted into a frown. [o]Dr. Soval, respond immediately please.[o] She cast her gaze over Sickbay, maintaining her authoritative gaze. She might be ‘just a nurse’, but everyone knew very well now that Leah ran the show under Kreed, and that even the doctors needed to listen to her. Those that didn’t tended to be confronted with a lesson in cooperation. Fortunately, none had pushed her far enough to summon her spicy temper.

~Leah Hart, NP

Again there was no response, but if Leah happened to be looking in the direction of one of monitors she would see it ripple and blink with a static pulse, twice, in quick succession.

-OZ

It flashed out of the corner of her eye and Leah moved over to the monitor, thinking it must have been just the screen catching light from something else in Sickbay. Though that didn’t quite match what she had seen. Drawing right up to it, she examined it closely.

“Leah? What’s up?” Nurse Montri asked.

“The monitor… did something. Could be a malfunction, but I wanted to see if it happened again.”

~Leah Hart, NP

A few minutes later, it did. Twice.

-OZ

Leah’s frown deepened and moved over to the comm access. [O]Sickbay to Engineering. We’re having some sort of odd malfunction with one of our monitors.[o]

~Leah Hart, NP

[O]Asam to sickbay. We need Dovek up here right now.[C] Her tone left no room for argument.

Cpt. Asam, CO

Hart frowned and returned the comm. [O]Captain, Hart here. We can technically do that and it’s your call, but I can’t guarantee the affect on Lieutenant Dovek. Or everyone else around him, since we don’t know what’s causing the issue. But I can give him a suppressant and hope it works.[o]

~Leah Hart, NP

[O] Get him awake and get him up here, Lt.[C] It wasn’t like the captain to be so short.

Cpt. Asam, CO

Hart blew out a breath and managed to hide the wince at the captain’s tone.

Moving over to Zaril’s beside, she grabbed a stimulant that would wake him up. Well, here went nothing. She injected the medication and rested a hand on his shoulder so he’d know she was there before he even opened his eyes. She hoped he’d be in a better state now.

~Leah Hart, NP

Zaril surfaced slowly, he was groggy and his senses felt different. “Nurse, what’s happening?” he asked trying to force his eyes open. He could feel her hand on him, which helped ground him, but something was wrong he could not feel her.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Zaril Dovek
Communication Officer U.S.S Sentinel

“Hey,” Leah said. “Breathe evenly and give yourself a minute.” Despite the captain’s orders, so was going to make sure he was functional before she sent him up to the bridge.

“We’ve had to give you a suppressant because you were projecting so strongly. But it seems to be an external thing we haven’t quite figured out. I’m sorry we had to do that. But hopefully we can figure it out soon and we can stop the suppressant. For now though, as soon as you are able, the capstan has ordered you to the bridge.”

~Leah Hart, NP
He looked at Leah, the only thing in the room that was able to ground him now that he was on suppressants. He looked sad and worried. Sitting up slowly he tried to compose him self letting his feet dangle off the ground. “How long” he asked

Lieutenant Junior Grade Zaril Dovek
Communication Officer U.S.S Sentinel

She moved her hand off his shoulder as he got up, though stayed close in case he was at all wobbly. “Five days,” Hart said softly.

“Hey, Zaril, I promise we won’t keep you on the suppressant any longer than we have to. And I’m sorry it’s necessary. We also don’t know what was affecting you, and if it will happen again.” She placed her hand on the biobed, palm up, exuding a calm confidence. “but you know me well enough to know I don’t backdown easily. We’ll figure it out.”

~Leah Hart, NP

He placed a hand on hers, he needed a connection something to keep him grounded he felt lost without the emotional patterns around him, it felt almost like he was in a sensory deprivation field. “Thank you Le.. Nurse” he said trying to stand. His knees gave out and he started to stumble.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Zaril Dovek
Communication Officer U.S.S Sentinel

She caught him easily, and despite her petite frame, he could feel how muscular she actually was. “Hey now, easy. Your body is adjusting and while we’ve been keeping your nutrient levels stable, it’s going to feel off.” She was irritated that she had to send him up t the bridge like this but orders were orders. “I can’t keep you here- they need you up there- but you’re not going until you are steady. But, if you’re okay with it, I can go up with you?”

~Leah Hart, NP

The suppressant seemed to be working for now. And while still a bit hungry, the sensation wasn’t as pronounced as it had been before. Dovek, though a bit groggy, could easily manage after a few minutes.

-OZ

“Please, i would feel better if you were with me until I’m a little more sure on my feet” he said . “I’m a little hungry as well” he noted Using her to steady himself.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Zaril Dovek
Communication Officer U.S.S Sentinel

The monitors pulsed twice in quick succession — a faint flicker, perfectly in time with the static pulses reported from the bridge. The displays steadied again, but the coincidence was hard to miss.

Behind the still-glowing panels, Sickbay felt quieter than it should have for a shift change.

By now, beta shift should have been fully in place. Yet the attending post remained conspicuously empty.

Dr. Sovak’s name still blinked at the duty roster near the entrance, but his station was vacant. Ten minutes late had become thirty. Communications had been tried, and still there was no reply.

With Dovek only just pulled back to awareness and Sovak still absent, Leah and the skeleton staff on hand were all that stood between Sickbay and being completely unattended.

-OZ