Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Sharah Fayth (Medical Officer) in Main Sim [Sickbay]: Triage Command (TAG Jones, Fayth)

Posted by Lieutenant Jericho Semenza (Chief Medical Officer) in Main Sim [Sickbay]: Triage Command (TAG Jones, Fayth)

Posted by Ensign Mike Jones (Medical Officer) in Main Sim [Sickbay]: Triage Command (TAG Jones, Fayth)

—[SNIP]—

A moment later, the computer monitoring Hab’rabi chirped as the display of his vitals drooped slightly yet firmly into the yellow. Blood pressure was becoming strained, pulse was weakening ever so slightly, and synaptic activity was reduced by seven percent since being brought to Sickbay. While he was in no immediate danger, it appeared that his condition was not improving of its own accord.

As if to drive this fact further home, a smear of energy coalesced on the surface of his brow before drifting lazily into the air to join the other three motes dancing lazily about their lord’s closed eyes.
—Jas—

Semenza looked up quickly at the chirping of the computer monitoring Hab’rabi. Returning to the biobed, he checked the monitor and frowned. “He’s getting worse, not better. Hm…” He trailed off, thinking hard. “Let’s try the cortical stimulators. There’s no guarantee they’ll work, but to be quite honest I’m not sure what else to try. If that doesn’t work… Well, at least we’ll have bought some time to think of something else.” He turned to Ensign Jones, wanting Fayth to continue to rest. “Sound reasonable?”

~ Lt Semenza, CMO

“Yes sir.” Jones answered. “Try the cortical stimulator, and if that doesn’t work put him in stasis with a containment field around him. He is the source of our problems. Me I wouldn’t want to take a chance.”

Ensign Mike Jones MD

Nurse Hofmann bustled in and placed the cortical stimulators by Hab’rabi’s bedside, nodding respectfully to both doctors before withdrawing. Before she reached the door, she stopped abruptly at the monitors displaying the alien’s brain scans.

“Oh, dear,” she breathed, more to herself than anyone, “I’ve never seen a phaser set to stun do quite so much damage. Sturdy boy, really. Anyone else would need surgery to repair that much damage.”

And with that, Nurse Hofmann whisked from the room, likely off to crack as many skulls as mend them.
—Jas—

Sharah couldn’t do anything, Semenza said she had to ‘rest’ but that didn’t mean she couldn’t read. And the readings above Hab’rabi’s bio bed were bad. The man had damaged brain tissue that needed surgery to fix. “Stasis?” she said very quietly. “He needs surgery, look at the results of the brain scan. There is damaged tissue there. We have the means and technology to help him. We took oaths. I don’t want him running around the ship, but security can lock him up later. They are outside his door right now. And based on the amount of bio-electric static in his brain and the way those motes constantly move about him, he has answers we need to help our crew.” Those motes held souls, Sharah knew that, her experience assured her of that. Were all souls loving and benign? No, but they had been life once. And Hab’rabi had to know more about them and what was going on. “Stasis might be a viable answer after if he is really that dangerous, but we can’t leave him injured and suffering like that.” Sharah was a bleeding heart doctor, that was for sure.

Fayth, Med

Mike looked at the readouts from Hab’rabi and nodded to Fayth with a calm face. Then replying he said,” Yes we did take an oath. But the data here would seem to indicate the following. A. He was the origin of something which attacked our crew members. B. The state he is in at present is pretty much the same as when he was brought aboard. And who knows how long he has been this way? And as for the motes. We know that they are parasites at best. And while they may be intelligent life forms. Our main job is to protect our crew. Let us not forget. The Bacterium yersinia pestis which started the bubonic plague was only looking for a nice room and a warm bed. “Mike shrugged then and said, “Anyway it’s not for me to decide what to do with him. The Chief just asked for an opinion, so I gave him mine. He’s lucky the XO isn’t getting his way!”

Ensign Mike Jones M.D.

Semenza had been listening to both doctors, and now he shook his head. “Our oath as doctors is the most important oath we make. Medicine doesn’t pick sides. Whatever he is or has done, he deserves treatment, not stasis. We aren’t even sure the motes are his fault, all we know is he seems to be the origin of them.” Checking the readings one more time, he added, “Time isn’t on our side right now. Stasis is a viable option after we’ve at least tried to save him. As for the motes, from Doctor Fayth’s description, I don’t agree with ‘parasite’ as a descriptor… They can be harmful, of course. But do they have to be? Could they be reasoned with? All intelligent life forms deserve the chance for us to try and reason with them.”

~ Lt Semenza, CMO

Fayth listened. Sharah knew the motes were intelligent, that they were individuals, or they had been. That was the thing with individuals though, they could be good or bad. They had no way of knowing which was which, so they had no right to let them die, but that didn’t mean they had to let them run about the ship freely. She couldn’t disagree with Jones about protecting the ship, and Cmdr Kohr’s anger had bee enough to physically be felt…”Yes we need to protect the ship, but it’s not our place to play God and decide who lives or who dies. And he might be the source of these motes, but I would ask you both to notice, that the worse he gets the more that come out of his head. Maybe he has a way of naturally containing them. For the safety of the ship we have to do something so we don’t let these things loose. So far, force fields and bulkheads aren’t stopping them.” Fayth paused to consider, “They might be dangerous to us, but that doesn’t mean they are to him,” she said pointing at Hab’rabi. “But for his species it might beneficial or even a necessary symbiotic relationship. What is beneficial to one species is not always safe for another. So if he is the source, if he controls them, we have to do something.”

“Dr. Semenza should we prep for surgery?”

Fayth, med

Semenza glanced again at Hab’rabi. “If we get him better, he may be aware to get the motes to stop doing whatever it is they’re doing without hurting them.” He knew the ship had to be protected, but he really thought this was the way to do it. What if the motes went on a rampage if Hab’rabi died? He nodded to Fayth and Jones. “Prep him.”

~ Lt Semenza, CMO