Posted by Captain Calvin Marius (Captain) in Nothing good happens after 2am - Medical

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Vanessa Slade (CNS) in Nothing good happens after 2am - Medical

Posted by Captain Calvin Marius (Captain) in Nothing good happens after 2am - Medical
Posted by… suppressed (25) by the Post Ghost! 👻
The trim blue uniformed officer staggered in, a large burn covering the majority of his face, heat and smoke trauma long his neck and top of his uniform, but given the low amount of blood… the initial impression was mostly 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns.

The bio-bed in Medical Bay hummed softly, as the officer was moved there. There was a brief flicker as it monitor flashed off then back on to begin monitoring the officers vital signs.

The same flicker occurred with the handheld medical tricorder,

Marius

Edelu didn’t need the diagnostic readouts to know the injury was severe. The scent of scorched uniform, charred flesh, and faint ozone filled the air—fresh, recent, violent. It took effort not to recoil. But he didn’t.

Instead, he moved with purpose.

“Bio-bed Three is active. Monitor’s lagging,” he noted to the nurse beside him as the flicker repeated. He didn’t look up. “Give Engineering a quiet ping. I want redundancy online now. If the readings drop mid-treatment…”

His voice trailed off with implication. Edelu crouched beside the officer, meeting the uneven rhythm of the man’s breath. He was young. No more than thirty. No rank pips visible through the charred collar.

“Lieutenant?” he said softly, voice low but insistent. “Can you hear me?”

“I can… doctor, I can’t see anything but blurry images.” He said his hand over his face, blood leaking from between his fingers.

He raised his medical tricorder again, watching it blink to life, hesitate, then stabilize.
“Multiple degrees of dermal trauma. Face, neck, upper torso—”

His tone shifted seamlessly to his nurse. “0.25 cc neurodazine, prepare the dermal regenerator and respiratory support. I need his airway monitored continuously.”

He tapped his combadge.

“I don’t want that,” he pushed Edelu’s arm that held the hypospray. It was a firm push, but not something that Edelu would have much difficulty getting around. The Lieutenant was strong, but disoriented and blinded.

=/\=Edelu to Engineering. This is sickbay reporting flickering sensors and I’m flagging an equipment and systems integrity check.=/\=

He glanced again at the patient’s face—burned and blistered, unrecognizable—but his expression remained neutral.

“Stay with us, Lieutenant. I’ve got you now.”

Dr. Edelu, M.D. ○●●
Chief Medical Officer
U.S.S. Genesis

“Why are we even out here?” he questioned his voice tinged with pain, but more with anger strangely. “So strange ship can take shots at us?”

The in almost a paranoid change, “Its all about the Federation trying to get more power… more planets more people more power.. and what do we get blown up in the face.” He ended with a snap.

Lieutenant Bloody Face

The Lieutenant’s voice cracked—not just from injury, but from something deeper. Rage. Disorientation. Fear masquerading as fury.

Edelu didn’t flinch.

He leaned in slightly, close enough for his voice to land gently beneath the sharpness of the patient’s panic. One hand moved to stabilize the regenerator, the other hovered just near the officer’s shoulder—not quite touching, but present.

“The pain makes everything louder,” he said softly. “Thoughts. Fears. Doubts. They come in waves.”

“I don’t need philosophical words; I need a why. What’s it all for??” He demanded.

He gave a quiet nod to the nurse at his side. The neurodazine was beginning to take hold now—slowing the man’s breathing, dimming the raw edge of his voice.

“This isn’t nothing,” Edelu continued. “You’re hurt. And you’re scared. I would be too.” There was no condescension in his tone. Just truth. Even and unwavering.

“But you’re not alone. Not anymore.” The regenerator hummed to life, casting a low amber glow across the mottled burns.

“You’re aboard a Federation vessel now. Not for power. Not for conquest. For care. For healing.” He glanced at the flickering monitor again. Still lagging—but functional enough.

He paused for a moment, “That might be why you’re here, but what about all the rest of them.”

.“Let me handle the burns,” he said quietly. “You can rage all you like once the swelling’s down. It’ll hurt less that way.” The corners of his mouth lifted—just slightly.

“Besides… I find it’s easier to curse policy when you’re not struggling to breathe.” He adjusted the cortical stimulator, then lowered his voice further—barely above a whisper.

“But if something else is bothering you—if something happened out there—I will listen. Not as a Starfleet officer. As your physician.” And he meant it. Because not every wound bled. Some just refused to close.

Lt. Cmdr. Edelu, M.D. ○●●
Chief Medical Officer
U.S.S. Genesis

“What is the company line, find strange new worlds and if they don’t willingly fall under the spell of Federation riches, wait until someone tries to conquer them and then make them pay for their freedom.”

Lieutenant burnface

Edelu’s expression didn’t shift—not at the bitterness, not at the accusation. He’d heard similar venom before, though rarely from someone wearing a Starfleet uniform.

“I see,” he said evenly, as if the Lieutenant’s words were merely another data point to file alongside his vitals.

With one hand, he adjusted the cortical stimulator at the man’s temple. The other tapped his combadge with a soft, deliberate motion.

=/\=Edelu to Security. We have an intruder in Sickbay.=/\=

=/\=Understood, a team is on the way.=/\=

The man’s head that was bent in pain straightened significantly, but it still could be a normal injured person’s response to being identified as an intruder on his own ship. “What are you talking about?”

No raised voice. No urgency in the tone. Just a simple order that would carry all the weight it needed to.
He lowered his voice again, returning his full attention to the patient. “You’re safe here—for the moment. Let’s keep it that way.”
The neurodazine hypo hissed softly as he applied it, firm enough to overcome the man’s earlier resistance.

The arm was far stronger than he could have imagined, but he was able to push the spray through. The hiss seemingly opening his eyes wider.

“Your injuries are severe. You need stability—both physical and otherwise. Let me give you that, Lieutenant… whatever your Federation might be.”

The regenerator hummed back to life, its steady amber glow belying the quiet alertness in Edelu’s posture. His eyes never left the man’s face, watching for any flicker—of pain, of aggression, of truth.

Lt. Cmdr. Edelu, M.D. ○●●
Chief Medical Officer
U.S.S. Genesis

“Suspicious, is that a personal trait or is unique to Federation doctors?” He backed up a couple of feet and any sign of injury disappeared. “I mean you no harm, doctor.” He held his hands away from his body and they appeared empty.

“A medical officer’s detection of my presence normally takes 2 to 7 of your minutes. In a bell curve indicating that you are in the upper 4 percent of alertness.”

Not Lieutenant Burned Face

Edelu’s gaze softened just slightly—not out of trust, but in measured acknowledgment.

“Perception and suspicion are close cousins,” he said, voice low and even. “I learned early that noticing what others miss often keeps one alive… perhaps that is why a man from a bronze-age world managed to leave it, and to stand here in a Starfleet uniform.”

He kept the regenerator steady, the hum filling the short silence that followed.

“You say you mean no harm, and I am inclined to believe you—for now. But if I am among the four percent who would have noticed you sooner…” His head tilted a fraction, studying the man’s eyes. “Then you can understand why I must ask—who am I speaking with?”

Lt. Cmdr. Edelu, M.D. ○●●
Chief Medical Officer
U.S.S. Genesis

Two Security NEs entered Sickbay at that time, searching for something out of place and not clocking anything that obviously didn’t belong.

Security Team

“My name is Tennor, not that that means anything to you. I am first contact volunteer. I guess you can imagine that coming on to an unknown ship, in a role that will soon or later get discovered, has a high degree of danger. Thus the need to have volunteers. It is a very revered and honored role, but not necessarily long lived.”

The man turned his head but not his body, each action very slow and measured as not to cause alarm. “Is your security going to imprison or kill me. It is not my intention to resist…” He glanced up, “that’s not entirely true, if they do plan on killing me, I might resist.”

Not Lieutenant Burned Face

Edelu regarded Tennor with the same steady, deliberate composure as before, his hands now idle at his sides.

“Volunteers in dangerous roles,” he said, voice quiet but carrying, “are rarely without conviction. And conviction rarely exists without risk. That much I can respect.”
He spared a brief glance toward the security officers—just enough for them to catch the unspoken signal to hold their position—before returning his attention fully to Tennor.

The taller of the pair caught the signal, having been looking at the CMO, since he’d called in the alert. A subtle elbow jab got the shorter looking that way as well. The man on the biobed didn’t look like an intruder to either of them, but obviously the call had been made for a reason…

“You are not my prisoner,” he continued, “nor are you my enemy—unless you choose to be. But until my captain knows of you, your movements will remain… limited.”

His head tilted slightly, studying Tennor’s expression with the same precision he might give a tricorder scan. “If the role you speak of is as revered as you say, then I will honor it with the same respect. And I would prefer we both avoid turning that honor into conflict.”

The silence that followed was not a challenge—it was an open space, left for Tennor to step into, if he wished.

Lt. Cmdr. Edelu, M.D. ○●●
Chief Medical Officer
U.S.S. Genesis

COS

“Well, isn’t that what they all say.” The man said. “That’s the reason why we put volunteers on ships. Its easy to say the right things when you are trying to impress people.”

“You, probably due to your covert nature, revealed very little of what you Federation people are all about and now I can only determine what you aren’t as opposed to what you are. Which is really the point.”

NotBurnedFace

keeping it alive

Julie Jenkins moved between the CMO and the patient. “I got this doctor,” she said gently. Placing her hand over the CMO’s she took the tricorder from him effortlessly. The two security officers that had arrived in sickbay had opened up their comms. Edelu was as pragmatic as any doctor but pragmatism often resulted in needing the calvary. So Julie had donned a sickbay nursing uniform and was on the scene. As a nurse she was easily accepted into this role. As a security officer, everyone overlooked her. She was thin, petite, and a female. Even though they were far in the future, her size and sex often made others take a second glance at her when she showed up in a room. “So what does your civilization say about throwing in volunteers as the first wave. In the Federation we have two types of volunteers. Volunteers and voluntolds. I feel like you might be the latter.”

Julie felt the man was slightly condescending but that did happen with some aliens. They either wanted to blow your head off with a weapon or talk down to you like a parent.

Julie Jenkins NE security

“Well, races tend to react quite violently when they find an officers behind the lines.” He avoided saying agent, or even worse spy. Those people didn’t have the same protections military personal had during times of war and while he was willing to put himself in harms way he wasn’t going to make worse than it needed to be.

He turned slightly to face the new speaker. He kept his hands away from his body. Not that this meant he wasn’t dangerous, but it was a pretty universal sign of non-aggresssion.... ‘see nothing in my hands.”

Not burned face

“Company and fish both stink after three days,” Julie stated. “Especially unexpected company that pop in without an rhyme or reason. Guests tend to knock. Intruders break in which is essentially what you did,” she batted his hands away and began to treat the injuries on the man. “So what are you doing here if not to cause mischief, confusion and delay. I can tell your my boss is not a fan of the MCD.” These medical tricorders were a nifty little gadget. The could suture or open one up depending on the need.

Julie

“I’ll confess I came without warning, but isn’t someone who comes in peace something you welcome and isn’t a welcome another word for an invitation?” He tilted his head. The sentence was circular and somewhat logical, but that didn’t always make it true.

Notburnedface

“No,” Julie said immediately. “You might be friendly but that does not mean you are welcome to strut about like you own the place. I would also say your definition of peaceful and ours differ. Your ship is parked off our port bow and not exactly answering hails. That is lurking not visiting.” Even though Julie was masquerading as a medical officer, her spot on the security team allowed her updates many of the other crew were not privy to.

Julie Jenkins

The ‘man’ stopped and looked confused for a moment. “I don’t walk around like I own the place. I understand my presence causes chaos.” He didn’t add that that was the entire point.

“It is how things are done on my world. I’m certain you and your people have a number of behaviors that I would characterize as unpleasant.”

Not Burnedface.

“Yes but you are not on your world. You are on ours. Why,” Julie asked point blank

Julie NE

“Your ships records calls its first contact. We are doing the thing, first contact.” He did a small wave without any sudden movements. “To clarify though, records, especially the unsecured ones can be faked. Dipolmats are known to be deceptive, while somehow not completely lying. What is harder to deceive is what people due when under pressure… ”

Not burnedface.

“Do you have access to our computer network,” she asked incredulously. His comment about unsecured records made her uneasy.

Julie NE