JP - Lt. Cmdr. Addison MacKenzie and 2Lt. Wes Greaves - Snitches get Stitches

[Alieth]

@Wes Greaves and @Addison MacKenzie had create this HILAROUS piece of gold I've LOVED almost since the first line. The sass on it is over 9000 and it's a good GOOD example of WHY medical visit could be AWESOME.

Just saying Mr. Greaves would maybe die later in an unknow circunstances that could involve, or not, a logically outraged vulcan

 

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((Main Shuttle Bay, Deck 7, USS Thor)

The Ra settled onto the metal deck plating of the shuttlebay, it’s hull still smoking slightly from the flight through the intense ion storm.  Wes unbuckled his harness and attempted to stand.  The flight had been jarring and the Marine felt like he had just finished an intense spin cycle on the world’s largest washing machine.  Not one, but two storage compartments had burst open on the flight, the second of which spilling its contents directly into his lap and onto his injured leg. Apparently it had only seventeen twelve minutes from takeoff to landing, and apparently that had been long enough for his anger to reside, his medication to wear off, and one of his stitches to painfully tear. The result wasn’t pretty.

 

His attempt at standing immediately failed, and a wave of dizziness ran through him making the interior of the shuttle spin.  Fortunately one of the colonists caught the man and helped steady him.  Wes could feel fresh blood seeping down his leg, and a spreading red splotch on his patched EV suit suggested the bleeding may actually be significant once again.

 

Pandorn: ::standing up and moving to the colonists:: Everyone, watch your step getting out. Once out of the shuttle, get clear of the shuttle and wait for the medical staff. ::slight smile:: And welcome to the USS Thor. ::to Wes:: You as well Wes. Let Doctor Mackenzie look at you, no problem?

Greaves:  You won’t hear any more protest from me sir. On it. 

Wes nodded appreciation to the colonist through gritted teeth after his head cleared and hobbled his way down the ramp of the shuttle. 

 

(( Sickbay, Deck 10, USS Thor ))

 

When MacKenzie received an updated report of the colonists, she was surprised to see the extent of some of their injuries. Nevertheless, she had the medical bay prepped and ready to receive patients. When Quen reported that the Ra had docked and that the priority patients were being shipped up to Sickbay, MacKenzie was ready to roll.

 

Surprisingly (or, perhaps not), the first patient to make his way into Sickbay was Mr. Greaves. MacKenzie watched as he hobbled through the doors on his badly mangled leg.

 

Unaccompanied.

 

MacKenzie folded her arms.

 

Wes limped into the huge room of biobeds.  A wave of nausea was immediately quelled by the stern look of the Thor’s Chief Medical Officer.

 

MacKenzie: Lieutenant, where is Doctor Alieth?

 

Greaves: ::With a cruel smile:: Ma’am, our favorite vulcan physician is currently located somewhere underground several thousand kilometers below us. 

 

There was a pause, and MacKenzie could feel her jaw begin to tighten.

 

MacKenzie: ...She’s where?  

 

Wes eyed the nearest bed, his leg aching painfully.  How he longed to be rid of the suit and given a fresh injection of some chemical [...]tail to make his troubles fade away.  Despite that longing, the vindictive sense of revenge took precedence. 

 

Greaves: Ensign Alieth snuck off the shuttle and is now planet side with the away team. 

 

Her jaw tightened further.

 

MacKenzie: ::muttering:: Why, that green-blooded son-of-a- …

 

Greaves: I wholeheartedly echo that sentiment ma’am.

 

Wes took a cautious step towards the nearest bed, only to have his bad leg nearly give out underneath him.  Muttering curses under his breath, he dropped the helmet to his EV suit which had been slung under his arm.  The metal of the helmet clanged as it bounced along the deck to finally slide to a rest at the foot of the bed.  Dried blood could clearly be seen coating the back of the helmet. 

 

A small, yet evidently still unamused smile crept on MacKenzie’s face as she approached the man to help him up onto a biobed. Once he was situated, she grabbed a tricorder from a nearby instrument cart and returned to his side.

 

MacKenzie: So, what happened??

 

Greaves: Well ma’am, it’s sort of a long story. Which part do you want to hear first? The part about the underground dragon, the part about an ancient medical procedure, or the part where Miss Alieth snuck away to go on adventures?

 

MacKenzie: ...dragon.

 

MacKenzie scanned the wound in his leg and gently pressed on some of the tissue.

 

Wes gritted his teeth and snapped his eyes shut at the pain.

 

Greaves: We were working our way through a complex of tunnels when one of the natives caused a cave in.

 

MacKenzie: …a dragon caused a cave-in. Is this a joke?

 

Greaves: Uh, no. Sorry Doc. I tend to try and make jokes when I’m uncomfortable.  It was a sentient creature native to the planet. Some kind of tunneling species.  One of them burrowed underneath us and caused a cave in.  I fell along with Lieutenant Commander Pandorn.  I must have lost consciousness because the next thing I remember is waking up with a few hundred pounds of rock on my legs.  Commander Pandorn pulled me out from under the rocks, but it tore my suit and cut my leg really bad. My suit got flooded with the local atmo and radiation. Been coughing, bleeding, and feeling dizzy ever since.

 

MacKenzie: You don’t say.

 

MacKenzie looked at him skeptically, then held up the tricorder for him to see.

 

MacKenzie: You’ve got a lot of tissue damage, a concussion, mild radiation poisoning and you’ve lost a lot of blood.

 

Greaves: ::cracking a wry smile through pain:: See, I knew this was just another Tuesday. 

 

MacKenzie was not amused.

 

MacKenzie: Let’s start with the radiation poisoning…

 

She loaded a hypospray of Hyronalyn and pressed it against his neck.

 

MacKenzie: The leg is going to take a little bit of work - I’m going to irrigate and disinfect the wound first, then use a protoplaser to repair the tissue. We’ll have one of the nurses stitch you up when I’m done. … let me know if the pain is too much. I know you’ve already been given some sedatives, and I don’t want to overload you.

 

The soft hiss of the hypospray was reassuring.  oO Sure beats needles Oo Wes thought to himself as his nausea subsided greatly.  The relief from some of the unpleasantness registered on his face. 

 

Greaves: Ah, that’s the good st….

 

The Marine didn’t finish the thought as an unexpected wave of pain burst in his leg. MacKenzie had flushed the wound and removed a few small bits of debris, then started the work of repairing the leg.

 

Wes gritted his teeth and looked down as the Doctor went to work.  He was pretty sure the pain meds simply had worn off, but his pride resisted saying anything.  Besides the pain was only terrible when she was actively poking and prodding the wound, which was only half the time.  The other half of the time the pain was just miserable. 

 

MacKenzie: So, tell me about what they did to fix you up…

 

She knew the answer already - the rudimentary stitches spoke volumes, but wanted to keep him talking and distracted.

 

Wes opened his mouth to offer a reply but closed it again in a grimace as the Doctor began some of the tissue regeneration.  After a second or two he was able to get used to the new sense of grating on his nerve endings. 

 

Greaves: ::slightly strained:: Honestly, I’m not exactly sure. One of the doctors down on the surface gave me a few shots.  You know, all old school like.  Needles and all.  Then he grabbed a needle and some wire and stitched the wound closed.  Past that, no idea what he did.  It worked alright.  Cleared my head, took away the pain ::trailing off::

 

Wes shuddered again and shifted his weight from one side of the bed to the other.  To hell with it. He was going to ask.

 

Greaves:  All right Ma’am. You win.  Can I have something for the pain?  That, or grab a hatchet and take the whole damn leg quick. 

 

Addison’s brow furrowed as she started to look around Sickbay for a lost piece of equipment.

 

MacKenzie: I seem to have left my hatchet at home… ::shrugging:: Lucky for you, I guess. Pain getting to you?

 

Wes chuckled softly.  The joke and the resulting laughter helped, even if not much.  

 

Greaves:  Sorry.  It can be tough to maintain a composure when someone is actively digging around in my insides. 

 

MacKenzie offered a soft smile as she loaded a hypospray with a dose of Rexlin that was just strong enough to offer relief, but not enough to knock him out.

 

MacKenzie: You should begin to feel some relief now...

 

Wes frowned.  The medication immediately dulled some of the pain, but didn’t take it away altogether. 

 

Greaves:  Good enough doc.

 

The day really was getting to him and eating away at his usual professionalism.  Maybe he was closer to his breaking point than he had thought.  Typically picking a fight with a starship’s CMO was a bad idea.  Doing so while one had medical instruments in and around a large open wound was just asking for it.  Wes quickly attempted to change the topic and pointed at the wound in his thigh. A wound dangerously close to some of his more sensitive organs.

 

Greaves:  ::Pointing near his crotch:: How’s it looking down there doc?  Is it going to leave a scar?  I hear chicks dig scars.

 

The pregnant silence that followed the comment pressed deeply against Wes’s already frayed psyche. He silently promised to himself he would just shut up going forward.  There was simply no need to talk. Ever. Again. 

 

She locked eyes with him for what she was sure was an uncomfortable amount of time, then cleared her throat in a very deliberate manner.

 

MacKenzie: I don’t think there’s any cause for concern. ...everything...looks alright, and I think any scarring will be minimal.

 

MacKenzie finished the tissue repair and stood back to examine her work. Satisfied, she motioned for one of the nurses to come over and close the wound. Addison made it a point to occasionally observe the work of the doctors and nurses under her charge, and to note their strengths and weaknesses. As the nurse worked on the sutures, she continued to press Greaves.

 

MacKenzie: And about the part where Doctor Alieth snuck off the shuttle…

 

Greaves: Well Ma’am, I didn’t exactly see her depart. We had a brief. . . ::pause:: conversation about my ability to remain on mission.  I boarded the shuttle, and when we closed up the ramp and left, Ensign Alieth was no longer on the shuttle with us.

 

MacKenzie: A mistake?

 

Greaves: I know the Ensign.  She’s not one to make mistakes. She knew what she was doing.

 

MacKenzie: ::flatly:: I have no doubt. What did you two discuss?

 

Greaves: Well ma’am, like I said, it was a conversation about my fitness to remain on duty.

 

MacKenzie: No doubt she ordered you back to the ship and you protested...

 

Wes frowned again.  The medication had begun to work as advertised, but he now felt a new sense of discomfort under the stern gaze of the intimidating redhead.  The woman knew what had transpired on the surface. Now he was sure of it. 

 

Greaves: I see. Ensign Alieth must have had enough time to forward on some of her . . . recommendations to you. I assume to ensure that I followed them? 

 

MacKenzie: Well, you’re here, aren’t you? You’re going to keep your leg, so it sounds like we both did our jobs today.

 

Greaves: I can’t argue with results ma’am. I’ll try to take it easy for the next few days. ::Smiling warmly:: Maybe I’ll keep PT down to only a half marathon. 

 

Addison picked up a PADD and made some notes to the officer’s file, then shook the device at him.

 

MacKenzie: I’ll make sure I send this over to Major Parker with my recommendations, that way if anything happens, you’ll have us both to deal with. In the meantime, try to get some rest and I’ll send someone by to check on you in a little bit.

 

[End]

 

---

Lieutenant Commander Addison MacKenzie, M.D., Ph.D., FASFS

Chief Medical Officer

USS Thor

V239601AM0

 

&

 

2nd Lieutenant Wes Greaves

Marine Officer

USS Thor - NCC 82607

E239702WG0