[Last Round 2008] Any Finger is a good Finger

[Nimue]

((Deep Space 17 – Medical Science Lab))

Salen: Mr. Any. How are you feeling, my name is Par, and I just patched you up as much as I can. Are you able to process any of this ?::waving his hand towards the injured medic's flat form, the bandaged hand.::

::Par noticed the young man scream as he looked down at his hand, obviously noting his lack of fingers. He honestly didn't have time for theatric behaviors.::

Any: I’m ruined, you know. I know I can get my fingers back, but no way I’ll be accepted as surgical resident. And a chance to be accepted into a joining program with it is even less. ::sigh:: How can I help you counselor?

Salen: Well, first, I am sorry about your hand Mister Any, I have a regenerator set on it and your fingers should be back by the end of the week. I hardly think this will prevent you applying for a surgical residency.::Par watched the man keep staring blankly at his hand, sighing deeply, so he decided to move things along a little.::

Salen: Well, glad to hear that you are coming about...now umm..::smiling sheepishly:: would you mind terribly hoping off the table and giving me a hand with the Doctor here::gesturing to Satscher's moaning, twitching form.::

::Any did as ordered, completely uninterested and depressed. He was watching counselor bringing several hypospray containers, injecting doctor with every and each. Satscher groaned, trembled few moments and then started to contract violently… after few moment her heart stopped.::

Any: What happened, what is it you gave her? ::Any started reanimation. ::

Salen: Less talk, more saving Doctor's life, Mister Any. At any rate, it was a [...]tail to help with the pain and some antivirals extracted from our crude vaccine attempts !::Par did compressions while Any took care of ventilation for the Doctor. It seemed to go on forever, he was about to start electrical stimulation.::

::After few minutes of frantic work in silence two managed to get Satscher back to life. When everything was checking good, two sat on a floor sweating violently.::

Any: This was… ::Any let his voice trail in disbelief... ::

Salen: We did good Any, she's back, for now..I admit, I didn't forsee her crashing..it was curious...::Par stared off into space, lost in thought, afraid he nearly killed the one person he needed to save the most.::

Any: ::tremble:: You’re right. But what could’ve produced such a reaction. Vaccine? It don’t make sense. Just don’t make sense.

Salen: I don't see how the vaccine could have done it, maybe it was the combination of drugs, sometimes these things don't always mix well. We have to keep trying, she has the virus already, she won't live long if we sit on our hands, Any.

Any: And what if vaccine IS what caused it. We can lose her next time. I’m not ready to take that responsibility. Are you? ::Salen twitched on the harsh was Any asked question. Any himself was surprised by his own courage to question his now commanding officer.::

::Par jumped a little at the harsh tone and words the subordinate had lashed out at him with. His first instinct was to clamp down on the crewman.::

Salen: Well, despite your obvious anger and perhaps fear, which will serve you ill as a surgeon, I can see by your tone that you disapprove of my treatment methods. I am well aware that we may reach a point that we can't bring her back, Any.

Any: Are you trying to say you would not stop your captain if make crazy decision?

Salen: I would make certain I had my facts straight before I made a fool of myself like that, Mister Any, one doesn't make half-[...]ed accusations at one's superior officers and hope to function well on a starship. I like to gather data, mull it over and respond as quickly and efficiently as possible. Having said that, you would do well to realize that if we DO NOTHING, we WILL lose her, so I must do as she instructed me to do. ::Par let enough menance ring through his tone he was sure Mister Any must have read the message clearly.::

::Counselor’s response hit Any hard, they just went silent. Both tired, frightened sat in silence until almost an hour later young Ensign brought young girl who was choking wildly. They both jumped, Any grabbed girl and intubated her. It was hard to do, her throat was contracting as Satscher’s body. They worked on her for more than hour but small body gave up, and with tears in their eyes they, with just a nod agree it is a time to give up.::

Salen: She was only six...the virus had done too much damage..I promised her she would be okay...::Par's voice faded to silence as he slumped to the floor. He saw Any slide down the wall next to him, sweat covered their bodies, fatigue ached in every muscle.::

::Two man sat on a floor again, now even more depressed than before. Watching Ensign Lost and a man who brought girl in storing little body in a black bag they just reached for each other’s hand.::

Any: Now I understand. If Doctor Satscher ordered you to use vaccine on her, let’s carry on her orders. It’s time for next round.

Salen: We can't let the Doctor die, she will if we don't keep trying, we need her to end this all, ..::looking at Any with a smile:: you ready for this Doctor ? ::Par stood and offered Any a suprisingly strong hand up.::

Any: As ready as can be…

::Salen administered [...]tail of medicaments meant to help Satscher’s body fight followed by vaccine, and again reaction was wild, but predicted, expected, this time they knew what to do. This time it took them longer to revive her. When finally made her stable it was time for Salen to announce bad news to everyone. To tell them vaccine from dead strain is not working.::

::Par grit his teeth hard, grinding them against each other fiercely, he couldn't believe it ! What was it going to take ? They could bring life to the dead but they couldn't stop an organism without so much as a brain? He felt rage and grief swelling inside, his hands went to dab at his eyes, the gloves of his biosuit making it less effective than he had hoped, the tears started to form.::

Any: I’m sorry, Sir. ::Any paused for just a moment to let Salen compose himself.::Sir, you should check on Somers. In all this mess we forgot her.

::Par cursed himself, of course Alex needed care, she was in who knew what kind of danger if she wasn't take care of...head injuries don't fix themselves...well almost always don't. He turned to Any, summoning strength and conviction.::

Salen: Go and check the samples on the centrifuge against those that Satscher had donated, looking for specific protein sequences, common threads as it were.

Any: Yes, Sir. ::Any was too distressed to say, or ask anything else, and even more when Commander Riley entered lab like a Tiger…::

Riley: Counselor, what is Doctor Satscher's status?

Lt.jg. Par Salen

Counselor

USS Tiger