round 13 JP: Shagan/Varas/Fax: Like Giving Birth Part Three

[Alexander Matthews]

((Operation block, Infirmary, a few minutes later, USS Discovery-C))

::Fenna Fax laid down on the operation table, her long blond hair spilled on the

thin white pillow. Her body was muscular, just the right side of athletic,

without being masculine. Though her face was calm now,Telice could perceive the

tension in her body as she laid her hands on the future host's abdomen, proding

gently. ::

SHAGAN: ::softly :: It's all going to be fine. You're making the right decision.

FAX: When there is only one course of action for your people then that is the

course of action one takes. A symbiont to us is more than an individual. It is

a collection of memories and lives. More precious than the will of the

individual. Do you understand?

SHAGAN: I understand. ::She didn't. God knew what she would have done.::

VARAS: Everything is ready Doctor. ::looking at Fax::You are in good hands.

::Telice took the hypospray prepared by the nurse and checked to contents.

Satisfied with the solution's color, she set it against Fax's neck, not pressing

the tappet yet.::

SHAGAN: As nurse Varas has explained to you, I will inject you with a sedative

and begin with the procedure once you are unconscious. If the implentation is

successful, you should wake up soon after the symbiont has attached to your

body.

FAX: IF! ::pause::You think something can go wrong now. Is that what you do,

hook somebody then after they are strapped down you then tell them IF!

SHAGAN: ::a pause:: If anything goes wrong, I'll be there to take the symbiont

out, I promise.

FAX: No you won't. The symbiont is more important. I did have time to find out

that your Ensign Cogud is a Trill. I know he is not a candidate because he is

infected with the plague. You will keep the symbiotic alive at all cost until

Cogud can be treated and then see if agrees to be a host. I did not come all

this way for nothing.

SHAGAN: ::losing patience:: Alright, let's do this.

::Telice injected the sedative into the Marine's bloodstream. Fax's eyes

fluttered, instinctively fighting the effects. Telice put a hand on her

forehead, stroking the hair out of her face. It was unprofessional, but she

couldn't help the feeling of protectiveness welling inside of her. This was her

patient, and it didn't matter that Fax was older than her and more experienced,

and that her consent had been forced. She was still vulnerable under her hands,

just like the symbiont. It was her responsibility, and as per each time she had

found herself in this situation, she was humbled by their trust.::

VARAS oO When she wakes up she will not be the same person ever again. People

come out of surgery missing limbs, losing memories. She will be changed forever

with the memories of previous hosts going back centuries. That is a life

changer! Brave girl.Oo This should be successful right?

SHAGAN: No reason it shouldn't. Especially since she is a prepared host. But

what do I know, I've never done this.

::Fax was completely under now. Telice pushed the thin sheet covering her body

down to the Marine's knees. In a flash, she saw Herlon's body lying down cold,

looking up at her with blood injected eyes. She blinked, and the image was gone,

Fax's serene face resting on the pillow. Taking a deep breath, Telice snapped

her gloves on and gestured at Varas.::

SHAGAN: Exoscalpel.

VARAS: ::slapping the instrument skillfully into Shagans hand::Exoscalpel

::This time, managing the patient's blood flow was of the essence, and a lot

trickier.::

SHAGAN: Take that protoplaser. ::she told nurse Varas.:: Now, when I cut through

with the exoscalpel, I want you to laser the blood vessels closed as I go. It

won't be too hard to reconnect them when we close the wound.

VARAS: Fortunatley for you and the Gunny I specialized in ER and trauma surgery.

won't be a problem.

SHAGAN: Excellent.

::Tricorder in hand, Telice prodded the area of Fax's abdomen once more. The

device emitted a satisfying bip to indicate the presence of the cavity all

trained Trills possessed, and Telice marked the area with a swift hand.::

SHAGAN: Going in. ::she started cutting, keeping an eye on Varas' progress with

the protoplaser.:: Steady, steady.

::Some blood trickled down the Marine's hip, silently absorbed by the

biosterilizers.::

::Telice had studied implantation procedure on her last year at the Academy, and

she was certainly glad for it now. The opening didn't need to be as large as it

had taken to get the symbiont out of Helron's body, but then symbionts weren't

supposed to be pulled out of a live bodies anyway.::

SHAGAN: Cutting through muscle now. Watch out for the pancreas. ::Pushing

carefully.:: Good.

VARAS: Ready for the Helron symbiotic?

SHAGAN: Yes, bring the vat please. ::The nurse rolled the vat to the edge of the

table. The steri-field hummed in the background.:: Grabb the cellular

microsutures. I'm not sure how smooth this is going to be so I want you to start

suturing as soon as the symbiont had pushed past the pancreas.

VARAS: Got it. I can recess the pancreas also to give you two hands.

::Telice plunged her hand in the vat and took hold of the symbiont carefully. It

didn't try to swim away, simply stopped moving as if it knew what was happening.

And it probably did. Telice brought it up and out of the nutrient-rich water to

slide it at the gap she had opened in Fax's body, round head first.::

::As soon as it touched the Marine's organs, the symbiont took on a life of its

own, wriggling to get to the comfortable safety of the Trill's abdomen, between

the liver and the pancreas. Telice smoothed out the way with the tip of the

protoplaser, and pushed it back up slowly as nurse Varas started suturing the

organs and muscles back together.::

::If any other situation, it would have been disgusting. But here it was- ::

SHAGAN: Beautiful.

VARAS: Just like birth. I have taken life out of a body, never put one back in.

Amazing.

::Soon the symbiont was out of sight. Telice alterned between the protoplaser

and the dermal regenerator as they got closer to the surface of the wound. The

nurse was doing a excellent job, and Telice made a note to congratulate her

later for a job well done. If they finished successfully, of course.::

::Eventually, there was only the skin to regenerate in order to avoid scarring.

Nurse Varas pushed the vat out of the way while Telice made liberal use of the

dermal regeneration devices. Color was returning to the newly regenerated flesh,

blood flowing under the skin. Telice smoothed her hand on the site of the

operation, palm flat.::

::It was done.::

SHAGAN: Now, we wait.

VARAS: I will stay with her. The other patients are all stable for now. ::Except

Cdr. Mitchell who was entering the final hours of the plague::

SHAGAN: ::yawning:: I think I'll wait here too. I don't want to miss the moment

she wakes up. ::smiling:: I'd ask someone to bring us a snack, but that wouldn't

be very sterile, would it.

::Fatigue settled in her bones like lead. They had been at it for more than four

hours now, between the extraction of the symbiont and the implantation. Telice

yawned again, opening her mouth wide.::

SHAGAN: ::laughing softly:: Sorry! You should go and get some rest. No need for

us both to stand there looking at that pretty face.

VARAS: ::pulling up a seat::I will stay. My boyfriend, Meng, is busy right now.

Busier than we are I expect.

SHAGAN: Your choice. ::But Telice was glad the nurse preferred to stay.:: Have

someone clean the devices, would you?

::While Varas went to fetch another nurse, Telice grabbed a stool and dragged it

near the operation table. She folded her arms and leaned on the side of the

table, resting her chin for a second. She closed her eyes, fighting the urge to

sleep.::

TBC

Ensign T. Shagan

Medical Officer

USS Discovery-C

Ensign Ziyal Varas (PNPC)

Nurse

USS Discovery-C

Gunnery Sgt Fenna Fax

Platoon Sergeant

SB-284

as simmed by:

Lt. JG Meng Ishkan Tian

Director of Intelligence

USS Discovery-

[Jordan aka FltAdmlWolf]

Hi -- thank you for the submission. Please read the rules regarding subject titles. There's no need to include "JP" in there