My burnt ass

Posted on Sat Mar 14, 2020 @ 5:48pm by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Lieutenant JG Aergad Halvor

1,242 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Nibiru
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: After Due Diligence

Halvor had made it from Deck 4 Brig to the turbolift. He spoke calmly, "Deck 5." His voice was strained. The computer had him repeat it. He tried again, "Deck 5." This time it went. He limped from the turbolift to Sickbay. He made his way through the door and looked at the nurse, saying, "I'm hurt."

Maggie's eye went wide and she quickly walked over to help him, guiding him into an exam room. "Come over here and sit down, we'll take a look at you."

When the nurse told him to have a seat, "I can't. It hurts." He went over and laid chest first on the biobed. He sighed, happy he wasn't walking. He had burn marks on his back and ass. Some of them were second degree burns. He was oozing.

"Jaysus," Maggie breathed. "Doctor Anderson!" she called out of the door. She grabbed a tricorder and scanned him quickly, then picked up a hypospray and programmed it with a heavy-duty pain-killer. She pressed it to his neck and activated the biobed's scanners, watching his readings fluctuate.

Nicole rushed out of her office and into the exam room to see the prone, burned and bleeding figure on her biobed. "What in the hell happened??" she shouted.

Between the painkillers and the pain, he looked at her, "I hurt myself today." He was loopy. "Emitters blew and I shoved everyone down. Go. Go. Ensign Halvor. He's got a power and a force that you've never seen before." He passed out. He was singing the song they sang at about him at the Academy, the first time he was there, after he had first been transformed.

"How much did you give him?" Nicole said, looking at Maggie. Maggie tossed her the hypospray and Nicole checked the dosage, then shook her head. "The pain must have been overwhelming," she said. She took the hypo and gave him an added dose of painkiller, then a sedative to keep him under. "All right, grab a tray and let's get peeling."

Maggie brought over an instrument tray and they began the painstaking process of removing Halvor's uniform from the charred areas of his back. They moved slowly and deliberately, trying not to lose too much charred flesh along the way. Nicole was secretly glad Halvor had passed out, however. Medication or no medication, this would have been uncomfortable for him.

It took them the better part of ten minutes, but they'd finally gotten everything out of the damage zone, and cut away the rest of his uniform.

Nicole then began going over his back carefully with a dermal regenerator. They started with the deepest tissue damage, slowly regenerating the nerves that had been destroyed, as well as the flesh around it. They also sealed up the deepest lacerations and stopped the bleeding. Finally after another twenty minutes, his backside was healed and shiny as new.

Nicole took the hypo one more time and administered a mild stimulant, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "Halvor...can you hear me?"

His eyes popped open, "I exist. I do have ears now, unlike before." He could hear somehow before, his form just didn't have ears. "That hurt a lot more than it used to."

"Skin is like that," Nicole said, scanning him and watching the biobed's readouts. "You're going to be sore for a bit. I want you off duty for the rest of the day and tomorrow. You can return to duty after that, provided you can avoid more explosions."

Halvor grinned. "You know, I got the callsign 'Hardcore' before I was transformed. I'm not sure I can avoid explosions."

"Do try," Nicole said. "I would so appreciate not having to go through this again. We can only replicate so many uniforms." She looked over at Maggie. "Speaking of, would you go fetch a fresh one for our guest?"

Maggie nodded and quickly left the exam room.

"Care to try sitting up?" Nicole said.

Halvor grinned, "How about standing up?" He sat up, rocking his feet over so he was on his butt and stood up with a groan. The last of his uniform fell to the floor and he felt no shame.

"Well, that's certainly an option as well," Nicole said, keeping her eyes on his back. She scanned him again. "Don't push yourself too hard. Your nervous system is still trying to recalibrate with the new nerve endings you just grew."

Maggie came in with a uniform and undergarments and Nicole nodded to the bed. "Thank you, Maggie," she said, then looked up at Halvor. "We'll let you get dressed."

Halvor took the folded clothes. They felt heavy. "Did you get the sizes from my file? IE just have it replicate my size on automatic?" He unfolded the uniform. It was much too big. "My file has two sizes on record." He laughed.

Maggie blushed. "I'm...sorry, I didn't realize."

"It's all right, Maggie," Nicole said. "Why don't you get the other set. We'll wait." As Maggie scuttled out, Nicole stayed behind. She'd give him some privacy normally, but she realized she needed something from him, and this was a unique opportunity to get it. "Tell me," she said, slowly, "how's your serum working? Have you been having any difficulties lately since we started regular treatments?"

Halvor realized this would be a serious conversation. He put his hands on the biobed and lifted himself up so he could sit on it. "No issues physically. The Psychological issues the shrinks warned me about are present. I'm not nearly invincible anymore. Using my body as a human shield has a cost now."

Nicole nodded. "But you feel you can adapt to it? Are you still able to perform your duties as you need to?"

Halvor looked at her, "I was a SRT Operator. Now, I face the same kind of risk they did. I trained as an Operations Officer to be more than violence. Having normal hands makes that easier. However, I am still going to react how I was trained. Just like any of us would."

"Naturally," Nicole said. "Of course, we can always retrain ourselves."

Halvor looked at her. "How many wars have been fought where soldiers in their 50s, 60s, and 70s tried to reenlist?"

"Too many," Nicole. "'An old plant can only grow towards the old sun,' I know," she said. "But I hope you aren't taking blasts from faulty electrical panels for the rest of your service here. I don't need the overtime."

Halvor looked at her, "Considering I am soft and squishy now, I don't want to ever do it again, much less daily." He looked at the readouts on the wall monitor, "My body absorbed the energy like it used to."

"Well, that's interesting," Nicole said, her eyes narrowing. "I'll have to run a few more tests." The doors opened and Maggie came in again, blushing and handing Halvor a new set of clothes. "These should fit correctly," she said, avoiding her eyes and walking back out.

Nicole chuckled. "I'll let you get dressed. Thank you for your insight. You should take the rest of your shift off to let your muscles readjust, and you can return to normal duty tomorrow." She nodded, turned and left the exam room.

He put on his uniform undergarments first. After he was finished, he put what was left of her old uniform in recycling. "Alright, I'm not naked now." He laughed and left.

 

RSS Feed