A Roll of the Dice

Posted on Fri Jan 8, 2021 @ 6:56am by Lieutenant AJ Taggart & Lieutenant Nicole Anderson

2,083 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Archangel
Location: Holodeck 2
Timeline: 16 Hours Following "Spit Spat Spot"

ON :

At the appointed time, AJ walked into Holodeck Two with a Level IV medical kit in hand and a medical tricorder clipped to his belt. In the interim, he had been studying every Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, and basic nursing textbook that he had managed to get his hands on. Leaning against the bulkhead, he pulled a PADD out of the satchel and tried to get every last bit of information into his brain.

Nicole walked up with her black bag in hand. She looked resolute and determined as she approached, and looked AJ square in the eye. "This examination will be in four areas, and I'll be observing discreetly. Please comport yourself as if you were a nurse. If you fail to follow instructions or complete any objectives you will have failed the assignment. Any questions?"

AJ nodded. "None. Let's proceed," he said, quietly, locking the PADD and handing it over to Nicole. The look in Nicole's eyes was all too familiar- she was a woman on a mission and she wasn't going to stop until she got what she wanted. What made him slightly uneasy was how assured she was- she must have expected him to study and at least make it somewhat difficult for her.

Nicole entered a command for the program into the holodeck and stepped back. "After you," she said, as the 'enter when ready' message appeared.

AJ nodded slightly, walking into the simulation.

She walked in behind AJ and they were confronted with a low-ceiling bunker. Several tables, overturned chairs and the sound of phaser fire in the distance. "Klingons are attacking the field hospital," Nicole said. "Rumor has it they'll overrun us before nightfall. Still, we soldier on. Marines are doing the main fighting outside. You--"

"I NEED A SCRUB NURSE!" a woman said, coming into the main room and looking at AJ. "Well?"

Moving quickly into the room, AJ quickly washed his hands, drying them under the sterilization field before putting on a pair of sterile polymer gloves and stepping through a larger purple light that killed every virus and bacteria on his person in milliseconds. Pulling out his medical tricorder, he immediately began scanning.

"Do we have a history on the patient?" he asked, pulling out the scanner module from the medical tricorder and activating it.

"Yes, he got shot in the gut," the doctor said, beckoning AJ over. She sterilized again as well, another nurse getting her gloves on before she stepped back into the silver circle. "Subdermal scalpel," she said, holding out her hand.

Reaching over and quickly handing her a slender instrument with a purple focusing crystal on the end. "Subdermal scalpel."

"Need suction," she said, trying to see the wound through the blood. "Can't see a thing in here."

Aj nodded and turned to the Portable Suction Unit behind him, taking it and flipping a switch on the unit, causing it to turn on at it's second highest setting. Bringing it close to the surgical field, he started at the edges of the wound and moved towards the center, then brought the hose back outward. As the makeshift OR rocked as they were hit by a weapon, the lights dimmed. Reaching down with his free hand, he felt around his pocket for a small cylinder and removed it. Clicking a small button covered by a rubber cap, the field was bathed in a bright light that allowed him to keep providing suction.

Twenty minutes, and a lot of supplies later, they had the man stitched up. The Doctor pulled off her gloves and received a new set, as did AJ, while another nurse pulled their instruments and replaced them with a fresh set.

And the next patient came in. And the next, and the next. It was meatball surgery, designed to keep a patient alive until evacuated to a proper hospital. The ward was full of almost two dozen soldiers who were recovering from disruptor burns, lacerations, stab wounds and broken bones. Some were being held together by microsutures and a prayer. Others were simply unable to move. Most would survive. A few were on the fence. At twenty minutes to an hour each, it was nearly eleven hours before they were done.

The Doctor wiped her brow wearily and looked over the ward. "Keep an eye on beds six and eight," she said. "And get yourself something to eat. I'm going to get two hours of sleep, then take over. Anything else you need?"

AJ nodded. At this point, he was tired but extremely edgy as the muscles in his legs were beginning to tingle. He felt like something was coming but couldn't put his finger on it yet. Taking a chair, he sat between beds six and eight, closing his eyes briefly for 3 minute intervals, then waking to check the bio-signs on both patients before sitting down again.

The patient in bed five began to groan, holding his head. "Is anyone there?" he said.

AJ quickly rose from his seat and ran over with tricorder in hand. "What's wrong?" he asked, running the scanner over the patient's head. Once he was done, he turned the man's head slightly and opened his eyes, checking them with his penlight noting they were slow to react.

"I'm going to die," the young man said, his voice haunted. "I can feel it...I can feel Death near me...I can feel it's time...."

Aj clicked off his penlight and placed it in his pocket. Putting his hand on the man's shoulder. "You're not dying today, okay? Let's allow the Fleet to get a few more years out of you!" he said. "Just try to relax."

"I'm telling you," he said, his volume rising as his voice sounded more and more panicked. "We're going to die! I'm next! They put a blade right through me and they're going to finish the job!"

"Doc! I need 10 CCs Namaperidol and hard restraints in here!" AJ yelled, holding the man down as he became more distressed.


"What the hell is going on in here?" the doctor said, coming into the room, her hair disheveled from having just woken up. Before AJ could answer, the compound shook as a concussive charge hit the ground. Shouts in Klingon echoed down the corridor to the exterior doors and a large booming crash sounded as they came charging in. "Get these people prepped to move!" the doctor shouted, pointing at the two most critically wounded as she began waking some of the more mobile patients.

Moving quickly, AJ moved behind the bed, rapidly flipping switches and disconnecting monitors from their wall outlets and ensuring they switched to the appropriate backups. "Five is go! Moving to Six!" he clambered over as another concussion charge hit nearby, nearly knocking him over. Removing the various cables, he came across a particularly stubborn one that refused to budge from it's outlet no matter how much he tugged. Removing a scalpel from a nearby equipment tray, he adjusted it to it's maximum setting and severed the cable "Six is go!" he said, moving behind the bed and pushing it towards a nearby entrance

Phaser fire rang out outside as Starfleet forces tried to prevent the Klingons from gaining further entry, but the angry shouts were getting louder as the Klingons breached the entryway and began coming into the compound.

"Doc! We need to get these people moving and it sounds like the Klingons are moving in! Give me a phaser!" he said, an air of authority in his voice.

The Doctor looked at him then threw him a phaser and directed the others out the rear exit. The floor shook again as the invaders approached and finally they could be heard charging down a corridor.

AJ quickly armed the phaser and held it at the ready. "Get these people out of here, I'm going to hold this door!" he ordered, his hand up and shaking slightly as the adrenaline began coursing through his veins, forcing his muscles to tighten and hold him in place.

As the Klingons approached the ward, took formation and aimed at AJ, the sound of a phaser rifle cut through their roars, striking two of them in the back. They cried out and fell forward as two more went the same way. The others tried to regroup, but instead they were mowed down by the flock of marines who had outflanked them and come up behind them. In a moment, the compound was silent, and AJ was alone.

The compound participants disappeared and Nicole appeared, standing behind AJ by the arch. "So," she said, quietly, "how did you feel?"

AJ lowered the phaser that he had in a death grip and deactivated it- it seemed to be much lighter now, almost like a toy. "Almost like I should pursue a career in nursing." he said, taking a breath in the oddly serene moment. Then as his senses came back, he felt a mix of fatigue and frustration. "What was the point of this, Nic? To try to show me that I know less than I think I do? That I can't do the job?" he said as he walked over to a nearby receptacle and placed the phaser into it. "All I had asked your Nurse to do was some target practice. A quick in and out and wasn't longer than an hour and a half and she sulked in the damn corner." he said, his voice trailing as the adrenaline kicked in again.

"This isn't just about her being upset, AJ. You made her sniffle; I've made her bawl out loud in the middle of Sickbay. You made her clean up some blue paint? I've had her cleaning far worse in my Sickbay. Some of which came out of you, if you recall." She pushed off the arch and walked up to him, folding her arms. "She felt like you were gunning for her. You gave everyone else pointers and instruction. You let her fail. You abused them with reactive venom and you treated them like soldiers who were prepared for this. She went first, she took the brunt and made the others her priority, as a nurse does."

She took a breath and looked around. "You wanted to see if they could act like soldiers? I wanted to see if you could act like a nurse. Your job was to monitor those two patients. You comforted a third, which was good. But when it came time to evacuate, you became a soldier again. You took up a weapon and you prepared to defend. And, missing a nurse, one of your patients died because you weren't there to assist. The Marines took care of the Klingons. You were needed to take care of the people. You could've escaped with them and let the Klingons take the ward. The people would have been safe."

AJ's eyes narrowed as the adrenaline coursed through his very being along with the massive tidal wave of stress, turning into red hot rage. " That's absolute bullshit, Nic and you're the last one to lecture me about priorities. As someone who has never been in combat, you know as well as I do that those Klingons would have wiped that squad of Marines out due to superior firepower, unless you of course jacked up the stats. Also, your other patient, had a subarachnoid bleed that I highly doubt anyone would have caught." Taking a breath, he continued. "Also, with your little point- everyone there stayed and participated voluntarily. Your little crybaby nurse decided she wanted to take her ball and go home after she took a single hit and didn't want to make changes to how she did things- watch the footage instead of taking me at my word, which seems to be a stretch for you. Do you think that an enemy is going to attack with balloons and a little bit of numbing venom? You used me to try to make a point and you failed. I simply used what I had as a teaching tool- if you have a problem with it, take it up with the Captain." he said, pushing past Nicole and striding towards the arch. Stopping in the corridor. "Oh, and next time you have a problem with my methods, come up with a fair solution- none of this Kobayashi Maru bullshit and keep that nurse in Sickbay, obviously she can't handle it anywhere else." he said, storming off.

: OFF

 

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