A Simple Examination

Posted on 14 Jan 2019 @ 10:25am by Lieutenant Junior Grade Artemis Ward, M.D. (Jan 2389 - TRSNFR After Gorn War) & Ensign Edtoto Nar'Sivaro (Jan 2389-POW-TRNSFR After Second Battle of XFY)

Mission: Ka Hakaka Maikaʻi - The Good Fight
Location: Sick Bay
Timeline: Immediately after "The New Face in Engineering"

Dr. Ward was on duty in sick bay when he spotted an alien crewmember making their way slowly through the entrance. He made his way over, hands in the pockets of his lab coat, and presented himself. "Excuse me, what do you need?" He asked.

Edtoto looked at Dr. Ward calmly, looking down at herself, then back to the Doctor. "I was ordered here by Commander Zamora," She said simply, continuing her walk, sitting on a bed. "Medical and Psychological test. I was one of the hostages of the Wyoming, if you recall," She added, pulling a clip on the metal leg. There was a quick hiss of air, and it came detached, revealing the stump that looked as if it was covered in cobwebs. "I think I worry him..."

Dr. Ward followed his patient over to the bed, then reached for his tricorder, and began his examination dispassionately. "There are several causes for concern," he remarked as he worked. "In addition to physical injury, there is malnutrition, environmental damage if some part of the Gorn atmosphere is harmful to you, results of their 'experimentation,' not to mention the possibility of psychological trauma. There's quite a lot the experience of being imprisoned can do to damage your health." He stopped as he reached the leg stump, taking a second pass over it with his tricorder. "Hmm, is your species able to regenerate lost appendages?" he asked with a note of curiosity.

"This is not the first time I have lost my leg," Edtoto said, her head twitching as she looked over the machine in Ward's hand. "Our bodies heal physical damage easily, and reject implants..." She said, looking away. "The Gorn did not like that... They just kept trying and took any frustration out on me," She said, her tone flat and artificial, as if it was a computer talking. Her fingers tapped on her good leg. "Calculations... I will need to remake my prosthetic tomorrow. However, a Doctor Crusher was doing research on cybernetics that allowed for regeneration. I only had a few minutes to look the information over, so I was not able to attempt to replicate the technology..."

"Well, there are a few options, available. One is a sort of cybernetic core limb, like a bone almost, that your body regenerates around. Though you say that your body rejects implants. In that case I would recommend a simpler cocktail of medicines. There are drugs developed to boost the effectiveness of natural regeneration, assisting your own healing factors." Dr. Ward mused.

"I suppose you would be correct," she said, holding onto the severed stump with both hands. "I would reject the implant without my people's doctors building it. I had an IUD implant, but the form removed it trying to figure out why their immigrants wouldn't hold," she muttered, quietly, looking around again. "Is there anything in here that is broken?"

"We were lucky to be spared any serious damage here in sickbay, there's a few things that are burned out, and some maintenance issues to handle. All things that are being taken care of, right now you should concern yourself with your treatment and the work of healing." Dr. Ward replied. "I'll go and prepare your medication, I need to check the guidelines regarding your species as well, just to make sure there isn't a chance of drug antagonism. Wait here and I will be back shortly." With that he turned and left Edtoto alone with her thoughts for a moment.

She watched as the doctor walked away, looking over at one of the panels that were burnt out. Once she lost sight of him, she got up, pulling her tools out of her belt and wandering over to the panel. She dismantled it, quickly, muttering to herself as she examined the damage done to the panel, before setting to her work. By the time the doctor had returned, she was in the process of replacing the panel "Can't work... Can't work my last tail," She was muttering as she did, her hand shaking when she finally finished. "You can't stop me from working..."

"No I can't stop you, not without placing you under 'round-the-clock supervision." Dr. Ward commented. "But, you should consider if this is actually doing you any good, is throwing yourself into your work genuinely helping you to cope with what's happened, or is it just contributing more to your sense of tension and unease?"

Edtoto growled. "Machines are the only things that provide me comfort..." She said, looking at the doctor. "Small brains of you humans don't understand me," She added, given her rhetorical statements were answered, walking back over to the table. "If you hurt, you would want to be around your friends. Why can I not be?"

"Sometimes that can help, sometimes it doesn't. If being unable to work is causing you this much anxiety, I would suggest that it's an unhealthy coping mechanism. I have your medicine here," at this he produced a hypospray charged with a vial of light blue fluid, "It appears completely safe, but some patients report varying levels of discomfort during regeneration, from a burning sensation, to growing pains, to itching and irritation. Do you want to go ahead and take it?"

"Get it over with," Edtoto said simply, sitting back up on the table. "Discomfort is nothing to deal with," She hissed, reaching up and scratching vigourously at her neck. "Just let me work."

"Alright" Dr. Ward stepped forward, and applied the nozzle to the other side of his patent's neck, the was a brief hiss, and the medicine was in her system. "You can certainly still work, but rest, healing, and recovery should be priorities. I'm putting you on light duty for now, and directing you to go and work with counseling until they clear you, doctor's orders."

Edtoto let out an annoyed hiss. "Of course. I will do what I can to lighten my duties," She said, taking the paper. "As for councillors, they are also of little help, but if you demand it. What you consider a problem, could be an intricacy of my species doctor" She snapped a little, replacing her leg and standing up. "Now, if you would excuse me, I do have work that needs to get done, before the gorn return."