The search for a cure

Posted on 01 Nov 2022 @ 6:48pm by Commander Amelia Fox & Lieutenant C'Tora Kuroka & Lieutenant JG Roger Harrison Jr & Lieutenant JG Kovan Talios M.D. & Lieutenant Syvar MD

Mission: Through the looking glass
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: MD4 1300
1685 words - 3.4 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

Roger had been up all night. He was normally an insomniac anyway, but the stress of a new assignment, on top of being thrown right into the action with the fast decline of the XO, Ms Fox, had him in a tizzy. About midnight, Lucy had banished him to the other room, and he'd been reading everything he could think of to read to get some answers.

So sitting here, at a meeting table, gulping terrible coffee, wasn't really what he'd hoped to do on his day off-he was meant to work that evening shift, but obviously, this took precedence. He still strove to bring a calm, even, serene demeanour-his hallmark. And he WAS. Usually. But he still had few too many answers and even more questions. He often faced problems he didn't have an answer to-such was the practice of medicine-but usually, he could *find* an answer, even if it took a bit. He had nothing, and he HATED feeling useless.
Trauma was fast paced and black and white. He liked that. His brain liked the linear thinking that trauma and triage needed-stop the bleeding, treat the wounds, pray like hell, and move on. It left little room for questioning or self-doubt. That came later, in the silence of the night. But at the time? It was just GO-GO-GO. He offered a quiet smile to the others. "Good morning." Great, Rog, bloody brilliant.

Syvar wasn't sure if he even should be here, meeting with the other doctors. He couldn't be involved in Amelia's treatment even though he probably did have a say in it, being her mate. Uncertainly, he moved to take a seat at the far end of the table.

"Since I demanded us to have this briefing first and foremost, we need to get Amelia into Suspended animation otherwise she will die, if we do not stop this. Every minute that she is out there just happily skipping around being a little girl, more damage maybe happening. " M'Tara looking at Syvar. "Right now it is a matter of life and death. You have the power of attorney as she is your spouse, also you are a doctor. If you were on an island and it was just you and her there would you help her out or would you let her die? Or would you treat her. Right now, since we are in another universe all by ourselves this makes the USS Andromeda an island therefore we must all do what we can do help her out. Your feelings of not being able to contribute to help her out is null and void. Get to helping her out, Syvar, if you do not help and she dies it will be on your head as well." M 'Tara was angry, and frustrated about what was going on.

M'Tara then turned her green eyes towards Roger. "Since my husband is out on a mission, and you are the Assistant Chief Medical Officer, it's time to step out of your comfort zone. I've done research on you, and you are good at Triage and emergency situations, this is considered an extreme emergency situation and sadly it's not an easy one to figure out."

Kovan stroked his chin as he thought. " I'm going to have to agree that we need to place her in suspended animation to halt the progress of this ailments path, If it reaches the brain core then she will die. The longer she is left untreated the worse her chances are. I will also suggest to you Sir. " Looking directly looking at Roger. " That we also use a Neuro-cortical stimulator to repair the damaged neural pathways. " He turned his attention to Syvar. " And I would suggest that if you have some type of mental bond with your mate, then you should use it and try to guide her back to us. Does anyone else have any other ideas? "

"If I were alone on an island I wouldn't hesitate to treat her as I'd be her only hope," Syvar answered slowly, "but we're not alone and as it is, I can't treat her. But I can help make her more comfortable and I do have a mental bond with her." He nodded towards the Andorian, his eyes filled with worry and shining with held back tears. He couldn't afford to break down, no matter how much on the verge he was of doing so. "But how do I do that? I know how to meld, but what you suggest is something a highly trained telepath could do. I don't have that kind of training. What if I do more damage than good? What if I harm myself in the process? I do have two little girls to think about..."

Kovan digested Syvar's words as he thought. " Actually we are alone and this ship is an island while we are here in the mirror universe. We are cut off from federation control and command and only have each other to rely upon. I always thought that Vulcans were touch telepaths. You ask what if you mess up or if you harm yourself? Those fears could be justifiable, However, if it were my mate I would do whatever I could to save her. It is true that you might mess up if you act, But what if your inaction causes her death? That is a possibility as well. So your choice is to try to save her or don't. As for the children, If you should both perish they would be sent to one of your families to be raised. " Said the Andorian in a clinical manner.

Syvar shook his head, then pointed at each doctor in turn. "You're all here, which means I can't treat her. I can help to try to make her comfortable, I can try to ground her, but I can't be involved in her actual treatment. That's for you all to see to. And right now, my presence causes her distress, so until you put her to sleep I can't be near her." He held his breath, making a very hard decision. "Should we both perish, then they should go to their godfather...to Lieutenant Hawkins. As a very last resort, mirror Fox, but only as a very, very last resort." The woman was, after all, the birth mother of one of the girls.

Kovan rubbed his temples as a hint of annoyance crept into his voice. " I don't know where you got your information from Ensign, The only thing that Starfleet regulations state about family is that you're not allowed to operate on them while under emotional distress and if another doctor is present. There is NO regulation that states that a doctor or nurse cannot assist in the treatment of a family member. So according to you, you can't pick up this bone regenerator to heal a broken bone because another doctor is present? Starfleet regulations aren't that foolish or cruel doctor. It doesn't matter family or not, there is a patient that needs treatment. Sedate, apply a Neuro-cortical stimulator and place in stasis. The longer she is out of stasis the lower her chances are for survival. "

"I can't," the Vulcan protested, clearly and visibly in distress, "it's unethical to treat your own family. You're here, you must do it. I am under emotional distress, I can't do it, I can't."

M'Tara held out her hand towards Syvar and in a soothing manner towards her furless cousin. "I can see that you are in distress and I think that we are all in that capacity in one form or other, hence us getting a little bit heated. Since you have given permission for Amelia to be put into stasis to hopefully slow down the damage, lets call the Captain to bring Amelia, down and we can get things started." she looks towards Roger. "What do you say Doctor Harrison?"

Roger nodded. "I feel like that's the best course of action under the circumstances. I'll set up the shields." He let out a sigh. "Dr. Syvar, I'll need you to look in on the others that I was caring for before this turn." Giving the man a goal to work towards so he could be present but not in the way, or in violation of his own beliefs. Roger understood; he'd be a MESS if it were his wife or daughter. Hell, he'd been useless when Lucy had given birth to Minnie. He went to the surgical suite-a
quiet place for Fox to rest and recover. "Lt. Kovan, I can use your assistance, please."

"I think I should be present when you put her into stasis," Syvar commented, his voice shaking. What if something went wrong? He'd never forgive himself if he wasn't there if something were to happen. "And then I need to look after the girls." He shook his head, knowing he was walking a fine line in terms of insubordination. "Right now, I shouldn't be treating anyone." At least he had that much clarity of mind to make that consideration.

Roger just shrugged. "OK. When she returns, you can be here. For now, go sit in my office! I'll be around in a moment to discuss some things. It's open." He kept his voice just south of exasperated and hoped he projected a caring tone. "My wife will help you with your daughters, too, if you need her to. Lord knows she's got the baby fever again." He shouldn't have said that, he HATED to disparage Luce in front of people, but he was losing his mind, between the other man's nerves and his own nervousness at his abilities.

Slowly, the younger man nodded and walked off. Not to the office as ordered, but towards the ward where his girls were hopefully still sleeping. He preferred to be near them, than all alone in the office.


Lieutenant JG Kovan Talios
Medical Doctor
USS Andromeda
pnpc C'Tora

LtJG Roger A Harrison, MD

Commander Amelia Fox
XO
USS Andromeda

Ensign M'Tara Kuroka
Medical Personnel/Researcher
USS Andromeda

Ensign Syvar
stricken Medical Officer
pnpc Aidan