Temporary measures

Posted on Tue Mar 26th, 2024 @ 7:26pm by Lieutenant JG Toareth Rouen (née Darqa) & Zirvell Khen
Edited on on Tue Mar 26th, 2024 @ 8:04pm

3,832 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: Fortuna
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Some time after the wave

Ollie and Adele were nowhere to be seen, no doubt whisked off to some family member, Zirvell thought as he sat by the captain's side. Unlike the twins, he had nowhere else to go. His bunny was firmly pressed against his chest as he tried to keep his eyes open. He felt so tired, and despite the doctor's help his head was just throbbing and he couldn't seem to see straight.

"You need to wake up," he whispered desperately towards the comatose Human captain. "The twins need you... I need you. Please...I don't know what to do. I have nowhere to go..."

Keselowski hurried up to Toareth as she marched into Sick Bay. "Doctor Darqa. I mean Doctor Rou..."

Toar held up a hand silencing him. "Doctor Darqa will do. But Toareth or Toar." The fewer syllables the better. "Report."

"Cardassian swine," yelled a crewman off to the side squirming upon a biobed. Nurses worked frantically to restrain and reassure him.

"The crewman there took a hit to the head. Concussion. We cannot put him under at the moment. He thinks he is back on the front lines. The Carassian is, "Kez looked at his PADD, "Zirvell Khen, 16 years of age...as Cardassia Prime revolves. Also concussion, some fractures and a broken limb. That is all I can get with the tricorder at this distance. He won't let anyone get close to him. The person he is sitting beside is Lukas Fredriks. He's under. He'll be fine."

"There's a damned Spoonhead!" cried another Starfleet crewman being lead into Sick Bay. "Let me at 'im. I'll rip that spoon...riiiggghhhttt...offfffffff..." and he passed out upon Toar hitting him with a hypospray.

Toar looked around quickly and nodded to Kez as the crewman was being carried off to a bed. "OK, you maintain control out here. I will take care of Zirvell."

"Ma'am," affirmed Keselowski. He spun and went back to work.

Her first order of business was to remove an unstable element from a critical situation. In this case, the Cardassian from a Sick Bay of crew possibly thinking them back in the Dominion War. Thankfully, being specifically a medical ship, the Britannic was equipped with private examination rooms. Seeing the a few were available, Toareth laid claim to one. Now came the tricky part.

Toareth stepped closer to Zirvell. She ignored the chaos going on around her. Despite her uncanny El-Aurian ability to listen, she focused all her attention on Zirvell. His eyes were glossy. He held a bunny fast to his chest. A bruise was slowly spreading across and outward from the cranial cochleari on his forehead. This one was in need to attention and soon. She needed to get his attention first...and then his trust.

"Zirvell," said Toareth softly. She had a more aggressive approach in mind, but there was still time to try the softer approach first. "My name is Toareth. I'm a doctor. May I come closer?"

It took an attempt or two until Zirvell finally looked up at her. A slow nod granted her permission. A doctor was someone he could trust, for he trusted the chief medical officer so he could trust those on his staff. "I don't feel so good," he whispered hollowly, "and I don't know what to do. The captain....he's very injured, someone whisked the twins away, but left me behind." He clutched the floppy bunny tighter to his chest as if to draw comfort from it. "I have no one else..."

Toareth looked to another nurse who was attending to the situation. She mouthed, 'Twins?' to the nurse who, in turn, made hand motions indicating fractured limbs then made a swirling motion as though holding the wand of a regenerator. She added a thumb over her shoulder.

"The twins," Toareth spoke those words to Zirvell, "only had fractures. They were taken to a safe place, Day Care. We have a nurse there tending to the easy injuries; the regenerative kind. Trust me, they're fine. And," Toareth turned to the sleeping man Zirvell was concerning over. He was out but breathing steadily. "...He is going to be fine. You, on the other hand require immediate attention. Tell you what, come with me..." and she could see another nervous crewman reliving whatever traumatic experience from the war as he had his eyes fixed on Zirvell. "We are going to go to a private examniation room," Toareth said to Zirvell, "so I can look at you myself and without interruption." She could see Zirvell was having a hard time taking his eyes off the unconscious captain. "Zirvell," she said somewhat forcefully, "you may feel you have no one else. I know that feeling. For now though, you have me and my complete focus. The twins need you. And if I do not look at you, in this examination room, right now, they may never see you again. Help me help you." She stepped back a step or two, toward the private exam room.

Oblivious to the struggles of other traumatized crewmen, where normally he was keenly aware of any prejudice before it was dealt with, Zirvell reluctantly stood and grabbed the edge of the bed in reflex. "I don't know if Ollie and Adele need me," he whispered as he shifted his hold on the bed to Toar's arm for support. He closed his eyes to keep the room from spinning, his grip tightening a fraction. "They're my age..."

He allowed himself to be led to the private room, away from prying eyes. "I don't have any family... Lukas is my guardian. I could stay here, because of him. If he's not able to....I won't be allowed to stay." The boy was visibly afraid. "I don't want to go anywhere else...."

Toareth could tell his vision was not all there. Zirvell was probably seeing everything in a blur, three of everything, with a twist and a spin. She helped him into the private exam room and, once the door closed behind them, she helped him to the examination bed and into a seated position upon it.

"Do not lie down," she said. "And if you feel yourself about to fall asleep, fight it, and let me know. This is important." She let a short pause extend before speaking again. "You should count yourself lucky," she said as she started her medical tricorder and launched into a scan. "When I arrived on Earth, I too had no family. Honest." She moved around him and continued her scan; used the wand for precision. "I also had no guardian. Just my wits and my wits alone. I was younger than you are now...appeared younger than you are now. No home to return to and everyone that I thought I knew were scattering in their own directions. Leaving me behind." She placed the tricorder away and retrieved a pen-light. She went back in front of Zirvell, held his eyes opened one at a time and waved the light about. "You are an orphan you say," she began again. "I too am in that club." She put the pin-light away and looked him closely in the eyes, watching his pupils. "So if you ever hear me say, 'I know what you mean', I want you to know my full meaning." With that brief life story at a pause, she saw fit to inform him of his injuries. "You have a few lacerations and fractures. All easy to repair. My main concern is this concussion of yours. You appear to have a Grade 3 Level 4 concussion. Minus the loss of consciousness of course. But your skull is cracked through and through. Some cerebral-spinal fluid has leaked out, hence the swelling of your forehead. But this concussion is right over your cranial cochleari. Again, consider yourself lucky. Any blow to cause that would instantly kill any human." She brought up the regenerator and moved the wand about his head. "I have always heard that Cardassians have thick skulls. I would say you prove that stereotype true."

"I don't know what that means," the teenager mumbled, referring to the medical terms. "Technically...I'm not an orphan. My father abandoned me when I was about six. I survived on my own, but ended up trusting the wrong person before Starfleet found me." He was speaking slowly, his eyes unfocused. "The wrong person tried to kill me... broke my ridges..." he tried to point up to his neck ridges. "I survived... And now I hit my head, in whatever that was." He swallowed. "I don't feel so good..."

"I don't know what that was either. But my job is not that. It is to heal. And you should start feeling better here soon." She continued with the regenerator, moving the wand about. The display indicated the boy's skull was sealing. The bruise on his forehead also started fading. "You do have a bruise on your brain as well. Nothing to worry about. You will have a three day long headache though." She continued her work as she spoke. "I had to survive on my own as well way back when. And I too trusted the wrong person...myself. And let's just say that I would not be here either if it was not for Starfleet. There.," she moved the equipment away from his head. "Concussion repaired. Again, you are going to have a headache and may feel drowsy for a bit but that will wane in time." She moved to his other injuries, minor as they were. "And we will get you reunited with Lukas...the twins. They seem important to you. And it is important for me to make sure you are all together again." She went behind Zirvell again, worked on his neck, his neck ridges. She massaged about and ran the regenerator.

Toareth saw that he was still holding his bunny fast to his torso. "While aboard the ship, and I don't see why you cannot stay for a long time, you should get to know more people. Lukas...the twins...your bunny...they are all close to you, but widen out your influence. I am sure there are plenty you will get along with. You are on a Starfleet vessel. That makes you family."

"I spend time here in sickbay. I do homework here and Doctor Elyro teaches me medical things. He lets me do small thinks like inventory or clean up and it makes me happy to be useful. I go to school here on the ship but others don't really want to be near me."

Toareth could hazard a guess as to why but she did not vocalize it. "Well they are either missing out or are just rude. Once this situation is done, you are welcome back to Sick Bay for anything. And, hey...Rene and I may need a babysitter from time to time if that is something you feel up to. Gabrielle loves to meet new people."

The boy's eyes seemed to light up at that suggestion but he wondered how much of an idle promise this would be. "I used to help mothers with children," he offered uncertainly, "I used to share what little food I found. But I've never cared for younglings before." It felt like idle hope, sickbay was his safe place. Again, he drew his bunny closer to his chest. "At school they tell me I'm too old to have this," said after a long silence, "but Lukas said it's alright because it helps to calm me,... I have nightmares..."

With her work, her medical work, technically complete, Toareth returned to facing Zirvell. She leaned against the counter behind her and spoke. "I'm in that club too...was in that club. Remember I said I had no one when I arrived on Earth. Well I had a special el-aur plush toy that I kept with me at all times. El-Aur is a flower native only to my homeworld." She choked up a little and pressed on. "I too had nightmares, during our travels after fleeing the homeworld. That El-Aur plush toy helped with those nightmares, and continued to do so after I arrived on Earth. I was already 80 Earth years old by that time. So, you see, Lukas is right. If I can have a plush toy at 80 years old, then there is nothing wrong with you having that bunny at 16." She moved forward to help him stand from the biobed. "If anyone tells you otherwise, you tell them to come see me.

To that, Zirevell's eyes widened. "You're eighty?"

"No," Toareth laughed. "I was 80 when I first got to Earth. "No, I'm...uh...I am 166 now...as the Earth revolves that is."

He blurted out, "you don't look that old ma'am... You don't look much older than some of those ladies that just graduated and came aboard." Despite his pallor and fear, he seemed to blush a little in embarrassment. He showed her his bunny, one of the ears a bit more worn than the other. "It helps," he agreed, "it's safe, and it helps me find calm."

Toareth looked at the bunny briefly. "Then be sure you hold on to it. Here I am, more than 10 times your age and I still have my el-aur plush toy. It is a bit worn but I still have it all the same. I may not need it as much as I did back then, but it got me through tough times It was only a temporary measure but I would not part with it willingly." She pointed at Zirvell saying, "and you should not part with your bunny either."

"Seems not so temporary then ma'am," Zirvell suggested quietly, returning the bunny to the crook of his injured arm. "So what will happen to me now? I heard a nurse say the captain will be transferred to a different ship soon."

"He may be transferred only if it is deemed that he needs further and prolonged care; more than we may be able to provide for him here. As for you," Toareth brought up her PADD and tapped away it, "you are now under my care as I have assigned myself as your personal physician. You therefore cannot be taken off this ship without my approval. That is, of course, if you want to stay."

Torn, Zirvell looked between the woman and his formal guardian. "This is my home," he whispered, "but...." he faltered, clearly his loyalty to the man who had taken him in was being tested. He fell silent, not wanting to choose between the man and his home.

"Zirvell," Toareth started, she placed her tools away and gave him her direct eyes. "I can see you are attached to home and family, and that you are loyal to those you call friends and family. I think you are old enough to understand that...those who are close to you will not be around forever. They cannot. And their absence is seldom of their own will. Attachments and loyalty can remain, even if said person is lightyears away. Your friend out there wants you to be happy and to live your life, not standing by his bed waiting for him to get better." She could see Zirvell's anxiety and doubtfulness. She knew what was happening, emotionally, within his head. And though she had more work to do in Sick Bay, more injured to see to, she knew she also had to comfort the boy the best she could. "You want to remain loyal. I know that. Sometimes, that means you need to be brave, be strong, and make your own decisions based upon the upbringing you have been dealt. This is your home. It is mine as well. Already that means we, you and I, should be loyal to each other," she explained. "Though your friend out there may be transferred for better care, he is not leaving you behind. I know," and she did not actually know but at least hoped she did, "that he will be back and he will remain loyal to you." She let that sink in a bit. "These are tough times, but you are on a ship full of people going through similar tough times. That means you do not have to face these times alone."

Toareth returned to her tools, her satchel and retrieved her hypospray, hitting herself with in on the back of her neck. She flexed her neck a bit before returning her attention to Zirvell. "Do you like stories?"

Her words made little sense to him, how could they when she didn't know the finer details of his situation?He only paid partial attention to them when suddenly her last question caught his attention. Slowly, he nodded. "I like stories," he admitted, "but I always had to look for them myself. My... birth father never approved of my desire to read stories. He even locked the library once when I was younger."

"How rude," she said. "Well our ship's computer has perhaps the widest array of literary works to rival any and all libraries. But some do not like having to actually read. More do not like having the computer tell them the story. If that is your thing, then have at it. I only asked because, as you may have surmised, I am El-Aurian. We are a race of listeners I am told...because we listen. And in listening, we have also become great story-tellers, again, as I am told." She breathed, hoping this would not lead to constant requests, but Toareth always did have a soft spot for the under-privileged. "Tell you what. You are young with your whole life ahead of you. I am sure you have lots of questions, want to hear many things perhaps. How about you think up a question, a story you may want to hear. Find me after a duty shift, please contact me before-hand so that I can schedule, and I can tell you a story. Whatever you want to hear."

The boy's eyes lit up at that offer, but the uncertainty remained, showing a reluctance to believe it as he'd been let down or disappointed too often already. "I've been alone most of my life, left to my own devices especially after mother was killed." he paused. "Have you always wanted to be a healer?"

"I fell into the job more than I really wanted it. With my homeworld destroyed, my family...I have no idea if my parents are still alive...my sister. There has been no word. On the transports though, during those 30 years we spent looking for a new home, I became the page of the only nurse we had. Eventually I started administering medication and healing techniques until, finally, our only nurse, who eventually was regarded as doctor, made me an apprentice under her. I seemed to have a natural inclination to heal. There was not much else to do really. The transports were filled to triple capacity. We had no privacy. Usually had to sleep on the floor and in groups. There were times when...well...you do not need to hear about that," she stopped herself before continuing. "It was not always an enjoyable experience but I did learn a lot. I learned how to heal." Toareth also learned how to make people sick, sometimes even kill without even a shred of evidence to prove any guilt of her own. She also learned how to do all that in the open, before public eye and attention, and still get away with it.

"Since arriving on Earth, more than 80 years ago. I have honed my skills in healing, advanced with time and technology, and I have healed more than you can imagine."

"I can.." Eighty years was a very long time, so he assumed it had to be a great number of people. "Will you help me learn? I don't want to be a soldier. I want to help care for people. I always wanted to help people even when I was little. Father disapproved... everyone was a soldier in the family so I had to be too."

"It is important that you know that we are all soldiers in a particular light. I would not be wearing this uniform," she tugged on the collar of her uniform, "if I were not. But not all soldiers have to fight badguys with phasers. Some of us have to fight illness and injury. Your father sounds like the kind who wanted his progeny to be only his idea of soldier without realizing that you do not have to be on the front lines to be just that." Toareth stood straight and thought briefly. She thought back to her decades aboard the transports. She had apprenticed under a medical practitioner. Perhaps Zirvell could do that same. "I do not think of myself much as a teacher, but I can use my learning to guide you, if you want. All this, with my captain's permission of course."

"Of course," Zirvell answered softly, praying any new captain would agree.

If needed, Toareth would make her case to that captain that Zirvell needed something to do, needed to learn, that this would be for his betterment, for his mental health, that this was necessary, and that not having permission would be to Zirvell's detriment. Still, without permission, it would not have been the first time Toareth found a way to circumvent a CO's command.

"I am sure he will agree," she said. "For now though, I have more patients that need tending to. Run along to the Lookout, or back to your quarters. Reassure the twins that you are there for them. Check in with Sick Bay tomorrow for a rescan to make sure we covered all your injuries.

"Yes ma'am," Zirvell answered obediently as he carefully got off of the bed. "I'll go home for now, and find the twins later... they'll probably want to stay with their dad anyway."

"Yes, do that," she said. "And take care of yourself. If you need anything...well, you know where Sick Bay is."

"I will... I do," the boy confirmed, giving her a small smile before slowly making his way out.

Toareth watched as the boy stepped away. She made mental notes regarding Zirvell. He definitely seemed to have been a special case of sorts. She did not yet have the anatomological nor neurological insight into Cardassians just yet to fully understand what Zirvell was experiencing. However, she recalled what Lynch, her handler, had instructed; to learn and study Cardassians. And, if she had the opportunity, to experiment on them. So much had changed in her life inside the past three years. Most notable was the birth Gabrielle and her marriage to Rene. She still had an allegiance to Lynch and whatever section it was that he worked for.

She leaned back against the counter and thought briefly before being called upon for another patient.

 

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