Lt. Robin Hopper: Bicaridine Is A Hell of A Drug
Robin Hopper
(( OOC – In the interests of moving things towards an Act 2 close, and in accordance with the 48/72 hr rule, I am simming in this scene again now. There are some unfilled tags prior to this starting point for Reade and M-Wil (mistakenly tagged as “Wil”, my bad)! ))
((Lower Level, Control Node – Mirrorverse))
As the holographic turrets faded and shimmered out of existence, having destroyed one another in a shower of simulated sparks, Robin attempted to pull herself to her feet, hoisting herself up using the pipe. The pain in her leg was excruciating. She leaned against the railing of the catwalk, resting her head against the clammy pipe she’d been using as cover.
The pain in her left leg – even though it was technically only her nerves’ interpretation of damage to her bioneural prosthetic – was beginning to cloud her thoughts. Moving it was agony – and no wonder. She dared a glance at it and was nauseated by the sight of a three-inch-wide hole melted through the aluminum frame. Smoke curled and black bioneural gel oozed from the ‘wound’, like viscous acrid blood.
Hopper: ::Grimacing:: Scotty… Tell me you’ve got it now…
Reade/M-Wil: Response
She shut her eyes and leaned her head back against the railing again.
Hopper: ::Tapping her combadge:: =/\= Commander… It’s off. =/\=
Carter: =/\= Fantastic. Good work. =/\=
Wong: =/\= Ah Hops! Good to hear from you! =/\=
At the moment, it was all she could do to nod silently in affirmation – a gesture which sadly would not translate through the communicator to Ikaia. Fortunately, Wil spoke up, answering the others via the control node’s internal communications system.
M-Wil: =/\= We still need to disguise what we've done here, or we'll have just put the whole sector on high alert. =/\=
Wong: =/\=Whatever you come up with, it’s got to be quick. Someone’s coming and I don’t know who yet.=/\=
oO Great. Just great… Oo Of course the pressure wasn’t about to let up. They prepared for high-stakes scenarios in the academy, and by this point, Amity’s Chief Science Officer was no stranger to strenuous, even dangerous, situations… But what they didn’t – couldn’t – ever really prepare you for was trying to make leadership decisions, solve problems, or even think clearly at all after being shot…
She was beginning to feel light headed and shaky. If only she could turn off her leg’s sensors… alas there was no way to anesthetize aluminum and wire.
Hopper: ::Stuttering:: A-a-alright… Scotty, Wil, uh-uhm… I’m not going to be much use at the moment, but if one of you can help me get to a te-te-te-terminal, maybe I can… ::Wincing:: I don’t know, help do a system memory wipe or s-s-something.
Reade/M-Wil: Response
She did her best, with the assistance rendered, to hobble her way towards the computer terminal. Bleary-eyed, and putting all her weight onto to her right leg, she did her best to examine the code and make heads or tails of it, but it felt like trying to read an unfamiliar alien language.
Hopper: I need to sit down…
She said, rather matter-of-factly, holding the railing and dropping unceremoniously onto her butt next to the terminal.
Hopper: In your hands now, guys…
Reade/M-Wil: Response
As the other two worked away at the terminal, Robin could swear she heard the distant sound of other voices, the clomping of boots against metal – but then, maybe that was just an auditory hallucination brought on by the rush of endorphins flooding her brain. She couldn’t be sure, and at the moment, she wasn’t particularly prepared to act on it either way.
Instead, she tried to remind herself, through slow breaths, what they were doing there – why it was necessary for her to continue to bear the agony. For all she knew, there were others, people she cared about, suffering far worse right now at the hands of some twisted torturer. The horrible situation that their ‘guides’ from this universe had laid out for them was almost too awful to imagine. Her thinking quickly devolved into horrific visions, Ensign Veers shot and killed… Rivi thrown into a dark prison cell to rot… Nathan writhing in a torture chamber… How could anyone bear to go on in such a–
Moore: Friendlies inbound!
She was snapped suddenly out of her morbid thinking by the sound of a distinctly-not-torture-y voice. Someone from the Indy had come for them! oO Oh thank God… Oo She tried to sit up straight, clear her eyes, and see who it was who had come.
Reade/M-Wil: Response
Down at the other end of the catwalk, two figures emerged, both in casual clothing. She thought, maybe she recognized the science – no, medical officer – Ensign Kiani, who had sat beside her briefly on the Indy’s bridge. His amber eyes briefly caught the light in the dark control node, confirming it was, indeed, the Al-Leyan junior officer… the other man…?
She drew a blank. Her headache was too intense for her to focus for long on them.
Moore: How bad are the wounded?
She tried to answer, but could only half-heartedly sputter a response. Her throat was tight, and her mouth was dry. Words just wouldn’t come out.
Reade/M-Wil: Response
Moore: Hang in there! We have a doctor on hand! ::He glanced at Kiani, then back at them.:: And there's warm food waiting back on the Indy.
Kiani: Give me one second. ::he hit the side of the tricorder a couple times, trying to clear the jumbled sensor readings, before getting a cohesive response:: Like I thought, this place is lined with Magnesite, it's why the transporter wasn't able to get a reliable lock, and why our sensors seem to be dealing with constant interference. ::a look of concern passed him:: Alright, let's see the injured officer.
Moore: It's magnesite. That could pose a problem. I should have brought pattern enhancers.
The men made their way along the catwalk towards Hopper, Wil, and Reade… the metal structure swaying slightly as they approached. The motion was enough to make Robin cling to the railing desperately. It felt, to her, almost like it might swing right over and throw them all into the inky depths below to be impaled on some god-awful sensor spikes… Yet, in reality, it was only a slight and gentle sway, and no such scenario occurred.
She was vaguely aware of Ensign Kiani coming to stand by her while the other guy continued on to speak with Scotty and Wil…
((Aside, to Reade and M-Wil))
Reade: Response
Moore: Besides extraction, is everything else under control here, or is there something you need me to do?
Reade/M-Wil: Response?
The junior medical officer crouched by her, his face coming into line with her vision. She tried to lift her eyes to make contact with his, but it was difficult to focus, and she instead stared at a blurry light across the catwalk from her.
Kiani: ::crouching beside her and removing the Medkit from his shoulders:: Hey, it's alright, you're in good hands now. ::he snapped his fingers next to her ear to make sure they weren't unconscious and put two fingers on their neck to look for a pulse::
Hopper: ::Groaning:: I… don’t look that bad… do I?
It was strange, but there was something comforting about the medic’s gentle touch. Almost as if it were confirming for her, as well, that not all sensation necessitated pain.
((Aside, to Reade and M-Wil))
Moore: Alright, well… Take these.
He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out two emergency transponders. The small metallic devices were no larger than two inches and had a twist knob on the top along with several deactivated lights.
Moore: The magnesite will render these mostly ineffective, but they will help the transporter chief lock onto us once we ascend. If something happens down here and you get separated, this can cut through the interference and help us locate you.
Reade/M-Wil: Response?
Kiani: ::examining her prosthetic:: You've been very brave, the phaser's burnt through just above the shin. Narrowly missing the microprocessor controller. ::he shook his tricorder:: I think this can be fixed through the standard surgical approach without rerouting the nervous system control impulses.
She nodded, vaguely understanding what he was saying. Under normal circumstances, she’d have enjoyed discussing the underlying construction of the leg – after all, understanding its functionality was critical to maintaining it properly – but at present, a single efficient nod was going to have to communicate her acceptance of the information.
Kiani: But I can't attempt a field surgery like that in these conditions, especially without access to your medical records.
Hopper: ::Finally looking him in the eye:: I… I can manage. May-maybe something for the pain? ::Shuddering slightly:: Think I’m in sh-sh-shock…
((Aside, to Reade and M-Wil))
Moore: As soon as the doctor gives us the all-clear, we need to evacuate. Imperial Patrol ships are on an intercept course, and we need to be gone before they get a detailed scan of us.
Reade/M-Wil: Response?
The medical officer moved closer, taking out his tricorder and beginning an automatic scan – setting the device down on the grated floor of the catwalk beside them. Next, he drew a hypospray from the medikit he’d brought with him.
Kiani: We'll get you out of here, don't worry. ::He gave her a sympathetic smile before removing the hypospray from a compartment of the Medkit, along with a vial of Bicaridine:: It helps to just talk through it, Lieutenant.
Bicaridine. A painkiller. oO Thank you… Oo
As he pressed the hypo to her neck and injected the synthetic analgesic, she winced. Even the normally-painless hypospray injection, filtered through the heady mix of endorphins filling her bloodstream, was enhanced to the point of discomfort. That said, a moment later, her head began to clear… the drug was beginning to work quickly.
Kiani: ::noticing her cringe in pain:: You know, back when I was working as a TA, I had to grade a student's term paper that had plagiarized almost word for word, a section of that article you wrote for the Starfleet Journal of Arts an-
He stopped mid-sentence, glanced at his tricorder… oO Huh? Starfleet Journal of… What? Oo She wondered if he was as confused as she was. As the painkiller continued to dull the throbbing burning aching feeling that had been overwhelming her senses, she began to think clearly once more, and to perceive things around her more readily.
Hopper: ::Voice clearing:: Look… To be honest, I don’t know what you’re talking about… but you brought the good juice with you, so I also don’t really give a damn.
She could almost swear she caught a hint of red on his cheeks. Yes, he must have been speaking about someone else.
Kiani: Ekko-e-paravotan hamartánein. ((Translation))
Robin blinked in surprise. She hadn’t heard anyone else speak Centauran since… Well, since she’d called her Tsavai on subspace to tell her she’d graduated from the Academy with her doctorate. If she’d been caught off guard before, she was certainly thrown for a loop just then.
Hopper: ::Slowly formulating a response:: Áneipse korris…
A casual response to his formality – but an equally old phrase, nonetheless. It meant “breathe easy” and could be more roughly translated to “don’t worry about it.”
Hopper: ::Slipping back into Standard:: There are, um, more important things to deal with.
Kiani: Y-yes, you're right; we need to leave. ::looking towards Moore:: Please, help me lift the Lieutenant.
Moore: Of course!
She looked over towards the other voice, watching with renewed awareness as the other officer approached. Ensign Moore, wasn’t it? What was he? Engineering? Operations? Security? Oh, one of those things…
oO I think the painkillers are starting to work… Oo
Indeed, she was beginning to feel considerable relief. While one could hardly anesthetize a metal leg, there was no law of the universe that said you couldn’t block your brain’s ability to receive those troublesome little signals traveling to-and-from your neurotransmitter receptors. In fact, she was beginning to feel rather airy and light… perhaps a reaction to the sudden reduction in pain and the overwhelming adrenaline that had been sent to counteract it before.
Now that that annoying whatever-it-was that was the problem with her leg wasn’t bothering her anymore, she could really get a good look at their rescuers. As Moore approached and got down on one knee beside her, she smiled, almost a little goofily at him.
Moore: I've got you, Lieutenant. Just lean on me. We’ll get you out of here.
Hopper: ::Smiling:: Hi…
Moore held out his arm for her, and she took it, gladly, resting her forearm in his grip and grabbing hold of his bicep. As he helped pull her to her feet, she couldn’t help but feel a little amused by the situation – not that there was really anything funny about it… But she did feel funny. oO What’s this feeling called again? Oo
Kiani: Try not to put any pressure on that left leg. Bicaridine's a potent analgesic, but it isn't going to stop the pain. It just makes it more bearable.
Hopper: ::Slightly giddy:: Pain? What pain? ::Putting some weight on the leg:: OH!!! Oh, that pain. Right…
The mistake had been a clear enough reminder that she was, in fact, still badly “injured”. Having a prosthetic limb was weird. No one ever really commented on it – they were being polite – but she was sure they were all curious.
oO I don’t mind if you look… Oo she thought to herself as she brushed hair out of her face and did her best to continue smiling at Ensign Moore. A glance downward reminded her that, if he did look, he would see black ooze dripping out of her leg that smelled like the inside of a Trenvonn death probe. Also… they were inside a Betazoid death satellite. This was an objectively bad time to objectify the new Ensign… oO Get yourself together, Hops. Oo
Moore: If it helps, I could carry you. ::He offered her a smile, a touch of humor lighting his eyes in an attempt to lighten the situation, briefly breaking away from his professional demeanor.:: Otherwise, I can bear most of the weight.
Hopper: Hmm? Oh, I’ll umm, shuffle along as best as I can. ::Putting more weight onto his arm, taking a few testing hops forward:: But I swear if anyone makes a joke about my name right now I’ll have you disciplined.
Reade/M-Wil: Response
Kiani: We won't be able to beam out from here. They've got Magnesite lining the whole chamber. We'll have to reach the upper deck and try once we're there.
Robin looked down the length of the catwalk and let out a worried sigh. Even giddy on painkillers, she wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of going back inside the jefferies tube and attempting to climb a ladder. But if the choice was that or staying here until a Betazoid patrol showed up and whisked her off to be tortured or killed or whatever, then there was no choice at all.
Moore: It's going to be quite a climb. Lieutenant, do you have the strength to hold onto my back while I climb?
oO I’ll bet I can find the strength… Oo She shook her head and cleared her throat.
Hopper: ::Earnestly:: I’ll try.
Reade/M-Wil: Response
Moore: Alright, but just in case.
With his free hand, Moore reached for his pocket, extracting a transponder. He used his thumb to switch it on. Two red lights began to flash, signaling its activation. He then attached it to Robin’s overalls. He glanced at Kiani and the others.
(( OOC – Slight correction. Since they’re all in civilian clothes, Robin isn’t wearing a uniform, so I switched it to her overalls. ))
Moore: We're ready. We should get moving. Those ships are due in about thirty-five minutes.
Hopper: Ships? ::Remembering:: Oh, right… Ikaia said something about “someone coming”, didn’t he? I guess that wasn’t just the Indy, hmm? ::Realizing:: Wait – who’s coming? Thirty minutes?!
She did her best to jump on Moore’s back – a haphazard, but ultimately successful, scramble, given her injury. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and locked her hands together in front of his chest, then did her best to cling on for dear life.
Hopper: Let’s get the hell out of here!
Reade/M-Wil/Kiani: Response
Moore trudged along, now bearing her weight as well on the swaying platform. Robin did her best to fight back the childish giddiness that kept trying to bubble its way to the surface at being carried. It was unbecoming of a Starfleet Lieutenant – let alone the Chief Science Officer. But it was thrilling. NO! It was just a medically-necessary rescue operation.
Moore: Up we go. The other’s should go first, but do hold on tight, Lieutenant.
Hopper: Affirmative.
There, that was nice and professional. She snickered to herself.
Reade/M-Wil/Kiani/Moore: Response
As the others proceeded to climb up the ladder, Robin felt the initial ‘high’ of the medication beginning to wear off. She was beginning to feel normal again – or as normal as one could, clutching to a tactical officer as you were hoisted, on his back, up a ladder inside some space dictator’s control node in the middle of nowhere, all while the imminent threat of discovery and subsequent destruction loomed over you… This was going to be a fascinating mission report that nobody was ever going to be allowed to read.
Finally, as they reached the top of the ladder and returned to the landing they’d started on, Robin released her grip on Moore and did her best to balance on one-foot, still holding onto his arm. Her earlier foolishness aside, she did appreciate how willing he’d been to assist her in this time of need… and he was rather dashing… but her ‘giddiness’ had faded, replaced by a sort of emotional equilibrium that briefly made her wonder if this was how Vulcans felt. Probably not. It was just her brain chemistry finally leveling off.
Hopper: Thanks for the lift, Ensigns. ::Tapping her combadge:: =/\= Hopper to Shuttle Gatineau and Independence-B. Could one of you kindly lock on to my transponder… Five to beam out – and, uh, if you wouldn’t mind transporting me directly to the Indy’s sickbay… =/\=
She left unsaid that she didn’t want Moore to have to carry her any further.
Reade/M-Wil/Kiani/Moore: Response
For a brief moment, as the transporter’s confinement beam began to break her body and consciousness down at the subatomic level, she felt proper relief…
TBC
