Lt. Cmdr Robin Hopper & Lt. Kraal: A Costly Mistake
Robin Hopper
((Sickbay – USS Artemis-A))
Robin’s eyes flitted open sedately, her gaze distant and unfocused. There were lights, red and glaring, and the room around her was dim – or was that just her eyes? Her chest ached and burned, and as she tried to take a breath and center herself, a ragged gasp was all she could manage before a searing pain brought the memories of what had just happened surging back…
The plasma conduit explosion, drones sent flying. Nathan was there, and for a moment she was overcome with relief – but then she’d had to go… To the bridge, with the Captain, and then… she had been compelled to say goodbye. In case it was the last time. Ironic.
Hopper: ::Pained, confused:: …Nate?
Only the sounds of sickbay equipment answered her. She tried to look around and get her bearings, but moving her neck felt impossible. Her body felt paralyzed. Next, she tried to look down, but could only tell she was in a biobed, her body out of view… She’d been stabbed, right? That was the last thing she remembered. Looking down and seeing the bloody shard of metal poking through her chest. Was it still there? Is that why it hurt?
Kraal: Commander. Try to stay calm.
She knew that voice. Kraal, the medical technician. She searched for his face, and found a hazy blurry figure standing over her.
Kraal: You’ve been seriously wounded. ::Hesitant pause:: I’ve managed to stabilize you, for now.
Answering him was a struggle, and each word felt like it was spoken on a sword being pulled out of her throat.
Hopper: For… now?
Kraal: Commander Adea will be back soon. Until then, it’s imperative that you don’t move. ::Clearing his throat:: I’ve established a hemostatic field to minimize blood loss and set up a transfusion. That is most likely why you’ve come to.
Robin closed her eyes, trying to remember what a hemostatic field was from her brief medical studies at the Academy. A precision energy field used to temporarily halt bleeding, typically in emergency situations to control hemorrhaging until surgical intervention was possible… That meant no surgery yet. The shard was still in her. That explained the pain.
Hopper: Can’t… move.
Kraal: Uhh, yes, well as I said we can’t have you moving around. I’ve given you a fairly strong dose of anesthezine, a paralytic agent, and I’ve activated the biobed’s gravity restraints.
It was torturous, lying there, unable to move, hardly able to breathe. She’d been dosed so strongly, she couldn’t even focus her eyes. But it was better than the alternative, she had to believe.
Hopper: … Remove?
The blurry figure shook his head.
Kraal: I’m just a medical technician, ma’am. The, um, ‘weapon’ has punctured your left lung, and it’s dangerously close to your spinal column. If I try to remove it, you might die before a Doctor can see to you. You just need to hold tight until the Commander returns.
She might have shed a tear, if her tear ducts weren’t paralyzed as well.
Kraal: There’s… One more thing you should know, ma’am.
Robin didn’t answer, she just awaited the news.
Kraal: The ‘weapon’ was a piece of the interior hull plating that was ruptured by the plasma explosion in the hall. My scans indicate a substantial amount of ionized particles were still on its surface when you were attacked.
Hopper: … Radiation?
Kraal: Yes, ma’am. We’re looking at thermal burns, cellular disruption, and possible radiation-induced mutagenesis in the surrounding tissues. If things start getting worse, I may need to place you inside a stasis field. I just felt like you should know.
Robin didn’t know what to say. What was there to say? She had put herself in this position, choosing to indulge her feelings – even if just for what felt like the briefest moment – over her duty. Now she was paying the price… If she survived this ordeal, that was a mistake she would never let herself make again.
Hopper: Okay.
((Later – Sickbay))
Kraal passed the PADD, which contained the record of steps taken since Hopper had been placed on the biobed, to Doctor Adea with a worried look. Already, more and more wounded were being brought to Sickbay, and the remaining medical staff were doing the best they could to triage and treat the most severe injuries. He was needed elsewhere, and Hopper’s fate would now rest in the CMO’s hands.
Kraal: That’s the situation, Commander. I’ve stabilized her as well as I could, but she’s still deteriorating. The shard needs to come out, but it’s going to be a complicated procedure.
Adea/Richards: Response
Robin could overhear the conversation happening near her bedside, but her mind was distant. Painkillers were, at least, keeping her from slipping out of consciousness again. She wanted to be awake, to be as alert as possible, to know what was happening. She couldn’t let her guard down. Not now. Maybe not ever.
Kraal’s cat-like eyes shifted between the CMO and the other Lieutenant, Richards, who he had to assume was romantically involved with Hopper.
Kraal: There’s one bit of good news. I didn’t realize until I ran a genomic analysis, but she’s half-Human and half-Centauran. That might have saved her life.
Adea/Richards: Response
Kraal folded his arms across his chest and nodded.
Kraal: ::To Adea:: Best of luck, Sir… ::To Richards:: She’s awake, but talking isn’t easy.
Adea/Richards: Response
TBC
