[End Act 1] Ensign Ollie Bergmen - Can I ask for a vaccine at my trauma?
CPT Arianus
(( Turbolist from Sensor Pod - USS Artemis ))
Salkath: ::to the computer:: Deck 7, Sickbay.
Ollie glanced down at his hands, noticing the tremor he attempted to conceal by tightly clenching his fists, feeling the cold seemed to seep into his bones. The turbolift jolted slightly as it began its journey back into the protective confines of the ship.
(( Flashback – Type-18 Shuttlepod “Rasmussen” ))
((( Thirteen years ago )))
Ollie exhaled, trying to warm his freezing hands.
Vancouver’s Quartermaster: …because of the nature of the working area, you will have less than ten minutes to do your assigned task. Listen carefully to each of my instructions, and do exactly as you were told. This is for your own safety and for the safety of your colleagues. You enter the Engineering hull on deck eighteen, find as many living as possible, mark them for transport, and try to get into Main Engineering on deck nineteen. If you get there, do not immediately proceed inside. Before that, wait a moment and catch your breath. You will need it for what comes next, and that is to find a way to patch the core breach or eject it. You will need to move and act quickly but also be cautious. If your suit starts malfunctioning, immediately mark yourself for transport. Your suit can only withstand delta radiation for a limited time. Do you understand your mission as I have described it?
Crewmen Bergmen: ::with others:: Yes, sir.
(( End of Flashback ))
(( Turbolist from Sensor Pod - USS Artemis ))
((( Present )))
Ollie glanced around as soon as he heard Salkath's voice. He smiled and replied. Discussing the best repair schedules for the struggling EPS systems brought him back to the present, and he felt his tense muscles relax with relief.
Yet his hands remained freezing cold…
(( Sickbay, Deck 7 - USS Artemis ))
Sickbay might look disorganized to someone unfamiliar with it. But substitute medical technicians and doctors with engineers and technicians in Engineering during a crisis, and the chaos and disarray suddenly reveal underlying signs of order. Everyone knew what to do and where to be. He knew what was coming after he finished his task.
Three officers in gold and blue seemed out of place on the edge of it all. Luckily, the CMO quickly noticed them and, as they caught his eye, promptly addressed them.
Adea: Ah, what can we do for you?
Salkath: Apologies for our intrusion, Doctor. The three of us spent an extended amount of time just now in the sensor pod, and with the state of radiation in this sector of space, we thought it prudent to ensure we weren't overly irradiated.
Ollie heeded the commander's hint and stepped forward to be the first checked. He attempted to flash a casual smile, but it didn't quite come off as intended.
Bergmen: Can you check me first?
Sadar: Of course. Hold on just a moment. ::picks up a hypospray:: Excuse me, Commander.
The two physicians medicated themselves, serving as a prompt once more of the extremely precarious situation the crew faced as a whole in this part of space. Ensign gazed at it with a sense of doubt, which he kept hidden within. Ollie had an aversion to the sickbay. And he was well aware of the reason.
Bergmen: Where should I sit, doctor?
Adea: Response
Ollie nodded in acknowledgment and took a seat on the biobed.
Sadar: Ensign Bergman, if you please?
Bergmen: Berg-men, ma’am. Let's just get this done.
Lieutenant Sadar approached the ensign and gave him the necessary medication. Bergmen let out a small hiss when the hypospray touched his skin.
Adea: response
Salkath: I will take treatment next, Doctor. That would be... easiest.
Gnai: Are you done preparing to treat the crew…?
Doctor Sadar was monitoring Ollie's vitals and his body's reaction to the medication when her attention brought away the mechanical voice of Lieutenant Gnai’s new suit posing a query.
Sadar: Just about. Commander Jovenan’s asked about the possibilities of disguising the away team as the native population, but disguising a group of five to six people as reptilian humanoids is... Complicated, given our current resource situation.
Gnai reacted with a radiant glow, and the doctor smiled gently in return.
Gnai: Well, this certainly won’t be going down on any away teams.
Salkath: Such a need would only present itself if we have to interject ourselves in their society for some reason. To retrieve crew of the freighter or salvaged technology from the wreck. That isn't a risk yet, is it?
Ollie sat on the biobed, nervously biting his lip, and chose to remain quiet. This senior officer's discussion, he felt, was irrelevant to comment on - if they ordered him to go to the surface, he would have to comply. He was the lowest link in the food chain, after all.
Adea: Response
Finally, Doctor Sadar finally turned her focus back to Ollie. After a thorough review of the tricorder data, seemingly content with the information she had obtained, she then sent him on his way. Ollie nodded with satisfaction and hopped off the biobed to rejoin his colleagues in gold and blue, yet Lt. Gnai voiced his mechanical voice once again.
Gnai: Is that all? ::gesturing to Salkath and Bergmen:: This didn’t likely get as high a dose, so…
Salkath: Agreed. We do not wish to interrupt your efforts more than absolutely necessary.
Doctor Sadar shook her head in disagreement.
Sadar: Our directive from the Bridge was to inoculate the entirety of the crew. ::looks to Gnai:: That includes you, Lieutenant.
Bergmen shrouded his shoulders and gestured to Lieutenant Gnai, indicating that the biobed was available for him to use.
Adea: Response
Gnai: ::holding up its suit’s arms:: This isn’t sure how this is going to work… ::turning to Salkath:: This suit wasn’t designed with methods for dispersing medication… was it?
Salkath: I had mentioned this suit would be a work in progress. This is one of those oversights I was alluding to.
Ensign edged to the side, keeping his back against the wall, and cautiously advanced towards the sickbay exit, feeling like this was beyond his pay grade. Doctor Sadar's facial expression reassured Ollie that this precaution was a good one.
Sadar: ::to Adea:: If I may, Commander? ::to Gnai:: I have experience treating cnidarians. Considering the significant ambient radiation in this area of space, I think it’s worth giving it a shot. I-If you trust me, of course.
Adea: Response
Salkath: If you require privacy, then that is certainly understandable. Gnai, ensure you discuss methods of administering treatments through your suit with the doctor so we can implement them at our earliest convenience.
Gnai: response
As Doctor Sadar took Gnai aside for treatment, Ollie sensed that the situation had calmed enough for him to return to stand beside the Vulcan commander - or rather slightly behind him. It wasn't that he was hiding, but the position seemed fitting, with just one pip on his neck.
Salkath: You have your hands full with replicating medications. Ensign Bergmen and I can certainly assist. If you have the associated file handy, we can utilize the industrial or cargo replicators to join in.
Ollie raised his hand as though he wanted to say something.
Bergmen: Commander… ::stops and looks at Salkath and Adea:: …Salkath, any use of OPS cargo replicators must need to go through the commander Vel, or at least through the COO office. But if he approves the use, I will help as much as I can.
Ollie stepped back and hid a little more behind Salkath while he let the ranks discuss the idea, keeping his silence.
Salkath/Adea: Response
((OOC: I skipped Gila’s talk with Gnai because Ollie wouldn’t pay attention or hear it.))
Captain MacKenzie's modulated voice suddenly interrupted the discussion.
MacKenzie: =/\= MacKenzie to Adea. =/\=
Adea: =/\= Response =/\=
Ollie peeked out from his hiding spot behind Commander Salkath, intrigued by the new situation.
MacKenzie: =/\= Doctor, I need you and Doctor Sadar to prepare to beam down to the planet. You’re to locate the crew of the freighter and either render medical assistance or engage in recovery efforts. Commander Jovenan will assist you. Ensign Kel will also provide an extra set of hands. =/\=
Adea: Response?
Doctor Sadar's voice resonated through the sickbay as she confirmed she had heard the captain's words too.
Sadar: Into the thick of it, then.
Adea: =/\= Response =/\=
MacKenzie: =/\= Please prepare to inoculate the members of the senior staff before we beam down. =/\=
Adea: =/\= Response =/\=
Ollie felt the atmosphere in sickbay thickening to the point where he could swear he could see the air he was breathing. Without realizing it, he took a step next to Commander Salkath and glanced at him with a questioning look, as if hoping for an answer.
Adea / Salkath / Gnai: Response
Sadar: Fortuitous that you decided to get ahead of the turn.
Without giving anyone a chance to answer, the captain's voice sounded in the sickbay for the second time.
MacKenzie: =/\= MacKenzie to Salkath and Gnai. =/\=
Ollie was glad he did not startle this time when the captain’s voice loudly sounded from the combadge attached to Commander Salkath next to him.
Salkath/Gnai: =/\= Responses =/\=
MacKenzie: =/\= You’ll be joining Ensign Lyara and me on the surface – we’ve got to figure out how to either repair the freighter and get it spaceworthy again, or try to recover as much of it as we can. =/\=
Salkath/Gnai: =/\= Responses =/\=
When ensign Bergmen didn't hear his name, he simply shrugged and clasped his hands behind his back, as he turned to commander Salkath. Inside, he might have felt a little sad that he wasn't going down with others, but that sadness was strongly overpowered by the feeling of relief over the fact he wasn't going down the planet. And the fact he had escaped the executioner's axe of a possible first contact.
Bergmen: Sir, I will excuse myself and return to the OPS Centre for a new assignment, if I may.
Salkath: Response
Ollie nodded, pivoted on his heel, and headed straight for the opening in the sickbay door, leaving the distant voice of Lieutenant Sadar behind.
TAGS/END for Ollie
–
Ensign Ollie Bergmen
Operations Officer
U.S.S. Artemis-A
A240009JC1