Ensign Roy Bancroft - Residual Echoes
Carter Schimpff
((Primary Sickbay – Deck 7, USS Artemis-A))
The swirl of the transporter resolved into cold light and white surfaces. Tho’Bi materialized already supine on the farthest biobed in the Isolation Suites, blue blood spattered across his upper lip and cheekbones, limbs slack, chest rising shallowly.
Computer: Bio-isolation active.
Almost before he’d completely rematerialized just outside the Isolation Suites, Roy was already moving.
Bancroft: ::tersely:: Brenn, isolation suit, now.
A silver hood settled over Roy’s shoulders with a magnetic click. He palmed the seal, visor clearing to transparency as he stepped through the pressure door.
((Isolation Suites, Primary Sickbay - Deck 7, USS Artemis-A))
The biobed cradle had already lowered over Tho’Bi’s torso. Two nurses and a med tech were in position – isolation suits on, hands practiced, eyes steady.
Bancroft: Brenn, airway and suction. Sif, O2 at low flow and get a clamp on the nose. Alvarez, cortical and cardiac monitors continuous. ::looking up:: Computer, drop ambient to Andorian comfort, two degrees per minute.
Cold air hissed from the vents. Brenn tapped the bed’s console, gently rolling Tho’Bi to one side. A suction wand cleared the airway with a soft gurgle.
Alvarez: Heart rate’s brady and in the forties. No spikes on the HEG.
Roy checked breath sounds, then pulse, calm and methodical. Personal feelings, concern for his friend – those didn’t enter Sickbay. At least, not this part of it.
Bancroft: Airway’s patent, breathing shallow. Post-ictal picture. Sif, neural-stabilizer – standard dose through the cradle. Go gentle, I don’t like his heart rate.
A short tremor snapped through Tho’Bi’s arm and leg.
Alvarez: Brief myoclonic jerk.
Bancroft: Administer.
The cradle hissed. The tremor ebbed. The heart line crawled on – slow, but a touch steadier.
Bancroft: Keep him on his side. Sif, maintain the clamp; swap pads if they saturate. Alvarez, I want continuous capture up on both overhead monitors. Call out if his rate or pressure drops.
Roy turned and tapped several commands into a nearby console.
Bancroft: Brenn, start labs – I want glucose, electrolytes, tox, CBC, coags. I want a non-contrast head scan as soon as he’ll tolerate it.
Brenn: Copy.
Sif replaced a darkening pad with another; the oozing slowed. Frost ghosted the edge of the partition as the vents continued to cool the room. Roy tapped his commbadge.
Bancroft: =/\= Sickbay to Ops. I need holoemitter logs from the Galaxy-opoly game in the Mess Hall – especially audio. Route priority restricted to Sickbay, stat. =/\=
Ops: =/\= Acknowledged =/\=
Alvarez: Heart rate’s up to forty-five. O2 sat is steady, ninety-eight on two liters.
Bancroft: Good. Titrate down to one. He doesn’t need a hurricane to breathe anymore.
Roy skimmed the cortical trace now crossing his monitor – low, quiet activity. No sharp bursts. He let out a breath. Tho’Bi was, for the time being, stabilized.
Bancroft: Brenn, pull his medical records. Flag anything neuro and get it on my screen stat.
Tho’Bi’s eyelids fluttered; his antenna twitched once and settled.
The nasal pad stayed clean.
Tho'Bi: ::muttering:: Lara
Sif: Bleeding’s nearly stopped. Do you want coagulant?
Bancroft: Hold it in reserve. Less is more–
Tho’Bi’s feet jolted twice against the bed; his head arched, breath catching.
Alvarez: Heart rate climbing – eighty… eighty-five…
Tho'Bi: ::gasped:: Lara!
His eyes opened. A rattled breath shuddered out. He recoiled at the silver drape of Roy’s isolation suit, curling inward beneath the cradle.
Bancroft: ::low and flat:: Sif and Alvarez out. Brenn, stay.
Roy turned from his console, palms open, and leaned into the dim light so that it filled his visor.
Bancroft: ::gently:: Hey. It’s Roy. You’re safe. The suit is just a precaution. Keep your eyes on me. You’re okay.
Tho'Bi: ::thin voice:: Whe-Where am I?
Bancroft: You’re in the Artemis sickbay, the Isolation Suites in particular. And I’m here with you. What’s the last thing you remember doing?
Tho'Bi: ::uneven breathless:: Playing… Galax… …opoly. ::swallows shaky breath:: Was I singing?
Bancroft: ::small, sad grin:: Yes, there was quite a bit of singing. Followed by a massive seizure.
The computer chimed.
Computer: Incoming file: Mess Hall holoemitter 6-A, audio subsystem logs.
Bancroft: ::without looking away, to the computer:: Park it. Absolutely no playback near this room. ::to Tho’Bi:: We’re reviewing your records, but I need your words, too. Has this ever happened before?
Tho’Bi: Response
Brenn was already transcribing Tho’Bi’s response into her PADD. Good.
Bancroft: That’s helpful, thank you. What you’re describing tracks with the picture I’m getting from these scans. ::softening:: Talk to me about the nanotherapy. What do you remember about the treatments?
Tho’Bi: Response
More notes into the PADD for Brenn. Her fingers were flying nearly faster than Roy thought capable.
Bancroft: ::looking up reflexively:: Computer, record verbal patient history, patient Ensign Tho’Bi, patient reference number EG-793-322. Start your time index two minutes ago. ::to Tho’Bi:: Did any of your previous physicians explain why they believed your NeuroPhasic episodes went away as you reached adolescence? That may give us a clue.
Tho’Bi: Response
TAG/TBC!
===
Ensign Roy Bancroft
Medical Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240205RB1