pNPC Mark Two - Desperate Times
Jamie LeBlanc
(Outer Hull, Depressurized – Drive Section – USS Constitution-B))
Mark had known Georgio for a long time now. Well, in hologram terms a long time. To him it was a long time. He was still young, only seven years old, and he had known Georgio for six of those years. Which was a vast majority of his young life. So he felt that he knew Georgio pretty well.
And he certainly knew Georgio’s strengths. Beneath all that flippant focus on beauty and glitter and makeovers was a personality that saw beauty in self-expression, strength in self esteem and had a deep compassion to help people feel better about themselves. He could do it with clothing and dye and haircuts and makeup, but he could also do it with words.
Even if Georgio didn’t specifically have it listed on his resume, half the battle of any makeover was talking to your client. Finding out who they were and what would make them feel good. Calming anxiety. He was good at all those things. And that was the exact skill they needed.
Mark: Some people might feel scared to be in the pods, no matter how protective they are. Just… be nice. Talk to them. Reassure them and keep them calm. Fragile glitter, remember?
Georgio: Fragile glitter, got it.
Mark beamed at Georgio in a most reassuring, supporting expression.
Barr: Exactly. There’s a transparent window at face-height on each of the pods, and a communications set you can patch into, like you’re doing with my suit. Just search for the frequency. ::He paused, thinking for the right analogy.:: Talk to them like you would someone you’re about to give a daring new hair cut to, but they’re nervous. They need to feel that they’re safe, and to trust us.
And that was something Mark was sure Georgio could do. He was totally sure of it. To this day Georgio was the only soul who his father allowed to cut his hair, able to work around an egregious injury. Since leaving the Constitution his dad only cut his own hair on an irregular basis which made him quite possibly the shaggiest doctor in all of Starfleet.
Maybe he could convince Georgio to visit StarBase 118 at some point. But for now, that skill alone assured Mark that Georgio was in fact the perfect hologram for the job of keeping injured people in scary but life saving cocoons calm.
Mark: Keep it up, Georgio! We’re almost done!
Barr: Make sure the rest of the pods are out too. ::He reminded the pink-haired hologram.:: I know you can talk and cut a masterpiece at the same time, and unrolling the pods is simpler than a hair style.
Georgio: O-Kay!
And Georgio went about his duties like a champ. Mark was proud. He was pretty sure Barr was proud, too. And that made Mark happy, especially since he had suggested Georgio come along. He wanted to see Georgio succeed and get recognized for it.
Meanwhile Mark just focused on Triage because that was a thing he was programmed to do.
Mark: That’s the last of the triage.
Georgio: There is only one more. Do we have enough? What is there aren't enough for all the glitter?
Slowly Mark looked over to where Georgio had prepared enough pods for all the patients plus a few more.
He would smile at that, but the unpleasant reality was that the dead would be packed in the remaining ones. The black tags. The ones he couldn’t help no matter what.
He wondered what death was like for a non-hologram. He feared it, the destruction of his program and his consciousness. But what about other species?
No. Don’t think about that now.
Barr: There’s enough. We might not even need all the ones you’ve put out, but that’s OK. Don’t worry about the rest.
Mark: We’ll get everyone out safe.
He reassured, not sure if his warm tone was reassuring Georgio or reassuring himself. Don’t mention death. Don’t think about death.
Georgio: Oh.. oh. I didn't realize. It just went all ... ::He made a vague gesture not even sure if there was a word for what that had been. He had never experienced it. No wait he had.:: Last time I felt like that was when I got lost in decorating a family quarter and had full freedom.
Barr: You did great. You did exactly what we needed.
Mark: ::beaming:: And you kept them calm! Awesome work!
Georgio: Are they going to be okay?
The ones who survived this far would be OK. And that was what mattered. Mark hated to admit it, but he had seen more death in his seven meagre years than he liked to admit. It was a reality of medicine.
Barr: They’ll be fine. We just need to get them back to rest of the ship.
Mark: We can walk them there, carefully.
Georgio: ::nodding:: So we... make them float outside to get them back to the other hole? ::He asked not sure if he'd understood that part of the plan.::
Barr: Exactly. They all have tethers on one end and loops on the other. So we attach them end to end, like this. ::He demonstrated.:: Latch them up in a long line.
He shifted his gaze from Barr to Georgio. Mark understood what that process was, he had been trained – and programmed – for it. But Georgio looked like he needed some help.
Mark: Like a train! Each person is a car hooked together.
He knew they had watched a holovid on trains before. Rue Blackwell had been trying to cajole people to join her on a holo-adventure about a train heist which had sparked everyone’s curiosity including Mark who wrangled Georgio into the fun.
Georgio: response
Barr: Hi everyone. I know these pods aren’t very nice, but we’re going to move you all into the main section of the ship, and then we can get you out, and to medical care. OK? Just hang tight and enjoy the view, the nebula’s really pretty.
He looked earnestly towards Georgio
Mark: You can talk to them, better than just about anybody. Get them to admire the nebula, and relax. Anything to make them relax. Like when you cut the hair on scared little kids. You’re really good at calming them down!
Georgio: response
Barr: So we’ve got a long string of precious pearls, right? And we can’t scratch them or get them tangled or caught. Mark, I want you to take the lead; grab the tether on the first pod. That way you can start unloading and treating people once you've got them inside. Georgio, I want you to be in the middle, stand on the curve of the hull where that antenna is, and pass the pods along. Give everyone a big smile as they go past. I’m going to pass the pods out of the hull breach here, once I open the hull patch. We’re going to lose atmosphere then so be ready to move. Got it?
Mark: Got it.
He was in work mode again and he moved quickly to get to the front of the line. Scared? Oh heck yes. But it was funny how not-scared he could be when he had a job to do. And he had a job to do right now, a job he was good at. He could be scared later.
Georgio: response
Barr: OK, here goes.
The bit of hull that was giving them some protection peeled off like a strip of dead skin on an old blister. It made the ship that was always so big, so strong and so protective seem so very fragile. Mark struggled to control his inner shudder.
There was a job to do. He could be scared later.
Slipping out the hole, he took his place at the front of the line, trying his best to not look at the simmering firefight outside.
Mark: I’m in position.
Georgio: response
Barr: OK, we’re on. Mark first. Then Georgio. Remember, precious string of glittery pearls. This is the most important part.
Georgio: response
Mark: Steady goes.
He moved evenly, step by step. Not looking, not thinking, not faltering. He was a doctor, this was a job, he would fall back on his most base programming to do the job.
He would not look at the bleeding scar where the warp engine was, weeping plasma like a person bleeds when a limb is chopped off. He could not think of the ship that kept them like babies in a mother’s belly as injured.
Why personify the Constitution?
Why not. He was a mechanical life form. Why not the ship as well?
This was exactly why he had retreated into his most engrained programming.
Please state the nature of the medical emergency…
No. he hated that.
But it got him through the day.
Georgio/Barr: ?
The ship shook, but didn’t break away. They had the power of magnetism on their side, but their precious cargo started to panic. Just a few steps more.
Mark: ::Finally calling out with joy and relief.:: I have reached the other barrier!
Georgio/Barr: ?
Mark: Guiding them into the triage team, one by one.
Georgio/Barr: ?
Slowly the line of patients was fed in. One by one, taken by experienced hands and moved to safety and care. One more. One more.
Mark raised his eyes and his expression went from mechanical duty to pure horror.
Mark: Hurry… ::he whispered.:: Move!
There were only two left. One was pushed through. Mark grabbed Georgio and pushed him roughly through the barrier and reached a hand out for Barr.
Georgio/Barr: ?
Shoving the last patient towards two waiting triage nurses a bit too fast and too rough for comfort or good grades Mark didn’t care because he saw it coming. The low orange rolling explosion and subsequent shockwave.
He was screaming.
Mark: RAY!
Hand out, grabbing pulling, the whole ship lurched violently and thank whatever things people prayed to it threw them inside the ship, not outside. Slamming up against the wall, like a pinball in a pinball machine… in an earthquake.
Mark did the one thing he could do. He grabbed Ensign Barr, curled around him like a shield, put a holographic hand behind his neck to prevent head trauma and used his body as a crashpad.
He had just enough wherewithal to make sure he hit the bulkhead first.
Georgio/Barr: ?
~*~
tags/tbc
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pNPC Mark Two
EMH Mark II
USS Constitution-B
~Julian Beck
E239010ST0