Temporary Fix

Posted on Mon Oct 11th, 2021 @ 7:43am by Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant Commander Mindo & Lieutenant JG Aeryn Jameson

Mission: The Gauntlet
Location: Sickbay

ON:

Nyx sat in the Chief Medical Officer's office with Lt. JG Jameson, leaning back in a chair with a PADD in his hand. He was reading the report on Commander Nash's shocking injury; which had occurred during the fire fight between the Alrakis Pact and the Resistance. The Commander had collapsed minutes after the Pandora successfully left the battlefield, having been hit by shrapnel from an exploding console near by. He had held on for as long as he could, waiting at his post until the Pandora was safely away. Another person downed in the pursuit of freedom. The Captain had a heavy heart as he saw the medical diagnostic, gripped by the sadness of knowing his friend and XO was in an induced coma in the room next door.

“I’ve got Commander Nash settlled and Stable for now Sir, given the severity of his injuries his body is going to need the time to fully heal.” She relaxed back in the seat. “Unfortunately I can’t say how long it’s going to be. Has anyone spoken to Lieutenant Kaleri about her brother yet?”

"Yes, the Lieutenant knows, but as we're still at Red Alert, non-essential travel within the ship is limited for non-active crew." Nyx said automatically, "We'll get her here as soon as possible."

The doors for sickbay parted and Lieutenant Mindo entered. Mindo had a small bruise above his left eye and his hair was very disheveled. He was also clutching his right arm. He looked around the room and saw medical attendants treating the injuries of several officers. It was a hard sight to take in. Captain Temple had requested his presence, but the Chief Engineer didn't know why. Mindo activated his hovering device and ascended a few feet to be face-to-face with the Captain.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked, mustering up as much energy in the words as he could. He didn't want his Captain seeing any signs of fatigue.

Aeryn immediately took note of Mindo’s condition, he looked injured and completely worn out. She grabbed her tricorder and stood up, walking over to Mindo to scan him. “Forgive me for saying so Lieutenant but you look exhausted. How did you injure yourself?”

Mindo glanced at Aeryn as she approached him with her tricorder. "I slammed into a bulkhead," he said. He raised his hand to reassure her, "I'm fi... OW!" he yelled, and clutched his arm again.

“Oh you’re fine are you?” Aeryn shook her head as she scanned Mindo. “That bump you have although relatively large appears to be pretty minor, your arm however...” she checked her readouts. “Looks to me as though done a good job of dislocating, if not fracturing it.” She frowned at the readouts. “The readouts are a little inconclusive due to the swelling there so I’ll need you over on a biobed where I can get a better scan.”

Mindo sighed. "Can it wait, Lieutenant?" he said. Not eager to hear any answer to that question, Mindo turned back to Nyx. "What can I do for you, Captain?"

"Please," Nyx nodded to the Doctor, "Help our Mindo here, first."

Mindo sighed as he made his way to the biobed. "Can you tell me what's going on while she's treating me?" Mindo asked the Captain. "The quicker I'm out of here the faster I can get back to repairs."

This elicited a wry frown from the Captain; he wasn't planning on sending Mindo back to repairs. "Sure." He said flatly, following the two into the Sickbay a few steps behind.

Aeryn motioned Mindo to the nearest biobed. “I’ll do my best to get this done as quickly as possible.” As he moved onto the biobed she ran a full bio scan concentrating on his arm. “Okay I have good news, there’s no major break there” she smiled warmly. “What you do have is a minor hairline fracture that I can take care of in no time.”

Mindo nodded. "Thank you, Lieutenant. I'm sorry if I'm being a bother."

“A bother! Heavens no, of course not Mindo!” Aeryn grinned. “That’s why I accepted the move to medical, to help people who needed it. Just sit still and I’ll get you sorted out.” She got to work picking up the bone knitter she needed she got to work patiently running it back and forth along Mindo’s arm.

As Nyx watched the junior Lieutenant get to work treating Mindo's arm, he waited for an appropriate break in the procedures to speak; standing pensively by the side of the bio bed with his arms behind his back. When he did find a moment, his tone was melancholic, "So, as you're aware, Commander Nash suffered a significant injury during the battle. Turns out, it was more serious than we realised. The tough bastard didn't want to leave his post while we were going through all that, but he was hurting pretty bad. The damage was only getting worse. The Medical team have had to place him in an induced coma for the duration of our trip back to Federation territory. You're the first person outside of the Medical team and Krysia to find this out."

Mindo was shocked. He'd been on the bridge when the explosion happened. Commander Nash looked in bad shape, but Mindo never would have thought they would need to put him in a coma. Mindo looked back and forth at Nyx and Aeryn. "He'll make a full recovery right?" he asked. "None of this is permanent, right?"

Aeryn shook her head. “I think we have good reason to be optimistic, Commander Nash is a strong and fit man, right now his body needs to be able to concentrate on healing hence why we’ve elected to keep him in the coma.” She wrapped up sorting Mindo’s arm. “Starfleet would most likely have him transferred to a medical facility, but in my opinion he’s better off here. He has family and friends here, people who can visit and spend time with him, all important when it comes to healing.”

"He'll recover, but it'll take time." Nyx added, "The coma is best for him, especially during our trip through the nebula. He needs to be kept immobilised as much as possible." He looked to Jameson, "As soon as we can, I'd like to speak with Mindo in private, if we can."

Aeryn nodded. “In that case...” she reached for a hypo and pressed it to Mindo’s neck before gazing at a Temple. “He’s all yours” She smiled warmly as she looked back towards Mindo. “That’s just a mild pain killer, your arm may be tender for a day or two but it should improve, any problems come back and see me.”

"Thank you Aeryn," Mindo said as the pain killer quickly took effect. "I feel better already."

Nyx waited while Aeryn finished up with Mindo, moving over to the replicator to conjure a glass of water. After the doctor left, Nyx moved by Mindo's side and held out the water for him, "Here."

Mindo eyed the glass as he took it. "Is there a reason I need water?"

Nyx paused, offering a quizzical look, "Hydration? Water is the source of life? Something to do?" He shrugged, "I know it's not your usual liquid of choice, but I don't think the Doctor will allow the other."

Mindo tried to stifle a laugh, and failed. "I suppose when you put it like that..." he said, accepting the glass. He drank the whole thing in just a few seconds. It turned out he was thirsty after all! "Thank you, Captain. Now, how may I help you, sir?"

"Normally, these things are done in better circumstances. There are speeches and moments, but we don't have that luxury today." Nyx began, "So I'll cut to the chase. I need an XO for the Pandora while Nash is out of action. I can think of no one better that I want in that chair - that deserves to sit in his place - than you. I am offering you a field promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and the position of Acting Executive Officer."

Mindo's eyes widened, and he lost grip of the glass in his hand. It fell and shattered on the floor. "Me, sir?" he said. "For how long? A few days? They really need me in Engineering right now."

Nyx immediately bent down and started cleaning up the glass, holding the larger pieces tentatively in his hand, "Until Commander Nash is given the medical clearance to return to duty." He said, occasionally lifting his head up to speak with the shocked Chief Engineer, "I don't know when that will be exactly, but I dare say it may be after we've returned to Earth, at least."

Aeryn came racing into Sickbay having heard the shatter of the glass on the floor. “Is everything alright?” She looked between Nyx and Mindo.

Nyx carried the glass shards nervously into the replicator and watched them dematerialise with a push of a button. While there, he opened a small cabinet then grabbed a brush and pan to clean up the remaining, smaller pieces. "We're fine. But I may need you to perform a reflexes test on Mr. Mindo before you give him the all clear." The Captain replied sardonically.

Aeryn grinned. “Don’t worry about the clean up Captain” She motioned to one of the Sickbay staff who was already on the way.

"Actually I have an easier idea," Mindo said. "Computer, activate Emergency Holographic Little Cleaning Robots."

In seconds, small black box-shaped robots appeared on the sickbay floor and went about cleaning the rest of the glass shards. They finished within seconds and immediately deactivated themselves, disappearing as if they were never there.

"Oh, thank you." Nyx nodded, not willing to admit it had been a while since he was cleaning something. He returned the dustpan and came back to Mindo's side. "Time is of the essence, my friend. I need someone by my side. I need you."

Mindo looked down at the clean floor and back up at Nyx. "Phaser fire, bombs, torpedo debris, acid rain, flying laundry, broken glass... I guess I've gotten used to cleaning up the messes around here." He looked back at the closed curtain behind which his good friend Commander Owen Nash was currently laying in an induced coma. "I guess it's time for me to find out what it's like to sit in a chair." He turned his gaze back to Nyx. "I'll do it."

"Excellent." Nyx replied, clapping his hands together. "It'll be a lot easier to stop me from destroying the ship if you're right next to me, too. I'll leave it up to you to choose an Acting Chief Engineer."

"I'm not thinking Greep," Mindo said, "...and Samson's just not ready. I'll have to think about it."

Nyx nodded, "Please do, but remember we won't have much time. We're only a few hours away from the Nebula. I'll let you get some sleep." Nyx smiled a little. "When you're all clear, come find me. We'll make the transfer and I'll prepare a quick briefing for you to get you up to date. Thanks again, Mindo."

"Thank you, sir," Mindo replied, though he knew if it was only a few hours until the nebula, he wasn't going to get much sleep. He decided to get started on finding a replacement in Engineering right away. Once that was figured out, he'd go to the Captain for his briefing.

OFF