On the Wings of Dirty Angels, Part 7
Posted on Sun Jul 23rd, 2017 @ 1:52pm by Lieutenant JG Jai
Mission:
Fastest Ship in the Quadrant
Location: Asteroid Blue Heaven
Tags: Jai
708 words - 1.4 OF Standard Post Measure
"Ugh...."
His left eye wouldn't open all the way.
Coming to, the boy was presented with the immediate sensation of a throbbing pain around his left eye. He found himself on the floor of the bar, though it didn't much resemble that any more. Instead, it looked as though a war had taken place here.
He winced as he sat up. Bits of dust and debris spilled from off his small form as he steadied himself and looked around. The bar was completely shot out. The lightning flickering sporadically, as most of the fixtures from the ceiling hung in disarray -- connected to the ceiling above through wires that seemed ready to give under the strain at any moment.
As if in testament to which, a loud crash accompanied the inevitable fall of one such suspended fixture to the floor.
"Ga re yin," the boy muttered aloud. Then the sound of his own voice seemed to startle him. His right hand patted at the front of his uniform, revealing that the jacket had become torn and tattered.
And that his combadge -- the universal translator -- was absent.
"Na'i..." the boy uttered with a sigh, taking a deep breath.
Then he remembered, he'd seen someone hurt when he'd come through the door.
Looking around, the dimly lit landscape presented him with a vastly different picture than he recalled. For a moment, he was disoriented. Until he identified the location of the door, and then remembered where he'd seen the may laying behind an overturned table.
Now that he knew what he was looking for, the table was easy to see. A barely visible ellipse rising above a heap of broken robots.
Bending down, the boy grunted as he lifted a large panel from off the pile of debris and junk that now marked where a barely distinguishable humanoid body rested. It was a Terrellian. Male, judging from appearances. And he appeared to still be breathing, if only shallow breaths.
Medical kit.
Retracing his steps a moment, the boy looked about for signs of his medical kit. A pale reflection off the silvery embossed Starfleet Medical symbol offered the scantest bit of evidence along the floor. Scooping up the familiar satchel, Jai was dismayed to find that he could peer straight through the hard side case. Specifically, a single round projectile hole piercing straight through.
Liquids seeped through the hole, as viscous liquids poured out onto the floor as the young monk fumbled with opening the case to see what was still serviceable. Thankfully, the tricorder appeared to be intact. The hypospray case, which also contained the pharmaceuticals, didn't appear to have been so lucky.
"Ta ma de..." the boy swore softly, clutching at the medical case as he shuffled through the trash and debris back to where the body was lying on the floor. The Starfleet Advanced Field Operations Medical Kit, model 867-5309, was designed so that Jai could perform open heart surgery if he needed to. Under less than ideal circumstances, and not advisable to be certain, but Starfleet medical officers in the field often worked in less than ideal situations.
Jai understaood that better than most.
Pulling the tricorder free, the boy took a quick scan -- paying particular attention to the data on the anatomical structures. Terrellian anatomy wasn't exactly a course taught at Starfleet Medical Academy, even though the Voyager Emergency Medical Holographic Program's research on Delta Quadrant medicine was a required seminar during second-year medical school. But the focus had been on more practical examples of First Contact protocols for medical providers, as each of Voyager's contacts with aliens had been First Contacts.
For a Starfleet that prided itself on boldly going, the truth was most captains and their crews weren't discovering a new alien species each week.
There was a sliver of metal impaling the man in small of the back. Like he'd been stabbed with a shiv, that had broken off inside the body.
Setting the tricorder aside a moment, the boy pulled the laser scalpel free.
Ordinarily, he'd administer an anesthetic. Unfortunately, he had neither hypospray or anesthetic.
So, here's to hoping the patient was indeed unconscious...
