Sister Stitches

Posted on Thu Aug 4th, 2022 @ 7:16pm by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov & Ensign Mika Petrova
Edited on on Fri Aug 5th, 2022 @ 1:13am

Mission: S1 Episode 3: Phage
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Mission Day 3 at 1500
3411 words - 6.8 OF Standard Post Measure

It might have surprised some people that Madeline had accepted Andrei's escort to sickbay without any sort of protest or insistence that it wasn't necessary. She had simply accepted with a shrug and "okay" and left it at that. They had been quite successful on their little hunt and there would be a meeting in around a half an hour to go over the haul from all the teams. She didn't want to miss out, but she was also aware that her skin was becoming warm around the gash (which had at least once again stopped bleeding) and that wasn't exactly a fantastic sign. As they moved through the corridor she paused for a second and placed a hand on the wall to steady herself a moment and took a deep breath. Her usually healthy tanned skin had definitely paled a shade or two from what it usually was.

Andrei walked beside her as they moved toward Sickbay. There was no telling what brand of alien bacteria was growing on the rocks on which she had scraped her abdomen. Andrei didn't display any signs of outward worry, but he was certainly being attentive. When she paused to steady herself, he moved closer to her, his eyes locked on her pallid face.

"I'm considering carrying you right about now." he said, placing a hand on her back. "Talk to me; are you still in pain?"

“I will stab you in your eyeball if you even try to pick me up.” She said without any real threat in her voice. “Of course I’m still in pain there’s a very angry twenty-some centimeter gash on my body.” Though there was slight exasperation, it was distracted in a way. She liked the feeling of his hand on her back. It was strong, steady.

“Well then you should at least pretend to be able to walk steady or I may just have to lose an eye today.” He said, grabbing her forearm with his other hand and gently pulling her close to him, allowing her to rely on him for some of her support. He wasn’t sure why she was so pale and weak; he hadn’t thought she’d lost too much blood. “Come on, let’s find somebody who knows what they’re doing to fix you.”

"Be a shame, you do have such interesting eyes." She noted and went willingly with his pull. Steadying herself again, she sighed and started to walk again. "You seem fine, but I'll ask; you're alright? Your little kitty friend didn't leave its claws in you?"

“No, the cat wasn’t crafty enough for you. You vaporized it before it could rearrange my face.” He answered, “apparently wild pussy bites back from time to time. I’m fortunate you were there to stop it. The Kazon were busy dealing with their own animals and Simmons was doing God knows what.”

"Simmons can't hit the broad side of a barn." Madeline pointed out in annoyance and continued to face forward and focus on walking. "You have to be careful of those teeth. You'll just be petting it and then another moment it will whip around and bite you."

As they reached the doors to the Sickbay, Andrei helped her through, his eyes immediately scanning for someone who could help. When they fell on his sister, he flagged her down without further thought, despite the fact she had been busy transporting a container to the other side of the room.

"Mika, come here. She needs medical attention right away." he said, loud enough to take her complete focus.

Mika turned around, surprised to be addressed so specifically by someone walking in. Her cool brown summer eyes found her brother and the rather unwell-looking woman on his arm. Immediately, she picked up the pace, placing the container where it was meant to go, and returned.

"What happened?" she asked, looking at the woman's bloodied stomach. Her voice was calm and sweet, her face curious but controlled.

"This is Madeline Cassiel, Assistant Chief of Security. We were leading a search party on the planet and she got scratched up in the cave. I think there's more happening than a simple scratch though." Andrei said, walking Maddie over to the nearest biobed without a specific instruction, an action that got a slightly annoyed eye roll from Mika. He refrained from lifting her up onto the bed, thinking it best to keep his eye at this point, and simple supported her as she got up herself. "This is my sister, Mika. She's a cadet who is finishing her training very soon and she knows enough to help you."

“Hi.” Maddie greeted as she pulled herself up on the bed. Immediately the world began to spin and where she would normally try to power through it and focus, she finally heeded her body and laid back on the biobed. She could feel a cold sweat starting to line her brow and in response she gave a shaky, annoyed sigh. Her abdomen was a solid sheet of varying shades of red under the gash and her belt and pants were also damp with blood. She had bled more than Andrei had thought and more than she herself was ready to admit. There was definitely something else wrong. When she pulled her fingers back she saw bright red on the tips; it looked like blood, but neither of them were reacting like she was suddenly bleeding from the head.

“I think I’m hallucinating.” She said dryly.

Mika walked over to the top of the biobed and activated it. As the technology spooled up, it would start to take her vitals. Meanwhile, she picked up a medical tricorder and began slowly running the receiver over Madeline's body. She shook her head as the readings came in.

"You have a climbing fever. Why don't you start by telling me exactly what happened to you while I run some additional scans, hmm?" she asked politely, putting her hand on her brother's chest and pushing him away with the roughness only a sibling would show. "Get out, Andrei, you're making me nervous. Don't worry, your friend is in good hands."

Andrei blinked at his sister, showing none of the irritation or resistance he might have shown with someone else. He sighed instead, grabbing Maddie's shoulder once more and then turning to leave without an additional word. When he was gone, Mika shook her head.

"My brother clearly likes you...or he wants something from you....or both." Mika said, turning her attention back to her patient. "Now, spill the beans about this scratch. It's looking quite nasty."

“Your brother likes me in the way he likes about seventeen different women at any given time and of course he wants something from me.” Madeline replied with an exasperated sigh. There was the obvious answer to that last unspoken question of “what” he wanted from her. What she was trying to figure out was if there was more than that or if he was still trying to figure her out. “We were hunting for the crystals in a cave up in the mountains. There were some nasty cat-like creatures that we took care of and then we found a narrow crevice with a glowing blue light coming from it. I was the only one who could squeeze through so I did. Ended up with this off some bit of jagged rock I wasn’t able to see.” Truthfully she didn’t seem overly concerned at her situation, in fact Madeline really just seemed to be rather annoyed.

Mika had seen Andrei in action when they were a bit younger. She wasn't sure he really liked anyone. Perhaps he was just putting together a list of women who would do his bidding. Maybe he was as much of a rake as everyone thought. She didn't know and, to be honest, she didn't like to think about it. She decided to say nothing more to the woman and just mind her business. His women never really listened to her anyway.

"Well, one of the hazards of the job is that alien bacteria don't always mix well with Terran physiology." she said, looking at her readings and checking the woman's vitals on the bed display. Mika gave the woman a soft expression, the likes of which were rare in the Imperial Starfleet. She was shapely, fit, and very beautiful, but hardly seemed to want to be looked at in the slightest. Kindness was there; naivety. "You caught a nasty bug off of those rocks and your system doesn't like it at all. You must feel terrible right now."

“I can’t say that I feel fantastic, no.” Madeline replied and even managed a smile as her dark eyes ran over Mika’s lovely face. She had a feeling she would need to remind Christoph to let the men know that trying to sleep with the captain’s daughter was, objectively, an absolutely terrible life choice. Her eyes didn’t wander, she simply looked at Mika with a trusting eye. “Can you help me?”

"I think so, Lieutenant." Mika responded, offering a warm and girlish smile as she turned and walked toward the wall on the other wide side of the room. She pulled a hypospray and placed it into the filling mechanism. Cuing up the substance she needed on the computer, she waited for it to finish. When it was done, she removed it, connected it to an injector, and walked back to the biobed. He placed the injector against the woman's neck gently and discharged it. She then grabbed her tricorder and began to scan again.

"This substance is designed to any foreign dna in your body and give off specific signals which will help me assess how to kill your little friends." Mika said in a soft voice. "I'm surprised we haven't met before. It's a small ship after all and I tend to study all over the place. I have heard of your of course outside of ship announcements, now that I think of it."

"Well, to be fair it isn't a fantastic look if a security officer is in sickbay too much. I'm also not a terribly social person." Madeline smiled and did her best to relax even while her body was screaming that something was wrong and needed to be fixed. They were getting there. Theoretically. "Have you done a 'field' rotation with security yet?"

"I did at the academy, yes. I'm actually set to finish my coursework and be commissioned soon...I think." Mika said with a tense roll of her eyes. "The CMO has an...unconventional method for teaching me."

"Not one you seem pleased with, it seems." Madeline noted, her brows raising slightly. "Care to share?"

"I'm admittedly a bit of an overachiever." Mika said, avoiding eye contact. "I can't stand a low grade...I can't stand failure of any kind, really. So, instead of having me take my final trials...he wants me to write a paper about my feelings."

Madeline let out a brief bark of a laugh then immediately winced. She managed a smirk through the pain though. "Write an essay? Good gods; and about your feelings no less." Sighing, she shook her head. "Are you sure he's a Terran? We don't have feelings."

“Apparently he thinks I do. I’m not sure when wanting to be the best became a problem.” Mika said, complaining. “It’s ridiculous, but I don’t have a choice. The problem is I have no idea at all how I feel.”

With scans complete, Mika clasped her hand.

“I’ve got wonderful news for you, Lieutenant. It seems these bacteria respond well to penicillin.” She said. “The problem is it’s very strong so you’re going to need to pay us a visit every four hours for injections and monitoring. If that’s something that words for you, I can give you your first boost and get you out of here for some much needed rest.” She had emphasized that last part.

"Well, it started wonderful, at least." Madeline said and propped herself up on her elbows, looking up into Mika's eyes. "Four hours isn't a useful number for me to be running back and forth especially when I'm on duty. What if - for duty shifts - I agree to wear a monitor and dose myself for one of them instead of having to keep leaving my post? I promise if there's any sign of trouble I will come right to sickbay." It wasn't the typical negotiation most doctors were used to. Madeline wasn't saying no or griping at Mika and seemed to be accepting of the young woman's diagnosis, not questioning or belittling her because of her age. There was no saying it wasn't necessary or false agreements that she would do what was asked when they both knew it wasn't true.

"That depends if you're the kind of Imperial Officer who ignores her health until things get serious." Mika said gently. "Because they're very close to serious. Without medical intervention, this would kill you in a matter of days."

"I'm not." Madeline replied honestly, holding Mika's gaze. "If I'm going to go out, its not going to be to some random microscopic bastard if I can help it."

"Well, in that case, I can sign out a hypospray for you to be administered once in four hours. You'll have to return in eight for another checkup, and, of course, come back if you feel worse. There is also an included probiotic you should use." Mika said, loading the dosages into a small box.

"Alright." Madeline nodded, watching Mika's hands as she began to fill the box. Her eyes began to wander up and eventually settled on her face while she was concentrating on her work. "Thanks for being willing to compromise on it."

“It’s what I do.” Mika said, a somewhat wistful tone in her voice as she closed the box. “Just make sure to tell my big brother I’m in the better sibling. And remember: four hours and I see you in eight.”

"I'll remember." Madeline assured Mika and took the box when it was offered to her. "Now, any chance of sealing this up so I don't constantly open it and bleed through my uniform?" She asked and waved a finger in a circle around the gash.

“Oh gods, right. Where is my head?” Mika asked, giving a worried expression as she reached for the dermal regenerator and an anti-bacterial device. She ran the latter over the wound slowly, then followed it with the regenerator. Rapidly, the skin repaired and soon all that was left was healthy flesh and some dried blood. “There you go.”

"Thank you." Madeline sat up and rolled her neck and shoulders. She still wasn't feeling great by any means, but she didn't seem to be hallucinating and felt like she could walk under her own power. For a moment she sat and looked at the door and then looked to Mika. "Hey." She began, her voice gentle. "Listen, I know you said you have done your security rotation, but if you would like to do another with someone who won't be gawking at you the entire time and also isn't your annoying older brother I'd be happy to give you a refresher. It might not be a terrible idea given our situation out here in the great unknown."

Mika listened with a reserved skepticism, like someone who was trying to be less naive. What was her angle? It seems they always had an angle. After a while, when she realized she didn’t know exactly what to say to gather more information, she simply let her natural smile come.

“That’s a very sweet offer. Andrei went easy on me because he thinks I’m still a little girl. The Academy instructor on the other hand was…particularly polite to me, but he had a class full of students so it couldn’t get too far.” She said, thinking for a few moments. “I’ll let you know.”

The wheels were turning and Madeline could see it, but they didn't quite turn enough. It was curious. This girl's bloodline didn't exactly point toward her being sweet and naive as she was, but Madeline was relatively sure it wasn't an act. It was refreshing on one hand and concerning on the other. "No need to rush. Besides, my doctor said I need to rest." Madeline gave a pleasant smile as she slid off the biobed and tested her footing. "If you're around in eight hours, I'll see you then, I suppose?"

“I’ll be off in an hour. In eight hours I’ll probably still be scratching my head over this stupid paper with chocolate and a glass of wine.” Mika said with a sigh.

Madeline considered for a moment, then gave a slight shrug. "Listen - not that you particularly asked for advice - I'm just going to suggest one thing: either commit to doing it and stop thinking that it is stupid, or don't do it at all and tell him to go fuck himself. If you get hung up on how much you don't want to do it, you're not doing any good but tormenting yourself." She left it at that and started walking toward the door. "Thank you for your help, Cadet. I'm sure I will see you in here again at some point."

“It feels like I’ve been told to write a paper that contains a list of my weaknesses. I don’t want to, but I also have a feeling I shouldn’t.” Mika said, lowering her voice to avoid the other medical staff hearing. “He is in control of my graduation, so I’m not sure what it might cost to refuse.”

When Mika spoke up, Madeline slowed and stopped, considering a moment. She knew she didn't have too much time before the meeting, but she could take a moment. She turned back to Mika and reached out to her, touching her arm and putting gentle pressure on it to get the younger woman to step off to the side with her so they could talk, but she didn't press if Mika did not want to go. "Alright. Why exactly does he want you to write the paper, then? What happened?" She asked quietly.

"As I said, I want to be the best doctor I can be. As a result, I tend to overprepare, stay up all night studying, and generally bother him when my grade is less than perfect." Mika said. "Of course, I see why that might bother him, but he doesn't understand.." she trailed off, deciding instead to change the subject slightly. "I'm not taking a psych course, you understand?"

"Yeah." Madeline's eyes shifted away from Mika to the rest of the personnel currently in sickbay. No one was really paying attention to them yet but they would eventually. "Listen, I'd like to help you figure this out, but I'm sure you don't want people talking. My doctor," Her lips curled in an affirming smile to Mika, "told me I needed to rest, so once I look in on this meeting that is what I am going to do. When you are off your shift if you'd like to come find me, we can talk more, but there is no pressure if you'd rather not."

Mika smiled, despite the impulse in the back of her mind that she was being manipulated somehow. What could this woman possibly want from her? Maybe she wanted her help to get closer to Andrei? Or maybe, gods help her, she'd actually found someone capable of caring about her on this ship for more than just her family or her looks.

"Maybe I will." Mika said with a somewhat skeptical but jovial nod. "Just...please don't tell Andrei about my problem. I've been trying to avoid having him or anyone else come to the rescue. Can you keep this between us, please?"

"I will." Madeline assured her and seemed to mean it from what anyone could tell. "I'll get out of your hair now." With another smile and slight nod, Madeline stepped away from Mika and left sickbay, heading to her quarters to shower and change.

END