Repercussions

Posted on Mon Mar 21st, 2022 @ 10:50am by Callie Marshall & Lieutenant Commander Troy Marshall & Lieutenant JG Karen Lamont

Mission: S1 Episode 2: Caretaker, Part II
Location: various
Timeline: Mission Day 1 at 2300
1757 words - 3.5 OF Standard Post Measure

{ON}

It was late but Callie sat on the sofa in Troy's quarters, having tried to sleep with the thumping headache she'd got she'd given up and gone to sit out so she didn't disturb him. She rested her head in her hands. "Stop ... please stop!"

Troy entered the living area. He had been asleep when Callie had arrived a couple of hours ago, only waking briefly when she had crawled into bed. He had woken up just a few minutes ago when he realized she had gotten up.

Callie looked up as the bedroom door opened and Troy walked out. "I'm sorry, did I disturb you?"

Troy shook his head as he took a seat on the couch with her. He cast a concerned look at her. "I am fine. No pain and most of the soreness is gone. You don't look so well though. What's up?"

Callie cradled her head in her hands. “It’s my headache! It won’t stop!!” She looked up at Troy the pain evident in her eyes. “I can’t sleep let alone concentrate on my duties! I just want it to stop!!”

Troy reached and took hold of Callie's wrists. "Let's get you to Sickbay." He was concerned that the stress was getting to her. Stress that may not be good for the pregnancy.

Callie nodded and wearily stood up, she only made a handful of steps before her legs gave way.

Troy caught Callie as she began to collapse, scooping her up in his arms he stepped out of his quarters and made his way down the corridor to Karen's quarters.

Callie looked into Troy's eyes. "Make it stop! ... please make it stop!! I can't take it anymore!!"

Troy set Callie's legs down but continued to support her weight with one arm. His free hand jabbed repeatedly at the door chime in an effort to bring Karen to the door quickly.

Callie was struggling to hold on, her headache was rapidly getting worse as her damaged inhibitor implant interfered with the control of her mental abilities, and directly affected her nervous system.

Karen opened the door in her robe. "What do you...?" she started to ask, sounded annoyed to have been disturbed until she got one look at Callie. "On the chair," she said to Troy as she grabbed the personal medkit she kept in her quarters, drew out a tricorder, and scanned the other woman. Her expression got more and more severe. She hit her comm badge. "Lamont to Rosen, remain on duty until further notice." She hit it again. "Lamont to Petrov, as Chief Medical Officer I formally certify that a medical emergency exists which can only be resolved by the immediate deactivation of Ensign Vali's telepathic inhibitor. A full report justifying this certification will be submitted as soon as the emergency has resolved."

Petrov was arm deep in a conduit despite the recommendation of his XO that he take a break. Many of his crew were working nonstop to get the Vengeance back in working order, and so would he. Women the communique came through, he remarked within his mind about the nature of any situation which would require that. Gruffly he responded, still working his chunky fingers around a screw.

=/\=Its authorized, Doctor. Keep my Chief Ops Officer alive and in working order. We’ve got a rough journey ahead.=/\=

Troy carried Callie to the couch and laid her down. He trotted to the replicator and returned a moment later with a cool, damp cloth and lay it across Callie's forehead. He stepped back to allow Karen to administer any first aid before moving Callie to Sickbay. "Do we wait or should I carry her myself?"

"Wait a second, please," Karen said.

Callie had heard Karen's call to Petrov but had to fight through her headache and deafening noise from her senses to speak. "Implant ... not easy to remove!" She paused. "Attached to ... my nervous system!" She cradled her head in her hands. "Stop!! Please stop!!!"

Karen took Callie's hand gently. "Callie, listen to me, ok? I understand the specifications of your inhibitor. We talked about it when you came aboard. I can remove it in sickbay. It won't be easy but I can. What I have to do first, is deactivate the security mechanisms that prevent it from being removed. Then we're going to do an emergency site-to-site transport to sickbay and Dr. Rosen and I are both going to get you into surgery and get it out of you. It's not going to be an easy operation but the device is damaged and you need it. So I need you to trust me, ok? Can you do that, Callie?"

Troy took a step towards Callie. His facial expression and body language clearly displaying his distress at the situation. He looked at the door and back to Karen. "Where the hell is the medical team!"

"Waiting for us in sickbay," Karen answered him. "Are you ready, Callie?"

Callie managed to nod, “I trust you.”

Karen took a deep breath and hit her comm again. "Lamont to Rosen, have a uniform waiting for me. Lamont to transporter room, emergency site-to-site transport to Sickbay. Three to beam." Then the three of them were surrounded by the light of the transporter. As soon as they arrived, Karen started barking orders. "Get her in the surgery bay and prepped immediately. She's going to need an isotropic restraint. There can be no movement during the operation." Gretchen and a few nurses rushed to comply.

It was perhaps a minute later that Gretchen stepped into the surgical bay, cleaned and in her surgical scrubs. She was holding her mask but had not yet put it on. "I have to explain the procedure to you, Callie. First, there are a few components we can deactivate before we even begin. They're designed to instantly kill the subject if an unauthorized surgery is performed. Then we have to take several scans to ensure we have a precise current map of the brain. Then we perform microsurgery to sever the device from several points where it connects directly to your neural network. Once the device is disconnected, it still cannot be removed manually. It will require the very precise use of a special surgical transporter designed for delicate procedures. There is then a second round of microsurgery to repair the space where the device was. I am not going to lie to you. This is a high risk surgery. If it goes wrong, you could die or suffer brain damage and there is a risk to your child as well. However, it is absolutely necessary. The device is directly damaging your paracortex. If we don't operate, you will die."

Callie nodded. "I understand." She looked towards Troy who was nearby before looking back at Karen. "If anything goes wrong ... save my son. Promise me, please."

"If the worst should happen," Karen said, "we can place him in an artificial womb until he's viable. Now, even if everything goes correctly, how you'll respond to the return of your abilities is not predictable. They might take as long as a day to manifest at all or you might have a sudden rush of jumbled impressions from the minds around you. You will be unconscious during the operation so this initial rush might affect your dreams and then strike more strongly when awaken. Just know that it's temporary."

Callie nodded taking in what Karen had said, relieved that her son would be okay if anything happened to her. "I understand."

"Ok then," Karen said. "Let's get you better."

The surgery went much as she had said it would, though Callie was not aware of most of it after the anasthetic gas was administered. Nothing was rushed. Karen and Gretchen were both well aware of the potential costs of even the smallest mistake. They had lost enough people on the operating table this week. They didn't want to lose another. So it was four hours later that an exhausted Karen stepped out of the surgery bay, looking for Troy. "The device is removed and she should make a full recovery. She'll likely be stirring within the hour but she needs a good two days rest before I'm letting her leave here."

Troy had been pacing for a good part of the four hours of Callie's surgery. Fear and worry for both Callie and their unborn child had dominated his thoughts the entire time. Relief washed over him and he sank into a chair as the tension left his body. "Thank you Doctor Lamont." He glanced at the door Karen had walked through before turning his exhausted gaze back to her. "Can...can I go see her? Sit with her until she wakes up?"

"Certainly," Karen agreed. "She's out of the woods and should be in good hands with the staff. I'm going to go try and lie down for a few hours before my regular shift starts. Just ask a nurse if you need anything. They'll wake Dr. Rosen or me if it's an emergency."

"Thank you Doctor." He nodded his appreciation before moving off to the post op ward. He entered quietly and took a seat next to Callie's bed. He took her hand and gently stroked her hair as she slept.

Troy was half asleep himself two hours later when Callie began to stir.

Callie slowly opened her eyes, looking towards where Troy was sitting she offered a smile and a quiet “Hey you."

Troy took a moment before it registered that Callie was now awake. He blinked a few times before reaching up and gently stroked her hair. "How are you feeling?"

“A little foggy” She offered a tired smile. “At least my headache is gone. Have you been here the whole time?”

Troy nodded. "I spoke with Doctor Lamont right after your surgery and came into post op when we finished our conversation. She assured me you and the baby are fine."

Callie nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank heavens! I don't know what I've done if anything had happened to our son."

Troy took Callie's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Get some rest. I will stop by to check on you when I get a break tomorrow. Hopefully we can get you out of Sickbay in the next day or two."

Callie nodded motioning for Troy to lean down for a kiss. “I love you.” She watched him go before closing her eyes and getting more rest.

{OFF}