Brainssssss

Posted on Sun Dec 8th, 2024 @ 2:28pm by Crewman Dr. Roger Harrison EMH & Lieutenant JG Rose Andrake & Lieutenant Dr. Katherine Peck PhD

5,679 words; about a 28 minute read

Mission: To Boldly Go...
Location: Medical
Timeline: MD-08

The EMH had finally finished his research. If he was going to cure Rose Andrake of her "wisp", he was going to need to cut it out of her head. Brain surgery was his "specialty"-when he was alive, and a real doctor, he'd been a neurosurgeon. HOWEVER. The amount of time the surgery would take would be a good several hours, and Ms. Andrake would be off duty for at least forty-eight hours. She had struck him as the type to choose something else if it meant that she didn't need to miss work, so he had decided to call her in to give her her choices. He was still planning to do her sterilization if she still wanted it, even if Dr. Peck thought it wasn't a good idea. He believed firmly in bodily autonomy; besides, he was a hologram. How could he pass judgement?

He opened a Comms channel.

=/\=Lt. Rose Andrake, please report to medical immediately. =/\= He clicked off to wait. Meanwhile, he sent a note via his own system to Dr. Peck, asking him to join him to meet with the young woman.

Finally choosing to go the expected route, Rose seemed to breeze in after fifteen or twenty minutes, barely looking up from her data pad full of star charts and calculations as she met the EMH's gaze. Giving a slight tilt of her head, she considered for a moment before she spoke. "Doctor. What can I do for you?"

The Doctor smiled as she walked in. "Please, let's step into the meeting room," he said, gesturing to the small alcove nearby. It was usually used to inform patients and their families of outcomes, diagnoses, and etc. "I was able to find out some information. I can treat your...issue, but it requires a pretty intensive brain surgery. On top of that, you will need to remain off duty for at least 48 hours," he said. "I am also still willing to do the sterilization, if you still want it," he said. "All of these choices are yours, my job is only to inform you of outcomes. That said, the brain surgery isn't without a small amount of risk. The smallest risk is death, of course, but the largest is a temporary loss of memory and possibly motor skills. I can't say it won't affect your work in the short term," he said. He was always very honest. "I do not need you to make a decision right now, but the sooner, the better," he said. "But if you DO want to do it today, I am prepared." The fun thing about being a hologram is that he never needed sleep or food to keep going. He also had an extremely low rate of failure. It was never zero, because he WAS a computer, after all, and just his luck that the Klingons would do something stupid just when he was about to cut someone's heart open.

"Okay... Let's discuss this brain surgery thing, cause there are like eight or nine ways to sterilize me that don't cause... Well. Same symptoms I already have. Is this like you think you can reverse the damage or you finally got an ethics board to approve cutting the abomination outta me?" Rose sat down against the wall, weighing her options. "Like do we even know for sure what it is? Like you've identified what's wisp, what's parasite, and what's me? Best case? Will I be able to feel people again? Or let them feel me? Cause if that's the best case, I'll do it. I'll take a couple days off... With the Captain's approval."

"I've already spoke to the captain, and she will allow you the days off to recover." Peck said to Rose.

"While I can't find an EXACT case like yours in the database, I have found a few other instances of empathic beings being surgically....fixed," he said, choosing his words carefully. "One of the biggest cases are the Argellian people, but there are others. I will simply remove the portion of your brain where the "Wisp" is active, and then regenerate it. As I said, I can't guarantee what the side effects WILL be, but in the cases I've studied, the biggest is temporary memory lapses. Those seem to improve over time, and are also seemingly helped by lifestyle changes-good sleep, and stress reduction." He paused. "Dr. Peck will be assisting me, and documenting everything, just in case." He smiled. "The technical part, I can promise, is no big deal. I've cut enough brains apart," he said. "It is the after care that is new. I admit that you'll be the first empath I've cut into. Again. It is your choice, and you can always choose just sterilization. For that, I'd choose a chemical type, so you could continue working after a one-day rest period." He stopped speaking so that Rose could tell him what she wanted. "I would likely also ask the Counselor, Dr. Chandler, to join me, for the memory parts," he said. "If you agree."

"I... Wasn't an empath... I mean, sure, I had some empathic abilities, but I was a full telepath, if I remember the classification charts right. And the wisp is a family thing. Normally it's the source of our powers. Are you saying my wisp is dead? Or does it just have cancer? I'm not really well versed in their anatomy, especially after being fused into my family so long... Four or five generations, I think? And you're saying I'm the first of my family to serve in Starfleet or get a scan?" The important thing in Rose's visible confusion was she wasn't saying no. "So. Removing a piece of my brain could remove an incorporeal entity that was the source of fully telepathic abilities and has since gone malignant? Sorry if I'm a bit confused. What if it doesn't work? Is there a telepath on board to verify that there's still a critter in here or if all they can see is me? What if all you're doing is removing what's holding it back? Do we know how deep in me this thing is? Please. Splain this to me like I'm five cause clearly I don't know how it works."

Roger sighed. "Yes, sorry. I have been programmed to speak in general terminology. For you, I will be concise. You are a telepath, yes. And yes, your Wisp has developed a cancer of sorts. Something more akin to its own sentience. I'd feel better if it were fully removed, which is what my plan is. After a few brain scans, I will be able to narrow down where in your brain it...lives, for lack of a better term. Then I plan to fully excise it and any surrounding tissue, regenerate it, and close you up. Then, we run more scans. As far as I know, you're the only empath or telepath aboard, but I will double-check the personnel roster," he said. "We are, as the humans are wont to say, "winging it". He paused. "As I said, it's risky, and I have no exact cases to measure you against, only beings with SIMILAR abilities and problems." He had searched not only his own database, but that of the entirety of the Fleet AND Federation. He'd only been able to find a handful of legitimate cases. "ALSO. About your earlier comment. There's no ethics boards for EMH. This is...experimental," he said. "That is why I took this over from Dr. Baker. I don't want him to get in trouble for MY choices." He stopped speaking again. "Dr Peck. Anything from you?"

Katherine looked at Rose. "I think you covered it, doctor. But I want Rose to know that I will be by her side during the whole process."

"I thank you, Dr. Peck. Alright, doc Rogers. Let's get this shindig started. While you do that, maybe my filthy pirate brother can actually be useful. His wisp should be healthy, and he's serving a life sentence for every person who died on the Starbreaker. Or you can call the Wayward Son where my mom serves as a customs officer. Maybe they'll pick up your comm. My parents keep thinking I'm some Ferengi scammer pretending to be their dead daughter.". Rose gave a small grunt of exasperation, crossing her arms as she leaned back against the wall. "I want to know what this thing was before it got into my family, though. The stories don't give much room to get a solid ID. And... If there's any chance at all any of my abilities come back. Even just enough to know how to talk to people. And there might be another telepath aboard. He doesn't know, but he shows all the signs. Scares the Hell outta me and I kinda want to get him tested."

Roger nodded. "Ok. We will need to shave the portion of your head before we start. Dr. Peck, can you get her head scanned? I need Xrays and a CT," he said. "I will make those calls while you're doing that," he said. "And start getting her knocked out. Do you want me to have anyone aboard come sit with you?" He asked her. Sometimes, a person liked their friend or spouse to be there.

"There's no one," Rose said quietly before she stood, keeping her eyes low. "I've not been here long, and I'm not dating right now. I've been too busy and I just haven't had much of a dating drive these past few years. If I were to count Neyin Vessk, well, I don't know what we are yet and I don't want to worry him."

Roger nodded seriously. "Ok, then. Why don't you let Dr. Peck take you for those quick scans, and then we'll get started? I'll also send a message down to the labs that you'll be on medical for 48 hours. I will ensure it doesn't go into any kind of official file, but I DO need to tell the Captain that you're having a procedure, and will be out for a full two days," he said. He fully intended to tell nobody the details.

"Just tell 'em it's a fairly standard parasite removal. Pull the same Faerie bullshit I did about the transporter sickness.". Rose gave a ranged grin before turning to Peck. She rolled to her feet, gesturing for the counselor to lead the way. "And just in case this thing's viable outside my body or breaks its containment, might be helpful to run a psi damper if this ship has one."

"I'm sure there is a damper on the ship, but we should concentrate on getting those scans done, ok?" Kate asked Rose.

Roger stepped into the office, and shut the door behind him. He was going to make some calls.

Soon. It was time.

"Yeah. Do what you need to, doc. I won't fight. Or bite. What do you need me to do?"

He had scrubbed in already. "Lie back, and let Dr. Peck give you a sedative. We decided not to put you fully asleep; I want to measure your brain activity while I work. So Dr. Peck will ask you a series of questions and show you cards and pictures, and I want you to identify them, and so on, ok? If you feel ANYTHING, let me know immediately," he said. Brain surgery was difficult to do properly. "Let's begin. DO you want to shave your own head?" He asked. He would let her-some people were very attached to their hair and what part of their personality it represented.

Rose nodded, laying down on the biobed to let the doctors begin their work. Idly, she focused on her breathing, settling into the meditative technique she had been taught as a young lieutenant joining the crew of a Vulcan science vessel. She could feel her nerves subsiding, fear giving way to calm reason as the possibilities were gently acknowledged and sorted, active scans showing the divide between her and the wisp as her brain activity slowed before she could be injected. "It'll grow back. I want to keep it short, anyway. Easier to fit into a helmet, easier to keep clean, harder to snag in tight spaces. Harder to hide behind? How'd Mom handle the news?"

Knowing her mother as she did, the ripple of that woman's telepathy would have been measured in light minutes; shock, rage, and grief all wrapped in an unconfined pulse that would have made the peak of Rose's ability seem a candle before the raging heart of a warp core. Her family had never been powerful, compared even to the most average of Betazoids. But then, a well trained Betazoid could filter out the emotional noise of thousands to reach out millions of kilometers and accurately identify emotions of crews of species they had never felt before. Some could even glean knowledge of languages or names from such an empathic bond. Rose had only ever been able to manage a few kilometers, with people she knew. A few tens of meters for the more refined abilities that crossed her over the line between empath and telepath. Her mother was orders of magnitude stronger, but only because of age and experience, a generation closer to the original wisp that has started this family lineage. The bar was still so low compared to other races, and barely above what could be achieved with kiromine in humans. "Cause she always blamed Mike for the loss of my powers. Always hated my husband. Never told me why."

Kate picked up the hypo and pressed it against Rose's neck. "Remember, I am going to be here the whole time, if you need me." She smiled at Rose.

Seeing the hypospray, Rose's eyes flashed with fear for a moment, forcing herself to stay calm. But as the medication hit her veins, something changed, recognizing the contents as not something that would help it, but subdue it further, and the thing within Rose thrashed as she instinctively fought the sedative. It lashed against the confines of her mind, straining against the chains that held it inert and letting off a frothing scream of psychic rage. Rose forced herself to relax as she kept with her breathing exercise, letting the surgery happen. "Thank you, doctor. I'm sorry, for what it's worth. If you see anything, it's not me doing it."

Roger watched as Rose reacted to the hypospray. Interesting. He waited for her to calm down. He grimaced. "I assume that's the wisp?" He asked. He closed his eyes. This was going to be more difficult than he originally thought, and he KNEW it wasn't a run of the mill brain surgery. "If you do sense it happening again, try to let me know if that's possible. I don't want to knick a part of your brain tissue that I don't INTEND to," he explained. Carefully, he approached her with the razor, and soon, she was bald. It actually looked decent on her, he had to admit. Reminded him of old Earth movies, with badass women in the roles of US Marines or Pilots or Astronauts. "Alright. I am going to begin the incision. You will hear a drilling noise, but you should NOT feel anything but a small amount of pressure. If it becomes unbearable, raise your right hand," he said. He turned on the drill, small, like a dentist might use, because he did not need a large area in which to work, just a small square.

Rose's body hadn't moved, nor did she plan to as she felt the shave and the incision. True to his word, there was no pain, just pressure. Though there was some level of awareness of something thrashing against the confines of her subconscious, fighting to break free and wreak havoc. Some level of intrusive thoughts and small hallucinations leaking through the bindings to play across her mind as she gently acknowledged them, still maintaining her meditation. "Yeah, that's the parasite. It's just rattling the cage. Far as I know, it's chained down pretty good. I can't feel it. Or interact with it, really. Only way I know it's there is the fear when a telepath looks too hard and it takes a swipe."

Roger responded, intently looking at his task, but engaged in both tasks, like only an AI could. "I understand," he said. "I will do my best to not...rattle it," he said. Finally, bone gave away to pinkish-gray matter. "Dr. Peck. Suction, please," he said. The blood would impede his work. "Rose, are you still with us? What's my name?" He asked her. Keeping her in the present was vital to ensure he wasn't hitting something he wasn't supposed to.

"You go by Roger Harrison. Don't know your serial number. I'll be honest, I forgot your name for a hot minute, was calling you Doc Rogers to be an ass. You're an EMH, not a ranked member of the crew, if I remember that stupid ass policy right. Be a crying shame if I'm right, by the way. I always grew up with 'walks like a person, acts like a person, it's a person.' And people have rights. Some holy. Some legal. You know, autonomy of mind, body, and soul, basic free will, fair compensation, authority derived from experience, and life. Basic stuff, really." Rose chose to hold herself perfectly still as she gave a shrugging motion with her left hand. Right was for warning. "Sorry about the scarring up there. Apparently the Lexington's doc had a fight on his hands just to contain that thing. Maybe while you're in there you can tell what happened. And maybe tell me instead of being cagey as shit."

The doc nodded as he worked. She was doing fine. Excellent. "I think that's an excellent take," he said. "But I understand the need for technology like me. Though I am based on a real life Fleet doctor that once existed, I am not real," he said. He had finally gotten to where he'd wanted.

"So far, I see...an extensive root system but nothing of note," he said. "But I am not done digging around," he said, making another minuet, exact slice into her occipital lobe. "There is indeed a lot of scarring. I will see what I can do with the regenerator," he said. He reached out for his circular scalpel. "I need a number 11 blade, please," he said, to Dr. Peck.

Kate picked up the number 11 blade and passed it to the doctor. "Here you are, doctor."

"Ahm... Harrison... Your model was based on the Chief Medical officer of NX-02 Columbia, right? Or was that a... What was 3? Challenger? I remember the original crew logs of the Starbreaker when I pulled the original computer core. There was a doctor James Harrison serving as a Starfleet liaison and medical officer from 2165 to 2170 ish. Right after the Earth-Romulan war, I think. Any relation?" The root system and scars confused her, visibly. "Wisps are noncorporeal, though. I remember reading the NX-01 report on that incident. I don't know what the species was ever officially called, but apparently they were just some kind of energy based life form. Roots and scars shouldn't be the wisp. Especially considering my family mythology pretty solidly IDs them as the same species." Again, the thing snarled in her subconscious, daring the doctor to release from its host, despite it not knowing if it was viable outside the body.

"Well." She watched the intrusive thoughts carefully. "It was the same species. I think. You think there was another factor of another symbiote that caused it to get stuck? I dunno. Just rambling, now... But still. Weird."

Roger nodded. "Very good," he said. "No relation, but Harrison was a quite common name a hundred years ago," he said. "The connection to old Earth was stronger," he explained. "I think the scarring may actually be from...were you ever treated with shock therapy for, say, epileptic seizures or similar things?" He asked, gently. What he ACTUALLY suspected was that it was a result of something done to her, likely without her consent and knowledge, but he didn't want to presume. "Your mother reminded me of such," he noted, regarding Rose's comment about the etymology of the wisp being.

"No? I'm not epileptic to my knowledge. I mean... I remember headaches and missing time starting about fifteen or seventeen ish years ago, but it had mostly cleared on its own around six years ago... Why?" Rose's brows knit, considering the possibilities. Even if she had ability, she couldn't have gleaned the thoughts from a hologram. Her telepathy had never extended to machines. "I thought there were medicines and nanomachine cures for that. Our doctor always kept a few hyposprays of seizure meds on board cause of it, and for incidentals. You know, right kind of sick and a crewman gets a grand mal and we're four days behind and five hundred light years off course cause we had to drop by an outpost to stock up on meds? Nobody's that dumb. Med-bay's same priority as hydroponics for supply. That budget comes before fuel. And electroshock's kinda barbaric, isn't it? Like pre-Eugenics Wars medicine."

"What would happen after the missing time?" He asked. "I am trying to figure something out. I know you said your ex-husband was abusive. Could it have been something he'd done?" He asked, getting to the point of the matter.

"Abusive? No, he would always be really nice. Especially when... I would wake up with a headache. He would be playing his guitar." Rose would have shaken her head if she didn't know the doctor needed her to stay perfectly still. "I... I mean, my mom hated him and never told me why. And some of my friends in the Romulan Border Guard refused to come to my wedding. But they told me some things I have to find out for myself? I don't know?"

Roger nodded. "I think something happened to you during these periods of black out. I can't say firmly if it was your ex-husband or not, but SOMEONE was...hurting you," he said. He couldn't explain fully until he could some studying of the brain tissues. A moment later, he perked up. "I found it!" He said. "Dr. Peck, the Synaptic splitter, please," he said. He'd need to physically remove the Wisp beings' synapses from those of its host. He had no idea if it was actually POSSIBLE, but he was hoping. In THEORY, it'd work.

Kate was now starting to get nervous and concerned about Rose. She picked up the Synaptic splitter and held it out for the doctor.

Rose considered this, her eyes burning as her furrowed brow deepening, systematically going through the personalities and skillsets of her former crew. People close to her, the symptoms, time frame, each face and name scrolling across her mind's eye as the revelation dug deep. Something ignited in her own soul, a white hot burning rage that threatened to bridge the gap of the neurosurgery chains the doctor was now trying to sever. The list rapidly grew thin, men and women who had been loyal and fierce not to her name, but her vessel. She had always been a bit of a figurehead, learning the skills and borrowing the expertise of her crew, losing herself in their needs. Surface thoughts and concepts, but never the depth that her mother could achieve, and the evidence was slowly pointing to one figure. Her voice carried a razor's edge, as a mutiny would have carried less shame. Confusion and hurt radiated off her like an unwashed stink of rage that could so easily turn to hate. "So you're saying that one man, One dock hand turned loadmaster cost me my home, my ship, my crew, and my heirlooms? Why? What could he have possibly wanted by risking that? Why... He was from fucking Munich. Sure, had some Suliban on his mom's side, but... He wanted to show me Earth after the last run. We were supposed to carry something for Starfleet to a decommissioning site. We were refuelling out of Iconia, Our escort was the Jorgenson, and I served on that ship a few years ago... But the Jorgenson fell back because they had engine trouble, then we got jumped by pirates led by my brother..."

The last realization hit her like a hammer, the rage of her wisp's trauma fading for once to be overwhelmed by her own as her fists clenched, sickening like a knot in her stomach. "We were set up. Starbreaker was a weapons test!. Those people did nothing to deserve that."

Roger simply nodded. "No one does," he said. Carefully, he applied to the neuropsplitter. It would only take a few moments. "I will see what I can do to regenerate these parts of your brain," he said. "My condolences to the people you lost.. The person I am based on...he was a doctor during the Romulan war. His hospital ship was attacked...they couldn't save it," he said. So. He could understand-though he could not empathize. A moment later, the synapses had been severed.

"Alright, here goes nothing," he said. He pulled a long, worm-like object from her brain, and then placed it into a jar for further testing-or destroying. "Any pain or pressure?" he asked Rose.

"No. I... Can't feel the thing anymore." She didn't tell how she had felt the worm like thing drag through her soul, pulling her anger like dragging hooks trying to stay in one piece and leaving an emptiness behind. Her meditative state seemed to deepen as though the things pushing her out of it had fallen away, letting her fall uncontrolled into the recesses of her own mind. "Can't really feel my leg, though. Like it fell asleep. And there's this... I dunno, like a vacuum in my guts feeling. And... There's still a lot of anger. And I can't quite remember where it's supposed to go."

Roger nodded, as he fully extracted what he hoped was the Wisp. It looked at him, and Roger quickly placed him in a jar with an air sealed lid. He closed it.

"I'd expect that. Much like how a Trill might feel empty after their symbiote is removed, before the new one is placed," he said. "As for the anger, I suggest kickboxing," he said. "The rest...should get better soon. We have a few counselors you can see if you think it'll help. Do you want me to do some regeneration on the parts of your brain that are...damaged from the electrical activity?" He was measuring his words carefully. "I can't tell you what affect, if any, it will have, or not," he said. "Unfortunately."

"Aah... Yeah. Yeah, that would be nice." Rose looked over, seeing the jar to almost recoil in horror. "Gods, that thing is huge! That thing was in my skull?! And that is not a Wisp. That's a damn worm of some flavor. How long has that thing been eating my brain?! Is that the parasite? Is that what was done to me?!"

She didn't get much further before the worm like mass that seemed to abberate and twist in the jar started to leak what appeared to be a glowing blue-grey gas that moved like the flaws in a crystal, thrashing against the jar as it tried to return to its host. A gagging noise escaped her throat, choked back with a firm cough. "Seriously. What the fuck is that?"

Roger dug a bit more into Rose's brain, and finally found the wisp creature. It looked kind of like an old fashioned garden gnome. minus the pointy hat. "I assume that's the parasite, yes," he said. "I will do some testing on it," he said. The Wisp was placed into another jar, and also set on the cart. "Let's begin the regeneration," he said. "Dr. Peck, do you mind grabbing that for me?" He asked the woman. When Peck stepped out, he spoke to Rose. "I promised you I'd tell you the truth. I think the worm-thing is something your ex-husband implanted in your brain. For what purpose? I don't know, but maybe you can tell me," he said. "That's why I was being so cagey; I wanted to tell you but I did not know if you'd be comfortable with Dr Peck hearing," he said. "And I also suspect that the lesions I am seeing are related. I am not exactly sure, but I'd wager he was either doing some kind of electrocution testing, OR it's a result of the implantation-it didn't look professional," he said.

"Honestly, a lot of my memories are getting a little fuzzy. But what I do remember off the top of my head is that I met him on DS9. After I almost ran over the Defiant. He protected me from the Admiral. Barely an eighteen year old kid, and then he joined my crew as a loadmaster. One morning after I turned eighteen he proposed. And we got hitched and then the headaches started. I thought... I thought he was some Earther kid. He loved me. Is that... I..."

Her eyes started to well as she examined her old relationship under this new and horrific clarifying light. "Twelve years. It doesn't feel like... It doesn't feel right."

Roger nodded quietly. "I am sorry," he said. "You were very young...how old was he?" He asked. He suspected he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Crew roster file said he was twenty one. But now... I don't know how much of it I can believe anymore. I... I was such an idiot, wasn't I?" Her breath caught in her throat as she fought her emotions back down. "He's dead, right? Micheal James Bujold died on Starbreaker's bridge, shot in the back by a disruptor held by Adam John Andrake, right?"

Roger nodded. "As far as I can tell, yes," he said. "He is dead. No further record of anyone matching that name, or similar, or even with a similar face has been found," he said. "But 21 is a BIG age difference when you're that young," he said. "Sometimes, older men look for younger women to hurt them," he said. "I am sorry that this has happened. Make sure you talk to Dr. Peck," he said. He fell quiet again as the woman returned with the neuro-regenerator. "Let's begin. Then I can sew you back up," he said. "Your mother should be joining us tomorrow," he said, pleasantly.

He applied the regenerator, and waited a few minutes. As he watched carefully, the machine went to work, unfolding and refolding Rose's brain tissues and securing the synapses he'd cut back into place. "Still numb?" He asked.

"Only emotionally. Is it possible that the San Clemente was someone trying to continue his work?" She jabbed a finger at the parasite before continuing, "That thing got loose for six hours. Last I remember was a hypospray from behind and... Transporter... And rage. If someone identified their lost project... Was I the cargo? Were we taking me to be decommissioned?!". Somehow, the news of her mother's coming got completely missed. "No, one monster's perfect demon getting loose is more believable than some big conspiracy. Who would even do that kind of research? The Suliban Cabals disbanded two hundred years ago, the Jem Hadar weren't in my operation zones and S31 or the Tal'Shiar? My family's obscure as shit, completely unresearched cause we're one instance. No shot. The only thing a conspiracy does is make it not my own damn fault. All of it."

Roger shrugged. "It's very possible, yes," he said."But I will destroy it personally," he said, "To ensure that nothing happens again," he said. "Do you suspect someone?" He asked. "Because I can arrange for you to file a report," he said. "IF you want." He moved the regenerator. "Looks good so far. A few more patches," he said. "We're almost through," he said. "I'd like you to spend the night in one of the private rooms here, so I can monitor you," he said. "I will not insist, but I DO prefer it," he said. "And then, as I said, we'll follow up in a few days' time, and then in six weeks, and three months. After that, we should know if any side effects have happened, or if it took, or whatever," he said. "I can open the rest of your head later and look for more lesions, BUT that would be a full day's surgery, and we'd need to plan it out," he said.

"If I had the evidence, I would have... There won't be a complaint. The kill is mine.". Shaking off the wave of sudden murderous, vengeful wrath, she blinked, wiping away her tears. "Just button me up. I can already feel Neyin freaking the fuck out and you're gonna have some injured Marines in here soon. I... Need some time alone. Will I be good to spacewalk? Clear my head on the hull? Be... Alone. For a bit. Just. I need to process this. Alone."


Roger nodded. "Give me a few minutes to close the wound," he said, and went to work. After a bit of time, he was finished closing the hole, and regenerating the skin around it. "Ok, Dr. Peck and I will step out. Just let me know when you're....ready," he said, "And we can get you more pain meds and send you home," he said. He stepped out, and then waited for Katherine to follow him. He thanked the woman for her assistance with the surgery, and then went to check on other patients.

Kate thanked the doctor, especially letting her assist, a little, in the surgery. Kate moved to a desk and turned on a monitor to check on Rose.

 

RSS Feed