Patchwork

Posted on Sun Feb 21, 2016 @ 6:01am by Civilian 'Key Holder' Yolanthe Ibalin & erie'Riov Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian

2,285 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Pangaea (Wrap up)
Location: Diana's Arrow Sickbay
Timeline: MD10 2030

::ON::

They hadn't had time for a proper reunion, nor would they for a while yet, right now Klia and Yolanthe needed to get to sickbay in a hurry, especially Klia. Walking quickly beside them, though she wasn't hurt, was Rianni, not about to leave their sides just yet, ~Besides, they're not in shape to deal with Superbitch on their own right now.~

Superbitch, the name the crew of Diana's Arrow had bestowed upon the ship's doctor, Lena Parseghian, M.D. She was surly, hated people, and had the bedside manner of Dr. Mengele, but, they all had to grudgingly admit she was probably the best emergency doctor in the quadrant. That being said, Rianni still had no intentions of letting Superbitch at Klia unsupervised. As they walked through the double doors of the small sickbay Rianni, shocked that the sickbay wasn't already prepared, called out for her, "Lena? We need some help out here!"

"That's Dr. Parseghian, Princess." Came the snarl from the small office to the left, though she didn't move at first, the fact that these patients were friends of the Princess bought them nothing, "Though it's hard to tell I'm not the janitor since your Grandfather has me working in a broom closet. So, what's the problem?" She completely disregarded Rianni, she obviously wasn't hurt and the fact she was the boss' granddaughter and would, no doubt, soon be her boss meant literally nothing to her.

"Multiple traumas." Rianni replied, disregarding the doctor's typically nasty response, "Other than some obvious burns and bruising I'm not sure, Doctor. Didn't anyone let you know we were coming?"

The doctor walked over to Klia, completely ignoring Rianni's question, that little bitch wasn't the boss yet. It didn't take her long to see what the problem was there, someone had tried to burn this woman alive, "Okay, go lie on the diagnostic bed, once we get the full picture on any internal injuries we'll start working on those burns."

Next she walked over to Yolanthe, she was nowhere near as badly injured as the other woman but had definitely been through the mangler, "Okay, what's your problem?"

Yolanthe looked down at her. The woman reminded her of more than a few medicine women she'd encountered. "Severed left hamstring, minor burns to the right thigh, multiple contusions." She shrugged. "I've had worse."

"Okay, then take a seat, I'll work on your hamstring next." The doctor shrugged, taking a hypospray from her coat and pressing it to Yolanthe's neck, "That should knock back the pain. Get comfy." A quick glance at the diagnostic bed showed no internal injuries to the Orion woman, Klia, she was mostly going to need dermal regeneration, though she'd definitely taken a beating for the books. She got another hypospray out of her coat, this one set stronger, and placed it against Klia's neck, "You just lay back. All this burnt hair has to come off, it'll cause an infection if I try to regenerate her scalp on top of it. There's a laser shear in the top drawer on the left, get busy, Rianni."

As the drugs hit Klia's system she settled back, getting a slightly dopey look on her face as she relaxed for the first time in forever.

"Is Glen on his way?" Rianni asked as she found the laser shear, referring to the nurse Papa had hired three months earlier to assist Lena, "Be nice to have an extra set of hands."

"Glen quit, so you're hired." The Doctor replied, "Now, the longer you run your mouth the longer this is going to take, get to work." She walked over to Yolanthe, the first Bokkai she'd ever had as a patient and looked her over, "Good news is your friend has no life threatening injuries. So, we're looking at regenerating your hamstring, your burns, and taking care of those contusions. That a problem?"

"The bruises aren't an issue. Being able to walk properly would be very nice."

"I can arrange that for you." Parseghian shrugged, she was happy that at least the patients were cooperating, even if her ersatz nurse wasn't moving fast enough. It was going to be several hours before the Bokkai would be on her feet again, but the regenerator wrap would do the job. She'd handle the dermal on this one after the other patient was treated; it was hard for even her to imagine but she Dr. Lena Parseghian, Superbitch herself, felt genuine sympathy for the Orion who for some reason was still waiting to get her head shaved, "Rianni, what's the hold up? Why isn't the patient prepped?"

"I'm just looking for your follicular stimulator." Rianni replied, "Where do you keep it?"

"On another ship." Was the doctor's retort, "Follicular stimulators are solely cosmetic and until your cheapskate of a Grandfather gives me a real sickbay instead of this broom closet I have to manage my space; only the necessities."

"So I'm supposed to leave her bald until we get to DS5?" Rianni sighed, nearly snapped, her dislike for this woman dripping from her lips like blood from the maw of a recently fed tiger, though it was much less about Klia's hair than it was about the shot at her Papa, who had given Lena Parseghian a job when nobody else would.

"Or get me a bigger sickbay." Parseghian shrugged, "Your choice, Princess."

"Whatever, Lena." Rianni sighed, walking over to Klia, "I'm sorry about this, Klia."

"Its just hair." Klia's words were slurred, and her eyes were shutting. "Grows back. Always grows back"

"Yeah." Rianni smiled softly, comfortingly, to Klia as she turned on the shear, happy that it didn't make a loud, angry noise like the ones of old did, not wanting to startle Klia. She made the first cut with a mist over her eyes, for Klia to have to go through this after all she'd already been through, it wasn't fair.

Parseghian just rolled her eyes and turned back to Yolanthe, setting the regenerator wrap around the patient's leg, shrugging, "Yeah, soon as this is Princess Hotpanties' ship I'm fired. Whatever. Okay, first couple of cycles are going to re-attach the ends of the hamstring, next few will strengthen it, you'll need to take it slow for a few weeks after but you'll be fine."

Rianni just had to turn completely away from Parseghian, focusing on Klia and making this as bearable for her as possible, "Hey, it's gonna be okay, Klia." Rianni smiled, shearing away the ashy strands that were once Klia's beautiful red mane and being thoroughly happy that this Torm person was dead, "We're only a couple days from DS5, from home."

"Rianni, shave her head now, hold her hand later." Parseghian growled, readying the rest of the tools she would need for the much more complicated job awaiting her on the diagnostic bed, "She could already have the first layer of a scalp if you didn't spend so much time dicking around." She scrubbed quickly, gloving up and visually inspecting the tools on the tray: a sonic scrubber to remove any debris from the burns, a dermal regenerator, another hypo of painkiller, and a transfusion device since the young Orion clearly needed blood.

"Of course you're right, doctor." Rianni answered, her voice calm and flat, hiding her anger as best she could, "Oh, and you're also probably right about being fired as soon as this is my ship, too." The last strands of Klia's hair were now gone, her scalp now bald and blackened, "Almost done, Klia."

Klia struggled to look up at her. "Don't be bitch. we can-" And Klia finally lost the fight to stay conscious, this time her eyes closed, stayed closes, and her chest started rising and falling in a slow steady rhythm.

"There we go, save your strength." Rianni smiled, knowing that at the very least Klia was not in any active pain. She began to clean the wounds on Klia's face and scalp with the sonic scrubber while Parseghian attended Yolanthe, in olden times that would've been done with a wire brush, ~Thank God for sonic technology.~ With the wounds on Klia's head and face now cleaned, Rianni moved down to the wounds on her abdomen, being sure to clean them thoroughly.

Parseghian finally walked over to join Rianni, "Good job on those wounds." She grudgingly admitted, adding, "Especially good for the first real work you've done in your entire life."

Yolanthe watched the doctor leave, then raised an eyebrow at the Romulan woman. "Pleasant as she is, you should get your injuries seen to as well."

"Yeah, sorry about her. She's a great doctor, just has the worst personality.... ever." Rianni replied, "And what injuries? I'm fine. Had a couple near misses, but nothing hit." ~No way she could know.... I didn't tell anybody, not even Papa, no way she could possibly know.~ "Anyway, how's that hammy feeling?"

The Bokkai's skin had been flushing alternately grey and blue since they'd got back, but now it went the colour of pumpkins. "Really. Is that what you're going with? I know a thing or two about injuries. You look to me like someone kicked you in the groin."

"Not quite." Rianni shrugged, then turned to Yolanthe, "If you must know I was.... assaulted by.... well, I guess now my husband." ~Yeah, he got my thumbprint on that marital.... damn it. Still not sure how I'm going to get out of that one.~ "Anyway, yeah, I'm kinda keeping that quiet."

Yolanthe nodded, though her skin turned teal. Her own culture had no concept of that particular crime, and even the thought of a man raising his hand to a woman was laughable, but she knew that is was considered particularly heinous. She just couldn't summon enough energy to care right then. "Why?"

"Because there's nothing that can be done anyway." Rianni shrugged, "He has diplomatic immunity. Look, I appreciate your concern, I really do, but I'm really trying to keep Papa or my Dad or, Eisn forbid, my brother J'Tar from finding out and doing something stupid like killing the piece of shit. I just need to keep it low key until I can find my way out of the marriage that I never wanted to be in. If you've got any ideas on that subject I would be really grateful though."

"Diplomatic Immunity?" Yolanthe repeated. That sounded dubious. As far as she knew the Federation didn't hold with immunity for serious crimes. then she shrugged. It was Rianni's problem. "Look, I've taken a hit to the groin or two. It can rupture things, break bone. If you won't tell your doctor, go to sick bay when we get back. They have patient confidentiality don't they?"

"Of course they do." Rianni shrugged, "I just need some pain meds for it and I'll be okay until we get back."

"Some pain meds for what?" Parseghian asked as she re-entered, giving Yolanthe and Klia the once over, "Well, they're going to be fine. In an hour or two you can take them out of here, might need these beds for someone with serious injuries."

Yolanthe actually turned blue. Parseghian did remind her of several medicine woman back home. But she turned to Rianni. "Look, after all this, I owe you. When we get back to the station I can set you up with people who won't ask questions. If you want."

''Can we talk about it later?" Rianni asked, a pleading look in her eyes as she jerked her head towards Parseghian, "You know, privately?"

"What? Looking for people with low standards for Princess Hotpanties?" Parseghian laughed, walking past them all and slamming the door to her office closed.

Rianni sighed deeply and shook her head, her messy hair making a rustling noise against the shoulders of her jacket, "And that's why they call her Superbitch."

"I made it a point of professional survival to never get on the bad side of whoever was putting me back together. Though that would probably test me. Eventually." Yolanthe had watched the doctor go into her office and slam the door, then she turned back to Rianni. "The offer is still there."

"Thanks." Rianni smiled, finishing the first round of dermal regeneration on Klia's head and face, "And now I'm doing her job, too. Whatever, right? When I'm done over here, I'll start on those two hamburgers you call feet." She shook her head sadly, Yolanthe had no idea how badly she had been hurt, ~Poor thing looks like she walked over a parsec of razor wire.~

The analgesics meant that Yolanthe no longer really felt her feet, She looked down at her shredded soles, and could see the small pieces of metal embedded in them. "They've looked prettier." She admitted. "But I've had worse. There'll be plenty of time to sort them out later. No rush. not until the drugs run out."

"Okay, well, let me finish Klia." Rianni said, making another pass over Klia's face and scalp; the burns where Klia's flaming locks had hit her face were gone now and she now had the second layer of her scalp replaced, she'd be able to start growing hair on it in the next couple days. Without turning from Klia, Rianni said, "Look, I'm not sorry about what I did to D'Liin, but I am sorry it happened in your place."

Yolanthe stretched, her skin now a pale blue, with black patches spread all over, and put her hands behind her head. "Good." She said, closing her eyes. "You're still barred."

::OFF::
A Jp between

Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian
Ersatz Nurse, Doctor, Etc....

Yolanthe Ibalin
Owner, The Box of Delights
DS5

 

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