Re-emergence of the past

Posted on Fri May 8th, 2020 @ 12:02pm by Lieutenant Commander Carolyn Corrigan MD & Skye & Commander Hades,MD

2,991 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 106 – Stalemate
Location: Starbase 23/ USS Mercy - Docked at Starbase 23 - Sickbay
Timeline: MD 03 1430 hours

{ON:}

“Hey! Watch where you are going! Watch it! Hey, are you okay..?”

Ignoring the protests and complaints, Skye pushed her way through the people milling around the promenade. Head down, her hand clutching her side, trying to think through the haze of a now raging a fever. She wanted something...

Her jacket! Yes, her jacket... It was ruined.

In the blink of an eye she was standing in front of a mirror, laughing at her reflection as she turned this way and that, holding the hideous neon pink jacket against her. Nope! After a few failed attempts she managing to return it to the rack before almost falling over. Thankfully the rack was within reach and she gripped it for dear life until the dizziness could pass.

“Can I help you - oh! Goodness! You’re hurt! Wait, wait right there. I’ll call -“

Skye peered at the woman. Why did she have three heads?! That was new... she giggled as she turned, losing her balance this time and crashing into one of the displays. If she hadn't been so heavily self medicated, she would have undoubtedly felt the pain from her wound. Instead she peered up at the three-headed woman and simply asked, “do you have ice cream?”

“Of course not! Please, move! You're bleeding all over my Finest silk!” The woman exclaimed in horror. “Security!!!”

“You’re rude,” Skye exclaimed, climbing unsteadily to her feet. “You were nicer when you had three heads! I am leaving now! And for the record, lady, this is the worst ice cream shop EVER! Security my a - oh, hello!”

With that she slid down to her knees, clutching her side.

Hades had been called in for a medical emergency at one of the station shops. He grabbed a med kit and headed there. When he arrived he swore a blue streak as he looked over the young woman's wound. "Medical Emergency Transport." He said to his com badge. Within seconds they were on the Mercy. He looked at Mendez. "Get the OR ready."

“Hey! Take me back!” Skye demanded, peering up at ... whoever he was! “Why is it so hot in here?! Do you know you have very blue eyes...”

He sighed. "Calm down. You are aboard the USS Mercy. You were injured. Just stay calm."

“I am exceptionally calm. Don't worry about it Starfleet. It’ll be fine,” she promised, “got lots of scars and lived to tell the tale. Just point me to the transporter room and I’ll be off.

Oh, and if anyone in yellow asks, I was never here,” she added in a whisper as she made a move to stand, abruptly finding herself about to hit the deck.

Hades caught her and lifted her with ease onto the bio bed. "Not so fast." He shook his head pressing a hypo to her neck. She oddly reminded him in spirit of someone he once knew. "You'll sleep now." He looked up and Mendez. "Get her to the OR and I'll scrub in."

“No...” she barely uttered the word before the sedative kicked in and she fell unconscious. As she stilled, Mendez moved in, Nurse Ashleigh close behind. Working quickly they transferred the new arrival to the OR, running through the pre surgical protocols.

Mendez was studying a more detailed scan when he heard Hades arrive. “Widespread infection, stemming from the abdominal wound,” he observed. “Increased vitals are all consistent with advanced infection. We don’t have an identification so we have no medical history to work with.”

“Computer estimates ages between seventeen and twenty,” Ashleigh chimes in, “so standard dosage should be fine.”

Mendez nodded, “agreed. Dr Hades, we are ready to start when you are.”

Hades scrubbed in entering all decked out in his surgical reds. He sighed. "Mendez I need your assistance to get the wound cleaned and then we'll work on the infection. Nurse I want you to take a DNA sample and run it. Maybe we can get her identity that way. We're blind without a medical history."

“Yes, Doctor,” Ashleigh replied, collecting the sample and stepping back to let the two doctors work.

Mendez stepped up on the opposite side of the table, rolling his shoulders to loosen up his muscles somewhat, “ready, Doctor.”

The surgery was not easy and as he worked he noted a few oddities. "She's got Vulcan DNA in her." He said to Mendez. "We're working blind." He sighed.

Mendez frowned, “so some of the anomalies on the scan weren’t necessarily due to the injury?”

“Doctor Hades,” Ashleigh interjected, “I’m putting through the DNA analysis to your display. I will run another scan but there are Human, Vulcan and el-Aurian markers present.”

“Quite a combination,” Mendez observed. “Still no ID?”

“The results just came in, it is running but it could take time to find a match.”

“Okay...” Mendez sighed. He peered across at Hades, “how do you want to proceed? Doctor..? Are you alright?”

Hades had stopped and eyed the woman. Shaking his head he sighed putting aside his troubled thoughts. "Ashleigh, I can narrow your scans. Narrow it to Starfleet personnel and males." He began to work. "increase the dose of the Sarline drip by five. If she's Human, Vulcan, and El Aurian... she'll need a stronger dose."

Making the adjustments to the dosage, Mendez eyed him. “That’s quite specific Doctor ... do you know her?”

A chirp from the computer stopped any response. Studying the results, Nurse Ashleigh glanced at Hades. “We have a familial match...” she said after a moment, looking equally surprised and uncomfortable. As if she had walked in on a very personal moment.

Hades sighed. He'd been about to call for a sub-molecular scanner but there was no need. He continued working "Let's have it." He said knowing what was about to come out of her mouth.

“The scan show a match to you, sir,” the nurse blurted out. “You are her biological father. I... I will expand the search to see if we can find a match for her in the records.”

Mendez looked positively Vulcan-like as his eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Sorry, come again?”

Hades swore. "We don't have time." He looked at Mendez. "Finish this up. I'll be back." He ran out of the room sprinting to his office.

Staring after him for a moment, Mendez snapped out of it and took Hades place. “Always weird around here...” he muttered under his breath.

Hades opened the wall safe he'd had installed and pulled out a medical bag. He took it with him to the OR where he want through the sterilization process. "Out!" He bellowed to the entire staff. "Not you." He said to Mendez. "Get Carolyn in here now!"

“Didn’t you order her -“ Mendez began before wisely shutting up and moving to the comms unit. When he reached his colleague he spoke quickly and quietly, passing along what he had learned. “... oh and he’s shouting again,” he added in a low voice as he ended the call. Turning back to Hades he nodded, “she’s coming.”

Hades slowly removed a square device from the bag. He'd be damned if this particular patient died. Starfleet be damned. He would not rely on their prehistoric technology.

“Missing me already gentlemen?” Carolyn asked as she appeared on the threshold between the suite and the ante-room. She looked across at Hades. “Are you okay? What do you need?”

He pointed to Mendez. "How trustworthy is he? Scrub in."

“He isn’t deaf,” Mendez protested.

Carolyn sighed as she scrubbed in, “I’m not even gonna ask. All I know is that he kept the paternity test off the books and was there when Harris needed him.”

"Fine." He turned to Mendez. "I need you to close her incisions. Carolyn scrub in and look in that medical bag. I need you to pull out an instrument that looks like a cortical stimulator. Attach one par to her and the other pair to my forehead." He turned to Mendez. "Nothing leaves this room." He walked over to the wall panel and created a medical encryption seal that would not log anything.

Crossing to his bag she removed the device which separated easily into to identical sections with an audible chirp. As she attached one set to the young woman on the table she hesitated before attaching the matching set to Hades. “What exactly do these do. No half truths,” she warned.

"They will allow me to link to her mind and keep her stable using my brain pattern and amplifying both our telepathic abilities. An invention of Adari's." He said. He pointed to the woman on the table. "That's my daughter. I have no intention of trusting Starfleet." He saw that Mendez was done. "Get a crash cart ready in case."

Mendez nodded, moving away as Carolyn attached the second set of electrodes to Hades forehead.

He looked at Carolyn. "Monitor her brain patterns. I need to know her synaptic patterns are stable. If they drop below 75% disconnect her and administer three CCs only of the blue liquid in that bag." He turned to Mendez. "I need you to monitor her organs. When repairs are complete you will see a spike in the readings when they hit 95% for each organ repaired you tell me." He looked at both. "Got it?"

“Got it,” she promised with a nod. She considered saying more - wanted to - but she knew any plea for him to take no unnecessary risk was likely a ship which had long since sailed.

“All set,” Mendez added.

Hades compressed the silver box that he'd placed on the woman's abdomen. At first nothing happened. Then the box erupted what looked like spider legs. In burrowed under her and she was lifted several inches off the table as the metal encased her abdomen. The lights on the devices on her head glowed green. Carolyn's monitors lit up. Then needle like objects shot from the metal cage around Skye's body into her. Images of her organs appeared in front of Hades as Mendez's monitors list up.

The leads on Hades' forehead glowed green and his hands seemed to be encased with a shimmering light. "Quadrant three point one." He bellowed. The image shifted and the damage became clearly visible. His hands moved light lightening making connections sealing tissue. He had no choice.

In the back of his mind he knew that Mendez had never seen technology like that and Carolyn had only seen a portion of it on her trip to the FF.

Mendez stood staring, mouth wide open in shock as he took in the scene. Watching everything with fascination. Never in his career had he ever seen anything like this and it was both incredible and slightly alarming...

"Watch the readings," Carolyn told him, snapping him out of his distraction. With a nod his eyes focused on the screens, while the corner of his eye tracked every movement Hades made. "Eight two percent... eighty seven percent..." with each passing minute he tracked the improvement in vital signs.

"Synaptic patterns holding at ninety seven percent," Carolyn reported as Hades worked. While far above the threshold, she was nevertheless cautious having already checked and rechecked that the liquid he had mentioned was in the bag and she could get to it quickly.

"Ninety three percent," Mendez announced, sounding astonished.

Hades noticed a small section in orange. He swore. "Bleed. I need the bowl run. Initiate detail scan."

A male voice sounded in the room. "Inadvisable procedure."

Hades sighed his temper flaring. "Override."

"Inadvisable procedure."

"I said override."

There was a pause and then then a detailed image appeared of the woman's bowel section by section a scan began. The leads on Hades' forehead went yellow. This would be tricky he knew. He had to focus on stabilizing her.

"Hades, synaptic pattern just dropped to eighty six percent," Carolyn warned.

"Just a little...There!" He stepped forward using the shimmering lights. They seemed to encase the damage. He felt light headed a find sheen breaking out on his forehead. "Mendez...repair rate?" He asked his voice shaky now.

"Ninety four percent," he called over. "No... wait... there, ninety five!"

"Okay, you are done," Carolyn said firmly, "I'm not resuscitating you on my birthday, got it?"

Hades gently began to ease out.

The needles removed from Skye's body and it flowed back to the bio bed. The leads on her head still glowed green. Hades waited until the cage like device retracted its spidery legs. Hades dropped to his knees. When my leads go green remove hers right away. Mendez Remove mine at the same time."

Despite her concern for him, how weak he seemed, she moved to the top of the bed, fingertips resting on the device as Mendez moved into place. It didn’t escape her notice that Mendez was lacking his usual self assured look.

“We’re ready,” she told Hades.

He took several deep breaths.

The leads on his head flashed yellow and then green. "Now." He barked his voice clearly strained.

In unison they removed the sets, both of them falling dark. “Watch her,” Carolyn told Mendez as she knelt down next to Hades. “How do you feel?” She asked, worried.

He smiled, "I'm alright." He accepted her help to stand which spoke volumes. Hades had never been the type to accept help. He gathered the equipment and closed the bag. "Both of you get her to room. I nee....need to rest." Another sign that was unusual. He headed out on shaky legs locking the bag in a hidden wall safe before collapsing onto the sofa. He took shallow breaths trying to still his mind even as it raced tracing her face and her obvious resemblance to Cassia, a woman who had the same cinnamon hair. The eyes, they were Hades'. He heard something and then looked up to see Carolyn enter.

“She is stable and in a room,” Carolyn assured him. “Now... how about you? Do you want me to call Kalani?”

He shook his head. "No..." Then it happened. Something not many had seen. His eyes welled up and tears poured out. His body just shook with mighty sobs.

“Hey,” Carolyn blurted out as she held him. “You healed her, she’ll be okay... what happened anyway? I mean, I know you said you had five daughters but I didn’t think one would be in our OR...”

It took several minutes to gain some semblance of composure. He shook his head. "I know every child. Their mother's have kept me up to date on every tooth, every first step... accept for Fal who I just found out was alive and Harris who was with me." He stared down at his shoes. "Skye....her mother Cassia and I were happy until she met someone she loved more. That night she left she took Skye without me even knowing. I searched, and hunted for her. For years and years." He shook his head.

Hades stood walking over to his desk. "I found Cassia three years ago. She told me that her husband had not wanted our daughter and instead of giving me my child she threw her away." He slammed his fists into his desk. "I tried to find her.." He turned silent tears tracking down his face. "Skye was her nickname actually, her eyes reminded me of the jewel of Andoria the sky diamond." He balled his hands into fists. "All she went through." He chocked up at the thoughts that ran through his mind. "Cassia will pay dearly."

Carolyn did not doubt that for a second. Allowing a moment of calm to settle she stood, “perhaps focus on the here and now and deal with the rest later. Hades, she practically fell into your lap. Even if you don’t believe in fate... How old was she when you last saw her? She can’t be much older than Kitana.”

"She's not. They are two years apart. Kitana's mother was one of the hunters I used to try and track Cassia down. I saw her last when she was only two years of age." He seemed more in control. "I've sent for the guard from the colony. They should arrive soon to keep her safe." He sighed. "She'll hate me for not being there." Truth was he wasn't even sure he should tell her.

“Perhaps get to know her before you put a guard on her,” Carolyn cautioned. “I don’t know how she will feel. I guess all you can do is be honest with her. She deserves that much. She must be pretty tough to have gotten this far. Maybe she would very much like to know you. And maybe even her real name?”

"I found her once. If that damned Nausiccan hadn't almost killed me I would have gotten her." He looked at Carolyn. "Drucilla saved my life, Kitana's mother. If I hadn't been injured she would have been with me." He looked at Carolyn. "Will you stay with her until she wakes up?"

“I mean I had a hot date,” she sighed before nodding, “sure.”

The joke fell flat.

They walked to her room. "She'll be asleep a few hours," He told Carolyn.

He walked over to the bed and bent placing a kiss on Skye's forehead. "My little star." He wiped the last of his tears. "I have a bounty to issue." He said. Now feeling more then happy that he'd bought into Splendora's Bounty Hunting business. "Stay with your sister." And technically she was Carolyn's sister in law. Carolyn was his daughter in law a part of his family. One more person to protect. He walked over and placed a kiss on Carolyn's head. "Stay with Ayzaria...”

Carolyn nodded, “I’ll call you as soon as she wakes up.”

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