Autopsy or Vivisection -- III

Posted on Sat 6th May, 2017 @ 11:56am by Colonel Horatio Drake & Commander Zachary Hunt & Lieutenant Commander Lanis Dhuro MD

1,137 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night
Location: Deck 82, Main Infirmary
Timeline: MD 02 -- 2030

Previously, on Star Trek: Vanguard

Lieutenant Longworth, the lead operating room nurse on the station, complied, drawing back the drape covering the figure, and the table. As he did so, a wave of sickly, unhealthy odor arose from the body. The table wasn't the standard OR table; it was an older model that someone had modified. Tubes ran from the thickened pedestal base into the figure on the table. The figure had been Human, once. Now it was marked by the pallor of the grave, and a gauntness rarely seen in the living. The remnants of an old-style Starfleet uniform, the accents colored in rust, could be seen under what appeared to be protective plating, but which had an odd, organic sheen.

"Doctor Dhuro, permit me to introduce you to Lieutenant Commander Scott Allen Breaux," Addams said. "Commander Breaux left his ship on liberty fifteen years ago, and was not seen again until this evening. I only regret that we could not have met under more congenial circumstances."

---

Addams sighed. "These things? Frankly, we don't know what they have in their toolkits. But we do have rather a great many of them in Commander Breaux. And we have dermal plating which appears to be more organic in nature than that exhibited by the Borg. What do these clues mean? At the moment, Doctor, your guess is as good as mine."

"Let's not borrow trouble, then," Lanis said. "I'll figure they can't mess with the brain in certain ways unless we observe otherwise."

And now, the conclusion.

Addams folded her right arm below her bust, with the left elbow on top of her fingers. She tapped her encarmined lips with the second knuckle of her index finger. "I am concerned that the nanites may resist our efforts. Still, I am hesitant to withdraw them entirely. Shall we begin with removal of the dermal plating?"

Lanis nodded. "I'm worried about that, too. Yes, let's start with the plating." He glanced at the holo-display and flipped the image until it showed the integumentary system. "Computer, show us a cross-section detail of how the patient's dermal plating attaches to the dermis and any other involved subdermal layers."

Drake stood rooted to the spot, towards the corner of the room, next to Hunt who had a grave look on his face. The two exchanged looks briefly, but so much was said in those seconds. For this to be done to a Starfleet Officer, well, only the Borg were brave enough to do such things. It was inhumane and went against the very morals that the Federation stood for - it was a grievous act of despicable nature.

"Look at that," Addams said, reaching into the hologram and tracing the structure of the pectoral plate. "It's actually connected to the rib cage." She pinch-expanded the juncture, and shook her head. "No wonder the plating looks organic; it is. It puts me in mind of goethite."

Lanis swore. "I was afraid of that. If it really was armor, it would need a stronger foundation than mere skin to prevent it being ripped free in combat."

Addams made a thoughtful sound, and pinch-expanded one of the links to Commander Breaux' ribs. "Computer," she said, reaching into the hologram, "place an action potential block on this special somatic afferent nerve bundle." A coating of light appeared around the indicated fiber, and Addams went on, "and a collagen plug in this artery." The computer processed for a moment, measuring the artery at the location the doctor specified, forming an appropriate plug, and then transporting it into place. It beeped and updated the holograph to show it had completed the instruction.

A moment or two passed as both doctors watched the holo-display. Then, tiny specks of light streamed toward the collagen plug from the surrounding vascular and lymphatic systems, slowly at first and then much more rapidly. The specks converged on the plug, breaking it down and gradually restoring the flow of blood into the costal area.

"That took less than a minute," Lanis said to Addams. "Remind me to have some of these things implanted in my arteries, so I can indulge in my cheese addiction with wild abandon."

Addams smiled tightly. "The dermal plating and lack of free will might be considered down sides," she countered. "It looks to me like the right ventral torso plates attach here, here, and here. Shall we see what they do if we remove and apply cautery?"

"Without the free will, I wouldn't be overindulging in cheese at all, now would I?" Lanis said with a faint grin. He glanced at the display. "I'm guessing the little buggers won't like our interference." He glanced at the holo-display. "Computer, pinpoint sites of dermal plating attachments to the patient's ribs." He observed as the computer did so. "Sever the attachments from the ribs, creating samples sized 4mm in length, leaving the normal rib structure intact. Beam the samples taken to biopsy containment, and cauterize the wound area as needed to prevent blood loss."

As the computer complied, the patient's eyes fluttered open. He looked around lethargically, and his gaze settled on Addams... no, she thought, on something beside her. She glanced to see what, as the patient croaked something in a voice long unused. Addams heard the sound of wings as the patient's eyes fluttered closed again. He sighed, a long, slow sound that ended when his diaphragm completely relaxed, with the sound some people called a 'death rattle.'

"I need a neural stimulator, Longworth," Addams said. She had heard the wings, and knew what they meant, but she still had to carry on as if she didn't.

Lanis sucked in a breath, filled with wild hope for a moment, hope that this man who had suffered so much might have a chance at a happier existence. But he had seen death too many times to mistake it now--and relief washed over him. Only the necessity to see if their patient could tell them anything of his captors made Lanis go through the motions of helping Addams and Longworth try to resuscitate Lt. Commander Breaux with neural stimulators, defibrillators. The best they could do, however, was to maintain him on life support.

At last, Addams stood back and shook her head. "Colonel, we can do what the previous experimenters have done -- keep the meat alive. But in any meaningful way, Commander Breaux is gone beyond reach."

Drake nodded solemnly before locking eyes with Addams and giving one final nod. He turned and quickly walked towards the exit.

Col. Horatio Drake
Commanding Officer

Commander Zachary Hunt
Executive Officer

Lt. Commander Chlamydia Addams
Chief Medical Officer

Lt. Dhuro Lanis (NPC)
Chief of Surgery

Lt. Commander Scot Allen Breaux (NPC)
Captive, Survivor, Corpse

 

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