Controlled Chaos

Posted on Mon Dec 14th, 2015 @ 9:23pm by Lieutenant Nicolette De La Croix

Mission: First Strike
Location: USS Manoora, Sickbay

Unlike the heavy red lights and shrieking klaxons of the other floors, the red alert in sickbay was much more muted. Lights and panels glowed with a furious red, but the sound and flashing overheads were disabled. In all honesty, the chaos that was sickbay didn't need any help from lights and sound. It was controlled to a point, as Misuu saw anyone that came in- including herself- quickly passed through triage and sorted into areas.

The first of which seemed to be a quick patch up and go. The second seemed to be made up of people like herself- who could walk, but were severe enough not to release. Not walking was pushed closer to the surgery suites where beds were lined up in a holding pattern for treatment. There was a fourth area that Misuu had heard the nurses talk about, but she hadn't seen or heard where that was supposed to be as of yet. Instead she sat on the edge of a chair as the biobeds were all taken up, her legs swinging and her arm covered in fresh bandages. Her wound had been cleaned and irrigated then covered so she wouldn't pick at it- a sedative applied so her anxiety over the ruin of her arm from elbow to palm wouldn't drive her over the edge while she sat in the middle of a bunch of wounded people. Some cried. Some moaned. Others were silent in frightening ways. And then there was Misuu, who distantly was noting how the air smelled of blood, char and cleaning products that her mother used to use.

Her head still felt like it was floating when the doctor came in, moving with a single purposeful energy that seemed like it could power a small starship all on its own. Instead of pleasant and smiling- almost coy- as she was days before in the lunchroom, De La Croix's expression was cool, studious, carefully distant. Not cold, but different enough that even as odd as Misuu felt, she noted the difference.

"Hey you.." the doctor cooed as she stepped inside the makeshift cubby and smiled a very tight lipped smile. "I heard you got yourself in a tangle with some caustic material. Let's have a look at that, huh?" Another person in medical teal stepped in behind the doctor with a tray in her hand full of small instruments that Misuu didn't recognize. She took her arm and peeled back the bandage, inspecting the various pocks, blisters and burns.

"Oh, hon, that's a number alright. We'll need to stimulate some muscle growth to fill in what got burned away and slap on some new skin. For now, I'll have Ella gel that up for you so it doesn't bother you and then come back around in a little bit-" Nicolette was saying when the curtain swished aside.

The orderly that opened the curtain thrust a chart at the doctor, reciting the important notes aloud before she could even read them. "Forty-three year old male. Third degree plasma burns to roughly 90% of his body including face, chest and torso. Severe difficulty breathing-"

"Granger and Farrow are both still in surgery?" De La Croix asked the nurse, who nodded in confirmation.

"We've still got 6 red in line, one of which is close to crossing. Farrow should be about thirty minutes out, forty for Granger." Ella answered with a certain cool distance to her voice.

The doctor handed the chart back to the orderly briskly. "Make him comfortable. Put him in black."

"But-"

"Read the footnotes, James. Black. If there's a problem, switch with Ella. She can get the job done. Our patients need professionalism and speed right now. Act or get out of the way." Turning back to Misuu, Nica adopted that tight smile again. "As I was saying, you're going to get gelled up and then we're putting you on a cot out of the way. Sleep if you can, rest: stay still. You'll get a little more pain medication to help you relax."

"What do the colors mean? Red? Black? I was green.." Watching Ella pass the doctor a small white container of some kind of thick gel, Caran winced in anticipation of what turned out to be the most soothing, cool, godly substance that she'd ever encountered.

"Ask me when it's over, sweetpea. Right now I've got to roll. Ella will top you off with the happy and then move you to your cot, okay?" As the woman hurried out the door, Misuu heard her speaking to another of her staff. "Start setting cots up in labs. If we've got quick turn around patients move them there. We need people in and out as fast as we can or we'll be lining beds in the hall. Check on Marie and see if she's got her head on straight again. If she does, have her back up triage. Who's next?"