JDL || LtCmdr Dahe'el & Ens deLaar, CEO & Nrs || "Freezing Solutions."

Posted on Mon Feb 17th, 2014 @ 11:37pm by Ensign Sina deLaar

1,230 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: In the Dark
Location: Vindicator Away Team Camp.

(OOC Note: Lieutenant Alexander is a Medical Officer beamed down to cover for Doctor Cannon, played in part by myself and deLaar. Almar.)

=/\= Vindicator Camp, Noctura. =/\=

It never took Ensign deLaar very long to recover from an immediate shock. In fact she was sometimes secretly relieved when a situation escalated, because the things she imagined that COULD happen were always even worse.

That attack of the animal was like a slap in the face which woke her up and she tried hard to make the best of the situation.

Hurrying from crewman to crewman, she tried not to be in anyone’s way. Especially not in the marines’ way who looked especially grim and on edge. But she was quite good in discretely handing out helpful medicine and advice. And her instincts told her to keep a good eye on Starfleet personal in general who often were so absorbed in their work that they turned blind and deaf to their bodies’ urgent warning signals.

A thought had crossed her mind and she desperately wanted to have a word with her superior medical officer.

She found her in her office tent, Lieutenant Alexander's face was dimly lit by the display of the info padd she was reading.

“Lieutenant Alexander, I’d like to have a word with you.“ Ensign deLaar tried to keep her voice calm and speak as quickly as possible so that she wouldn’t waste the senior officer’s time.

"Please, go on." The medical officer was not especially fond of ensigns dropping by spontaneously, but she seemed interested in the topic none the less.

“How is Commander Dahe'el doing? When do you think he will be able to resume his job again? – I’m wondering if he would profit from a therapy with Anuralin. Freeze tolerant reptiles and amphibians have extremely high glucose levels in their blood to keep it from freezing when temperatures sink below 0°C. Research has been done to exploit this principle to help cold blooded humanoids work at low temperatures.

Anuralin contains glucose-molecules structured in a way that they aren’t used up for energy by the body or at least only very slowly. They can circulate in the blood for a long time without the adverse effects of a high blood sugar level.

It will not make him feel warmer. But it could raise his chances of survival if he cools down too much again and we were too slow to find him.” Sina made a face, frustrated that her news weren’t better. “He still wouldn’t be able to move. But he could survive for up to 8 months without the cold killing him. – It would be a safety net on this planet. So to speak.”

Lieutenant Alexander finally looked up from her padd. "And you decided on your own responsibility to bring this kind of extra medicine to this planet."

Ensign deLaar immediately stood much more upright. "Yes, Ma'am."

"And you didn't leave any of the regular supplies on the ship."
Sina felt the blood drain out of her face. This was not going so well. "Of course not, Ma'am. I packed everything I was supposed to."

"Then the weight of your backpack, in case we have to evacuate the camp, would be significantly higher than what is recommened of a person with your physical abilities?"

Thinking of how bad she did at her last fitness test, made all the blood return to her face. "Probably..." she whispered blushing heavily.

"Ensign, I will check if Anuralin is suitable for Lieutenant Commander Dahe'el and the inform him about the advantages and disadvantages. You can administer the hypospray if he wants it and it he's recovering at an acceptable rate. -- It is an asset that you like to work on your own initiative. But I insist that you ask permission before you choose to adapt any of your guidelines."

deLaar nodded and swallowed hard to regain her voice. "Understood."

Lieutenant Alexander reached out to work through the next padd. "Then you're released."

Almar was still huddled up inside the runabout, a blanket draped over his shoulders and a couple of heat lamps set up facing his seat, he'd set up a workbench and was continuing on building up some tricorders that would work in the conditions they had discovered on the planet.

Ensign deLaar carefully climbed into the runabout, clenching tricorder, probes, hypospray and various other devices under her arms. Dropping it all on a nearby crate, she stood upright, softly cleared her voice and waited for the Cardassian to notice her entry.

"Lieutenant Commander. Sorry for interrupting you, but I have to check on the progess of your recovery. - How do you feel? Do you feel any pain or numbness on your skin, hands or feet?"

"I'm... better," Almar replied slowly as he looked up from his workbench and placed the tricorder he was working on down, "There is no pain or numbness, it would seem that I was bought into the warmth just in time."

"I'm afraid, my medical tricorder is not working as it should. I have to visually check the condition of your skin. Do I have permission to touch on of your hands?" Ensign deLaar asked.

"Of course," Dahe'el replied with a slight nod, holding out his scaled hand for her to examine.

In times of tricorders, dermal regenerators, hyposprays, anti-gravity stretchers and biobeds it hardly every happend that a patient had to be physically touched for an examinations. Most races, including most humans, were also squeamish about that and asking permission was therefore an absolute MUST.

Sina quickly and carefully evaluated skin colour, texture and integrity noting her findings on a padd, letting go of his hand she said: "I'm glad that you're recovering so quickly and that no further damage has been done to your body except for temporary loss of mobility. -- Have you decided if you would like to take the Anuralin as a precaution?"

"I would not, however there may be a time in the future when it would come in handy, be sure to make a note of it should I have to face any further trips into worlds like this," Almar replied with a slight smile.

"I'll leave you to your work then. If you could just stay 12 hours longer inside the runabout and under the heat sources, your body would not only recover but also fill up it's resources to face the cold again."

Smiling she softly added: "You know, some officers would say, not being able to maintain one's own body temperature would be an excellent excuse to cuddle with a good looking woman, if only for the sake of being able to work."

"Unfortunately, the woman I would like to... cuddle with is busy at the moment, so this blanket will have to suffice," the Cardassian replied as he looked back to his work, his hands picking up the tricorder again

Sina hurried to pick up all her medical equipment again stuffing her pockets to keep at least one hand free: "I'll leave and see if I can send you one of your engineers so that they can keep you up to date."

Dahe'el nodded, not looking up from his work, "I'd appreciate that. Thank you, Ensign."

(End Log.)

Lieutenant Commander Almar Dahe'el
Chief Engineering Officer

&

Ensign Sina deLaar
Head Nurse

USS Vindicator

 

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