Cryostasis Bay 1 , Part 1 Galvin & Malada
Posted on Sun Mar 3rd, 2024 @ 4:07pm by Lieutenant JG Malcolm Beckett M.D. & Ensign Charlotte Dawes & Commander Maxun Spello & Lieutenant JG Thivi & Lieutenant JG Joey #640 & Lieutenant JG Ta'Feel Anith Usskik & Civillian Sara Winters
Edited on on Tue Mar 5th, 2024 @ 9:23pm
1,918 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Artifact or Artifiction
Location: Serenity
Timeline: MD: 3 1100 Hours
Dr. Beckett had wondered about the wisdom of waking up the first patient in a strange location, but the call had been made before he had a say. But after the first Ataran had to be sedated in order to be properly examined, the team came together and agreed that the next revivals should occur on the Serenity so that the people would at least wake up to a familiar environment. The medical and counseling staff wore air-filter mask to avoid any cross-contamination between the species who'd lived in different times. Dr. Winters was to be a part of the team to speed up mutual resistance to common bacteria and other infectant.
"Commander Lorut, I'd say we have enough staff here to start with three patients. That way they aren't alone, but we aren't dealing with a crowd just yet. Hopefully make a few friends before we revive the others," Dr. Beckett suggested.
Vila stood by, listening to Malcolm. She nodded. "Alright. What do you need from me?" She asked. "Do what you need to. I am going to check in with the team down in the labs and Engineering," she said. She smiled but stepped out of the way to make her comms.
"Aye Commander, We'll get to it."
"Charlie, who do we have in the back corner there?" Malcom asked.
Charlotte, who was already prepping medical equipment with the medical techs in that area looked at the first three champers. "A male, he was 28 years old at the time of stasis. An engineer. Married. Next to him is his wife, 26 years old, medical officer. And then we have another male, 24 years old, a mechanic. His wife is next to him, and then there are their children also."
"Oh dear, well let's not do an odd number then. Lieutenant Thivi we can start with the engineer and the medical officer. Hopefully she can understand the risks of moving too quickly through this project and we can go from there," Malcom suggested.
Dr. Ta'Feel was standing near the medical crew, listening to the verbal exchange, prepared to assist in any manner Sei was needed.
Dr. Winters stood near the back, bewildered. What on EARTH had she gotten herself into? That man had a lot of explaining to do. Still, she was ready to collect blood samples, chemical makeups, and anything else that may prove useful, plus...just an extra hand. She watched the interaction between the Fleet people. She liked the camaraderie, though she felt like an outsider at the moment.
"What happens if you do an even number?" She piped up, out of curiosity.
"It is a nice number, doctor Winters. That's all. Nothing much will change." Thivi replied with a smile. "And they might be helpful! Besides, I'm sure in their shoes you'd like to wake up next to your husband, hm?"
Sara nodded. "I suppose," she said.
Joey never understood the myths surrounding odd and even numbers. "Let's get this in time for tea, shall we?" Joey said cheerfully trying to sound optimistic.
As the process started, the two cryochambers started to vent excess refrigerant back into the system. As it did so, the vitals of both the engineer and his wife started to rise slowly. Within a few moments, the process was complete and both were breathing normally while they slowly started to regain consciousness. Suddenly, the hatch to the Engineer's chamber unlocked and started to open up like a clamshell, with the hinge for the cover located at the top of the chamber.
The engineer, his eyes still closed, turned his head to the left, then to the right. He then coughed briefly, as his lungs took in their first full breath in two and a half millennium. Slowly, his eyes opened, and he started to take in the scene around him. At first, his brain didn't seem to register, then it kicked in with a jolt of adrenalin. ALIENS!! was the message screaming through his thoughts. "Who....who are you?!" It was clear that he was frightened, his pulses increased as his hearts started to beat rapidly.
Dr. Ta'Feel took a step back and looked to LtJG Joey, thinking that a response from the Counselor would be appropriate.
Malcolm stepped forward. "My name is Malcolm Beckett. I'm a Doctor. We found your ship and thought was abandoned. The only people we found who were alive were in cryostasis. We thought you might like to be revived. We think it's been quite a while now that you've been like this."
Looking at the alien that had stepped forward and started to speak to him, the engineer slowly calmed some. "Galvin....Galvin Hendoralo, Senior Engineer's First Mate." He then looked over at the cyrotube to his left. "Malada!" He started to get up, but fell back into his pod, his body still weakened by the prolonged hibernation. "How...how long?"
"Dr. Beckett looked at him carefully before responded. "You'll probably be able to tell us better once you look into your own computers, but we think over 2,000 years or so."
Next to Galvan, in the pod that contained his wife, Malada, the Ataran medical officer had gone through the same process. As the seals were broken, her body instinctively took in a large breath too soon, inhaling a large amount of refrigerant causing the coughing that Galvin had experience had gone through. Charlotte was nearby ready to catch her if she fell. Malada had heard what the doctor had said.
Brown eyes popped open. Where was she? Why was it so cold? Next to her, she could hear her husband's voice. "Galvan?" She called out, struggling to sit up. "What....what is happening?" She managed. She looked around. Next to her stood two women-one brunette in a uniform of some kind with strange ridges on her nose, and a regular looking blonde in a suit. "ALIENS...." She cried out, and tried to get up.
"Miss, you need to stay sitting. We will explain," Vila replied.. "We're...friendlies. We're here to help. Take a deep breath. This is Dr. Sara Winters, and I am Commander Lorut Vila. You are safe here," she said, soothingly. Next to her, Sara reached out a hand and placed it on the pod-woman's shoulder, giving it a gentle rub like she might to her daughter. "Dr Beckett? They're both awake now. Lt. Thivi, take over here while I contact the Astrea, please," she said, stepping to a corner to call back to Remy.
"I'm here, my love!" Galvan called out, trying to calm his wife. "Please," he spoke to the nearest alien, the one with the nose ridges. "Help me up, so I can get to my wife."
Malada smiled, and looked at Galvan. "It is ok. I don't think they mean to harm us," she said.
Vila clicked off with Remy, and turned back around. "I can't permit you to stand just yet, but I CAN move you two closer together," she said. "Malcolm, help me move these stretchers," she said, grabbing hold of one. "Just long enough for us to make sure you're healthy enough for contact," she said. She was a scientist, not a doctor, but she found this SOOOO fascinating.
As the two got onto cots that were being set up in the back of the bay, Dr. Beckett explained to Malada and Galvin, "We're wearing these masks because you've not been exposed to people for so long now, viruses and bacteria have mutated. Many more races have developed space travel and brought their own unique pathogens into the mix. We have vaccines that have been developed over the centuries to account for that, but haven't been tested on your people. We want to go through the immunity building process slowly."
Once he was next to Malada, Galvan took her hands and brought them to his lips. For several beats, no one existed but her. When he had heard how long they had been frozen, he had panicked, as he knew the tubes hadn't been designed to keep everyone alive that long. That's when it hit him and he remembered. There had been a top secret memo that had gone to only a few people, his boss being one. In the event that prolonged hibernation occurred, the ship's computer would start releasing people to the afterlife, in an effort o keep the with critical skills, or were children, alive. Turning his head to the person who had just been taking to them about germs or something like that. "Excuse me...how...how many of us are left?"
"So far, four of you," Vila replied, truthfully. "Are there more pods elsewhere?" She asked, glancing at the doctors. "
Malada's body heat and blood pressure shot up to a near-normal level once she was next to her husband. In her state, her sleep-frozen mind wasn't working as it once had. Where were they? She glanced around, hoping for answers. It appeared to be the Serenity's cargo room. But how? Something else hit her brain. "Other races?" She asked. "Are you people the Romulans?" She asked, worriedly, clutching Galvin's hand. "The children," she sputtered.
"It's okay, dastani," he said soothingly, using an indecipherable term of endearment. "The tubes containing the children are on a secure deck, with its own dedicated power source. It was the design aspect that I presented to the fleet yards when the Serenity was being built, remember?"
Malada nodded. Her brain was still fuzzy, and the language these strangers spoke was causing her to have to focus. "Si afranall," acknowledging that she remembered.
Thivi remained out of sight, as usual. It brought a smile to her face overhearing the joyful reunions happening behind her, of course.
"Your children were right next to you," Charlotte remarked. "They are ok, we'd like to make sure that we can get the vaccines correct for the adults before we start waking the children. Or at least get a better quarantine area set up for them first. One that we don't have to be a part of. We found a lot of stasis units not in working order - A little over a hundred seem to be fine," Charlotte clarified. "But you are the second and third to wake up, and we're about to wake up a fourth."
Malada simply nodded.
Charlotte furrowed her brow, "Also, when we found your ship, each individual chamber had its own power source."
"Yes," she said. "We did that on purpose. We knew not everyone would survive."
"You mentioned your children on another deck," Charlotte reminder her. "We didn't bring them here. That's how we found everyone. Families seem to be together."
Sara was quiet. It wasn't time yet for her to take samples, so she was simply standing around.
"And what of the species that drove us from our home system? The Romulans. What has happened to them in the last two millennium?" He asked, a part of him hopeful that the invaders had been pushed out by another race.
"Dr. Beckett spoke up. "That's a bit more complicated. Best wait for the Captain, and until we have more of you to speak with at once. It's been over 2,000 years. We have a lot to catch you up on."
[> > > To Part 2 > > > ]
Lieutenant JG Thivi
Head Nurse
USS Astrea
&
Commander Lorut Vila
Executive Officer
USS Astrea
&
Galvin Hendoralo
Senior Engineer's First Mate
Ataran Vessel Serenity
(NPC-Spello)
&
Lieutenant J.G. Malcom Beckett, M.D. (& Charlotte Dawes)
Medical Officer
USS Astrea