Visit to sickbay Part 1, Jules vs. Punching Bag

Posted on Sun May 19th, 2024 @ 3:40pm by Ensign Charlotte Dawes & Lieutenant Jules Mundy & Lieutenant Dr. J.R McEntyre, M.D.

1,954 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Security Alert: These Bugs Again
Location: Gym, sickbay
Timeline: MD 10, 1000 Hours

After a rough few days, Jules headed to the gym to blow off some steam. He walked in, saw a few people, and headed for the body bag. He warmed up for 10 minutes, getting his muscles loose. And without gloves, he started punching the body bag, easy at first, then the blows got more angry.

He punched it. Hit it with his feet. After about 30 minutes, he punched the bag so hard it broke, spraying the insides of the bag all over the area. He looked down at his hands.

They were bloody.

And several fingers were obviously broken.

He wrapped a towel around his hands, left the gym and headed to sickbay. He walked in, and looked for someone to help him.

Charlotte was just starting her shift when Lt. Mundy walked into Sickbay, the blood beginning to show through the towels he had wrapped around his hands. She stopped what she was doing.

"Oh, it's Lieutenant Mundy, right? Come have a seat over here," Charlotte said, leading him to an open biobed. "Let's take a look."

"Little accident in the gym. A disagreement between me and the body bag." He sat on the biobed.

Charlotte held the bottom of one hand underneath the towel as she unwrapped the towel from around his hand. "Well you did a number on it," she said placing it on cool metal stand that was elevated higher than the biobed. "I didn't think that bodybags disagreed that much," she commented as she moved to unwrap the other hand.

"I might have...lost my temper with it." Mundy explained.

Charlotte shook her head, and brought out two hand shape molds for Mundy tor rest his hands into. The cool temperature was meant to help with the swealing, and the shape help cradle his hand so she could get a better reading.

"We do have counselors on board. And holodecks with safety protocols that prevent this sort of thing, you know," she said as she placed his fingers into the molds. She took out her tricorder to begin a diagnostic scan.

"At the moment, I didn't think about that, either the counselors or the safety protocols." He gave her a smile.

"Well maybe next time, since you have compound fractures in your right hand and a sprained wrist, and you did some mild damage to your metacarpal joints in your left hand as well," Charlotte told him. "I can take care of your left hand, but I'm going to need to get the doctor to come in and reset the bones in the fingers on your right hand."

"If you can take care of the left hand, why can't you do the right hand as well? I would rather not get the doctor involved. Besides, someone as pretty as you can handle a small job like my hand."

"Your right hand is no small job, Lieutenant. I'm assuming that you want to be able to have full use and function by the end of the day," Charlotte responded, ignoring the flirtatious comment. "What's your problem with doctors?" Charlotte asked as she took a vascular regenerator to control the bleeding.

"Doctors are not my type." Mundy winched whenever she touched a broken finger that shot pain through his arm. "But..if you feel it's that important, I'll see one of the doctors. But afterwards, are you free to get a drink?"

"I just started my shift, Lieutenant. I'll be here for a while. Not drinking," Charlotte replied. "Let me give you an analgesic for the pain, and an anti-inflammatory so that we can get some better images of your hand before the doctor sees you."

Charlotte walked to the cabinet at the head of the bed and carefully selected a vial and placed it into a hypospray and stood next to Mundy. "You ready?"

Mundy nodded, "Go ahead." He waited for the injection. "And mentioned that drink, I meant after your shift was over, of course."

Charlotte pressed the hypospray against Mundy's arm. "Hopefully that will get you feeling better, Lieutenant. There's usually a group of us that stop through ten-forward after shift. You're welcome to come join us," Charlotte offered. She didn't really know the lieutenant and wasn't sure what he was getting at by wanting to meet her for a drink. "I need to get the doctor now. Shouldn't take him too long to get you as good as new."

"Hopefully the doctor will get here soon and fix my hands. Hard to work security with bum hands." Mundy laid his head back. "And I look forward to that drink in ten-forward. And.....this is on the awkward side...I didn't catch your name."

"Charlotte Dawes. I'll be right back."

Mundy watched her leave, enjoying the show. Then he laid his head down.

Charlotte found Dr. McEntyre, and explained the issue, "Lieutenant Mundy came in with injuries to his hands after hitting a punching bag too hard. I've got him mostly patched up, but he has a couple of broken fingers on his right hand that I need a doctor to take a look at."

J.R looks up from his paperwork at his desk, nodding as the young ensign explained the injuries. Following her out into the Main Sickbay to the biobed where Jules was sitting.

"So...We had a small...disagreement with the punching bags?"

"I don't remember seeing you at the gym at the time in question, doctor." Mundy replied.

"Ms. Dawes explained how your injuries occurred." J.R smilesd as he examines Jules' right hand, taking out a tricorder to get better readings before turning to Nurse Dawes. "I concur with your initial assessment of the injuries but the damage to the median nerves in the right hand is quite severe. I may have to go in if I can't reset the bones manually."

Mundy looked at him. "I can't miss my shifts, doctor. I'm the chief of security and tactical and I may be needed in an emergency."

"I understand your concerns, but if we don't reset it correctly the first time, it'll take more work to correct it later. It's a simple procedure, no more than a half hour and then a day of rest," J.R. explained rationally and calmly.

"A day of rest sounds okay, was planning on going to ten forward tonight. So, do what you have to, doctor." Mundy replied.

"For this normally, I attempt to reset the bones, however with this amount of damage, I'll have to go in. I give a local anesthetic to numb and deading the area, make a small incision into the hand and decompress the median nerves that have been damaged by the breaks. Once that is done, I put your hand in a cast form and brace."

"Let's do it, I'm ready." replied Mundy,

"Ms. Dawes, would you bring me 20 CCs of Anetrizine and a surgical tray, and prep for surgery?" J.R turned to Dawes with a assuring smile and a calm demeanor.

"Yes, Doctor," Charlotte responded. She turned on an indicator light for surgical prep, which set other medical staff into action prepping the room. Two nurses aids arrived to assist, as Charlotte handed Dr. McEntyre the requested medication.

Mundy was still awake, but in a somewhat dazed state. He looked at the nurse's aids and commented, "Hey doc, with so many pretty nurses here, how do you get anything done?"

"Mr. Mundy, I will be frank with you...I'm gay," J.R said bluntly as he readied his tools and equipment.

Charlotte looked up at Dr. McEntyre, "Ready to move him to the table on your orders, Doctor.

"Thank you, but this is a fairly minor procedure, Mr. Mundy can remain in the exam chair, we just need to move his hand onto the small table attached to it, and place it in the brace."

Charlotte pulled the table that Dr. McEntyre was referring to into position, and positioned the lieutenant's hand into place as instructed. While Charlotte was prepping Mundy's hand, one of the nurse's assistants laid out the necessary surgical equipment on another table adjusted for the doctor's height.

"Anything else before we begin, Doctor," Charlotte asked.

Mundy looked at Dawes before he went under, "I'm going to hold you to that drink, nurse." He closed his eyes and feel asleep.

Charlotte looked up at McEntyre, clearly unimpressed. "Laser scalpel?"

"Laser Scalpel," J.R replied just as unamused as Charlotte was.

"We'll start with a small incision at the base of the hand to expose the transverse carpal ligament," he said clinically as he made the incision into Mundy's hand.

Dawes stood by, providing a light source for the doctor, making sure that there were no shadows cast into the surgical site and waited for her next instructions.

"Retractor please," J.R asked, observing the tendon he needed to cut, but couldn't get access to it without a little more room.

Mundy started to snore.

Charlotte took out the retractor, for this particular surgery it was a small and precise laser tool that Charlotte could use to widen or narrow the incision site with the slide of her forefinger based on the doctor's needs. She positioned the instrument over the incision. "Ready, Doctor?"

"Ready, hand me the laser scalpel" J.R. nodded to Charlotte.

"We'll cut the tendon here, to release the pressure on the carpel nerve."

Nurse Reynolds stood to Dr. McEntyre's right and handed him the scalpel while Nurse Dawes worked the laser retractor. Charlotte made eye contact with Dr. McEntyre over her mask and gave a subtle nod that she was ready.

J.R nodded, making the incision into the tendon. It was a quick and simple thing.

“Let’s see the internal scan of the breaks in his hand. We’ll use that to determine where to brace the bones so they can heal.”

Nurse Reynolds put the image up in front of Dr. McEntyre at his request. "Here you go, Doctor."

“Right, we can repair most of this with the osteoregenerator. Let’s get him closed up.”

J.R spoke as he picked up the tool and began working to fuse and repair the broken bones in Mundy’s hand.

When the doctor was finished, Nurse Dawes prepared 10 cc's of hyperzine as directed. Charlie pressed the hypospray to Lieutenant Mundy's arm expecting him to wake up slowly from the anesthetic. Instead he took a deep choking breath in as if he were gasping for air and started coughing. A creature that seemed to have characteristics of both a slug and an insect worked its way out of Mundy's mouth and tried to scatter off the table.

J.R backed off quickly, his tail straight up and rigid.

“Holy Hell! The hell is that thing, a facehugger!” He exclaimed as he pulls out a hand communicator. “Security and Tactical to sickbay!”

As the Doctor was calling for Security, Dawes called out rapidly, "Emergency quarantine, parasite detective. Seal off unknown life form and Exam Room 1." This initiated a quarantine bubble to capture the creature that had been ejected out of Lieutenant Mundy, as well as lock the three medical officers and Mundy into the exam room until they could be certain that there was no other threat.

McEntyre turned to Charlotte, “Code Orange, Nurse Dawes!”

With the alien parasite removed, Mundy woke up. He was confused, he didn't know why he was in sickbay, and how much time seemed to have passed. "Why am I here in sickbay?"



> > > To Part Two, Alien Parasite > > >


Lieutenant J.R, McEntyre, M.D.
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Astrea

Lieutenant Jules Mundy
Chief Operations Officer
(Transfer to Security Pending)
USS Astrea

Ensign Charlotte Dawes
Nurse
USS Astrea

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