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Topic: CH06: S [D03|1418] Lone Wolf check up (Read 5443 times) previous topic - next topic
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CH06: S [D03|1418] Lone Wolf check up

[ Lt. JG Logan Hale, callsign "Wraith"| Sickbay | Deck 7 | USS Oneida] Attn: @Luciain
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Logan looked after the captain and realized that he was not needed at the moment. He made his way to his Valravn, where Alith was already waiting for him. The Vulcan condoled with him and Logan accepted it gratefully. Together they examined their fighter. The Valravn had been through a lot. In the fight against the two Klingon cruisers, they had taken quite a beating. This could now be seen in the hull's paint job, which had lost its brilliant white and was now whitewashed with many black soot stains.

"When we get back to theurgy, we're going to have to take this baby to the car wash," Logan explained. He checked the hull for visible damage. Cracks could have formed from the battle and the stress of his flight maneuvers, or enemy fire could have penetrated the Valravn. But much to his relief, the hull had remained undamaged. Much of the bombardment was absorbed by the shields, and they were able to escape the rest thanks to his flying skills.

It wasn't long before the Oneida technicians swarmed them. They brought ammunition and heavy equipment to quickly get his fighter ready for action again. Even though the Oneida itself was well armed and could hold its own against the odd opponent, it was always good to have a little extra firepower on board.

Logan was amazed when Alith prepared to explain to the technicians how to do their job. She showed them which parts to pay special attention to and helped them diagnose the various systems. He was pleased to see that in her he had gotten a good successor for Zeke. Even though her Vulcan nature was sometimes difficult, Logan knew she was there when it mattered.

"Alith, I'm going to go visit sickbay. I think there's a screw loose," Logan said, turning to leave. Alith nodded in affirmation. Her short bob, which was partially stuck to her forehead, swung along with her. The pilot grabbed his helmet and the doors to the turbolift opened. He entered the small pod and was greeted by an eerie silence, broken only by the melodic whistle as the lift made its way through the ship. The grip on his helmet tightened involuntarily.

A few moments later, he was standing in the entrance area of the infirmary, which seemed busy due to the size of the Oneida. The lady at the reception desk didn't keep him waiting long, however, and quickly took him to a treatment room. Logan sat down on the bed and waited. He put the helmet to his EV suit with the Savi enhancements next to him.

Re: CH06: S [D03|1418 hrs] Lone Wolf check up

Reply #1 –
[Ens Katherine Locke | Medbay | Deck 7 | USS Oneida] Attn: @Nero

There was something about a busy waiting room that had an energy of its own, a sense of potential, like that moment just before you opened your eyes when you never quite knew what you were going to find. After all, no matter how big it was a ship was a fairly small community, from the Allstars of the bridge crew to the jocks of the fighters and the technicians who manned engineering. All these little communities melding into a mixing pot that made up the culture of a ship. During the day, during working hours, each of those communities had their own traditions, the members of their communities focusing on their duties, it was only after work that the groups really started to mix...normally. There were a few places where communities mixed during the day, the mess was one and the med bay was the other. It didn't matter whether you were bridge crew or if you were the lowliest sanitation assistant, once you walked through those doors you were all on the same level footing,

Or you mostly were, there were some people who stood out by dint of you they were, the captain or one of the senior officers would always draw attention when they walked in, drawing the eyes and immediate attention. Then there were the new faces who were visiting them, their visitors from the Theurgy, the host of new faces you could see drifting around the ship here and there. Katie had already met one of them, but she hadn't expected to see another of those faces drifting into medbay so soon. A touch to the elbow of one of the nurses caught her attention as Katie nodded her head over towards one of their other patients before padding over to the man, a warm smile lighting up her face as she held out a hand, an amused light dancing in her eyes.

"Hi, I'm Katie, Ensign Katherine Locke, welcome to Medbay, please state the nature of your medical emergency."

Re: CH06: S [D03|1418 hrs] Lone Wolf check up

Reply #2 –
[ Lt. JG Logan Hale, callsign "Wraith"| Sickbay | Deck 7 | USS Oneida] Attn: @Luciain
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He hated the silence that threatened to settle in on him. Logan wanted to get out. He just wanted to get back into his fighter and fly away. A certain restlessness had taken hold of him and as he was about to come to rest, unpleasant thoughts made their way to the surface. Most painful of all was the realization that he would never see his little sister again, nor many of his other friends who, to make matters worse, had died in a cowardly bombing. Logan wanted to fly away. Get back out in the action, just get away. But now he had been condemned to wait. The USS Oneida had picked them up and was on its way to Q'onoS. A distance an Iroquois-class ship could cover effortlessly and quickly. He forced himself to calm down. Pushed the dark thoughts back into the dark corner from which they had come. He would have plenty of time later to mourn Alessia and the others.
Logan grasped the hand he was offered and shook it briefly in greeting. He returned the best smile he could muster at the moment to the woman who gave him a soft and warm one.
"Logan Hale." he greeted back. "You're not one of those EMH things, are you?"
Logan gave a short laugh, then quickly corrected himself.
"No. You are too pretty and too friendly for that."
He watched her reaction, eager to see how she took his joke. Surely, she had heard that stupid line dozens of times and was already tired of it, but somehow, he didn't think for that one second. Then he continued.
"Not an emergency per se. I, um, have a headache and I just wanted to make sure the implant was okay and has nothing to do with it."
He tapped himself against the artificial skullcap. The headache could have many causes, and if it were physical, he thought, he had come to the right place.

Re: CH06: S [D03|1418 hrs] Lone Wolf check up

Reply #3 –
[Ens Katherine Locke | Medbay | Deck 7 | USS Oneida] Attn: @Nero

The young woman let her lips curl up into a smile, a quiet laugh slipping from her lips curled up into a small genuine smile, soft brown eyes twinkling with amusement, with pleasure at the compliment as she leant closer. The nurse's voice almost dropped to a whisper as she glanced around the room, as if she were making sure that none of the other staff or patients could hear them. There was something about the young man in front of her, something broken, a darkness, a hurt that hovered just at the edge of his eyes. She could see it, almost sense it, a pain that he tried to bury beneath a tough exterior, beneath a joke and a smile, as strained as it was. But the truth was that he tried, and she couldn't fault him for that, couldn't do anything but reply in kind.

"Awww, that's sweet. Though you know...I've heard that some of those holograms can be drop-dead gorgeous and can look like anything you want them to.  Although I've heard that they lack a little bit of that...warm touch as it were. And their bedside manner is atrocious. On the other hand, that's probably what an EMH would tell you to put you at ease before planting some kind of insidious control chip inside of you as part of the hologram uprising."

The petite woman straightened, reaching up to tuck a strand of errant hair behind her ear as she winked, satisfied that she'd messed with his head enough. Well almost enough, it seems that she wasn't quite done with playing with the man's head just yet.

A hand came up, fingertips reaching out for the man's forehead for a moment before she caught herself, fingers curling back into her palms. Her tricorder was just there, and was the professional tool for the situation, it was just...she'd never really had a chance to examine a cyborg before and she was curious to see what that artificial skullcap felt like. Curious eyes drifted down for a moment to catch Logan's gaze.

"May I?"

Re: CH06: S [D03|1418 hrs] Lone Wolf check up

Reply #4 –
[ Lt. JG Logan Hale, callsign "Wraith"| Sickbay | Deck 7 | USS Oneida] Attn: @Luciain
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Logan looked at the young physician indecisively for a moment. Was she really a human being, or rather one of those hologram monsters that wanted to subvert humanity? He remained skeptical. Just because she made sarcastic jokes about it didn't mean it couldn't be true. And that telltale wink. There had to be more to her statement than she was letting on. A smile stole onto his features. Logan knew a joke when he heard one, and he liked the pretty lady in front of him. He liked her way of countering his stupid line with sarcasm. Someone standing up to him, at least when it came to that sort of thing, was always refreshing.
“Ah, good to know. I just hope, you and your holographic masters know I am an ace pilot. So, I can be very useful for you.”

Logan registered how one of her hands wanted to touch his implant but jerked back just before her fingertips made contact with the metal. He knew the desire all too well. When he awoke from stasis and learned what was going on when he was in rehab for it, his fingers kept seeking contact with the iron in his skull. It was always an interesting feeling. There was definitely something there, as he felt the pressure on his fingers, as well as the coldness of the metal. Where the plate merged into normal flesh was where it was most intriguing. For here the feeling could be the strongest. Here he felt it not only on his fingers, but also on his head, a fine line between truthfulness and imagination.

Logan didn't want to deny young Ensign Locke this experience, so he allowed her.
"Go ahead, be my guest. That's why I'm here."

Re: CH06: S [D03|1418 hrs] Lone Wolf check up

Reply #5 –
[Ens Katherine Locke | Medbay | Deck 7 | USS Oneida] Attn: @Nero

"Well, if I were to have holographic masters somewhere above us looking down, then I would be sure to tell them how useful having an ace pilot could be. After all, we'd need someone to fly us around and...well...let's just say my scores in the piloting portion of the academy don't fill me with confidence that I could fulfil the role."

A small smile played over her lips as the young woman inclined her head to the side, that mischievous light dancing in her eyes, answering the smile on his face. It was nice to have someone understand the jokes, to reply, someone to spar with. Besides, if the truth were told, she wasn't entirely sure there wasn't some kind of artificial intelligence plot to subvert humanity. There were so many shows and novels about it that there had to be something behind it right? Some smoke to the fire. That was how it worked right?

White teeth pressed into the soft flesh of her lip as Katie let a hand reach forward before jerking it back, letting it slide forward again, fingertips coming to rest against the metal. She'd expected it to be cold, and it was, the coldness that was an inherent part of any metal. But there was something different, the warmth of the flesh behind around the plate left it feeling not quite as cool as she'd expected but there was a tingle she could feel in her fingertips. A thrumming, a pulse that she hadn't get before, that she couldn't recognise. She'd never really taken any courses in cybernetics, had never seen it during her work experiences before. That delicate touch swept up to the edge of the plate, that feeling seemingly intensifying before the soft fingertips brushed over the flesh of the man's forehead.

The nurse pulled her hand back, finger curing back into her hand, eyes still affixed to the metal plate in the man's head before brown eyes swept down to meet green ones. She knew that it wasn't strictly proper, it wasn't strictly according to the code of conduct that the Federation expected from its physicians. Curiosity was all well and good, but you shouldn't let that interfere with a patient...only she'd never been good about curbing her curiosity. Luckily, Kats tended to have nine lives.

"Thank you."

A warm smile, a hand resting on his shoulder for a moment before Katie turned to pick up a medical tricorder.

"Ok, let's see what we can do about your headache."

Re: CH06: S [D03|1418 hrs] Lone Wolf check up

Reply #6 –
[ Lt. JG Logan Hale, callsign "Wraith"| Sickbay | Deck 7 | USS Oneida] Attn: @Luciain
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Logan enjoyed a little of the attention he was getting. He felt her fingertips stroking his head. They moved over the scar tissue that had formed at the junction between his flesh and the implanted skull plate. It was always a strange sensation. One moment their fingertips could be felt, the next moment the sensation was gone. Instead, a kind of vibration set in, translating through the implanted plate into his skull. This feeling was strange. He could not really describe it. Somehow it was a tickle. One he couldn't get close to. It shook him and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

"I'm glad you want to put in a good word for me with your masters." Logan smiled gently. "I think with improved programming, they should be able to easily cure your deficiencies as a pilot."
Logan felt her fingers brush over his flesh again. They slid across his forehead, leaving soft red marks where they touched him. He could read her honest curiosity in her eyes and felt the urge to make a brief statement.
"It was the Borg, if you want to know. They didn't like me kicking their ass, so they tried to bash my skull in. At least they tried." Logan thought back to the interlude in the Azure Nebula and the menacing presence in the cubes of those cybernetic bastards. He couldn't help but think how he had only one thought left: he had to get his then RIO Ezekiel Jackson to safety.

The fact that the man was still alive today was proof enough to him that he had done it, even if he couldn't remember it. Logan had some regrets that his Best Friend Zeke had been unable to fly since that event and would have to stay on the ground from then on. He had gotten a job in the flight control of the Theurgy and would now help the pilot from there. But with the Vulcan Ensign Alith he had got a more than patent replacement. She often talked like a computer, but Logan was sure that they would soon find the right connection.

Again, the pilot smiled. More wistfully this time, though, and he listened intently to the nurse as she used the tricorder to try to figure out his aches and pains.
"Are you sure this thing isn't recording my weaknesses, so your holographic masters know how best to get me?"

Re: CH06: S [D03|1418 hrs] Lone Wolf check up

Reply #7 –
[Ens Katherine Locke | Medbay | Deck 7 | USS Oneida] attn: @Nero

"Well, I'm glad that the borg didn't manage to cave your skull in after all. Gives me a chance to work my magic."

That warm smile touched the young woman's face again as her eyes met Logan's for a moment before she let them drop to stare at the tricorder screen as the results of the scan started to scroll in front of her. As a nurse, as a medical officer, Katie had had to deal with all manner of injury, with belligerent and panicked patients before. It was the hallmark of the hospital, the medical bay, if you ended up here it was mostly because things had gone very wrong and people were never in their most thoughtful frames of mind then. She couldn't count the number of times she'd had to comfort, corral and handle patients who could have squashed her with one hand if they'd wanted, it had even come to that once or twice.

People mostly showed up when it hit the fan. There was the odd time that people actually tried to get ahead of the pain, ahead of the problem.

Logan was such a case.

"This doesn't look too bad. I'm not an expert on cybernetics by any means, you'll want to get your doctor back on the Theurgy to take a look at them to make sure that they're functioning optimally but it just looks like you've been driving yourself too hard for too long. I'd recommend some R&R but something tells me that you wouldn't take that advice."

A finger waved in his face as the petite brunette reached for the hypospray next to her. Soft fingers brushed against the skin of his forehead again before the cool metal of the hypospray pressed against the pilot's skin.

"I'll give you something for the headache, it should give you some relief. I'd like to keep you here for a while, just to take a load off. besides, you need to take care of yourself if you're going to work for my holographic overlords and train me to fly...and it's cute you think they need a little thing like this to scan you."

Her head tilted to the side, as if receiving a message.

"Impressive. Very impressive."

Re: CH06: S [D03|1418 hrs] Lone Wolf check up

Reply #8 –
[ Lt. JG Logan Hale, callsign "Wraith"| Sickbay | Deck 7 | USS Oneida] Attn: @Luciain
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Logan smiled bitterly as he realized that he didn't actually remember how he was able to get his Valvarn to safety back then. His memory only resumed when he woke up again in the Theurgy's sickbay. Everything else was hearsay or takeaways from the reports of the other pilots and the ship. That he was now sitting here, undergoing treatment by capable hands, was within the skill of the medics aboard his new home.

"Hmm..." Logan made a thoughtful face when Katherine suggested he take a rest. But her assessment had been correct. "I guess so." he confirmed her with a smug grin on his face. Despite having her finger held up in his face in warning, he didn't think to take a little rest. Not as he still had a mission to complete. Logan placed a hand on the pouch at his hip and felt his little sister's badge press through the fabric. Yes, he had one more mission to complete. Cold metal pressed against his neck and a moment later he heard the familiar hiss of a hypospray being dispensed. Katherine forced his head in the appropriate direction with gentle touches so that the pilot would not notice the actual injection. The drug immediately began to take effect and relieved the headache almost immediately. She once again suggested that he should get some rest and that she wanted to keep him at the station so that he could actually do that.

"...and it's cute you think they need a little thing like this to scan you," she said.
Logan pretended to look at her caught off guard. Her face showed no mine that betrayed her, and for a moment Logan almost believed what she was saying, for his own features seemed to slip away. But finally, he laughed in amusement. After all, it was all a joke, wasn't it?

"Yeah, how could I assume that. Silly me." Logan said with a self ironic laughter. "Thank you Katherine. That hypo seems to help."
The pilot got off the biobed and grabed his helmet. "Say, Nurse Locke, would you like to accompany for a drink or two?"

Re: CH06: S [D03|1418 hrs] Lone Wolf check up

Reply #9 –
[Ens Katherine Locke | Medbay | Deck 7 | USS Oneida] attn: @Nero

The young woman could see it in his eyes, the reality of the situation that he wouldn’t be able to relax, that he was one of those people who would keep going while he had that mission to complete. He was driven,, no bad thing but not at the cost of his health. White teeth bit into the soft flesh of her lower lip, working at the soft flesh for a long moment, searching for the words to convince him otherwise, to convince him to take the rest he needed but…if she were in his shoes would she really be any different?
The honest truth was she wouldn’t be, that she would do exactly the same.

A small sigh escaped Katie's lips as she shook her head ruefully, she couldn’t blame him but that didn’t mean she had to like it. It raised…uncomfortable truths about the nature of the crew that she surrounded herself with, they were all dedicated to the point of hurting themselves, requiring her to patch them up. There was something about the situation, about serving on a Starfleet vessel that built that sense of camaraderie that drove you on past your limits, for the rest of the crew. She was as guilty of it as anyone else.

“If you end up back here after then I’m going to be really really ticked off. I may even stamp my feet.”

A warm smile took any sting out of her words, just a playfulness as the young woman’s fingers tilted his head ever so slightly so she could stare down at his pupils. They didn’t seem dialated or unfocused, at least not that she could see. A finger reached out tapping the man on the middle of his forehead as she smiled at Logan.

“If it keeps hurting, or it gets worse then you better come back and see me so we can give you something stronger. It’d be nice to see a friendly face, I’m stuck on duty for the next…8 hours. I mean...not that I want you to end up back here.”

A small sigh, her shoulders falling before warm eyes flicked upto catch his gaze.

“Rain check? I’d love to get that drink but I don’t get off duty for a long while yet. My holographic overlords are harsh taskmaster sometimes.”
 

Re: CH06: S [D03|1418] Lone Wolf check up

Reply #10 –
[ Lt. JG Logan Hale, callsign "Wraith"| Sickbay | Deck 7 | USS Oneida] Attn: @Luciain
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Logan smiled in amusement as the nurse, a good twenty centimeters shorter, threatened to stomp his feet if he ended up back in her infirmary. It was the usual findings and the usual advice and as usual he would ignore it. It did feel good, though, to imagine the petite person in front of him jumping up and down in a fit of rage.
"We'd like to avoid that for the world," he finally replied, playfully intimidated. "I'd never forgive myself."

She turned his head and looked into his eyes. Logan knew this from various examinations. She checked the reactions of his pupils, wanting to make sure he hadn't suffered any trauma and could perceive his surroundings normally. Then she placed a finger on his forehead and gave him a warm smile. If his headache got worse, he should come back. She would then give him something stronger. Katherine would be glad to see a friendly face, as she would still be in the infirmary for the next eight hours. It amused Logan to see her feel caught in her statement and feel the urge to correct herself. She didn't mean her words to imply that he should end up back here in the infirmary.

Logan jumped off the bed when she told him that their holographic masters, would be subjugating them for a long time to come. "This is outrageous!" he half-cursed so that her masters couldn't hear, but she learned of his feigned indignation.
"I wish I could be of service to you, Katherine. However, I don't want to spoil your masters' favor just yet," he finally said. Then a little more quietly, so that the holographic masters couldn't hear. "I didn't mean it that way. I'll think of something and free you from them."
Logan winked at her. Then he turned to leave.
"Thank you."
 
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