Not On My Watch
Posted on Oct 13, 2014 @ 8:39pm by Lieutenant Commander Aerdan Jos
Edited on on Oct 13, 2014 @ 8:39pm
Mission: Absolute Power
"Not on My Watch" (continued from "The Dying of the Light")
Location: EARTH
Stardate: 2.1410004.0945
Scene: Paris, France – Montmartre Cemetery
~*~
“Shot through the heart, and you’re to blame… you give love a bad name.”
~Jon Bon Jovi
~*~
TI: Dusk
~*~
The second was a dying gasp…it took seconds, which dragged out, but as Aerdan held his friend he watched her die in his arms, her belligerent body shaking fighting as it always did until her gray eyes lost their sharp spark and Phia took her last breath.
~*~
He was supposed to be shocked. He was supposed to sit there, slack-jawed, with that whimpering display of affection before pulling the body close to him and railing against the heavens at the injustice of it all.
But he was stubborn, and stupid and trained well enough in medicine to do none of these things.
“She’s dead already, what are you doing?” one of the Federation Security officers asked, more out of curiosity than any real disparagement.
“She’s stopped breathing and her heartbeat is gone. Brain death will take another three minutes. I need a priority emergency medical transport.” Aerdan replied mechanically, already administering a careful cocktail of drugs designed to ease the transition to life support.
“Transport where? We didn’t get him and he’ll just find you again. And this time kill both of you.”
“Just get me the authorization. I’ll give the co-ordinates.” The Andorian hissed.
Twenty valuable seconds passed before the comforting beep came through, Aerdan already had Phia in his arms. “6718 mark 23, point 4060. Energize.”
The transporter swirled, engulfing them with a brilliant blue beam that whisked both away from the darkness.
One of the youngest members of the security team stared at the empty cemetery, a shiver going down his spine. “This is weird.” He remarked to the darkness.
~*~
Scene: Sickbay, USS PHOENIX
Time Index: a second later.
It was dim.
A cool blue light bathed the area, punctuated by a myriad of flashing lights like a radiant Christmas tree. If Christmas trees were apt to be coated in blood and viscera from the wounded and dying.
“Computer, full power biobay 3. Engage Emergency Medical Hologram. Authorization Jos1463B” Aerdan wasted no time in dumping Phia’s inert form on the bed. The bed flared to life and for once Aerdan’s overachieving perfectionism that included reporting early and getting clearances taken care of before he spent what he had originally hoped was a quiet romantic evening with Zabrielle paid off.
“Please state the nature of the medical emergency.” The form materialized mid sentence.
“Shot in the chest, complete heart failure, clinical death occurred 57 seconds ago. She needs complete life support and full oxygenation to prevent tissue ischemia and brain damage.” He rattled off.
If a hologram could be taken aback, this one was. “Are you the chief medical officer?”
“No, I’m beaming him onboard as soon as I can find him. 63 seconds, do what I say!” he barked.
The EMH hopped to without complaint, starting to hook up life support to the still warm corpse. The Andorian filled a hypospray and prepared her for surgery. He needed to work fast and he needed more hands.
He was never particularly great at multitasking. While he was brilliant at single focus tasks, multitasking always dangled him over the dangerous precipice of forgetting too much shit. Still, he needed help and he needed to work. If this was brain surgery he was sure he couldn’t bark orders at the same time. Preparation for heart surgery was a little different. “Computer, contact Starbase three security, emergency protocol Gamma six.”
“Contacting…” the computer spoke in an aggravatingly calm voice.
[[Starbase three, Security chief Stona speaking.]] The voice sounded collected, possibly Vulcan.
“I am requesting emergency transport. I need you to locate Doctor Cade Foster, identification Foster F4667 Delta, and beam him to my location. Authority Commander Aerdan Jos, Executive officer USS PHOENIX.” His voice was hot and clipped.
There was a surprised pause. [[How can you have an emergency in a ship that hasn’t launched yet… that is not even crewed yet?]]
He bit back the intense desire to snap ‘I’m sure stranger things have happened’ and went for “This is a class one medical emergency. I will file the reasons later; right now I have an officer’s life on the line!”
There was a pause and a world weary sigh. [[Shall I contact him first?]]
“No. Just grab him and beam him here. I’m sure he’ll understand when he gets here.”
[[Very well.]]
Somewhere deep inside Aerdan Jos’s unconscious brain he knew that the very act of simply grabbing someone and transporting them to a vastly different place and situation was incredibly rude, not to mention jarring. And part of him smirked, deeply enjoying the sort of torment it would put Cade through. Cade had certainly put Aerdan through enough and he most definitively deserved this come-uppance.
But the honest truth was Aerdan needed Cade. And that would be enough to soothe any injuries that his ego suffered from the impromptu beam out.
The familiar whine of a transporter filled the air, followed by the dulcet tones of Cade Foster and a curious sound of… rain?
“That bitch! I can’t believe she never told me. Who does that? Who lives their entire life as a…” he trailed off, suddenly realizing that he was no longer yelling to an indiscriminate white porcelain wall.
Aerdan’s antennae dropped fractionally. There, in front of him in all of his 6’4” naked glory was the sopping wet form of Doctor Cade Foster, buck naked. A few drops of the shower he had been taking followed him, melodramatically running down his face. “What in the ever loving fuck…?!”
“Cade, I need you. I need you right here, right now.” Aerdan pointed at the biobed.
Foster’s jaw dropped. “Ok, this is officially the weirdest kinky sex come on I have ever been offered. This is surreal and you are fucking crazy.”
Aerdan rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Phia’s been shot. She’s been clinically dead for 114 seconds and I just got life support up. I need you here, I don’t give a shit you’re naked. Come help me save her.”
“You’re joking.” He said it, but was already coming over. He felt a terrible numbness permeate his cold, naked limbs. The spattered blood and streaks of mud across Aerdan’s uniform were sinking in, the setting of sickbay lights, the stench of copper and cobalt. He was not joking. “What the fuck happened?”
“I’ll explain later. What do you need?”
Cade paused for a half a second and took in a breath. Just like a light switch his medical brain clicked on and the rest of life was forgotten. “15 cc’s of cortaline, up oxygen 15%, get the vital monitor going. And for fucks sake you watch her brain activity. I’m a naked wet wreck and you’re a neurosurgeon.”
“Got it.” Aerdan replied, obediently handing over the hypospray.
“How shall I assist?” The EMH asked, backing away, his brows knitting in confusion.
“Find this man some clothes.” Aerdan gestured towards his colleague with a tip of his antennae.
The EMH frowned. “Scavenger hunts are not part of my primary programming.”
“Too bad, find it in your backup programming. This man is the chief medical officer and trust me he’ll do a much better job with some pants on.”
If a hologram could give melodramatic sighs this one just did. It turned, heading off towards the closet where scrubs, surgical gowns and other various protective clothing were stored.
Things were silent for several seconds, only punctuated by the beeping of machinery and the click of medical instruments. When Cade Foster finally came up for air, he let out a low whistle. “This is a horrifically good shot. Tore through both ventricles and the inferior vena cava.” He looked up. “I cannot salvage this organ.”
Aerdan set his mouth in a thin, hard line, looking up at the monitors. Brain function was low but steady. The oxygen deprivation had done only minimal damage to the brain tissue. But without a heart, Phia was little more than a vessel hooked up to a machine for all bodily functions. “Brain activity is acceptable, and I can keep it stabilized for at least an hour. How long would it take you to procure or replicate an artificial replacement?”
Cade sucked on his teeth, taking a step back and slipping on a bright yellow set of surgical scrubs to give him a little coverage. “Depends on how well this place is stocked and whether it has the capabilities of biosynthetic replication.” For the first time he paused and took a good look around. “Where the hell are we, anyways?”
“The PHOENIX.” Aerdan intoned.
“The mystery ship we’re all supposed to report to tomorrow morning?” Cade perked a brow.
“The same.”
“Brilliant.” He offered his friend a dark frown. “I hope she’s well stocked.” Doctor Foster sucked a breath in through his teeth and turned to the EMH. “You. Where do they keep the biosynthetics in this place?”
“I’m a doctor, not a go-fer.” The EMH huffed.
“Person. Dying.” Cade retorted, waving a hand towards Phia’s still form. “Shut the fuck up and listen. Biosynthetics. Where?”
Taking a step back the holographic doc looked chagrined. “Follow me.”
As he led Foster through the maze of the dimmed sickbay, Aerdan sat down to quietly monitor Phia’s vitals.
~*~
Time Index: one hour, fifteen minutes later.
“There is some bloody stupid twist of fate at work here.” Cade Foster grumbled as he finally emerged from the medical lab with a shiny black biosample case. “The co-incidence is startling.”
Aerdan looked up, somewhat dazed from his midnight medical vigil. “How so?”
“They were well stocked.” Foster held the black case aloft. “Finsdale Seven Biosynthetic heart style 11 mark 15.”
Both snowy brows perked. That was oddly familiar. “Standard model?”
“Only for certain Starfleet purposes.” Cade sighed, gesturing between Phia and himself. “We’ll both be heartless bastards. With matching hearts no less.”
Aredan did his very best not to smirk. Somehow, despite all the irony, Foster and Phia did make a good pair. “All right, let’s do this.”
~*~
Time Index: Several hours later.
They held their breath as the surge of electricity passed through the limp blue body, kickstarting the artificial organ.
The monitor line twitched.
A second surge. A second twitch.
And finally a peak. A valley. A third twitch.
A heartbeat.
Cade Foster sucked a breath of air through his lungs, silently thanking a god he didn’t believe in. “I told you she was a fighter.”
“I never doubted it.” Aerdan sighed. “All I said was that this would be a long recovery.”
“Trust me, I know.” Cade thumped his own chest. An accidental overdose from an unknown alien drug had destroyed Cade’s natural heart several years ago and it had been Aerdan who replaced it. With the exact same biosynthetic model. Cade’s recovery had been long and rocky at best. “I know all too well.”
“What now?”
“Well, someone should stay with her for the first 24 hours to make sure the replacement takes. She won’t wake up for quite some time, the body needs that time to readjust, accept the replacement and heal.” Cade sighed. “I could use a shower. Again. And a uniform.” He looked up. “You could use a shower and a clean uniform.”
“I could.”
“You first. You need to meet the crew reporting this morning.”
“I need to tell my brother to pack Zabrielle up and get the hell off Earth.” Aerdan lisped back, biting his lower lip. He had intended to spend this evening with Z. He was wanted to spend it with her. Life decided otherwise.
“Get out of here, go call her. I’ll stay here.” Cade smirked, settling down beside Phia’s biobed. “You kinky bastard.”
Aerdan shrugged. “Tell me you’re not glad I beamed you here.”
“Get out of here.”
~*~
Time Index: several minutes later
Scene: CMO’s office.
Quarters would take too long to search out and find. He would do that later. Right now time was running short, and he was hoping that after his little escapade and Mr. Johnson’s ominous escape his saving grace would be his brother and lover’s relative anonymity in all of this might spare them long enough to keep them safe. He held his breath as the secure line rang through.
{{Where the fuck were you?}} Zabrielle’s countenance snapped to life on the screen before him, trying very hard to be angry. Her voice was shaking.
He leaned forward, still smeared with mud and blue blood. {{I’m so sorry, Z.}}
Her eyes widened. {{What happened.}} It’s wasn’t a request. It was a demand.
Aerdan sighed, and told her, in as much detail as he could spare. Johnson, Seth, the ambush. Phia. Cade. If Zabrielle wasn;t so keenly aware of the danger implicated in every aspect of the story she would have chuckled at the mental image of a sopping wet Cade being beamed directly into sickbay. {{So now what?}}
{{You have to get off of EARTH, Z. Take Arjan with you.}} Aerdan’s voice was low and serious.
{{Where do we go? And why not with you?}}
{{Ever heard the Human saying ‘never put all your eggs on one basket?}} He knit his snowy brows. {{Z, this isn’t like the Dominion war. I’m not pushing you away because I’m scared of admitting something. I’m right here. I’m telling you someone is trying to kill us, all of us, and you need to leave. I already booked you a shuttle.}}
She frowned. The honesty was bleeding out of his voice like a river. Still, the truth was hard to swallow. {{Where am I going?}}
{{ANDOR. Sef is coming with you. And you’re dragging Arjan with, even if you have to drug him.}} Again, there was no joke or lie in his tone.
The trill biochemist perked a brow. {{Is he seriously that hung up on this Evangeline chick?}}
{{Yes. And he’s seriously not understanding how much he’s in over his head.}} Aerdan was worried. His brother was notoriously naive. No amount of schooling or brilliant talent in neurosurgery had cured that fact. {{He needs to get off EARTH and he needs to lay low.}}
{{On ANDOR?}} She was slightly skeptical.
{{Trust me.}}
{{Oh, I do. But next time couldn’t you pick someplace like Risa?}} She smirked lightly, already starting to throw things into a travel bag.
{{Maybe for the honeymoon.}} He offered.
{{You haven’t even popped the question. Isn’t this jumping ahead?}}
{{While you’re on ANDOR, you can do that whole meet the parents thing. Besides, Ishe would love to see you.}} He smirked.
Zabrielle threw a wadded up pair of panties at the viewscreen. {{You’re setting me up! Jerkface.}}
{{You’re a natural diplomat. They’ll love you.}}
{{They’re traditionalists, you said so yourself. They’ll hate me.}}
{{I love you, they’ll deal.}}
She stopped and her jaw dropped slightly. He had never admitted it so openly. For a moment she wandered forward, pressing her hand against the viewscreen. {{I love you, too. Be safe out there.}}
He held his own hand up, the gulf separating them felt interminable. {{Get going. Stay together. I will see you again, on the other side.}}
{{You had better. You keep Cade and Suvek safe, too.}} Tears were welling in her eyes. {{You all owe me breakfast.}}
{{I know. GS2. The Vulcan restaurant.}}
{{Two pots of coffee.}}
{{Debating the latest research paper.}}
The tears were flowing freely now. {{Please come back.}} She whispered.
{{I will.}} He vowed. {{I have so much to come back to.}}
Time was growing short. The commline cut. Zabrielle dashed to get her things pack, leaving Aerdan Jos in the curiously darkened space of the empty medical office, wiping away the haze of tears he didn’t even realize had brimmed in his eyes.
~*~
“Are you crying?” Cade’s voice was mocking as ever.
“No.” The lie was blatant and expected.
The older man hauled himself to his feet and walked over towards his Andorian companion. “They’ll be ok.”
“Will we be ok?” Aerdan queried. “How many of us are already living on borrowed time?”
Cade smacked him upside the head hard enough to sting. “You want to live? Then yes, we’ll be ok. We’ll find a fucking way.” Smugly. “Besides you have the foremost medical genius in the galaxy heading up your sickbay.”
“Suvek?” Aerdan smirked.
“Fuck you.” Cade snapped back.
“That’s Phia’s job when she’s recovered.”
For a moment both men looked at one another and a quiet smile was shared in the silence.
“Get out of here. You have a crew to meet.” Cade pushed him towards the door.
~*~
NRPG: So, time for everyone to report! Get thee to a docking bay!
~*~
Jamie LeBlanc
Commander Aerdan Jos
Executive Officer
USS PHOENIX
"Why do we fly? Because we have dreamt of it for so long that we must"
~Julian Beck
