You can't stop them...

Posted on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 @ 12:59am by Sophia & Lieutenant Commander Marit Lantry M.D., Ph.D.

Mission: Starbase 332, Where Are You?
Timeline: Just prior to the Ion Storm.

The air in the infirmary was electric. Time was running out before the storm hit, and Lantry didn't need to exchange words with any of the medical staff to know they were amped up with adrenaline. There was something agonizing about waiting for something imminently scary to happen, but at the same time, no one wished to experience the storm and the potential aftermath.

Marit's reverie reverie was interrupted by a message over the communications panel notifying them of an emergency. " shuttle bay to main infirmary. The shuttle carrying our new ambassador got caught in some turbulence and the ambassador fell and lost consciousness. She appears to be in a fairly advanced stage of pregnancy. We're beaming her directly to you."

"Acknowledged," Lantry answered. Nurses were already gathering around her to offer assistance. The CMO was currently busy making sure the last minute preparations for the shelters were completed, leaving Marit holding down the infirmary. Of course, until the storm hit directly, no one anticipated having to handle any medical emergencies. Still, every member of Starfleet knew the importance of expecting the unexpected.

There was a shimmer on the bed and a swirl of blue particulates deposited a beautiful blonde woman onto the bed. Blood pored liberally down the side of her face and a livid bruise was already creeping down from her temple. Another decorated her shoulder on the same side. Her eyes were closed, but her face was tight with pain instead of being slack with unconsciousness.

As she waited for the full form of her patient to coalesce on the bed, Marit took a few brief moments to assess the young woman visually. Advanced instruments could tell the modern medical professional a lot about the status of a patient, but there could be no substitute for hands-on examination and professional instincts. It was also true there was no substitute for making a meaningful connection with the patient to reduce fear and to inspire cooperation in some of the most confusing circumstances. She was pleased to see her pregnant patient appeared to be conscious, even if in a significant amount of pain. This was a good sign as even though blood poured from her head fairly steadily, even the most minor headwinds could create a significant amount of bleeding. They weren't out of the woods, certainly, but a conscious patient could certainly provide more information than an unconscious one. Immediately, her eyes were trained on the vital signs coming from the bed as well as other readouts, but she came forward, offering in a soothing voice, "My name is Dr. Marit Lantry. You are in the Starbase 332 main infirmary. Will you tell me your name?" Of course, the doctors and nurses were already hard at work conducting scans and gently removing the other young woman's clothes just in case they hid any other serious injuries.

"Sophia, Ambassador, Starfleet Ambassadorial corps.." she managed to say though her words were a bit slurred. The stunning blonde looked towards the doctor but couldn't seem to focus her eyes on her.

"I'm sorry for the circumstances, Ambassador, but I am pleased to meet you. We're going to take good care of you and get a handle on your pain, I promise. I need you to stay awake for me while I take care of you and your baby. Is there anything I should know about you medically? Anything pertaining to the pregnancy in particular?" In the meantime, the nurses that swarmed around her were pointing out a few bruises here and there, but no immediate signs of additional trauma outside of her head wound. "Let's initiate a full neurological scan and prenatal ultrasound. I'm noting contractions, but the tricorder shows the membranes are intact. Keep magnesium sulfate on standby," she added. She wanted to give Sophia's body some time to calm down, but if contractions continued, the magnesium sulfate would hopefully stop labor.

In the meantime, she hoped she wouldn't have to pepper the Ambassador with medical questions. Hopefully, the bulk of her medical information would be accessible via computer, but just in case there was recent prenatal findings that hadn't made it to the record, she had to ask.

"I" and she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts "I have been having contractions off and on for 2 months now. Since my husband was killed. You will not be able to stop it fully. This would never have happened to such extremes if I had....bothered to pay attention. The pilot had told me to strap in, and I was holding on, trying to keep my footing and get to my seat in time. I thought I knew better, thought I could manage to keep myself upright, but my center of balance is so off. " A wet chuckle escaped tight lips, as she stroked her belly once more. A tear slid down her cheek to disappear into her hair, leaving a pink line where it passed through the dried blood.