Post by Adelle Bastiel on May 26, 2017 16:01:48 GMT -8
Electricity ran through her veins, white and icy hot. Her heart raced to keep it pumping. Needles pricked at the skin of her hands and feet. A few training sabers, mindless and vague, hovered around the Medbay's entrance. Adelle took a deep breath in and shakily let it out. Fours had told her to rest but she felt restless. She needed to do something. Leigh had left ages ago for the Strategy Center. She could feel Na'an in the flow of battle, mentally and physically. The seconds it took for the droids to prepare Aherk for surgery after she put him into a Jedi Trance seemed to stretch on eternally. Adelle wiggled her fingers idly as she waited impatiently. She could hardly fidget to relieve some excess energy now that she had sanitized herself. The subtle whirr of mechanical joints and servos filled the stillness of the operating theater. Occasionally, Aherk's breath rasped against the solemn quiet.
"Knight Bastiel."
Adelle jerked her head up at Fours' voice.
He glanced up at her and then turned his head back to the task at hand. "You are currently undergoing effects of elevated epinephrine levels. It is imperative that you—Scans indicate normal levels of epinephrine alongside these symptoms. This is a medical anomaly."
"It's not you," Adelle said. "I don't understand it but I know it's not you."
"This has a ninety-five percent chance of affecting your recovery post-surgery." Fours steadily looked at her with his photoreceptors. "Your recoveries historically have not been . . . ideal."
"Continue monitoring the patient's vitals," the 2-1 BXS cut in.
"All vitals are steady. Adjust point of entry by negative-point-two-four degrees."
"Adjusting."
Adelle closed her eyes as she listened to their monotone communications. Her mind wandered as she waited to be called, to be useful. Leigh no doubt had made it to the strategy center. Whether or not she had gotten Adelle's message, she didn't know. The droid hadn't acknowledged and it was too much to hope that KR had forgotten to jam local comm signals. Damn it. Na'an, she could feel, waged a brutal fight against Knight—no, Master Iorek, a Jedi that had been a paragon to many for a long time. Pain felt dimly, adrenaline in her system, the Force tangibly at her fingertips. Damn it! She should be out there. Doing something to help either of them instead of standing here. Waiting.
"Knight Bastiel, your assistance is required."
Her eyes flew open and she strode to the side of the operating table. Infected flesh and organs mingled with tiny splinters and shards of metal. A heap of burned and twisted metal and electronics sat where a respirator should have been. The smell punched her nostrils and almost floored her. An hour, Leigh had said. Right then. She had her work cut out for her. Something to do.
"Extract the shrapnel one piece at a time from left to right. Monitor his vitals and mine. Let me know if there is a drop in his." Adelle touched her hands to Aherk's shoulders, half-closing her eyes. His heartbeat, soft but regular. His breathing, labored but steady. "If I start lagging, hook me up to an I.V. with saline and stims. Epinephrine too, if necessary."
She closed her eyes fully, feeling his veins, the organs, the rotten flesh, the sharp points of shrapnel. Fours' voice blurred into nothing meaningful, a muted sound, as she found the cells of Aherk's body, her own breathing matching the rhythm of his. A bright shard moved slightly then lifted. Adelle sent the Force to the gash it left behind, creating blood clots and new tissue faster than possible. Another one lifted, larger, slower. She turned her sharpened focus toward its wound, flooding it with the Force. Another splinter, and another, on and on. At one point, she felt something pinch the skin of her right elbow and a weight seemed to lift from her own lungs. Steadily, they moved from the left lung to the right. Then there came a piece deeply embedded and trickily close to the trachea. She felt the tweezers gently grasp it and millimeter by achingly slow millimeter pulled it free of the organ.
"Bastiel, oxygen is required for human life. Please resume breathing," a droid said.
Adelle let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding and forced it to match Aherk's breathing. The endless removal of respirator shards continued, one after the other. Were it not for the urgency of the task and the weakening heartbeat of the man she operated on, Adelle would have found the repetition soothing. Then a cold hand pushed her back, monotone voice vaguely directing her to rest for a moment. Her arms felt stiff and she could not feel her fingers. Her tongue clung to the roof of her mouth, thick and dry. She forced a heavy-lidded eye open and saw 2-1 BXS holding a bloody respirator. Adelle blinked and suddenly Fours stood in front of her, holding a small glass of juice and a nutrient bar. The juice disappeared in seconds; the bar lasted only a little longer. Her head cleared just in time to feel another needle pierce the skin of her left elbow. The 2-1 BXS did not look at her while it taped the I.V. to her skin.
"We are ready to continue the surgery. Ruptured respirator has been removed and replaced. Fours is taking responsibility for its installation." Its voice buzzed in her head as a fresh wave of stims hit her system. She seemed to float towards the operating table, the droid buzzing meaningless sounds. Angry insects seemed to swarm her hands and feet with bites but the room and her hands remained as clean and sterile as ever.
"Remove the infected tissue. I want a five standard-minute break in between regrowth of muscle tissue and each layer of dermic tissue," her voice said. The sound seemed to swim through water.
"Affirmative," a droid buzzed. She couldn't tell which. Adelle found Aherk's heartbeat and breathing again, easier than the first time, and slipped into the combined rhythm. The rest of the surgery blurred together, interminable stillness combined with frenzied eating and drinking, re-sterilizing her hands, finding the flow, focusing the Force. But at last it was done. Bright pink skin, as if revealed by a second-degree burn, covered Aherk's chest, no blemish found but the ones written in his genetic coding. Sweat dripped down Adelle's face as Fours and 2-1 BXS shakily removed the I.V.s. Adelle shook her head and realized she[/] was the one shaking.
"Antibiotics," she said hoarsely. "Blood transfusion. Diuresis. Bacta patches."
2-1 BXS abruptly left her side to take care of the remaining treatments. Fours firmly taped gauze to her elbows then helped her up and walked her to the door.
"As many glasses of juice as you can stand, Knight Bastiel," he said, straightening. "And at least two nutrient bars. There is a cart outside the theater with plenty of both. And rest."
He left before Adelle could ask him for the time.
"Knight Bastiel."
Adelle jerked her head up at Fours' voice.
He glanced up at her and then turned his head back to the task at hand. "You are currently undergoing effects of elevated epinephrine levels. It is imperative that you—Scans indicate normal levels of epinephrine alongside these symptoms. This is a medical anomaly."
"It's not you," Adelle said. "I don't understand it but I know it's not you."
"This has a ninety-five percent chance of affecting your recovery post-surgery." Fours steadily looked at her with his photoreceptors. "Your recoveries historically have not been . . . ideal."
"Continue monitoring the patient's vitals," the 2-1 BXS cut in.
"All vitals are steady. Adjust point of entry by negative-point-two-four degrees."
"Adjusting."
Adelle closed her eyes as she listened to their monotone communications. Her mind wandered as she waited to be called, to be useful. Leigh no doubt had made it to the strategy center. Whether or not she had gotten Adelle's message, she didn't know. The droid hadn't acknowledged and it was too much to hope that KR had forgotten to jam local comm signals. Damn it. Na'an, she could feel, waged a brutal fight against Knight—no, Master Iorek, a Jedi that had been a paragon to many for a long time. Pain felt dimly, adrenaline in her system, the Force tangibly at her fingertips. Damn it! She should be out there. Doing something to help either of them instead of standing here. Waiting.
"Knight Bastiel, your assistance is required."
Her eyes flew open and she strode to the side of the operating table. Infected flesh and organs mingled with tiny splinters and shards of metal. A heap of burned and twisted metal and electronics sat where a respirator should have been. The smell punched her nostrils and almost floored her. An hour, Leigh had said. Right then. She had her work cut out for her. Something to do.
"Extract the shrapnel one piece at a time from left to right. Monitor his vitals and mine. Let me know if there is a drop in his." Adelle touched her hands to Aherk's shoulders, half-closing her eyes. His heartbeat, soft but regular. His breathing, labored but steady. "If I start lagging, hook me up to an I.V. with saline and stims. Epinephrine too, if necessary."
She closed her eyes fully, feeling his veins, the organs, the rotten flesh, the sharp points of shrapnel. Fours' voice blurred into nothing meaningful, a muted sound, as she found the cells of Aherk's body, her own breathing matching the rhythm of his. A bright shard moved slightly then lifted. Adelle sent the Force to the gash it left behind, creating blood clots and new tissue faster than possible. Another one lifted, larger, slower. She turned her sharpened focus toward its wound, flooding it with the Force. Another splinter, and another, on and on. At one point, she felt something pinch the skin of her right elbow and a weight seemed to lift from her own lungs. Steadily, they moved from the left lung to the right. Then there came a piece deeply embedded and trickily close to the trachea. She felt the tweezers gently grasp it and millimeter by achingly slow millimeter pulled it free of the organ.
"Bastiel, oxygen is required for human life. Please resume breathing," a droid said.
Adelle let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding and forced it to match Aherk's breathing. The endless removal of respirator shards continued, one after the other. Were it not for the urgency of the task and the weakening heartbeat of the man she operated on, Adelle would have found the repetition soothing. Then a cold hand pushed her back, monotone voice vaguely directing her to rest for a moment. Her arms felt stiff and she could not feel her fingers. Her tongue clung to the roof of her mouth, thick and dry. She forced a heavy-lidded eye open and saw 2-1 BXS holding a bloody respirator. Adelle blinked and suddenly Fours stood in front of her, holding a small glass of juice and a nutrient bar. The juice disappeared in seconds; the bar lasted only a little longer. Her head cleared just in time to feel another needle pierce the skin of her left elbow. The 2-1 BXS did not look at her while it taped the I.V. to her skin.
"We are ready to continue the surgery. Ruptured respirator has been removed and replaced. Fours is taking responsibility for its installation." Its voice buzzed in her head as a fresh wave of stims hit her system. She seemed to float towards the operating table, the droid buzzing meaningless sounds. Angry insects seemed to swarm her hands and feet with bites but the room and her hands remained as clean and sterile as ever.
"Remove the infected tissue. I want a five standard-minute break in between regrowth of muscle tissue and each layer of dermic tissue," her voice said. The sound seemed to swim through water.
"Affirmative," a droid buzzed. She couldn't tell which. Adelle found Aherk's heartbeat and breathing again, easier than the first time, and slipped into the combined rhythm. The rest of the surgery blurred together, interminable stillness combined with frenzied eating and drinking, re-sterilizing her hands, finding the flow, focusing the Force. But at last it was done. Bright pink skin, as if revealed by a second-degree burn, covered Aherk's chest, no blemish found but the ones written in his genetic coding. Sweat dripped down Adelle's face as Fours and 2-1 BXS shakily removed the I.V.s. Adelle shook her head and realized she[/] was the one shaking.
"Antibiotics," she said hoarsely. "Blood transfusion. Diuresis. Bacta patches."
2-1 BXS abruptly left her side to take care of the remaining treatments. Fours firmly taped gauze to her elbows then helped her up and walked her to the door.
"As many glasses of juice as you can stand, Knight Bastiel," he said, straightening. "And at least two nutrient bars. There is a cart outside the theater with plenty of both. And rest."
He left before Adelle could ask him for the time.
