Fundamentals of Medicine

Posted on Tue Apr 30th, 2024 @ 6:32pm by Lieutenant Commander Deanna Celes & Commander Samantha Howard & Ensign James Phoenix

Mission: Man & Machine
Location: Planet

Dr Samantha Howard was somewhat amazed that they away team arrived in the compound in one piece. Seeing the leaders of the team settle down in conversation with the leader of the humans, Sam thought she could make better use of her time. She excused herself and went to find the field hospital within the compound, taking Phoenix with her.

A short time later they found a small series of rooms and a gaunt looking medic with haunted eyes.

"I heard there were strangers nearby. If you need patching up, I'm sorry our stores are rudimentary at best." He apologized as they entered. "Jeff Knockers, I'm the only doctor left alive here."

"Sam Howard, this is James" she nodded towards Phoenix. "Save your supplies, I need your mind most importantly" she smiled, forging ahead when he offered no immediate resistance. " My people are suffering from the early stages of radiation sickness. Even with the treatment I devised. I need to find out how you keep your people from getting sick."

Dr. Knockers sighed musingly. "Radiation poisoning you say. I suppose you aren't from around here then. I would guess our daily radiation bath isn't something you are used to. It isn't entirely conducive to life to be sure, but neither is anything else we have to deal with as of late. I'll help you figure things out though. Been a long time since I got to do anything other than battlefield medicine and trying to fight off the Grim Reaper."

The comment of the radiation bath piqued Sam's curiosity. "Can you tell me more about this radiation bath? Is there an unaltered water source nearby that provides a natural immunity?" She asked, hoping that it was something that simple.

Dr. Knockers giggled. "Yup, you definitely aren't from around here. The radiation bath isn't an actual bath. I was referring to the heavy dose of radiation that we deal with that permeates everything. You definitely need to learn our colloquialisms."

"How did you deal with it though, the radiation I mean? Before you built up somewhat of an immunity? From where I stand my inoculations have about another few hours before they wear off. How did you get to something more permanent?" Sam checked herself as she realized she was firing off too many questions in rapid succession. "Sorry..."

The sound of weapons fire erupted nearby followed by shooting at footsteps.

"I would say it is a basis of environment. Uranium and plutonium are quite abundant on this planet, as are several other radioactive elements. I would say we simply have adapted to live with higher radiation. We could do a genetic comparison if you like" the doctor replied.

The weapons fire continued and began to get more intense as it came closer to them. Suddenly somebody yelled, "Terminators!"

Phoenix’s attention snapped to where the weapons fire appeared to have come from. He looked at his phaser pistol and then at the doctors. “Doc, need an extra weapon?” He looked at Sam for approval since she was the senior officer. James wouldn’t be defenseless since he would still have his rifle.

"Always" Sam had drawn her own weapon and tossed it to Dr Knockers, snatching Phoenix's as he threw it to her.
"Defend the Doctor above all else. We need his radiation treatment to survive this" Sam ordered, taking up a position inside the door.

The firing continued as the lights dimmed, the electricity cracking and sparking before everything went dark. Suddenly the only thing that could be seen was the purplish pink glow of the laser blasts as they streamed through the air.

Dr. Knockers took up a defensive position behind what was his makeshift examination table, taking Sam with him. "Don't fire until you see the glow of their eyes. Believe me, nothing else will be seen in this darkness. Just don't miss."

Phoenix took cover behind another examination table and pointed his rifle in the direction that the machines were coming from. It was very dark. James took Doctor Knocker's words as an order. He was not going to miss. He was ready.

It was as though all hell descended on the small room, plunged into blackness the machines knew they had the advantage. That was until they came up with a trio of very determined individuals.

Weapons fire lanced in all directions as Sam and Phoenix tried to pinpoint their shots as the Doctor had instructed. Energy beams blasted the wall behind where Sam had been hiding, showering her with debris. She ducked but came up firing, ignoring the burning sensation on her arms as the super-heated material burnt through her uniform.

The firefight continued, the Terminators coming into sight, their mechanical eyes glowing an eerie red in the dark. They seemed to methodically sweep everything in front of them, leaving a trail of death, though at this very moment it couldn't be seen in the dark. Phoenix and Sam were firing, and it seemed to have drawn the attention of these machines. The wall behind Sam and Dr. Knockers exploded from weapons fire. While red hot flaming debris rained down on Sam, the good Dr. Knockers wasn't as lucky. He lay on the ground next to Sam, his back littered with shrapnel, his hands grasping at his side where he tried to slow the bleeding from his wounds that appeared to focus on his liver.

James saw Dr. Knockers go down in the corner of his eye. He couldn't focus on it, since if he lost focus he'd have the same fate as the doc. The weapons fire from the Terminators hit a wall next to Phoenix, which also exploded, sending the ensign to the ground, covering him in dust and debris. He quickly pinpointed his next shot directly at the glowing light and fired. It was a direct hit. The machine he hit fell square to the floor, but that didn't stop the other machines from opening fire. He instinctively ducked down to the ground to gain cover.

He yelled out to Sam, "Doc, we need to get out of here! Your orders?"

Sam ducked her head to avoid the weapons fire and rain of debris. She looked at Knockers, who was in bad shape and would die without treatment. "Get out of here, I'll grab Knockers, you cover us." She tossed her weapon back to him, leaving her defenseless but utterly trusting in his ability to do his job. Shifting over to Knockers she rolled him into a deadmans carry and grunted under the additional weight.

"Clear a path Ensign"

Phoenix caught the pistol and kept it in his hand, aimed at the machines. He took three quick breaths before jumping over the examination table he was using for his own cover. He fired continuously with both the pistol and his rifle while advancing on the machines in an attempt to push them back.

The phaser fire was blasting holes everywhere it impacted, but it wasn't deterring the Terminators from advancing on his position. Sam was already out the door and halfway to the facility exit as the Terminators came withing 10 ft. when he finally hit one with a phaser blast, hit the Terminator square in the upper chest which blasted a hole clean through and launched its head up in the air like a demented looking soccer ball. The other Terminator continued firing though, and suddenly Phoenix felt the sharp pain as one of the laser blasts contacted his torso.

Phoenix felt the pain instantly. He fired another shot at the last machine but missed. The Ensign stumbled back and fell onto the ground and dropped his rifle. The pain was worsening. It must’ve been serious. He continued firing with his phaser pistol at the light while on the ground. He had to ignore the pain. He couldn’t submit to it, or it would be is life. He fired another shot and missed again. The Terminator fired another shot directly at his head and he slid himself away. This wasn’t going to be easy.

He turned and began an attempt to crawl to cover. The Terminator fired again but missed and was closing in. James fired another shot at the light and missed. The machine fired at the wall next to him, and the impact caused the wall to explode and caused debris and dust to rain down on him. He was slowing down, and the machine continued to advance. James crawled back and stopped to realize that he’d backed himself into a corner. Literally.

The Terminator stopped at the foot of the Ensign. But before the machine could fire, three shots emitted from his phaser at the level 10 setting. All three hit the machine square in the chest. The Terminator stuttered before starting to collapse over the Ensign. James rolled away just as the derelict machine hit the floor.

He crawled to his rifle and leaned against the wall to catch his breath. It was then he noticed the trail of his own blood from his wound. He slid out what was remaining in his med kit. Only a few remaining bandages and a light hypo-spray. He had given everything else to the medical staff here. He took the hypo and injected the contents into himself before bandaging up what he could. After that he slowly rose up with his rifle on his back. He then started towards the shuttle, hunched over. He looked back at the derelict machines. “Not a robot” he muttered before continuing.

As Phoenix stumbled into the shuttle, his face pale and his uniform soaked in blood, Sam had her back turned as she worked on Dr, Knockers. A comm signal chimed in. It was Deanna requesting them to bring the shuttle to their location. Sam was going to have her hands full for the moment, but it was a burden she would have to bear.