Nanoprobes Are Your Friend, Part 2
Posted on Sat Sep 26th, 2015 @ 6:31pm by Lieutenant Commander Earl Crane & Cadet Senior Grade Chance Conradi & Janice Gree & Lieutenant Commander William Harding M.D. & Ensign Six of Ten & Cadet Senior Grade Eli Ziyad
Mission: Further Challenges
* Consulting Room *
Janice Gree hugged herself as she waited for a doctor to come speak to her. It was unfair, in her opinion, that they’d roust her from her bed this early in the morning (it was now eight) and then leave her waiting. What were they going to tell her about Eli?
Will entered the room, looking more like his usual, unruffled self. Coffee was a wonderful thing and so was the short nap he’d taken. It would tide him over at least until they were done. He smiled at Janice and took a seat beside her. “Where’s Chance? I have some news but you both need to hear it.” Seeing the fear that suddenly shadowed her expression, he shook his head. “No, it’s good news.”
Chance wandered in, looking bleary-eyed. “What’s up?” He looked at Janice and frowned, “No, say no....”
Janice was quick to shake her head and pull Chance to the couch with her. “He says it’s good news. Sit.” She held onto him and he put an arm around her.
“I tried to reach Jackson but he’s not answering at the moment, so you can pass it along to him and to Oz if you would.” Will paused to gather his scattered thoughts. “We believe that we have a way to stop the poison and repair the damage. We’re getting everything set up now and it’s taking a little time, as will the operation itself.”
“What way?” Janice was quick to ask.
“With the help of Six Of Ten. We can modify some nanoprobes to neutralize the poison and repair the damage to his brain, then disable them once we are certain everything is back to normal. They will remain in his bloodstream, however. And really, should he ever be injured seriously again, we can reawaken them if needed.” Will stopped to let all that sink in.
Jan had started shaking her head ‘no’ part-way through Will’s explanation. “No, you can’t do that. You can’t use that technology on him.”
“What, Jan?” Chance looked at her, confused, obviously having forgotten the history of El-Aurians and the Borg.
Will ran a hand over his face and sighed aloud. “If we do not, he is going to die, Jan. That’s what it all boils down to. You two are his family here - his guardian and his mate. The decision is yours, but you have the facts now on which to base that decision. I can leave you to discuss it if you like.”
“No!” Chance said. “Jan, you have to let them do this! He’ll die!” He was on the edge of panicking.
“But....” Her face scrunched together.
“Don’t make me lose Eli!” Chance had shifted his hold on her and was now gripping her by the shoulders. “This tiny bit of tech could save him.”
She relented, “Fine. Do what needs doing, Dr. Harding. But those things... can they be removed?”
Will shook his head. “Not removed, but disabled. We may, later on, be able to destroy them but honestly, it will be much safer if we do not. That could cause an unforeseen reaction in the nanoprobes and possible consequences we don’t like. And no, they won’t wake up and assimilate him. I can promise you that.”
Looking at her hands, Jan hesitated. Chance nudged her and she looked at him. “Chance...,” she frowned. Having Eli alive and healthy vs. Eli having Borg technology in him... permanently. “It’s not easy.”
“He’ll still be Eli,” Chance reasoned. He nodded at Will, “Right?”
“Of course,” Will assured him. “It’s really a similar process to that used to reclaim Six and why hers don’t simply re-assimilate her. They can’t.”
“She’s been out of the Borg for three, nearly four years, right?” Chance asked, hoping to ease Janice’s concerns.
Will nodded. “Yes, just on four years now and she is fine. It was her Borg parts that brought her back after the recent attack, to be honest,” he admitted. He looked from Jan to Chance and wished he were anywhere but here, saying the things he had to say. These boys were much too young to have to go through such life and death circumstances again.
Janice nodded. “Okay, I get it - it’s a good thing to have these things in him. Go, do it, then.” She put her head on Chance’s shoulder as he hugged her.
Will reached out to take her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “It’s going to be a while. Do you want to wait here? If so, there’s far more comfortable rooms.”
“I usually sleep during these hours, if there’s a couch?” Janice said. Will called a nurse who showed Jan and Chance to a more comfortable room, where Jan bedded down and Chance settled into a chair to meditate.
* Surgery *
“Okay Earl, let’s do it.” Will paused and looked over at his ACMO. “The operation I mean.”
“I would have had to ask Ehlana’s permission for anything more,” Earl said, deadpan. “I have Six’s nanites at the ready,” he brandished a syringe.
“Good. She’s hanging out close by, just in case, and the computer’s all set.” Will tapped his comm badge to order Eli brought in from stasis, then checked the clock. It had been exactly eight hours since he’d awakened from his dream. “1200 hours,” he noted for the log.
“Okay,” Earl waited for Eli to be beamed in then set to work. The longer Eli was out of stasis, the less time they had. “Injecting nanoprobes into his artery,” he swabbed the site then carefully inserted the needle and released the nanoprobes into Eli. “And ...Will?”
“Yes?” Will looked up from the computer interface beside Eli, his fingers poised over the control panel.
"Go ahead, activate them" Earl said.
Will’s fingers began to move across the panel, initiating the pre-programmed sub-routine that would direct the nanites. It fed them the specifics on the poison and then a route to Eli’s brain and the neural damage that needed to be repaired. He watched in silence as the computer began to trace their progress and show the results in a smaller window on the screen.
“They’re moving,” Will informed Earl. “Cross whatever you have you can cross and hope for the best.”
“No noticeable difference.” Earl watched the rash on Eli’s hand. After several minutes, the affected skin rippled and bubbled then smoothed out as the healing took effect. “There we go,” he whispered.
“Poison level dropping, Earl. We’re getting there.” Will’s voice was hushed as he reported what he was seeing on screen. “Latest scan shows that….hell yes! It’s completely gone.”
“And the neural damage?” Earl looked up at Will.
“Starting repairs now,” Will answered. “Vital signs stable. You can remove the respirator and let’s see how he does on his own.”
Efficiently, Earl removed the ventilator and then began removing the saline line that had kept the man hydrated.
“Come look at this.” Will was staring, amazed, at the screen before him, watching the nanites as they rebuilt Eli’s injured brain. “Just a bit longer….”
“I’m good here,” Earl said. He’d seen nanites at work before; Will had told him of Janice’s reservations regarding the Borg technology and now he frowned.
“Alright, it’s done. I tell you, it looks as good as new. I’m going to leave them active while they do a little cleanup and check again in an hour.” Will entered the command and watched in silence as the computer did yet another neural scan on Eli.
The door to the surgery opened and Chance stumbled in, partly wrestling with a nurse who was saying, “...do that! It’s sterile!”
He stopped and said, “Sterile doesn’t matter, it’s not open heart surgery!” Chance looked at Earl and Will and said, “I can read him. He’s in there and okay.”
Will glanced to Earl and smiled a moment before turning back to Chance. “That’s good. Very good. We’re just about to wake him up, so your timing is good. You can be the first thing he sees.”
Chance grinned as he stepped up beside Eli and took his hand. “Whenever you’re ready,” he said.
Earl nodded at Will. “Time for him to wake up.”
Will pressed a hypospray to Eli’s neck and it hissed in the quiet room. “A few seconds now.” He stepped back, giving Chance and Eli some room.
It was, indeed, several seconds that they waited, then Eli’s eyes fluttered open. He took a deep breath, looking confused. The ceiling above him told him he wasn’t in Kaleidoscope, which was the last thing he recalled. Bright lights. Sickbay. Then his gaze shifted and Chance came into view. He smiled and tightened his grip on Chance’s hand.
“I’m still here,” he managed to say.
“Yeah, you are,” Chance managed, tears on his cheeks. “I was afraid....” I thought I’d lost you.
We’ve been through that already..you’d have kicked my ass if I died and left you. Eli’s smiled lingered as he reached up to wipe away Chance’s tears. “Could you gentlemen excuse us a moment?” he asked Earl and Will.
“Sure, we’ll give you a few minutes, but we’re outside if you need us.” Will crossed and opened the door, then led the way out.
“Can you sit up?” Chance asked. “And, hey, you have a little bit of Six in you now. You’re Borg!”, he joked.
“I do?” Eli blinked in surprise. “Apparently I missed a lot while I was knocked out. Help me up.” Once vertical, he wrapped his arms around Chance, holding him tight. The panic poured through to him loud and clear and he murmured softly. “It’s okay, I’m fine. At least I think I am.”
"I think you are, too," Chance kissed Eli's cheek. "Janice is here, too. The doctors didn't say you could leave. Six gave some nanites so the docs could reprogram them to eliminate the poison and heal the damage to your system." His thoughts were jumbled.
Eli nodded. “I’ll catch up, don’t worry. Is Jan okay? What about Jackson?” He caught Chance’s face in his hands, holding his gaze. “Slow down. We’ll get to everything. You’ll stay here? With me? I doubt they’ll let me go today so….please?”
"Yeah, I'll stay. They let Jackson stay with Oz when she was recovering. It shouldn't be a problem. Jackson is off-station. He went to get your parents. Jan is okay, just worried." His hands were checking Eli over, as if pieces of him might be missing.
Eli smiled finally. “Keep that up and we’ll have to lock the door.”
"You say that like its a bad thing." Chance smiled.
“Not at all.” He delved back into Chance’s mind, seeking to ease his worries. It’s over, though I want to know what caused all this. Even so….doesn’t matter. Everything will be fine.
“Unless whoever did this tries again,” Chance’s pessimism rose to the surface. “Niro is Enaran; what if he did it? He could be loyal to Enara Prime....”
“Would they really go that extreme just for me?” Eli shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll have to worry about that later. Right now, I just want to enjoy the fact that I’m still breathing and you’re here.” He hugged Chance tight again. “I love you.”
“Same,” Chance said, holding onto Eli.
*******************
Lt. Commander William Harding, M.D.
Lt. Commander Earl D. Crane, M.D.
Janice Gree
Cadet JG Chance Conradi
Cadet JG Eli Ziyad
Ensign Six of Ten
