Afternoon Nightmares Part Two

Posted on Sat Oct 15th, 2011 @ 6:20pm by Commander Oralia Zeferino & https://starbase900.info/index.php/personnel/character/23

Mission: In Our Time of Need
Location: Varies
Timeline: Current, Evening

* * *Zeferino's Quarters* * *

Not long after returning to her quarters, citing an inability to work in her own office as the putative reason for the need to be there, Oz had realized that the quarters were quieter than normal. Iggy wasn't exactly a loud pet, but with her recent acquisition of telepathy, she had become a slightly more talkative critter. Oz had, at first, simply called for the spider, hoping she'd come out from wherever she was hiding. She didn't and, after answering a commcall from Gilroy reporting in on the autopsy results of the Enaran, Oz ended up on her hands and knees, crawling along the carpet, looking under furniture. "Iggy, so help me, I will drop you from a scary height if you're just playing with me...," she grumbled.

So it was that she was on her belly, halfway under her bed when her commbadge chirped and she heard, "I've been stabbed...."

"What?!" she struggled to back out from under the bed, leaving a good scraping of skin from her back on the underside of the bed frame in the process. She tapped her badge and demanded, "Connor? What sort of joke... what are you doing?"

No answer came back. "Computer, where is Connor McKinney?"

=^=Lieutenant Commander Connor McKinney, M.D., PhD., Chief Medical Officer, is in his quarters.=^=

He had been promoted? No, he'd clearly just stated he'd been stabbed. She could see mishearing 'promoted' as 'prodded' but 'stabbed' was clearly 'stabbed'. Scrambling up from the floor, she dashed out of her quarters, startling the two security crewmen standing there, and ran down the corridor, causing the two to quickly follow after her. Using a security override, she entered Connor's new quarters. An awful smell hit her: Orion... had Connor had an Orion in here?

Immediately, she slowed down and pulled her weapon, then slowly advanced through the as-yet-undecorated living room. No Connor there, so she peeked into his bedroom, looking for his assailant and hoping she wouldn't see green skin. Seeing only him, she holstered her phaser and went in. "Connor!" There was a pool of blood puddling on the sheet over his lower half. Stabbed...? Who would...? Moving quickly, she pulled the sheet back then balled it up and pressed it against the wound. "Connor? Who did this?" Behind her, she heard one of the security minions calling for emergency medical.

Oralia.... Connor fought his way out of the edge of unconsciousness. "I...don't know", he whispered, barely opening his eyes, "but he said..."

"Shh, shhh, shush," Oz looked around for something better to press against him to stop the blood flow. Tears threatened; this day had been just as bad as the day before. "Save your breath, hon," she told him.

"Medicos are on their way, Commander," Jeeves intoned from behind her.

"No...", his eyes stayed on her, "I have to..."

"No what? There's nothing you have to do right now except breath for me, Connor. Slow and easy," she told him, looking him over. How many times had she kissed his chest? Touched him? And now he was bleeding out. It made her feel helpless, even as she realized that they were having a slight role reversal: she'd been the one bleeding out, with a wound in nearly the same place, as he worked to save her life.

"Keep direct pressure on it..." he said, barely lifting a hand.

"Doctor McKinney..." Two medics rushed in, one tapping his combadge opening a direct a line as the other pulled out the peripheral scanner from his medical tricorder. "Keep the pressure on him until I say!", ordered one of the medics to her as he placed an oxygen mask over Connor's mouth and nose.

Wishing for her own oxygen mask, Oz shifted her position, ending up on the bed, straddling Connor's legs so that the medics could get in and treat him. All the while, she kept pressure on the wound. Was this something to do with the Divitian Speaker? The dead Enaran in her office? She needed answers and now that medics were here, she started pressing Connor for them, "Connor, did you see who did this?"

Finding he could breath easier, Connor slightly shook his head, his eyes closing as found himself fading again. I have to tell her..., were his final thoughts before total blackness took him over.

"Connor!" Oz tried to get his attention, but was stopped by one of the medics.

The one medic quickly traded his tricorder for a hypo from the second one, and placed it to Connor's neck. "This will help slow down the bleeding...", he said, thinking about all the blood the Doctor lost as he then attached an IV. Another moment later, he looked to Oralia, "You can remove your hands now, Cmdr...I'll take over." He held a cauterize patch ready to place over the wound.

"Orders are to transport him down", said the other as he had finished relaying down, and then receiving, information from Piper Medical.

Remembering the burn of the patch Connor had used on her, Oralia winced and withdrew. Blood covered her hands, had soaked into her uniform pants and tunic. The medic who had the patch waved her back and, a moment later, both medics and Connor disappeared in a shimmer of light and harmonics. Their disappearance left Oz staring at a bloodied bed and ...two security crewmen watching her. Sucking in a breath, she managed to start giving orders: "Lock this apartment down. Get crime scene down here and go over the place. Get me the security video for the corridors leading to and from here."

"Yes, ma'am, we're on it," said one, nodding his head toward her, silently telling his companion to handle the CSEC.

His companion, Jeeves, stepped forward, "Commander, I'll escort you back to your quarters. You can clean up there." Dazed, Oralia nodded and led the way back out.

_______________________
LC Oralia Zeferino
CSEC

LC Connor McKinney
CMO

Others: NPCs