Where Were You When You Heard… |
Summary: | Reed, Reighner, and Zaharis hear the news of the colonies and the start of the war. |
Date: | 3 ACH (15 November 2008) |
Related Logs: | All Hell Breaks Loose - Marines |
Players: |
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Medical Bay Support Station PAS - Deck 2
2 ACH 3735 Souls
Rather than the normal sickbay found on most Colonial ships, the stations medical facility is more reminiscent of a full hospital. The front area is a cool blue color with several on duty staff here organizing patients and logistics of medical supplies. Areas branch off into full wards including, surgical, emergency treatment, quarantine, and others. The facility is quite advanced and while still quite new, can be said to still be having work done to make final adjustments to get everything working.
A group of medical personnel stand near the nurse's desk, white gowns on, ready to receive injured. Reighner is with this group, but without a gown.
Zaharis makes it over after a short trip to the Carina to talk to the lead medic. He arrives with a medical transport, two medics going in ahead of him. They pull a rolling gurney in loaded with someone groaning, a bloody bandage pressed against what's likely a relatively minor head wound. The CMO's in active dress from the run, cross-labelled brassard on and sidearm strapped at ready. He pauses to take stock of how things look in here, then heads towards the nurse's desk.
Reed comes in from Passageway.
Reed has arrived.
The PAS station people rush forward to accept the injured, shuttling the gurney off into the back, ticking off vitals and other information. Reighner glances over for a second before stepping forward. "Jesse." He reaches out with his right hand for a quick handshake, the way professionals do.
Reed moves into the Medical facility, sidestepping nimbly and getting out of the way, face set in a tight grimace of stress. He skirts the action, staying close to the walls of the room. As one of the people starts to lift his arm in salute, Reed looks at him, "Don't frakkin salute me now." He moves towards the group of Medical personnel and stops, not interrupting ANYTHING. He just looks to make sure that Triage is open and being used properly. The new wing getting used in time being his only seeming concern.
The way people look around when someone starts saluting is almost as though they had shouted 'MENINGITIS!' in the reception area. It's just for a second though, dissolving quickly back into the proper level of activity. The triage room is being used for all it's worth, though gratefully not at the level the place was at after the Pandora disaster.
Zaharis nods to Reighner, grasping his hand. "Matt." He gives the other Captain's arm a light clap as well, despite the seriousness in his dark eyes. "Looks good in here. Let's go grab a few minutes in the office." He turns around slightly, noticing Reed lurking. "Major."
Reighner unconsciously straightens himself when he detects the tone. "This way." He points past the nurse's desk around a corner. "Major, you should join us. I think Jesse has information from the front."
Reed nods to the Doctors, "Excellent" He says. "I got a report the Triage was up and running, but haven't seen it personally." He turns to follow the Doctors. "Additional eighty beds for immediate use, perminant." He moves quickly, clasping his hands behind him and stepping lively.
Zaharis rounds the corner into the office, pushing the door shut once all three have meandered properly. He grabs the first chair sitting about, planting himself in it. "I suspect much of what's going on on the Carina's made it around already. Carina was the one that made the distress call, boarded by the toasters. She was with some other vessels, over twenty ships, but she was only one that had visitors." He pauses, looking at Reighner. "To answer what you asked me, Matt. Are we at war? I don't know if we were before tonight, but this is looking pretty frakked up to me." His dark eyes turn to Reed.
Reighner frowns. He pulls the edges of his white coat and crosses his arms, looking thoughtful.
Reed looks at Zaharis. "I haven't gotten any official statement of war. But this does indicate such. Pandora was jumped by Cylon fighters on her FTL test, and this." He nods to the outside sickbay, "Is a direct result of the debriefing I gave to the Colonel. We have pieces of information, that are speculative at the moment and our best sources of information are the people we pulled out of there, Carinas data, and.." He licks his lips, "The download I brought back from the Pandora. It's still being looked at but it has disturbing implications."
Zaharis is silent for a moment, taking this in with his mouth drawn into a thin line. "With us being dark I know the answer will be no, but I have to ask, Carter. Anybody made any contact at all with HQ back at the colonies? Any sign anyone back there knows what's going on?"
Reighner asks, "Isn't this enough cause to lift the communications blackout? A criminal investigation seems secondary to a possible war to me."
Reed clenches his jaw, and pulls his handheld out of his pocket, hefting it, and looking between them. "Let's go find out. You're both with me." He turns, heading out of the office.
Zaharis looks satisfied at this, standing back up. He motions with his head for Reighner to go first out of the office, and moves to follow with determined steps.
Reed moves from the office, heading to the reception desk. "Nurse." He says quietly, looking at her with that Command gaze that says he's frakking well not here for a new bandage this time. "Talk to me about the data received from the wounded. Identities." The Nurse looks at the computer screen, shaking her head, "Sir, it's still coming in." Reed interrupts, "I'm aware of that, Nurse, what do you have now?" She makes a face at the screen. "Names logged in, colonies of origin.." She tilts her head, "One gave name, rank serial number." Reed perks, "Military. Cross referance, and print. They're here?" The nurse types, "Aye sir." The printer spits out some papers, and Reed takes them directly. He looks at the paper, "Carlton Monroe, former pilot. Discharged on medical. Lieutenant." He passes the paper to Zaharis, "Make sense of the medical reasons." He orders and starts for Triage, determined.
The papers indicate medical reasons for discharge, loss of left leg due to Viper accident.
Zaharis flips to the second page, knowing from far too much practice where the discharge explantions are on these things. "Above the knee amputation, left leg." Short, sweet, quietly given. Page flipped over again. He glances over the rest of the information out of habit as they walk, looking for the man's colony.
Reighner is quiet as he follows.
Reed leaves for Emergency Triage Center [T].
Reed has left.
Emergency Triage Center Support Station PAS - Deck 2
2 ACH 3735 Souls
Emergency Triage Center is one of the optional deck layouts for the Science deck. Converting one of the larger lab areas into a field hospital for tending to large scale wounded, this area contains bed after bed after bed, each with it's own monitor hookup, privacy curtain, and power conduits. Every ten beds there is a small duty station with two chairs, a computer terminal storage locker and cabinets with medical supplies. Behind the duty stations are crash carts with emergency treatment gear directly on rolling carts designed for this purpose. The entire area holds a total of eighty beds and leads directly into a secondary area that is used for longer term care of less criticaly injured patients.
Reighner comes in from Medical Bay.
Reighner has arrived.
(OOC note: Right here, Fotilas makes the speech about the destruction of the colonies: Fleet Address)
Reed walks into the room, and stops as people look up, listening to the intercom. Reed straightens as the news hits, and the weight of it seems to not bend the man. He's spent the last day preparing himself for the worst of his suspicions, and as it hits him in wave after wave from Fotilas' voice, he only stands straighter, and takes a breath, "So Say We All." He announces to the room of people. Looking around. "Continue. We're not done with this yet."
Reighner looks down at the floor when the information comes. He stands very still for a moment, looking off to the side, blinking rapidly, head still bent. He clears his throat and looks up, face ashen. "Excuse me." Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he walks away quickly.
Zaharis stands still as Fotilas' voice comes across the intercom. His eyes raise on instinct, even though one can't see the waves of sound coming from the corner speakers. He doesn't seem to react at all for a few seconds, taking it all in with an unreadable expression, then he looks back across the room. Everyone's eyes seem to be shifting between the brass in the room, and he takes a breath before he speaks. "You heard the Major," he says finally, his voice level. "This is our business. The living. The breathing. The injured that need our care." His eyes flicker around. "Look at them and remind yourselves why you're here. Exist here, exist now, keep going. We are still here." He gently folds over the paper in his hands, his head turning slightly as Reighner leaves, though he doesn't follow.
Reed turns to Zaharis and nods, speaking quietly, "Thank you, I don't have the medical connection for that kind of speech instantly." He He grimaces, then smooths out his face, releasing a slow breath, expelling tension from himself in an intense release. "Alright. The Triage is perminant. I didn't know what else to do to directly help Medical." He looks to Zaharis. "I've been working on preperations for the last sixteen hours, now I'm coming back full circle to Medical, Do you know what else you need that I can do?"
Zaharis' eyes shift back to Reed's and hold there, unwavering. His voice isn't tense, just low, businesslike, and focused. "Do you have the capabilities to build isolation rooms in here? We're going to need them if the PAS is going to continue handling serious civilian casualties. I have excellent specs that they can use to set them up."
Reed looks at Zaharis, and runs his tongue over his teeth, looking at him intently, "Captain I can build Isolation rooms that mimic the surface of TER-745 and any form of quarentine you can imagine. What -kind- of isolation?"
Reed looks at his handheld and starts walking, "With me." He moves for the main Sickbay.
Reed leaves for Medical Bay [O].
Reed has left.
Medical Bay Support Station PAS - Deck 2
2 ACH 3735 Souls
Rather than the normal sickbay found on most Colonial ships, the stations medical facility is more reminiscent of a full hospital. The front area is a cool blue color with several on duty staff here organizing patients and logistics of medical supplies. Areas branch off into full wards including, surgical, emergency treatment, quarantine, and others. The facility is quite advanced and while still quite new, can be said to still be having work done to make final adjustments to get everything working.
"Three positive-pressure, three negative-pressure." Zaharis continues looking right at Reed. "Negative pressure is for patients in danger of transmitting infection, positive is for the immunocompromised. Twelve air changes per hour or 145 litres per second per patient. Differential pressure gauges outside the room and a local alarm system to alert in case of fan failures. Good sealing, independent air supply and exhausts. They need anterooms, with each room with a pressure less than the adjacent ambient pressure. The pressure differential between rooms should be no less than 15 Pascals." He recites this by memory, and pulls his handheld out from its side clip on his belt. "I have every detail packaged up, I'll have it to you in five minutes."
Reed moves to the wireless, flicking a switch, "CPO Rogers to Medical." He flips off the wireless and then pulls the handset, punching a number in. He turns, handset to his ear, to look at Zaharis. "Hold onto it for the moment."
[Private] Fotilas says, ""CIC, This is Major Fotilas.""
[Into the Wireless] Reed says, "Carter. Go ahead, Major."
[Private] Fotilas says, "Major. I first wanted to find out if you need anything from us as far as medical teams or casualty assistance."
Zaharis nods, working on getting it ready anyway. As Reed goes to take a wireless call he takes a breath and looks around the reception room, at the many eyes that are following both he and Reed right now. Leaving Reed to his business he turns and heads for the crowd. Time for more CMO-speak to the troops.
[Into the Wireless] Reed says, "I'm looking at the CMO as we speak, Major. We've completed an 80 bed perminant Triage center a few hours ago that's handling things nicely with Casualties." Reed's has some advance warning, having CO'd the Pandora on the first contact, and it seems he's been working solidly on his station since then. "I'm coordinating directly at the moment about further Medical modifications to the PAS. Next item."
[Private] Fotilas says, "Excellent. Next item: Gun crews. I have to brief my Tactical Officer ASAP. Are your defensive systems fully staffed and one hundred percent operational?"
Reed lifts his hand sharply, snapping his fingers at something behind Zaharis. and a man comes in in a CPOs uniform. Reed points to Zaharis, lowering the mouthpiece to speak, "He needs something built. Full authorization as fast as you can get the paperwork to me." The CPO rounds on Zaharis, looking pale, pissed, and he fuels it into his procedure. He snaps to and salutes, "CPO Rogers, Sir. Head of the Colonial Corps of Engineers team for the PAS, you need it, we build it."
[Into the Wireless] Reed says, "Weapons is one huindred percent operational, Weapon crews are thirty percent. We can fire, but guns break down and we'll be slow in repairing them, not having dedicated crews. We have no Weapons specialist to fire them, except me, and I'm only a fair shot with the big guns."
[Private] Fotilas says, "Understood. I'll speak to our Weps officer and see what I can work out for you. Do you need any Marines for onboard security or do you have that handled sufficiently? From what I understand, the Cylons have taken to boarding ships en masse."
[Into the Wireless] Reed says, "All our Marine compliment is on rotation from the Genesis, Major. We have no perminant Marine staff."
Some of the medical staff that's not swamped with patients have osmosed towards Zaharis. Some are composed, some looking pale, one nursing Ensign standing with his shoulders bravely back despite the tears streaming down her face. The CMO licks his lips before he speaks, addressing them all in a quiet voice for a while. His words don't carry back to the wireless, but his hands start to move as he talks, making slow and focused movements along with his words. At one point he gestures to the rest of the bay, his hand opening, then he looks back at them, tapping the blade of one hand once against the other's palm. As he finishes he looks from face to face, watching the nods of various levels of confidence mixed with terror. Slowly he smiles, just a little, then it fades, and he turns back to look at the Engineer sent to him. Nodding, he brings the handheld back out and gets to explaining what they need.
[Private] Fotilas says, "Copy that, Major. That's all I have. Thank you for the time."
[Into the Wireless] Reed says, "Understood. I have a briefing on proposed steps from here ready, if you want to take it or I hold it for the upcoming Staff meeting." That there's going to be one is just not questioned."
[Private] Fotilas says, "If its something that should be resolved sooner rather than later, let's have it. I'll get started on what I can and then present at the meeting what I can't do."
[Into the Wireless] Reed says, "Negative. Later is fine. Fix your ship, Major, we can meet in a few hours if you want and I can lay out the plans to you."
Rogers takes a look at the handheld and squints, he nods, and starts explaining where they can build these facilities so they're connected to the Medical hub.
[Private] Fotilas says, "Sounds good. Find me ASAP for it. I'm not going anyplace."
[Into the Wireless] Reed says, "Copy that, I'll give you a call. Carter out."
[Private] Fotilas hangs up the wireless and ends the call.
Zaharis listens, nodding to Rogers and making some suggestions here and there. The infectious diseases/immunology guy is the one to go to for this stuff. He makes a point to keep Rogers' eyes as much as he can while he talks, finally sending him off to get moving on the designs. A tap on the centre button of his handheld and the specs are on their way to PAS engineering.
Reed racks the handset, and turns, "Rogers." The CPO turns back and moves to Reed, "Sir." Reed says, "Get to work on this, and prepare your team to enact contingency plan 'Dust Off.' On my word." Rogers blinks, then nods, catching on. He salutes, which is returned and leaves. Stalks out more like it.
Zaharis glances back at Rogers as the codewords fly, but he's used to it. He lets them talk, answering a few more of the flood of messages coming into his handheld. One of them makes him glance up and turn around, realising it came from the same room. He catches the eye of the sender, a doctor who looks a little sheepish, and he slowly smiles a trace. Mouthing the words 'Good job' before he looks back at Reed.
Reed looks around as Zaharis does and when he catches the CMOs eye again, he turns, noccing to a quiet corner of the room and walking that way, willing to let the Doctor handle any business before resuming the quiet talk.
Zaharis nods back to Reed, heading that way. He's sidetracked briefly by a nurse grabbing his arm, handing him a wireless headset, and lifts a finger to Reed to ask for a moment. The call's taken quickly, a consult on a surgical procedure, then he hands the thing back and turns to follow Reed into the office.
Reed walks into the office, and when Zaharis is with him, "I feel fairly confident about the Colonels reaction to my proposals, therefore I'm going to say it plainly." He takes a breath, "We're striking the Domes." He lets out a breath, "StarSeed.." His mouth works, then, "WAS important. But there's technologies, resources and raw materials down there in those domes we're going to need. The Colonel and I both have to agree upon scrapping the project. But I'm confident." He turns to Zaharis, "But I will need those men to do it. How critical are these Isolation rooms?"
"Not so critical that they can't put their efforts into the domes first." Zaharis replies, setting his hand on the back of a chair. "If we have a serious civilian emergency in the meantime I can get clearance for the Genesis to take them on."
Reed nods, "Fine. They'll start work on the Isolation rooms till I get the go ahead for the Domes, then I'll pull them off and have them work on that until it's done and then I'll work on the new medical facility. What else?"
"For the moment, nothing structurally," Zaharis says, tapping his finger on the chair back. "I'm going to have the Carina assessed for medical capabilities and see who they have among them trained. When I have a better handle on what will be happening with them and what we may be able to balance out, I'll touch base with you."
Reed nods, "Good." He thinks, "Doctor, I want a single dose of a muscle relaxant, or sedative. For me. Nothing that's going to knock me out, but something that I can take and be sure I'm not going to lay in bed, staring at the celing of my quarters, wasting hours while I try to get some sleep."
Zaharis nods once. "I'll put a prescription in for you for halparol. It's a very mild sleep aid and anti-anxiety agent, non-addictive. You can pick up a bottle from here in about an hour." He pauses, then adds offhandedly, "Unless you'd prefer it be off the books."
Reed keeps staring at Zaharis, "I only want one dose. I haven't slept since I came off the Pandora. I penciled in four hours and wasted three of it before I gave up." He swallows, "I've been turning this over in my head since the Pandora, and have been making preparations for this. I want to resynch my clocks when I do finally start to feel tired. I don't care if it's off the books or on. I just want a single dose to sleep and hopefully I'll be better after sleep."
Zaharis doesn't look away, just watching Reed's eyes. "I'll have a dose in your hand by the time you're ready to go."
Reed nods, "Good. I think you're going to need all the sleep aids and anti anxiety meds you can scrounge up in the future." He considers, "You might also want to check into what you'll need to synthesize drugs and/or grow antibiotic colonies. We need to get onto renewable resources as fast as possible."
Zaharis half-smiles, humourlessly. "I'd already started re-routing some of your labwork while you were on the horn. Hope you don't mind."
Reed returns the humourless smile, "That why we're striking the domes. Ones a Marine station, one's a Botany dome. We'll see what we can get ahold of. I hope you don't mind seaweed."
"Not at all." Zaharis replies, with a single shake of his head. "Apparently seaweed is a heavy metal detoxifying agent, thyroid regulator, tissue healer, anti-inflammatory, and mild anti-viral. I would say…bring it on."
Reed nods, "You're talking to a Terraforming specialist. I know all kinds of tricks." He takes a breath, "Let's make it happen."
"You give us what you got, we'll use it." Zaharis answers, nodding. "We're going to need to get blood donations going, too. From the whole fleet. We have a good supply right now, but nothing derails us faster than a sudden emergency dropping us low. I'll handle it. But just so you know it's coming."
Reed nods, "Got it." He starts for the door, "I should brief Fotilas on Dust Off."
Zaharis holds up a finger. "Two minutes." He turns and steps out the door before Reed can get a word in edgewise. One minute and seventeen seconds later, he steps back in and holds out his hand, palm holding two small yellow pills. "Take them with food."
Reed gets into his pocket, snapping open his handheld carry case, takes the pills, slips them into a pocket in the case and closes it, nodding, "Thank you, doctor."
Zaharis nods, leaving the door open so they can both get back to work. "I'll see you later, Major."