A Break in the Action [pt. 2]

Posted on Mon May 13th, 2019 @ 8:43am by Captain Luka Mahone & Lieutenant Commander Sofia Nikedoros & Lieutenant Gunnar Arnason
Edited on on Mon May 13th, 2019 @ 8:44am

1,534 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Snow Birds
Location: Haumea Colony, Mountain Side
Timeline: MD 04, 1000

The pair continued to tumble, tube flying into the air in a fantastically dramatic fashion, until they both collided into a large tree. For a moment, Asahi truly believed the sickening crunch that followed was one of his own bones breaking. Paired with the sight of blood, it was hard to assume otherwise. He panicked, scrambling back to remove his mess of limbs from the other's, until he heard a groan and a sharp "Ow!"

He stopped, eyes now firmly on Luka's sprawled out form, gaze lowering to the Commander's leg, where the blood was slowly starting to seep through his clothing. Despite Luka's seeming calm, Asahi's head twirled toward the hill, where he knew at least one doctor was, screaming in what he hoped was a voice loud enough for all to hear. "MEDIIIIC!"

Further up slope, Martin was dusting off snow from his own wipe out, but his head snapped up at Asahi's cry. He gripped his poles and reset his skis to push off toward the site of the collision. He held back on speed though, the urge to rush checked by his recent spill - the last thing anyone needed was for him to crash into the people he was coming to help.

Any such caution was absent in the man that flew past him from the top, freeriding like he'd spent half his life on a snowboard and breaking effortlessly just below Asahi before jumping from his board as he unslung a first aid pack. By the time Martin had arrived, the medic was kneeling next to Mahone, running a medscanner - a good precaution, though even as he snapped his ski releases, the doctor was already sure of the primary diagnosis.

"Compound fracture, left femur?" he asked, though it was question only in asking if the medscan showed any other injury.

"Yes, Doctor," Arnason reported, making an instant assumption based on the question. "And several bruises and contusions, but no concussion or internal injuries." Then turning his attention to the patient, he pulled an instant field cast and a hypo from his bag. "You're going to be fine, Commander. I'm going to give you something for shock and pain, then we're going to set and cast your leg, okay?"

"Oh I didn't think it was that bad." Despite the injury, Luka continued his calm demeanor. "I'm sure I can make it over to the-" He moved to sit upright, the movement jostling the leg and causing him to bite back a shout. Defeated, he managed to give a small nod. "... Okay."

~Doctors...~ Gunnar thought, resisting an urge to roll his eyes. Instead he smiled reassuringly and applied the hypo, waiting a couple beats for it to take effect before cutting back the pant leg to get a visual assessment. An edge of bone poked through the skin, but it was barely protruding more than a finger's width. He'd seen worse.

"Not so bad," Martin observed. "Arnason, is it?" Between the slight accent and features so Nordic he would have fit right in back in Minnesota, he had little doubt this was Sofia's NP. "If you get the insta-cast ready, I'll put the break in alignment."

"Yes, Doctor," Gunnar replied as if in answer to both question and directions.

He gently slipped the mesh, which would activate the casting after it was sealed, under the break, while Martin positioned himself to pull and set the fracture as quickly and efficiently as possible. "Are you ready, Commander?" he asked Mahone, since even with the pain killer this was going to hurt.

Luka gave a nod, bracing himself for what he knew was going to be a painful carry. There would be a later moment that would see Luka burying his embarrassment on a medical bed as his leg was on the mend, but it was a shame to worry about then.

Martin gritted his teeth. The set wouldn't be difficult, but he hated causing pain. No other way though... With a quick pull and press the bone was back under the skin and in place. "Done," he said, nodding to both Arnason and Mahone.

Gunnar immediately wrapped the ends of the mesh around the leg and activated the casting foam. Within moments it had filled the mesh and hardened enough to stabilize the break. After gentle squeeze to check that it was solid, he took a scroll-like package from his bag and pulled open it into a stretcher. "Ready for transport."

Ildri had followed along after hearing the commotion. She remained back though as she didn't have any immediate assistance to give. She did wonder if she should provide a distraction for the poor person but couldn't immediately think of anything to point at and was afraid they might accidentally move at the wrong moment.

Asahi remained at the rear as well, color draining from his face the longer the moment went on. He looked between the two attending medical types in a concerted effort to not leap forward and offer some form of assistance, or his intense apologies. "So... is he gonna be okay?" he asked sheepishly.

"Just fine. Osteo regen will have him up and about by tomorrow," Martin assured him. Pausing he gave Asahi a visual once over. "You look a little battered too. Mr. Arnason, could you run that medscanner over him?"

"I'm fine." Asahi quickly countered with, eyes instinctively flashing to the 'offending' device. "I'm more worried about Lu-ah. Er. The Commander."

From his position and, despite the obvious distractions, Luka caught sight of Asahi's clear apprehension. Before another protest could be issued, Luka gave him as firm a look as he could manage. "You let them take a look at you, or I'll come over there and do it myself."

Asahi hesitated, but gave a defeated look toward Gunnar. "Alright... Fine, fine."

Martin quietly made a mental note to have a conversation with Luka once he was feeling better.

"This won't interfere with aiding the Commander," Gunnar assured Asahi, hoping that ignoring his obvious discomfort with medical attention and addressing the concern for Mahone would put him more at ease. "In fact, taking an extra moment to numb the break will be better," he added as he scooped some snow around the cast before going over to Asahi with the medscanner. "Are there any medical issues I should take into account?"

"Well..." Asahi trailed off, eyes on the offending device in Gunnar's hands. "Sort of. I don't think anything will come up from a scan like that though. It shouldn't." He gave the nurse a guilty, caught red-handed look.

Uh-huh. Having seen enough such reactions, Gunnar's fingers twitched fighting an urge to set a more thorough scan. However, with one patient with a bad break waiting transport this wasn't place for it.

He did study the readings somewhat more closely though. "Nothing requiring immediate attention," he reported, looking to the doctor from the Vesta crew (who he assumed was aware of any underlying medical issues). "Though his blood pressure is quite elevated. It might be best to bring him back for monitoring as well."

"I concur," Martin replied, focusing on Luka's vitals and doing his best to sound like that was no more than going along with the on-duty medical officer, who after all would be within his rights to make the call.

Asahi's nose scrunched in distaste at the idea being monitored, but he didn't argue the point. Instead, he gave Luka a concerned look, as the doctor resigned himself to lying in the snow and waiting for transport. "So... should I help you guys get him to the hospital then?"

"That won't be necessary," Gunnar said, deciding that the truth - that anyone with that bp should be sitting quietly, not exerting himself - would not be well received. "The shuttle should be down in moment, so we only need to get Commander Mahone secured on the stretcher."

So saying, he and Martin by mutual unspoken agreement each moved to do just that with Gunnar lifting Luka's upper body and Martin gently shifting his legs. As they heard the small shuttle arriving, Gunnar clasped Luka's hand in brief reassurance. "Don't worry, sir, we'll have you fixed up and back on a board in no time."

"I'm not too worried," Luka admitted, giving a weak smile to Gunnar. "Accidents happen, no one meant anything by it. Just make sure he gets on that shuttle before he gets any ideas." Luka made a weak gesture in what he assumed was Asahi's direction. "You said high blood pressure, I know exactly what that means for him."

Asahi frowned, but decided not to move further from the situation. Instead, he took a step forward, ready to board the shuttle and fuss over Luka as he lay upon the stretcher. "I don't think you're in much position to argue where I go."

"But I am," Martin said firmly, nodding toward the shuttle. He picked up one end of the stretcher to help load Luka on. "Doctor, when you're feeling better, I think we should talk."

"Don't worry." Luka reassured, settling back into the stretcher with an annoyed huff."I'll make sure my schedule is clear for it."

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