Another One Joins the Fray

Posted on 10 Jun 2020 @ 10:05am by Commander Marcus Wilcox & Commander Kristiana Petrova

1,351 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Changing Faces
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Just prior to 'Away Team'

Kristiana had heard of a new awakening, a new soul rejoining the fold from the darkness of coma. As such she made her way down to sickbay to meet and welcome this person, not having had the opportunity to read up on them so going in blind. As she tended to do she approached the bed this person was resting on quietly and calmly, taking a seat nearby and waiting for the other to notice her.

It wasn't the first time consciousness had crept across Marcus' mind. However this would be the first time the consciousness made it to a point he could recognize the outside world. Fragments of dreams, thoughts, and memories swirled around his head. He moved a single finger, then two, three, until he flexed one hand. He then performed the same procedure with his left hand. It was only after that he slowly opened his eyes glancing about. "Sickbay," he murmured to himself.

Kristiana smiled softly, an honest smile - a rare sight, but one that made her look ten years younger. "That's right," she spoke gently, looking at him trying to make sense of his surroundings.

"Why? How?" He responded, a little stronger of a voice. The world wasn't settling right yet. He tried to sit up, his body wincing in pain and stiffness in response, forcing him back down. A second attempt to even prop himself up on his elbows failed, once again his body rejecting the mind's even mere notion of moving. A sigh escaped him, as he tried easier tasks, bending his arms slowly, and moving his head around in tiny but ever expanding circles.

"Easy .. Easy. Small steps," Petrova cautioned him. "Concentrate on the hear and now. Concentrate on my voice. Focus yourself," she added measuring her words to a calm cadence. The lights were dim, a nurse was standing by, watching the proceedings, making sure Marcus was alright.

He stopped moving for a moment, his breath slowing but deepening. In a slow but steady move, he got up onto his elbows. He could now see the person talking to him, as well as couple others. "What happened?" He finally uttered after he built the strength from his last maneuver.

"Long story short, ship got hit by an anomaly. Many people were hurt. Some badly. Some ended up in a coma. One that you are now waking up from," Kristiana calmly explained. "Do you remember your name? Or mine?"

"Wilcox, Marcus." He said without hesitation. He looked at her intently. "Second Officer," He replied, his mind raking for a name. For a while his face showed intense thought, but it eventually eased up. The name eluded him, and his thoughts shifted to the anomaly. *What anomaly? How long was he out? How was his Squadron?* Split second emotions crossed his face as he organized his thoughts into comprehensible speech.

"Good. Yes. I'm Kristiana Petrova. How many fingers am I holding up?" she asked, holding up three. At least he was responsive, lucid and his memory seemed to be working. This was all good. But there was yet more to do, a lot more.

“Three. Details of the incident? Status of the squadrons?” His mind was slowly picking up speed. He needed to know more. He felt quite out of the loop, which was starting to nag heavily on him. He was never out of the loop. He propped himself up a little higher. The world went fuzzy for a split second, so he compromised with his body to hold there for a moment.

"Details of the incident are far too numerous to go over here. Suffice to say we're far from Federation space and any support. Your squadrons are - well, your fighters are all intact and operational, but your squadrons are under strength. Some of your pilots are also in a coma," Kristiana admitted, watching him carefully for his reaction. "Angel's acting CAG. He's doing a good job," she added.

Wilcox nodded, which might have been the first subconscious movement he made. Something occurring to him only after the moment. He made great effort and was able to sit up completely, balancing without propping himself on his arms. “I must go see the CAG and the XO and get caught up.” He went to try moving towards getting off the bed, wincing in pain from his one leg. Once again, he stopped to collect himself, some frustration leaking through in his facial expression.

"You're not leaving that bed until the doc says you can. And then you're on light duty until the doc clears you for full duty. Ship's safe, your birds are safe, your crew's as safe as they can be. Angel's doing a good job keeping your seat warm while you're down. And anything else you need happen can go through me," Kris leaned forward to rest her hand on his shoulder as if to calm him. "Things happened, I'll give you a PADD with the rundown so you can get caught up. One of the things that happened is that I'm now First Officer. Means anything you need goes through me."

Marcus opened his mouth to say something but stopped. His brain caught up to his mouth. He had nothing to say. Reason dictated the orders were sound. She was probably right about his condition, even if he didn’t want to admit it. To be stuck in sickbay, he didn’t like it. He cocked his head to the side slightly, wrapping his head more fully around the situation. “Yes ma’am,” reluctantly replying while shifting on the bed slightly. He searched and found the controls to raise the back, and laid back into the bed at an almost upright position. “I would appreciate the PADD ma’am,” He added, his voice flat but sincere.

"Brought one with me, just in case," Kris sat back down again, placing a PADD next to him on his bed. "First point of order, get better. That's an order. While I don't want you overdoing it and taking on heavier duty before you're good and ready for it, we are short handed and I need you back out there. So while you're in there I want you to study that PADD. Once you're up and about, I want you to go see the Captain, get fully caught up on events. Then, I want you to head down to Cargobay Two and speak to Kat Walker. While you were out we picked up an alien AI and - long story short - she's joining the Federation, taking the long distance officer's course, and the Captain has given permission for her to be put inside a Valkyrie. She's proven she's trustworthy and hard working, but I still figure you'd want to meet her."

“I understand my orders,” He replied simply, his voice almost sounding like himself now. His hand moved and rested on the PADD, perhaps giving him some comfort of normalcy eventually in the future. “I will endeavor to meet the Doctor’s expectations.” He took a short breath in, letting his body acclimate to being awake again, before exhaling slowly, purposefully.

She just looked at him for a moment before rising to her feet again. "Maybe some more time in bed will do you good after all," Kris added, doing her best to keep a straight face.

He nodded in agreement, taking another breath before picking up the PADD, but not losing focus of the conversation. “I appreciate your attention to my health.”

She hesitated a moment. He'd snapped shut, she could feel, but that was something for the counselor or a nurse to do something with. "And - ... Consider seeing the counselor too," Kristiana added in as kind a voice as she could muster. "You've been through a lot. It's good to see you awake again Marcus," she concluded before heading out again.

He nodded and closed his eyes, waiting a for moments before opening them again and lifting up the PaDD. When he saw it wasn’t a short report, he took a few centering breaths before diving in.

 

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