Steiner: Doctor Doctor

Posted on 17 Apr 2022 @ 12:13am by Lieutenant JG Hannah Wagner & Chief Deputy Marshal: Ridge Steiner - FMS
Edited on on 06 Feb 2024 @ 10:42pm

Mission: M3 - Into the Deep
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: M3 D03 0800Hrs
1266 words - 2.5 OF Standard Post Measure

Waking up Steiner found his right hand was swollen and tender. When he peeled back the gauze An-Hank-Atha had applied the night before, the puncture wound just above his third knuckle was an ugly red color and oozed yellowish puss.

Once showered and dressed Steiner found his way into the Station’s Medical level and checked in with a receptionist. They took his details and had him take a seat.

A few minutes later a Nurse collected him and took him back to an examination room. “So, Marshal, you’ve the hand injury and checking your record it seems you’re due your Starfleet fitness medical. Since you’re here we’ll take care of that too.”

She took his vitals, made some notes on a PaDD and pointed him to a chair. “Doctor Wagner will be with your shortly:”

The PADD slid across Hannah's desk a moment later and still engrossed in her morning coffee, the doctor simply nodded at the nurse. A long swallow and a sigh followed her picking it up and skimming the information contained within.

Wagner slipped into a labcoat, tailored to her form and stepped out to meet her patient. "Good morning."

"Good morning" Steiner replied as a blonde Human female doctor entered.

Eyes falling to his hand, Hannah's eyebrows raised in surprise. The infection that was visible was quite impressive. "Dr. Hannah Wagner. That." and she gestured to his hand "Looks like it comes with a story attached."

"Yeah..." Steiner nodded ruefully. "Ended up in a slight altercation with a couple of Markalian's last night. Had to punch one of them and his facial barbs bit me back" He peeled off the old dressing and held his hand out for Wagner

"So I can see. " Her lips quirked up in a smile and she gently pressed her fingers over the injury. There was a softness that tracked up the finger into the palm of his hand. ""Well, I'm not sure if the digestive enzymes got you, or the bacteria inherent on the skin but that's seriously infected. Does it hurt?"

"Not really hurt, though it is maybe a little tender, definitely feels stiff and hot though" Steiner admitted

"Alright, well I'll definitely numb the area before I clean it. You're going to need some antibiotics as well, you don't want that infection to spread any further. "

She reached out and wrapped a neural nullify-er around the arm at the elbow and switched it on. It would deaden any pain stimulus going down. "There. Do you feel anything?"

"Just a little tingling from the device" He nodded, which he knew was blocking his own pain signals.

"You know a couple thousand years ago the Romans used electric eels for the same purpose. I glad we're not strapping a fish to my arm!" He grinned, recalling he'd learned that on some history class one time.

"I frequently have similar thoughts. I wonder how we got by medically with some of the treatments I've read about. Positively barbaric at times." She laid his hand on a small platform table that came out from the biobed and laid out an absorbent sheet. A tiny laser scalpel was in her hand, and she activated it, just above where the wound was dripping pus.

Steiner nodded for her to continue and held his hand still on the table "I'm good Doc, let's get it done"

The scalpel lit again and the infection that had been growing in his hand spilled over his skin and onto the sheet below his hand. There was a certain satisfaction in doing that, and even more when she injected some saline into it so she could rid him of all the infection. She suspected that there was some necrotic tissue under it as well. "That is quite impressive. I will probably start you on some antibiotics to keep this from recurring."

Steiner watched the thick yellow pus ooze from the incision, he was not particularly squeamish, but impressive was perhaps not the first term he'd have used.

"Yeah, thank you, I think" He smiled, must be a Doctor thing.

"Not going to any long term issues are there Doc?" He asked

"Once cleaned, there shouldn't be any issues. Your hand will heal fine. The antibiotics are to ensure nothing from your hand got into your bloodstream to make you sick.".

"Understood" he nodded and let her finish up.

It took a while to get all of the infection out, get the wound flushed out with antiseptic and then close it. She wasn't worried about a recurrance of the infection in his finger, but a systemic reaction to it. Markalians bacterial flora were quite different than the human microbiome and it was slightly concerning to her. Reaching out, she pressed a hypospray to his neck. "You will need to come back tomorrow for another dose."

"Ok I can do that" he agreed. "Anything else I need to do?"

"Keep it clean, don't re-injure the area and don't punch anyone with that hand until we're done with the antibiotics." Her eyes twinkled as she spoke those words, amusement in her tone. She was only half kidding.

"I'll do my best not to" Steiner nodded "Learned my lesson on species with facial barbs for sure. So we need to do some Starleet fitness medical too?" He recalled what the intake Nurse had told him

"Oh, are you due for a routine?" muttering under her breath she ran the scanner over him top to bottom. "Press a finger on your uninjured hand to the port there." She handed him a PADD with a small glowing spot.

"Never had a Starfleet one" Steiner confessed "This is my first exchange-assignment with Starfleet" He pressed his finger tip to the PaDD.

"It's an interesting place, the crossover between fleet and marine is quite pleasant. " She commented "I can imagine the clashes between them would've been epic but I haven't seen it yet."

"Hopefully that kind of thing is all in the past" Steiner commented. He had never really understood petty rivalries between various Federation organizations, to him it was fairly cut and dried, you were are good guy or your were not..

"Some others would disagree. I am pleased to see you are of that mindset. " That told her at least he would not be among those fighting should tempers flare. "How do you spend your off time? Decompress? That sort of thing?"

"Time off? What's that? If you mean between cases, oh, your typical off-duty law enforcement activities, sit at home in the dark and work my way through a bottle of hard liquor, miss old girlfriends and brood over unsolved crimes" He joked, knowing it was not so far from the truth for some of his colleagues.

"That was a joke by the way" He clarified. "Although, you know to be honest, it has been a busy couple of years and so I do intend to make the most of a more regular shift system and the facilities here. Although I'll be passing on the bar-fights in future" He grinned

Grinning back the young doctor gave a snort of laughter, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "We'd all appreciate that.". The fact that her specialty was trauma was beside the point, if he was joking. If he wasn't well, at least she'd be useful.

They completed the rest of the required Starfleet physical check-up, Steiner passed.

"Thanks Doc" He said, getting up. "Ill stop by tomorrow for that second dose"

"I'll see you tomorrow" she called after him, waving as she turned to other duties.