Chapter Three: Pilots down
It is 0520 hours on Saturday morning when Krista walks into the officer bunk after flying in last night combat air patrol group, Krista looks around the room and sees that Sharon and Lt. Anders (Jolly) are asleep. Krista opens up her locker and puts her helmet into the locker and at the same time CAG Major Jackson Spencer (Dipper) walks into the officer bunk and over to Krista with a worry look on his face.
"Yawning what is on your mind Dipper, I was in a cockpit all night and I am tired?"
"Your sister went to sickbay after asking you to take her shift last night and has been in sickbay all night."
"Thanks for letting me know."
At the same time Krista takes the pilot belt off, then set the pilot belt on the top shelf of the locker. Krista sits down on her bunk and the CAG sits down on top of the table and he is watching the older Thrace sister. At the same time Krista's take the two bottles of antibiotics and the pain pill bottle off the shelf of her bunk bed and a get both of her antibiotics out of the bottles and two pain pills out the bottle. After putting the lids on the medicine bottles Krista grabs the water bottle off the shelf, then put the pills into her mouth and take a drink of water. Krista then takes her flight suit boot off and stands up form the bunk. Krista takes her flight suit off, then hangs the flight suit in her locker and set the boot on the floor of the locker, then notices that Major Jackson Spencer is watching her.
"Is there something else that you need to tell me Dipper?"
"Doctor Cottle has taken your sister off flight duty for the next ten days because of double middle ear infections and walking pneumonia. I have to look at the flight schedule and find someone to fill in for your sister, are there any days that you do not want to be added onto the schedule?"
"Tomorrow, because it is my birthday."
"That right and you turn 30 years old tomorrow, I can give you tomorrow off. Will you be all right taken an extra shift today?"
"If you need me to I will, but can I get some sleep first?"
"Sure, but I have a question for you, Krista is this round of antibiotics working because I notice you take two pain pills with the antibiotics?"
"I think the antibiotics are starts to working,"
"Good and I will go redoing the flight schedule now in the flight ready room."
Major Jackson Spencer walks out off the officer bunk and shut the hatch door behind him. At the same time Krista grabs her old fade gray oversized nightshirt that say Colonial Fleet Academy out of her locker and then changes into the nightshirt. Krista lay down on her bunk then shut her eyes and is thinking why did I lie to the CAG and tell him that I think this round of antibiotics is working when I do not think that there are working. At the same time Krista grabs her lower right abdomen and slowly drifts off to sleep. Krista's does not wake up until someone shakes her left shoulder. Krista open up her eyes to see the CAG standing beside her bed, Krista sits up in her bunk and rubs her eyes.
"Krista it is 1100 hours and time for you to get up and change into your green battle dress uniform and flight suit and head to the forward port side hanger deck for the pre flight check on your viper mark seven number 3021 for the combat air patrol group that start it rounds at 1200 hours because you are replacing Starbuck in the combat air patrol group this afternoon."
"I am up. You are flying in that group too right?"
"Yes."
"I will see you in the hanger deck then."
Major Jackson Spencer walks out of the officer bunks and shut the hatch door behind him. Krista takes her afternoon antibiotics and two more pain pills and then slowly gets out of bed holding her right side. Krista then gets her green battle dress uniform, helmet, pilot belt, flight suit and flight suit boots and set them on her bunk. Three minutes later Krista is walking to the forward port side hanger deck, wishing that she was still in bed. Once at the hanger deck Krista walk over to her viper that in the second space on the right side of the forward hanger deck and set her helmet down and then start the external inspection, but when she goes to look at the undercarriage she gets a stabbing pain in her right side. Krista gives the undercarriage a quick look and then moves on and does not notice the leak in the Hydraulic lines. At 1209 hours Krista is sitting in her viper with her helmet on and is in the launch tube and Krista has just assume launch position. The chief of the deck gives the ok for Phoenix viper to be launch into space and the viper launch out of the launch tube into space at 1210 hours.
"This is Phoenix to Dipper and the chief of the deck and I have joined the CAP (combat air patrol group)."
"Phoenix this is Dipper you are ten minutes later."
"I do not know I was flying the afternoon patrol until 1100 hours Sir!"
Dipper looks over at Krista through the window of his viper and gives her a look that say be on time from now on. Krista looks at the CAG and at the same time the CAG start to talk again.
"Phoenix I want you to fly over to the starboard side of the ship and patrol that area with Jolly."
"Yes sir!"
Phoenix flies past Dipper and then flies by Sheppard and flies over to the starboard side of the ship. When she reaches the starboard side of Galactica Jolly looks out the left side of his viper cockpit and then he gives Phoenix a smile and hit his communication button to talk to Phoenix.
"I thought Starbuck was my wing man this afternoon?"
"No you get me because doctor Cottle has taken Starbuck off flight duty for the next ten days because of double middle ear infections and walking pneumonia."
"Look like you will get to spend more time with me the next ten days."
"Just what I wanting Jolly!"
The two pilots stop talking and Phoenix let Jolly take the lead and follow him. Five minutes later Phoenix notices warning light flashing. Phoenix takes a close look at the warning lights and sees that there is a Hydraulic leak. Phoenix pulls up the hydraulic status on the computer screen and sees the viper is running very low on Hydraulic fluid. Phoenix takes a deep breath and gather her thought really fast and then hits the communication button.
"Jolly, Dipper, rest of the CAP and chief of the deck this is Phoenix and I need to make an emergency landing, I have a Hydraulic leak and I am running very low on Hydraulic fluid."
"This is the chief of the deck and the port side landing bay is clear for you to make an emergency landing Phoenix."
"I'm on my way right now chief over and out."
Phoenix flip the viper around and start flying toward the port side landing bay. Meanwhile in the control room the chief of the deck is watching the monitors and keeping an eye on viper mark seven number 3021, which is Phoenix viper and sees that she is coming toward the landing bay to fast, he hits the communication button to talk to Phoenix.
"This is Chief of the deck to Phoenix you are coming in too fast you need to slow down."
"I am trying."
Phoenix slower down some and at the same time near the door of the landing bay, she hit the control to lower the skid (landing gear) and a few moments later fly into the landing bay, but her skids do not come down. Krista's viper sidles the whole lengths of the land bay and then the right side of the viper hits the wall of the hanger deck. Phoenix knees hit the dash of the viper and then her lower right leg slams into the wall of the cockpit and stabbing pain shoot through her fibula (lower leg bone) and the talus (ankle bone). Meanwhile the chief of the deck runs out of the control room and runs toward the viper and so does the other deck crew. Commander Adama and Kara who wearing a dark ivory sickbay gown come running down the stairs and over to Phoenix viper and at the same time in the cockpit Phoenix open up the canopy then pulls her helmet off. Cally take the helmet from Krista and then Krista stands up, but fall backwards onto the seat of the cockpit. Krista stands up again and this time Kara grabs a hold of her older sister before she falls and then Kara help Krista out of the cockpit, when Krista feet hit the floor of the landing bay she lifts the right ankle off the floor. Kara looks at her older sister and at the same time Krista pull away from her little sister and tries to walk, but between the pain in her right side and the pain in her right lower leg Krista is in too much pain to walk. Krista starts to fall forward and Kara grabs her older sister and start to put her left arm around Krista.
"Ahem Commander Adama I think that we should get my sister to the sickbay and have doctor Cottle take a look at her lower right leg."
"Kara I am fine!"
"You can't walk!"
"Yes I can."
Krista pulls away from her younger sister and start to walk toward the stairs, but after a few steps the room begins to spin and Krista blocks out and start to fall forwards. Commander Adama runs over to Krista and catch Krista before she hits the floor. commander Adama carrying Krista starts walking out of the hanger deck and Kara's is following close behind commander Adama, hold the back of her hospital gown close with her left hand. Adama and Kara take the fastest way to sickbay and doctor Cottle is waiting for Krista, Adama and Kara at the door of the sickbay.
"Take her to the imaging scanner and lay her so her legs go in first, then get her flight suit, pilot belt and boots off."
Commander Adama takes Krista into the room that the image scanner in and then he lays Krista's down on the patient table. Adama then takes off Krista's pilot belt, the boots and then removes her flight suit. Then commander Adama walks out of the room and walk up to the glass window next to Kara and at the same time Doctor Cottle hit the button that moves the patient table into the scanner. Doctor Cottle then starts to do a full body scan, Kara and commander Adama watch through the glass window as doctor Cottle does the scan. Kara can see out of the corner of her eyes that doctor Cottle is seeing images of fracture that Krista got as a child and teenage. An hour later the image scan is done and Kara, commander Adama and doctor Cottle walks into the room that the Image scanner in and doctor Cottle puts the scans up on the light board.
"Krista fracture her right fibula and talus in the viper crush and has patellar contusion on both knees (bruised kneecaps) when her knees hit the viper dash, but did not fracture her kneecaps or tear anything in her knees. She will have to wear some knee sleeves on both knees for a few weeks and a fracture walking boot on the lower right leg for six weeks. But I am more worried that the antibiotics that I have her on are not keep the appendicitis under control and she needs to have the appendix remove right away."
Kara and commander Adama watch doctor Cottle walks out of the room and then Kara and commander Adama watches as the doctor and nurses set up the clear plastic drapes around middle area that is in the center section of the sickbay and ten minutes later a nurse wheel Krista into the area on a stretcher. Kara walks over to the bed that she has been using, which is across from where Krista is having surgery and lays down on the bed. Commander Adama walks over to Kara bedside, as Kara pulls the blanket up. Commander Adama looks down at Kara and can tell that she is worried about her sister, but can also tell that the last dose of the cough suppressant, antibiotics, pain pills for the ear pain have starts to work and that the cough suppressant is making her tired.
"Kara your sister will be fine. She is in great hand with doctor Cottle."
"Sniffling keep an eye on her, while I try to get some rest."
"Sure Kara."
Kara lays down and shut her eyes, at the same time commander Adama walks up to the clear plastic drapes and watching doctor Cottle perform the appendectomy, which takes thirty-five minutes, once the appendectomy is done a nurse put a sickbay gown onto Krista, then puts white knee sleeves on each of Krista knees and then puts an air shield walking boot onto Krista's lower right leg in a standard full lower leg and then pumps the walking boot full of air. A few minutes later two nurse move Krista's to the bed next to Kara and one of the nurse put Krista right leg up on two pillows and the other nurse starts an IV. Then both of the nurses walk away from Krista to check on other patients in the sickbay. Twenty minutes later Krista wakes up and the first thing she sees is the two white knee sleeves and then the light gray air shield walking boot on her lower right leg and sees that the walker boot has a hard tough plastic sides and foot, with remove plastic front and back to get the right fit. There is also comfortable soft gray foam on the insides of the walking boot and five straps closer four on the leg and one across the center of the foot. Krista then notices an IV in her right hand, then looks to her left and sees her little sister laying on the bed next to her. Kara smiles at her older sister and at the same time Krista starts to sit up in the bed, but feel some pulling on the lower right side of her abdomen.
"Kara how did I get to the sickbay, the last thing I remember is walking toward the stairs in the hanger bay?"
"Ahem you pass out and commander Adama brought you to the sickbay. You have a fracture right fibula and talus and patellar contusion on both your knees from the viper hit the hanger wall and doctor Cottle performed an appendectomy to remove your appendix."
At the same time the chief of the deck and commander Adama walks into the sickbay and walks up to doctor Cottle and doctor Cottle start talking to Adama and Galen Toyl. Krista's raise the head of the hospital bed so that she is sitting up and a few minutes later doctor Cottle, Adama and Galen Toyl walk over to the beds that Kara and Krista are laying on, with the heads of the beds rise so they are sitting up. Doctor Cottle lifts the clipboard off the end of Krista's bed and looks at her paperwork that is clipped to the clipboard.
"How are you feeling and are you in any pain Krista?"
"I feel fine and my right lower leg and knees hurt a little, but the pain is manageable."
"That is because I have you on an IV drip of Morpha. I also have you on IV antibiotic for another four days. I will reduce the Morpha over the next three days and on the fourth day you will go back to using Morpha in pill form when you need it. Once you are off the IV antibiotic you can go back to the officer bunk. In addition to get to the head the next four days you will be using a wheelchair and once the IV is out you will have to use crutches for five weeks and three days maybe longer it depends on how fast your leg heals at four weeks I will redo the image scan of your right lower leg to see how the leg is healing and how much longer you will need to use the crutches. I going to go and let the chief of the deck Galen Toyl talk to you now."
Doctor Cottle puts the clipboard back on the end of the bed, then he walks away from Commander Adama, Toyl, Kara and Krista and heads to his desk. Galen Toyl walks in between the two beds and leans against the walk. He then crosses his arm across his chest. At the same time Commander Adama takes a seat on the end of Kara's bed so he is looking at Krista. Dr. Cottle put the chart on the end of the bed and then he walks away from Krista's bed.
"What do you need to talk to me about Chief?"
"When you did the external inspection of the undercarriage of your viper did you notice the hydraulic lines leaking?"
"No, but I should have taken more time doing the external inspection of the undercarriage, I just did a quick look, which I will never do again. Is my viper totally or can it be fixes?"
"It has some damage to the right side, but the viper can be fixes if the two of us work together on fixes it."
"Good and I will not be flying for awhile, so I will have lots of time to work on the viper. "
"I need to get back to the hanger deck Krista."
The chief of the deck walks out of the sickbay and then commander Adama stand up from Kara bed and looks at his two best pilots and can tell that both of them are exhaust, Adama then looks at his watch.
"I need to get back to the CIC Starbuck and Phoenix and I want both of you to rest and get back on your feet."
"(Kara and Krista)Yes sir."
Commander Adama walks over to doctor Cottle's desk and talks with him for a few minutes and then walks out of the sickbay and heads to the CIC to check in with his Executive Officer Saul Tigh.