Tegan Chronicles STV Style 2:
Rolling in the Deep 6
William Frederick Wellis, 'Fred' was normally a very likable guy and Tegan didn't dislike him, but if she had to hear about his baby one more time she was going to pull out her phaser and shoot herself. She had spent four hours stomping around in thick underbrush and mud listening to Neelix drone on and on about the different plant life; what was edible and what could kill you instantly. It all started to blur together for her and she found herself fantasizing about Captain Janeway and not in a sexual way. No, these fantasies were about how to pay her back for the pleasure of Neelix's field trip to the surface for a crash course in Botany of the Delta Quadrant: 101. And then she had to listen to four hours of Fred go on and on about his plans for his unborn baby boy while they tried to find their way back to the clearing so they could transport back up to Voyager. Something in the thick canopy above them was interfering with the ship's ability to get a lock on them, so onward they trudged.
If she had asked if the sky was blue, Fred would talk about how he was going to program a baseball holo-program for him and his boy. Finally she'd had enough. "You know Fred I don't even think he's your kid. He looked half Vulcan to me. Maybe Hayley and Vorik took a break from engineering and slipped into a Jefferies tube."
"Have you ever done it in a Jefferies tube?" He asked incredulously.
"No."
"I wouldn't suggest it." He grinned knowing she was just yanking his chain.
"What if he's really a she? Technology has been wrong before."
"You said it was a boy."
"I'm just saying." She was enjoying giving him a hard time, there was no doubt he was going to have a son.
"Then she'll just have to be a rough and tumble gir—"
Tegan heard the blast even as it tore through his abdomen. "We're under fire."
She dropped down beside him and pulled him behind the cover of a large tree trunk hoping whatever had shot him would stay on that side of it even as she heard Neelix off to her left talking to Voyager. Her medical training took over pushing the soldier in her out of the way as she tore what remained of the upper part of his Starfleet jumpsuit open to get a better look at the injury. Only seconds had passed but it felt like an eternity as she looked at the gaping wound which was filling with blood. The crimson pool of liquid pulsated as it expanded.
She pressed her fingers and thumb together making a point and thrust her entire hand into the wound blindly feeling around for anything to help her assess the damage. The warm blood oozed onto the sleeve of her uniform which absorbed the fluid wicking it up her arm. So far she was only finding his intestines; she closed her eyes as if she could actually visualize what she was feeling. There, her stomach flipped. She found his aorta, though it was more pliable than she expected it to be, a result of the blood loss.
"Talk to me Wellis." She felt her way up the thick hose like structure.
"Tell her…" He coughed, blood spattering his lips and her face.
She found it, like digging blindly in the sand for a marshmallow peep, a tear in the aorta. Now if she could just plug it.
"I love her."
"You're going to be fine Wellis. Just keep talking to me." She put her thumb over the hole as she heard phaser fire over her shoulder. The Ensign assigned as their security detail was probably crapping in his pants. But she didn't have time to think about what was going on around them. She was in the zone and determined he was going to help his wife with her Lamaze. "You're going to be there when that little girl of yours is born."
"Boy." He coughed again and she couldn't help notice how gray and pasty he had become. "Promise me…"
"Promise you what? Promise you what!" But it was too late. Like a badly scripted Hollywood movie he had expelled his final breath and his head tilted awkwardly to the side. "Damn it. I need help over here."
She did her best to do compressions with one hand while continuing to plug his aorta with the other. She didn't know how long she'd been attempting compressions before Voyager was finally able to get a lock and beamed them directly to sickbay. She felt the ground beneath her change as she continued compressions. A bead of sweat ran down the slope of her nose where it paused for a second before it plummeted from its position landing and intermingling with the blood pooled around her arm that was still impaled in his abdomen.
"Doctor?" Captain Janeway stood beside B'Elanna who had been the one who was finally able to get a lock on them from the sickbay with some input from her.
He pulled his eyes away from the tricorder readings. "He's dead Captain, there's nothing that can be done. He's lost too much blood."
She nodded and looked back at Tegan who still had her arm up to her elbow inside the gaping abdominal wound.
"Tegan," the doctor spoke softly, "he's gone."
"Hang in there Wellis." She continued to rhythmically compress his chest with the palm of her biomechanical hand. She didn't slow despite the seasick feeling in her head. "I'm not giving up, don't you."
"Dr. Kiser." The Captain's voice was strong as if she could breakdown any barrier with it alone. "There is nothing more that can be done." She waited a few seconds watching the desperation and determination etch its way deeper into her features despite the obvious exhaustion. "Lieutenant!"
"She's in the zone Captain." B'Elanna recognized the look. "She can't hear you." She gave Janeway a questioning look.
Janeway took a deep breath and nodded, there was no other way.
B'Elanna growled lightly preparing herself for battle and reached down grabbing Tegan from behind in a giant backwards bear hug. Despite the difference in height B'Elanna was surprised at how easy it was for her to pick her up and pull her back. Her arm making a sucking sound as it was pulled free of Fred's abdominal cavity. The ease with which B'Elanna was able to perform the action allowed Tegan to catch her off guard when she started to struggle to free herself so she could return to her task of saving Ensign Wellis.
"Let go of me." She elbowed B'Elanna in the ribs knocking the air out of her lungs but the shorter half Klingon woman continued to hold on even as she was spattered with the blood being slung off Tegan's arm.
"Lieutenant stand down." Janeway knew if she didn't she was going to have to shoot her with Neelix's phaser, order the doctor to sedate her, or quite possibly both.
As soon as she heard and processed the order Tegan stopped struggling against B'Elanna. When B'Elanna loosened her grip she jerked away and stood tall staring straight ahead.
"Does someone want to tell me what happened?" Captain Janeway looked at the shell shocked group waiting for any kind of explanation.
Tegan moved her eyes down to meet the Captain's. "We were making our way back to the clearing so Voyager could get a transporter lock on us when a shot came out of nowhere hitting Ensign Wellis. That's all I know."
"It was a Hirogen Captain." Neelix spoke up his eyes never leaving Tegan. He had never seen anyone do what she'd done.
"Alright." Janeway heaved a heavy breath. "I'll notify Hayley Wellis."
"Captain," Tegan turned her face to her, her eyes pleading. "I'd like to take care of that."
"As captain it's my responsibility." Janeway sighed. "But you're welcome to be present when I do. In the meantime you need to get cleaned up and let the Doctor check you over."
"Yes ma'am."
"I can already tell you she's in a state of shock Captain; otherwise she would have told you she was 'fine'."
"I am fine," she ground out between her teeth.
"Use the shower off of sickbay please and you might want to run both the hydro and sonic showers." He looked in the general direction as he spoke.
"I'll be here when you're done." Janeway assured her before turning back to the Doctor. "I want him transported to the morgue for now. I want the rest of you to be transported to your quarters and stay there until I've notified Hayley, I don't want her to know you are back yet. B'Elenna you need to shower here too and then I want you to take the rest of the day off. Thank you for your help."
"No problem Captain."