FireCacodemon: Welcome back to another chapter of this story.
Derek: Trauma Center belongs to Atlus while the cover image belongs to Aileen-Rose.
FireCacodemon: Well, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 46:
The Medical Board's Decision
"You are aware that your career in the medical world can finish, depending on your answer," Sebastian reminded Derek before he entered the room.
"I'm well aware Sebastian, but I can't leave the medical world until GUILT has been eradicated. It's my fault that it's here so the least I can do is to eradicate it," Derek mentally sighed.
"Well, keep calm and good luck, I'll be standing outside." Sebastian stopped outside the door and watched Derek enter.
To say that Derek wasn't nervous was a lie. His whole body tensed up at the sight of the five or six members of the Medical Board. Three males and three females were sitting down already waiting for Derek. Each of them were wearing a black suit with the males wearing black ties. Each of them had an aura of intimidation around them. Derek could practically feel himself becoming intimidated as the seconds ticked by. None of them really stood out to Derek.
"Take a seat Doctor Stiles," the head member told Derek in a deep, low voice. Derek gently took his seat and the meeting began. "Doctor Derek Stiles, you sit here today under suspicion of a direct link to the terrorist organisation known as Delphi, a group which is in control of the pathogens known as GUILT. Supporting this claim is your confession to the creation of GUILT itself as well as extensive knowledge on the pathogens. Is this right?"
"I admit to the creation of GUILT being from my own research and stupidity but deny working for Delphi. I only became aware of the organisation when they were mentioned at the international conference." Derek spoke confidently and clearly.
"You didn't remember the GUILT when you heard about them, only when certain actions happened triggered the memory. What makes you say that the same can't be done for any other memories suppressed to protect yourself?"
"There's no solid evidence suggesting I'm working with Delphi or against it. I personally don't agree with what Delphi stand for nor their use of my research."
"Would you kindly hand over any research you have about GUILT?" One of the females asked Derek.
"I'm sorry to say that I don't have it on me personally, most of what I've either written down from the memories or recorded from tiny experimentation with the strains would in Victor Niguel's lab. I'd…rather not hand over the research until GUILT has been eliminated or I've put down everything that I could on the files. Handing over incomplete files would only be a step back for me."
"And why is that?"
"There's a chance I'll repeat what has already been done. It wouldn't do anyone any good if I repeat what has already been discovered," Derek did his best to make sure that his reasons for keeping the research was acceptable to the medical board. The medical board started to talk amongst themselves as Derek waited patiently.
Trauma Center: The Trial of Derek Stiles – The Medical Board's Decision
The ward was running smoothly, Angie was talking to her patients as part of her routine. Many of the patients were GUILT victims, all of them were being monitored to make sure that there were no long lasting effects from the GUILT strains extracted from them. Greg…well, he escaped back to Hope hospital before Derek gave a proper examination. Hearing that Greg had discharged himself didn't come as a surprise to Angie and Derek, having worked with him they knew that keeping Greg here as soon as he gained enough energy to move again meant he was going.
"Is Derek still in that meeting?" Tyler came up to Angie and asked her. Angie sadly nodded.
"He's been in there a long while…he's got patients to see and operations to perform."
"Dude, wish they'd hurry up already." Tyler grumbled as he folded his arms and gently rested along the wall of the ward. "We do have a battle…"
A few minutes of silence fell between the two before the doors on the ward were forced open with the paramedics wheeling in another patient. Tyler and Angie moved quickly to get a closer look at the patient and Tyler's face dropped.
"Mrs. Stiles!" Tyler tried to keep his shock from surfacing but it surfaced rather quickly, he didn't have time to control his own emotions.
"This is Delilah Stiles, age forty-nine her friend noticed her decline in hunger before Mrs. Stiles passed out. We're suspecting GUILT but not sure the strain as the ambulance isn't equipped with a Chiral test yet. She's still unconscious with suspected head injury."
"Someone alert Dr. Stiles," Angie commanded as she ran to get a chiral test ready to test for what strain she had. Leslie took action and paged Derek. This was something too important not to be there for.
Trauma Center: The Trial of Derek Stiles – Chapter 46: The Medical Board's Decision
"What condition is she in?" Derek asked Leslie as they were quickly walking down the corridors to return to the GUILT ward.
"Nurse Thompson is doing a chiral test as we speak, by the time we get there…we should know which strain of GUILT Mrs. Stiles has been infected with," Leslie informed Derek.
"I…won't be able to save her…" The realisation hit him with a ton of bricks. There was a rule that doctors couldn't treat relatives. That would put too much pressure on the surgeon whose family member they were operating on and if the operation turned sour and the patient was lost, the surgeon would go through a lot of emotional pain.
"Then…let's just hope it's a strain that Dr. Clarks can cure the strain then," Leslie smiled at Derek, trying to bring his hopes back up again.
"Right…if things go wrong…I…"
"Things won't go wrong, Dr. Clarks is the best surgeon possible after you. As long as we know how to cure the strain then Mrs. Stiles will be in great hands. You've probably got enough on your plate as it is with the medical board breathing down your neck…Even Mr. Sebastian is following us." Once Derek had located which bed his mother was laying in, he tore himself away from Leslie and walked over to Delilah's side and pulled up a chair. He couldn't help but feel that karma had played a part in this.
Laying in the hospital bed was his mother, a taller than average female with long sandy brown hair with pale skin and thin pink lips. Her eyes were closed but she was wired up to machines to check her heart rate and oxygen levels. Another machine that was currently attached to Delilah was the chiral test that Angie was currently running. Someone who was so lively like she was…to arrive here because of Derek's research wasn't something that Derek liked to see or hear, he always knew that this was a possibility but it was only wishful thinking that Delphi never touched his mother's life. If she were to pass away too…Derek wasn't quite sure what to think. His whole composure of being calm around GUILT was scrunched up and thrown away. While he tried to look calm on the outside, Derek was panicking on the inside. Many possibilities were flashing through his mind depending on what strain of GUILT Mrs. Stiles has been infected with. His worst fear was if she had become infected with a new strain of GUILT. There were two more strains that Derek nor Angie had faced before…if that was the case…then they could have another result like Richard. Fighting so hard to only lose at the very end.
"So, we finally meet in person. The famous Dr. Stiles who's been a thorn in our Father's side. About time we took something from you~" Derek's hands slowly curled into fists. Instantly, he knew what had infected his precious mother.
"Triti…You've infected my mother…"
"How can you know…? The test is still running…" Angie looked at Derek.
"You're already at the point where you know what strain I am? That's interesting to hear, so…What strain are you?"
"I know about your telepathic link…How do I hear it when I'm not infected?" Derek asked the Triti. Angie tried to keep as quiet as possible, this was new information to her.
"But can you hear what we're all thinking?" Triti asked.
"Why would I be able to hear what you think? I'm not psychic…"
"Yet you can hear me now when your nurse can't and no one else around you can~
"You communicate to others using some GUILT hive mind…Is that how you know what the others find out?"
"Before you butcher us, GUILT you face quickly transmit what they can to the rest of us before they're killed."
"Does it strike fear? When you hear it?" Derek asked.
"…To any Kyriaki, Deftera, Triti, Tetarti and Pempti. Paraskevi and Savato don't fear your name." Triti admitted to Derek.
"Sorry to break the conversation but the chiral test is complete. The strain is Triti."
"Great…" Derek sighed.
"And you can't operate~" Triti cackled.
"I may not be operating…but I'll still be briefing. Don't worry mother…you'll be GUILT free. Angie, please page Dr. Clarks and the rest of the GUILT team."
Trauma Center: The Trial of Derek Stiles – Chapter 46: The Medical Board's Decision
Angie and Sebastian watched as Derek was pacing around the briefing room while he waited for the GUILT team to assemble. This was going to be hard for Derek as he wouldn't be allowed to operate on the GUILT like he wanted to and he was going to have to put his complete trust in Stephen against a Triti, a puzzle-natured pathogen which could multiply rapidly if the wrong membrane was removed. Angie got up from her seat and walked over to Derek.
"Everything is going to be okay," she told Derek, trying to sooth the pacing surgeon from his worries.
"She's right, if you've already treated Triti before then all you'll need to do is to quickly teach the others on how to cure it and things will be okay," Sebastian smiled at Derek.
"Yeah…you're right…it's just…Triti…" Derek tried to calm himself down. "Just remove the thorns…cut the membrane off and then forceps to remove it…"
"Anything else?" Sebastian asked.
"To make sure that there are no thorns on the same row or column before you remove the membrane or Triti will multiply. When a membrane changes colour to a dark blue, that membrane will cause vital lose more periodically than the other membrane, best to remove it before the vitals drop too low…" Derek said feeling himself calming down. Angie smiled happily before the rest of the GUILT team entered the briefing room with Sidney following them. He was more there to support Derek while the operation was taking place and hopefully to distract him from the operation so he didn't do something stupid.
"So, what strain are we dealing with?" Stephen asked.
"Dr. Clarks and Dr. Chase, you'll be taking part in the operation today as the patient is Mrs. Stiles," Sidney informed Stephen and Tyler. They both nodded in agreement. "Nurse Thompson will be assisting both of you. Dr. Stiles, will you brief them on the operation?" Sidney asked as he turned his attention towards Derek.
"The strain of GUILT that you'll be operating on is called Triti, this is the strain that myself and Angie operated on in Africa. This could be mistaken for one of the easiest strains of GUILT due to the simple fact that it doesn't move. What it does do is multiple when removed incorrectly. Mind if I use the board?" Derek asked Sidney.
"Be my guest." Derek nodded and walked over to the board and picked up a board pen and started to draw the Triti membrane as well as the thorns.
"You'll see triangular patterns on the infected organ, in this case…the stomach." Derek looked over his shoulder at the group.
"How do we remove it?" Tyler asked.
"You'll need to remove the thorns with the forceps and then detach the Triti membranes using a scalpel before switching back to the forceps to remove the membrane. That's when things get tricky."
"How so?"
"If the membranes are removed incorrectly, it triggers Triti to multiply possible three to four membranes. To avoid multiplication, you'll need to remove the thorns which are in the same row and column as the membrane you want to remove. Depending on the pattern, I'd say that letting the Triti multiply can actually make it easier." Derek demonstrated what he meant with the board by putting a ring around one thorn and then in a different colour, showing the thorns that would need to have been removed before they could remove the membrane safely without Triti multiplying.
"This…sounds complicated…" Tyler admitted.
"On a side note, one of the membranes will change colour and will periodically drain the vitals too. So please keep an eye on the vitals. Angie will be there so she can help with the Triti extraction."
"Will you be wanting the extracted Triti?" Angie asked Derek.
"For further into Triti…then yes, I'd like the membranes retrieved from the operation sent to Victor's lab. Any questions?"
"Are you okay?" Tyler asked.
"…Please…save mother…" Derek spoke softly.
"Leave it to us Dr. Stiles, we won't let you down," Tyler smiled at Derek.
Trauma Center: The Trial of Derek Stiles – Chapter 46: The Medical Board's Decision
Derek was sitting back in front of the Medical Board while his thoughts were worrying about the operation currently going on. Sidney was sitting next to him in the meeting as a form of comfort and reassurance that everything would go smoothly in the OR. Sebastian, who had been there in the briefing room glanced between Sidney and Derek before turning his attention back towards the Medical Board.
"Dr. Stiles, is there anything you would like to add which might help your case?" Sidney asked Derek.
"Just one thing…I'm going to make sure I take down Delphi. While they have already crossed the line with stealing my research and turning my research into the weapon it is now, infecting my mother was the final line. I'm going to make sure I destroy Delphi and erase every trace of GUILT and my research from existence." Derek spoke clearly to Sidney.
"You look ready to explode…" Sidney warned Derek.
"Maybe…there's a new fire burning inside me which I'm determined to keep under control. It isn't fair to snap at others who didn't have anything to do with this. GUILT's creation is my fault and I'm stuck here waiting for the medical board to decide my fate as a surgeon while my mother's fighting GUILT and others are becoming infected with it. I want to get out there…I want to eliminate GUILT and take down Delphi."
"This is how I felt when Greg was infected…and possible how Tyler was feeling when Amy was infected."
"But it wasn't their fault they became infected. It was mine. The only way I feel like I can redeem myself is to eliminate Delphi and GUILT."
"You'll get your chance. For now, focus on what's happening right now rather than what you plan to do."
"Think…the operation is going well…?" Derek asked Sidney.
"I'm sure that the operation is going smoothly."
"Dr. Stiles, we are happy to inform you that you'll be keeping your medical licence but there will be a restriction placed on it. This restriction will only allow you to perform operation on GUILT infected patients. Something we know you won't have an issue with. Sebastian will still be watching you while you're on duty at Caduceus. On addition to this, Sidney has agreed that a member of the GUILT team will be present with you while you're outside of shift hours. Do you agree to those conditions?" The board informed Derek. He accepted that he was keeping his licence and having Sebastian watching him while he was on shift…but having someone from Caduceus watch him while he was at home or possibly having a day off? Would Gemma be okay with that or will she hate it?
"I agree." The surgeon spoke clearly to the board. They nodded in acceptance.
"Please remain here while we conjure up a contract for everyone present to sign."
A few minutes later, the contract was signed.
FireCacodemon: Well, that's the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.
Derek: RandomButLoved - I wish I didn't get that reaction either but I wasn't expecting anything else...to be honest. But I'm glad I can continue operating on GUILT victims but ask people say, things have to be bad before they can get better...or something like that.
FireCacodemon: Well, that's all we have time for. I hope you enjoyed that chapter and we'll get to writing the next chapter ASAP. We're hoping to start it soon but life is getting in the way again.
Derek: We'll be back next chapter.
