Elrond and Glorfindel looked up from the monitor they had been watching and
then Elrond, with a hand to Glorfindel's shoulder, walked over to Erestor
and the struggling Sam.
"Good afternoon Samwise. Erestor." He smiled imperturbably. "Erestor, if you will put the hilt in the isolation chamber there along the back wall, I shall take care of Master Gamgee."
Nodding, the elven lord went and did as he requested.
The healer took a moment to look at the anxious Samwise, whose face moved between horror, terror and anger.
Elrond's heart went out to the fearless little hobbit. Here he was surrounded by sights and technology he had no way of coping with. But because of his loyalty to his friend Frodo, he would brave all this and more for him.
He put a hand on the back of the gardener's neck sending energy into him to take the edge off his fear.
Sam sighed quietly and blinked. He felt better suddenly, and all this was not so mind-numbing. At least, not too much. He rolled his shoulders as the healer removed his hand and straightened up.
Elrond smiled at his small guest as he relaxed. There were many ways to approach this dedicated intruder.
He could simply render him unconscious and make him forget all about his visit to the Elbereth. He would probably have to do that regardless. Or, he could let him watch and satisfy his curiosity, since that was what had brought him to the ship. And then send him to sleep.
He smiled, making his decision and led Sam over to the stasis chamber.
"Since you have come all this way Master Gamgee to see how Frodo is doing, here he is. We have him stabilized at the moment, but Sauron's evil is proving to be a formidable foe."
Still aghast at the environment he found himself in, Sam could only gape at the recumbent Frodo. He looked no worse than he did before, but Sam could not tell if his chest was rising and falling. This brought back to mind his earlier fear that Frodo had died.
He looked around while Elrond sat reading flickering words of some sort on a surface that somehow was lit from within, as if a candle was behind it.
And the way these elves were dressed! Tight white tunic and trews and strange bracelets on each wrist.
Sam eyed the elven lord out of the corner of his eye and shivered. He looked even more unusual here than he did in Rivendell. Or was this still the elven refuge? Shuddering Sam decided he did not want to know the answer to that question.
No matter where they were, nothing looked familiar. Even the chairs they sat in were all curved and smooth. The very floor itself was the most unusual wood or tile he had ever seen. And though there were no rugs, the dark blue gray floor felt slightly springy under his feet.
And the lights! He could not see the candles or lamps that made the light and to be honest, he had never seen a room this brightly lit in his life. There were no shadowy corners or cozy circles of candlelight. Or even the welcome glow of a fire. Yet the room felt perfectly comfortable.
Dazed in spite of Elrond's calming touch, the hobbit looked about in confusion. This was all a wonder to be sure!
But amazing things notwithstanding, what was the elven healer up to with Mr. Frodo? Why was the dear soul so very, very still?
"I see Mr. Frodo lying there, but he doesn't look any better to these eyes." Sam said bravely, his throat too dry for a swallow. "If you don't mind me saying, he looks, well, dead." Sam felt unbidden tears well up as he said that dreadful word and he brought a hand to his mouth.
Seeing the hobbit's distress, Elrond knelt in front of him and put both hands on his shoulders. "Oh no Sam. Frodo is not dead! I have just not finished my treatment of him. His body is so very still in hopes this will slow the ...poison in his system. He can be revived momentarily. Would you like to see?"
As Sam bobbed his head in agreement, Elrond added, "The Morgul blade is a complicated evil and cannot be bested quickly. Now, if you would like to watch, you may, but you need to step out of the way."
Nodding Sam did as the healer requested. Uncertain about this place that he found himself in at the moment, he was already afraid to move. But if he could indeed revive Frodo...
Lord Elrond moved to the stasis chamber and cycled it down, while Glorfindel fed the computer commands to raise Frodo's body temperature and to bring him gently back to consciousness.
In a few minutes, awestruck, Sam saw Frodo blink his eyes and look around, slightly confused. Elrond immediately went into the chamber and gathered up the little one and brought him back to the main examining table, Sam following.
Laying the Ringbearer down he warmed the air around the small form slightly higher than body temperature to take off the chill of the stasis.
Frodo blinked and then smiled broadly at his companion. "Sam! You are here! I am so glad to see you!" He made to shift on the table, but was detained by the gentle hand of Glorfindel, who smiling shook his head in the negative. The elven lord continued to replace the glucose IV as well as the catheter.
His warm hands passed lightly over Frodo's flesh, easing any pain the processes might engender.
Frodo watched surprised and a bit anxiously, as the elf lord slipped the needles into him with no discomfort. Perhaps those straws did not really enter his flesh, but, but...he could not think what else, but his amazement stayed with him as he turned to Sam's beaming face. It was so good to see Sam again!
Sam took Frodo's cold hand and rubbed it between his. "I am here make no mistake Mr. Frodo. I have been so worried about you! But-but Lord Elrond says all will be well." He threw a glance to the tall physician standing right behind him. "Yes Frodo, Samwise wanted to make sure you had come to no harm under my care. But I must continue my treatment, which means you must sleep again. I promise, when next you waken, all will indeed be well."
Frodo nodded and Sam, overcome by Frodo's not being dead, kissed his friend's hand.
Lord Elrond softly laid a hand across Frodo's eyes and the Ringbearer slipped into deep sleep once again.
"See Samwise, I did not tell you false. Frodo is fine and will get better as soon as I am able to finish my treatment."
Sam smiled at the healer as he quickly rubbed his eyes.
Moving reluctantly away to stand by a plain white wall, Sam watched as Glorfindel and Elrond went to the isolation chamber and did some preliminary tests on the Morgul blade.
Erestor, watching all this silently, went and joined the two elves, holding a quiet conversation with them. He soon bowed slightly and left, and joined by the smiling Mithrandir, the two left sick bay.
Leaving the blade for the moment, Elrond turned to the hobbits. Sam he was glad to see, though still frightened, had his attention riveted by Frodo's pale form on the table.
Looking at the readout above Frodo, the Elbereth's captain realized that the only way to stop the nanobot was to go in after it himself.
Preparing the surgery for the delicate work ahead, the elf lord put all into readiness for his patient, including priming and setting the fine laser scalpels he would have to use.
The small gardener shifted nervously at his place as the two elves went to either side of the Ringbearer.
All these things! They had better be making Mr. Frodo better and not just be there for a lot of show!
Elrond gave the hobbit one more injection.
Sam was very puzzled by the hypo. "What was that my lord? What did you just do to Frodo's neck?" he called out from his observation post along the wall.
"It is just a quick way to give Frodo some much needed medicine, Sam."
Sam nodded uncertainly and then shook his head. The Gaffer would have a few words to say about that! And a few more to say about all the rest of this as well!
"And all those other things you have stuck into Frodo? They don't hurt him?? You're not torturing him now are you?"
"Sam, of course not." Elrond turned to the hobbit, his eyes intensely focused on Sam's. "No Sam, Frodo is in no pain, this I swear. All these devices are helping him to get well. That is why we are here and not in Frodo's room. Now I must ask for no more questions from you."
Sam nodded and biting his lip, went quiet.
The elf lord looked at the monitor and noted the position of the nanobot. Activating the finest setting for his scalpel, the elf lord directed the thin, near-microscopic blade at a point in Frodo's chest. As the blood slowly welled up from the incision, Glorfindel suctioned it up, keeping Elrond's work area clear.
Pulling back the tissue, Elrond took a very fine probe and introducing it into a vein, he watched on the monitor as it got closer to the invading device. Just about to destroy it, the 'bot sent a charge into the probe, rendering it useless.
Elrond quickly slide the probe out of Frodo and watched with furrowed brow as the nanobot continued down the vein toward Frodo's heart. His only recourse now was to do the surgery with a non-laser scalpel, probe and suction.
Looking at Glorfindel he sighed. "I am going to stop the 'bot myself and I will need you to continue to help with the suction. But we don't want the 'bot in the bowels of the Elbereth, either. Let us set up a small containment field and a shunt to direct the flow of blood to it."
Glorfindel nodded and the two elves go to work.
Sam watched all their swift movements, jaw slightly hanging open. The more the elves did, the more amazed he grew. He had seen nothing like these devices, not even at the Great Northern Faire held in Bree every five years. The Dwarves themselves could not produce such...machineries.
But machineries or not, Frodo had better improve or they would have Samwise Gamgee to answer to!
Satisified with his preparations, the elven healer began his painstaking surgery on Frodo's chest.
The delicate operation took over an hour as Elrond had to constantly watch the motions of the nanobot and not alert it to his presence. It was very much a bit of hide and seek, because the intelligent 'bot was very sensitive.
Taking a very tiny suction device, he watched the screen above Frodo until the nanobot was within range. Then, quickly releasing the suction, pulled out Sauron's evil 'bot and sent it to the containment field box where it would rest until they two elves could remove it further to be destroyed.
Sighing, he sealed up the incision on Frodo's chest and taking a careful look at his stats he was satisfied that now Frodo would be on the mend.
But to be on the safe side, the physician decided to go ahead with his cleansing transfusion to make sure that any traces of poisons in Frodo's system were neutralized and cleaned out.
Making the chemical combination he needed, he slipped a needle into Frodo's arm and set the transfusion to pumping. It would take about two hours to clean Frodo's blood completely.
Glorfindel, finished with adjusting the oxygen feed and the glucose IV, covered up the little hobbit and began taking off his sterile cuffs.
"Wait a moment Glor. We need to finish with the Morgul blade hilt. By the Valar, we do not want any of those getting loose and wreaking further havoc."
Nodding the blond elf moved over to the isolation chamber.
The two elven lords were not happy with what they saw in the computer screen regarding the analysis of the blade. It had not been manufactured on Middle Earth and had undoubtedly been brought with Sauron to this world.
The hilt had a store of several thousand nanobots. Glorfindel looked at his captain. "Well, should we destroy the hilt or keep it as a souvenir?"
Elrond peered at the device and then came to a decision. "I do not want something like this getting loose on the planet, or the ship. Destroy it if you please."
Nodding the elf lord pressed a series of buttons and the two watched as an actinic laser beam began to cut into the hilt.
And then the unexpected happened.
The hilt began to glow until it was too bright to look at and then, it exploded silently, shattering the isolation chamber and flinging both elves to the floor.
Sam, on the other side of the room, was the only one left standing.
"Good afternoon Samwise. Erestor." He smiled imperturbably. "Erestor, if you will put the hilt in the isolation chamber there along the back wall, I shall take care of Master Gamgee."
Nodding, the elven lord went and did as he requested.
The healer took a moment to look at the anxious Samwise, whose face moved between horror, terror and anger.
Elrond's heart went out to the fearless little hobbit. Here he was surrounded by sights and technology he had no way of coping with. But because of his loyalty to his friend Frodo, he would brave all this and more for him.
He put a hand on the back of the gardener's neck sending energy into him to take the edge off his fear.
Sam sighed quietly and blinked. He felt better suddenly, and all this was not so mind-numbing. At least, not too much. He rolled his shoulders as the healer removed his hand and straightened up.
Elrond smiled at his small guest as he relaxed. There were many ways to approach this dedicated intruder.
He could simply render him unconscious and make him forget all about his visit to the Elbereth. He would probably have to do that regardless. Or, he could let him watch and satisfy his curiosity, since that was what had brought him to the ship. And then send him to sleep.
He smiled, making his decision and led Sam over to the stasis chamber.
"Since you have come all this way Master Gamgee to see how Frodo is doing, here he is. We have him stabilized at the moment, but Sauron's evil is proving to be a formidable foe."
Still aghast at the environment he found himself in, Sam could only gape at the recumbent Frodo. He looked no worse than he did before, but Sam could not tell if his chest was rising and falling. This brought back to mind his earlier fear that Frodo had died.
He looked around while Elrond sat reading flickering words of some sort on a surface that somehow was lit from within, as if a candle was behind it.
And the way these elves were dressed! Tight white tunic and trews and strange bracelets on each wrist.
Sam eyed the elven lord out of the corner of his eye and shivered. He looked even more unusual here than he did in Rivendell. Or was this still the elven refuge? Shuddering Sam decided he did not want to know the answer to that question.
No matter where they were, nothing looked familiar. Even the chairs they sat in were all curved and smooth. The very floor itself was the most unusual wood or tile he had ever seen. And though there were no rugs, the dark blue gray floor felt slightly springy under his feet.
And the lights! He could not see the candles or lamps that made the light and to be honest, he had never seen a room this brightly lit in his life. There were no shadowy corners or cozy circles of candlelight. Or even the welcome glow of a fire. Yet the room felt perfectly comfortable.
Dazed in spite of Elrond's calming touch, the hobbit looked about in confusion. This was all a wonder to be sure!
But amazing things notwithstanding, what was the elven healer up to with Mr. Frodo? Why was the dear soul so very, very still?
"I see Mr. Frodo lying there, but he doesn't look any better to these eyes." Sam said bravely, his throat too dry for a swallow. "If you don't mind me saying, he looks, well, dead." Sam felt unbidden tears well up as he said that dreadful word and he brought a hand to his mouth.
Seeing the hobbit's distress, Elrond knelt in front of him and put both hands on his shoulders. "Oh no Sam. Frodo is not dead! I have just not finished my treatment of him. His body is so very still in hopes this will slow the ...poison in his system. He can be revived momentarily. Would you like to see?"
As Sam bobbed his head in agreement, Elrond added, "The Morgul blade is a complicated evil and cannot be bested quickly. Now, if you would like to watch, you may, but you need to step out of the way."
Nodding Sam did as the healer requested. Uncertain about this place that he found himself in at the moment, he was already afraid to move. But if he could indeed revive Frodo...
Lord Elrond moved to the stasis chamber and cycled it down, while Glorfindel fed the computer commands to raise Frodo's body temperature and to bring him gently back to consciousness.
In a few minutes, awestruck, Sam saw Frodo blink his eyes and look around, slightly confused. Elrond immediately went into the chamber and gathered up the little one and brought him back to the main examining table, Sam following.
Laying the Ringbearer down he warmed the air around the small form slightly higher than body temperature to take off the chill of the stasis.
Frodo blinked and then smiled broadly at his companion. "Sam! You are here! I am so glad to see you!" He made to shift on the table, but was detained by the gentle hand of Glorfindel, who smiling shook his head in the negative. The elven lord continued to replace the glucose IV as well as the catheter.
His warm hands passed lightly over Frodo's flesh, easing any pain the processes might engender.
Frodo watched surprised and a bit anxiously, as the elf lord slipped the needles into him with no discomfort. Perhaps those straws did not really enter his flesh, but, but...he could not think what else, but his amazement stayed with him as he turned to Sam's beaming face. It was so good to see Sam again!
Sam took Frodo's cold hand and rubbed it between his. "I am here make no mistake Mr. Frodo. I have been so worried about you! But-but Lord Elrond says all will be well." He threw a glance to the tall physician standing right behind him. "Yes Frodo, Samwise wanted to make sure you had come to no harm under my care. But I must continue my treatment, which means you must sleep again. I promise, when next you waken, all will indeed be well."
Frodo nodded and Sam, overcome by Frodo's not being dead, kissed his friend's hand.
Lord Elrond softly laid a hand across Frodo's eyes and the Ringbearer slipped into deep sleep once again.
"See Samwise, I did not tell you false. Frodo is fine and will get better as soon as I am able to finish my treatment."
Sam smiled at the healer as he quickly rubbed his eyes.
Moving reluctantly away to stand by a plain white wall, Sam watched as Glorfindel and Elrond went to the isolation chamber and did some preliminary tests on the Morgul blade.
Erestor, watching all this silently, went and joined the two elves, holding a quiet conversation with them. He soon bowed slightly and left, and joined by the smiling Mithrandir, the two left sick bay.
Leaving the blade for the moment, Elrond turned to the hobbits. Sam he was glad to see, though still frightened, had his attention riveted by Frodo's pale form on the table.
Looking at the readout above Frodo, the Elbereth's captain realized that the only way to stop the nanobot was to go in after it himself.
Preparing the surgery for the delicate work ahead, the elf lord put all into readiness for his patient, including priming and setting the fine laser scalpels he would have to use.
The small gardener shifted nervously at his place as the two elves went to either side of the Ringbearer.
All these things! They had better be making Mr. Frodo better and not just be there for a lot of show!
Elrond gave the hobbit one more injection.
Sam was very puzzled by the hypo. "What was that my lord? What did you just do to Frodo's neck?" he called out from his observation post along the wall.
"It is just a quick way to give Frodo some much needed medicine, Sam."
Sam nodded uncertainly and then shook his head. The Gaffer would have a few words to say about that! And a few more to say about all the rest of this as well!
"And all those other things you have stuck into Frodo? They don't hurt him?? You're not torturing him now are you?"
"Sam, of course not." Elrond turned to the hobbit, his eyes intensely focused on Sam's. "No Sam, Frodo is in no pain, this I swear. All these devices are helping him to get well. That is why we are here and not in Frodo's room. Now I must ask for no more questions from you."
Sam nodded and biting his lip, went quiet.
The elf lord looked at the monitor and noted the position of the nanobot. Activating the finest setting for his scalpel, the elf lord directed the thin, near-microscopic blade at a point in Frodo's chest. As the blood slowly welled up from the incision, Glorfindel suctioned it up, keeping Elrond's work area clear.
Pulling back the tissue, Elrond took a very fine probe and introducing it into a vein, he watched on the monitor as it got closer to the invading device. Just about to destroy it, the 'bot sent a charge into the probe, rendering it useless.
Elrond quickly slide the probe out of Frodo and watched with furrowed brow as the nanobot continued down the vein toward Frodo's heart. His only recourse now was to do the surgery with a non-laser scalpel, probe and suction.
Looking at Glorfindel he sighed. "I am going to stop the 'bot myself and I will need you to continue to help with the suction. But we don't want the 'bot in the bowels of the Elbereth, either. Let us set up a small containment field and a shunt to direct the flow of blood to it."
Glorfindel nodded and the two elves go to work.
Sam watched all their swift movements, jaw slightly hanging open. The more the elves did, the more amazed he grew. He had seen nothing like these devices, not even at the Great Northern Faire held in Bree every five years. The Dwarves themselves could not produce such...machineries.
But machineries or not, Frodo had better improve or they would have Samwise Gamgee to answer to!
Satisified with his preparations, the elven healer began his painstaking surgery on Frodo's chest.
The delicate operation took over an hour as Elrond had to constantly watch the motions of the nanobot and not alert it to his presence. It was very much a bit of hide and seek, because the intelligent 'bot was very sensitive.
Taking a very tiny suction device, he watched the screen above Frodo until the nanobot was within range. Then, quickly releasing the suction, pulled out Sauron's evil 'bot and sent it to the containment field box where it would rest until they two elves could remove it further to be destroyed.
Sighing, he sealed up the incision on Frodo's chest and taking a careful look at his stats he was satisfied that now Frodo would be on the mend.
But to be on the safe side, the physician decided to go ahead with his cleansing transfusion to make sure that any traces of poisons in Frodo's system were neutralized and cleaned out.
Making the chemical combination he needed, he slipped a needle into Frodo's arm and set the transfusion to pumping. It would take about two hours to clean Frodo's blood completely.
Glorfindel, finished with adjusting the oxygen feed and the glucose IV, covered up the little hobbit and began taking off his sterile cuffs.
"Wait a moment Glor. We need to finish with the Morgul blade hilt. By the Valar, we do not want any of those getting loose and wreaking further havoc."
Nodding the blond elf moved over to the isolation chamber.
The two elven lords were not happy with what they saw in the computer screen regarding the analysis of the blade. It had not been manufactured on Middle Earth and had undoubtedly been brought with Sauron to this world.
The hilt had a store of several thousand nanobots. Glorfindel looked at his captain. "Well, should we destroy the hilt or keep it as a souvenir?"
Elrond peered at the device and then came to a decision. "I do not want something like this getting loose on the planet, or the ship. Destroy it if you please."
Nodding the elf lord pressed a series of buttons and the two watched as an actinic laser beam began to cut into the hilt.
And then the unexpected happened.
The hilt began to glow until it was too bright to look at and then, it exploded silently, shattering the isolation chamber and flinging both elves to the floor.
Sam, on the other side of the room, was the only one left standing.