Patient 240

This page, Patient 240, is property of KidVegeta.

September 14, Age 762

On the frontier of imperial space, Planet Frieza 319 stood fast. With a garrison of little more than one hundred (most of whom were medical personnel) and being located in a relatively unpopulated region of space, the station received few visitors. Drs. Orami and Dahim had been tasked with bringing Dr. Noru, a recent graduate of the imperial academy, up to speed. For the first three days, he had little to do except refill the governor’s rejuvenation tank with a fresh batch of healing liquid every eighteen hours. It did not take long for Noru to realize that, regardless of his superiors’ apathy, he was not likely to learn much on that deep-space outpost.

Orami had been the senior medical officer for the better part of a century; Dahim, a well-respected avian in his own right, had worked by his side for more than twenty years. He was likely being trained to replace one of them, but whom, he could not tell, for both their beaks were sagging, and their skin had wrinkled and sprouted age spots. Staying on their good side was for the best until he got the hang of things.

Governor Ritoni lay suspended in liquid in a rejuvenation tank in the corner, recovering from uromysitisis poisoning. One of the tanks in the back held the ranging warrior Dhuak. Allegedly, little more than a week ago, he had conquered half a dozen or so planets beyond imperial space. Noru was grateful 319 received visitors at all, even if the Heoli wasn’t the most interesting patient. The installation had two additional rejuvenation tanks, though they were not currently in use. That was for the best, as the tank next to Dhuak’s leaked.

On the fourth day, Dr. Orami called him in for a consult. The medical bay was abuzz with nurses and security guards, and it was no surprise why: Biko, a lavender egg-headed warrior, had returned from a ranging trip with a slew of tropical ulcers, an infection in his left eye that had rotted it away, parasites burrowing under his flesh, and a nine-pound ghelzchiworm that had taken up residence in his lower intestine. The trio of hollow-boned doctors conferred on the most effective way to sedate him (as his species was resistant to most commercial anesthetics), and while Noru had little to add to the discussion, their frantic, yet logical problem-solving style was instructive.

Biko was picking at a seeping, bloody, bubbling growth blooming on his arm. “No needles. Hate needles. Give me the gas, get me in the tank.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible. Due to your numerous wounds, we must first perform a series of tests. You won’t feel a thing, Biko. I promise. You’ll be out in seconds. It’ll be completely painless. We’re not trying to hurt you.”

Having finally decided the proper concoction, Orami handed Dahim the syringe. As he and several nurses approached the soldier, Biko slapped one aside, cornering himself between a rejuvenation tank and a cabinet, and fell weakly against the wall. A team of security officers ran into the room. Dahim waved them off.

“I’m burning up. I can’t take this anymore! I can feel them in my skin, biting, clawing, gnawing! It’s too much!”

“You’ve been infected by unknown parasites, as well as that ghelzchiworm. If we had samples from the last planet you conquered…”

“My orders were to destroy it.”

“In that case, we’ll need to take samples from you.” Biko exhaled in disgust and backed into the corner. Dahim whistled for the nurses to go for him. “Hold him down,” he grunted. “Easy now, easy.”

“Get back, ya hear me? I said no needles!”

“It’s for your health, for your safety, Biko. We’re not trying to hurt you. Please, settle down.”

They converged upon him, the nurses pulling Biko to the ground while Dahim tried to land the abdominal kill shot. The Appulekin roared, flinging sweat, lunging upwards. A red-orange glow flashed through the room, and Dahim’s headless, smoking body fell. Two of the nurses ran screaming. Another caught the falling syringe and tried to finish the good doctor’s work, but Biko took her by the wrist, tackled her, rolled onto her, and savaged her in the neck.

Dr. Orami begged for someone to restrain Biko until his voice grew hoarse. Blood spurted onto the floor; glass shattered; the nurse wailed; a medical cart careened into the wall, spilling its contents. The lights were intolerably bright, their artificiality stinging his nose. Noru tried not to sneeze. While Biko was busy feasting upon the poor girl’s flesh, Noru found the syringe lying in a puddle of tank juice. He stuck it in the patient’s neck, approximately three centimeters above the collarbone. As more nurses and security officers rushed in, Orami, cradling the unconscious girl in his arms, placed the nurse in a spare rejuvenation tank as his armor stained purple with her blood. That probably wouldn’t save her. She was infected with everything Biko had now. Noru wasn’t about to ask why Orami cared for her so. That was obvious. He would never bring it up.

The doctor pressed a bloody hand to the glass. His scouter was blinking from an incoming message, but he was in no hurry to answer. “Baure… Oh, my sweet, innocent Baure…”

“Dr. Orami?” Dr. Noru asked for the eleventh time.

“Oh, right, yes, how can I help you?”

“Should we…” His eyes darted from the corpse to the confrontation happening in the other corner of the room. A whitish energy ball had formed in Biko’s hand. He gulped, blinking rapidly, and buried his feelings. The others were backing off. “The anesthetic isn’t holding him under. What should we do, sir?”

“There are no known anesthetics that will keep those egg-heads down for long. Regardless, the situation is under control.”

While the staff were wearing zero-G suits, there was still a great risk of infection, especially if Biko attempted to bite anyone else. Was Biko very strong? Noru hadn’t the faintest clue. He knew, however, if he shared his fear with Orami, he would think much lesser of him. He wasn’t about to start off his career on the wrong foot.

“I’m going to mix a serum of three antibiotics for known polymicrobial infections, giving the most weight to that heinous outbreak we contained on Planet Frieza 053 years back.”

“Doctor, you have a message on your scouter. Shouldn’t you check it?”

“No time. Baure’s in critical condition. Get focused or get out.”

Feeling the heat in his cheeks, he stood awkwardly and silently by, and listened to Orami mutter to himself as he pecked at his datapad. Then, the older man went rigid, and as if compelled by some unknown force, answered his scouter, his voice quavering. “Mmm… yes, yes. Yes, I see. He’s here now? No good. There’s a situation at present. Dire. Send him to 217. Well, no. No. I see. Ah, tell him there is something of a crisis going on in the medical bay. Give him my sincerest apologies.”

A nurse, her voice soothing as space honey, took a step towards the lesion-infested soldier with an outstretched hand. Spitting and shrieking, Biko released his energy, and the room grew awash in light. Tears came to Noru’s eyes as he fell, the heat overwhelming him. The smell of burning flesh and armor was a foul pairing. A ceiling light fell, and dust hung in the air. Orami was coughing into the back of his hand. His scouter lay sparking on the ground. Noru could neither see nor hear anyone on the other side of the room, where the dust and smoke was thickest.

The door slid open, and in its frame stood Zarbon. Scowling, he gave the bird-like doctors one sour look before slapping the air, dissipating the smoke. Breathing heavily, Biko stood against the burnt-out shell of a rejuvenation tank. While there weren’t any bodies around, there were plenty of burn marks on the floor.

“Lord Zarbon, it’s so wonderful to see you,” Orami said, bowing.

“What happened here?”

“That traitor murdered more than a dozen medical staff and destroyed that tank,” Noru said, pointing to Biko, trying to maintain a neutral tone without much success.

Brushing the hair from his eyes, Zarbon cracked his neck. Faster than anyone could see, he sprinted to the infected soldier and kicked him square in the chest. Spitting to the side, cracking his knuckles, and clearing out his nose, he returned to the doctors.

Tension, like dust, hung heavy in the air.

The egg-headed alien stumbled to his knees, gasping, a trail of dark blood leaking down the corner of his lip. Zarbon’s heel had left a fine dent in his armor, just below the rib cage. Gasping, his neck spasming, Biko tripped over a fallen cart and collapsed.

“Now that that’s settled, I need your help, doctors,” he said, flicking his ponytail to the left side, “I fear I was injured on my last mission.”

Orami folded his arms behind his back, relaxing into a more professional posture. “Ah, so that’s what you were doing beyond imperial space. Our scanners tracked your pod passing us by five days ago. I was wondering when you would return.”

“I don’t have time to chat, doctor. Give me a full-body scan, and I’ll be on my way.”

“As you command, my lord. Noru, go on.”

“Aren’t we going to do anything about that, sir?” He nodded to the dead man and the mess in the corner.

“Nurses clean, doctors heal. You should already know that, Noru. Now then, your patient is waiting.”

They didn’t talk much during the procedure. He wasn’t good with people, and a high-ranking soldier in particular was wont to make him nervous. The man, for what it was worth, did not seem to mind. If Noru had to guess, he would say that Zarbon was distracted by something. He wouldn’t pry. He knew how easily he could be turned to ash. Dahim had worked on this outpost for twenty-three years, and now he was gone, just like that. He wouldn’t make that same mistake.

Though analyzing full-body scans was not Noru’s field of expertise, he immediately recognized Zarbon’s perforated bowel. He must have been in intense pain. This would require immediate attention.

“My lord, it appears you have a nick in your colon.”

“Oh? Really? Is that serious?”

“You’ll bleed to death unless it’s stitched up. Sir, do you have any idea how this could have happened?”

“Must have been during my mission. Took too many careless hits, it seems. Now, if I go the surgery route, do I need to remain here in recovery?”

“That’s correct. One week minimum. Standard procedure, unless you want to bleed out again.”

“Put me in a rejuvenation tank. In that case, I should recover within a few hours.”

“Yes, that’s true, but…”

“Out with it, doctor.”

“All tanks are currently in use.”

Well, he didn’t like that. His face had gone a deeper shade of green. Zarbon returned to med-bay (Noru didn’t try to stop him), finding Dr. Orami at his post by Baure’s panel. A dazed look plastered his face. To the right, Dhuak, coated in tank liquid, had been awakened, meaning Biko had taken out two of their precious tanks. As the man had only suffered minor injuries from his last planet-clearing mission, he would no doubt be on his way, not requiring anything further from them.

“Take one of them out. I need a tank.”

“Can’t do that, Zarbon. There are only two in working order right now, and both are being used by patients in critical condition.”

“Will Governor Ritoni die if he comes out?”

“Certainly. His kidneys had to be removed, on account of the uromysitisis poisoning. A new pair is growing inside him as we speak, but if he is removed from his tank before they fully mature, his body will succumb to the disease. ”

“What about her?”

“That soldier you executed gored her.”

“Sew her up in surgery.”

“Impossible. She’s lost too much blood to be moved. Besides, the liquid has already been set for her species’ DNA.”

“Prepare a new batch, doctor.”

“What? I will do no such thing.”

“Lord Frieza has ordered me to rendezvous with him as soon as possible. I will not keep him waiting. Take her out, and prepare a new batch of liquid for me.”

“I’m sorry, Zarbon, but it cannot be done. She’s not going anywhere. It’s against the doctor’s Code of Ethics to—”

“I will not ask you again.”

Orami scrunched up his face into a sneer. “Noru, please return Zarbon to the waiting room. We’ll have a surgery team prepared for him shortly.”

Before he could reply, Zarbon, who had been busy cleaning his fingernails, audibly sighed, flicked his ponytail to the other side, and kicked Orami in the side of the head. With a squawk, the old man went spinning into a wall, landing in a crumpled heap. A pool of blood spread from his body, and Noru had to look away.

Staring him in the eyes, Zarbon said, “Prepare my tank, doctor.”

“Yes sir.”

Noru wouldn’t end up like Dahim or Orami. It was just a pity Baure had to die—not that she would wake up to feel any pain, at least. He opened the tank, pulled her out, laying her in a pool of slime on the floor, and then called in one of the security staff to vaporize the three bodies in the room, lest the jungle rot spread. He didn’t watch any of it. Noru had known for years what being a doctor entailed. There would be blood and death in many cases. Orami had known that too, and yet, he had died like all the rest.

When the rejuvenation tank was ready, Noru summoned Zarbon (whose colon had been plugged by a thick and sturdy substance in the meantime) and placed him inside. With the water filling up around his ankles, Zarbon smirked. “When Lord Frieza and I return from Namek, I’ll make sure you’re transferred off this barren rock. You’ve done well today, doctor.”

He had done well. He was a learned doctor, a magnificent healer, a selfless man who had devoted his life to caring for others. His life had been the ultimate sacrifice. Still, he hadn’t told Zarbon about Biko’s infection. While he had changed the liquid from Baure’s batch, the tank had undoubtedly been contaminated by whatever mycobacteria she had had.

If he mentioned it, he’d get his head blown off, so Dr. Noru could only hope that Zarbon lived long enough for that transfer to go through. Then, maybe, he could make a real difference in the empire. A bird could dream.

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After patient #240 was released from his rejuvenation tank some eight hours later, the machine was cleaned with seven rounds of space bleach for some unknown reason. In his notes, Dr. Noru wrote: There appeared to be a thin layer of space algae developing on the inner walls, so the tank was properly sanitized.