The Epherium Chronicles: Embrace (15 page)

The nurse backed off a bit and placed her hands on her hips almost as if he had said something that had offended her. She shook her head at him, her smile never leaving. “No, sir. Dr. Patton understands that most crew members on board don’t want to come here, unless it is serious. We want to provide a positive atmosphere for our patients. It starts on our initial meeting at triage.” The nurse slowly attached the blood pressure wrap to Hood’s left arm and turned on the medical scanner. As the machine began to inflate the wrap on his arm, the nurse slid her stethoscope under the wrap and watched the readouts on the scanner’s screen. “Dr. Patton calls it our psychological enforcement prescription. I call it just plain TLC.”

Hood snorted. “It’s all a bit creepy if you ask me.” His eyes opened wide as the nurse moved an oral thermometer toward his mouth.

“Please place this under your tongue, Captain.” Hood let the nurse place the probe in his mouth, maneuvered it under his tongue and stewed. He tapped his foot, representative of his annoyed feelings, and continued to do so until he heard the beep from the machine measuring his blood pressure.

The nurse removed the thermometer from his mouth and unwrapped the blood pressure cuff from his arm. Hood started to get up, but the nurse put up her hand. “Ah, ah, ah. Please, sir, we’re not done. I need to you remove your jacket and lift your shirt, so I can listen to your breathing.”

Hood sat back and rolled his eyes. He glared at the ensign, who again just smiled. He finally did as she instructed and took in some deep breaths for the nurse to listen. “You would think with all these new scanners, all this additional probing and prodding wouldn’t be necessary,” he said in between breaths.

The nurse moved the stethoscope to several positions along his back and chest and listened intently to his breathing. “Standard protocol still has us conducting more low tech examinations in conjunction with the scanners. Dr. Patton believes it will keep us sharp in case of systems failures, or in our case, we have limited access to them on a distant world.” Seeming satisfied, she removed the leads of the stethoscope from her ears, grabbed her data pad, and began to type in some notes.

“What’s the verdict, Ensign?” Hood asked now with a wide and very counterfeit smile of his own.

The nurse continued to type on her data pad as she answered, “All in all not bad, Captain. No fever and your breathing is excellent. Blood pressure was a little elevated, but that is understandable if you are experiencing any pain, like your headache.” She finished typing with a quick strum of her fingers and set the data pad on the table behind her. “Dr. Patton should be free in a minute, let me check if we can get you back there. Please leave your jacket off, in case he needs to examine you further.”

Hood tossed his jacket across his lap as the nurse left the triage station and walked back through doors to the primary examination area. It only took a few moments for the nurse to return, and Hood stood as she walked back in.

“Dr. Patton can see you now. He is just finishing up with his other patient. Please follow me back,” the nurse said as she gestured for Hood to follow her.

Hood followed the ensign through the doors into the large examination area. The room was more than double the size of the medical center entry area and was laid out in an almost circular fashion. Several beds, each with sets of medical monitoring equipment, were spaced around the room and separated by poles and drapes. Only a few of the beds had patients in them, and nurses were busy tending to them. To the left of the room was a set of double doors clearly marked “Patient Rooms.”

On the far side of the room, a short dark-haired man in a white doctor’s coat was having a discussion with a patient in one of the examination beds. As Hood walked with the nurse toward that side of the room, he could clearly make out the Australian accent of Dr. Patton. Reaching his own bed, Hood looked over at the other examination area and noticed that the patient was none other than Lieutenant Aldridge.

Hood tossed his jacket on to his bed and walked over to the foot of Aldridge’s. A nurse was slowly removing small probes that were attached to her head. She noticed Hood approach and smiled.

Hood nodded to the nurse and gestured toward the probes. “Lieutenant. What are you doing back here?”

The nurse finished removing the probes and Aldridge began to undo the band that held back her hair. “Just getting my required post jump check-up, Captain.” She stiffened almost mocking her normal attention posture. “Medical regulation 114.25—All EDF personnel that have suffered from various degrees of space-fold sickness must submit to routine examinations within twelve hours after each jump during normal operations.” She relaxed and cocked her head to the side with a smile. “Doc Patton here was verifying my latest brain wave scans.”

Dr. Patton, who was noting the readings from Aldridge’s examination, looked up and noticed Hood standing next to him. “Ah, Captain. So good to see you. I was just informing Lieutenant Aldridge that her readings are normal, and she can return to duty.”

Aldridge hopped off the examination bed. “Thanks Doc. I’ll check in after the next jump.”

“If you experience any dizziness, headaches or blurred vision, please contact my office immediately,” Dr. Patton replied with a short grin.

Aldridge nodded and started to leave, but looked back at Hood. “Captain, if you’re free, the Rec Deck has a new holographic chess setup. You interested in a game after lunch?”

“Sure, Lieutenant. Drop a message to my aide, and he can add it to my schedule. I have been meaning to head down there for a look around.”

“Your aide, sir?” Aldridge asked, a little confused.

Hood put his hands up defensively. “Don’t ask, Lieutenant. Thinking about it makes my head hurt. If you send a message to my station, my aide will set it up.”

Aldridge nodded and walked out of the examination area, as Dr. Patton grabbed the data pad from the nurse escorting Hood and began to review the information. “So, Captain. My nurse says you have been experiencing headaches. How severe are they, and what is their frequency?”

Hood stared blankly for a moment and shook his head. “I woke up this morning with a strong headache, Doc. I just need some pain meds and a good stiff coffee. I’ll be fine.”

“With all due respect, Captain. I’ll be judge of whether or not you are fine,” Patton stated flatly as he pulled out a small penlight and clicked the end to turn it on. He held the light up in front of Hood. “Now, please follow the light and relax.”

Patton moved the pen slowly from side to side then up and down. Hood’s eyes tracked the light, and Patton watched them closely. He clicked off the light and put it back in his pocket. “Hold out your hands in front of you, palms down.”

Hood extended his arms at Patton requested and sighed. He knew Patton was aware of his uneasiness around doctors. He had discussed it with him over dinner when he first arrived on board.

Patton grasped Hood’s hands gently and his thumb and forefinger on several spots from his fingers to his wrists. “Have you noticed any shaking or jittery feelings?”

“No, Doc, just the headache.”

“What about dizziness, blurred vision, or nightmares?”

Hood retracted a bit at the last statement, and Patton recognized it.

“Nightmares. And you woke up this morning with a searing headache?” Patton asked.

Hood nodded his head.

“Good,” Patton said as he grasped the data pad and typed in more information.

“Good means what, Doc?” Hood asked slightly annoyed.

Patton continued typing then looked up as he put in the last few words. “Good means that I understand what is happening. I have seen several crew members this morning all with similar conditions. Most, like you, have served in space-fold capable vessels before.” He sat down the data pad, pulled up a rolling chair and sat down. “As part of my research into space-fold illnesses, I specifically looked at the types of fields generated on different EDF vessels. The Akita Dreadnaught’s field size and strength are far more powerful than any other ships in the fleet. Taking that into account, I examined the records of EDF personnel with similar symptoms that moved to the Akitas from smaller vessels.”

“What did you find?” Hood asked, very intrigued.

Patton moved his stool next to the bed and rested the data pad on the nurse’s stand. “It seems there is an adjustment period for those personnel that have been exposed to smaller fields for longer periods of time. Crew members that haven’t served on space-fold vessels don’t seem to exhibit any symptoms. It also seems the length of jump seems to have a stronger effect. Headaches and nightmares are common, but I isolated a remedy to reduce the effects.”

“Really, what is it?”

“I need you to eat foods rich in potassium. Fruits and vegetables mostly. Bananas are good source. A high level of potassium from natural sources looks to lessen the effect, but it’s definitely not a panacea. I have tried some potassium supplements on some patients and there was little effect, but I believe that could be in how the body is integrating it into the soft tissues,” Patton explained enthusiastically.

The nurse handed Hood a small container, and Patton pointed to it. “Those are some pain meds to help with any discomfort. Take them only when it’s necessary. The effects of the larger space-fold field seem to be temporary and fade after a few jumps. But altering your diet should help.”

Hood hopped off the bed and walked over to retrieve his jacket. “Thanks, Doc. Think I will grab a bite to eat and load up on some potassium. Anything else I need to do?”

“Just contact me if the headaches worsen. Several of my patients have mentioned that their headaches eased after exercising, so I would look into getting an extra workout into your schedule,” Patton said with a wide smile.

Hood nodded in agreement and walked with Patton to the examination room exit. He extended his hand and Patton shook it firmly. “Thanks again, Doc. I will take some time this afternoon to hit the gym as well. Do me a favor would, you?”

“What is that, Captain?”

“Ease up on all the happy, smiley acts around here. It’s starting to feel like I’m in some bad psychological thriller movie, and you’re going to freak out and go on a killing spree.”

Patton laughed loudly and waved goodbye as Hood left the examination room.

Hood walked past the triage station and didn’t even look at the nurse who was smiling widely at him as he left. He moved quickly out the door and down the hall. The quicker he took some of the meds and got something to eat, the better.

* * *

“So let me get this straight,” Admiral Tramp said. “This new shield made some of our own weapons useless?”

Hood leaned forward and nodded toward his office terminal screen. His meeting with Admiral Tramp had covered several topics of the past day. Much of the hour long conversation continued to revolve around the new systems on the
Armstrong
, and more importantly their successful tests thanks to Terrance Whitaker. “I know it sounds completely crazy, but I watched the weapons our fighter used against us, and it stopped each one. I know we had some power issues with the cannon, but this shield could offer a real advantage in an engagement with the Cilik’ti.”

Tramp smiled. “This is very impressive, James, and excellent timing as well.” The admiral sighed and relaxed back into his chair. “I told you we need a win on this, now more than ever. Three new groups have openly petitioned the Chancellery for the right to colonize the first near Earth or terraformed world. That brings the count up to seven different claims, and four want exclusive rights. They all want their own little kingdoms,” he explained. “So far we’ve had some small protests, but nothing out of control. They’re organized though.”

“And if you let them know about the signals...”

“The groups will up their ante, and the situation will get worse,” Tramp concluded. “We have to be certain that these worlds can sustain life and that we can reach them safely.” Tramp shook his head. “Even then, I still worry about taking the plug out of that powder keg. It seems access to planet side stations in our system just isn’t enough. Several have pressed for information for stations on Proxima for civilian colonization. We only have two stations there now. Both are military outposts. The terrain is not very stable with all the ground quakes, and solar radiation is stronger there than anything in our own system.”

“Fear can drive us to do some crazy things. Wanting to flee danger or a bad situation, some believe anything, even the promise of a false hope for a better life,” Hood explained. “Human history has seen this time and time again. But I think this time we can provide real hope for a safe world to live on. We just need time, sir.”

“I know, James, and Admiral Grant is very appreciative of your efforts to get your mission moving quickly and with few distractions.” Tramp’s mood picked up. “Speaking of distractions, how are things with Mr. McCraken.”

Hood chuckled. “Nothing I can’t handle, sir.”

“Good to hear. Listen, I won’t keep you. When is your next jump?”

“A supply ship just arrived to restock our weapon magazines after the range test, but that shouldn’t take long to complete. I spoke to Engineering before your call. Their latest recharge estimate should put us at 23:00, just after our special dinner this evening. It seems our XO has to pay up on his bet.”

“Sounds like fun.”

Hood smirked. “It should be interesting, let’s leave it at that.” Hood shut off his data pad and slid it off to the side. “I’ll send an update after we reach the next beacon. My communication officer thinks there will be about a six minute delay in transmission, even using the beacon relay, so this will be our last live comm for awhile.”

Tramp stood from his chair. “Be careful, James. God Speed.” Tramp saluted, and Hood returned it. “Look forward to your next update, James. Tramp out.”

Hood tapped his left index finger on the table as the communication ended. Something was missing, he could feel it. Not in what the admiral said, but what he didn’t say.

Hood stood from chair, moved to his closet beside his bed and removed some exercise clothes. His head was definitely feeling better, but a long run sounded good. He quickly changed and headed out the door.