Tempest Tossed and Feeling Sore
Posted on Fri Mar 27th, 2026 @ 5:06am by Lieutenant Rala & Lieutenant Kally Kellerman & Lieutenant JG Raven Windancer & Ensign Henry Taylor
Mission:
Lower Decks
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: Immediately following "A Friendly Race"
The tingling passed, and the shimmering lights with it, and Rala found herself in Sickbay, standing near a biobed, upon which lay the unconscious form of Raven Windancer, a trickle of blood beginning to mat the hair on one side of the young woman’s head.
The instant the transporter had released her, Rala took the step and a half over to the biobed to check Raven's pulse and breathing again, calling “Help! She’s hurt bad,” as she moved.
Henry bolted from his station immediately and when he saw Rala standing by a biobed, he rushed over, skidding to a halt as he saw their CFCO lying unconscious. "Give me the short version," he said.
“Holodeck malfunction,” Rala said, breathing a bit heavier than usual, her ears folded down and back in distress. “Space race through a debris field, she crashed, safeties were offline.” She made sure she wasn’t in Henry’s way, but stayed at Raven’s side, resting one hand gently on the injured girl. “You’re going to be okay,” she whispered in Draakri, too soft for her translator to pick up, knowing Raven likely couldn’t hear her anyway. She was partly trying to convince herself, despite knowing perfectly well that Starfleet sickbays had worked far greater miracles on many occasions.
Raven surfaced just long enough to hear something that she initially didn't recognize...but subconsciously, Raven knew it was a cross between a promise and a prayer.
As he came around to the other side of the biobed, Henry grabbed a tricorder and flipped it open. "Doctor Kilgallen!" he shouted. The one night I trade a shift, he thought to himself, bitterly. Still, he was glad he was there to handle things. He scanned Raven quickly and looked at the biobed's readings, his eyes going wide.
"What've we got?" Kilgallen said, running over from Kally's office, nudging Rala out of the way.
"Holodeck accident. Major concussion, punctured lung, broken ribs, internal hemorrhaging, major contusions," Henry summarized as the doctor ran his own scans to confirm.
"Let's get her on a gurney. Get the surgical bay prepped," Kilgallen said. "B'tal!"
The orderly on duty, and the only other medical staff there came running. "Doctor?"
"Gurney. Surgical bay. Double time," Kilgallen said, rushing out to scrub up.
Henry and B'tal carefully eased Raven's body onto an antigrav gurney and Henry firmly but politely pushed Rala out of the way as B'tal steered it towards the surgical bay to get her prepped. Henry replicated a padd and took one of Rala's arms, pulling her over to a chair and sat her down. "Please give me as detailed a report of what happened as you can," he said. "I'll have Mister B'tal get it from you shortly."
“It was just supposed to be a friendly race...” Rala mused as she was drawn away, her gaze lingering on the injured girl. She finally tore her eyes away and looked at the PADD Henry was handing her. “Report. Details. Right,” she said, and took a deliberate breath, trying to calm herself and focus her thoughts. She sensed Henry was about to leave and reached out to grasp his arm gently, looking up at him with a pleading expression on her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came.
"We'll do all we can," Henry said, then ran to the surgical bay at full speed to get it set up.
Rala sat back in her chair, ignoring the discomfort in her tail, and tried to focus on recalling the details of the race and recording them on the PADD.
Raven detected tiny, almost inperceptible movements, which emensly relieved her because it meant she was alive at least. She was so confused as to why she couldn't move when the last thing she remembered was racing with Rala.
It took over two hours before the door to the surgical bay opened and Doctor Kilgallen stepped out. He removed the surgical cover and put it in the hamper and wearily made his way back to the main ward. A moment later, Henry and the orderly followed out of the room, pushing Raven on an anti-grav gurney towards recovery.
Raven had surfaced a few times before and after being put under, but it was all distorted, shattered images, warped sounds, and just unexplainable things, but she was still alive, and that's what counted.
Rala had only sat in the chair for ten minutes or so before the ache in her tail combined with her general restlessness had forced her to stand up. For two hours, she’d alternated between pacing around Sickbay, leaning against various unoccupied biobeds, and trying to sit down again. She had filled out the report Henry had asked for, reviewed it several times, tweaked wording on different parts, and effectively rewritten it piece-by-piece twice over.
She was laying halfway on a biobed, one foot propped up on it, the other leg and and most of her tail dangling off one side, having finally set the PADD aside, when Kilgallen and Henry emerged from the surgical bay.
Doctor Kilgallen walked over to Rala and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry it took so long,” he said, “but the good news is, she’s going to recover completely.”
Rala sat up as Kilgallen walked over to her, unconsciously holding her breath as he spoke, closing her eyes and letting out a relieved sigh when he said Raven would recover. “Thank you, Doctor,” she said, sliding off the biobed and onto her feet, then gestured in the direction the others had taken the unconscious helmswoman. “May I go see her?”
Kilgallen shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, she's still unconscious and should remain so for the time being. Maybe try back in a few hours. However, she is stable, and she is out of danger, so you shouldn't worry."
Henry came out of the recovery ward, padd in hand and walked over to Doctor Kilgallen, handing it to him. "Report's finished. I'll start on resetting the surgical bay," he said, then looked at Rala as well. "She's sleeping soundly, don't worry. You guys have an accident on the holodeck?"
“Yeah,” Rala said, reaching behind her to pick up her own PADD off the biobed and handing it to him. “It’s all there,” she started, head bowed slightly, staring at nothing, “but the short version is, I invited her for a—what was supposed to be—a friendly race. She crashed, and there was something wrong with the holodeck; the safety protocols were offline, and only some of my voice commands worked.” She shook her head. “Even just trying to get her out, I couldn’t get comms out; I had to get her safely on the ground, then run outside to call for help. And then we transported here, and the rest you know.”
She glanced up at Henry. “And I just realized I didn’t lock it out to keep anyone else from using it.” She turned slightly, shifting her gaze away from anyone in particular as most people tended to do when addressing the computer, and said, “Computer, disable all access to Holodeck Four until further notice and start a level two diagnostic.”
”Holodeck Four is in use,” replied the synthesized voice.
Rala frowned. “By who? Computer, who’s in Holodeck Four?”
”Tessa di’Orion,” said the voice, entirely unaware and unconcerned with the impact the words would have on two of the people who heard them.
Rala’s and Henry’s eyes both widened as they locked gazes with each other.
Rala’s heart thudded once in her chest, and then she bolted for the door.
