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[309th: Extra - Day 4] Beriberi

Kokuten

The Pixel Knight
Inactive Member
Day 4
New Bernese
Field Hospital 62d
13:26


"Listen Doc, I'm telling ya, I'm tellin ya. I got this headache, it's real bad. And ah... I'm startin'..." a militiawoman stood at Chiaki's temporary desk in the Hospital, rationalizing a Sick-in-Quarters pass. She had come in the middle of inventory, and forced the man to sit down and listen to her claims. "I'm feeling it all over. Like... Bad."

"I see," said Chiaki, acting Medical Officer for the detachment, steepling his fingers on the table. "Alright, what else do you got?"

"W-what else?"

"You know, any other symptoms, is that it?"

"Oh, right! Yeah, I uh, feel really nauseous."

The officer continued to write this down in front of the now nervous woman. The stylus worked roughly over the smooth DataJockey screen, assembling a file. "Okay."

"Um, very nauseous. I think it's Beriberi. Ah, it's um... It's a New Bernese thing. Real bad stuff."

"I see! This is serious," repeated Chiaki, setting his DataJockey down flat on the table. A hopeful look spread on the militiawoman's face as she seemed to get through to him. She nearly bumped back into one of the closed in beds of the small hospital. "Private Valentine," Chiaki called over to the Medic he had on-call with him, "How many cases of Beriberi have we had today?"

"Thats the local slang for pregnant, Right?" Minnie called from just the other room as she turned her attention to the main desk her lieutenant sat it, Entering the room in her designated medical scrubs. "Nauseous, Cramping and the like?" She mumbled, Checking a dataslate for the days quarries.

"P-Pregnant?" stammered the militiawoman, "Wait a second..."

"I think so," the Medical Officer played along, much to the horror of the visiting soldier. He ran a metal hand along the length of his beard, "I'm still pretty fresh on the local ailments and slang. The turns of phrase. She's not complaining of cramps, though."

His glowing eyes cut back to the visitor, "Are you?"

"No!" quickly snipped the woman.

Kokuten shook his head, "No cramps."

"Swelling of the breasts, Or adominal pain?" The mouse chimed in concert with her superior.

The man looked over to the militiawoman, who caught his expectant, glowing stare.

"Um..." the woman looked down at her chest, and scooped it in her hands. She didn't look sure, but she was starting to sweat. "N-No?"

"She's not sure, Private Valentine," noted Chiaki, picking his slate back up to give it a cursory glance. "So far, just headache, nausea, and... sweating, it looks like?"

"We can run some tests." The younger doctor offered, Adding the symptoms onto a sheet and possible treatments. "Simple drug and PH tests, Could have results within the hour." She didnt know why Lieutenenat Chiaki needed her for a simple case of a pregnant local from the militia other than to use her gender to make the woman feel more comfortable in the process and make it feel less invasive.

"Have you had intercourse in the past three weeks, Unprotected? Can you remember all your partners from that time" She questioned, A single brow arching.

"Wha--... Are we still on the... the pregnancy thing?" the militiawoman stammered in response, once or twice glancing at the door way. She looked at the Officer at the desk, as if for help, and he looked surprised.

"Oh, excuse me, I can leave you two alone while you go through this," Chiaki began to stand up, grabbing his dataslate.

"W-wait! I... Uh... I actually feel... pretty good now," the visiting patient nearly tripped over the bed she was by. She winced, actually hurting herself a bit, but kept on her retreat nonetheless, "Mus-Must've been all in my head! Ha- Ha ha ha!"

Already close to the door, Minnie placed herself between the militiawoman and her exit. She wasnt completely sure what was going on, But the woman was becoming downright hysterical and could quickly pose a danger to herself or others around if the episode continued.

She kept her body language as docile as she could as not to provoke her. Minnie wasnt a physical person by nature and wanted to avoid a fight if she could, especially if it concerned a patient.

"Calm down, Trooper." She urged, Her own voice starting to crack as she grew somewhat concerned. "Take a seat, Have some water and we'll be able to help whatever is wrong with you."

"I-... There's no--..." the trooper was turning red in the face at Minnie's insistence, and found herself cornered onto a bed. She sat down, at least for the moment, looking down at her boots. She looked over at the water, situated under Chiaki's desk. Grumbling, she spoke, "I'll take a water."

Returning shortly later with a bottle of unopened water, Minnie returned to her dataslate, Appraising the woman with a curious glance. She softened her tone to keep her calm but still prob for her mysterious illness.

"When did your symptoms start, Can you tell us more about this Beriberi", I'm not yet familiar with all the local sicknesses or ailments, Lieutenant?"

"I could've sworn I've had at least four other Marines come in today with the same issue. Some of them male, actually," offered the Medical Officer, giving her a sagely nod. It was then their patient gave him a look of horror, realizing he was on to her.

"Um... Yeah... It's nothing... Serious. I mean... It's serious. But not... Serious serious." Carefully the militiawoman tried to craft her case around Minnie's unanswered question, occsionally throwing glances at the door.

"Serious..." Minnie began out loud. "But not... Serious" The mouse started to catch on to what was going on. She hid her smile behind the dataslate and regained her composure.

"I think i know whats going on here." She stated, Leaving a dramatic pause to let her stew before offering the dataslate to the patient, A thing blank line waiting to be signed.

"Sign there, And we should be good to procede" She offered a warm smile and a stylus to sign her name.

Minnie had the tough looking militiawoman sweating all the way down to her boots. She looked up at her and the down at the stylus, and then back up at the Medic. She didn't seem to know what she meant by that, and at that point she was afraid to ask. Warily, she took the pen, and then made a rapid scribble to signify a signature. "Okay..."

Minnie was quickly becomming beyond sanguine as she finalized the digital paperwork and sent it to print in triplicate.

"Ok!" She declared rather optimisticly. "We'll get you over to the ward and get you changed over into a gown for surgery" She beemed. Lucky, The one armed ID-SOL she had operated on prior had obviously followed her advice and spread the word from the quality of her work. And here was a candidate who actually showed up at the medical ward to do just that.

"Wh-what!? S-surgery? Hold on, I- I- just wanted a to get a d-day off!" panicked the woman, retreating away from strangely cheery medic onto the hospital bed. Her boots trailed dirt and clay on the sheets as she worked her way back.

"Don't worry. Don't worry." Minnie urged, Offering a hand. "The surgery should only take about 12 hours. Maybe less if i can shape the ballistic polymer around the mucosa of your stomach in a reasonable time." She nodded reasuringly to herself, Eager to test her newest idea of a self-healing stomach lining that wouldnt bleed out the contents fo the stomach if shot. "You should get a day or two off for recovery, We'll fill all the paperwork from our end to your commander."

"That is." She looked over to Lieutenant Chiaki, Suddenly remembering he was still sitting at the desk. "If thats ok with you, Lieutenant."

"Judging by what she's told us thus far, that sounds like exactly what she's come here for," nodded the Medical Officer in agreement. Their visitor turned pale as the officer who was aware of her previous lie just played along. He offered a pointing finger at her, and then inspired absolute horror as a needle extended from the tip. "I could handle sedation."

"W-Wha-- Hol--Holy-- shi--" the soldier on the bed scrambled, fearing for her life, and bowled past Minnie with as much strength as she could muster. Out the station she went, horrified, and running faster than most people on that planet could ever manage.

Confused, Minnie turned her attention back towards Chiaki, A concerned look on her face. "what was that about?"

It didnt really matter, She signed the paperwork anyway. If she really was sick, The operation could wait a couple days at best.

"Something tells me she wasn't here for surgery," Kokuten gave the Private a knowing smile. He took a look at his pad, and began to fiddle with it. "You were very professional though, I believe she's going to think seriouslly before coming into the med-station for anything less than say... something a little more real than Beriberi."
 
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