Ace, back when he had a face
Characters: Lifeline, Ace, Nightingale, Dr. Yamashita Ichiro
Location: Medical Center - The Pit
Date: August 22, 2013
Summary: Lifeline brings in a specialist to rebuild Ace's face.
As logged by Ace - Thursday, August 22, 2013, 8:33 PM
Medical Center - The Pit[]
- The base infirmary is a spacious room, with high ceilings, blue tile floors, and plenty of room in which to walk around. The place is brightly lit by row upon row of fluorescent lighting. There are about six beds ready for use, with fourteen more that can be readied if necessary. Each bedside is surrounded by state-of-the-art medical equipment, in addition to the more standard medbay fare like trays of supplies and such.
- Beyond the recovery ward are a pair of double doors leading into the surgical ward itself, which includes six separate operating tables and the best surgical equipment the US government can provide. A smaller room to the side is set up as a biocontainment ward, including an armored window through which doctors can monitor the patients inside.
- While not a place to set someone's mind and soul at ease...it's a place to spend time healing...to watch the large, industrial-grade 12-hour clock on the wall, and consider the virtues of being more careful.
- Contents
- Nightingale
- Lifeline
- Ace
- Psyche-Out's Office
While Ace was sleeping, someone brought him a stack of recent 'Air & Space' magazines for him to enjoy.
Lifeline has put up the curtain around Ace's bed -- well, 3/4 of it, anyhow, leaving a small gap for an entryway.
Michel is sitting up in bed, working on a tablet. "How's Ace doing?" she asks. She's been feeling better, and has even walked around the infirmary with the help of a crutch.
Ace is, naturally, still in bed, and still bandaged up.
"Actually, just fine. C'mon back here, I'm setting things up to give Dr. Yamashita a call." Dr. Steen is setting up his tablet, and he looks kind of silly wearing a Bluetooth headset but that's for the Skype call he's about to make. He trains a portable camera on Ace and himself, making very sure that the camera only picks up curtain in the background. Then, he opens up Skype and begins inputting a long number.
Ace is alert and aware, glancing up at Lifeline as the former medic replies to Dr. Miller.
Michel smiles, and steps out of bed, grabbing her crutch as she does so. Thankfully she's off the IV, and in clothes, even if it's a rather unprofessional sweatpants and shirt getup. She hobbles over to Dr. Steen, standing behind him.
Ace glances over to Dr. Miller, his look quizzical.
As Skype works to connect (which takes a little while even when the person's in the same country, much less halfway around the world), Edwin mentions to Ace, "I just looked away for a second, and boom, she broke her leg." He winks at Dr. Miller.
Ace blinks, and reaches for his communicator pad, tapping out, "You OK Dr Miller"
Michel nods at Ace's question. "I'm fine, Ace. Just a small accident, don't worry. Hairline breaks; as you get older they become for likely." No need to tell Ace about the giant aliens invading Earth; it would just upset him.
Skype finally manages to connect, and the connection screen widens to envelop the tablet screen. There's a very cheerful-looking Japanese man in his office. He bows deeply, smiling cheerfully. "Dr. Steen! Hello! It's wonderful to see you again!" He speaks very good English. "And I see our patient, and who else do I have the pleasure of speaking to??"
"Dr. Yamashita, it's great to talk to you again," Dr. Steen says. "This is Col. Armbruster, of course, and my colleague Dr. Michel Miller."
Ace nods hello in as polite a means as possible considering his condition.
"Hello Dr. Yamashita." Dr. Miller says politely, waving a bit and nodding as a sort of bow. "Dr. Steen's told me a lot about you; says you're amazing at your work. He's not prone to hyperbole."
"Aw, I don't know, I think maybe he is kind of laying it on thick," Dr. Yamashita says modestly. "Anyhow! Let's get right to it. The procedure is going to be...maybe 3, or 4 hours tops. If all goes well, I would even say 2.5 hours." He shows off what appears to be a model rendering of the front half (the *facial* half) of a skull, separated vertically from the back half. "This is the implant. It looks...a bit like clay, yes? Only it's more durable, and very much lighter. This was created in the 3-D printer, using a CAD model of Col. Armbruster's facial bones prior to the...accident." Dr. Yamashita doesn't have any idea what happened, but it looks like an accident to him. Maybe truck vs. face, as they would say in EMS lingo. "Step one: We peel back the face from the skull. Very simple. Second step: fit the implant into place and thread through facial nerves. Not so simple, but we do careful work and it will do just fine. Okay, third step, everything goes back into place. Also from the 3-D printer, I have made: tooth implants. From dental records."
Dr. Steen looks VERY surprised. He didn't know about this! "You remade his TEETH, too??"
"Ahahaha, well why not, Dr. Steen, that's what I say. Col. Armbruster? What do you think of this so far? Do you think I'm a crazy guy? Or maybe this could work?" Dr. Yamashita grins charmingly.
Ace taps out, "If Dr Steen says you can you can. Thank you. I look forward to your results."
Michel is very impressed as well. "I see Dr. Steen wasn't exaggerating; I'm very impressed Dr. Yamashita." she says, grinning. "It would be a privilege indeed to see your work firsthand."
"Thank you so much, Dr. Miller," Dr. Yamashita says with an appreciative bow. "Plus what is really wicked great is that there is virtually no chance of rejection, as this material has been tested in joint implants and heart stents very thoroughly."
Ace looks up at Steen. "This isnt something I need to be awake for is it" he taps.
"No, Ace, you'll be out like a light," Dr. Steen promises. He looks at Dr. Yamashita with a brow raised. "...Wait, did you just say 'wicked'?"
"Now, this material does, eventually, begin to break down over time, but I don't want you to worry over that. It should last a very long time," Dr. Yamashita says to Ace, moving on from his New England slang-dropping. "Teeth are made stronger and will last 20 years, face maybe 15-20 years, then? It just gets reprinted and replaced! All of it can be replaced very easily, from the master file."
Michel snickers at the 'wicked' comment. "Any suggestions on care for the implants, Dr. Yamashita?" she asks, politely.
Ace blinks, silently pondering the horror of having to get one's face replaced every 15 to 20 years. Better than the alternative, however...
"Implant cares for itself! It's implant and no worries. Something maybe Col. Armbruster may want to watch is the teeth; they should hold up like regular teeth, but remember now that you have no tooth nerves anymore. It's good, right? No cavities? But the bad side is that you need to...watch for breaks and missing teeth, because now you won't feel them. They will be in the gums, but they have no nerves. So watch them. The face is not a problem. You break it again, it's a simple replacement, may be a 30 minute surgery at most," Dr. Yamashita remarks, pausing to sip on coffee.
Dr. Yamashita then puts down his coffee mug, and takes out a model of teeth. "Look familiar?? These, modeled from actual dental records. Smile!" He beams happily, putting the teeth model down.
Michel grins; the man was certainly a cheerful fellow. "Thank you so much, Dr. Yamashita."
[G.I. Joe] Autobot Broadside says, "Doctor, er, Lifeline?"
[G.I. Joe] Lifeline says, "Speaking."
Ace taps out, "I'll try not to break my face again but it's good to know it's replaceable."
[G.I. Joe] Autobot Broadside says, "Jetfire has transported more wounded to the mainland."
Dr. Yamashita smiles. "It is, that's the best thing of all. This new face can get replaced anytime it wears out! So handy. It's very popular here in Japan." He smiles and bows. "Thank you so much for your time, I hope everything is explained okay. Side effects are going to be pain fron surgery, but that will certainly go away."
"Dr. Yamashita, I'm afraid I'm being called, thanks for explaining everything," Dr. Steen says.
"Domo arigato! Have a wonderful day, or evening...? Evening for you and morning for me!" Dr. Yamashita says with a chuckle, and the call terminates.
[G.I. Joe] Lifeline says, "Can I get an estimate of about how many?"
Ace taps out, "Interesting fellow."
Michel nods, smiling faintly. "He seems a most pleasant man."
"Ichiro's an interesting guy. He *was* going to stay here, but it turned out he could do more projects in Japan that he enjoyed doing because they have a different medical system there -- not as much 'red tape' involved, you could say. He wanted to merge the technology of the 3-d printer with medicine. Japan's got a definite 10-15 year lead on us with that," Dr. Steen says.
Ace taps out, "Sounds like it"
Michel smiles, and readjusts how she's standing. "Dr. Steen, you said you wanted to take a look at my leg, make sure the fractures were healing correctly?"
"Yes! Actually, I wanted to get another scan and compare it to the first one," Dr. Steen admits.
"Okay then." Dr. Miller makes her way over to where the examination will take place, sitting down and getting comfortable.
"OK, let's just get a few images..." He gives Dr. Miller a lead apron, and positions her leg to get a few good shots of it. In-between these shots, he asks, "How's the pain today, compared with yesterday?"
Ace lays back to rest, and tries not to have nightmares about his skin getting peeled back from his broken face like an orange.
Staring down death in the face while driving directly at an aerial attacker at Mach 3? Nary an eyelid twitch. Laying helpless pondering medical procedures needed to rebuild his face? A bit more humbling.
"Doesn't hurt nearly as much." Dr. Miller reports, staying still for the pictures. "I can put some weight on it when I walk, but I still need a crutch to go any real distance."
"Hm, okay." He clicks on a monitor, and shortly, Dr. Miller's leg pictures appear there. "...Okay, look. This is why I'm glad I put you on that bone-builder. This scan's from when you first came in...and over here is the one from today. Look how the fracture lines have softened."
"Wow, that's impressive healing." Dr. Miller notes with a smile, looking at the pictures. "I thought I'd be bedridden for two weeks!"
"Well, I still want you taking this medication...I know it has a couple of annoying side effects, but try to bear with them as best you can, because the results are very impressive," Dr. Steen notes dryly. Maybe he's just putting on the serious act because Ace is in the room.
Ace is no longer responding... he's either asleep or lapsing into depression.
Michel nods. "The side effects aren't too bad..." Her stomach rumbles, and she laughs. "Must be dinner time."
"Hmm, would you like to go out to dinner, Dr. Miller? Would you be up for that?" Dr. Steen remembers, in the back of his mind, that Sparks gave him a call this week. This has not been the best week for him to plan the Stars & Stripes Bar & Grill with him, but he's still got it in the planning phase.
"I would -love- to go out for dinner." Dr. Miller reponds with a faint blush. "But, I'll have to put on some decent clothes."
"Nope, you can stay as-is, you're beautiful anyhow. We can go eat on the off-duty level. And take a rain check on an actual 5-star bistro in downtown Omaha until that leg gets a little more healed up. This way it's less pressure, simpler and you don't need to worry about the leg hurting," Dr. Steen says, as he changes out Ace's paraenteral nutrition IV bag.
Ace is out like a light.
Michel chuckles, and gets to her feet, leaning on her crutch heavily. "Well, I guess that'll do for now, my dear doctor."
"You sure you won't need the wheelchair? There's no shame in it...I just don't want you in pain," Dr. Steen says with some concern.
Michel considers that. "...I think that would be best." she says, going to sit down while Edwin fetches the chair.
Ace moans quietly in his sleep, having a dream about a nightmarish Lifeline scraping Ace's face back with a potato peeler, a manic grin on his face as Ace's horror is reflected in Lifeline's green-tinted glasses.
Edwin fetches the wheelchair, and situates Michel in it gently. "OK, off we go!"
[G.I. Joe] Master Sergeant Mace says, "... all..."
[G.I. Joe] Lifeline says, "Can't hear you, sorry! Interference is too much."
[G.I. Joe] Master Sergeant Mace says, "... Deadline... Deadline has escaped."
[G.I. Joe] Nightingale says, "What?!"
[G.I. Joe] Raven says, "...Well. There goes my evening."
[G.I. Joe] Lifeline says, "What?!"
[G.I. Joe] Master Sergeant Mace says, "*static* *Static* *clears* ... the Denver County Detention Center. In a stolen SWAT van."
[G.I. Joe] Lifeline says, "Maybe NOW they'll take us seriously! Maybe now, when even *more* people are killed!"
[G.I. Joe] Raven says, "We'll just have to keep that from happening, then."
Ace mutters to himself, "... my..."
[G.I. Joe] Col. Ace says, "... my..."
[G.I. Joe] Nightingale says, "Where is he headed? Wait... How'd he get out?!"
[G.I. Joe] Raven says, "Action now, questions later."
[G.I. Joe] Master Sergeant Mace says, "He ... well, his associate, Raven -- the OTHER Raven -- rammed a stolen SWAT van into the side of the jail. I shot Raven at point-blank range -- he may be dying -- but not fast enough to keep them from driving off. I was unable to pursue on foot."
[G.I. Joe] Raven pauses. "The *other* Raven. Okay, that's new."
[G.I. Joe] Master Sergeant Mace says, "He's calling himself 'Crow'. I have extensive knowledge of their operation here, but if they skip town, I may lose the trail."
[G.I. Joe] Nightingale says, "Wait, Raven has a portal double? Why haven't we heard of him before?"
[G.I. Joe] Raven says, "This...scares me. A lot."
[G.I. Joe] Master Sergeant Mace says, "Do NOT underestimate him. He is far more dangerous than his appearance."
[G.I. Joe] Raven says, "I was afraid of that. Okay, so between Deadline and this 'Crow' guy...looks like we're going hunting for evil doubles."
[G.I. Joe] Master Sergeant Mace says, "I'll get patched up and then back on the case. You might want to call in some trackers in the meantime. Mace, out."