Nightshift 49: West Wing, South Hall 2-B

[scalyfishman.livejournal.com]

[from here]

The hallway was empty, but Depth Charge was used to that by now. This place seemed to have a thing for drama, and what could be more dramatic than footsteps echoing in a long, bare, dark hallway?

Checking briefly over his shoulder to make sure Hime was still following him (like Pit he was going to lose sight of her around here, not with his track record), he bypassed the first door and stopped in front of the door to the sleep trial hallway. "Not broken down yet," he commented, giving the door a little experimental push with his shoulder. As expected it didn't budge, but it gave the same old satisfactory creak that indicated it could be easily broken down. "Congratulations. We're the first here tonight." The first ones not strapped down, at least.

Obviously, expecting the princess herself to do any manual labour was out of the question. Dropping his flashlight expectantly in the general direction of Hime's hands so that he at least had one hand free, he stood back, gripped the crowbar in both hands and swung it at the lock so that it made that satisfying little chipping sound he was so used to hearing around here. A few solid hits and the lock would free up, good as gold.

Comments

[hes-deadjim.livejournal.com]

McCoy grumbled but didn't argue the matter. Spock knew what he meant. Whether it was crude to his Vulcan ears or not, McCoy thought it sounded highly appropriate. Did the man really want to start discussing the proper descriptive terms out here in the hallway and while they were on a mission?

The doctor had seen him settle on less to argue about. It didn't help that over half the time McCoy was prodding and provoking him every chance he got.

"I think it's fitting," McCoy said. He continued. "I haven't noticed a specific criteria they're going by when they select for experiments, have you?" he asked. Jim had clearly been singled out, his 'story' tailored for him. He didn't think they were going to just up and announce their criteria, but maybe Spock had noticed something he'd overlooked. Maybe it would help them figure out what was going on with them. Of course, it'd help to know exactly what these people were looking for or what they were trying to accomplish in the first place. They could conjecture all they want, but it was still just conjecture.

With any luck, maybe they could find this roommate of his before it was too late. Or maybe those experiments wouldn't involve that. The two alternatives he'd seen hadn't looked much better though.

Spock was turning towards the hallway that branched off. He understood that well enough. Spock didn't have to say anything, the doctor was already moving to follow that flashlight beam pointing down that hall. A row of doors on either side of the hallway stretched downwards, ending in another door at the end.

McCoy tried the first door, the one marked "Nurse's Station". It didn't give.

[dual-worlds.livejournal.com]

No, Spock hadn't accumulated enough data to ascertain how specific their criteria was. Gabriel claimed he had been experimented on once before. Was there was some sort of screening process that predicted who the most successful test subjects would be? The possibility couldn't be discarded, but he would need to check to see how prevalent it was for the staff to pull the same patients for multiple experiments, and, if so, what the precise nature of these experiments was.

"There may be criteria we are currently unaware of," Spock said. "We would do well to consider this when asking other patients about their experiences in the institute."

In the meantime, they would need to carefully look through the rooms in the immediate area while using their time efficiently. Spock glanced at the first door, recognizing it as one of the nurse's stations, not unlike the one located downstairs. "The nurse's station on the first floor was completely locked," he informed McCoy. "In all likelihood, we will not be able to enter this one, either."

Although it would have been ideal to have been able to successfully open it, Spock knew better than to dwell on a lost cause. That was why he focused his attention on the next door. After momentarily setting his bat down against the wall, he placed his hand on the knob and turned it. It, too, was locked, though not as tightly as the way in which the nurse's station was. After pushing his weight against it for a moment, Spock realized the lock was probably about as strong as the one leading into the pharmacy.

"We may be able to force this one open if we use our combined strength," he said.

[hes-deadjim.livejournal.com]

What, ask the patients why they thought they got selected for any experimentation done on them, cool as you please, and all the gory details while they were at it? Did Spock expect it to go down that easily? McCoy didn't. Information gathering among general humanoids was easy in theory, more complex in practice. There was a little something called emotions that Spock tended to forget about, and then any traumatic memories and reactions regarding their ordeals. Some might handle it better and be able to talk about it with more ease, others couldn't.

The doctor wasn't nearly as surprised to hear that specific request come again. The door had seemed to have more give to it than the nurse's station, although there didn't seem like there was that much rhyme or reason to what they locked down in the first place. Why not just keep the patient blocks locked down in the first place?

All the same, when he signed aboard the Enterprise, he hadn't thought that he'd be doing all that much of this sort of thing all the same. It was starting to feel like he was going to spend more time trying to force doors open, rely on (combined) brute strength than actually practicing medicine.

"I'm a doctor, Mr. Spock. Not a battering ram," he said. McCoy positioned himself at the door anyway, shoulder braced towards it. He met Spock's eyes, wordlessly giving the signal that he was ready, then hurled himself at it.

[dual-worlds.livejournal.com]

Upon hearing the comment, Spock glanced toward McCoy and raised an eyebrow. Ultimately, however, he didn't say anything further. Instead, he reached down for his bat and positioned himself along with the doctor, carefully aiming his shoulder at the door's surface. While it likely would have been easier to do so without a weapon in hand, the fact remained that they were uncertain as to what, exactly, they would find. Spock did not want McCoy and himself to be caught without any means to properly defend themselves.

Once McCoy indicated he was ready to force the door open, the two officers threw their weight forward. The surface rattled, but the door didn't open. After one more try, however, it abruptly flew inward, allowing them to stumble in.

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