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+--- Thread: If fate demands it.... (/showthread.php?tid=175437)
If fate demands it.... - Widow - 12-13-2019
"no no no no, this isn't meant to happen…… not now…. Please not now"
The was barely audiable over the alarms blaring at her, letting her know there was a problem with her ship. She had escaped the battle, just, but the constant alarms told her she was in trouble above what she could deal with.
"where do I go….. Where do……"
She faltered. It wasn't just her ship that was damaged in the fight. Her hand moved over to her side, it was damp, she was bleeding. She glanced down to see what had caused it, paying no attention to the cuts up her arms. She decided it was metal from her damaged Hull that was the culprit, but she was afraid to touch anything. She shook her head slightly, her thoughts were racing. The last time this happened she was able to get to safety, the last time this happened she was OK. She began to convince herself this would be the same but stopped part way through. Unless there was a miracle these would be her last moments, as an ex rogue she had seen this before. She had been talking to pilots trying to guide them home as the ship just gave up. She had to tell the families they weren't coming home - except she didn't have family, she walked away from that. The thought of that hurt. She would never see him again, and it was all her fault, and now she will die alone.
The alarms were constant, a new one was sounding. The oxygen was low. She couldn't help but think at least that would be a painless way to go. Her eyes were heavy, and the alarms were becoming distant. She was tired, she thought she saw movement outside, but she was unable to focus. She uttered a sorry before closing her eyes.
RE: If fate demands it.... - Doc Holliday - 12-15-2019
Med Force One, Baffin System
Finally, some upgrades. It took a couple of years but the new alien drive was installed and functioning. It's success would mean more advances for the Enterprise. The big ship was somewhere between Med Force General and the jumphole to Tau 31. The hospital and Pueblo Bonita were specs.
"All right, Mr. Sloan," stated Commander Haddock from his chair on the command bridge, "the ship is yours. You may run your tests." Haddock then sipped his coffee.
With a nod, chief engineer Eddie Sloan began his work. "Let's start easy. Engage the impulse engines." With that, the big ship lurched forward. Within a minute or so, it was holding steady.
"All systems show normal, Sir," stated an engineer. "Our readings are below what our old drives produced. So far, so good."
"Good," replied Mr. Sloan, "go to cruise." The engines loaded up and finally, the ship again pushed forward. Within a few minutes, the readings stabilized.
"Again, all readings are excellent, below the old system."
"Keep them going and make a nice big turn in the system. Let's see how she holds up in a long burn," ordered Sloan.
As the ship was cruising, the helmsman on the bridge shouted to his captain. "Sir, I'm reading a ship speeding.........." He paused to get a course before continuing..."towards Med Force General."
"Make?" requested Haddock.
"It's a Rogue ship but it's speeding out of control," announced the helmsman. He was running a scan on it, "Most of its systems are down however its engines are going critical. No life support and.........a very faint lifesign on board." He then turned to his Commander, "Sir, that ship is going to hit the hospital and we can't turn to intercept nor can we get close enough to use a tractor beam."
"Dammit!" said Haddock under his breath before calling the hospital. "Med Force General, this is Med Force One with a code one emergency. You have a runaway ship headed for the base with one life sign on board and we can't stop it. Destroy it before it hits." He then watched his monitor as the ship sped by.
Med Force General, Baffin
"Lock onto that ship," ordered the watch commander, "Use space nets to catch the pod if you can and prepare a medical team."
A burst of turret fire struck the helpless ship which exploded. Sure enough, the pod was sling shotting towards the base where space nets caught it. Finally, it was brought in.
A young female was recovered from the pod. Her right side was badly bleeding and by the evidence, she was getting into the advanced stage of a collapsed lung. She wasn't breathing and her pulse was weak and fading. Numerous cuts, bruises and abrasions were about her face and arms.
The attending physician inserted a tube into the right side of her chest to re-inflate the lung and told the crew to get her to surgery as she probably had more injuries than what she was showing.
RE: If fate demands it.... - Widow - 12-15-2019
The ship creaked and fell to pieces around her, the turret fire did not miss its mark and the pod was thrown into space. She was aware of a sharp movement as she was ejected, but she was unaware of what was happening. She had lost her will to fight, after all, what was the point. She had no credits to repair the damage this time, the last time she had tried they did what they could to help, but it was by no means fixed. She had no one to go home to anymore. And end to her pitiful existance would mean an eternity of rest, one she had grown to welcome.
She wore a ring, the only a item that she wore that would have been worth anything. It was the only thing she had refused to part with. Other than that, she had very few features that could be used to identify her, she made sure of this after her departure from the Rogues. She wore jeans, a singlet top, and light trainers. Her hair was tied loosely in a ponytail to keep it out of her face.
She was still responsive to pain, barely, occasionally flinching as the tube was inserted and as the wounds were being assessed. She took a shallow and shaky breath. It was barely enough to celebrate, but it was on her own. She was prepared for surgery, still bleeding on the table.
RE: If fate demands it.... - Doc Holliday - 12-15-2019
Main Surgical Ward, Med Force General, Room 3
She was a mess. The exploding ship only made the matter worse. The surgeon went to work with his team and one by one, pieces of metal were removed from her flesh. There was no time to stabilize her as she was at death's door when she arrived. Her clothing or what was left of it, was cut away. Plasma burns from gunfire and electrical burns from failing equipment were found about her body. She was also working on her third pint of blood. She also had some light swelling in the brain so she was put into a medically induced coma.
"I'll be surprised if she survives this," commented one of the nurses.
"Well, the fact she did this long gives me hope that she will," replied the surgeon as he put an open hand out. "Clamp." She put a clamp in his hand and he returned to fixing the damaged body of his patient.
"Any idea who she is?" asked the nurse.
"Not a clue," replied the doctor. "They're crossing her DNA against the database now so maybe we'll find that out later."
"Well someone loves her because that ring that we put into security was rather nice," stated the nurse.
"Probably stolen," replied the surgeon as he worked, "I mean, she was in a Rogue ship so its a pretty good guess."
They would continue to work for several hours, keeping her sedated.
RE: If fate demands it.... - Widow - 12-15-2019
Her DNA was the only thing she had no control over, she had figured if anyone was going to get close enough to even have access, she would have bigger issues than someone finding her name. If she was close enough to allow anyone access, she would have been as good as dead anyway. She was considered a deserter of the Rogues, and the punishment for that was death. Death not only to her, but those helping her.
The surgery was progressing well, surprisingly well. Her shallow breathing still faltered every so often, it would have been enough to make the nurses uneasy. She wasn't stable, but each passing moment she was being dragged away from deaths door.
Hours passed, and it would be at the very least hours more before she would be comfortably taken out of the induced coma.
RE: If fate demands it.... - Doc Holliday - 12-15-2019
Main Surgical Ward, Med Force General, Room 3
The more that they worked, the more they found. It was evident that whoever did this to her wanted her dead which began to raise conversation amongst the surgical team. Broken bones. It would be broken ribs that pierced her lung more than the piece of metal that found its way into her chest cavity. Jarring in the cockpit of her ship resulted in broken facial bones. Her right wrist and forearm were broken as well and ligaments required re-attachment. This would keep the team busy.
"Someone really didn't like her," commented someone on the team.
"Apparently not," replied the surgeon. "Suction, please."
A ligament was re-attached.
"I know this, she's going to be here awhile," stated the surgeon, "the advantage of this base's seclusion helps."
Med Force General DNA Lab
"Are you sure about this?" asked the lead tech.
"Completely," replied the technician. "I ran the results twice to be sure."
The lead tech sighed. "Find John. He's the only one who can explain this."
RE: If fate demands it.... - Widow - 12-15-2019
The fight had been an unfair one from the beginning, they had been following her for a few days, collecting power. After all, takin down the infamous Thing would have put them in good standing. She was outnumbered four to one, and the greyhound never stood a chance. Luck was on her side and she had managed to flee, she wasn't sure how, all she knew at that point was she needed to survive. She ended up making it through a number of systems. Every jump gate and hole made her nervous, she wasn't sure her ship would have survived that. Every jump the Hull would bend and creak around her, occasionally more parts would fall off to be lost in space. To make matters worse, by the time she reached Baffin, she had become hopelessly lost. Thing was terrified.
Under the surgeons care, It was evident this wasn't the first time she had been injured, she had a collection of existing scars that were becoming viable as the blood was cleared, it was evident she had lived a hard life. Given the ship she had arrived in, it would not have surprised them one bit, however not all were the cause of her time with the Rogues.
RE: If fate demands it.... - Doc Holliday - 12-15-2019
Main Surgical Ward, Med Force General, Room 3
After several hours, the chief surgeon called an end to the surgery. All that could be done for now was done. There was still mild swelling in the brain so he opted to let her rest awhile.
"Keep her sedated and give me hourly reports on her condition. The only person allowed to bring her out is me, understood?"
"Perfectly, Doctor," replied the nurse. The nurse then cleaned her up, blanketed her and wheeled her gurney into intensive care where the doctor's instructions were relayed.
In the DNA lab, the conversation continued.
"Last I knew, John was trading in the Rheinland somewhere," explained the technician.
The lead nodded his understanding. "Well, if I'm correct, John took this sample but why and how?"
"Well, Doc doesn't turn anyone away so it's no surprise...that and he's not afraid to gamble in some rather shady places," replied the technician.
"True," replied the lead. "Keep this quiet, I'll find him."
Within a few minutes, a heavily encrypted transmission was sent to John Holliday.
RE: If fate demands it.... - Widow - 12-16-2019
Behind the bruises and cuts across her face, and the blood stained hair, she almost looked peaceful. She looked as if she could just be sleeping. Her breathing was as close to normal as it could be expected considering the extent of the injuries. The surgical team had done wonders in fixing her given how they had found her.
She wasn't out of the woods yet, while she was doing significantly better, she still had a long way to go. Waking up was going to be the next milestone, after that it would be an hour by hour fight for her. Given she had little to live for, this would be an uphill battle.
RE: If fate demands it.... - Doc Holliday - 12-16-2019
Over A Comm Somewhere In Sirius
The chief surgeon, lab supervisor and Doc were chatting over a com system. Doc was briefed on what had happened.
"John," stated the surgeon, "for me it was just another day until the lab results came back."
"My tech ran them twice to make sure," added the supervisor.
The results were sent to Doc as was a detailed picture of the ring. It was then that Doc went silent. It was a very long silence as he looked and had to step away.
"John, are you OK?" asked the surgeon. Doc didn't respond.
He was angry, sad, relieved and now confused. He thought she was dead. Was he too fast with her? Did he again fall in love with the wrong woman in a desperate search for companionship? Was he angry with himself more than her? He didn't really know. He sighed before returning to the com. He was somber.
"Her name is Ashley," he said softly, "and I gave her that ring. I gave it to her after she accepted my marriage proposal." He sighed again, "She disappeared shortly after and I never heard from her again."
The supervisor and surgeon looked at each other before looking back to Doc.
"John, I'm sorry," said the surgeon, "I had no idea."
"You would not," replied Doc. "I kept it quiet. She is a Rogue, one who wanted to change her life."
"If it means anything, Doc, she had the ring on her finger when she came here," added the supervisor.
Doc again went speechless, just nodding.
"Listen, we'll take care of her until you get back," explained the surgeon, "she still has some mild swelling in her brain so we're keeping her sedated. For what it's worth, she's my patient right now. Collect yourself and let her stay that way. I mean, with all due respect, I'm not so sure that you could be objective right now."
Again, Doc nodded his agreement and the conference ended.
Picking up a load of food and medicine, he made his way home to Med Force General.