Erik chuckled as the corperal complimented Cassandra. "He may be right. Some men like a tough woman who can take charge." When the gas patient arrived Erik frowned. "Poor bastard. Rebels dont follow the rules for banned weapons so they use anything they can get their hands on. Seems like they have a chemist that was smart enough to know what ingtedients to mix to make toxic gas. Not as lethal as the proffessional stuff, but in large amounts its equally deadly." The man pn the gurney was breathing wetly and coughing specks of blood, and his eyes were blood red from gas exposure. It seemed the man was blind but could hear those around him. A looked around for the sound of voices and in between choking coughs blurted out some words. "Hurts...help...water.."

Erik shook his head and sighed. "Do not give him any water. His lungs are filled with liquid and he might choke if he tries to swallow water. Best bet is to put an anesthetic oxygen gas mask mix on him. Will knock him out and hopefully stop the coughing long enough for you to work." The man went into another coughing fit and bloody mucus sprayed out from his mouth. "Might wanna put a mask on as well." Erik pulled out a bandana and tied it around his nose and mouth.

The food here is standard military quality. Mostly MREs and instant food mixes. The one thing the refugees have over the troops is that they can go out and hunt for food. There is a large rodent that when cooked tastes pretty good. The refugees are resourceful if anything."
 
Cassandra listened to Erik as he explained the toxic gas and she watched the patient as she pulled a mask from the drawer. Harrison already had the oxygen mask for the man when she approached him and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Private Healy," she said close to his ear, "Please try to relax. I know you are hurting, but try to relax. I am Doctor Brandford, and I am going to take care of you."

She nodded to harrison and he placed the mask over the patient's nose and mouth, "Just breathe as normally as you can," she instructed and waited until he fell asleep before she scanned him. "chest tube," she said as she grabbed the scalpel from the tray and made a small cut on the private's side and then deeper. She grabbed the tube and pushed it into the incision and into the man's lung. She put the other end into a basin and watched as reddish liquid poured out and down into the basin. "Come and watch this side?' she said to Harrison and moved to the other side. She performed the same procedure there and again the same reddish liquid. She held the tube in place while she crouched beside the table and opened the doors beneath where they had supplies. Harrison knew her habits and preferences and he always set things up exactly the same way every time. She grabbed an IV bag kit and reached into the back for a vial of prednizone. She grabbed a bit of tape to hold her tube in place and then felt his hand for a good IV vein. She found one and had a good line in and then held the bag up to allow liquid to drain into the tubing before attaching it.

Once she had the IV line running to replace the fluids in the body she turned the oxygen level in the mask up and then injected the steroid into the IV. She hung the IV bag and crouched to grab some eye drops and moved to the man's head. She opened his eye and let three drops of solution fall onto his eye covering it before she let the lid close. She moved and gave the other eye the same treatment and put the drops back under the table where they had been. She scanned the man's lungs again and watched through the scan to see if the steroid and draining were having any impact. His lungs were still spasming, but there was more room for oxygen to get into the lungs with the fluid draining.

Harrison nodded, "Nothing draining on this side now."

She moved her eye over to that lung and it was not refilling with fluid as he side was, somehow he inhaled more to the left lung than the right, she had no idea how...but apparently he had. Or his Left lung was weaker, which was sometimes the case. She finished scanning and nodded, "Switch places," she said and went around to his side of the table and carefully removed the tube and then sealed the lung with a cauterized seal and then stitched the small exterior incision normally. She stood and scanned the right lung and was pleased at the way the steroid was opening the airways. They let the left lung drain until nothing came out anymore and she removed it and sealed that as she had the other finishing off with the normal stitches.

She checked his eyes again and some of the redness was gone, but not all. She frowned. "I'm not sure we can save his sight," she said with a huff of annoyance. "i can't do that kind of implant here, it wouldn't be safe." She was frowning and had her arms crossed as she thought of a solution. She moved to his chart and updated it and frowned, "damn it," she said finally, "There's nothing I can do here...I hate that.." She rubbed the bridge of her nose as the orderlies entered, "He needs the locker room...thank you."

She watched him leave as the wheels in her head were running at breakneck speed, "I'll figure something out..." She said to no one in particular but mostly to herself. She often gave herself little pep talks to keep herself going. She looked over at Ritkof and shrugged, "I talk to myself sometimes..." She said and then checked to make sure no new cases came in and saw the empty queue.

"That was everyone," she said to Harrison who was cleaning as he always did. "Get some rest Harrison, and some of that great combat rations."

She looked back to Ritkif then and smiled a tired smile, "Thank you for staying," she said, "You were a big help. Sorry to have taken up all of your down time. How can I make it up to you?" she asked, which was very uncharacteristic of her. Normally she did no initiate any kind of friendships, outside her team, and even those were very superficial. Somehow he seemed like part of the team though, and that's how she was justifying it in her mind.
 
Erik watched appreciatively as Cassandra worked. "Sometimes the best you can do is not what you want to do. If he is lucky he can get a new pair of eyes when he gets shipped out. But for now he will probably be almost blind. But from what I saw it was just the surface membranes of his eyes that were burned. When he gets to a real hospital they can fix his eyes there. You did the best you could."

Getting up and stretching, Erik laughed when Cassandra offered him some sort of compensation. "It's fine Brandford, I liked watching you work. I suggest you get some rest and grub as soon as you can. Never know when more patients will come in. The real doctors get private rooms up in the stands. Not really a room though, just a viewing box that has the basic necessities for a bedroom. No private toilet though. You will have to use the communal bathrooms the officers and doctors share." He looked up as the large stadium lights turned on as the sun set, bathing everything in a white glow. "Alright I am off to bed, been out all day and I am dog tired. See ya around Brandford." With a sloppy salute, Erik wandered off to the makeshift barracks."
 
Cassandra nodded, "Doesn't mean I have to like it," she said with a slight smirk on her face, "I know the drops will keep infection away, so that will give him a better chance later. "I just hate that feeling of leaving a job half done. He's going to have a long recovery though," she sighed and stretched as well.

He declined her offer of compensation and she was frankly glad of it, because she had NO idea what he might ahve asked for, or what she could have reasonably offered. "Are the boxes assigned?" she asked, "Or do I just use a vacant bed and be glad?' she didn't really care. She was exhausted, though she would not show that. She's been handling patients all day and running all over the ship and then coming here on the crazy shuttle. Long day, but she felt good about what she'd been able to get accomplished. "Maybe some day I'll get to watch you in Action Ritkof," she grinned, "I have a feeling it would be an interesting show."

She returned Harrison's wave as he left the tend and went wherever he was going, one could never tell. "You rest well," she said, "i'm sure I'll see you around, this isn't that big a hospital. And thanks again." She watched him leave and scooted the chair back up to the screen and made more notes on each patient's chart before she tapped it of and left the tent herself.
 
Up in the viewing stands, one room had Cassandra's last name written hastily on a piece of paper and taped to the door. Inside was a cot, a desk and chair, and a small closet. One wall that faced the inside of the stadium was made entirely of clear glass plastic. A simple curtain had been attached to it to maintain a sense of privacy.

An older man in a colonel's uniform approached Cassandra and smiled gently. "Doctor Brandford. My name is Peter Longston. I am the officer in charge of this field hospital. Sorry I did not have time to properly greet you when you arrived. But I am glad you found your way to your tent and were able to work. Do you need a tour of the facilities? I can have someone show you around if you want?"
 
Cassandra smiled and extended her hand to the man who approached her, "A pleasure Mr. Longston," she said, "I believe Leon and Arlo gave me a thorough tour, and what they did not provide, Erik Ritkof was kind enough to fill in...with the possible exception of the location of the communal rest rooms. I don't suppose you ahve a simple map of this place ling around? I hate to take anyone from their duties. I know it must be very hectic here."

She was carrying a small duffle bag with a few of her personal items in it. She wasn't one to pack a lot, and she didn't require a lot of frills. She was wearing the same clothes she'd arrived in and they were blood spattered and had a rather off odor to them from the fluid that had drained out of Private Healy, but she no longer noticed such things. She couldn't speak for Mr. Longston, but then again she didn't give the thought any notice either. He was in charge of a field hospital, he had to be used to such things.

"Thank you setting me up with a private space," she said, "We brought supplies with us, and it was a very workable space. I'm sure it will be well used, too. I understand the war is not waning at all, and that casualties roll in almost daily." She hated that she needed to be here, but she was glad to be of service and help to the men and women, as well as the refugees.

She gave him a rather odd look, "But if you could just point, or direct me to the facilities...it would be greatly appreciated."
 
The colonel nodded and smiled, "the facilities are down the hall from the boxes. You need to go to the end where the old elevators are and they are on either side. They are seperated by men and women so you dont have to worry about sharing with men. If you need a shower the engineers have rigged a simple shower tent by the west end of the field. It may be noisy at times with dropships and the nearby artillery battery but we discourage ear plugs in case of an emergency alert broadcast."

Finishing his speech, the colonel smiled and gave Cassandra a quick salute. "I need to return to my duties but feel free to ask any of your neighbors for help. I believe your neighbors are doctor Stein, and captain Warrens. Stein is a bit of an eccentric but he is the best we have for brain trauma. Warrens is in charge of our security here so if you have any concerns ask him." With that the colonel walked off into the sea of tents as artillery boomed in the distance.
 
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Cassandra listened and nodded and watched him leave. She saw the door with the paper taped name on it and literally threw her duffle bag into the room and then made her way to the end of the hall and into the ladies' room. At that particular moment, she wouldn't have cared if it was a bucket with 10 people watching her. She was glad there were separate areas for men and women, but when you have to go, you have to go. Thinking about a past experience when she'd shocked Harrison, she laughed a bit and then left the room after washing her hands. They'd been sent to find a man, who'd left an outpost and wandered into a fairly dense jungle like overgrowth. They looked for hours and she finally couldn't hold it any more, and though she warned him, he apparently hadn't believed her. She was chuckling to herself at the memory of his face.

As she made her way back down the hall she made note of the names on the doors, and saw that Warren was to the left and Stein, the eccentric brain specialist was to her right. Having the security officer next to her was comforting and she was actually curious to know what the Colonel would label eccentric. She'd found that most brilliant people were a little odd in the way that they related to others, but she supposed that was because their brains were about a hundred times more active. She'd have to meet her neighbors tomorrow though, her body was in need of sleep. The shower could wait as well...though, given the way she smelled. She glanced at the other boxes and then lifted her scrubs and gave them a sniff and then sighed. She supposed a shower would be a good idea after all.

She gathered clean clothes and some soap and made her way to the shower tent, asking for directions a few times. She finally found it and took a quick shower and soaped up her scrubs while she was int here too. There were probably laundry facilities here, but she was happy to clean the scrubs along with herself. She had to admit the water felt good on her aching muscles. After rinsing out her dirty clothes she turned off the water and dressed in the clean ones. She wrung as much water out of the scrubs and then put them in the mesh bag she'd carried her other clothes in. She made her way back to the boxes and hung the wet clothes over the desk and chair to dry. They'd more than likely be stiff when they dried but she wasn't too picky about such things. She'd eventually find out how they handled laundry here, until then this was workable.

She laid on the hard bed, and was out cold within minutes.
 
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The next morning was greeted by the sounds of starfighters screaming over the stadium on their way to a mission. The loudspeakers began to blare reveille for the troops. Soon after the officer of communications began reading off the announcements for the day. Next door from Doctor Stein's room, there was the sound of a loud thump of someone falling out of bed. Soon after there was muted grumbling and the sound of footsteps stomping out the room and down the hall.

Suddenly the loudspeaker clicked on again. "Doctor Brandford report to the admin tent. Repeat, Doctor Brandford report to the admin tent." The sound of doors spamming and many footsteps echoed down the hall as doctors and officers woke up and went about their daily routines.
 
Cassandra didn't fall out of bed, but she was jolted awake by the sound of the low flying starfighters. She heard reveille and her feet slipped out from under the covers and into the shoes on the floor next to the bed. It had been a bit chilly last night, so she'd slept with her socks on. She ehard the thump in the next room and almost called out to Doctor Stein but changed her mind quickly. She wouldn't want anyone to act like they'd heard that if it had been her. She heard the muttering and the door slamming shut and figured he must be fine.

She was about to make her way to the bathroom when she heard her name called. Decisions, decisions. The bathroom could wait, but she DID grab a small bottle of mouthwash and rinsed her mouth and brushed her teeth before leaving the room.

Making her way back to the admin tent was not difficult, because she was happily gifted with a very good sense of direction and spacial memory. She made her way to the desk and announced herself, "Doctor Brandford, reporting as requested."
 
An aide sitting at a desk looked up and nodded. "Ms. Brandford. You have been selected for an aid mission outside green zone. Every doctor has to do their part in aiding the people that cannot travel or are stuck in hostile territory. You will be traveling with the Special Operations Group today. You got lucky, those SOG guys are the read deal. You should be safe as long as you follow their directions. Report to the staging area in the underground parking complex. You have one hour to get ready and write out any wills or directions should you be killed in action." The aide handed Cassandra her deployment orders then returned to typing on his console.
 
Cassandra listened and nodded to the aid, "There is a will on file," she replied, "It has not changed. I updated all my patient files last night before I took sleep, so I believe I am covered on that front."

He went back to work so she made her way to her operation tent and found Harrison there waiting for her. "I have been assigned to a SOG unit today," she informed him and was immediately given the glare stare, "I didn't request it," she assured him, "Apparently everyone takes turns. I need a pack and my vest. I put some extra notes on our patients from yesterday in the computer." she said as she began gathering a few supplies, "I want you to be the one to see that they are followed and check everyone, you know what to look for especially with the implant patient. He may need a bit of guidance today. And put more of OUR drops in the poison patient's eyes please." She had all of her supplies on the table and grabbed the vest he'd found for her among their unpacked supplies. "Thank you," she said as she pulled it on. "Hold down the fort Harrison, I know you'll do a good job."

She went to the computer and he packed things efficiently into her backpack in the way she'd expect. She scanned the notes made by the night crew and nodded, "Our head injury woke up," she said with a huff, "Good for him!," she said with a huff of air, "That one's a fighter. He will be fine."

She made a few quick notes for Harrison and then left the terminal and grabbed the pack. "Thanks Harrison," she smiled, "I have no idea how I would ever get along without you." He grunted and pushed her out of the tent, "Ok ok...I'm going."

She had to ask a few times where the underground parking was, but she eventually got there after stopping to use the bathroom. She asked which unit she was attached to and was given a staging number and was told it would be on the ground by the transport of her assignment. She followed the numbers, glad for the simplicity of that system and presented herself at that unit. "Doctor Brandford," she said, "Reporting for duty."
 
A captain looking at a datapad looked up and walked over. "So you are umm...lets see...Doctor Brandford right?" He looked at her with obvious disdain and sighed. "Like i will say with every other fancy ship doctor we get. This is a real warzone. So no stopping for potty breaks, pictures, or to give candy to kids. We are on a mission to.." Suddenly Erik jogged over and interrupted. "Yo cap, she is fine. I met her yesterday and she aint like those pansies we had last time. She knows the drill. "The captain looked over and looked at Cassandra with a new sense of respect. "If RIktof here says that you are on the up and up then i trust him. Do not disappoint me doctor Brandford." The captain walked off and Erik laughed softly. "Dont worry about captain Hsu there. He is a bit of a hardass but he means well. He trusts civilians about as far as he can throw them because of past bad experiences with them. Here lemme take that." Erik grabbed Cassandra's pack before she could protest. "Over here, you will be with my squad today."

Erik led Cassandra over to a group of heavily armed men standing next to a massive armored vehicle. "Hey guys! This was the Doc i was telling you about." The men stopped checking their gear and weapons. Erik gestured to an unassuming man of indiscriminate age. "This is our squad leader, Second Lieutenant Kirst. He may not look like much but he has the man you want covering your back in a fight." Kirst shook Cassandra's hand and smiled. "Riktof here says good things about you. Since he vouches for you, you are good in my book. Welcome to the Saints." Erik then pointed out a large african american man holding a grenade launcher. "This is our man Dante. If you need something vaporized, exploded, or melted. He is you guy." Dante smiled and nodded to Cassandra. "Nice to have a woman around here for once. Hope you can stand the BO and these asshats." The squad laughed and responded with a variety of insults as Dante grinned. Erik gestured to a thin wiry man who was cleaning a sniper rifle. "This is our designated marksman Turk. Best sharpshooter here on this planet." The man simply looked up and waved before going back to cleaning his rifle. Erik rolled his eyes. "Dont mind him he is just shy." Turk looked up and gave Erik the finger as the others chuckled. "Last but not least is our point man Xanders. Deadliest hand to hand fighter i know." The hispanic man smiled and saluted Cassandra. "Nice to meet you doctor." Erik turned back to Cassandra and gestured to them all. "And you already know me the squad medic. Us five make up The Saints."

Captain Hsu climbed on top of a truck and whistled shrilly to get everyone's attention. "Ok people listen up! Todays mission is humanitarian relief effort. We are escorting the doctors to the town of Bitter Springs to treat the injured and sick civilians. We will be on the front lines so keep you eyes sharp for enemy combatants. I want this done by the books with no mistakes. Mount up! We leave in five!" The squads saluted then began climbing into their assigned vehicles. Erik and his squadmates checked each others gear then grabbed their weapons and got into the armored vehicle. Erik grabbed a spare helmet and handed it to Cassandra. "Alright Doc, time to get this show on the road." He handed her pack up to Turk and helped Cassandra up the ladder inside. The interior of the vehicle was cramped due to the armor plating and engines. Kirst was in the passenger seat looking at a datapad as Xanders climbed into the driver's seat and started the engines with a rumble. Dante was in the turret control seat and booted up the turret controls, making the two twin linked auto-cannons on the top whirr to life. Turk sat in his seat in the crew area looking out the small window as Erik climbed in behind Cassandra and closed the hatch. "Alright LT we are good to go." Kirst gave a thumbs up and Xanders revved the engines as the other vehicles came to life. "All units deploy in standard convoy formation. Pathfinders take up point and rear. Basilisks provide front and back cover for the Mammoth in the middle. All units roll out."

Pathfinder Light Infantry Vehicle:
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Basilisks Heavy Infantry Vehicle:
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Mammoth Transport Vehicle:
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The convoy of vehicles drove slowly out of the packed garage complex and up the ramp that lead to the surface. The massive garage doors opened and let in the bright sunlight and arid wind as the vehicles emerged out of the garage. Driving out the gates and past the guard towers and barriers. The convoy turned onto the main road and steadily picked up speed as they began their journey.
 
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Cassandra nodded when the man asked her is she was Doctor Brandford, and she was about to put the man at ease when Ritkof piped up and vouched for her. "Thank you," she said with a sideways grin. She followed Ritkof and decided not to scold him for taking her pack. She knew by the end of the day, she'd be glad he had. She was introduced to his team, the saints. Interesting name actually, and she'd have to ask about that later, when she had a minute.

He began by saying she was the doctor he'd told them about? Her brow lifted at that but she turned from him and smiled at the Squad leader, Kirst and shook the proffered hand, "A pleasure to meet you and thank you. I am told good things about him as well, though I haven't had the privilege to see them in action yet." She was introduced to Dante and grinned over at him, "nice to be appreciated...and if you can handle the smell of guts and ooze, I dare say I can handle the BO...now if you are going to start passing gas point that read in the other direction please." She waved back at Turk and ignored the other gestures that followed. She made a face at the salute, "Nice to meet you too Xanders but no saluting me. I'm just a civilian with a lot of know how." She nodded at Ritkof, "And you keep these guys alive on the field. Impressive team. I'll thank you all now for keeping me safe so I can work. I'll be fast and efficient and we will get back out in one piece agreed?"

She was about to say something else when the commander got up and shouted out to everyone. She was helped into the transport and cramped was an understatement, but she'd been in tighter situations so she didn't mind. She adjusted the helmet that Ritkof had given her and tightened the strap so it would stay put. She felt the familiar rush of adrenaline and welcomed it. "How far is this city we are headed to?" she asked a little loudly to be heard above the engines and other instruments that were running.
 
Kirst turned around and handed the datapad to Cassandra. It had a map of the area and several dots showing the convoy traveling on the road. "The town is about 20 clicks out. Reports are saying that a group of loyalist refugees were traveling to the green zone when they got hit by a rebel patrol. A few are dead but many have injuries that they cannot treat. We are going to help as best we can and provide an escort for them back to the green zone."

There was a large bump as the vehicle passed over a crater. Outside, several burned out hulks of vehicles littered the sides of the road. A flock of buzzards were fluttering around a bus that had burned and rotting corpses inside. Erik shook his head, "landmine probably. We do our best to keep the roads clear but we cannot get all of them."
 
Cassandra accepted the pad and looked at the map and the road, "Not far then," she said feeling a well of pity rising up for those people. "They had almost made it to safety." Almost...what a horrible word and even worse reality. Sometimes luck was not on your side, but they were going to help who they could, and see them back to safety. Hopefully she'd be able to make that happen faster than normal.

They went over a big bump and her head bounced off the roof of the vehicle, she shrugged and handed the pad back as she tapped on the helmet, "Thanks for this...that would have been painful." Ritkof said he thought it was a landmine and she saw the burning bus and frowned, "Weapons of warfare...mindless, without compassion and destructive." She sighed, "I've always wondered what sort of person invented such things..." She would normally have requested for them to stop and check that bus and the surrounding area for survivors but she could see that it wasn't likely that anyone had survived, and if they had, those buzzards had probably made them wish they hadn't. She glanced at Ritkof then, "Do you carry any medical supplies on board?" she asked, "Or is my pack all we have?"
 
Erik pointed his thumb back at the mammoth truck. "That truck has all the medical supplies in it for a mobile hospital. In here though its just your pack and mine with the medical supplies." The truck began to slow down and soon the convoy came to a halt. The comm radio buzzed to life and muted voices had a conversation. "Looks like the point vehicle has a possible IED. Dante, keep your eyes peeled. No telling if this is an ambush.

A man hopped out of the lead truck and grabbed a bulky device from the rear. Putting it on the ground, he took out a remote control and the robot came to life. Trubdling towards the box on small treads, the robot extended a thin arm with a pincer on the end. It tilted the box experimentally and after a few shoves tipped the box over. A bundle of clothes fell out and the robot sifted through them before returning to the soldier. The comms buzzed again as the soldier put the robot away and hopped back into the vehicle. "Looks like it was just a box of clothes. Better safe than sorry." Kirst nodded to Xanders and the truck regained speed as the convoy set off.
 
Cassandra nodded, "Hopefully we won't need the full hospital, but I imagine we will. I have a good bit of stuff with me, but I'm glad to know there more if it's needed." She felt the transport slow and looked toward the front though she really couldn't see anything over and around the men. She heard the comm system though and listened like everyone else. IED. Another nasty invention by some insane developer, who cares more about money than human lives. She had a few less than charitable thoughts about people who create, developed and sold such devices.

She heard the report and let out the breath she hadn't even realized she was holding in. It was always good to get a good report, and to be on their was again. She had no desire to be ambushed or have to treat the people who she was traveling with, though she would gladly have done so.

"Always better to be safe," she said with a nod, "Always."
 
The rest of the trip passed uneventfully, soon they were passing through a suburban neighborhood. Many of the houses had fallen into disrepair or were simply abandoned. Several were burned out husks where others had damage from explosions. They arrived at a small gymnasium where several small civilian vehicles were parked out front. The Basilisks parked out furthest away from the building as the small Pathfinders parked on either side of the Mammoth. "Alright Doc this is our stop," Kirst hopped out of the cab as Xanders turned off the engines. "Dante you take first shift for guard duty." Dante poked his head down and nodded. "Roger LT." Riktof, Turk, and Xanders climbed out of the truck and led Cassandra over to Captain Hsu who was organizing the unloading of supplies from the Mammoth.

The doors of the gym opened and a large group of refugees warily walked over to the soldiers. Captain Hsu got a megaphone and began organizing the refugees. "All civilians please form an orderly line. Children and mothers step of to the left, please help the most injured get treatment first." The doctors began setting up tables and stretchers as refugees began carrying out their wounded. "Alright doc its time to go to work. Set up your station and start treating people. I will assist you." Riktof set down his pack on an empty table and began taking out medical supplies aa refugees lined up to be treated.
 
Cassandra climbed out of the transport and started to set up her station as normal since that would make the fastest and most efficient version of herself. It took an extra few minutes but she'd be able to grab and go from then on. She nodded to Ritkof, "Ok...bring them on," she said as she looked at the seemingly endless line, "I hope they listened to the Commander and are allowing the worst to be first."

She poured antiseptic on her hands and then grabbed a pair of gloves. She saw a man being carried on a stretcher and motioned for them to bring the stretcher to her which they gladly did, "can you tell me your name?' she asked but saw that there was a lot of damage to the man's face so she hushed him. "Sorry, don't answer."

One of the people that had carried the stretcher spoke up, "That's Greg Ma'am," he said, "Got shot by something or someone..."

She nodded and grabbed a syringe and hit it to his neck and soon he was out. She went to work peeling the flesh back and cleaning the wound, picking out pieces of metal shards. He'd obviously been the victim of a fragment bullet of some kind. This place seemed to have all the best in destructive artillery. How wonderful. She cleaned the wound again to be sure she didn't miss anything and then went to work putting his cheek and jaw back together. She felt he was pretty lucky as the bullet had mostly missed his jawbone, only a few pieces nicked it. She stitched him up and then bandaged the wound. She looked at Ritkof, "They are coming with us, right?' she asked, "So he can have care for this wound later."