Riktof nodded as he bandaged a woman's head. "Yeah, we stabilize the injured here then escort them back to base." A young woman steped forward and held out her hand that was missing her thumb and index finger. "Dont worry miss, I will patch you up here and when you get back to our base you will get those fingers replaced ok?" The girl whimpered as Erik carefully put gauze and bandages over the bleeding stumps and gave her a shot of painkillers. The other doctors were working swiftly and making good progress with the wounded.
 
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Cassandra nodded and motioned for the next. They seemed to be letting the worst cases be first and she was glad of it. The next patient was a woman, her body was covered in blood and she was moaning in agony. She put a hand to the woman's shoulder and made eye contact, "Try to relax," she said, "I am going to help you."

She carefully lifted the woman's shirt and saw a gaping hole in her side. her intestines were not contained within her abdomen and she could not tell if she was missing any vital organ for all the puss and blood. "Ritkof..I am going to need help.." she said and began to cut the woman's clothes away from her body. This was no time for modesty. She was working quickly and urgently. She grabbed a syringe and pressed it to her neck, "Time for Sleep love," she said and gave her the sedative and then once she was under she let out the curse she'd been holding, "Damn it.." she said and began clamping off bleeders trying to SEE what the extent of the damage was. "Please don't give up.." she said as she feverishly clamped off more and more vessels and arteries. She was a firm believer in the will to live, some patients had it some did not. If the patient stopped fighting, there was usually nothing medicine could do.

She began suctioning the pus and infection away from the wound and let out a low feral sounding growl, "Damn it," she said again and frowned at the condition of her colon, right kidney, spleen and even part of her diaphragm. "I need your hands Ritkof," she said. "Hold the bowel," she said I ahve to remove the kidney, spleen and try to repair the diaphragm...if she's still alive at that point ,I'll resection that colon."
 
Erik quickly finished bandaging his patient and rushed over to help. Putting on a fresh pair of gloves, he stuck his hands into the hole and held the organ in place. "I dunno doc, she doesnt look good. Its a miracle she survived this long. Not even counting the loss of blood, if any of the intestinal bile comes into contact with an open blood vessel there is a high risk of septic contamination."
 
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Cassandra nodded, "I know," she said, "But Damn it," she said looking up at him, "She can't be more than 15 or 16?" she asked looking at the face and the body, "I'm going to try..." She said with steely determination daring him to stop her. She worked faster than she ever remembered, but she had the damaged organs removed and the diaphragm had to be made slightly smaller but she was able to use her heated healing sealer, which she never went anywhere without, to rejoin the clean edges back together.

She felt for a pulse and though it was weak, she was still hanging on. "Good girl," she said and then slid a piece of plastic between her open wound and the bowels he was holding. OK," she said slowly release them little by little," she said. Again she was running her fingers along the bowels. She was going to need to remove about a third of it and she frowned. She didn't hesitate, just snipped and reattached as quickly as possible. One thing she had learned about these situations, you could not second guess, you had to act and act fast. She cleansed the entire area again making sire she got all the infection out of the cavity before she began closing her up. She left a drain tube, and then bandaged her.

"Thank you for your heap," she said, "I am the lost cause queen I'm afraid. She's fighting, so I am with her."

They removed her out of the way as soon as she was done and someone else was already coming up. "Please...let me sterilize this. That was a lot of contamination in her." She squirted the table and then rinsed it and then rinsed a second time. She waited a few seconds for the fast dry to engage and then she motioned for the next patient to sit down as Ritkof returned to his table.
 
Erik removed his hands and sanitized them as Cassandra finished. "Damn good work doc, you are mighty handy to have around." He went back to his station and resumed working. Soon all the refugees had been treated and the soldiers began helping put the immobile refugees into the Mammoth truck. All the other refugees piled into their own vehicles as they said goodbye and gave their heartfelt thanks. Erik hopped into the Basilisk and held out a hand to pull Cassandra in. "Good work today doc, time to head back to base."
 
Cassandra tipped her head to his comment and went to work on the next patient. They became a blur by the end of the day, but she was glad they were able to see every patient without being attacked in some way. She cleaned up her station and repacked her backpack. She went back to the basilisk and accepted the hand up, "Thank you," she said, "Big step up for a short person," she grinned. She was tired but it was a good kind of tired.

"You lived up to all your praise as well Ritkof," she said, "Very nice work. I can see why everyone is so impressed with you." He was completely unflappable and just worked hard, but was kind and gentle with the patients. Not all medics were, especially combat ones. She'd known a few who didn't even speak to their patients at all. She looked around at the group, "Thank you for the protection today gentlemen," she said with a bright smile at them all, "It was my pleasure to serve with you and I hope to do so again."
 
The convoy of military and civilian vehicles moved out and were soon on the road back to base. Kirst turned around in his seat and smiled back at Cassandra. "It was a pleasure seeing you in action Dr. Brandford. You have a real gift." Xanders nodded and gave a thumbs up to Cassandra as he kept one hand on the wheel. "True that! Nice work Doc." Turk simply looked up and gave Cassandra a nod of recognition then went back to looking out the window. Dante poked his head down from the gunner's seat and thumped Cassandra on the back. "You are one of a kind doc, not many doctors i know can put messed up people back together like you can." Erik simply chuckled and winked at Cassandra, "looks like you fit right in Doc, after this i wouldn't be surprised if Captain Hsu asked for you to transfer to be an SOG doctor."

There was a round of hoorahs and nods when suddenly the comms came to life. "Convoy halt!" The line of vehicles came to a stop and Captain Hsu took over the comms. "I have just received an urgent distress call. A recon patrol has been attacked by rebels and are pinned down. Their vehicles are inoperable and they have several badly wounded. Bravo and Delta squads, take the Basilisks and provide support while i try to get air support on the line. If you have any Civilian doctors in your squads i highly suggest you send them back with the refugees. You have 5 minutes to prep." Kirst responded the affirmative then looked back at Cassandra. "Doctor Brandford i think you should head back with the refugees. We are going to be in a live hot zone and I cannot ensure your safety."
 
Cassandra frowned, "May I respectfully decline?' she asked with a raised brow, "You may need Ritkof for combat, and they have wounded. Just go."

She wasn't one to generally run at the thought of danger, she was more of a run headlong into it kind of person, and now that she had a chance to test her limits and be brave, she wanted to make a difference in a way she'd always been prevented from doing before.

She grinned then, "And if you are going to request for me to be an SOG doctor anyway...I might as well prove I can do it."
 
Kirst grinned and replied back to the captain. "Captain doctor Brandford has requested to accompany delta squad to assist with the wounded." There was a pause and with a loud sigh Hsu responded. "Affirmative, but if there is so much as a scratch on the doctor when she gets back it will be your heads." Kirst smiled, "Roger Captain, Delta squad rolling out. Xanders stepped on the accelerator and left the convoy line, followed close behind by the other Basilisk. "Dante i want suppressive fire on enemy positions when we get there. I need you to cover us while we get to the injured. Xanders you and I will find the CO and get a statues report. Turk you stay here and use the Basilisk to provide sniper support. Riktof, you are gonna be Doctor Brandford's bodyguard. Nothing happens to her, got it?" There was a round of affirmatives as everyone prepared for battle. Erik pulled out his rifle and checked that his magazines were full before pushing a mag in and chambering a round. Turk silently picked up his sniper rifle and undid the scope caps. Kirst got on the comms and radioed ahead to the recon team as Xanders put the truck in high gear. "Alright people listen up. The recon team is pinned down in a construction yard. The rebels ambushed them with rpgs and machine gun fire while they were going through a choke point. Both pathfinders have been destroyed and their medic got brained by a sniper. Two men are injured but stable while two others are critically wounded. We approach from the south and put the Basilisk between the rebels and our troops so the doctor can get to the wounded."

There was a silent apprehension as they approached the battlefield. The sound of guns and explosions were getting closer and closer. Rounding a collapsed building, the saints came upon a scene of chaos. Five soldiers were huddled behind in a ditch behind a chest high concrete wall as bullets whizzed past. Every so often one soldier would try to snap off a few shots but was forced to duck back down as more bullets were fired at him. About 50 yards across an open field, a squat municipal building was sheltering an unknown amount of rebel fighters. Xanders swerved in front of the troopers and hopped out as the deafening booms of the autocannon turret responded to the rebels. "ALRIGHT GO GO GO!" Kirst and Xanders jumped out of the cab as Erik opened the hatch on the safe side for Cassandra. "Ok doc lets move!" he jumped out and followed Kirst and Xanders into the ditch. In a hole that was meant for some water pipes the four injured men had been shoved in to protect them from the brunt of the enemy fire. Three of them were conscious. One man was holding his bleeding right hand with a dirty cloth to try to stop the bleeding, while he second injured trooper was pressing a bloody bandana against his shoulder. The third injured trooper was coughing up blood as he attempted to stem the tide of blood that was leaking out of his chest wound. The last man laid limply against the side of hole, a large gash in his abdomen where bits of organs were spilling out.

Erik jumped into the hole as the second Basilisk pulled up and added its firepower to hail of lead against the encamped rebels. Kirst ducked down behind the wall and found the commanding officer. "Lieutenant whats the situation?" The young man looked over with a smile of relief. "Thank god you guys got here. We are pinned down here and we cant move with our wounded like this. They have at least one heavy machine gun but i dunno if they still have any rockets. We were hit by an IED first then they hit us with several rockets." A few yards away the smoldering wrecks of the light pathfinder vehicles sat with the bloody remains of their drivers half out of the cabs. "Our medic was domed by a sniper when he was pulling one of our guys to safety." He pointed over to a corpse that laid in a pool of blood a few feet away. Its head was almost split in half by a large hole in it, bits of brain and skull splattered behind it. Kirst nodded and as the other squad of soldiers jumped into the ditch with them. "Charlie squad! We need to split the enemy's fire." He pointed to a row of buildings on the other side of the square. "Get to those buildings and set up in there. Hopefully you can get an angle on these bastards and pin them down long enough for us to move up on them." The squad leader nodded and relayed the commands to his men. They scurried off deeper into the construction site and vanished from view. "Riktof! Doc! How bad is it?"
 
Cassandra jumped off the basilisk and followed Ritkof tot he men. She looked a the unconscious man, and though he was the most critical she opted to handle the less troublesome men first in case they had to leave quickly. She looked at Ritfok," Can you handle the hand?" she asked, "I'll do the rest. That one she go the fastest and then you can man your weapon."

She reached for the bandana and without announcing her intention she ripped the shirt away fromt he wound. "What's your name?' she asked as she scanned the wound with her eye and then reached into her pack for a disinfectant scrub and a scalpel. She poured the medicine into the wound, "Sorry, no way to help with the pain. I have to be fast and you need to be able to move when I"m done." She gave him a look, "Brace yourself," she said and then dug out a chuck of metal which caused the wound to bleed anew, but she was actually glad of it, because any dirt would come out with the blood. She began to heat seal the vessels with her trusty tool and then stitched the muscles and then skin. She bandaged it and then smiled, "good man...don't move until you ahve to. No messing up my work." She winked and then moved to the chest wound.

She scanned the man's chest, "don't talk...I'm Doctor Brandford," she said, "I wish I could make this easier and less painful. Sorry." She saw from the scan that he was shot clear through adn that therew as no bullet or shrapnel inside him. She was grateful for that. She smiled, "Lucky guy...just a bit of damage to that right lung, missed your heart and noting is lodged inside." She'd bet he didn't FEEL lucky but he definitely was. She pressed on his shoulder as she eased open the wound to disinfect it. She turned him over and looked at the exit wound, She only had to give that some internal and external stitches and then turned him back to work on the front. She grabbed a tube and inserted it into the hole and guided it into the lung itself. Blood and liquid drained out and the man was able to breath better almost immediately. "Try to relax," she said, "Take slow shallow breaths for a few minutes." She repaired the other damage and then sealed the lung shut before stitching her way out. She rough bandaged him and patted his shoulder, "Good man," Again..no moving until you have the order to..."

She knelt next tot eh unconscious man, and slid plastic under him to keep the dirt from the ground from getting into his abdominal cavity as she disinfected the area. "Ritkof.." she called, "If you can..I could use your hands again," she said as she waited for him to reply. She hadn't been watching what he was doing, so she didn't know if he could help her or not."
 
The amount of fire between the two forces had increased in volume. The Basilisk's autocannons were chewing through the walls of the rebel building while the rebels began to concentrate their fire on the vehicles. Suddenly, a rocket whooshed out of the building and impacted against the second Basilisk. The truck lurched to the side as one of its wheels was obliterated. The. Gunner to his credit kept his fire on the rebels, when suddenly another rocket was fired. This one was a lucky shot and the rocket impacted against the weak armor at the base of the turret. The resulting explosion instantly killed the gunner, while gouts of fire belched from the windows. "DAMMIT! CHARLIE SQUAD WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Kirst yelled into his helmet mic as more fire bullets whizzed by overhead. "Char-ie...enemy sold-...flanking around....us trapped.." Kirst cursed and growled. Looks like the rebels had the same idea as us. They sent some flankers to the same block as charlie squad, we are not getting any support from them."

Erik finished bandaging the soldier's hand the rushed over to help Cassandra. "I am here Doc." A rocket impacted nearby and Erik held himself over the soldier as a cloud of dirt washed over them. "Shit! Doc I dunno what you plan to do but the enemy isnt fucking around." He put on a fresh pair of gloves and shoves his hands into the guts of the man.
 
Cassandra had the same idea as Ritkof and she covered parts that's he'd missed, together they made a pretty good shield, "Same thing as the girl earlier today," she said and went to work though not as neatly as before, because she was rushing and trying to keep the guy alive, and get them out of there if possible. She began irrigating the area again and slid a piece of plastic between the bowels and the rest of the abdominal cavity. He hadn't suffered the organ damage but his colon was a mess.

She frowned, "He's not going to have much left," she said, "Colostomy," she sighed and proceeded to fix any other damage first before she cut out about 75 percent of his colon. She had to close off the rectal area and make an external exit for the bowl to leave his body. Back in the actual hospital she might be able to repair it more neatly and without the external bag, but for now this would keep him alive.

She finished, taping the bag to his side and stitching the muscles, and skin back together around it. She bandaged it as well as she could, thinking there was a high probability she was going to ahve to reopen all of this later. She looked at Ritkof, "Ok...we are done here but I don't think we can leave. Has anyone else been injured since we arrived? All of our guys are fine right?" How quickly she had come to think of these men as 'her guys' and herself as part of their group.
 
Erik nodded, "yeah it was just these guys. Now we need to get the hell out of here. LT! We got the wounded patched up!" Kirst nodded and commed Dante who was still fiting at the rebels from the basilisk. "Dante! Get your ass over here and help put the wounded in the truck. They go first!" There was a Roger and dante opened up the door and jumped out. One by one they loaded the wounded into the truck until they were all safe. Kirst turned to the recon leader and pointed to the truck. "Get your men out of here with the doc. We will stay behind to mark targets for air support." The recon leader nodded and quickly loaded his men into the basilisk. The leader held the hatch open and motioned for Cassandra to hop in. Erik patted her shoulder and pointed to the truck. "Get to safety. We can handle ourselves."

Suddenly a faint whistling noise was heard and it was increasing in volume. Erik's eyes widened in fear and he shoved Cassandr into the hole. "ARTILLERY!!" The saints hit the deck as the artillery shells screamed in directly onto the basilisk. The explosion vaporized the truck and everyone inside it and sent pieces of shrapnel whizzing over the heads of the prone soldiers.
 
Cassandra started for the truck when the whistling started. Unlike the others she didn't immediately understand what that meant until she heard the word artillery. Ritkof and thrown her in the hole before she had a chance to actually react on her own and she hit the ground with a loud thud. She heard more than she saw, but the explosion of the vehicle was unmistakable. No! her mind screamed as she realized that all them men they'd come to save were now gone and that maybe Dante was too. She felt a few stabs in her leg but nothing horrible, she didn't think. It was whatever hit her arm that was making her wince a bit. It felt like fire, but when she looked it was not actually burning. Must be hot metal she thought analytically.

She looked around and frowned, "You ok Ritkof?" she asked, "Can you see anyone else?" she asked. Her eyes were squinted against the dirt and sun but she was looking at him, "Now we are trapped too right?"
 
Erik coughed and got into a crouch and looked around. "Looks like it, lets see if the others are alive. LT?! You ok?" There was a groan and Kirst picked himself up and brushed some dirt off himself. "I am alive. Squad status report!" Xanders' head poked out of a drainage ditch and he waved. "All good here boss." There was a brief pause then a voice echoed from under a concrete wall. "Stuck with Dante, please help." Xanders, Erik, and Kirst rushed over to the wall and lifted it off the two men. Turk and Dante were bruised but otherwise unhurt as they climbed out from under the collapsed wall. Kirst looked around warily as the dust began to settle. "Alright men here is the situation, without the Basilisk's comm uplink I cannot get in touch with command. Which means we are stuck behind enemy lines without support. We have a civilian with us so our mission is to extract doctor Brandford to safety. Standard VIP escort tactics, just like that time in Alberia. Scavenge any ammo and weapons you can find then we move out before the rebels come looking. Move out." The men silently nodded with grim looks on their faces and went to their tasks. Several bodies of the soldiers had been thrown from the force of the explosion and were sprawled out nearby. The men quickly stripped the dead of any useful equipment and took their dog tags. "Ok LT ready to move." Xanders loaded his shotgun and fixed a bayonet under the end of the barrel. The dust was starting to settle and the sounds of people approaching started getting louder. "Ok saints time to move."

Erik grabbed Cassandra's arm and pushed her to the back of Kirst. "You stay with him. Do not leave his side unless he tells you to." The men quickly took positions around Cassandr and stealthily crouch ran to a nearby storefront. Hopping inside, Kirst pushed Cassandra behind a counter as the men took up positions behind crates and shelves. Xanders who was closest to the door held up a fist and everyone froze. A group of rebel soldiers slowly walked past towards the dead Basilisk. "Bet they werent expecting that artillery. Those fucks never knew what hit them. A few laughed until another growled at them. "No celebrating until we know they are dead." The rebels hushed up and walked past the storefront and disappeared from view. Erik slowly snuck over to Cassandra annd pressed a pistol into her hands. "Take this. You know how to use it? Standard military X9 pistol. Holds 15 rounds and shoots as fast as you can pull the trigger. Only use it if absolutely necessary, I do not want any misfires." He had a deadly serious look in his eyes as he stared at Cassandra to make sure she understood.
 
Cassandra winced when he grabbed her arm, but tried to hide it as best she could. Her wounds were all minor and annoying but not life threatening. They needed to move and she could and would. She nodded and stayed close to Kirst. She crouched down and stayed silent when the rebels were heard not far away. She had some very uncharitable thoughts about their laughter, and joy over the dead men that their artillery had create, but she was silent as she remained behind the counter.

She felt the gun being pressed into her hand. She saw that serious look in his eyes and she nodded, "I can fire it, accurately." she said and tapped his helmet, "Have the marksmanship badge to prove it..." She was trying to create a bit of levity in her mind, and in his if she could. She could handle herself. She trusted them to know where to go, and how to get there. She could follow and she could shoot if she had to. Hopefully she wouldn't need to, but she definitely would.
 
Kirst quickly whipped out his datapad and looked at it. "Ok, looks like an old comms station is about 2 clicks north of here. Only problem is it is deeper into the city, no doubt there will be rebels holed up in there. But it is our only option as of now." Xanders you take point, Riktof and I will protect the doctor. Dante and Turk, you both will be rearguard in case we get ambushed. Xanders find a way out of here." Xanders nodded and carefully made his way to the back of the store while Kirst turned to Cassandra. "Alright Brandford here is the situation. If we cannot protect you we need a backup plan. About 10 clicks east of here is a listening post. If we have to, we will cause a distraction and cover your escape." He handed her a small handheld comm device. "This is a distress beacon. Only use it when you are within 4 clicks of the listening post. They will hear it and come reacue you. The problem is the listening post is across miles of open land, if we all try to go we will be spotted and that artillery will blow us away. If it is just you, you might be able to slip by unnoticed. Do you understand?"
 
Cassandra frowned, "Wait.." she said looking at the device Kirst had given her, "You want me to go alone?" She looked around at everyone, "And just leave you guys here?" She wasn't sure how that would help anything or anyone. Except she knew they were being extra careful BECAUSE of her, so she would be slowing them down if she was here. She sighed, "I'm not sure what's to prevent the sniper from picking me off, but I'll try."

She had picked a few slivers of metal from her leg and it wasn't throbbing now, so she felt a bit better about moving. Her arm was burning but she'd picked that piece of metal out as well, before Ritkof had given her the gun. She couldn't see the whole extent of the damage to her arm, but she could tell the metal had burned her skin so she was feeling that. It was annoying, but not going to keep her from doing what she had to do.
 
Kirst shrugged, "only if we cannot protect you any longer or if we all die. Its your plan of last resort." Erik came over and looked at Cassandra. "Doc you need to get those wounds treated. Let me help." He quickly bandaged and treated her injuries before putting his medical supplies away and picking up his rifle. Xanders' head poked out from a doorway and he motioned for them to follow. "Got an exit into the alleyway. Looks like it leads out to a parking complex." Kirst nodded, Alright men, move out." Xanders waited out in the alley as Kirst and Erik guided Cassandra out, followed by Turk and Dante who aimed their guns at the other end of the alley. Slowly but steadily they made their way out to the oarling complex. They vaulted over the low wall and helped Cassandra over when they heard voices.

Quickly pushing Cassandra behind a car they all ducked down as two rebels emerged from a stairwell. They chatted and passed by then leaned up against a pillar where they continued to chat. Kirst made some hand signals at Erik and Xanders, causing them to both nod in understanding. Holstering their weapons. The two soldiers drew put their combat knives and crept up on the two unsuspecting rebels. Timing their strike with coordinated precision, Erik and Xanders struck. Xanders wrapped an arm around a rebel's throat as he stabbed into the man's back. Erik pulled the other rebel's head back and slashed his throat, causing a spray of blood to fish out all over the floor. The two rebels slumped to the ground, bleeding out quickly as one choked on his own blood while the other tried to breathe through a slashed windpipe. Both died in seconds and soon they lay motionless in a spreading pool of blood. "They will be noticed eventually, we need to keep moving." Kirst pulled Cassandra up as Erik and Xanders checked the stairwell. "Foot bridge connects to shopping mall." Xanders spoke in a hushed voice as he pointed at a sign detailing the layout of the garage. "Ok, we go through the mall, move out." The squad formed up around Cassandra and ascended the stairs up to the bridge.
 
Cassandra didn't fuss when Erik noticed her wounds. She had been trying to keep that under wraps but she didn't argue when he treated them either. "Thanks," she whispered. She was actually quite agile and quick on her feet, probably to their surprise. She'd been on the track team in college (part of her scholarship program) so if they moved faster she was right with them. She kept very still and quiet when the rebel soldiers stayed close to their position. She knew what they had to do but she still winced when it happened. This was a kill or be killed situation, and she realized that she could only continue to work and save people if she got out of here alive. She didn't like it, but it was a necessary loss. She did know she'd have nightmares about it, but she was used to that too.

She moved with them, going as fast as she could within the confines of the huddle they were holding around her. Praying every prayer she every remembered hearing for their safety, not her own but theirs. She felt like they would probably already be to safety if not for her. May or may not be true but she felt like it was true. She had her hand on the pistol just in case she saw something they didn't which was unlikely but still she felt the need to be ready, just in case.