VFF The Book Continues part 5
POSTED BY: Colt999
UPDATED: Monday, March 16, 2009 23:49
VIEWED: 74804
PAGE 14 of 15
Dr. Jacey Garner stood at the desk of the Emergency Room at the Vanteel Medical Facility on Newhall. She looked down at a medical assistant and smiled.
“I like days like this,” she said. “Nothing but minor stuff. Boring.”
It was like she was cursed. She had said it out loud. And now it was about to go to Hell. Three people walked up to the desk. One was an older man of Asian or Polynesian decent, she couldn’t tell what, especially with the bright orange suit and black fedora he wore. The other two, dressed in military type camouflage, accompanied him. It only took a slight change of body position for Jacey to notice the ill-concealed attempt to hide their weapondry.
“May I help you?” she asked, wishing she could see a security officer nearby, but found that they were conveniently absent. So she continued to size them up. None one of them seemed sick or injured. “Do you need medical assistance?”
‘No…” the older man answered as he checked out her ID badge. “No doctor. We came here looking for a patient who might have arrived just recently. Family called to notify us that he had been seriously injured… in a hunting accident.”
Jacey knew that no one that day had arrived in any kind of serious shape. Then the man’s words registered with her. A hunting accident? Newhall was mostly covered with water. They just didn’t hunt there. She looked at them suspiciously.
“Does this patient have a name?”
“Stan.”
“Last name?”
“Just Stan.”
That made her even more suspicious.
“I don’t have a record of anyone of that description coming here-” she started. It was then that she was distracted by some people bursting through the doors. Two people carried one in on a stretcher.
“Need some help here!” the man called out and two orderlies rushed towards them with a gurney. Jacey raced up to assess the guy. He was shot. She quickly took a look over at the three men who had came in looking for this Stan.
“This your friend?” she asked as she moved him, looking for an exit wound. “With the hunting accident?”
The older one nodded slowly as the other two stood in attention. Another man, the one who had helped carry Stan into the ER stifled a chuckle then followed it by a cough, obviously done to cover his mistake. The woman who came in with him glared at him before he turned and left to go outside. Jacey rolled her eyes and ushered Stan into the ER treatment area, ready to work on him. She yelled to the medical assistant. “Call a surgeon. He doesn’t have an exit wound. God only knows what kind of damage has been done.”
The medical assistant did just that as Jacey, plus another staff member started attaching monitors to Stan. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the presence of the two men and the woman standing there. They had followed her in.
“This area is off limits to visitors,” she barked at them. “You need to leave now.”
The woman tapped the gun strapped to her leg.
“If it’s all the same to you,” she stated in a tone that let Jacey know that she would indeed use the gun, if needed. “We’ll stay right here.”
The woman turned to the three men and gave them a look over. She turned her gaze to the older one, assessing the fact that he was the one in charge.
“Family of Stan’s friend?” she asked him. He nodded. “Name’s Sky. He’s crew on my ship. I’ll not be leaving until I’m sure he’s shiny. Captain's orders.”
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Mobbex comes into the cargo bay wearing a camel colored bomber jacket and a pair of black biker gloves.
"What's got into this gal again, walkin' off on her own like that," he wonders as he walks up to the mule and straddles it. "I betcha she's loaded out of her mind. Dumbass."
He thumbs the ignition switch, and the engine produces a surging rumble as it emerges from its idle state. 'Gettin' tired of playin' fetchy fetch with that girl. It's obvious she's got some kind of death wish now where's it say I gotta get dragged along with her?"
He has a quick look at the trailer latch to make sure it's properly fastened, then heaves a tired sigh before stepping on the gas and riding off into the countryside.
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*** looking out the window daydreaming....
wonders when we'll get goin off this planet.
Gorram it I miss the sky***
*** hits the comm***
hey capt. mind if I get some air??? lol
I got a bad feeling about stan going to that er alone.
I am a leaf on the wind
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Colt went back inside the shuttle and picked abbey up. Cradling her close, he walked towards the entrance of the ER.
As he got closer, abbey stirred awake just a bit. She tried to move her arm, but she winced in pain.
Colt looked down at her and smiled.
"We're at the hospital now, darling," he said with a very soothing voice. "We'll get you and everyone else fixed up good as new."
"How's Oram?" she asked barely above a whisper.
"Don't you worry none about her," Colt told her. He didn't like concealing the truth from her. The truth that they didn't quite know where Oram was at the moment. "You know she's one the most stubborn people out there. She's gonna be fine."
abbey smiled faintly as they crossed the threshold into the facility.
"I need some more help here!" Colt called out as abbey fell back into unconsciousness.
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The surgeon had just arrived when Dr. Jacey Garner heard the request for help. Making sure he had it covered for now, she turned and raced out only to come face to face with the man who had helped carry in Stan's stretcher. This time, he held an unconscious woman in his arms. She grabbed a gurney and pulled it up.
"Put her there," she ordered as the man placed the woman down ever so gently onto the bed. "First Stan and now her? You have any more people out there?"
Colt held his tongue, not wanting it to slip out that he didn't know where Oram was and have abbey hear it. He never knew when she might gain consciousness. He really hoped Mobbex was on his way to finding Oram.
Jacey clenched her jaw and swore a bit.
What in the Hell happened with these people?
She pushed abbey into the treatment area. She didn't even bother to order him out, she knew they were all together and she had noted that he too was armed.
Where are those jing-tzahng mei yong-duh security officers? she thought.
She watched him as his gaze found the woman named Sky who was staying with Stan. Sky stepped within talking range of him and gave a report.
"Surgeon's with him now, Sir."
"Keep me updated," he answered.
So this man was the Captain that Sky had talked about.
"So Captain," Jacey asked. "Was she involved in the hunting accident too?"
Translation:
jing-tzahng mei yong-duh = consistently useless.
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The hardwood saloon doors flap back and forth as Mobbex makes his entrance. He is armed from head to toe, and instantly captures the utmost attention of everyone present. He looks up and down every patron, sizing them up from behind his opaque shades, then lets out a spiteful grunt and heads for the bar.
Barman: "What'll it be, sir?"
Mobbex: *disdainful scoff* "Ain't interested in yer horse piss. You seen a girl pass through here today? Tiny thing, brown hair, kinda longish... prolly' wasted all to hell too."
Barman: "M'sorry mate, but I get dozens o'those comin' through here every hour of the day."
Mobbex, muttering as he swallows his disgruntlement: "Yeah, figures... well thanks, anyways."
He turns to leave, but spies a hunched figure looking at him rather intently from one of the smoky alcoves. He closes in, grimacing as he wades through the thick hashish fumes.
Mobbex: "You. Ye seen summin. Tell me."
Hapless stranger: "Wh- me? 'Beg yer pardon, friend, but I's just sittin' here, enjoyin' ma piece an' quiet..."
Mobbex: "draws in close, the veins of his neck jutting out like garden hoses* "You sure wanna make me repeat myself?"
Hapless stranger: "Eh... 'course not. Yer girl... she wearin' a sling 'round her arm too?"
Mobbex: "Might be. Get on with it."
Hapless stranger: "Saw her talkin' to that kid 'bout half an hour back, 'said she'd hand him some cash if'n he'd show her to the nearest hospital."
Mobbex stands idly for a moment, then pulls a chair from under the table and sits down on it heavily.
Hapless stranger: *gives a creased smile* "More trouble than she's worth, huh?"
Mobbex, speaking with an uncharacteristic drawl: *droops his forehead into his hands* "That don't even begin to cover even half of it."
Happless stranger: *chuckles* Women, eh? Can't live with 'em, but... *draws a long toke from a freakishly hideous looking bong, amorously nibbling at the stem as he does so* ...If it ain't too much to ask... what're ya gonna do with her when you get her back? 'Cause see, I know people..."
Mobbex: "I ain't gonna do nuttin'! ...'till she opens her trap. Then all bets are off."
Hapless stranger: "I hear ya. You want some? S'on me."
Mobbex: *gets to his feet* "Nah, I gotta get goin'."
Hapless stranger: "Good luck to ya, then."
Mobbex walks through the flapping doors and back into the seedy avenue. The air is hot and heavy with moisture, but still presents an agreeable contrast to the intoxicating confines of the foul cesspit of a tavern he's just left behind. Right away, a familiar tingling up his spine lets him know that something has gone amiss. He scans the area, his senses on high alert. Then it hits him. The Mule.
The Mule is gone.
Mobbex: Motherless son of pig f... *explodes into a cacophony of vociferous expletives that has the neighboring homes trembling on their foundations*
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Sorry for the insanely long post, but in my defense, we've had longer. 
Quote:
Originally posted by DrJaceyGarner:
"So Captain," Jacey asked. "Was she involved in the hunting accident too?"
"Hunting accident?" Colt asked a bit confused. It didn't take him long to know that that was the excuse someone had given for Stan. Bullet wound and all. Now he had to quickly think of an excuse for abbey. "No, she... uh... she... uh... fell."
"Fell," Jacey deadpanned. She scoffed at the answer. She had heard it before. She whispered to herself. "I bet she fell."
"There's something wrong with her shoulder, not quite sure what," Colt offered. He was already kicking himself about the "fell" excuse. How lame could he have gotten? But the events of that day weighed heavy on him and he wasn't at his best mentally.
"We'll take care of her, Captain," Jacey said with a little venom. "Don't you worry."
Jacey started taking an inventory of abbey's injuries: bruised cheek, busted lip, bruising around the neck and a bad shoulder.
A medical assistant walked by and Jacey grabbed him.
"I need a scan of her shoulder, plus it looks like she's dehydrated. Hook up a line and get some fluids in her," she told him. Then she turned so that only the med assistant could see or hear what she had to say. "We may have a situation here, so I want you to stay with her. Don't let her out of your sight. Better yet, if you get a chance, take her up to the 3-D imager. I want to talk to this hun dan alone."
Jacey looked back at Colt and noticed that he had stepped back a few feet and was talking to someone via a comm.
"I want to talk to her as soon as she wakes up, dong ma?"
The med assistant looked over at abbey and nodded in agreement.
"You find her yet?" Colt commed Mobbex.
"Not yet. A local spotted her talking to some kid, askin' for directions to the hospital," Mobbex said. "If'n she ain't passed out by now, she should be getting there soon."
"I'll keep an eye out. You coming in then?"
"Uh... I will... in a bit."
Colt paused for a moment.
"Is there anything I need to know, Mobbex?"
"Nah. Jus' want to follow up is all."
"OK. Keep me updated. If she shows up here, I'll call."
He shoved the comm in his pocket and looked up where abbey had been. She was gone. He started to move forward to look for her, but came face to face with Jacey.
"Where is she?" Colt asked firmly.
"Sent her up for a scan of her shoulder," Jacey answered. "Plus I wanted to double check that there wasn't any damage underneath those bruises on her neck."
"You think that's possible? Damage to her throat? She seemed fine earlier," Colt asked concerned. He sighed. "Where's the imaging suite at? I'll just catch up to her there."
Jacey extended her arm toward a room off to the side.
"What do you say, we go sit down in here? Get some history so we can better help her."
Colt was about to follow her in, when another commotion was heard out in the lobby.
Quote:
Originally posted by Oram:
Um... I'm in need of medical attention... *beat*... and I also think I may have overdosed on pain injections...
Jacey raced out to the lobby to find another unconscious young woman being put on a gurney.
"Tiān xiǎo de, what the Hell is going on?" Jacey swore. She quickly wheeled the woman in. As she passed Colt, she caught a glimpse of him on his comm again.
"She's here," He simply said.
"Let me guess," Jacey said angrily. "She's one of yours too?"
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Test
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The two young men back away from the mountain of a man stalking them, their faces struck with inordinate fear.
Jorge: *holds his palms forth* Oi, big man, no call to get tetchy.
Saul: We's just doin' what we're told!
Mobbex gains on them, holding a double barreled derringer in one hand and a ragged-edge parang in the other.
Jorge: C'mon, let's all take seat and talk this through.
Saul: Be reason-...
Mobbex, shouting: REASON!? Ye squirmy little scums! 'I look like a guy who needs a REASON!?
Saul, stammering: N... no...
Mobbex: Frickin' damn right I ain't! Don't care much for reason at the best o' time, an' you boys couldn't possibly've picked a worse day to come'n f
with me.
Jorge: But surely you're not-...
Mobbex levels the derringer on Jorge's head and fires, boring a hole straight through his brainpan.
Mobbex: M'afraid I didn't catch that. What'd he say?
Saul: Jo-... ahhh!
Mobbex tosses the empty derringer and charges after Saul, swinging the parang with both hands, bellowing like the barbaric warriors of ages past.
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Jacey started working on Oram as soon as they got her into one of the med bays.
"She said something about overdosing on painkillers," she said to a nearby med assistant. "Get some blood drawn and figure out which one. In the meantime, start her on some Neutralone to filter some of those drugs out of her. We can adjust with something specific once we know what it is and facilitate the process along."
She saw that Oram's collarbone was displaced.
"Looks like a broken collarbone," she said as she moved up to look at Oram's eyes. When she got near her face she could smell the alcohol on her breath. She blanched a little. "And it appears she's drunk as well. The Neutralone will help clear that out too."
The tech started the IV and carried out Jacey's order on administering the medication. After looking at her pupils, Jacey went on with her diagnosis.
"Add a concussion to her chart too."
Very carefully, she turned Oram to her side, making sure to keep the collarbone immobilized.
"Look at all these cuts!" she exclaimed. "If I didn't know better, I'd think they were shrapnel, but I'd think we would have heard on the newsfeed if there was an explosion of some sort in town. Anyway, it looks like the cuts have been attended to pretty well though."
Jacey took a look back at Colt, who looked more than a little agitated. He would look over at Stan, then at abbey's empty bay, to Oram and then back to the empty bay. All sorts of scenarios were playing out in Jacey's mind, none of them good. The one she decided on so far was that he beat up the one woman, got caught by the one currently on the table who probably got her fair share and then shot the man who more than likely came to their aid. Either that or these people were slavers. God! She hated slavers.
"Let's get her up to the imager too. I'd like to see about the concussion and how much repair will be needed on that collarbone," Jacey told the tech as she waved over an orderly. "I'm going up with her so I can check on our other patient too. I want you to keep an eye on that one *points discretely at the Captain*. Something is definitely hinky with the whole lot and he is definitely at the center of it all."
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