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Splintered Light Chapter 3.1: Triage

Despite feeling out of place aboard the Wave Rider for the longest time, Dr. Brownell finally found herself in her element... granted, it was a shame that it took injuries among the crew for her to achieve that familiar comfort. The fact that it was an overloading wave of patients brought with it a chaotic rush, but the Mouse always considered herself at her best when things were at their worst. Then again, the Wave Rider's sick bay had room for four patients... and she had more than that.

She took stock of the patients she knew; Crewman Jibb, a Bandicoot who had been on the initial boarding crew who had his leg impaled by a piece of circular wood; two other Wave Wider crewmen, Jonsey and Grant (a Genet and Serval respectively) were each in the medical facility due to burns sustained during their work across on the other ship; the final three patients were all sailors from the Wyranese vessel and she knew little to nothing about them except that they didn't speak Lehsunian or Mehnzilian, and they were in need of her aid.

Thankfully Christine wasn't alone in her duties; although she was the only qualified doctor on the ship she did have a few volunteers who were offering her assistance. Although Ephram Zoari was a monk, he had some understanding of first aid and so he was able to support her in treating the Wave Rider crewmen with their burns. Sister Aurelie, with whom she'd already had a passing acquaintance through Tobias was a capable Cat who supported her with moving supplies and fetching needed items.

Reverend Gustave, as it turned out, was the biggest assistance (and biggest assistant). He and Dr. Brownell had idly discussed first aid on and off during the first few days of their trip and he turned out to be quite efficient with triage duties-- and, considering the big Sea Otter was from Wyra himself he was able to help translate for the Wyranese sailors. That, plain and simple, was invaluable.

Even as Christina was working on safely removing the piece of wood in Crewman Jibb's leg (while staunch the bleeding so he wouldn't die from blood loss), Sister Aurelie was focused on keeping Jonsey and Grant calm and soothed with calm words and burn ointment while the more seriously injured were treated. The Cat did an amazing job, obviously having had some practice with catering to the needs of others in distress.

Ephram and Gustave were dealing the three Wyranese sailors. With Dr. Brownell's guidance, both the Gator and the Otter had managed to pack three gaping wounds and set a broken bone; the attack on the North Star had apparently been even more brutal than what had been described to her. Sister Aurelie was focused on keeping Jonsey and Grant calm and soothed with calm words and burn ointment while the more seriously injured were treated. Things became a little more complicated when slipped into consciousness.

Aside from the complaints of the two burn victims and an occasional moan from Jibb, the sick bay had been taken up by constant communication between Dr. Brownell and her assistants. That all changed when the most injured of the Wyranese sailors, a rather thin-looking Black Bear began struggling. Emphram and Gustave had been trying to close a large wound in the Bear's abdomen, but it took everything the monk had to keep the sailor subdued, all the while the Ursan seaman kept shouting, repeating over and over "Last sie es nicht bekomen! Ihr durft es sie nicht bekomen lasen!"

The Reverend motioned with his muzzle for the Gator toward the patient. "Hold him down. He's incoherent."

Christine looked up from her own patient, glancing over to the Bear. "What's going on? What is he saying?"

Gustave shook his head. "Just something about needing to protect someone... and not letting someone get something. He's not making any sense."

The Doctor carefully packed the wound in her patient's leg with cotton balls then moved quickly to assist the Otter and Alligator. "He could be suffering from trauma caused by the attack... most likely he's delirious. Hold him down... I'll give him something to calm him."

With Gustave on one side and Ephram on the other, the two were able to keep the Bear from moving. Christine slid past them in the overloaded and crowded sickbay that was cramped even when empty. She moved up beside the patient and his eyes snapped open, focusing in directly on her. His large, black paw clamped down on her forearm despite being pinned and he stared at her as he practically yelled. "Lasst sie es nicht bekommen."

Reverend Fischer, who was on the same side of the work table as Christine reached down and tried to free her, grabbing the Bear's arm... but his grip was solid and he continued to stare at her. The Otter shook the sailor's arm a few times, shouting out a series of commands in Wyranese, but the Doctor merely stood there, stunned.

The Mouse was so taken aback by the sudden and vivacious outburst that she almost dropped the syringe she'd planned on using to give the Bear something to calm him. It was another second or two before she'd even realized that the sailor's paw had released her... and another few seconds before she'd regained her composure. Looking at the Bear, however, she realized that the injection would be wasted. She murmured quietly "He's dead."

* * * * * * The work in the medical bay continued for a time past counting as Christine focused on helping those she could. Ephram had taken the body of the Black Bear out of sight to also take him out of mind, which didn't wholly work. It did, however give a little extra room in which to work and that's what the Mouse focused on instead. Fortunately, all other patients had wounds that were not as severe, and she was able to get them all through the worst of it.

Sister Aurelie was the first to speak to her after the Mouse finished the last burn poultice for Crewman Grant. The Cat placed a slender claw gently on Christine's shoulder. "You did a fine job, Docteur. Très bien."

Dr. Brownell didn't feel much like celebrating. "For five out of six, at least."

Reverend Gustave, who had been administering 'alternative medication' to Crewman Jonsey accepted his flask back from the Genet and turned to regard the Mouse. "Doesn't do anyone any good t'focus on the bad, Doc... ye saved Jibb's leg an' if they're lucky these two might even get their fur back."

Taking a deep breath, Christine tried to see things the way the Otter did, but all she could focus on was her own failure; the Bear had been in the worst condition-- she should have focused on him first. The Doctor needed something to distract her, and the good Reverend had all but volunteered. She looked up from the bloody surgical instruments on the tray in front of her and focused on Gustave. "What was the Bear saying? What did he say?"

The Reverend cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke. "He'd gone on sayin' somethin' 'bout not lettin'--"

She interrupted him. "The last thing he said."

Gustave spoke slowly, carefully enunciating the translation with barely a hint of his casual accent. "Lasst sie es nicht bekommen. Do not let them get it."

The Mouse searched the Otter's face for any indication of comprehension. "Get what?"

The Reverend's shrug was helpless. "Ah couldn't say, Missy... sorry. He just kept on repeatin' the same--"

Christine's paws clenched into fists. "Don't call me 'Missy'."

Perhaps her snapping at the Otter was a little over reactive; she knew he respected her and that Gustave hadn't meant to devalue her position by calling her 'Missy' but she didn't have the willpower to control her knee-jerk reaction. Thankfully the Otter seemed to take it well. "Meant no offense, Dr Brownell..."

A groan interrupted the discussion as another one of the Wyranese sailors, a Marmot, slowly sat up, holding his head. Christine had treated him for head trauma and a nasty cut on his scalp; the man seemed surprised when his paw encountered the bandage, and was looking around blurrily. He spoke and, despite the Mouse not knowing Wyranese, she was fairly certain it was a question. She glanced to Reverend Fischer. "What about him?"

The Otter stepped in immediately and engaged the sailor in conversation. They exchanged a few comments back and forth until eventually Gustave glanced toward Christine. "He's asking about a woman. Human. Reddish brown hair with curls."

Dr Brownell shrugged. "Everyone I know about is right here. We'd have to check with the Captain. Why does he want to know about--"

Her question was lost to another series of exchanges between the Otter and Marmot. Gustave looked back at her. "A woman from the University was on the ship with them when they were attacked. He wanted to make sure--"

The Mouse was unable to fight the frown that took over her muzzle by the time the word 'ship' left the Otter's, and she interrupted him shortly thereafter. "The University of Progressive Understanding isn't known for including women. He must be mistaken."

Gustave nodded without questioning her and looked back to the sailor. Despite Christine wanting to get more information she saw all the signs of a concussion in the Marmot and she realized that further interrogation would have to wait. The moment there was a pause in the conversation she reached out and touched the Otter's shoulder. "Just tell him to rest. We can figure things out later."

The Reverend nodded and focused his attention on the patient. Christine straightened up, heading to a less crowded area of the sick bay to catch her breath and clear her mind of the constant barrages against her mental wellbeing. She had just started to go through a cerebral exercise designed to promote emotional wellbeing when the door opened in front of her. It was Tobias. He gave a start when he almost ran into her. "OH! Chri-- Dr. Brownell!"

Something about the Prong Horn's surprise made her instantly smile. "This IS the surgeon's office, Tobias... Were you expecting someone else?"

The scholar quickly collected himself and his composure. He looked around to everyone else before his attention returned to the Doctor. "Captain Jacksoni wants to make sure that the sailors from the other ship stay in the sick bay."

Christine searched the Prong Horn's face for any indication regarding the reasoning behind the order. When she saw none she questioned him instead. "You can tell the Captain that they're recovering from wounds. I doubt they'll be going anywhere anytime soon. Besides, even if they do they aren't in any condition to cause problems. Why would he so concerned about confining them?"

Tobias cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable playing the messenger. "Well... the UPU airship overhead is claiming them as prisoners."

Although the Prong Horn was speaking perfect Lehsunian the Mouse still couldn't quite process what he was saying. "WHAT?!?!"

Her outburst caused both Ephram and Gustave to look up in their direction. The Gator spoke up. "Is everything alright, Doctor?"

Rather than answer the monk she continued addressing Tobias. "Why would the UPU have an airship flying over the ocean? Why would they care about imprisoning survivors of a pirate attack? Why is this even up for discussion?"

The Prong Horn rubbed the head of his cane between his thumb and forefinger as he regarded it rather than looking at her; Tobias was always at his most reserved when he was delivering news he thought she might not like. "I don't know... but Captain Jacksoni thinks it's worth talking over rather than exchanging cannon fire, and I think he's probably right."

Christine rolled her eyes. "The UPU wouldn't attack the Wave Rider... we haven't done anything wrong."

Tobias shifted uncomfortably from hoof to hoof. "Well... uhm... Jacques, the ship's Tactician seems to think it was the airship that probably attacked the Wyranese ship, so...."

The Prong Horn finished what he had to say, trailing off without finishing his thought. It was a pregnant pause, as if the scholar had anticipated having something thoughtful to say but, failing to come up with it, simply stopped talking. Christine sighed. "I see."

The Mouse stared at the scholar, letting the long pause continue, but it was ultimately concluded by Ephram. "I can remain here with the patients if you would like to go speak to the Captain, Doctor. Perhaps more information will put your mind at ease."

Dr. Brownell looked to the Alligator, who was packing a cushion underneath Crewman Jibb's injured leg. She glanced back at Tobias, who stood patiently in the doorway, cane tip resting on the floorboards with both hands placed on its handle. "Captain Jacksoni mentioned something about holding negotiations. Everything is on hold until then."

Finally some information about the goings-on above deck. She focused her attention wholly on Tobias as she approached him, holding out her gloved hand. "When did he say the negotiations would be?"

The scholar likewise extended an arm, most likely anticipating that she would slide hers into it. "He didn't... but I was left with the impression that it would be soon. Based on what little I know about these new airship contraptions they don't respond well to hovering for long periods of time."

Christine grabbed hold of Tobias by the hand and walked past him, pulling him toward the stairs that led up to the deck. "Well, let's find the Captain to find out what we can. None of this makes any sense, and, besides, my understanding was that we were RESCUING those sailors... not taking them prisoner."

Tobias managed to keep pace with her, walking stick tucked under one arm as he rushed after her, hand still in hers. "Chris-- I don't think the talks will include everyone. I'm fairly certain the Captain--"

She interrupted him, pushing open the door to the top deck. "Pretty certain the Captain will at least have a few minutes to discuss the condition of our GUESTS with the ship's Surgeon. Now, where IS Captain Jack--"

"Hello, Dr. Brownell."

Christine recognized Rolf's voice before she even turned to see him. She gave him a courteous greeting with a nod of her head and got right to business. "Bosun. Where is the Captain, if I may ask?"

The elder of the two Severna brothers was looking past her at Tobias. Despite where his attention was, the Bosun still spoke to her. "You're earlier than I thought you'd be... I'd figured it would take you at least another minute and a half to convince Tobias to let you speak with the Captain."

She heard Tobias object behind her. "Actually, I--"

Christine new time was of the essence and brought the conversation back to the point. "The Captain? Where is he, please?"

A faint smirk appeared on the Bosun's muzzle. "He is getting ready for the negotiations with the representative from the UPU."

The Mouse made her intent plain. "I would very much like to speak with him before he--"

Rolf cut her off. "He's requested that you and Tobias join him as you are both affiliated with the UPU and in service to the Wave Rider."

Having the opportunity to speak with the Captain turned out to be easier than she had thought it might. The conditions of that meeting, however, ended up being something else entirely; negotiations were anything but mundane.