Niko looked at the woman. "I need to stop that bleed." He found what he
needed, a clamp and full nite pack. He needed to stop that bleed and then pack it,
fast. "I need a light; you got one?"
"Yes," she stammered.
Niko returned the other man's gaze. "I'll be fast, I promise. He won't lose any
more blood from that leg after this."
Niko tightened his grip in his hand, testing its strength. From a pocket he pulled
a silver pen like device. The woman looked at him confused. "Smart Suture," he
said, and flicked the end so it would spark to life. "It will stop the bleeding in an
instant and help with healing. On my mark, ready?" Niko sucked in a breath to
calm his own nerves.
"You're not just going to pack it and move him?" Dave asked.
"No, he's got a full femoral bleed. No pack would stop that. I'll seal it for now,
but he needs vascular surgery immediately or he's going to lose that leg."
Dave looked terrified. His face almost was pale as their patients. "We can't."
"Trust me," Niko said, smiling. "We can."
"He can get another leg," the man said… "Right?"
"Not everyone wants mods," Niko replied. "Besides to do what he does out
here, he needs all his faculties. Given the brutal demands of this landscape, any
cheap mods he could scrape up would betray him amidst these relentless dunes."
"Right, I understand…. So we save the leg then…" Dave nodded, though he
still looked terrified.
"Three," Niko said, echoing his pilot. "Two… one."
A piercing light emanated from the woman's flashlight, casting an eerie
illumination on the dire injury. With precision, Niko clamped down just as another
geyser of blood erupted. He sensed the injury's depth, its dimensions, its threat.
It wasn't as bad as he'd feared; with just one stitch, he might not need surgery.
The nites would increase his chances of survival by 80%.
"Pack," he said to Dave and held a handout. This time Dave had it ready to go
and Niko placed it on the wound, then secured it. He didn't, however, stop. "BP?"
Steady and rising, breathing is not good though," Dave said.
Niko pressed his fingers against his patient's wrist once more.
James' pulse was faster. That was all that mattered. "But we can move him
now. Wrap that arm as tightly as you can. We'll be at Rise before you know it."
"He's going to Rise?"
"Orders are orders," Niko said, watching as Dave did as he'd asked, securing
the arm wound and having someone else hold the IV above the cap sergeant's
shoulder.
"He just saved the majority of this farm; they still owe him treatment, and Rise
is the closest survival hospital."
"That's still a hell of a cost, anything there is…."
"Astronomical, probably half a million creds at least," the young woman said
her voice shaking all the more… "Oh James, what have you done?"
"Everyone that can get hold of some uniform, lift together." Niko said and
stood.
Dave counted down this time, and with a tug upwards, the sergeant was in the
air and the board under him. Then his team had the man moving back towards the
helo.
The young woman still held the flashlight his way. Niko's eyes softened.
"They'll report back as soon as they can," he said.
"Thank you," she said. "Thank you."
Niko just nodded, threw his gear back in a plastic bag, shouldered his pack,
and ran after their patient. Climbing in behind him. "Good to go," he slid the door
closed.
Their pilot didn't hesitate, and the helo lifted into the air with tremendous
speed. Dave gagged. "Keep those details coming," he said. "He's not over the
worst of this yet."
"You just said…."
"I know what I said. Now concentrate, we have to get him to Rise without him
crashing."
"ETA?" Dave asked through the general comms.
"Twenty minutes," said the pilot. "Keep him stable."
"We're trying," Niko said as the helo shook. "Keep us steady."
"Trying," she admitted.
"Keep those fluids going in," Niko said and handed Dave another IV.
Niko put his wrist back to the sergeant's and accessed his HUD and health
details. Some of this information was usually reserved for family and medics.
Stationed 211 days.
Rotation out 0 days.
The poor fucker had been due to leave that day, rotating out so someone else
could take his place while he got some much-needed rest. Sounded about right….
Niko clenched his fist. This wasn't right. None of it.
"There's too much pressure on you all," Niko said softly. "Far too much."
"There's too much pressure on all of us," Dave added. "We're second-year
trainees…. We shouldn't be— we shouldn't be dealing with this."
Niko was powerless to object. Though the Vota attacks were few and far
between, when they came in from the mountains, they were lethal.
Twenty minutes was a long time when you were at death's door. Niko's
breathing settled in with the beat of the helo. He looked out of the window to see
Artem speeding past underneath them. The towering structures he knew all too
well. He'd seen most of Artem from the air, and he wished he hadn't. Nothing
would ever get rid of those images from his mind. The inner city, filled with green
grass, dark trees, and beautiful rich structures. The outer city, all cramped, grey,
and the closer to the wall they were, the more uninhabitable it became.
"If only they knew how much their food cost," he said. "That this… this is too
much."
"You think they care?" Dave asked, shaking his head.
"No," Niko replied and glanced to his patient. "I guess they don't."