Mission of Mercy (poetlore and dunruffle)

Soon everyone had finished their food. Erik leaned back and patted his belly with a sigh of contentment. "That hit the spot, nothing like some good food after a time out in the field." He looked at his watch and nodded, "yep, about time to hit the sack. This planet's solar cycle is a few hours ahead of the last one so its about 10pm." Kirst nodded and stood up, "alright men, clean up and then report to the barracks." The men saluted and cleaned up their trays then began walking out. Dante waved to Jen on the way out. "See you around jen." He gave her a wink then entered the elevator with the others and dissappeared from view.
 
Cassandra nodded, "That was very good," she said, "Thanks for showing us how to get here. I'm sure we'll be frequent diners. Do they do delivery?" She knew there would be times they would need food sent down, but she had no idea if it was even an option. If it wasn't they'd ahve to send one person to get for everyone. "OH..." she said looking at Erik standing as well, "Thank you for telling me. I would have been all off tomorrow." She gathered up all the components of Graves' meal and put them all into the one larger bag for easier transport. She looked at Harrison, "You going to be ok to walk out of here big guy?"

Harrison huffed, "No worries," he said and stood, taking all three of their trays over to the deposit area. He smiled at the cute girl and then returned to Cassandra and Jen.

Jen was waving and watching Dante get onto the elevator and when it closed and the other disappeared she let out a very sappy sounding sigh, "He's totally dreamy and ...perfect."

Cassandra curled her lips and shook her head, "He's a man Jen," she said, "No one is perfect. But he's pretty amazing."

Harrison huffed, "He's a dude....you could do worse though Jen....you have before. I think he might be a step in the right direction."

Jen smacked his arm and pouted, "Meanie." but then smiled, "I think he's perfect. Let me have my moment of delusion before reality forces me to see flaws...which I will more than likely ignore."

Cassandra picked up Graves' bag and slipped an arm around Jen's shoulders. "Have your moment, and be happy...but don't be blind. He might be perfect for you, but be careful and watchful." They made their way to the elevator and got in. Harrison was sweating but he was breathing, and she was impressed. "You might actually kick that heights thing here Harrison." He just huffed and held onto the bar in the elevator.

They arrived back at the hospital wing and she went to the supply cage and tapped on the grate, "Dinner is served."

Graves poked his head out from behind the shelves, "YES!" he said and stepped over to grab the bag and unload his goodies, "I'm starving. And Doc," he said, "You are the only one they cared to watch but they had devices ...ten of them in there." He pointed at the button on his desk and smiled, "This is a bubble zone...no listening here. I put one on your desk too, the button is under the edge of the desk by the top shelf. It's recessed, so the drawer still works, but you can activate it undetected if you pretend to get something from the drawer." he smiled very proud of himself.

"You are a marvel Graves," she said, "Hope I got enough stuff from the salad bar for your burger."

Graves nodded with a full bite in his mouth and gave her a thumbs up.

She left him and went back to her room and frowned. Ten devises. What on earth were they thinking to hear? she wondered. She felt sorry for whoever had been listening. Pretty boring day today.
 
The doors opened and a new pair of guards entered, with a third one hobbling in tow. "Doctor! Need help now please." The third guard coughed wetly and spat out a wad of blood and mucus before falling to one knee.
 
Cassandra was just about to slide her badge when she heard the doors open and someone call for her. She ran back out to the main bay in time to see the blood and mucus. She grabbed a sterile coat and motioned for them to follow her into her bay. Before she could call, Harrison and Point were there.

She looked at the other two," What happened?' she asked as she used her eye to scan the man. His physiology was slightly different but nothing her eye was completely unprepared for. She was making mental notes as she scanned and adding them to her digital data base. her eye implant was doing what it was intended to do, and she had never been sorry she had it.
 
The one guard stood nearby clenching his shotgun worriedly. "Rotlung, very bad. Medicine no work. He very sick. Gonna die soon. Brothers say you good doctor. Very nice. Not like others. Can you heal him?" The other guard grunted and shook his head. "Doctors bad! No help! Not ever help! They only watch and do nothing!"
 
Cassandra focused on the man's lungs and could easily see what they meant by rotlung. The man's lungs were full of congestion, and the bronchial tubes were all inflamed. She could also see what appeared to be ulcers, which was odd in a lung, since there is not normally any acid in there.

He looked at the man and smiled, "Hello," she said, "I am doctor Brandford And I am not sure what kind of doctor you have had before, but we help people." She touched his arm gently and smiled again, "If you will trust me I can try to help you."

She wasn't sure the patient would accept her help and she wasn't one to force someone to receive treatment ever.
 
The sick guard looked at his friend next to him and then at the glowering guard by the door. He wheezed and went into a violent coughing fit, spitting out even more blood and mucus. His friend knelt down next to him and gripped his shoulder. "This doctor good, listen to your elder." The guard looked up with bloodshot eyes then nodded, he tried to stand up but fell onto his hands in knees as his legs collapsed beneath him. His friend nodded with a grunt hauled his large friend up onto the operating table by himself. The third guard made a sound of disgust and stormed out of the clinic as the friend looked at Cassandra. "If you hurt like other doctors I rip out your tongue for lying then jump in lake for not saving blood brother." He did not say it threateningly, only stated as a fact. Emphasizing how much faith he was putting in Cassandra but also how seriously he took his path to the SOG.
 
Cassandra followed to the room and placed a gentle hand on the man's chest. "I need to give you some medicine," she said, "I will use this," she held up the air injector, "It will make you sleep so that I can do what I must do." She looked from one to the other, but back to the one who was speaking, "I do not lie,' she said, "But he is very sick. I will do everything I can."

She looked back at the man and saw a slight nod, and she smiled, "Thank you." She pressed the air injector to his neck, where she could see their thick skin was a little thinner. Once he was asleep the dome came over him and she began to work. Her eye switched to magnification and she began to use lasers and micro instruments to clear some of the burned looking tissue from the man's lungs, and graft in some of her own synthesized tissue. She had studied burns intensively in college and had won a secondary scholarship award for this particular grafting tissue. She'd used it many many times with nearly 98% effectiveness. She'd never attempted it on anyone other than a human, but this man was going to die without help, and the physiology was close enough she felt safe taking the risk. She worked with precision and her normal attention to every little detail. Harrison was handing her instruments inside the tube, without her even asking. They had a weird connection as they worked.

She watched then to see how his body reacted to the tissue. She was shocked to see how quickly his body assimilated the healthy tissue and she could see the breathing easing and as she scanned him, she could see that his vital signs were becoming steady and strong.

She removed her hands from the tube and then looked up at the other guard. "He seems to be accepting the treatment. He needs to rest for a bit though. Can you tell me what causes this?" she asked, "How did his lungs become so damaged?"
 
The guard smiled and bowed to Cassandra. "Many thanks Doc-tor. Brothers do not deserve dishonorable death of sick." When Cassandra asked what caused the disease, the guard scrunched his face in concentration, trying to figure out the words to speak. "Is from....bad air...you breathe in and then days later you sick....is hard to find source of bad air...you start with cough, then blood cough...then dead. Can kill many families at once."-He frowned and growled under his breath. "Last Doc-tor no help. Calls it....nat....nat-ral...selecshun.." He gripped his shotgun tighter and the metal audibly groaned from his crushing grip.
 
Cassandra smiled and nodded, "You are very welcome," she said, "I may not always be able to help," she said, "But I will always try to help." She listened when he said how they got this way and she tipped her head, "You mean from the air when you leave here? Or the air inside here?" she asked wanted to be sure she understood. Whole families. That was sobering to her, and the words of the last doctor just peeved her on a level that had her eyes flashing and her teeth gritting.

"What happened to the last doctor," she asked. If he left alive, she planned to find him and give his new employers a full rundown of his work ethics.

she stepped out from behind the operating table and looked up at the guard, "I am very sorry, the last doctor did not treat you and your people as he should have. I will always help you, but please, try not to wait until it is so bad you could die before I can help. I hope your friend will recover, but I am not going to say that for sure, until I watch him for a bit. I will do everything I can. Do you understand?"
 
The guard motioned to the doors, "air outside. Like from planet. Will try to find more words for help later." He frowned, clearly exasperated at his limited vocabulary. When she asked about the last doctor, the guard smiled. "He get...kar-ma...got legs stuck in lift, nobody around to hear for help. Oops hehehe." Clearly the previous doctor fell victim to some sort of crude revenge plot. As it would be very difficult to get your legs caught in the gears of a lift. Also the fact that his guards were nowhere near him at the time clearly indicated that it was no accident the doctor could not get any help. The guard listened to Cassandra and gave her a deep bow. "Much thanks doc-tor. Happy you can help. Is good sign." He smiled and put his mask back on then left out the doors.
 
Cassandra listened and nodded when he said outside air. She listened to the tale of the last doctor and almost grinned at the guard's hehe but didn't. He seemed to understand that she wasn't promising miracles, and she was glad of it. She could tell he wanted to say more, but was unable. When he left she looked at Harrison who was also looking at the guard's retreating back intensely.

"There should be a way to alter their masks, or create a better filter." she said thinking aloud.

"I'll go out tomorrow and get samples of the air.."

"No," she said, "I'd have to get permission for that...let me meet with this doctor...hell I can't remember his name...but let me see what I can find out. We will help them though. If the director won't ok it, I'll pay for it."

Harrison just smiled, "Yeah I know...Doc gets her way."

Cassandra huffed, "Not always but..I will in this." He recognized that look in her eyes and he just grinned and went back to his room.

She went back to the patient and set the monitors and sensors to alert her at the first sign of any change. She was keeping him sedated so he would sleep and his body could recover. She had a feeling they didn't sleep much. She had a feeling the guards were ill treated in a lot of ways, and that they were kept ignorant and uneducated so they wouldn't realize it. The idea of that grated on her, and made her want to help them even more.
 
The lights in the clinic waiting room automatically dimmed as it became late. The muffled sounds of the two guards talking emanated from the doorway and the humming and beeping of machines formed a sort of background noise as the night wore on.
 
Cassandra slept but woke throughout the night to check on the guard. No alarms had sounded but she still woke every few hours to make sure he was well. Once 6 am came though she was just awake for the day and lingered in the bay, monitoring his progress and when she scanned him she noted that his body had already completely assimilated the tissue. That was noteworthy indeed. Apparently, their bodies ran with whatever they were exposed too, whether that be good or bad. It made them both extremely adaptable and extremely vulnerable.

She heard the others stirring and eventually everyone else was awake and at their duties. They prepared to go for breakfast and Harrison poked his head in, "The usual?" He knew without asking that she wasn't going to be leaving the bay, not with a patient there.

She nodded, "Yes please."

He nodded and the three made their way to the mess hall, though she'd hardly term it that.
 
After a few minutes the guard groaned and woke up. He sat up and groggily yawned. Realizing he could breathe properly again, he took a few experimental deep breaths. Turning to Cassandra he smiled widely. "Many thanks doc-tor. Feel much better." He got off the table and stretched, then finding his mask and putting it on. "Go back to wife. She worries much. Bye bye." He waved and walked out of the clinic with a little spring in his step, stopping to talk to the guards outside then heading back to his home.
 
Cassandra blinked and smiled, "Oh I am very glad," she said and then watched him hop down and almost skip out of the hospital wing. "Huh..." she said out loud and grabbed a chart and made a ton of notes on it about the whole episode, and created a prescribed treatment for the various stages of the disease. It might be entire'y preventable if they could find the source of the contaminated air. Maybe the Saints would be able to shed some light, when she saw them next.

The rest of her team returned a short while later with her take out of breakfast. "They had banana bread," Harrison said as he laid the to go container in front of her and then turned back to ehr with a raised brow, "The patient?"

"Got up and walked out, no...skipped out." she said, "I have never seen anyone take to that artificial tissue so readily or quickly." She shrugged, "Apparently without knowing it, I created a perfect mesh for their body and cell types. OR...their bodies are just that adaptable. I haven't decided which yet." she opened her container and smiled, "Oh this looks fabulous." She said digging into her omelet and banana bread.

Point set the coffee down next to her and smiled, "I didn't see my wall of muscle today, but I ahve two more meals before I am officially going to be pouting."

Cassandra chuckled, "Well...I'm sure you'll see them at dinner time."

Jen cast her a look, "Them?" she huffed, "You can have everyone but Dante."

Cassandra lifted a brow, "Who said I was after anyone?" she asked.

Jen rolled her eyes, "You don't have to be. Any one of them would jump on you if you gave them half an inkling you'd be receptive."

Cassandra shook her head, "You are crazy Jen," she said grabbing her coffee, "I'd be surprised if any of them thought of me as anything other than one of the guys, or as just the doctor. You always grossly over exaggerate my attractiveness."

Jen tapped the desk next to her, "No...you underestimate it. You'll see...I'm right."

Cassandra closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. She finished her food and then wondered where she was supposed to meet with this genetic engineer, about his organs. Natalya never mentioned a place. Maybe he was planning to come to her. She could only hope, or perhaps he was going to send someone for her. She figured she should discuss her findings, in the case from last night with him, once she found out who his experiments were intended to help. She needed to feel him out before she offered her methods and knowledge.
 
A beep sounded over the speakers and a nearby console lit up with an alert saying Cassandra recieved a message. Once opened a short video began to play. An elderly asian man with two different colored eyes spoke to Cassandra. "Doctor Brandford. I am doctor sechen, head of the genetic modification team. I have heard good things about you and hope our working relationship will be splendid. I have attached directions to my lab. See you soon." A small attachment to the message gave directions and a map to the lab on the south side of the lake and on the 15th floor of the wall.
 
Cassandra chuckled at the message, because she had just been wondering how she was going to find the man in this huge complex. She scanned the map into her eye and would hold it for future reference. It was one of the more useful applications of her implanted eye. She closed the screen and stepped over to Harrison's bay. "I ahve a meeting on the other side of the lava lake," she informed him, "If you need anything here..."

"I know...interrupt you..not a problem Doc," he said, "Better take your shark repellent."

She smirked, "I think I'll be fine," she said confidently, even though she was more than a little worried about the meeting. She didn't want to be forced into crazy human experiments, even if they 'seemed' beneficial. Helpful upgrades, she had no problem with as long as they were thoroughly tested before implementation. she grabbed her tablet and then started blinking as she walked calling up any information available on Doctor Sechen. Never hurt to have a bit of info under your belt in such a meeting. She was quite sure he'd already investigated her background as well.
 
Erik bumped into Cassandra as she was walking out the door. "Oh hey doc, was just coming to see you. What are you going out for?" He leaned against the wall and smiled warmly at her.
 
Cassandra had been looking at her tablet absently when she left the hospital wing and felt a wall of person when she bounced off, "Oh Erik," she said with a little squeak of surprise, "I'm so sorry..I wasn't..." He tipped her head and looked at him, "Are you ok?' she asked, "feeling well?" she was scanning him with her eye, because she figured that was the only reason he'd come looking for her. Her quick scan didn't throw up and immediate red flags, but one never knew.

She saw the smile then and was instantly confused, and since she wasn't good at hiding things it would be plainly evident on her face. she blinked and the moment was gone and she held up the tablet, "I have a meeting with Doctor Sechen this morning," She said. "Have time for a stroll?" she asked, "So I can pick your brain?" She smiled and gave her head a little turn to indicate he should follow if he wished to continue the conversation.
 
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