Memily didn't usually work on call, but the other staff members knew where to find her if need be. The other nurses had little training and experience but Memily still placed a copious amount of faith in them. Tonight, however, required another hand as well as the skill.
The general was slung over a soldier's back while four others supported three and two were fortunate enough to be carried in on gurneys. "Seffra! Take the general!" she shouted as she rushed to relieve two weary men of an unconscious and wounded friend. Eral helped her drag him to a bed so Memily could begin her work. Her eyes darted over the wounded soldier's body for a first glance. His left shirt sleeve bore a heavy blood stain. She whirled around to grab scissors and gauze. With the scissors, she ripped off the man's sleeve several inches above the stain, then shortly surveyed the cauterized flesh. Wedged in his arm was a small dart. A poison dart if the vibrant magenta end was to be believed. She blew out a long and even breath.
"I need an IV stat! And get me a filter! This man has been poisoned!"
"Is that the deonminoxin or the fillibris?" she heard Eral ask another of the nurses behind her.
"I need the deonminoxin right now, Eral!"
Forty seconds later, Seffra pressed the bottle into her hand. She started the IV and stuck the end into the fattest vein she could find. She shot a fair portion of the bottle's teal liquid down the line, then turned her attention back to the dart stuck in his arm.
"Quite the muscles you've got here, soldier boy," she spoke to the unconscious man. "I see the dart but I can't grab it." She pushed off her feet, sending her chair rolling back a couple feet. She stopped before a mini set of drawers and quickly found a pair of tweezers. She rolled back to the dying man, dropped her tweezers on his stomach and snapped on a pair of blue gloves from her belt. "Alright. Hang on, big guy. Don't die on me. Just give me a minute and I'll have it under control."
Subconsciously, she was aware of the other women at work around her. There was urgent yelling, calling for supplies, the buzzes and beeps as monitors were plugged in and connected. But Memily was focused on the man who lay dying before her. Everything else was background noise- until she heard the first monitor flatline.
Against all her training, her neck snapped around to watch the wailing screen and see a look of terror sweep across Mina's face. She just stood there. "Mina! Don't stop! You might have time!"
"He's gone!"
"We're medics! Keep trying!"
She turned back to her own patient. She found the wound again and tore out the poisonous dart, immediately filling the hole with bacta in a pasty gel form. Standing, Memily flicked his IV line with two fingers- a habit- and grabbed an antibiotic and rubbing alcohol from a cabinet above. One brief glance at his monitor and she allowed herself a smile. "There we go. That'a boy." While she was bent over him, cleaning off his wounds, she called out across the room, "Report! How are we doing?" She let her awareness expand once again, her own work nearly done and some tension relieved. But around her, there was still an unspoken urgency; hurried footsteps, soft but rushetones. Sign she Twisted the cap back on antibiotics cleaner and turn to her staff. "Seffra? Eral? How's the general?"
"He's gone Miss." Memily's gaze finally found the older woman Seffra who stood beside an unkempt bunk, her hands folded before her and her eyes dripping long streams of tears. "We couldn't save him."
"That's four," Ostina informed her, her voice just above a whisper. She passed her an old-fashioned datapad on her way to the sink to wash your hands.
"What? Wait, how long has it been?"
"Just over an hour, Miss."
"And we've already lost four?"
"It's just four, dear," Eral repeated, resting a hand on Memily's shoulder. "We all did everything we could."
"Of course."
"So? How's the new job going? You like it there?"
"Mama … I don't think I can do this."
"What happened?" Her mother's question response was calm, even-toned. It would seem she had no worries but- over the years- Memily had learned how to interpret Leia Organa Solo's reassuring tones. Even now, over the commlink, she could find the worry evident in her mother's voice; it was so clear she could practically see her mother's brows knitting together. "There was another attack on the Nabooan embassy today. The troop stationed there was brought to my medcenter… ." She choked on her words more than her tears. "Mama, I lost four patients today."
Leia let a silence hang for a moment. "I'm sorry, Mem. I'm sure you did everything you could."
"But four, Mama! Four!"
"Baby, life is a war. You can't win every battle. Trust me, I've tried."
Memily sighed, dropping her gaze to her lap where her other hand lay, picking at the hem of her apron. "New Alderaan isn't ready," she said simply.
"It's just becoming civilized. It's not a huge surprise. Just like any burgeoning government, it is vulnerable. There will be enemies and there will be battles. And we aren't going to win them all. That's just how it goes. I know it stinks to lose, Mem, but it happens. Now, the goal is to not let it happen again."
"New Alderaan can't defend itself. The military doesn't know what they're doing. The medics don't know what they're doing. Mama, I feel like I'm on the front lines. Everyone's relying on me to defend this planet."
"Then, what an honor has been bestowed upon you. New Alderaan could not chose a wiser hero. Look, Mem, I know it's hard. It's rough, but now isn't the time to quit. You worked so hard to get here. So long training and learning, but you're finally here. Now, you have to fight some more but it will be worth it. I had to fight for the Rebellion. I fought every day with all I had. I fought so hard that your dad had to pull me back sometimes. It was hard. I wanted to free every planet and destroy every Imperial ship. But that didn't happen. They took Alderaan. They took so many planets and people, but I never stopped fighting. And it paid off in the end. Mem, I know it's hard to see right now, but if you keep fighting, you are destined to win.
"I have to go, sweetie, but if you ever need a hug, Daddy and I will hurry over. Call your brothers, sisters. Talk to them. Listen to me, though, Memily Solo. Don't give up yet."