"Ow ow ow ow ow ow-"
"Okay, stop. Stop stop stop."
The assembled crew had all frozen, eyes staring at Scott. All, save Cora, who was chewing on her bottom lip.
"It looks like it's clamped down it's jaw," Ryder stated calmly. "Vetra, find me something to sedate it with."
The turian raced up. "On it!"
"Liam, go get some medical supplies. I don't expect we'll be doing any surgery, just get the basics."
"Be back in a bit."
"And Peebee-"
The asari took a step back. "Oh, I'm not getting involved."
"Then you can leave," snapped Cora, doing her damndest not to clench her hands.
Peebee gave a weird mock salute and danced her way out of the makeshift tent.
Scott gave a relieved breath, finally getting his bearings.
In front of him was quite the peculiar situation. Cora's first two fingers were effectively caught in the mouth of what he had initially assumed to be a snapping turtle. It'd be hysterical, if it wasn't for the fact that the reptile had teeth, a clamped jaw, and no intention of releasing his girlfriends' fingers soon.
Blood had seeped from the turtle's mouth—not a lot to be problematic, not at this stage at least.
"Ordinarily, I'd make Lexi look at this."
"It's not even life-threatening," she groaned. "The Tempest is still grounded at the other outpost—there's no point dragging her here."
"But it is finger-threatening," he chuckled. "Sam, what am I looking at?"
He would have started with SAM, had he gotten to Cora before Liam and Vetra. His omnitool scan gave him a good look at just how deep those razor teeth were digging into Cora's fingers. No wonder she was in pain. It might have dug right into her bone.
"I've got good news, and I've got bad news," Scott admitted.
"What's the bad news?"
"I don't think you'll be doing any pullups for the next couple of weeks."
Cora growled, shaking her head. "You're gonna regret that statement later."
He chuckled again, placing a hand on her cheek and leaning in to give her a quick peck. She was in pain. He hated seeing her like this, but she was right: this was a relatively minor problem, so much so that even he could fix it. "The good news is, once we unclench this little guy's jaw, his teeth should come right out."
"Should?"
"Will. Will come right out."
The biotic gave a breath of relief, leaning her head back. "Can't believe my fingers are being bitten off by a turtle."
Scott shrugged. "First time for everything."