Author's Note: Hello my lovlies! New stuff! Moving right on along now.
Enjoy!
...
"Geeze Kels," Deunan gripes half carrying her unconscious friend between herself and Lin, "You work out too much."
"I don't think anyone has ever had that as a complaint before." Lin chuckles, holding Shepard's arm over her own, her other and Deunan's creating a cradle to keep Shepard's splinted leg up from dragging.
It is slow going, but they are making progress, despite their friend still being unconscious.
"Just pray she doesn't wake up suddenly." Lin remarks, "Otherwise she'll be taking a spill into the dirt."
"How much further to evac?" Deunan looks up ahead, trying to make anything out through the dense trees.
"Not much further," Lin reassures her, "Less than a quarter mile. We're nearly there."
The two women trudge on in silence further through the forest for a time until there come soft moans and shifts of movement from Shepard.
"Oh not good timing Kels." Deunan pauses, Lin stopping as well, "Hey, Kels. Sit still. For your own good, we're almost there and if you move too much you're going to fall in the dirt and hurt yourself."
There is no answer from the red head, but her movements subside some, soft moans still come intermittently as the other two women pick up their pace, hurrying faster to the evac.
Once the clearing comes in sight, Deunan hesitates at the treeline, out of sight from the shuttles, causing Lin to stumble slightly to a halt, staggering Shepard in their arms. The other woman groans and shifts again.
"Easy Shep." Deunan looks over the evac and back to Lin, "We're sure this is it?"
Lin nods and indicates the shuttle formation and patrolling uniformed Alliance troops, "No mercs could fake this much Alliance protocol."
Deunan bites her lip, but another set of groans and shifts from Shepard decides her mind for her. Her friend needs medical aid. This will have to do, "Alright. Let's do this."
Lin leads Deunan into the clearing and they are immediately greeted by a pair of Alliance marine lieutenants.
"N program recruit marines Reynolds and Knute reporting in. With recruit Shepard in need of medical aide." Lin reports, her and Deunan doing their best to stand at attention while still carrying Shepard.
One of the Marines nods, "Welcome to evac recruits. Well done." He turns to the other, "Call for a med team." The second marine runs off to get the med team, "You can set your fellow down. Well done in bringing her here. Very commemorative of you both. We will need reports on your endeavors."
"Yessir." Both Deunan and Lin echo each other and salute the lieutenant.
The second marine returns with a medteam who immediately load Shepard onto a hover stretcher and carry her to the med area.
"You are both dismissed," The lieutenant returns their salute, "Returning recruits are assembling at the A and B shuttles in the center of camp."
As he turns to go, Deunan speaks up, "Sir, excuse me." He turns and raises an eyebrow, "We encountered a group of mercs who had set up a fake evac zone, it is how our friend sustained her injuries. In us apprehending some of the mercs."
"This is disturbing news." He scratches his chin, "Where were these mercs set up? How many are still at large?"
"Well, sir." Deunan stalls, "There are no longer any at large. We apprehended them all. Their clearing is three miles west of here, just north of the river's falls."
The lieutenant covers his surprise with a nod, his eyes closed, "Very well. I shall send a contingent to investigate and officially take these mercs into custody."
"Yessir." Deunan salutes and nods at his return salute as a dismissal, following Lin to the center of camp.
Lin is surprised how few recruits there are at camp once they reach the camp proper. Less than ten recruits, themselves included, of the twenty five that dropped have checked in.
"Slim pickings." Deunan remarks. She sets her pack inside the shuttle marked A on the side,Lin follows suit, laying Shepard's beside her own.
Looking around Lin heads to a mess tent set up, "Real food and fresh water sound divine right about now." she tells Deunan with a smile, "Let's grab a bite quick, then check up on Kelly."
Deunan grins her wolf's grin, "I like the sound of that. I could do with some food that I didn't have to kill and cook myself."
The two women chuckle as they step up to the mess tent. The items set up are basic field chow, only a step up from rations. But Deunan's right, after all this time of killing and cooking their own food. It might as well be prime rib.
Lin doesn't grab much, just enough to sustain her, she wants to check in on Shepard. But she knows if she doesn't eat, neither will Deunan. In her own way, Deunan cares for Shepard just as much as she does.
The two eat in silence and Lin watches Deunan, trying to puzzle out the riddle that is Deunan Knute. Since she learned of Deunan and Shepard's past as mercs together, Lin has been doing so research into Shepard's most dedicated and loyal friend. And finding very little. There is little to nothing out on the net about Deunan Knute. A colony born kid, that much she found, then nothing until she turns up on the Alliance's radar with Shepard. The two of them were in deep with various merc groups. Playing multiple hands has freelancers and somehow never getting caught by any of the factions they pissed off or the authorities. Not until Shepard boosted the wrong shuttle with an Alliance general still aboard.
Lin still finds that bit so like Shepard. When her lucky streak runs out, it does so in such a spectacular fashion.
After that, as they say the rest is history. That's how the two landed in the Alliance. Shepard was given an ultimatum, and Deunan followed her into boot camp.
"Earth to Lin." Deunan waves her hand in front of Lin's glazed eyes, "Oy, where'd you go?"
Lin shakes her head, bringing her focus back, "Sorry. Must have zoned out for a minute there."
"I noticed." Deunan looks at her critically, "You alright?"
"Yeah, just tired." Lin picks up her tray, taking it to the recycling receptacle, "C'mon, let's check on Kelly." She turns and heads off towards the corner of camp that the med team had gone.
Deunan hops up and quickly follows, forgetting to take care of her tray in her rush to catch up.
As she finds the prefab with the med cross painted on the side, Lin steps up to the private standing outside, "Recruits Reynolds and Knute looking to visit with recruit Shepard."
The private nods and raises his omnitool, speaking into it, "I have recruits looking to visit patient Shepard. Are the allowed to enter?" A voice returns across the coms with an affirmative, "Ten minutes max." He salutes before opening the doors.
Lin returns his salute, quickly darting inside, followed by Deunan who tosses a halfhearted salute to the private on her way in.
Once inside they are directed to a set of partitioned off beds, a few have patients lying in them. At the end of the room, Lin smiles broadly at seeing Shepard awake and smiling back at her. Her foot is held up in a sling, having been changed in a fresh clean splint, her clothes into medical smocks.
Lin takes Shepard's hand and leans over to kiss her softly, "Hey love." She murmurs softly, "How are you feeling?"
Deunan grasps Shepard's good foot, giving it a shake, "Heyo kid," She grins, "Good to see ya awake again."
Shepard smiles wanly, "They've got me pretty doped up." Her voice is soft and slow, she is heavily drugged.
Lin holds her hand and stroke Shepard's forehead, "How bad is it? Did they say?"
Shepard closes her eyes briefly, taking a deep breath, trying to focus.
Deunan can see her struggle, "Hey, take it easy Kels. Don't push yourself too hard."
"I'm, alright." Shepard sighs softly, She opens her eyes, smiling a half hearted grin to her friends, "Docs say ankle and knee dislocated," She pauses, taking a breath, "Something about tendons being stretched or, something." she sighs, her eyelids sinking despite her fighting to keep them open.
"Hey, hey." Lin strokes Shepard's hair back from her face, kissing her forehead, "Get some rest love. We'll see you soon."
"Yeah, you chill kiddo," Deunan clasps Shepard's hand once Lin steps aside, "We ain't goin' nowhere."
Shepard raises her hand a few inches from the bed weakly waving as they step away.
Once back outside, they see that more recruits have arrived. The groups in the clearing have grown, but there is still a significant number missing.
As the two women step into the clearing the lieutenant who seems to be in charge steps forward, "Congratulations to those of you standing her now. You have earned advancement into the next level of your training. We will be lifting off for rendezvous with the Heligoland for transport back to Earth and base in twenty minutes. Those who have not already stowed your gear, do so, and all find seats. I expect all of you to be ready to lift in ten." He nods and turns away, walking to another of the shuttles.
"C'mon," Deunan tells Lin, grabbing her elbow, "Let's get to our stuff and claim the good seat 'fore they're gone."
Lin smiles and picks up her trot beside Deunan towards the shuttle. Swinging up inside they both stow theirs and Shepard's gear and buckle into seats.
Deunan can't help smirking in pride that the two of them made it across the camp, into the shuttle, stowed three bags, and buckled themselves in all in less then five minutes. While other recruits are still orienting themselves and hoisting packs.
Lin shakes her head in amusement catching Deunan's grin. She looks out at the woods and wonders at what's next for all of them. This exercise, while maybe more unorthodox than intended, seemed too easy for the three of them together. And that worries her. The next one, they may be separated and not able to regroup again.
Deunan watches as the rest of the recruits finally gather themselves together and into the shuttles, barely within the twenty minutes, forget the lieutenant's expected ten. The shuttle bay doors close as the shuttles begin lifting off to travel to the ship and dock. She looks forward to whatever the Alliance has to throw at them next.