A/N: I tried to write Flirting With Desire but Jayd was yelling at me, wanting his say. So I turned my attention to this. Hopefully, you enjoy it...
Taking Down the Fortress
Jayd's POV
"Doc!"
Ignoring the shout, I checked over my patient one more time. After kicking Theron out of the med bay, we went to work removing Zane from the tank and getting him into a bed. It had taken some time but we got him set up in a private room toward the back of the med bay, so he wouldn't be disturbed. Not wanting to put any stress on his lungs, a nasal cannula was providing him with supplemental oxygen. And his vitals were being carefully monitored by various machines in the room and he had a few IV lines hooked up. His injured arm was propped up on a couple of pillows. Overall though, he did look better and seemed to be relaxing comfortably.
"Doc!"
Unable to ignore her this time, I stepped out of Zane's room and shut the door behind me, not wanting him disturbed. Walking into the main part of the medical bay, I asked, "What can I do for you?"
"Shan's dying," Tora said, coming to a stop in front of me.
"Not possible," I denied, shaking my head. "Not possible," I explained, "He just went to take a shower and get something to eat. He should be back here shortly."
"Oh, he'll be here, carried by a Chiss soldier and bleeding everywhere," she claimed, pushing a medical scanner at me, "Here, look for yourself."
Turning on the device, I quickly surveyed the information flashing across the screen. Run through? Extensive internal injuries? Severe blood loss? Punctured lung? How did this happen? He hadn't been gone long? And he hadn't even left the fracking base! How could Theron find trouble here? Even he should be safe within these walls!
"Doc!" Tora shook me from my shocked stupor. "They'll be here any minute."
Nodding my thanks, I took off at a run for the main trauma bay. "Geena and Ying, with me," I called to the nurses as I passed, "Trauma case on the way in."
"Yes sir," they answered, keeping pace with me.
"I'm surprised," Genna, a beautiful grey furred Cathar, said, as we entered the trauma unit and started prepping, "I didn't think we had anyone out on active missions."
"Not a mission," I answered, sighing. "I'm still hazy on the details but Theron was hurt."
Hooking the medical scanner up to a nearby monitor, I heard the nurses inhale sharply at the detailed list.
"He was just here," Ying, a young blonde haired human, said opening a package of gauze, "With the Commander, barely left his side."
Shaking my head, I admitted, "I sent him to shower and get something to eat, not sure what happened; only that he's been hurt." Picking up a holo-communicator I entered the code for Dr. Belman and waited.
"Jayd?" The young Mirialan doctor's hair was messy and she looked like I'd just woken her up.
"Need you here stat Dena," I told her, as the doors of the medical bay were pushed open. "Bad trauma case just came in."
"On my way," she called out, already halfway across the room, "be there in two."
"Doc," a voice I recognized as Koth Vortena shouted, "we need some help here."
"Over here," I answered, "We're ready for you."
What I saw when they stepped around the corner took my breath away. Red….everywhere... on everyone. Theron's blood stained and marred skin and clothes alike, standing out starkly against the blue skin of the Chiss who carried him. Worse though, was the lack of color in Theron's usually, olive skin. He was white as a sheet.
"Let's get him on the table," I heard Dr. Belman instruct the group, leading them to the medical bed we'd ready for his use. "Carefully put him on the bed," she directed them.
"Careful," Koth said, as he helped the Chiss woman put Theron on the bed. "We don't want to put any pressure on the table leg."
"Frack," I cursed softly at the sight of the metal protruding from my friend's body. I'd been hoping, praying to any deity that could hear me that somehow the data showing Theron had been run through was a fluke, an error…but it wasn't.
"He's still alive Doctor," Ashe said, giving me a quick rundown on Theron's vital signs.
"Thanks to you," Koth supplied, from the other side of the bed added, "she kept us from removing that thing."
"Good job Ashe," I said, moving up to Theron's bedside, I got to work saving my friend.
"Good thing too," Dena answered, "Or he would have bled to death before you could have made it here." Working together, my team placed props under Theron's back and legs, carefully positioning him on the bed, ensuring no pressure was put on the metal.
My experienced and well trained team, got to work without further instruction from me. Picking up a pair of scissors, Geena cut off Theron's clothes starting with his shirt, so Ying could get to work placing an intravenous line. Glancing at the crowd watching us, I said, "Ashe, you can stay and help but everyone else...out."
"You heard Dr. Jeffre," Ashe said, "Out," hearing the protesting group from the room. Quickly returning, she asked, "What can I do?"
"Get his boots off," I instructed her.
Without comment, Ashe got to work removing his boots and I turned my attention to Theron's breathing problems.
Concerned about Theron's shallow and dwindling respirations, I needed to secure his airway. Picking up a scope, I tilted his head back and used the scope to carefully insert the tube down his throat and into his lungs. Connecting the oxygen to the tube, it started pushing air into my patient's starved lungs. It helped but Theron's skin still had a dangerous blue tone, due to lack of oxygen.
"Frack Theron," I whispered, taking a moment to study my friend's face after the tube was in place.
I've known Theron for years but his face was so badly bruised and swollen, I'm not sure I would've recognized him. Both eyes were swollen shut, the right having suffered an orbital blowout fracture, a badly broken nose, heavy bruising on both cheekbones, and numerous cuts and scratches to his face. Not to mention the concussion. He'd been badly beaten and I owed it to him to find what the hell had happened to him.
The beeping and blinking readouts on the monitors, told me that my crew had been busy. Theron's clothes had been removed and a sheet covered him from the waist down, monitors and leads had been connected, and an intravenous drip had been started. A hypospray hissed as Dr. Belman injected medicine into the patient's neck.
"Damn, still dropping," she growled under her breath, as she watched a monitor. Looking up at me, she added, "We need to get him into surgery stat."
"Just need to get a chest tube in," I said, picking it up from a nearby table, "and get medical permission."
"I can take care of that," Dena offered, "Can you contact his family?"
Gods! Jace…
"Yeah," I said reluctantly, "I'll holo him."
"Isn't his mother Jedi Grand Master Shan?" Dena asked, as she wiped his side down, prepping him for the insertion.
"Yes," I agreed. Not who I would contact anyway.
"I thought Master Shan had disappeared?" asked Ying, adjusting a line.
"And the Commander is in no shape to give us medical permission," Genna added from the other side. She was ready to restrain Theron when Dr. Belman inserted the tube, if necessary."
Sighing as I stepped toward the corner of the room and the holo, I answered, "Not his mother or the Commander," entering a private personal code into the machine, I added, "His father is a good friend."
An image shimmered into view, wearing a Republic Command uniform. He had a scarred face and a deep voice. He was holding a young boy with dark hair, who was the spitting image of his father, his younger son, Jett.
"Jayd," the image said with a smile, "Good to hear from you."
I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me, when someone recognized the Supreme Commander, Jace Malcom. "Jace," I acknowledged, taking a deep breath, "Not so sure about that."
The smile immediately dropped from his face. "What's wrong?" The sounds of the monitors distracted me for a moment, and he continued, urgency climbing in his voice. "Has something happened to my boy?"
"Yes," I admitted, getting straight to the point. Jace's face clouded with fear for his oldest child. "I'm not sure what happened but Theron's been injured and needs immediate surgery."
"Daddy what's it?" Jett asked.
"That's Doctor Jayd baby," Jace answered, trying to look around me, searching for answers. "Where's Zane? Why isn't he calling me?"
Before I could answer, alarms started going off behind me and I turned to find out what was going on. "His blood pressure's dropping," Ashe said.
"Get that permission Jayd!" Dena ordered me, as she sutured the tube into Theron's chest.
"Doc!" Jace shouted, trying to get my attention.
Keeping an ear on what was going on behind me, I turned back to Theron's father and explained, "Zane unconscious but he'll be fine." Another alarm went off, "Jace, I need your permission now."
"You have it always," he readily agreed, absentmindedly rubbing his younger son's back. "Take care of Theron."
"We're losing him," Genna yelled, as a flat tone filled the room.
"I got to go," I told Jace getting ready to cut the connection, "Get here Jace."
'I'll be on the next ship out of here," Jace said, eyes glued on the grave situation behind me. "Save my son Jayd," he ordered me.
"I'll do my best," I agreed. Glancing back at the Supreme Commander, and added, "It's bad, just get here Jace," just cut the connection...
TBC
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