Grayjack72: "More" could mean a lot of things. :3
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The scene that exploded after Isara fell was one of absolute chaos.
"ISARA! ISARA!" Welkin knelt on the ground in front of his sister's broken body in shock, hands on her unwounded shoulder, shaking her, growing more and more violent as she failed to respond, head lolling limply in the dirt. "IS!"
Crack. A powerful slap arrived at the end of Alicia's hand, jerking his head back and stopping his hysterics cold. "Welkin, stop, she's still alive!" she chastised. "Be careful!" Even so, she wasn't completely rational herself, crouching down herself.
A rifle, this one Gallian, fired. Moments later Marina Wulfstan, Squad 7's deadliest sniper, called in her report. "Sir, enemy neutralized," she said in her detached, unfriendly way. Even so, she wasn't completely immune to what had happened. Black hair, although not Darcsen, matched the color of her expression as she quietly let out, "What kind of sniper goes for an unarmed engineer…"
At the same time, Rosie was standing in place, completely in shock, eyes wide, mouth agape. "Isara?" was all that could escape, a whisper in the middle of a storm of activity. It was as if she was frozen in time, unable to resynchronize with the events happening around her.
Largo had kept himself together; with an immediate cry of "Medic!" the moment he'd seen the blood, he was now rushing back to the scene, Mina, Squad 7's medical officer, in tow. "Isara, we've got the medic here for you, now everyone else, clear out!" The big man's logical call was unheeded. "Medic's here, damn you, MOVE!"
Alicia lunged away, having eyes only for Isara's twisted face. Rosie backed away two steps, expression still blank. Lieutenant Gunther still failed to move – with a sigh, Largo knelt down and gently but firmly pulled him away. "Come on, boss, that even means you."
Hysterical tears began to run down Welkin's face as he watched the medic kneel down in front of his adopted sister. "Oh, Valkyur protect, Is, what happened?"
Other members of Squad 7 were hurrying around the scene now as well. There were calls to a general alert, scouts moving out unordered to ensure that no Imperial assault was forthcoming after such an underhanded move. Soldiers bustled into their positions without Welkin's guidance – they knew from a glance that he wouldn't be in any state to lead them now.
Six hours later
The afternoon sun shined down upon Marberry, a harbinger of good things.
Welkin felt like nature, the nature he had studied and loved, was mocking him.
Alicia was curled up comfortingly into his side as they sat outside the hastily erected medical tent. Normally, he'd have enjoyed contact, but at the moment all he could think of was Isara, her shocked face as she fell, her bloodsoaked uniform as she was carried off by Largo and Marina, watched over carefully by Fina.
For hours Fina had been working as best she could, using her supplies, tools, and expertise lavishly to – at least hopefully – stabilize Isara's condition. The afternoon was in full swing. The members of Squad 7 carried out their daily work, continuing to clear the beaches in readiness for the Gallian regulars to secure the region, the Gallian regulars that were infuriatingly late.
Alicia stirred against his side, and he shakily reached a hand around her shoulder, hugging her close, leaning against her himself. Nothing was going right.
Fina suddenly walked through the cloth flap of a door, stained with Isara's blood, matted with sweat, wearing a tired expression. Welkin practically exploded upright, dragging a hurriedly-awakened Alicia up with him, bursting with questions. "Fina! Isara! Is she okay? She's going to be okay, right?"
Fina's expression was all the answer she needed to supply, an answer that opened up an abyss beneath Welkin's feet and sent him plummeting into their depths. "I did the best I could, Lieutenant."
She walked a step past them – the couple hurried back next to her, faces disbelieving. "No, Mina, you're not telling us something! What's going to happen?" Alicia demanded, putting a hand on Mina's shoulder, pulling her back to face the two of them.
The medic did her best to hide behind her blonde bangs, but she couldn't escape in the end, raising her tortured gaze to their expectant faces. "She's dying, sir."
Welkin and Alicia were shocked speechless as Mina continued. "I stopped the bleeding, especially the internal bleeding, but the bullet was too close to her heart. It's not damaged… which is why she isn't dead right now... but the bullet is too deep in for me to cut it out – her own heartbeat makes it impossible. Each beat worms it closer in, and in a day or two, it'll push against the tissue, interfere with the normal movement, and kill her." She turned away, a tear running down her face. "I'm sorry, sir."
The lieutenant moved Alicia's stunned hand off to replace it with his own, bringing Fina close, practically shouting in her face. "Valkyur, Fina, is there nothing you can do?"
Mina almost lunged away, but thought better of it, giving her honest opinion instead. "Sir… if I were more skilled, a trained surgeon instead of a field medic… maybe I could get it out. But I'm not, and there's no way we'll get one here on time, what with the regulars being late."
Welkin grimaced, but let her go. "Then we'll just have to find one," he said with finality. He turned to Alicia. "Are you with me?"
Tears wetting her face, his sergeant, his friend, nodded. "Always," she whispered.
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No, you don't get a cookie if you guess who it's going to be. :p
I kind of get a rushed impression from this – my description seems a bit lackluster compared to before, but eh, I might give this thing a once-over later.
Also, normally the next chapters would come (chronologically) before the "six hours later" but I didn't want to have to write them all up (and they're a mouthful) before posting the entirety of this. Enjoy! Review, suggest, complain, and all that makes up a wonderful review!
