MEDIC

“What the hell is going on?” Angie shouted.

Nobody answered her. Carmen was on the ground, bleeding from a shot to her chest. A trickle of blood came from the corner of her mouth. On the mini map, her icon winked black and stayed black.

Marina held the smoking gun. Like she was in a trance, or in shock, she stared at her half-sister’s body.

Southaven’s icon on the mini map and the status were both flickering black and red. The black flickers were lasting longer than the red.

There was shouting on the intercom.

There was shooting in front of her. From behind a fork lift or some kind of machinery, a few rebels were shooting. Angie’s own people started to shoot back. What the hell is happening? The paralyzing thought echoed in her head. Angie and Marina stood there like invulnerable statues as bullets whizzed past them.

Time for paralysis was over. Angie took three quick steps and lept at Marina. The two of them tumbled to the ground.

“Fire in the hole!” With Angie out of the way, iWinner and XXavier tossed grenades. Both of them had better skill points and luck than Heather. The grenades arced over the fork lift and exploded. Shrapnel ricocheted everywhere. Two more grenades arced. The concussion from these could be felt through the floor and the air. It even knocked the forklift over.

iWinner and XXavier came out of cover and dashed to the fallen forklift. On the other side were three rebel bodies. One of the bloody messes twitched, maybe he was trying to reach for help. iWinner shot him. He stopped twitching.

Angie slowly got to her knees. “Medic, Jenfle, get to Flanni and Southaven!” Neither had flatlined black. Both were close.

Angie watched the status readout as she trotted to Flanni. He was closest. Flanni’s status stabilized and then stayed more red than black. When she arrived, Jenfle was already working on him. She had applied “stuff” from her medic kit. It wasn’t like a healing potion where the patient was instantly, magically, healed. It wasn’t like real life where a trauma center was needed to give him a chance at life. Space Opera was closer to healing potion than trauma center, but it wasn’t instant and complications happen.

Jenfle gave Flanni another injection of something or other. Flanni’s shirt was ripped open. How come everybody gets shot in the chest? I made head shots but the AI rebels all seemed to get chest shots. Less fatal?

Angie’s thoughts were interrupted. “Uh, Angie, we have a problem. We can’t get to Southaven.”

As quick as she could, Angie ran to the ladder. Southaven was still alive, but not by much. Jenfle had followed. iWinner and Xxavier could look out for Flanni now, and Jonezzz too. I keep forgetting about Jonezzz, he got shot too. Jenfle, the medic would be needed to save Southaven. How could both of them, both of them, get shot?

“Uh, every time somebody moves for the ladder, the sniper.” Mike paused and slapped a bandage on his arm. Angie watched. Mike’s arm was bleeding. “Sniper had me dead and took an arm shot instead.”

“Or they’re a lousy shot,” Angie said.

“Oh he’s good,” Heather said. She held up her grenade launcher. The barrel was ruined. “She shot it Ang. Honest to God, he shot it on purpose.”

Jenfle chimed in. “We need to do something soon, Southaven is coding.”

Angie stood up in the open. She keyed the loudspeaker in the helmet. She had never used it before. “Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot!”

There was a shout instead of a shot. “Why?”

Angie answered. “Don’t be afraid.” What a stupid thing to say, she thought. Out loud, “Let’s talk like friends.”

“We are not friends.” It was a woman’s voice. Of course it had a heavy Spanish accent. It also had a menace to it.

“Maresa, I have a wounded man up there and if I don’t help him, he’ll die.”

“Like Carmen?”

How did she know Carmen was dead? “I didn’t kill Carmen. Her sister did.”

“That makes it better?”

“I’m coming up.” Angie started to climb the ladder. As she did, she sent a message.

Team chat message from Angie: Nobody shoot.

It was a good bet that every gun was aimed at Maresa. Nobody shot. Vibration on the ladder made Angie look down. Jenfle was climbing up behind her.

Angie climbed up onto the catwalk. She had hr hands out showing she didn’t have a gun in them. Her G-78 was slung at her side, but hands weren’t need it. A single shot rang out. It whanged against the top of the ladder.

“I didn’t say she could come up,” Maresa said as she stepped out of cover and through smoke and smolder.

“I need her to save him.” She nodded at Southaven. At least its not a headshot. Another chest wound. “His life for mine.” Maresa didn’t say anything. Angie continued. “I won’t kill you.”

“No, you let me go.” She took a sidestep to the left, away from the open edge of the catwalk.

“No.”

“Then I guess he dies.” Quick as a snake, Maresa was on one knee with a pistol in one hand and a grenade in the other. “And if anybody shoots, we all die.” There was no pin in the grenade.

“Wait!” Angie shouted to both Maresa and her own troops. “I can’t just let you go.”

Maresa spoke softy. “You can and you will.” She casually shot at the ladder again. The message was clear.

Jenfle had ducked back down. “Angie, we need to do something now.”

Angie sighed and keyed her mic. “Attention all assault units. A...” she paused. “A non-combatant is coming out. Give her safe passage.”

Maresa whistled. Another woman came out from cover.

“I say again, two women are coming out. Give them safe passage.”

The intercom exploded with questions. Captain Bujowski’s transmission cut through them all. “North Assault, what the hell is going on?”

“Sir, it is a military necessity to give them safe passage. I will explain later.”

“You better have a damn good reason sergeant, or I’ll hang you. Assault six out and on my way there.”

Jenfle was already up and tending to Southaven. She gave him a shot of whatever healing crap she had before she did anything else.

Maresa and the other woman moved to the ladder.

“My commander is on his way here. If I had to guess, you have two minutes.”

“I be gone in one,” Maresa answered. She scampered down the ladder.

Angie didn’t pay her any mind. There would be hell to face when Captain Bukowski arrived, but that wasn’t important either. Angie watched as Jenfle treated Southaven.

“Looks like both of your guys are gonna live, huh?” Heather laughed and nudged Angie with her elbow.

Angie looked at her. “When did you get here?”

“I climbed up after the skanks climbed down.”

“Oh.” If Angie had bothered looking out the hole in the wall she would have seen a truck driving away and from another direction she would have seen a jeep driving in. Both vehicles were moving at top speed. Angie’s attention was on Southaven. His status had stabilized and through the miracle of Space Opera medicine, he was healing. He was going to live.

Heather nudged her again. “Which of the boys are you going to bring flowers to?”