Caves
Malthus IV
Mid-YE 41
Sacre stood in the cave and worked desperately on a badly injured Neko in a pop up surguery. The Separa'Shan's armor looked patched together from two different suits. Every minute or so, there is an explosion that rocks the cave and sends dust falling. Sacre finishes her work and sews the injured Neko back up. Then strips off the bloody scrubs and tosses them into the surgery's recycle to be recycled into fresh ones. "Who's next?" She asks.
A Neko with blood spattered across her armor shakes her head. "That's all of them." There is a great explosion and the cave rocks again. "If that didn't make more of them that is." She says worried.
"I'll go check on our patients." Sacre says, feeling the strain of the bombardment, but determined to do her duty.
"All of our patients are stable. You need to sleep ma'am." The Neko says, she isn't wrong.
Sacre takes the measure of the Neko, "I'm not a ma'am, I work for a living. But your right. I'll check the patients and then sleep."
The neko opens her mouth to say something, "I'll sleep after I check on the patients." Sacre says sternly. She closes her mouth and nodds.
Sacre slides among the beds, checking each with her scanner. Then she curls up at the end of the row on the hard rock and tries to get some sleep. Her body yearns for the embrace, but the constant explosions keep shocking her into wakefulness. So as she lays there on the uncomfortable ground, she opens her notepad and starts another letter.
"My dearest Gravity, it's been five days since the Severus crashed here. We managed to get everyone into the tunnels and deep underground. Our Captain was killed, and her first officer has taken charge. We managed to make contact with the Ranger, and the Ranger is observing their assault. The heavy cannons that shot us down are still in place, and our mission to Malthus IV has been a failure. The Ranger said that they were requesting back up and that they may be able to mount a rescue when the other ships arrive. Perhaps the fifth battle for Malthus will go better then the fourth."
"I can only hope so, but there is a question of how long we will be able to bear up under the assault while we wait for a larger fleet to arrive. The barrage is constant, only changing pace and amount to keep us off our guard. There are more casulties every hour and we are running out of places to put them. While I remain certain in my ability to save the wounded, that ability relies on technology and supplies that are dwindling fast. I'm not sure we will be able to outlast much longer or if we will be able to push back a determined assault. This slow grind has it's effects on everyone, even biologically superior nekos. Many are unable to sleep because of the bombardment, yet sleep even small amounts is vital to us being able to hold up under the attacks."
"My only comfort is the knowlage that you are not here with me, for if you were, you would also have to live through the hell that is this battle. I imagine you with the crew, lounging in the onsen and exchanging jokes. Safe, warm, and with friends. Where I am is not safe, and as I write this to you I am curled against cold rock that sapps the heat from me. While I'm fully confident in Chusa Li's abilities, she is not the commander that Hoshi or Eden are. Those who surround me are practically strangers, as I only arrived on the ship hours before the attack begun. When I walked out of the surgury, I couldn't even remember the name of the Neko who was helping me."
"When I am being brave, I'm not scared of death. I'm much more scared of a life without you. I am not always brave, then I have to hide behind the ice queen facade of a NCO and a right bitch. However, I find that it no longer fits me as well as it once did. That it has melted at least partially and now when I need it to freeze back into place, it doesn't do it as much anymore. Something of me leaks out, and I sense that they can feel it too despite how I bury it. Even if I do not know them, not really, their injuries hurt me in a way that they shouldn't. Shouldn't perhaps isn't the right word, in a way I don't like is perhaps more accurate."
"I can manage most of the time, but then one of them will turn a certain way or say something, or just lay there without moving in a way that reminds me of home. Then suddenly their not just my patiants from whom I'm clinically detached anymore. Their my friends, and seeing them hurt, hurts me. Perhaps I should write Ragnar and ask him about it."
"The only bright spot at the moment is Ophion. Ophion doesn't like people, but he seems to know where he is needed. Where someone needs to pet him with their remaining hand, or watch his antics flying and breathing small bursts of fire. I've also heard rumors of him finding things that people thought were lost and returning them. Everyone is greatly encouraged to see him around, as am I."
"I hope you are well, and your war is going better then mine, -Sacre"
With that, Sacre sent the message to Gravity. She tried to close her eyes, but as soon as they shut, she could hear someone calling, "Wounded, they need a medic!" And she was back awake and heading for triage before she even realized she was doing so.