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(Setting): Neo San-Fran Medical Center, ER (Public Entrance)
| >Making one's way to the front entrance is incredibly difficult as both patients and visitors are crowding around the sliding doors, trying to get inside to seek help or see loved ones. Security personnel stand at the door briefly screening those who wish to come in, and periodically an overhead announcement is made:
"Visiting hours are temporarily suspended due to a city-wide emergency. Please depart or remain in place if already present. We apologize for the inconvenience."
| >Once inside the waiting room, the chaos is even greater; prospective patients fill any space they can find to sit or stand as they wait to be evaluated. The triage kiosks (which normally shorten a lot of visits) are unavailable for use during this unintentional Matrix downtime. Anyone who wants to be examined has to push their way past everyone else to the check-in/information desk, and grab a clipboard bearing a sheet they have to fill out detailing their reason for visit.
| (one question. What does a building named after a city that is potentially miles away from GC do in Glitch?)
| >Manual review and entry of this information is tedious work. The overhead “estimated wait time” display is without a number. Every so often you see a nurse emerge from a partitioned-off room behind the check-in desk to call someone’s name and have them take a seat behind a privacy curtain to have their vitals checked and a few other things before their fate is decided: are they sent back to wait longer, or are they one of the (technically unlucky) few to be immediately roomed?
| >>552777
(idk my dude, it was a setting in ROM which I thought took place in around the same location as VA-11 Hall-A. if i'm wrong and this really doesn't make sense, we can take this down or it can be ignored. that is a good question though)
| >Every time the doors to the unit swing open, a cacophony of different sounds can be heard-- monitors alarming, hurried footsteps, shrieking and groaning, call lights going unanswered-- as staff fight against everything slowing them down. Listening to the overhead pages gives you some clue as to what’s causing the din at any given time: “Attention, attention, attention-- code blue in ER bay 1… Attention, attention, attention-- rapid response team to MICU, room 117…”
| >Got an issue? Grab a tissue, and sit, stand or lie down-- the doctors are in, and they’ll be seeing you… at some point this evening.
| (The thing is that we don't exactly know where GC is located, San Fran COULD be close, it could also be very far away)
| >>552777
(honestly it would be great to have a map of the different districts as I have no sense at all of what borders where. to those who wanna participate but find this kinda distracting i have zero issue with just like... referring to things henceforth as glitch city general)
| >>552784
(but yes this is very true and I apologize for I guess kind of asserting or assuming that this may be where GC is located)
| >>552787
(I made one, since I am working on a Tabletop RPG set in GC. Mind you nothing is official and I'm just a dumbass that likes designing games, but I did snort all official Lore like it was cocaine because I'm a lore buff and I did my best to make it everything as canon as I could.
Check Impulse discord to find the WIP version of the book)
| >>552791
(hey, continuity is great! makes things more entertaining and immersive. I'll be sure to take a look, especially if the map is widely regarded as being accurate by the people on the forum.
in any case, those who are interested: ignore the name for now I suppose-- this thread is really just supposed to be a public ER setting)
| >A small person wearing a small petticoat and a large flowing dress slowly walks alongside the road and enters the hospital parking lot, her cat ears moving along with the strong gust of wind.
>She enters the building while walking calmly
"Hmm, is this where it all goes down? I was told to go observe and reflect by that angry beatiful person, so I decided to make my mortal flesh walk? but I feel it may have been a mistake, the matrix alone would of sufficed? Hmmm well no mistakes?"
| >>552810
>One of the security staff almost misses her by a few seconds, only alerted to her passing by as they spot the hem of her dress fanning out behind while she drifts through the door.
"U-um, excuse me miss!"
>A willowy looking female lilim walks briskly after her and comes to a halt in front of the girl, peering down at her in confusion.
"C-can I help you, miss? Please tell me what the nature of your visit is this evening so I can direct you accordingly."
| >>552813
"Hmm, what is the nature of my visit is it?"
>Her voice is wispy and unfocused, almost like musings
"Can I say study? or is that a bad way to gain access?"
>She says plainly
| >>552816
>The lilim is totally bewildered, and it takes her a moment to come up with and then stammer out a response.
"U-um... S-study? W-what is it you're studying, miss? And, a-access to what, if you please?"
>She looks the girl over with a careful eye-- she has seen people exposed to sudden trauma wander in once or twice before like this-- but she doesn't know if that's the case with this girl. Does the lilim see anything unusual? Any bruising or bleeding?
| >>552818
"I study the arts of medicine, is what I should say? is death a remedy? no it is not it is a destination? It is what you make of it"
>She rambles on, but somehow she doesn't look hurt, her eyes look clear and free of any mental trouble... she's just a weird one
##Janitor:Stormy##
| >>552780
You can get around this by just saying that its a "franchise" of the Neo-San Francisco Medical Center that is based in Glitch City, much in the same way that real world colleges/universities have sister locations in other countries, e.g. Saint Louis University in Madrid, Spain. That said, please keep any settings made in the city of Glitch City moving forward- which itself has a canonically ambiguous location.
Ambiguity of the city's true location is important to keeping the "world" as fluid as possible, such as it is. Though some characters do opine, in character, where they "think" Glitch City is. Some think its in South America. Some think its in the middle of the ocean. For some, this isn't Earth, but some remote backwater ecumenopolis.
| >The sounds of a grav-bike draw closer to the hospital. Two men are seated upon it, the driver briefly comforting the smaller, disembarking passenger before shooting off with a low thrum.
>A short black haired figure walks through the hospital doors, clothes reasonably nice but in disarray. His face is an imperfect mask; anxiety shining through golden eyes.
>He sees the exchange between the boomer? and the lilim and decides to wait, adjusting his satchel.
| >>552826
makes perfect sense to me! didn't intend to make it look like i wanted to "ground" the setting, was just kind of grasping at straws with what i could remember from ROM. will commit this to memory moving forward-- sorry for any trouble i might have caused. thank you, stormy!
| >>552822
>The twiggy lilim stares. She has absolutely zero idea of what to do with this kid. There is definitely one doctor she can think of who would love to sit and philosophize with her, but it doesn't seem appropriate to stick him with her right now.
"Oh... um, I see..."
>Her eyes widen a bit as an idea takes shape in her mind.
"Why... why don't we go to the desk over there and get you something you can write your study points on?"
>She points to the check-in desk.
##Janitor:Stormy##
| >>552842
:ok_hand:
(And now back to our regularly scheduled armageddon-)
>Almost lost among the throng of desperate patients, a girl shambles in, heading toward the check-in desk. She wore two red colored twin tails at one point, but one of these tails has been singed right off- bits of hair smolder at the tips, seemingly ignored. A large black bruise covers one of her eyes, a thin stream of blood making its way past her freckles and down her face and split lip.
>Beneath this, you see that she's wearing what remains of a once pristine serifuku, which looks a size too small for her. There are damaged wires sticking out of one of her sleeves, but she does her best to keep this hidden, even though both arms are putting pressure on a chunk of metal sticking out of her gut.
>As she waits in line, she checks over her shoulder every so often.
| >>552833
>After ushering the girl over to the desk to chat up one of the secretaries, she addresses the new arrival.
"Good evening sir. A-are you seeking medical attention?"
>She tries hard to make her tone of voice comforting. Today has been really harrowing and she's been doing her best to keep up with the onslaught of patients coming in. Still, she puts forth her best effort to help reassure the man in front of her.
"I am happy to assist with whatever you might need."
| >Outside, two men and a woman, all of whom are dressed in black trenchcoats, approach the teeming mass of people stuck outside the sliding glass doors and security personnel. The shortest of them, a man, dons a pair of shades and makes his way forward, but is pulled back by the woman.
>The other man sets down a large duffel bag.
| >>552846
>The secretaries at the check-in desk have been keeping track of the ebb and flow of patients in and out of the waiting room, sizing them up by intuition. Some of them look like they've been doing this for a while-- but it doesn't take senior staff to pick up on the fact that this girl is in panic-button level danger. One of them darts back into the room behind the desk and practically throws a nurse into the waiting area, pointing emphatically at the twin-tailed girl.
| >>552846
>Said nurse startles at the sight of her and freezes, not sure of what to do first. She's standing and she's conscious, which is good, but if she's standing she's engaging her core which could... maybe be good or bad? Oh, fuck it--
"I need a wheelchair over here, NOW!!"
>He elbows his way over to the girl as politely as possible, gloving up on his way there. He half kneels to get a look at her.
"Miss? Are you able to tell me who you are? Do you know where you are?"
| >>552847
"Uhm-I was in here earlier to drop off my friend, but I heard you needed volunteers. I can help, I swear."
He pauses for a moment before stiffening at the injured twin-tailed girl.
"Do I still have to check in if I was already here?"
| >>552857
>A tech hurries towards them with a wheelchair and scoots it as close to the redhead as possible. She's able to recline the seat back a little so as not to bend the girl over and shove whatever's run her through in even further, and gently they lower her down on the count of three. On the back of the chair is an oxygen tank, and the nurse wastes no time attaching some tubing to it and gingerly placing a nasal cannula on the girl's face.
| >>552846
>The small weird girl goes into the wait area and approaches the red haired young girl which appears to be hurt
"My what a countenance you have, to be able to walk with such a thing having happened to you, is that not quite beautiful?"
>She approaches more, she's nearly in her face now
"Do you require help, young one? urgent matters call for urgent quick and steady solution is what I read?"
| >>552857
>The girl looks up at you, her eyes dilating in and out of focus.
"Who- who am I?" >She says, ready to respond- when she stops, her mouth gaping open.
"I- I'm Str-" >She blinks- she looks over her shoulder again, just as her view is obscured by the tech with a wheelchair.
>>552861
>She doesn't resist as you attach the oxygen tube to her face, although you do note that she still glances near the entrance every so often. It's obvious what's written on her face-
Fear.
| >She scrutinizes you, her eyes squinting.
"Wh-what?"
| >>552861
"We're going to take you into the ER to assess your injuries--"
>He looks over his shoulder and shouts towards the nurse's station and the secretaries.
"-- someone page Dr. Edison and tell him to get down here immediately!"
>When he turns back around towards the girl in the seifuku, he's greeted by the sight of the little one standing next to her. He places a hand on the girl's shoulder to get her attention.
"I'm sorry miss, but we have to move her right now."
| >>552864
"Ahh, what an expression, truly repulsive, but quite beautiful in a way!"
>The young woman shows a warm smile to the child and then turns to the medics with a glare
"Allow this Xiria to treat this child! You doctors need all the hands you can have have you not said so! I may have not practiced for a long time, but I was once called the hands of god! Truly t'was a good time"
>She declares
| >>552850
>A pair of officers approaches the three people setting up just outside the hospital's entrance. One of them, a fresh faced recruit, keeps his head down as he plays with his service pistol, anxiety written. The older one, a gentleman with a greying moustache, yells loudly into a walkie talkie of some kind.
"Uh, excuse me," >The younger officer says, forcing himself to face the three. The taller coated man has opened the duffel bag and is in the process of removing a variety of metal instruments and attaching them.
"Y-you're illegally parked... and, uh, the hospital is rather crowded right now- so-so we'll need you to move your vehicle..." >He points to a black van just down the road- ambulances are having a difficult time steering around it, resorting to using the shoulder-
| >>552860
>The lilim struggles to process everything that's going on around her, and shuts her eyes tight for a minute, trying to focus on what the man is saying. She opens one as his words finally hit, then the other, and takes a deep breath.
"W-were you a patient sir? Were you discharged? I'm sorry, but I don't understand."
>She cocks her head at his offer to help out.
"Someone said we needed volunteers?"
| >>552868 >>552870
>The girl doesn't say anything as she stares up at the both of you, her heartbeat rising. She glances toward the entrance to the hospital again.
| >>552870
>The nurse's face has the phrase "I don't have fucking time for this" written all over it, and he grits his teeth.
"We're going to move now."
>First rule of nursing: can't argue with crazy people, so don't give them the option to do so. He and the tech take off towards the unit at a rapid clip. The page requested by the nurse earlier is audible overhead:
"Dr. Edison, please report to the emergency room-- again, Dr. Edison, please report to the emergency room."
| >>552875
"Do not run away child, I can save you"
>The cat-boomer, "Xiria" says with a smile
>She turns to the medics
"Have you not heard what I have said, or are you all consumed by an urge to admire the death of another being in panic and confusion? will you save lives or keep wallowing? Truly repulsive"
| >>552877
>She takes out a card, on it is written "GCPD memorial hospital, Xiria Salasia"
>It's old, but it's genuine at a first glance
"I believe this should clear up my name, quite the beautiful one no? given by myself of course, truly a beautiful thing is naming"
>She keeps smiling
| >>552870
>Great, now some weirdo was doing...weirdo things. He suppressed the urge to tell her off though, there were worse people and more important issues right now.
>>552872
"I dropped off a patient by the name of Trent Moretz in here a few hours ago."
>He took a shaky breath. No human should have looked so charred and twisted...
"He should be in the burn ward. But please, I have some experience setting bones, splints-just. I don't know. I can't do nothing."
| >>552850 >>552871
>Two of the remaining security personnel outside the ER's entrance approach the shifty-looking group that seems to be trying to plant their roots in front of the doors. They catch wind of what the police are saying, and nod in agreement.
"I'm sorry, but unless you're seeking medical attention, we need to ask you to leave. As these officers said, you're blocking access to the ambulance bay, and we have a large influx of critically injured patients right now."
| >>552882
>The lilim notices the color drain from the young man's face and wrings her hands nervously, unsure of what to do. Whoever said they needed volunteers was right... They need all of the help they can get right now. She nods.
"I understand..."
>She decides to break protocol, and offers the man her hand. She then lowers her voice to barely above a whisper:
"Please come with me, and stay close. We will go into the nurse's station together."
| >>552882
"I know you just have my word on this and you're busy, but I'll literally do anything. Shit, I'll even move people or clean or something if you don't trust me to handle injuries."
>The hospital lights shine on ridiculously pale skin. He was regretting not suiting up as usual, but security would never have let him in.
| >>552884
>He gasps in desperate excitement at the nurse's words and takes the proffered hand.
"Thanks! I won't get in anyone's way!"
| >>552878 >>552881
>In the process of transferring the poor, skewered redhead into the emergency ward, the nurse and the tech who accompanied him switched places-- nurse taking over for transport and the tech taking one for the team by staying behind to shoo away the girl. She takes the business card and turns it over a few times in her hands, frowning.
"Ah, um... yes, what a nice name..."
>Does this beautiful name have credentials that come after it?
| >>552893
>the Card reads Senior Surgeon, there's also several other designations.
"You are talking to me as if I was crazy are you not, that's quite nice but I feel the clouded judgment belongs to you, quite the unsightly but also beautiful thing, creepy-cute they call it?"
>She says with a smile
| >>552885 >>552887
>The lilim smiles to herself, happy that she's brought the distressed man some sort of relief. She leads him quickly behind the check-in desk and into the nurse's station, with the secretaries giving her some very questioning looks.
"Excuse me, charge nurse?"
>An older looking woman sticks her head out from behind a monitor to see the security officer and young man standing smack dab in the middle of the station. She raises an eyebrow.
"Jade... who is this?"
| >>552895
>The tech barely controls the urge to roll her eyes and scoff at the girl. What to do with her...? Her thoughts turn to the exact same MD that the security officer had been thinking of earlier. Yes, maybe he could entertain her... he's pretty much useless right now anyway. The corner of her mouth twitches.
"Ah, thank you for clearing that up... Just a moment."
>She walks over to the check-in desk and whispers something to one of the secretaries, who stifles a laugh.
| >>552871 >>552883
>The tall man setting up... whatever it is on the ground doesn't even bother to look up at you. The woman gives the slightest of nods to the shorter man...
>Who draws a suppressed pistol and shoots the younger officer at point blank in the gut. The older officer doesn't have time to react between the radio and watching his deputy fall to the ground before he's shot in the head.
>The woman looks to the hospital security staff and withdraws a deck of playing cards.
| >>552899
>The girl simply scoffs
"I tire of waiting for games, zasshu"
>She's still smiling, but her voice is scary now
"Truly unsightly"
| >>552897
>Jade grins widely.
"Oh, Ella! I see you are charge nurse tonight."
>Something in Jade's tone of voice changes-- she goes from sounding peppy and confident to slightly more unsure of herself. She laughs nervously. Ella notices her change in demeanor right away, and folds her arms across her chest.
"Jade..."
>One might be able to tell by looking at the two of them that this is by far not the first time Jade has "broken protocol."
| >Her cat ears twitch and her eyes sharpen
>She just walks past as the guard is busy
| >>552900
>There are screams from those outside who are able to see the two officers crumple to the ground, lifeless-- people cower against the outside walls, mothers wrap their arms tightly around their children, others stampede into the waiting room-- one of the hospital security staff reaches for her radio, the other speaks into their earpiece:
"Code grey, we have a code grey in progress outside the building, active shooter--"
| >>552900 >>552910
>The woman in the trenchcoat grimaces.
"DAMN IT, WHY ARE YOU HESITATING!?" >She yells at the shorter man before she throws two of the playing cards at both security officers! You get to determine the severity of the damage that these things do to the officers, if any- they're blade tipped.
>The tall man on the ground renews whatever he's building with gusto as he hears the announcement.
| >>552901 >>552905
"Dr. Walker... Dr. Walker, please report to the information desk. Again, Dr. Walker--"
>The secretary's mouth drops open and she gasps for air like a fish out of water as security's message comes through. You can see her jaw working frantically as she tries to get the words past her tongue, and finally she parrots security's words into the overhead pager system. The sound of hundreds of doors slamming shut is heard throughout the floor.
| >>552913
>And as they do a shadow creeps over, with a broken mask and wearing white knight armor, a huge broadsword on their shoulder
"... Yo fellas, nice evening isnt it?"
>Falschen says with no hesitstion
| >>552903
>He surveys the situation with a nervous air. Common sense told him that bringing randos in was abnormal, but figured people would be more flexible out of desperation.
>Oh man, this Jade lady probably wasn't gonna talk them both out of this.
"I'm a volunteer nurse. I understand this is against the usual policy, but I have decent experience with first aid. If you don't trust me to touch patients, I can do other tasks your staff would be wasted on."
| >>552913
>The officer who had been touching their hand to their earpiece gets clipped in the neck, having had little time to react. As the card severs the carotid, blood spurts from the wound in an impressive spray that sullies the woman's trench coat. The second officer who had reached for her radio ends up with a card lodged in her forearm as she had held it up to shield her face.
"RUN, NOW!!"
>She bellows at the remaining crowd-- they have no choice but to obey.
| >>552915
>The shorter man turns to you with their pistol in hand.
"Who the fuck are- is that a SWORD!?"
| >>552920
"You bet your groddy ass it is, and its hungry tonight"
>Falschen says and suddenly takes a stance, and as he does, he throws the massive sword towards the man in a single practiced motion, before closing in right behind it
| >>552918
>Ella gives Jade a dirty look, and eyes the impromptu nurse with an intimidating glare.
"Jade... who told you we were accepting volunteer help?"
>Jade points at the well-intentioned man next to her.
"He did! Please, Ella... You talk to the newer nurses all the time about when it is okay to break the rules..."
>Ella simply scowls and repeats her question-- directing it at the young man this time.
">>>Where did you see our hospital post a message asking for assistance?"
| >>552910
>The announcement makes him break his artificial calm. Some of his shakes from before return.
>Who would shoot up a crowded hospital? The ONE time he goes out somewhere new without his exosuit and he's actually near some maladjusted murderer and fucking Trent the stupid tool is toasty in this fucked place
>No. He had to be calm or he just screwed over some nice Lilim for nothing.
>>552922
He does his best to meet Ella's gaze before responding.
| >>552921
>The young man has no time to react as you and the sword reach him. Behind you, you hear a latching noise as the tall man finally finishes whatever he was building on the ground... and the tell tale sound of a charging handle being pulled.
| >>552875
[Emergency Ward, trauma bay 3]
>Those in the room with the twin-tailed girl startle as the door to the bay closes forcefully without warning.
"W-what the--?"
>A nurse, an aide, and an MD look down at her-- she had been transferred onto a gurney since arriving, and is undergoing examination. The nurse is working on gaining IV access with a large bore angiocath (this hurts a lot) in the arm that doesn't have wires sticking out of it.
>Does the nurse get the IV in?
| >>552925
>Falschen changes course straight for the tall man, spinning on his heels with a loud whirring noise and pulls out a shotgun, a full auto SASG, he then empties its magazine within the genral vicinity of the target
| >>552926
>You attempt to stick the IV into the other arm that doesn't have any obvious wires... only to find some kind of hidden cyberware built into the wrists and traveling up the shoulder.
>The cybernetic devices seem to be less delicate the further it gets from her hands, however, and you do eventually manage to find a spot within which to install the IV. The girl winces but doesn't say anything.
| >>552924 >>552922
((Oh shit I don't think he should know about that announcement rip disregard that bit I guess))
"I would have come on my own regardless, but one of your staff posted pictures and a description of the situation publicly."
"Doubt it was her, though."
>He quickly adds, pulling up the thread in question
| Man, thank goodness for doctor-patient confidentiality, the girl must be thinking.
| >>552914
>In the midst of the turmoil, a man in a very unkempt set of scrubs and a lower body exoskeleton stumbles out of the elevator adjacent to the waiting room. He hurries over to the check-in desk, hobbling as fast as he can on the walking boot that houses his left foot. He has a folder of loose papers jammed under his arm, and many documents can be seen falling out of this as he rushes. Having reached the desk, he is pointed towards Xiria-- who is no longer visible.
| >>552927
>You pepper the man in buckshot just as his finger depresses the trigger, sending a burst of LMG fire at a 45 degree angle. How much of this, if any, hits you is up to you.
| >>552928
>The nurse secures the catheter and straightens up, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"We have access."
>The MD nods and continues his assessment while the aide gets to work sticking electrodes to the girl's chest, and an O2 probe on her finger.
"2 liters of LR, wide open. Have the crash cart ready.
>The nurse retrieves the fluids and starts setting up the tubing.
"Dr. Edison.. she has some augs."
>He looks at the girl.
"You do? I need to know where."
| >>552933
>Falschen's armor creaks a roars as the shots make contact, two of them breaking into the less thick areas which gets a grunt out of the crusader
"Bastard, I was lent that"
>He grabs another sword from his bacl, this time a short blade with electricity crackling on its surface and stabs the man without a second thought
| >>552936
>The girl looks up at the doctor uncertain, then gently moves both of her arms and tilts her head down towars her chest- at least, as much as she can given the circumstances.
| >>552924 >>552929
something like that would be audible throughout the building, but it's fine if you want to play it like he didn't hear
>Ella leans in to look at the post in question, and seems to recognize the signature. Her scowl deepens-- she's furious.
"She's not even here!! How the fuck--!!"
>As is typical of all senior nurses, she swears like a trucker. She brings her hand to her forehead, trying to quell her rage. She counts down backwards from 10...
| >>552938
"A heart augmentation is it, truly marvelous and oh so poetic!"
>A voice rings out, how the hell did she manage to get in here?
>Xiria nods to herself as she watches, her eyes going over the girl's body.
"Ah, do not mind me, let's call this observation and all that? I can also help maybe? Ahh, I was scared the doctor would be some idiot unsightful beast, I am amazed to see your staff is the only unsightly thing here! tis beautifully done doctor!"
>She smiles widely
| >>552941
"I don't know how she fucking got these, but once she's off leave I'm gonna fucking kick her ass."
>Jade looks frightened. When Ella gets mad, she's not just mad-- she's out for blood. 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3--
"This is a fucking mess."
>She sighs heavily, shaking her head. Looking weary, she turns towards the man who might be part of the hospital's saving grace tonight. 4... 3... 2...
"... What's your name, kiddo?"
| >>552938 >>552943
>Dr. Edison pauses for a beat, and is about to say something in response when his hospital issued cellphone sounds. He holds it to his ear and answers.
"Hello? Oh, it's..."
>He side-eyes Xiria, smirking. He moves the phone away from his face for a second so the caller on the other end can't hear him:
"Want to hear something >>>really idiotic?"
>He doesn't wait for an answer before he turns on speaker and lays the phone on the girl's tray table.
| >>552947
">>>Max, did you have me paged in the middle of all of this?! I came downstairs and nobody at the desk can tell me what I'm supposed to be here for!! This is>>>no time for pranks!!"
>The angry voice on the other end of the phone rings out through the room, and Dr. Edison stifles a laugh.
"No, Roy, I don't have that kind of time on my hands when I'm filling in for you... while I've got your attention though, I might need a consult."
>An exasperated sigh is heard
| >>552938
"What do you know about heart augs?"
>Dr. Edison looks at the telemetry monitor that the girl has now been hooked up to as he begins to quiz his colleague.
"What do I know about...? Max, quit it!! I'm a >>>trauma surgeon!"
>The nurse hangs the second bag of fluid as the first begins to finish.
"... I know they're not super common. Look at her rhythm strip. If she has an older one you might see pacer spikes."
>Does Dr. Edison see pacer spikes on the strip?
| >>552938
>Meanwhile, the nurse murmurs to himself and starts the second infusion.
"She just looked down at her chest, she never said her heart... Not like the ribcage houses other organs or anything..."
>He seems a little peeved at Xiria's condescending comments towards the support staff. He looks down at their patient, and speaks to her softly.
"Hey, do you have any pain? It sounds silly to ask, but..."
>She's awfully quiet for someone with a piece of steel in their bowel.
| >>552944
((Oh, in that case he did have that freakout))
>Shit, why couldn't the woman post less obviously? He was banking on the anonymity to avoid any rage at staff, but apparently that was for naught.
"Michi Ikeru, ma'am."
>Also fuck Ella was intimidating. He'd probably melt if she directed her wrath onto him. Should he say more? Maybe it was a mistake to return here.
| >>552951
>Mercifully, no, no he does not. At this time, its unclear if she even has a heart aug.
>>552956
>She nods.
| >>552958
>...1.
>Ella's expression softens as she continues to gaze at Michi. License or not... he's a nurse. This much she can easily tell, from many, many years of experience. Jade seems a little relieved when she notices the tension on Ella's face lessen.
"Michi..."
>Ella stands up slowly, and is quiet for a moment.
"... This has got to be the weirdest fucking interview I've ever done."
>Michi can see traces of a grin forming on her face.
"Welcome to the team."
| >>552960
"... No spikes, Roy."
"That doesn't rule out the presence of an augment... Did she explicitly say she had one? Any medical bracelet or anything? Is she even conscious?!"
>This is exactly why Roy was opposed to doing a phone consult. No details-- not that he can pick up on, anyway. The nurse gives Dr. Edison a dubious look.
"... She didn't, but I have a second clinician here who seems to think she's got one."
>He glances at Xiria.
"Who? Why do you need >>>me, then?!"
| >>552950
"Nice tricks, but you'll need more than a few cutting edges to take this down"
>Falschen runs towards her before sliding for the last few meters, his sword ready
| >>552960
>The nurse continues his assessment. He might not be able to assuage her fears, but pain is something he can treat.
"Can you tell me or show me where? If you can't, it's okay-- I can just list parts of the body and you can nod 'yes' or shake your head 'no' if that's easier."
>He then takes a pair of bandage scissors out of his pocket.
"I'm... sorry, but... I also have to cut away your uniform to look at what's embedded in your stomach. Can I do that?"
| >>552965
>The woman steps back and stomps the ground with her boots, revealing large cutting blades in the heel and toes of both! She takes a stance and attempts to gut you!
| >>552961
>Keep calm, Michi. Grow some balls, Michi. He relaxes a bit once he sees Ella defuse, hopefully this isn't the calm before the storm. He shoots a questioningly hopeful glance at Jade.
>Once he hears her words, he starts to smile himself. Though it's pretty clear he's still scared shitless and is putting up a front.
"Thank you, ma'am. So, what do I need to do?"
| >>552963
"Of course she never did say Heart, but that to me sounds like the most reasonable option, although the appeal of a cybernetic bone is also quite pressing isnt it? Beautiful bones and all that, calcium?"
>Xiria says with another smile
"We should however proceed cautiously, nothing more unsightly than overconfidence"
| >>552970
>Falschen simply flips his heels, and throws the other sword as well as he stops suddenly
"Ougi: 'You thought swords were for close quarters!'"
| >>552974
>The nurse nods back.
"Okay. If you feel uncomfortable or need me to stop, the aide is right here. You can just squeeze her hand, okay?"
>The nurse's aide positions herself beside the nurse, and gently takes hold of the girl's hand. Slowly he begins to cut away at the seifuku, taking care not to pull at the fabric too much as some of it is snagged on the metal. Once he has full view of the wound, his expression becomes extremely guarded.
"Dr. Edison..."
| >>552982
>The doctor is too busy arguing with his coworker to hear him. Alright, pain...
"Okay, let's talk about your pain now. Do you have pain in your chest? In your arms? Your legs? Your back? Your stomach? Your head?"
>Start broad, then narrow down. What does she nod "yes" to?
>The nurse's aide rubs her thumb back and forth along the side of the girls hand, trying to comfort her just a little.
| >>552973 >>552963
"... Who >>>is that?!"
>Roy of course does not recognize Xiria's voice, as they've never met before.
"No idea, but she's better company than you."
>Roy growls into the phone, and then for a few seconds the sound becomes very muffled-- he must be covering up the mouthpiece. There is a crackling noise, and clarity is restored.
"Bay 3, right? I'm coming down there; fuck remain in place protocol. You never do your own A&P's anyway."
>The call abruptly disconnects.
| >>552971
>Ella comes out from behind the station desk to meet Michi where he stands. Apparently when seated, she looks a lot taller than she actually is... While Michi is not particularly gifted in the realm of height, he still stands a bit taller than Ella. It's the shorties you have to watch out for, though...
"You need to meet the rest of the staff real quick, and then I'm gonna put you to work."
>Jade gives Michi a covert thumbs up.
| >>552976
>She tries to dodge, and the sword deftly chops off her left arm! She grimaces as she dives in, and aims a bladed kick at your neck!
| >>552982
>She nods- as you cut away the clothes, you reveal the telltale signs of soot and burn marks along her skin, but bizarrely, there's no sign of third degree burns- at worst, some of the skin has blistered and some boils have burst.
>Aside from the skin, however, its clear to you that the girl is far more augmented than she first appeared- there are lines suggesting previous cybersurgeries running down her chest and limbs in geometrical shapes cut with laser precision, perhaps literally.
>>552983
>She nods yes to her arms, back, stomach, and head area. You feel her fingers close over yours as you rub them.
| >>552993
"Alright then."
>He imagines their reaction would be similar to Ella's initial one, but now is NOT the time to back out. He doesn't comment on how he's actually taller than a non-child, though he'd hardly do so in person anyway.
>As soon as he can, he returns Jade's gesture
| >>552995
>The nurse is dumbfounded by what he sees, but gathers that the little gesture their patient had made with her chin towards her chest *may* have meant something to the effect of "pretty much the rest of me from the neck down."
"Dr. Edison."
>The areas with the burst blisters need cleaning and bandaging, hydrocolloid needed for the ones intact... The nurse swallows hard. She's in some serious fucking pain, here.
| >>552998
>Somewhat of a relief is the fact that right now, the bleeding from the area where the shard rests does not look like it's arterial-- hopefully the aorta's been spared, but her liver might be in trouble... Oh for fuck's sake-- who am I kidding, everything in there is in trouble.
"Dr. Edison!!"
"What, what?!"
"You need to look at this. Things... might be a lot more different than we thought."
| >>552996
>In stark contrast to Ella's behavior on meeting him, everyone else in the nurse's station seems really pleased to see Michi. It's unclear as to whether or not this is because he now has the Ella seal of approval, or if they're all just a lot less uptight than she is. As they round the corner of the station and exit the doors towards the emergency ward, Michi is nearly mowed down by Roy, who is angrily making his way towards Bay 3.
"Oh!! Good evening, Dr. Walker!"
| >>553003
>Ella is suddenly a hell of a lot friendlier. The reason for this is revealed when Roy stops in the middle of his pseudo-crusade to greet her as well.
"Hi Ella. I haven't seen you in a while. How's your night going?"
"It's about to get better, I think-- this is Michi. He's going to help us in the clinic area tonight. Might offer him a per diem position here if we like him well enough."
| >>553005
>Ella thumps Michi on the back, probably a little harder than necessary. Despite having commented on the post that called Michi here to dissuade volunteers from coming, Roy seems to welcome this new development. He takes one of Michi's hands in both of his and gives it a friendly shake.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Michi. Thank you so much for helping us out."
>He seems tired, but his tone is genuine.
"Let's talk a bit more later?"
| >>553007
>With that, Roy gives a polite wave and gets back on his path to Bay 3-- though he's doing more hobbling than stomping this time. He's still losing papers ever so often out of that folder he carries. Ella turns to Michi, and jerks her thumb towards Roy as he passes through the emergency ward's doors.
"He's a peach. Dumb as a sack of hammers sometimes, but a real peach."
>She chuckles to herself quietly, and shakes her head.
| >>553008
>Michi follows Ella, still overwhelmed and feeling quite vulnerable. A narrow sidestep saves him from crashing into the doctor, and he warily looks on at the conversation.
>The back thump almost produces a yelp out of him and he takes some pride in not shooting through the roof. He returns Roy's handshake, nodding. Whatever he's doing, it has to be important- wait does he notice what-
>Ella is treated to the sight of a short little man zipping around grabbing papers
| >>552994
"Uhoh"
>Falschen relies on a good old dodge roll to avoid the hit but stumbles a bit at the end
"Goddamnit, piece of shit suit!"
| >>553013
>Ella does something with her eyes that isn't quite rolling them-- she looks upward, amused. As Michi finishes cleaning up Roy's literal paper trail, she has some second thoughts about touring the actual emergency ward with him. She said he was going to help in the clinic, so let's stick with the clinic.
"Michi?"
>Ella can tell he's a little numb, or at least trying to be. She wants to make sure that this is really something he can handle before she throws him into it.
| >>552999
"A cyborg is it... This is quite the surprise, but not totally unexpected"
>Xiria says as she looks over the girl
"Do you have any experts on cyborgs, I myself dont find them fun to work with, but I do know a little bit, the necessary procedures? Quite the boring texts, but they may come in handy now wouldnt they? Yes."
>She says as she eyes the girl up and down with a smile
"In any case, time is working against us isnt it? No time to loose, as if we could loose it!"
| >>553020
>He's back at her side, awkwardly laughing. The neat stack in his hands should definitely be in Dr. Walker's possession post haste, but were Ella to run off right now he'd be in useless limbo.
"Yes, ma'am? I should probably give these to him, right?"
>Michi glances at the ward doors where he just passed through
| >>552999 [Emergency Ward, trauma bay 3]
>Dr. Edison studies the lines on the girl's body while wearing an odd expression-- almost resembling one of intrigue and... maybe pride?
"She's had a lot of work done... We just don't know exactly what, and when."
>The nurse nods as Dr. Edison kind of points out the obvious.
"Dr. Edison, she's in a lot of pain. Can we give her something? It might make it easier for her to give us even a little bit of a history."
| >>553024
>Ella gently pries the stack of papers from Michi's hands, and shakes her head.
"I'll take care of that, Michi-- he's a man on a mission right now, and I don't know what he's gotten himself into. He's not really supposed to be working down here with his foot like that."
>She starts to turn around and walk through the doors that lead to the nurse's station, but pauses to make sure Michi will follow.
"Michi, are you really okay to do this?"
| >>553023
>As Xiria finishes her statement about losing time, a frantic pounding on the door is heard.
"Hey, open up! It's Roy!!"
>Dr. Edison glances over his shoulder at the door, and responds loudly:
"Can't do that I'm afraid, we're in the middle of a code grey. You could be the shooter, for all I know."
"MAX!"
>The nurse is the one who bites the bullet and opens the door to admit Roy, ensuring it's locked again once he's inside. It's starting to get a little busy in here.
| >>553036
>Roy enters the room breathing heavy, face flushed. He shifts his gaze rapidly from person to person in the room-- and eventually it lingers on Xiria. It's not polite to point, so instead Roy tilts his head towards her:
"Is >>>this the other clinician you were talking about?"
>He circles around the gurney as he waits for an answer. Time to get to work. He introduces himself to the girl:
"I'm Roy; I'm going to be the surgeon in charge of your care while you're here."
| >>553023 >>553038
>Dr. Edison answers their questions simultaneously, his tone very dry.
"Yes to both of you, but as far as your question is concerned--"
>He turns to Xiria.
"--unfortunately our >>>cyberization specialist isn't present today. I deal with a lot of augmentation procedures, but nothing really full body."
>Roy looks up at Max slowly, and says flatly,
"So... we're working blind."
"Not totally. >>>She might be of some help."
>What does Xiria do?
| >>553032
>He lets Ella take the papers with no resistance and follows her to the doors. When she stops, he pauses as well.
"I'm certain I can do something to help. It just doesn't seem fair to sit in my shell and be useless."
>His words are hesitant, but not too wavery.
"Plus I wouldn't waste your time if I felt I had nothing to offer."
| >>553044
"This isn't a matter of fairness, Michi. I understand not wanting to feel powerless, and... wanting to take responsibility for things out of your control. It makes it easier."
>She guides him back through the doors and into the nurse's station.
"But, you can only carry so much weight before you hit your breaking point."
>She grabs a tablet out of one of the holders on the wall for Michi to take notes with as they walk, and presents him with it.
| >>553048
"Here. You'll need this."
>She grabs her own and opens up the documentation program. It's difficult to navigate, and because the hospital is in downtime none of the fields auto-populate data of patients who have been here before.
"I think I can trust you, but... you need to let me know if things start to become too much. You aren't running at full capacity to begin with right now."
>Ella slings her stethoscope around her neck, and looks at Michi expectantly.
"Ready?"
| ((Be back tomorrow, gotta sleep. First time I've participated to a big degree in setting threads lmao))
| ((OP here, I also gotta pass out for a bit my dudes-- don't let that stop you from posting, though! I'll catch up in the morning.))
| >>553043
"I learned about a few things? But I'm not an expert, I can try to help though, if you get me a deck I can probably figure it out?"
>Xiria says with a shrug
| okay, I'm conscious again! I'll be moderately responsive for the next... 6-ish hours, after which point I'll be much more active -OP
| >>553057
>Dr. Edison shrugs as he begins to examine the girl's torso, carefully inspecting the neat lines that were once carved there by someone else of his same profession.
"Better than nothing."
>The nurse (who has taken it upon himself to gather equipment for collection of stat labs) pipes up from the back of the room, nose deep in the supply closet.
"We're in downtime, though... the only thing she'll be able to access is the hospital's intranet, right? Not the Matrix."
| >>553140
>Roy notices the nurse taking the initiative and has a brief discussion with him of what he wants drawn-- type/cross, CBC, CMP, LFTs, lactate...
"Can we give her something for her pain? Morphine, hydromorphone--"
>Roy answers yes, Edison says no.
"Max-- what do you mean, 'no'?"
"You wanna put her in respiratory arrest?"
"If that happens, this is the best place for it. She's my patient now. Morphine 2.5mg IV push."
>The nurse nods and begins to draw up the medicine.
| >>553057
"Right now it's probably just best to treat her like someone who hasn't been cyberized-- we can't assume her body is going to just compensate for trauma because of her mods."
>Roy punches a command into one of the monitors. He then bends down so his face is level with the girls, and speaks quietly.
"Anything and everything that you say to us stays in this room. We're here to help keep you safe... So, please... can you tell me your name? Who did this to you?"
| >>553145
>Xiria simply watches as the doctor proceeds with the painkillers, her eyes narrowing.
"You should be careful, augs with this much coverage can play with the body at a level most complex, quite the troublesome little things aren't they, augs?"
>She says as she looks over at the nurse
"Have you found a deck? Well at this point I wouldnt be picky even an IBN 5100 would do?"
| >>553147
>Roy looks at Xiria and nods, at this point he'd rather not ignore any advice on the off chance it could be sound.
"That's why we have the monitors and the crash cart."
>The nurse finishes drawing up the med and disconnects the IV fluid tubing, as the bag has finished. He flicks the air out of the needle while he answers Xiria.
"I can find you one no problem, but like I said before I'm not sure it'll do much good."
>He turns to the aide, who starts looking.
| >>553147 >>553149
>Roy leans on the bedrail nearest to him, thinking.
"Don't we have reference texts in the system? Merck Manual and all that stuff?"
>The Merck Manual hasn't existed for years... but, Dr. Edison confirms that this is the case.
"We do. I've been getting lots of use out of them while filling in for your sorry ass."
>The aide finds a deck that... isn't exactly the finest available on the market, but one that'll certainly do its job. She gives it to Xiria.
| >>553150
"Thank you kindly, allow me now..."
>Xiria gets closer to the girl and looks for a sim jack, surely someone this augmented would have the basics installed
"The matrix isnt quite the point here, a diagnostic is what I aim for, direct connection yes? If power begins to fade then the problem runs deep? It is the least I can do for now, my true expertise lay in surgery, not in mundane aid?"
| >>553151
>The nurse taps the girl's arm lightly.
"Can Dr..."
>He struggles to say her title without audible disgust in his voice.
"... Xiria access one of your sim jacks?"
>Roy, meanwhile, seems unphased.
"That makes sense to me. Please share your findings with us as you go along, Dr. Xiria."
>Breaking his calm for a moment, he glances at her pointedly.
"As far as 'mundane aid' is concerned, though... I'd argue that it's a key part of surgery and not to be overlooked."
| >>553157
>Dr. Edison rolls his eyes.
"She's not here, y'know. You don't have to talk nonsense about how valuable you think she is."
>Roy's brow furrows, but he remains quiet. The nurse finishes drawing labs off the IV line and flushes it through before attaching the morphine filled syringe.
"You might feel a little head rush when I give you this. I'm going to go slow, okay? Squeeze the aide's hand if anything feels wrong."
>He begins. How well does she tolerate the medication?
| [Waiting Room, Clinic Area]
>>553044 >>553053
>The secretaries continue to call the names of people waiting to be triaged. Each time this happens,a nurse comes out from behind the desk to accompany the patient to an empty screening area. Eventually, there's no one left in the station other than Michi and Ella.
"Looks like it's our turn, kid."
>She can't help but call Michi that. Not because of his height, but because everyone in this place is basically a kid compared to Ella.
| >>553049 >>553173
>Michi looks back at Ella and nods, swallowing.
"T-thanks. I'll. Do that."
>He furrows his brow at the tablet, briefly looking over what programs are available before glancing back at the senior nurse. Hopefully some of them look less obtuse at first glance.
"Alright. Just point me at what needs to be done."
>Michi doesn't seem to take offense at being called a kid, either he's too out of it to notice or is very used to it at this point in life.
| >>553145
>The girl tries to mouth a word, but she only ever gets as far as saying something that sounds like "Strawb-" before her eyes dilate and she stops mid sentence. In answer to the question about her injuries, however, she's much quicker and lucid.
"E-explode," >She says, grimly.
"T-train..."
She's referring not to the train explosion thread from earlier yesterday, but to the one that was reported on the NNN news earlier than that. The reason you would be able to tell this without having a sixth sense is because presumably the doctors wouldn't know about the train that just exploded yesterday, which was a slightly different form of transport (an elevated train as opposed to one suspended from wheels on the roof.)
>>553151
>You'll find one hidden at the base of her skull, underneath her hair.
>>553157
>The girl's clearly grinding her teeth, but she nods anyway.
>>553160
>She nods, and you watch her body tense for a moment before relaxing as the drugs make their way in her system.
>She seems to be mouthing something to herself which comes through as a whisper...
"...ow Mint feels whe... 'es high..."
| >>553177
>The secretaries call the name of the next customer-- er, patient-- over the local speakers.
"Sayuri K., please report to check-in, Sayuri K."
>A girl with massive horns sprouting from her forehead limps pathetically through the crowd, a pair of long high-heel boots slung over her right shoulder. Her left ankle is badly bruised and she barely touches her foot to the floor as she walks. Ella comes out to meet her with Michi at her side.
"Nice to meet you, Sayuri."
| >>553018
>The attack collides with your armor and sinks partly in- you only just barely escape having your throat slit.
>The woman, seeing you stumble, takes this moment to get out of dodge! She picks up her arm and sprints for the black van!
| >>553187
>Roy's eyes widen as he realizes that one of the girls CN was concerned may be laying on the gurney in front of him.
"You waited to come in after all that...?"
>Some doctors might scold her, incredulous that she'd hesitate to seek help with injuries this severe. Roy realizes that she may have had her reasons, though. He grabs his penlight out of his ink-stained breast pocket and starts doing a neurological exam.
| >>553187
>He shines the light in her eyes, moving it back and forth quickly to figure out what the hell is going on with her pupils.
"Are you able to wiggle your toes?"
>He grabs one of her hands while the aide continues to hold the other.
"Squeeze our hands as hard as you can. Try to break my fingers. Don't worry, I'm a big boy-- I can handle it."
>He tries to give a reassuring grin. Usually this gets a laugh out of his patients, but he's not sure she's capable of that now.
| >>553189
>A placating smile is set over Michi's visage by the time he sees Sayuri, body language attentive and less outwardly nervous. His gaze flickers over the huge horns briefly before going to the left ankle.
>He can't tell right off the bat, but hopes there's no break there. Phantom pains flare up briefly in his feet in sympathy. Putting away the tablet, Michi asks:
"Should I help support her while she walks?"
| >>553187
>The nurse sighs in relief as the morphine begins to do its job. Thank god. The fear in her eyes when she first came in was so painful to see. He catches her mention of 'being high' and suppresses a grin. He flushes the medicine through and then looks at Roy.
"I'm going to bring these samples to the lab. We need to know if she needs blood products, right? If I get trouble... I'll tell them you sent me."
>Dr. Edison raises an eyebrow.
"Don't take too long."
| >>553205
>Ella is surprised by Michi's rapid transformation that seems to have taken place before her very eyes. She nods approvingly.
"Yes, Michi. That would be great."
>Sayuri offers her left arm, but Ella stops her.
"Michi, support her right side, please."
>She begins to walk off towards one of the screening 'rooms'. Sayuri looks at Michi. She looks like she's about to burst into tears-- she already walked here barefoot. Another step feels like a hundred more.
| >>553215
>Michi shoots Sayuri a sympathetic look as he supports her right side and gingerly walks her over to a screening 'room'. If he was in her position, he'd be dreading putting any weight on his injured foot too.
"It'll be alright. You're already here, okay?"
>At the very least, his non-threatening exterior lends itself to calming people down. He continues to sooth her as they go along.
"Just bear with me."
| >>553232
>Sayuri plops into her seat with a yelp, and Ella takes her place opposite the horned girl while offering Michi the other chair in the screening room. Sayuri's lip quivers a little, and she sniffles. Ella proceeds to calmly take a history.
"What brings you in to see us today, Sayuri?"
>Sayuri wipes at her eyes, and places her boots down beside her seat.
"I was out... 'n... I twisted my ankle..."
>Her breath reeks of booze. She doesn't look a day over 16.
| >A delivery levibike flies towards the entrance and stops perfectly short of an ambulance. A silver haired woman speaks loudly.
"At the Blue Lantern we have many injured! We have no skill with medicine! Please help!"
>The woman cried this out to anyone that would listen.
| >>553211
>Thanks to the miracle of modern science, labs result much quicker in present time than they used to 50 some-odd years ago. The nurse returns with the lab printout in hand, and shows it to the 3 surgeons in the room.
>How much blood did she lose?
>Did the steel nick bowel?
>Is the patient feverish at all?
Answers may be reflected in the patient's lab results. This does not mean they'll be interpreted correctly.
| >>553250
>Without warning, an unknown figure rushes the woman, grabbing her tightly by her arm and attempting to yank her off the levibike and backwards towards the side of the ambulance.
"Get back--!!"
>What does the woman do? Does she resist or fight her assailant?
| >>553247
>Sayuri continues, slurring her words. Her mascara and eyeliner have started to run down her face. As Xiria might say, how unsightly.
"Lost m' balansse... firss time wearin' these heels..."
>She goes to gesture towards her boots... but points to where they aren't. Oh boy, is she plastered. Ella bites her tongue. She looks at Michi and raises her eyebrows as if to say "Whadd'ya think? Wanna take it from here?"
| >>553256
>The woman yelped and her words stuck in her throat. In a matter of seconds the woman's wrist flicked and a coldknife slipped down her sleeve. Before doing anything she turned her head as best as possible to see who did what.
"H-Help!"
>She nearly slipped into Japanese. But before doing anything she tried to make sure she didn't accidentally harm anyone.
| >>553263
>The person dragging her behind the ambulance manages to swing behind her and lock the arm they're holding onto in place. Quickly, they clap a hand over the silver-haired woman's mouth.
"Shh, shh, shh--shut up, shut up!!"
>The person restraining her speaks in a snarling, vicious whisper.
"Are you out of your goddamn mind?!
>They shake the woman as if trying to knock some sense into her.
"There's a gun... sword... I don't fucking know-- someone shot up hospital!"
| >>553200
>She nods and attempts to wiggle her toes, though she's still notably wearing shoes.
>You feel her hand grip yours- it starts weakly at first, but manages to tighten somewhat.
>>553254
>Her blood levels seem much lower than usual, with H&H sitting at around 8 grams per deciliter.
>Remarkably, though the steel lodged in her gut is vicious, the augments in that area are of such great quality that they prevented any immediately lethal damage that you can see. Motherfucking natural twenty baby.
>The patient's temperature seems to be reading at 101.1 degrees.
| >>553268
>The woman went quiet and listened to what was going on around them. She was also careful to take in what was going on. Since guns were mentioned, she lowered her body after being released and Drew a handgun from her jacket, to pair up with her coldknife.
"Where?"
| >>553270
>Roy seems satisfied with the results of her neuro assessment so far, and so he turns his attention to the lab work the nurse is trying to stuff in his face. Dr. Edison, Roy, the nurse, and (presumably) Xiria gather 'round to look at the results. The hospital staff's respective expressions are as follows:
>"I've seen worse."
>"..."
>A very thinly veiled "Holy fuck, we are so fucking screwed."
>There is a momentary pause before Roy and Dr. Edison each take deep breaths...
| >>553275
>... and start dishing out orders simultaneously.
"Start empiric vancomycin 500 mg--"
"I need half a liter of NS and one unit of PRBCs--"
>Edison glares at Roy, evidently not approving of whatever plan he's come up with.
"You want to put her in fluid overload?"
"We'll give her Lasix."
>The nurse looks like he's watching a ping-pong match as he tries to follow the many verbal orders he's being given at once.
"She'll need a Foley..."
"We can handle that later!!"
| >>553272
"Gahhh, you really-- right there!!"
>The woman now is able to view the person who tackled her-- a wiry young woman who's red in the face and absolutely drenched in sweat. She stabs her index finger at the doors to the entrance, where Falschen and card-lady have been fighting. And where that one dude was setting something up that is/was charging?
"You're not getting involved! >>>I'm not getting involved!"
>She barely manages to keep her voice down.
| >>553276
>Things always pick up the pace when Roy is around.
"We need to get her as stable as possible before we put her in the OR. With the labs, we have some idea of how long we have to do that."
>At this point, the girl has been plugged into the deck Xiria is holding, and a diagnostic has started to run.
"Dr. Xiria, anything?
>Roy tries to smooth things over with Dr. Edison a bit.
"We can do the vanc post-op. It's a good idea; I'm just a little worried about her kidneys."
| >>553290
he absolutely did; i'm an idiot and thought it was just the short guy who chomped it for some reason.
| >>553282
>She takes a shaky breath, and runs a hand through her hair nervously.
"Even if I wanted to be, I-I couldn't. They're locked down-- no one gets in, no one gets out."
>Is she tearing up? The woman looks upwards and breathes deeply again before turning to the silver fox who she had previously held captive.
"W-what did you say you needed?"
| >>553272
She is absolutely 100% free to get involved, of course-- her words are only a suggestion, just a really forceful one :)
| >>553260
>Oh fuuuuun. Drunk teens. Good sources of thrown glass bottles at your head. Michi obviously didn't let this show on his face, as drunks were volatile enough without provocation.
"Hmm, alright. Let me take a look."
>Michi gingerly examines Sayuri's injured foot, though it's likely even his lightest touch is causing pain. Does her ankle look deformed beyond swelling?
>He turns to Ella.
"If nothing's broken, ice and observation should work for her. Otherwise, a cast."
| >>553312
>Sayuri is reluctant to surrender her ankle to Michi, as his intuition is 100% correct-- just brushing up against the area slightly is painful. She whimpers as he examines it.
>You find that her ankle is badly bruised, and that there is a lot of swelling; likely she wouldn't be able to get her boot back on even if she tried. When comparing it to her other foot... it's immediately apparent something is off. The sole of her foot is tilted slightly inward.
| >>553289
>As the proceedures occured Xiria seemed to be fiddling with the deck in her hands, obviously not used to this model she had a bit of a hard time trying to run protocols, but after a while she figured it out, and started checking the augmentations states and model numbers if she could access their programs
"Hmm, not used to this, but I feel I may have results soon? A lot of work done, just a final push and I will see it all again?"
>She says with a smile and a nod
| >>553326
>Roy and Dr. Edison both look at Xiria and nod. Now we're cooking with gas! The nurse is on the phone with the lab and the blood bank, the aide is busying herself with gently removing the girl's shoes and other articles of clothing to get her in a gown... everyone looks busy-- mostly because everyone is.
>What does Xiria find, if anything? Is she /able/ to find anything?
>With everyone preoccupied, no one is watching the monitors. Is (probably) Strawberry holding up?
| >>553312
>Ella crosses her arms across her chest and nods in approval of Michi's proposed treatment plans. She only happens to notice that Sayuri's face is starting to turn a sickly shade of green as she pulls out her tablet to start charting.
"Sayuri? Something wrong?"
>Sayuri's body shakes as she starts to gag, bending over at the middle. Impulsively she reaches for one of the boots at her side and brings it to her face just quickly enough to catch the contents of her stomach.
| >>553320 >>553328
>Michi is about to voice his concerns when Sayuri vomits into her shoe. Yeah, this was bound to happen. One of the reasons why someone should watch this girl. If they could.
>Still keeping a cautious eye on the horned girl, he turns to Ella wanting a second opinion.
"Her injured foot's turned a bit inward. I think there is a break..."
>If there is another suitable vomit receptacle like an unused pail lying around, he grabs it for further use.
| >>553332
>Sayuri finishes blowing chunks into the aforementioned boot after a few long and painful minutes... and once she's done, she looks down in horror as she realizes's what just saved her from hurling all over her lap.
"NooooOooooOoo... my boots..."
>She blubbers, now beginning to cry in earnest. The party's over... Ella agrees with Michi's assessment, and tells him so.
"Yeah, a bad one. Might be a dislocation, too."
| >>553336
>She frowns, and looks towards the emergency ward's doors.
"This isn't something we can just send her home with or throw a cast on, so we're gonna to have to room her."
>Ella snaps a few times to get Sayuri's attention, and speaks to her in her best "tough love" tone of voice.
"Sayuri, Michi is gonna take you into the ER so a doctor can look at your ankle. I need you to collect your things and >>>yourself so we can get you in a room."
>Sayuri continues to sob loudly.
| >>553289 >>553326 >>553327
>You manage to get into the cybernetic equivalent of BIOS, but find that you can't progress much further- there's some kind of ICE program here, custom designed, with the avatar of some kind of chibi dressed with an oversized chocolate covered beret of some kind. It emojis angrily at you and demands some kind of user authorization to access anything besides the status of the girl's augments...
>...and how. Everything from the chest below is red. Immediately concerning are warnings coming from the arms, referencing something about "jettisoning fuel stores" and "suppression systems damaged beyond safety threshold."
>As you pore over these warnings, the girl looks up at you, watching your expression. Her eyes almost seem to say, "Sorry."
| >>553348
"This is quite bad isnt it? Bad like totally bad yo?"
>Xiria says with a deadpan face before shaking her head
"I'll try and cross-reference those models and see the usual procedures? Maybe fix this, I sure am not getting acces though, some ICE is in place, and its too cold?"
>Xiria says before turning to the doctors
"The systems are damaged beyond repair? It'll take me a while to even get them to allow access too, how unsightly. Fuel is jettisoning?"
>She shrugs
| >>553348 >>553349
>Roy and Dr. Edison both peer over Xiria's shoulder, watching with growing concern as different alerts and warnings cloud the screen of the deck. Both seem baffled by what they're reading.
"Suppression systems? For suppressing >>>what?"
"Her arms are... leaking fuel?"
>This is a real head-scratcher. Both turn towards the girl and note her apologetic expression-- Dr. Edison sighs and brings his palm to his face, while Roy gives her an uncertain thumbs up.
| >>553349
"Is there anything we can do to help, Dr. Xiria? If not, we can at least have someone prep the OR for us-- better to have it ready in case we need to run in there."
>Roy internally gives thanks for the fact that the girl is highly cyberized-- although this is majorly hindering their examination, it's also probably why she hasn't completely tanked. Nothing better than the sight of a lonely, unused crash cart in the corner.
"Just give us the word."
| >>553332
>Now to be clear, Ella has not pulled rank on Michi in order to avoid dealing with Sayuri, nor has she forgotten about her initial hesitancy to have Michi tour the ward. It's simply more productive for her to remain here and quickly triage another patient while Michi gets Sayuri comfortable. She reviews the trauma bay roster, looking for a place to put her.
"Ah, that'll work. You can take her to bay 5. There'll be a nurse waiting there to pick up where you leave off."
| >>553354
"hmm? Prepare the OR yes, I feel we may need it soon? I would hate to see that piece of metal stay in her body? But we have to make sure we can bring her under safely?"
>Xiria ponders aloud before shrugging
"Hard to decide?"
| >>553337 >>553380
"Don't worry, I can get your shoes. Okay Sayuri? You'll be okay."
>He cajoles Sayuri into letting him walk her to Bay 5 with lots of soothing reassurances. Out of wariness and pity, Michi also takes the boots in one hand. Hoo boy.
>The journey to Bay 5 is one peppered with the cadence of Michi's voice, continually attempting to talk her away from a flipout
| >>553397
>Roy does his best to avoid giving Xiria weird look; instead, he directs his questioning stare at the nurse. The nurse frowns and shrugs-- don't look at me, I don't know what her deal is either.
"I mean... I don't think any of us intended to just leave it in her... B-but yes, anesthesia is always a concern with trauma patients."
>Roy puts his hand to his chin and nods thoughtfully.
"Once we get a better idea of what the issue is, I'll consult with our anesthesiologist."
| >>553296
"We need help. There is many injured at our bar. People will die."
>The silver haired woman replied quietly, after some time thinking. She'd gone quiet for a while, almost inert. She looked apologetic after this.
"...I am sorry. I was talking to friend...Something is coming. Sent warning...No one can get in? We must find other place then."
| >>553409
>A hand is suddenly dropped on the woman's shoulder, and at the other end of it is the figure of a large white knight uniform, covered in blood and scrapes, a half broken mask covers their face, their shoulder lenght white hair now a pink hue.
>On their shoulder is a gigantic Zweihander broadsword.
"Yo, foxy lady, you said you needed help right?"
>The voice is a gruff boisterous voice... That of the Crusader Falschen.
| >Like an act of god, the power suddenly comes on throughout the hospital complex... the main one, not the quickly depleting emergency reserves you were running dry on.
>...followed by the building shaking and the cries of people outside.
>And if one were to see just what has riled up everyone outside...
>They'd see many dozens of variations of the following...
"Oh my god, it's a shooting war!"
| >>553414
>"SEGFAULT"'s jaw drops as she watches Falschen swagger over to the two of them covered in blood. Nightmare, or dream come true? From the way he looks, it's a toss-up.
"Fa--... F-Fa... Fals...chen...?"
>She stammers weakly, breath escaping her like a slowly deflating balloon. She wonders for a moment if he recognizes her, but waves this thought away. There are more important things to deal with.
"Y-yeah, she needs some help. H-hurt friends and customers at work."
| >>553414 >>553421 >>553415
"Ah! The lights are on!"
> And then the shaking of the buildings and surroundings cause her to nearly spill into a string of Japanese obscenities. She was only calmed by Falschen's touch--well stunned into silence as she whipped her head around to see whom was speaking to her.
"Yes! She right! Need help immediately! Blue Lantern Bar has many injured!"
>She of course ducked down the second gunfire started slinging about. The sound terrified.
| >>553399
>Sayuri leans heavy on Michi as the little-human-reed diffuser-that-could escorts her to the emergency ward. He really does seem to have a calming effect on other people, and as they walk together the tears slowly trickle to a stop.
"Mmmkay... 'll be okayyy... Michi...?"
>Sayuri tilts her head to the side, which bows under the weight of her magnificent horns. She seems more exhausted than anything at this point. Bay 5 lays only a little further down the hall...
| >>553432
>Sayuri and Michi pass through the doors of the ward and are greeted by a lot of strange and unsettling noises that are definitely foreign to Sayuri. She clings to Michi tightly, the din aggravating her pending hangover. The ward nurse's station is to their left, and directly in front of them the hall continues, punctuated by little inlets that lead to the different bays.
>What does Michi do? Stop at the station first, or walk until he finds Bay 5?
| >>553428
>"SEGFAULT" catches every curse word Ren says. The mouth on this woman... though, if she weren't terrified beyond all reason right now, she'd probably join in. She drops to the ground like a cement brick when she hears the gunfire, and looks up at Falschen, trembling. She's gotta stop meeting him at her worst...
"Help..."
>She croaks, not able to manage much else.
"W-where do... we go?"
>She looks towards the hospital like she doesn't want to let it out of her sight.
| >>553405 >>553397
[Emergency Ward, trauma bay 3]
>All present in the room notice the lights flicker for a moment, followed by a jarring vibration that makes the nurse's bandage scissors clatter on the tray table. All present, in perfect unison say:
"What the fuck?!"
>Roy again decides to go against the rules and throw caution to the wind-- he opens the bay door and sticks his head out into the hall, shouting in the direction of the nurse's station.
"Hey, what the hell was that?!"
| >>553433
"That's right, you're gonna be fine..."
>Michi resolves to walk until he finds Bay 5. Ella's orders. Should a nurse not be there, he'll flag them down. He's certain he could completely carry Sayuri in the worst case scenario, though her horns could be an issue. Talk about risk of neck pain!
"Almost there, okay?"
>He keeps his voice low to avoid aggravating her headache. The building shake gives him pause-ice cold- but he keeps on regardless while checking on the teen.
| >>553445
>The rumbling of the building makes Sayuri wobble-- less an issue of her balance and more a product of fear. Young, drunk, and in an awful place to be during a city-wide emergency.
"M-Michiii..."
>The bay closes to the ward doors is bay 1. Michi and Sayuri proceed forward down the hall past bay 2... and are stopped by Roy, who is yelling from bay 3.
"M-Michi! Good to see you again-- uh-- do you know what just happened?"
>He seems very distressed.
| >>553452
>Michi manages to not topple both of them to the floor and readjusts his hold to be certain, muttering more sweet noise before meeting Roy's gaze. Control yourself, Michi.
"I don't- no clue, doctor-! Maybe the lockdown incident has something to do with this?"
>Despite himself, some panic enters his voice. Locked in with no exo... no. Fuck right off, he could NOT act like an idiot right now.
"Bay 5 should be down that way, right?"
| [Main Entrance, Waiting Area]
>The patients who are still waiting to be seen, already having been shaken up by the firefight that took place immediately outside the hospital doors, start to panic again as the building vibrates. What the hell is going on now? Some of them came here thinking they might die today-- from a chronic illness worsened by stress, from injury, from pain-- and while this thought may have been overdramatic at first... it seems more realistic now.
| >>553455
>Michi's murmuring pacifies Sayuri a little, who loosens her grip on his arm just a touch. She stares at Roy along with Michi, bewildered.
"... Who're youuu...?"
>Roy doesn't answer her, and instead responds to Michi in as much an even tone as he can manage.
"Oh, o-okay. Yes, Bay 5 is... just ahead of here."
>He begins to break out in a cold sweat, and rubs his face with one of his hands, trying to snap out of whatever has taken hold of him.
"T-thanks."
| >>553457
>Do any of the patients decide to act on their fears? If so, what do they do?
just want to open up things a little for anyone who may want to join
| >>553462
"It's gonna be alright, doctor. The sh-shooter's a cun- We just do it."
>Michi stops his fear-laced vulgarity. This is not the internet. He wants to fully bring Roy out of it, but he's got to get to Bay 5 and hope for everyone. Flashing Roy an attempted smile, he continues to walk Sayuri to their destination.
"Yeah, that was Dr. Walker, Sayuri. There's gonna be another doc to fix you up, okay?"
((And sleeptime pour moi))
| >>553421
"Aye its me, the lovely crusader of justice and love"
>Falschen says with a peace gesture, dont worry I just took care of those weirdos trying to shoot up the hospital, fuckers got me twice though, good thing this crusader doesnt bleed or i'd be in a pickle"
>He chuckles
| >>553470
"M-More importantly we need safer place!"
>Ren pulls herself together despite her trembling and moves to pull 'SEGFAULT' to her feet.
"My bike can hold two people...three if careful and hold tight. If you cover me I can get us to Blue Lantern. Good idea? Think will work?"
| >>553469
>Roy's empty stare follows them down the hall. He's got that awful hollow feeling in his chest, and no matter how deeply he breathes, he can't reverse it.
"Mmmkay..."
>Bay 5, as it turns out, is also home to someone suffering from a bad case of dumpshock... and from the looks of it has also been puking their guts out. Cute, Ella. As promised, there is a nurse waiting for Michi and Sayuri, and she greets them both on arrival.
"Hello! Are you the ones Ella sent over?"
| >>553470
>"SEGFAULT"'s voice is a hoarse whisper as she tries to stammer out a thank you.
"T-thanks... for keeping them safe. And... me, too..."
>A gust of wind blows her hair out of her face. Those augs on her temples might look familiar...
>>553472
>'SEG' stands with Ren's help, trying not to let her knees give out. She squeezes Ren's hand tightly.
"... Well... better than just... sitting and waiting for... that, right?"
>She turns her head in the direction of the gunshots.
| >>553478
"Dont I recognize you from somewhere lass?"
>Falschen says before shrugging
"Whatever, well if its help you need you can try the hospice again or I can send word to some friends of mine, because yes I have those"
>Falschen nods to himself
| >>553482
"From the Drifter... name's Aikawa."
>She extends a shaky hand towards Falschen, an incredibly poor approximation of a grin on her face. Kind of looks like her mouth could fall right off.
"Guess I owe you twice, now..."
>Since Ren is the one who had come seeking help, SEG/Aikawa waits to see what she thinks of the options Falschen offers. Even with the shooting outside the doors having ended, entry is probably still barred...
| >>553486
"More like thrice, How's the flowers? I hope your friend liked em'"
>Falschen turns to Aikawa and you can see a red eye look at you through a crack in the mask
"Ah also, dont water them too much, flowers can drown you know? Found that out the bad way"
>Falschen chuckles
| >>553552
"How're the... w-wait-- wha--?"
>She's Falschen, HE's Falschen... are there any more Falschens I should know about?!
"How--??"
>Maybe they share a hivemind or something. Aikawa decides not to attempt wrapping her head around this right now, and ends her mental struggle with getting a grip on Falschen's identity.
"... I... hope she will. I'll know if-- once... we make it out of this."
>She tries to sound hopeful.
| >>553588 >>553552
"I realize I am interrupting...but we can't stay here."
>Ren spoke up while attempting to push her levibike back up on its wheels.
"A stray bullet could kill at least two of us."
| [Emergency Ward, Bay 3]
>Roy retreats into the bay, quietly shutting the door behind him. Standing for this long has started to take its toll- his broken foot is starting to throb in a way that's pretty distracting. Combined with the feeling of dread that's washed over him, Roy is slowly devolving into a hot mess.
"Well? What was it?"
>Dr. Edison sounds irritated and impatient. All in the room look to Roy with varying degrees of desire for an answer.
"...I don't know."
| >>553588
"Oh we will, This town's been through a lot and sure as always its gonna stand at the end of it, thats for sure"
>Falschen says calmly, putting down his broadsword
"We might lose a few people along the way though, thats the bad part"
| >>553598
"N-no, you're right--"
>Something in Aikawa's pocket makes a loud 'ping,' and she reaches in to withdraw the source of the sound-- her phone, which bears a message that's just as important as it is unexpected.
"Uh... apparently I'm being picked up...?"
>She squints as she tries to decipher this delivery person's... unique way of writing.
>>553600
"M-maybe you two should go on ahead? Protecting two people on an unbalanced bike..."
>She seems apprehensive.
| >>553598
>Aikawa helps Ren right her levibike, since... she's kind of the one who tipped it over. Probably shouldn't make a habit of ripping people off their rides like that.
"Uh... S-sorry I kinda jumped you like that..."
>Had Ren not been so cautious in figuring out whether or not she was being attacked, Aikawa could have been in pretty rough shape right now. So much for staying out of trouble.
| >>553598
"Thats certainly true lass, but as I said, I got those shooters, got em real good if that makes sense yeah?"
>He does a thumbs up
"But its true id hate to be wrong for once and have a fourth gunman show up, so you lead the way I guess"
| >>553605 >>553606
"There is bonfire festival near the edge of uptown. The Blue Lantern if you've been...Kyougoku and Lady Ryougi are there. They were rounding up survivors and feeding them."
> With Aikawa's help Ren was able to right her levibike. She looked to the woman and shook her head with a small smile. Seems it didn't bother her too much.
>That was a joke obviously. She looked to Falchen and shook her head.
"There is war nearby. I know that sound. Let's travel around it..."
| ( Ah whoops I forgot to edit that. The Joke was 'I enjoy thrills every now and again. Just warn me next time.' )
| >>553608
"The blue lantern huh"
>Falschen sounds nostalgic for a heartbeat... Or more melancholic than anything?
"Hmm, I guess I'll come by then hows that sound?"
>He says
| >>553612
>Ren was already getting on her bike. She looked to Falschen and nodded before looking to Aikawa.
"Are you really going to wait here for someone to pick you up?"
| >>553619
>Aikawa seems uneasy, and looks over her shoulder a few times at the chaos surrounding them.
"I mean... don't want them to come all the way here and risk being shot up for nothing. Said they have a... plasma something-or-other."
>She appreciates Ren's concern though, and tells her so-- trying to offer some reassurance.
"大丈夫だと思う。本当に。"
>Knew I recognized that accent somewhere.
| >>553599
>Roy pauses for a second, deathly silent... then starts barrel-assing towards the nurse, who's setting up tubing for the blood transfusion that's eventually taking place. The nurse is elbowed into the IV pole and becomes ensnared in the line while Roy yanks the room's phone off its dock.
"Hello? Prep the OR closest to the ER for surgery."
>A break, as the other party responds.
"Intra-abdominal process."
>A beat.
">>>I'm doing it, so have them set it up that way."
| >>553655
>Dr. Edison seems amused as he watches Roy break his normally very placid demeanor. Time to sit back and watch the fireworks. There is a knock on the door as a tech arrives with a bag of blood, and the nurse extricates himself from the IV tubing in order to take it off her hands. The nurse pulls Edison aside to make sure they've got the right stuff, and the doctor waves at him dismissively.
"You should be capable of cross checking information by yourself."
| >>553473
>Michi nods, looking for any available cot or related space to set Sayuri on. Hopefully he finds one, holding an injured drunk and ruined shoes is not one of his hobbies.
"Yeah. Possibly broken or dislocated ankle here."
>While the power has been restored, Michi isn't sure if anything Ella reported about Sayuri's condition made it through the system due to the previous downtime.
| >>553660
>The nurse is irked by Dr. Edison's response, but proceeds nonetheless. He primes the line, hooks her up, and has the aide program the monitor to check vitals now, and then every 5 minutes for the next 15 minutes. Gotta make sure this goes in okay. He notes the time, and starts infusing per the hospital's protocol.
| >>553624
>Ren paused and turned to look Aikawa in the eye. Then turned back to sit properly in her bike's seat. She revved it up twice and spoke only just before taking off.
"死なないで...See you there. Falschen, let's go."
| >>553662
>There is an empty gurney next to the privacy curtain separating the two parts of this particular bay-- not everyone in the ER gets a roomie. The nurse nods and lowers the gurney, helping Michi transfer Sayuri up and onto it. She's just about settled when a loud "thud" is heard behind the curtain.
>Sayuri's new roommate is seizing.
| >>553624
>Outside, the low thrum of a grav bike can be heard. Then felt as it comes closer. Contrary to the obnoxious sensory offering, the vehicle is no muscle-bike for turboheads but an ordinary company-branded one driven by an impressively chavvy looking male who is currently trying not to scream like a bitch while attracting gunfire.
>He's failing, but hopefully he can see Aikawa. Or more importantly, see a viable path to her without getting shot up!
| >>553669
"Ah! Nurse!"
>Michi finishes setting Sayuri down and quickly walks over to the other occupant's side. What does he notice about the patient, especially how badly they are seizing?
| >>553665
>Aikawa takes a deep breath, and nods emphatically.
"わかった。"
>>553670
>Aikawa hears the bike approaching, and whips around to see mystery delivery-man rocketing down the street towards their little group. She tries to flag him down by turning on the flashlight of her cellphone and waving it around wildly-- then wonders if this was a good idea. Don't want to attract unwanted attention... Oh, well. Too late now.
| >>553675
>The deliveryman catches sight of the light. Alright! That's his quarry! That lady definitely looks smart enough to be a doctor. He picks up speed, but takes a rather quizzical path in an attempt to avoid any bullets coming his way. Shane's gotten shot at before during work, but this is something else.
>He is also still screaming. He'd stop if he could.
| >>553673
Rolled a 1... rip in pieces
"Shit!! Call a rapid, ER Bay 5!!"
>The nurse hurries over to the patient's gurney and rips one of the plugs out of the wall behind it, sounding an alarm outside the room. Staff swarm the doors to the Bay immediately-- the on-call is asking for a history, respiratory is trying to push through with the code cart... What was initially assumed to be simple dumpshock may have turned out to be something much more insidious.
| >>553681
>Aikawa slows her wave as she watches Shane zip past, her arms gradually falling to her sides. What the fuck...?
"Heyyyy...!! Hey, where are y--"
>As he zooms by again, she thinks it best to get out of the way a little bit. Won't do the Blue Lantern any good if she ends up one of the casualties there. She moves, warned of his approach by the sound of the bike and Shane screaming.
| >>553673 >>553682
>Michi overhears the nurse giving the MD a brief history of the patient's hospital course: ejected from the Matrix mid-dive, fell with headstrike and subsequent loss of consciousness... came in to be screened for concussion and was found to have a pretty good one. Tox screen negative save for a pretty decent quantity of karmotrine. Says he knocks back a bottle every other day or so.
>Doesn't sound too good...
| >>553689
>Honed wannabe biker instincts zoom in on the first chance to safely stop by his intended passenger. Or rather, he notices that he MAY have overreacted. In the back of his head, he hopes that Evrilson's Delivery (Our Reds Are Faster) won't be going viral for the wrong reasons.
"Sorry, ma'am. Mind hoppin' on?"
>Shane pats the seat behind him, ready to take off once Aikawa is safely on. Can't have the doc flying off your bike, bad show.
| >>553692
>Michi looks on, turning the history over in his head. How the hell did this guy not die from karmotrine poisoning? That wouldn't bode well for his concussion either- scratch that, it already wasn't. Was the seizure related to his binging or the probable brain damage?
>He makes room for the code cart, unsure of what else to do at the very moment.
| >>553709
>The human body is a terrifying thing, Michi-- it can get used to damned near anything you throw at it if you do it long enough. That doesn't come without long term consequences, though...
>Post-seizure state makes examination a little tricky, as traditionally people are pretty unresponsive afterwards and this guy is no exception. It is notable that his breathing is all over the place, and... his right pupil doesn't react to light. At all.
| >>553701
>Shane doesn't have to worry about Aikawa badmouthing the delivery service he works for-- both because she's a little out of it, and because she doesn't get the joke. Looking a little perturbed, she wanders over to the gravbike and tries to get herself situated on the back of it.
"Where... do I hang on, exactly?"
>Her paramedic/EMT license lets her drive an ambulance, but they haven't started allowing bikes yet.
| >>553720
>Shane laughs a bit, nodding upwards and pointing to himself and flexing with the same arm.
"Y'mean on >>>who roight? Or like, whom? Nananah, kiddin' ya."
>Waving off the joke, he still has a grin on his face like a bar boor whose confident he's got a good pickup line this time. It's more cheeky than lecherous, however.
"There's these handrests for ya here, ma'am."
>It's not dissimilar to a bent ring. Aikawa would have to lean forward to grip it.
| >>553720
>As Aikawa fumbles to find a handhold, she realizes two things: the first is that she hasn't introduced herself, and for all this guy knows she's just another crazy fucknuts ready to light up the town. The second is that she is still... very, very sweaty. She leans away from Shane a bit, not wanting to offend.
"Uh, I'm... Aikawa. S-SEGFAULT on the 'net."
>She slips her phone back into her pocket and zips it up. Don't want to lose that on the ride there.
"... Thanks."
| >Everything shakes violently as an enormous vehicle roars overhead- those who are outside watch what appears to be a heavily armored military grade drop ship rip through the sky, flying far too low to the ground.
>Perhaps what's more concerning is that it's clear that this isn't an in-atmosphere vehicle- its, for all intents and purposes, a spaceship.
| >>553720 >>553795
"Right, right! Y'like my lil mate! Ai-za-wa ma'am, I'll be Shane jus 'bout anywhere."
"Feet on footrests 'til stoppin, k? Gimme tap to slow, 2 't pull over. Y'can drop anythin in the backbox-"
>>553799
>If this was a wheeled bike, Shane's happy lil souped up overcompensation-mobile would be tipped over. Nevertheless, the grav bike still feels the fuckhuge vibrations.
>Shane turns his wide-eyed gaze to the sky, then the hospital. How could he not?
| >>553803
>His crude vocabulary is lost to him at the moment. With only a short warning to his passenger to hang on and be ready, Shane speeds off.
>It's doubtful Aizawa can see his face at the moment, but he seems to be as regretful as he is panicked. Fucking hell, if he just drove 2 of his friends to get bombed by aliens! Just-!
| >>553803
"'Lil mate"...? O-oh, you mean--"
>Her gaze follows Shane's, but only for a moment-- as the bike jets off, the view of the hospital is torn away from her. She grabs frantically for the handle she was shown earlier, and ends up with her face in Shane's back.
"... Got someone in there, too?! The 'lil bud' you posted about...?!"
>She turns her head so her cheek is up against him and tries to shout over the roar of the bike.
"... They'll be okay...! They have to be...!!"
| >>553803
>The military dropship- and what a hackjob it is, one of the engines was clearly welded together with aftermarket parts- rips past everything with careless abandon. It's clearly heading toward Downtown!
| >>553815
>Aikawa feels like someone's ripped her chest wide open as the dropship soars overhead. Wind stings her face as she looks back.
"SHANE...!! WE... CAN'T...!!"
>She screams, wanting desperately to turn around. But, if I didn't leave now... I would have never. Is that... what he'd want? Or is this somehow any better?
"ROY...!!"
>As if he could hear her, now.
| >>553815
>Xiria suddenly raises her head as the ground rumbles
"Hmm, so they return, good, good... We should also do our best gentlemen, and those who are also not so gentle"
>She says as she returns to her deck with renewed ardor
| >>553818
>The nurse and the aide look frightened as the tremor occurs again, stronger this time. Roy and Dr. Edison are trying their damndest to maintain their composure, and so far Edison is winning.
"'T-they?' Dr. Xiria, please--"
>Roy steps in front of her, holding his hands as if he's about to clasp them together. It's unlike Roy to beg, but... these are extenuating circumstances.
"--is there something we should kno--"
>The overhead page that then sounds cuts Roy off.
| >>553830
"Code black, code black in progress-- I repeat, code black in progress surrounding hospital grounds."
>Roy's mouth goes dry. The nurse and the aide are petrified. Even Dr. Edison looks a little freaked. All are hoping that their patient has no clue as to what's going on, because the situation had looked bleak to begin with-- and now things are downright grim. Why?
>Code black, of course, is hospital speak for "bomb threat."
"O-oh... oh, god..."
| [Emergency Room, Waiting Area]
>As the page repeats overhead throughout the hospital, the nurses in the triage booths tending to patients exchange panicked glances. Ella (who was about to go see what that rapid was about) speaks first:
"We need to get everyone we possibly can down to floor B3-- leave your belongings behind and follow us!! Those who can walk, help another who can't!"
>The patients in the waiting room know something's up, they just don't know how "up" it is.
| [Emergency Ward, Bay 5]
>The warning almost goes unnoticed by those staff in the midst of trying to figure out what made Sayuri's roomie seize without warning. Someone in the mass of people calls out--
"Hey-- Quiet, everyone, quiet-- there's a code--!!"
>If it weren't for the beeping of monitors and equipment in various rooms, you could have heard a pin drop. You can pretty much /feel/ everyone's /hearts/ drop as what they thought they heard is confirmed.
"... What...?!"
| >>553838
>Michi may not know precisely what the exact situation is, but from the rumbling that nearly sent him tumbling and the staff's looks he has a rough idea what the 'code' meant.
>He takes a breath like a draft of karmotrine and readies himself for whatever happens next. Sayuri must be scared out of her mind. Hopefully she hasn't gone the same as the poor sap.
"Black, right? Where do we move?"
| >>553842
>Staff disperse to each room of the wing to delicately inform the patients within that they need to move... right fucking now. All involved in the rapid stay behind for the time being. They'll stabilize this guy best they can, then move. One of the nurses answers Michi:
"Basement Level 3. Normally we'd evacuate and move immobile patients down to the shelter there, but... this is the call admin made."
>Sayuri seems utterly, hopelessly lost.
| >>553818 >>553830 >>553831
>Dr. Edison is the first to break the deafening silence within Bay 3.
"... Well? Are we moving her? It's not like we can just pull that metal chunk out of her and then bring her downstairs."
>Roy is next to speak, still trying to work something out with Xiria.
"Dr. Xiria... all I need you to find out right now is whether it's safe to transport her. We need to get to the hospital's lowest basement level. We can work on details later."
| >>553348
>Roy then returns to the patient's side, and with utmost regret tries to break the news to her as gently as humanly possible.
"Strawberry, something is happening outside right now-- we don't know exactly what it is, but it's putting everyone in the hospital in a lot of danger."
>He swallows hard.
"I can't operate right now. I want to, and I will, but I can't now. We need to get to safety."
>He places a hand on her shoulder.
"Is there anyone you want me to call...?"
| >>554007
"Who should I call for you? What should I tell them?"
>Roy toys with the thought of alerting CN, but knows that if he does this he'll reveal Strawberry's location-- not what Geeky wanted. Does that really put her in harm's way any more than she is now, though...?
This thread is permanently archived
| >On the edge of the darkened (and now smoldering in some places) Downtown district stands Neo San Francisco Medical Center, a goodly sized hospital that's normally busy on a day-to-day basis given its location and the large patient population it serves. Tonight however, is wildly different than any other before: emergency vehicles swarm the ambulance bay, flashing blue and red on the sides of the neighboring unlit buildings.