The troop transport swooped down onto the roof of station 22, the pilot engaging its repulsorlift to bring it gently to the ground, fitting snuggly between several shuttles already parked there. Face and Garan grabbed both sides of the stretcher, lifting Fenn out of the transport and onto solid concrete, the medic beside them, checking Fenn's vitals as they jogged to the entrance, where a group of medical staff waited to meet them. As they neared, one of them stepped forward.
'What do we have here, medic?' the tall, dark-skinned man said authoritatively, leaning down to inspect Fenn's readout. Face had to look twice to realise that it was Tarrik. He looked different. Confident. Stern.
'Point blank gut shot, sir,' said the medic.
'A nasty wound,' Tarrik waved several nurses forward, who took Fenn's off of the stretcher and placed them on a gurney, which hovered at waist height, activating a stasis field as they did so, to keep Fenn stable. 'I don't like the look of this trooper's vitals,' Tarrik's veneer of calm faltered briefly and he looked worried.
'Hold on a second,' interjected another doctor. 'I'm on call tonight, this is my patient.'
'Well I'm here now so you can get the next one,' Tarrik replied absently, once again calm. 'Bring them down to OR-3. Not a moment to lose. I'll call down and prepare the transplant team.'
'I'll be the one to call,' said the other doctor, 'and who are you anyway?'
'Trauma surgeon from station 23,' said Tarrik, the words coming easily to him. 'But now's not the time. I've a patient to see to.'
'Excuse me,' said the doctor, but Face stepped in front of him.
'You said you're a trauma surgeon?' he asked Tarrik, making his voice sound harsh, his accent more working class. At Tarrik's nod, he turned to the other doctor. 'Right, now this here surgeon's going to take care of my friend, and I'll have no lip from you. All right?'
'Now you listen to me, trooper, I am a lieutenant, and you have no authority-'
'Oh I have every authority, made. This here is my squaddie. And this here is my blaster. That's authority enough. Now this is doc here says he can patch up my friend, and that's what he's going to do. All right?' Face didn't wait for an answer, but jogged to catch up to Tarrik and Fenn and the rest of the medical staff, who were already in the large elevator, reading to take them down to the medical wing. All the way down, Tarrik spoke into a commlink, listing off all the cybernetic implants he'd need to replace Fenn's destroyed and damaged organs, the other surgeons and nurses stripping Fenn of their armour and undergarments, fitting several intravenous lines into their arm, then hooking blood bags up to the gurney's side, as well as several other bags filled with clear liquids that Face could only guess at the contents. It was chaos, but an organised chaos, each person clearly knowing what was expected of them, and they carried out their tasks with quick efficiency that made Face feel hopeful.
The doors opened and the medical team raced out and down the straight hallway, leaving Face, Ka'iulani and Garan in the elevator, forlornly watching their backs. Tentatively, they stepped out. Thanks to Face's incursion several nights before, and Tarrik feeding them information over his hidden commlink, they had good working knowledge of most of the layout of the base, so they weren't lost, but they certainly felt like it. After all that prep work to get to this moment, it felt strange to suddenly do nothing but wait. It was an awful feeling, knowing the fate of their mission was in someone else's hands, even if those hands were of a trusted Nexu.
They walked cautiously down the corridor, following in the wake of the medical team, only to find their way to OR-3 was barred by doors that said 'MEDICAL PERSONNEL ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT'. They looked to each other, shrugged, and went beyond this point, only to be met, curiously, by a Miraluka woman who, like most of her species did, wore a visor to cover her lack of eyes. Face frowned, surprised to see an alien here. He looked to Garan, whose helmet had to have the padding hacked out in order to fit his bulbous head, and felt some relief. If it came to it, a non-human stormtrooper wouldn't seem too out of place.
