To Hell and Back (Hellworlder pirates)

Ch8 Action

Action

Piracy, Karega had said piracy. When she asked him about the weapons he had said piracy. That they were for piracy...she didn't think he meant they were all pirates! She thought they were for fighting off pirates. By the goddess, he had even said that Terra's reputation as a pirate haven was well earned. He had told her the truth the whole fucking time and she was to stupid to see it!

Thinking back over her time aboard too many weird things all started to make sense. The weapons, the insane physical condition, the armories, the armor and swords, and even the marreens. It must be a Terran word for pirate or raider. Oh Ashendra, she ate and laughed with a pirate. She had shouted at a pirate bosun. A pirate made a move on her.

She really wanted to break down in tears, the only thing that stopped that was the fact that she would be crying in a pirate ship!

When she arrived at the med bay a group of men had brought another screaming man in on stretcher, blood and burnt flesh assaulted her nose. They brought him up to the operating table and rolled him off before standing back.

"You have work to do, LEAVE!" the fanged Ursiloid growled, the pirate Ursiloid. "Djani get over here!"

Startled out of her stupor she rushed forward; the other men looked back once more before reluctantly leaving.

"Coolant pipe burst in engineering, the steam melted his thumb, first, and second digits clean off, the rest are too badly burned to save. We have to amputate." He said while pushing the man back onto the table, at the word amputate he began to struggle harder. "Help me with the straps and get ready to operate"

"But-"

"But what" he growled, all his fearsome teeth on display.

"He's a Pirate!" she exclaimed.

His anger deepened "doesn't fucking matter, you're a doctor and he's hurt, your this ship's doctor and he's a crewman! His health and well being is your responsibility, pirate or not! And I'm offended at your disgust!" he roared at her from over the man, who struggled less. "Now scrub up and prepare to operate, just for that I'm making you do the cutting. Grab that bone saw on your left, today is your first real day aboard."

Stunned Alwen did as he said, she scrubbed and sanitized as faster than she ever had before and grabbed the bone saw, an old-fashioned hand one. Her heart was pumping, and she was terrified of making a mistake with the blade. Back on Torwen she had only just got out of university and thanks to her sister's meddling she was really just a glorified overeducated nurse.

But she moved past that and helped Doctor Bachir strap the engineer down and she began to soothe him, just like she had a hundred times before on Torwen. "Its alright, its alright, tell me your name" she crooned and brushed back his hair.

"Em, em, em kay Douglas" he stuttered out through the pain.

"Alright Douglas, I'm going to give you something for the pain." She said slipping the needle easily into the vein of his undamaged arm.

"m,m,my hand, is gone" he cried.

"Don't say that boy" the doctor said, picking up on Alwen's tone "We have to remove the damaged part and fit it with a cuff. We'll make a cybernetic one for you when you're better and then if you want I can put an order in to get a new hand grown for you, it will be hard for a few months but you're a tough lad, you can make it." Doctor Bachir said as they fell into a comfortable working rhythm