The Hospital Ship of Azur Lane (Slow Updates)

Repairs part 1

With the fires out, DS calls for one of his fire trucks on the two-way radio, with the Scania responding to the crash site. Since the previous attempt to pull EM-1 out failed, he's going to try using the fire truck to two him out. It's bigger, it's heavier, so it might as well be able to pull EM-1 out of the crater with much more ease. Things would have been much easier if he had a tow truck or even better, a telescopic crane to lift not just EM-1, but damaged objects in general. But the Red Cross isn't a construction company. Other than firefighting, they can't do anything else as a medical service. Rebuilding damaged structures or hospitals is way out of their jurisdiction. Their tents and ambulances are pretty much enough for them. Sure they would like to assist in the rebuilding efforts in war zones, but it's just not up to them unfortunately, and DS knows that very well. Sometimes he wishes he could have been a floating crane. He might have contributed less that way, but at least he would have been able to build shelters for those who need them. But apparently, his fate is to cure and treat the wounded.

With the fire truck having arrived, DS pulls out the winch and attaches it to the rear bumber of the Lotus. This time, the towing attempt won't fail.

-'You ready?', asks DS through his two-way radio.

-'Ready here', replies the fire truck.

-'Alright then, heave', says DS and the truck starts to slowly pull the Lotus out. This time, the attempt proves successful as the car appears to be slowly moving. The truck retratcts its winch very slowly as EM-1's axles are on the verge of breaking apart. One sudden move and the entire thing will fall off, thus immobilizing the car. The fire truck itself knows that better than anyone else as it has done that many times before. There were several times where it had to tow away crashed or rolled over ambulances in Austronesia, and it has done so successfully and without any mishaps occuring on its watch, so this is nothing. The inly difference is that it will have to be extra careful as it drags the car out.

With a little bit of effort and caution, the Lotus is pulled out of the crater. Surprisignly, the axles are still intact. That's a good thing because it will allow DS to move the car with much less difficulty. Problem is that they need a crane and a flatbed trailer to move it, and he has neither. Maybe he can ask for Vestal to provide him one. She is a repair ship, so she might as well have the necessary equipment that he lacks.

-'Do you have any flatbed trucks I could use?', asks DS to Vestal, who is trying to pull her sleeve back down after having completed the medical checkup.

-'I might have something. I just need to take a look', replies Vestal.

-'I better come with you and assist', continues DS.

-'As you wish', says Vestal and they both get in the Jeep.

-'Rescue 1, stay here on standby, I might need you to tow EM-1 again', says DS to his fire truck through his two-way radio again.

-'Copy that, standing by', replies the fire truck.

With that being arranged, DS drives back to the main harbor where his and Vestal's ships are stationed. DS for somereason looks much more concerned. The medical test he did on Vestal came up with some very conerning results. Scans showed that she had part the shrapnel she got hit with were too close to her bones, meaning they could have fractured her body parts. Not only that, it appears that some sort of rust germs had infected her blood cells. He doesn't know what they are exactly, but it appeared to be similar to what is encountered in a metal fatigue condition. If a ship's part is infected, then it can spread towards the entire structure. The only way to counter it is to wash it away with soap and some alcohol or even with hot water, depending on the ship's parts and areas. DS has seen what metal fatigue does to a ship, and it's not something pleasant. Because once the entire ship is infected, the condition becomes equivalent to a terminal illness or worse, like cancer. If left untreated, Vestal only has one to two years left, so he has to act fast and remove the disease before it spreads any further.