"OW! That so totally hurts!" -- Charles Xavier

[cityship]

The battle against the Ohm raged on, and the casualties on the ground were mounting. Injured crew members got emergency treatment in the field, which largely amounted to patching them up so they wouldn't die sometime within the next fifteen minutes. After that, they were quickly picked up by shuttle and brought back to the ship, where they were sent to a medbay that was getting progressively more crowded.

The situation was growing increasingly dire, to the point that Stacy activated one of the AI's to help out.



"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

Comments

[governorkang]

It felt like forever, but it really only took about thirty seconds for the pain to lose some of its edge. Kang took deep breaths, steeling himself, and let out a brief hiss when he let go of his injured arm to remove his belt for something to bite onto; he knew he'd need it.

"Okay. Get it over with."

[notlewis]

Luis nodded and went to stand behind him-- first taking a minute to type something into the medical console nearby. Three tentacles, about the width of a human arm but as long as necessary, snaked their way out of the wall just behind Kang. They were soft and warm as they carefully secured themselves around his injured arm. Luis' own hand joined them a moment later, his other one bracing on Kang's back under his wings.

"Hang on to something," he said. "Five. Four. Three. Two-"

And right on the two, they pulled on the dislocated limb, popping it up and back into place.

[governorkang]

Kang bit down onto the leather, hard, and failed to hold back a muffled scream at the intense pain that shot through him. Instinctively, his wings flared out, one of them hitting a table and knocking a tray of tools onto the floor; the other only added to the pain as the broken bone shifted. Luckily for Luis, they missed hitting him in the face.

[notlewis]

Barely. Luis still ended up against the wall behind him, uncomfortably close to the tentacles sliding back into the wall beside him.

He was never going to get used to that.

He was quick to collect himself, though. Then he was up and scrambling to deal with the pained Draconian. "I've got something you're really going to like," he murmured, picking up another needle and a second bottle of pain medicine from the tools that had spilled. He hurried to inject another dose right at the source, on a vein between his neck and shoulder.

[governorkang]

Holy shit. Kang was pretty sure it was worse than the time he'd mangled his hand, and that was saying something. He was grateful for the second shot of painkillers, and as they began to take effect, he slowly pulled his wings back in against his back, careful not to aggravate the broken one any more than necessary. He panted, taking the leather belt out of his mouth, and glanced down at the deep punctures from his fangs, "Lady of the Abyss, that was painful."

[notlewis]

"Sorry about that, amigo," Luis said sympathetically. "But the worst of it should be over, I hope." Except for the compound fracture and the broken wing and all. But the ship was good at knitting bones together once they were set, and with all those painkillers it wouldn't be quite as bad.

"What happened to you, anyway? I've been stuck up here, I didn't get to see the action down there." Thank God.

[governorkang]

"You had to. No need to apologize," Kang assured Luis, slumping back into the chair and cradling his injured arm against his body with a wince. "One of the Grunts caught me off-guard, slammed me against a wall. Bastard."

[notlewis]

Luis was working on the wing first, since it seemed more likely he would move it too quickly on accident... as five seconds ago would attest. Fortunately, the drugs dampened the sensations as he carefully pushed the bone back into place and got to work applying a splint.

"Better than I would have done, I'm sure," he insisted. "I guess it got ugly down there."

[governorkang]

Kang laughed grimly, "I managed to kill a good number of them before this happened. There were just so many of them; they wouldn't stop coming." He paused, looking down and muttering a curse.

"...just like Teyr. Too many."

[notlewis]

There was no good way to take care of this wing, so Luis settled for bracing it to Kang's back. Inconvenient and probably uncomfortable, but better than waving it around, in any case.

He didn't have much of a comment for how the battle was apparently going. Luis was not fond of thinking much along those lines-- it was much more comforting to focus on something he knew he could do, here.

"This is the best I can do for now," he admitted. "Your arm, that's a different story. But I've never splinted a wing before."

[governorkang]

"I appreciate the fact that you're trying," Kang smiled. "And from what I can tell, you did fine. I've had a broken wing before. The orderly did the same thing."

[notlewis]

"Hey, no problem," Luis said with an awkward half a smile as he continued working. "I'm actually not a medical doctor at all..."

A pause. "But I used to work in medical research and I know the ins and outs well enough to know what I'm doing anyway." He added the last part quickly, as though hoping to prevent Kang springing to his feet and rushing away.

[governorkang]

Kang laughed, wincing when it sent a twinge of pain through his arm, "You don't need to worry. You obviously know enough, and it can't be that difficult to set a limb." Oh, he was so glad for the painkillers. He would have been in agony still otherwise.

"And really, I do appreciate it. Very few humans back on Krynn would have bothered to help me."

[notlewis]

"I guess every world's got things in common. Like bigots." Luis finished up on the wing and eyed it, still not quite satisfied-- but the treatment would have to do. He couldn't stop thinking how he'd feel better if he had any idea of the full workings of Draconian anatomy.

"Now let's see about that arm," he said, pulling up a stool beside Kang and going for another set of bandages.

[governorkang]

"...well, there's reason for that. That war I mentioned, a long time ago, we weren't on the 'good' side of it," Kang pointed out, his tone gaining a serious edge to it. "We have - had - a reputation."

[notlewis]

Kang might have noticed Luis make an odd face at that-- though it could have been dismissed as a look of concentration while he worked on sopping up the blood around the compound fracture and disinfecting the area.

"People make mistakes," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Fight for causes they don't fully understand, or things they later change their minds on."

And some people were just stupid. Like himself!

[governorkang]

Unfortunately for Luis, Kang had spent more than enough time around humans to be able to pick up on their body language and facial expressions. He caught the odd look, and shook his head, "It's more complicated than that. I can tell you, if you want, at a later date."

[notlewis]

"Up to you. It's none of my business," Luis reminded him, still looking a bit perturbed. He glanced up at the Draconian, then down at the fracture. "Five, four, three-"

This time on the three, he quickly moved the bone back into place and immediately held it firm, getting started on the splint.

"Sorry again."

[governorkang]

Kang nodded, and braced himself, gritting his teeth. This time, he was able to keep his wings from flaring; he thanked every god he'd ever heard of for those painkillers in his system, even the ones from the good pantheon. It still hurt, though, and he cursed, "Bloody hell. At least it wasn't my right side."

[notlewis]

"There we go." He got to work securing bandages around the splint and securing the bandages tightly around his arm.

"Well, once things settle down a bit we can see about some more advanced treatments-- once you get an actual doctor to look at you," Luis said. "In the meantime, is there anything else I can do for you?"

[governorkang]

"I can take care of the rest," Kang motioned toward the cuts and scratches on his right wing. "I just need some water and a clean cloth."