Re: The Phenomenal Fracas! (GBS2G6): [Round Three: HMS Thunderhead]
04-13-2011, 08:00 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by granolaman.
Chief Medical Officer Mickey Marrow had been dreading this day. No space voyage ever went off without a hitch. There was always some sort of medical disaster, and the longer it took to happen, the worse it was going to be. And now, a mere 102 minutes out of port, and still no sign of trouble, the sense of grim anticipation around Mickey’s head was nearly overwhelming. Still, maybe this trip was different, maybe for once in his long life everything would go exactly as planned. After all, they’d been on this trip for weeks and nothing’s happened yet, what trouble could brew in the next two hours?
Mickey was just lighting his victory cigarette when a panting guard burst into the infirmary with a blanket-wrapped girl in his arms.
“Doctor Marrow!” the guard gasped out setting her on a nearby table, “She just started screaming and then collapsed on the floor sir!” He bent down to catch his breath and when he looked back up the doctor was already unwrapping her.
The girl was curled into a fetal position and shivering wildly. Under her breath, words like stupid, lightning, and Non-Euclidean stood out in a never-ending slew of mutterings. This girl was quite mad. Mickey reached for his Anesthe-stick, “All right now go over the story slowly,” he said to the guard, “every detail you can recall will be useful.” He passed the anesthe-stick over the girl’s head and saw her muscles relax, her murmuring stop. Able to continue, he laid her out on the table.
Feeling relieved that the girl wasn’t screaming or muttering or choking on scarves anymore, the guard continued, “No papers, as far as I can tell. She was wandering around Deck 45 near the chasm with her giant pet snake thing.”
Mickey felt her forehead and frowned. No signs of fever, what could be ailing her? He began peeling off her sweater when he felt the damp spot around her stomach. A bead of sweat trickled down his face as he slowly uncovered the tentacle segment lodged in her abdomen. His frown deepened. “You say she was wandering around? As in walking?”
“Aye sir, right up till she keeled over.” The guard peered over Mickey’s shoulder at the girl and went pale. “Cripes, is she gonna be all right?”
Mickey noted the drying blood around the wound. “If she’s been able to walk with this thing in her, then it can’t be too bad.” He felt the area around the wound with a soft analyzing hand. “There may have been internal bleeding, but for some reason it’s stopped. I think Ms. Jane Doe here will pull through.”
“Oh, her name is Eureka sir.”
“I thought you said she didn’t have any papers.”
“She doesn’t, I heard the giant snake say it.”
“…”Mickey paused and turned to face the guard. “Are you feeling alright Officer?”
“Dalton sir, and I’m well enough doc.”
“And how long have you been hearing giant snakes?”
“Hey she’s the crazy one, not me!”
Mickey turned back to Eureka and examined the tentacle again. “Just as well, consider seeing the ship’s therapist and taking a few day’s leave when we land. Too much time in the black wears on all our sanities.” He poked at the foreign object, “If we get Ms. ‘Eureka’ here over to surgery, we should be able to pull whatever this is ou-“
The doctor was cut short by the sudden liveliness of the girl’s clothes. Pieces of what he guessed might have once been a fancy suit leapt from the table and wrapped themselves around the wound and tightened. An anguished scream escaped Eureka’s mouth as she jerked violently upright. The medical sheet and blanket beneath her tore into pieces and flew into the air, spinning wildly and preventing anyone from getting close to her. “Noooo! Go away go away go away!”
Mickey backed away slowly, remaining as calm as possible as he reached for the anasthe-stick. Dalton, on the other hand, was already yelling frantically into his comm. device, “Lock down the infirmary! Send back-up! We’ve some kind of crazy hostile shit here!” He was reaching for his gun when a strap of cloth reached out and knocked him across the room.
Mickey was less than comfortable being trapped in here with this tempest. He took refuge behind a counter and spoke softly and calmly. “Easy there lady, there are armed guards on their way, we don’t want them to accidentally shoot you now.” A chair went flying in his direction. “Goddamit woman, would you calm down already?!” The table came flying at him this time. This calming tactic wasn’t working.
The sound of muffled gunfire came from near the infirmary door. What the hell could they be shooting at? Mickey thought, the damn threat is in here! The muted yells from the people outside stopped short with a loud crash as something hit the door. For a moment, there was nothing, but the angry muttering of the girl filling the air.
“Go away go away go away go away”
The door exploded open in a cloud of dust as a man in a large coat and hat stepped through. He looked into the room before his eyes fell on the girl in the middle of it. He started towards her.
“Go away! Go away! Why can’t you all just leave me alone!” she screamed again as she launched a flurry of sharp strips of cloth at his face. The man batted the attack aside with ease and continued forward. In his hand a clump of sand gathered and formed a sphere.
“You’re coming with me, witch.” The ball of sand launched from his hand with a surge of speed and clocked the girl in the head. She crumpled to the ground in a pile, out cold. The man closed the distance, bent down and hoisted her over his shoulder. The man turned towards the door. “All right, where to next?”
Mickey looked around to see who he was talking to. Nobody else seemed to be in the room. Nevertheless, the man nodded and walked out of the room, the sand on the floor climbing into his coat as he went. After a moment to make sure he was gone, Mickey crawled out from behind his hiding spot and made his way to the infirmary door. That sense of dread came back as he smelled the blood in the hallway. Behind him, Officer Dalton groaned in pain as he came to.
97 minutes till port. It was going to be a bad day.
Chief Medical Officer Mickey Marrow had been dreading this day. No space voyage ever went off without a hitch. There was always some sort of medical disaster, and the longer it took to happen, the worse it was going to be. And now, a mere 102 minutes out of port, and still no sign of trouble, the sense of grim anticipation around Mickey’s head was nearly overwhelming. Still, maybe this trip was different, maybe for once in his long life everything would go exactly as planned. After all, they’d been on this trip for weeks and nothing’s happened yet, what trouble could brew in the next two hours?
Mickey was just lighting his victory cigarette when a panting guard burst into the infirmary with a blanket-wrapped girl in his arms.
“Doctor Marrow!” the guard gasped out setting her on a nearby table, “She just started screaming and then collapsed on the floor sir!” He bent down to catch his breath and when he looked back up the doctor was already unwrapping her.
The girl was curled into a fetal position and shivering wildly. Under her breath, words like stupid, lightning, and Non-Euclidean stood out in a never-ending slew of mutterings. This girl was quite mad. Mickey reached for his Anesthe-stick, “All right now go over the story slowly,” he said to the guard, “every detail you can recall will be useful.” He passed the anesthe-stick over the girl’s head and saw her muscles relax, her murmuring stop. Able to continue, he laid her out on the table.
Feeling relieved that the girl wasn’t screaming or muttering or choking on scarves anymore, the guard continued, “No papers, as far as I can tell. She was wandering around Deck 45 near the chasm with her giant pet snake thing.”
Mickey felt her forehead and frowned. No signs of fever, what could be ailing her? He began peeling off her sweater when he felt the damp spot around her stomach. A bead of sweat trickled down his face as he slowly uncovered the tentacle segment lodged in her abdomen. His frown deepened. “You say she was wandering around? As in walking?”
“Aye sir, right up till she keeled over.” The guard peered over Mickey’s shoulder at the girl and went pale. “Cripes, is she gonna be all right?”
Mickey noted the drying blood around the wound. “If she’s been able to walk with this thing in her, then it can’t be too bad.” He felt the area around the wound with a soft analyzing hand. “There may have been internal bleeding, but for some reason it’s stopped. I think Ms. Jane Doe here will pull through.”
“Oh, her name is Eureka sir.”
“I thought you said she didn’t have any papers.”
“She doesn’t, I heard the giant snake say it.”
“…”Mickey paused and turned to face the guard. “Are you feeling alright Officer?”
“Dalton sir, and I’m well enough doc.”
“And how long have you been hearing giant snakes?”
“Hey she’s the crazy one, not me!”
Mickey turned back to Eureka and examined the tentacle again. “Just as well, consider seeing the ship’s therapist and taking a few day’s leave when we land. Too much time in the black wears on all our sanities.” He poked at the foreign object, “If we get Ms. ‘Eureka’ here over to surgery, we should be able to pull whatever this is ou-“
The doctor was cut short by the sudden liveliness of the girl’s clothes. Pieces of what he guessed might have once been a fancy suit leapt from the table and wrapped themselves around the wound and tightened. An anguished scream escaped Eureka’s mouth as she jerked violently upright. The medical sheet and blanket beneath her tore into pieces and flew into the air, spinning wildly and preventing anyone from getting close to her. “Noooo! Go away go away go away!”
Mickey backed away slowly, remaining as calm as possible as he reached for the anasthe-stick. Dalton, on the other hand, was already yelling frantically into his comm. device, “Lock down the infirmary! Send back-up! We’ve some kind of crazy hostile shit here!” He was reaching for his gun when a strap of cloth reached out and knocked him across the room.
Mickey was less than comfortable being trapped in here with this tempest. He took refuge behind a counter and spoke softly and calmly. “Easy there lady, there are armed guards on their way, we don’t want them to accidentally shoot you now.” A chair went flying in his direction. “Goddamit woman, would you calm down already?!” The table came flying at him this time. This calming tactic wasn’t working.
The sound of muffled gunfire came from near the infirmary door. What the hell could they be shooting at? Mickey thought, the damn threat is in here! The muted yells from the people outside stopped short with a loud crash as something hit the door. For a moment, there was nothing, but the angry muttering of the girl filling the air.
“Go away go away go away go away”
The door exploded open in a cloud of dust as a man in a large coat and hat stepped through. He looked into the room before his eyes fell on the girl in the middle of it. He started towards her.
“Go away! Go away! Why can’t you all just leave me alone!” she screamed again as she launched a flurry of sharp strips of cloth at his face. The man batted the attack aside with ease and continued forward. In his hand a clump of sand gathered and formed a sphere.
“You’re coming with me, witch.” The ball of sand launched from his hand with a surge of speed and clocked the girl in the head. She crumpled to the ground in a pile, out cold. The man closed the distance, bent down and hoisted her over his shoulder. The man turned towards the door. “All right, where to next?”
Mickey looked around to see who he was talking to. Nobody else seemed to be in the room. Nevertheless, the man nodded and walked out of the room, the sand on the floor climbing into his coat as he went. After a moment to make sure he was gone, Mickey crawled out from behind his hiding spot and made his way to the infirmary door. That sense of dread came back as he smelled the blood in the hallway. Behind him, Officer Dalton groaned in pain as he came to.
97 minutes till port. It was going to be a bad day.