In the spaceport. Medical teamschecks the status and vital signs of the refugees making sure they are resting well and feel safe and relieved. The refugees that arrived escaping the conflict in a system that the confederates recently invaded, consisted a whole fleet of random ships. Galleon ships, freighters, starliners. All barely escaped in one piece.
Some of the medical teams consisted of local nurses. The amount of refugee ships increased, requiring the government more hands to assist. Wearing their hospital uniform to differentiate them from the central government personel and local government personel.
One of the refugees, a little boy woke up crying. Jenna in her nurse unifirom walks to him and pats his shoulder. He looks at her slowly and offers him a bottle of water. The boy drinks the water fast. He nearly chokes and coughs.
The boy's clothes is still dirty. Mud stains in his shoes and the smell of sweat from the cramped spaces of the ship he and other refugees boarded still linger. She looks around the room of there are people glancing at the boy that made it look like relative or atleast knew the boy. There seem to be none unfortunately.
Jenna tries to calm him down but he keeps crying. Telling her his parents, siblings and friends are gone. Jenna sighs and wipes the tears off of the boy's face and hugs the boy to calm him down whispering in his ear he is safe.. The boy hugs Jenna back.
After another few hours of making sure the refugees safely make it to Rhombus via shuttle craft she exits the spaceport. Through the port holes, stinger class gunships outside the space port monitor ships docking. Their protruding spinal gauss guns ready to fire any moment. From what she heard, security in the colonies has been rising by the day. Hopefully it wont escalate any further.
Looking up at the bright white thermal rod acting as an artificial sun for the space habitat, it glows dimmer and dimmer, shifting to the night cycle. She calls for a taxi and rides to the habitat's hospital. The thermal rod is as bright as the moon. The thremal rod finishing its shift to the night cycle.
Writing her report in the ER desk, having been assigned in the emergency department since the war broke out and was experienced in dealing with combat casualties that gained her some experience during the Co federate Vanguard Fleet's attack.
She looks up at the wall mounted holo screen of the ward, the news feed broadcasting again with breaking news. The battle for the Sylda system has been lost. A few months ago Sylda was well defended. Not a single confederate fleet made it inside the system unscathe. That was the problem. The surviving confederate ships regrouped in a gas giant and asteroid field and dropped asteroids and large debris into the local planets and used them as a distraction to land troops.
It wasnt the first time they used such a tactic. But using heavenly bodies as kinetic weapons were banned. It was a common subject taught in history class that all things in space can be a weapon of mass destruction and as such all warfare is conducted with no such weaponization of asteroids and meteors. What they did was a war crime, and it wasnt the only crime they commited. And it made them win easily and conquer more systems.
And because of that, the war is affecting everyone. Even in the most safest corner of the galaxy. Rhombus included. The threat of confederate invasion looms. No one knows when they will come. When the defenses will fall. Everyone is nervous.
While some decided to sign up to fight the invaders.
Remembering the recruitment leaflet in Emily's room she feels anxious she'll leave. Other than her colleages and coworkers, she is the only person reminding her of home and whats left of it. She looks at the picture of her friends in her desk when they were in highschool. The same picture they took before she left for university on another planet.
It was an opportunity she can only take once. She had to go. But her friends. Especially Emily didnt want her to to the point she cried as she departed begging her to stay even when they were inside the space port's departure area. It was an awkward moment but thinking about it now.
Once Emily leaves her, will she too cry and beg for her to stay? Beg she wont go and fight? The federation is at war. Many bodies are coming home. Some only their known belongings. The thought of Emily coming home in a body bag or whats left of her. Its something she would never think of. It petrifies her. The sight of Emily's battered and bloodied body back in Calhoun scared her to the brim.
The more she thought of it. Jenna loses her grip on the pen and falls under the desk. She sighs and rubs her face. Seeing she has not even written half of her report.
"I shouldnt be like this feeling miserable. I still have a job to do." Jenna says to herself. "Get a grip on yourself Jenna."
She kneels and reaches for her pen. A very loud thud and yell for a nurse startles her and hits her head under the desk. The picture in her desk falling flat and a prn holder.
She groans and looks up with an angry face.
"HEY! This is a hospital! You cant just slam the desk and...."
She stops speaking. Seeing the person that slammed the desk and yelled for nurse is Emily. With a bleeding nose and a bruised cheek. Both of them in silence. Another pen rolls off the desk and falls to the floor.
"Emily!?!"
"Hey Jenna." Emily waves her hand awkwardly.
"What the hell happened to you!?!" Jenna yells. "Why is your nose bleeding!?!"
"No time to explain! That guy got jabbed in the belly he needs more help than I do!"
Emily points her finger to Thorn carrying a green haired man in his back with Felicia trying to keep him awake and converse with him even if the man is speaking gibberish. The little girl with them runs to Jenna.
"Please my papa needs help!" The little girl cries.
At the right time. Jenna's workmate arrives.
"Uh Jenna..."
"Get a stretcher and Dr. Orlock. Now!" Jenna says to her fellow nurse and quickly checks the man. Thorn lays him down on the chairs where people would wait to make it easier.
She checks his pulse and then his injury. A large bruise in the stomach and near the edge of the rib cage.
The stretcher and three people arrive and lifts the man up the stretcher with the help of Thorn and Jenna talks with the doctor and tells the mans injury and a possible fracture and quickly brings him to the ER ward. The sqeaking of the stretcher's wheels echoeing. Jenna pulling Emily inside the ward and allowing the little girl to follow. Felicia and Thorn meanwhile fill up the information paper in the desk by another nurse.
Feeling relief that the man is in good hands
Emily sits in the one of the ward's bed, Jenna tells her to stay. Emily wipes her bloody nose with her hankerchief but more blood flows out.
"Will you be alright?" The little girl asks touching her lap.
"I'll be fine." Emily asnwers. "Its not a big deal."
The little girl hugs Emily. Burying her face on Emily's side.
"Thank you."
Emily smile, but doesnt know what to do with the girl. Its not like she was expecting a thank you. She just helped.
Jenna comes to her with a cotton pack and ice bag and a cold gauze pad in a tray and sets it on top of a metal shelf. And looks furiously at Emily.
"Look up." Jenna tells Emily.
"Yeah yeah I know how this works." Emily does what she is told and Jenna sticks cotton balls in Emily's nostrils to stop more blood flowing out and from staining the sheets. Emily pressing the ice pack above on her nose between her bridge and dorsum nasi. The cold gauze pad is then sticked on her bruised cheek like a sticker.
"You scared me Em! Showing up suddenly like that. Why didnt you atleast get help before coming here or atleast calling an ambulance!?!"
"It happened in an instant. She was getting harrased by a big guy. I stepped in and took the blow. Plus it happened a block away from here so all we had to do was carry him. Calm down."
"Calm down? CALM DOWN!?! You literally scared me with your nose bloodied! How the hell did you think I was gonna react!?! Thats like the tenth time you got youre face wrecked!"
Emily's eyes glance left and right. Unable to make up answer. And the fact that Jenna is right. Remembering the blood trail she left it even disturbs a policeman patrolling a nearby street.
The little girl watch both of them awkwardly. Jenna groans and pulls a stool out and places it near the little girl.
"Here, take a seat kid. You cant stand all day." Jenna gestures her to sit.
The little girl looks at Emily and nods, sitting in the stool.
"Sorry to ask but, whats your name?" Emily asks the girl. "My friends outside are probably having a hard time with the informations papers. It's so your father can get proper treatment."
"...Kamalla Ibrahim" The little girl answers.
"What about your father?" Jenna asks next.
"Aaban Ibrahim. I think."
The nurse from the desk outside enters the ward and finds Jenna with the information paper in a note pad.
"Jenna. They dont know the name of the patient. Does little green here knows?:. The nurse asks with a grin.
Kamalla squesls and covers her green hair with her jacket's hood. The three of them looking at how she reacted. The nurse tries to ask but Jenna takes the note pad and clicks her pen that she hangs on her ID.
"Its alright." Jenna ensures her fellow nurse and writes down her and her father's name in the information paper. "I'll take care of it. I can just ask her father once he wakes up."
The nurse nods and walks back to the desk to continue her other duties and report.
Emily leans near Kamalla and pats her head. Jenna still unclear why she got scared of being called little green.
"Kamalla its okay. No ones going to hurt you." Kamalla takes a peek. Not uttering a word like a cat ready to run and hide not undersatnding the context of whats happening.
"Why did the big man punch your father?" Jenna kneels.
Emily mentioned the man got jabbed earlier and harrased just now. By jab did she mean punch? Because the trauma she observed doesnt seem to be a punch from a person. Why would someone, a big guy according to Emily, harrass a father and daughter at random in the street?
Kamalla pulls down her hood and points her finger at her hair. Jenna raises an eyebrow.
"Our hair." Kamalla says to Jenna.
Kamalla bewilders Jenna. Of all the reasons to attack an innocent father and daughter it was because of their hair having unnatural hair color. Because it was green. A hate attack.
The last time she heard about such hate attacks was during the food riots in Kyrios when a supernova delayed supply ships for a year. The attacks were being used to commit a coup using the faunasians and enhanced as scapegoats. Luckily it was halted and another route was plotted by the colonial government.
Now a hate attack during a war. It isnt surprising but to actually see a child get hurt because of it feels different.
"Me and papa were just buying gifts for mama's birthday and the bad man screamed mean words and hit papa." Kamalla continues. "I screamed at the bog man to leave us alone and he tried to hit me. Then, she came."
Emily is checking if her nose is still bleeding, the bloody cotton balls in her hand. Kamalla and Jenna stares at her.
"She saved me and papa."
Jenna checks her watch and inspects Emily's nose if the bleeding has stopped.
"Will the bad man hurt us again?" Kamalla asks Emily.
"He wont hurt you anymore Kamalla. Besides, my two frineds tied him up and called the police." Emily assures her.
Jenna pulls another two cotton balls and plugs Emily's nostrils again. Emily pouts.
"Im just making sure it clots properly. You and Kamalla can go outside now." Jenna instructs Emilly. "Also. Kamalla do you have a contact number of your mother? An I.D.? She needs to know you and your father is in the hospital. She'll be worried you havent went home yet."
Kamalla checks her pockets and shows Jenna a number with 'Mama's number' written below the numbers in a piece of paper.
Sitting down in the waiting area, Emily checks the time in her phone. '4:30 PM. The night cycle seems to be early' Emily says to herself. Usually the night cycle starts at 6:00 PM. Must be a way to simulate the orbital seasons of Rustleton, going dark in 4:30 PM in the winter. Kamalla peeks at her phone.
"What is that?" Kamalla asks.
"Its a cellphone. Its basically a digitab but bulkier." Emily asnwers.
Kamalla looks more closely at her phone. Emily recalling that cellphones are basically not the trend anymore and are obsolete. Ancient. Like the crewman from the hospital ship said to her.
The last time she saw a phone was in the colony's natural history museum. Much to her dismay.
Typing the password to her phone and the home page appearing with her usual apps, Kamalla gasps.
"Is something wrong?"
Is thats the spaceman?" Kamalla points gleefuly at her phone.
Emily's wallpaper being a picture of the infamous Spaceman. A series well known in the outer regions. Only people in the outer regions know the show. They will recognize it even from a light second away. and from a simple sound effects used.
She doest feel she is in the mood to talk, but if its to keep the kid busy and not worry. Might as well talk.
"Yeah, it is spaceman." Emily says to Kamalla with a smile. "How do you know him?"
"Me and my brother would watch spaceman every night! Its his favorite show."
An hour passes. Emily's nose has stopped bleeding and has contacted Kamalla's mother. Explaining what happened to hee husband she rushes to the hospital amd says she will arrive in an hour or so.
Thorn and Felicia sit together on another chair watching the news as their fellow marines are 'whoopin ass like usual'. They have just talked to a police officer asking details about the incident and thanking them for helping stop the man from further injuring the victim and little girl.
Apparently, hate attacks are becoming a problem. And its not just in the colonies. The local government in Rhombus is having disputes with the Orbital Colonial Government and Federation Peacekeeping about refugees occupying the abandoned dome cities but clearly they want them out to make sure they arent invaded by the confederates.
Other planets in other star systems are keeping refugee ships out and deporting faunasians and enhanceds fearing they might be massacred for harboring such a people. Those that dont, instead suffer from hate attacks and crimes, telliing them to get out blaming them for the cause of the war.
The doctor currently on duty. Dr. Orlock. Comes to Jenna saying he has stabalized Mr. Ibraham's condition. Unfortunately, his liver and stomach received major trauma and a rib bone is fractured according to the x-ray scans. He'll require surgery to stop the internal bleeding since the nano healers wont be enough.
Before he could conduct the surgery he will need approval from his wife. A waiver is already printed so all he needs is the signature of the patient's spouse.
Walking outside to the waiting area she sees Emily and Kamalla chatting like they're siblings. If she was anyone else, she may mistake them as sisters. Or a babysitter talking to the kid they are paid to take care of.
"Hey look its Jenna." Emily says to Kamalla. Kamalla rushes towards Jenna.
"Is papa okay?" Kamalla asks.
"Yes Kamalla hes fine. All we need now is to talk to your mother." Jenna tells Kamalla. "Has your mother called?"
Kamalla nods, giving Jenna a sigh of relief. At the very least, Kamalla's father can under go surgery at her approval without paying. The government gives health insurance to every citizen born in the colonies so if he is born here he should get treatment for free.
"You two have been busy." Jenna walks to Emily.
"It kinda gets boring here in the waiting area." Emily Replies.
"Mama says she'll be here as fast she can." Kamalla says to Jenna. "Wil papa really be alright?"
"Off course Kamalla. Jenna here is the best nurse in the galaxy. She can cure any sick person you can think of." Emily boasts to Kamalla. Jenna tittering. "Just like spaceman's sister star girl with the healing ray. He'll be fixed up in no time."
"Swear?"
"I swear, cross my heart, till I die."
The last time Jenna heard Emily said those words was back in their childhood in a play ground back in Calhoun Prime during their elementary days.
To see her friend say it to a little girl really makes them look like sisters.
"Well anyways, your father is awake." Jenna announces to Kamalla making her gasp with a wide smile. "You want to see him?"
"Yes!" Kamalla happily answers.
At the same time Kamalla answers, a brown haired woman in a suit comes running the waiting area, panting and sweating. She and Kamalla look at each other.
"Mama!' Kamalla runs towards the woman. The woman kneels and hugs Kamalla tightly.
"That must be her mom." Emily says to Jenna.
Kamalla's mother asks her if she is hurt and who called her. Kamalla points her finger at Emily.
Felicia pats Thorn on the shoulder and gestures her mouth at Kamalla's mother walkimg towards Emily.
"Are you Emily?" Kamalla's mother asks. "The one who called me?"
"Yes maam." Emily asnwers.
"By the Gods. Thank you for helping my husband and daughter, I dont know what I would do if something bad happened to them." Kamalla's mother says as she holds Emily's hand. "How can I ever repay you?"
"Dont worry, I just helped. Besides I wasnt alone." Emily turns her head to Felicia and Thorn. Both of them wave to her, still busy watching the news.
"There still has to be some way I could repay you, right?"
"Keep being a great mother. Kamalla told me youre a great mom. You seem to be doing a great job. Right Kamalla?"
Kamalla hugs her mother tightly. Her mother sighs in relief as she caresses her daughters hair.
"Where is my husband?" Kamalla's mother asks Emily.
"Hes inside the ward." Jenna interjects. "Were transfering him to another room so he has time to rest." Jenna asnwers. "The doctor also wants to see you too."
"Are his injuries severe?"
"Its best if the doctor explains it to you maam."
"Okay. Can I bring my daughter inside?"
"Off course maam."
Jenna esccorts Kamalla and her mother to the ward, Kamalla waving goodbye to Emily as the doors sqeaks and move back and forth before they close.
Emily slouches in the chair. Looking at the very familiar off white ceiling. Now she has to wait for Jenna to end her shift and go home. She was supposed to wait and pick her up like usual.
Its not the first time Emily helped someone else, but it is the first time she nearly died to a person bigger than them all to help a little kid she doesnt know. The big man couldve stomped her head like a tomato.
Thorn and Felicia sit closer to Emily, both their eyes focused at her. Emily turns her to both the ex-marines and already knows what they are gonna ask.
"You gonna tell her?" Thorn asks Emily.
"Yes. Maybe later when we get home." Emily says to Thorn. "I think."
"You better." Felicia adds, pointing her finger. "I dont want me and Thorn doing all the talking, and you better not lie."
Thorn and Felicia say their goodbyes and takes a bus ride to the central block of the colony where they reside.