I forced myself to stand, ignoring the sharp pain tearing through my side. Blood trickled from a wound on my abdomen, but I couldn't focus on that now.
The air was thick with the smell of burned metal, gunpowder, and sweat as Julian, still scanning the area, reported.
"Nothing, vamp. All clear for now."
But before I could respond, Paul's voice cut through the comms, filled with panic and fury.
"Drac, you bastard! Airid is dying! He needs proper medical attention ASAP!"
I winced, adrenaline pushing me past the pain. Airid was the chains paramedic, and if he was out, it was bad. I couldn't afford to lose him. None of us could.
"Keep him stabilized, fishman! I'm connecting to Invicta now."
I scrambled to open the holographic display on my forearm, my fingers shaking as I punched in the commands to link up with Invicta.
The ship's computer chirped to life, awaiting my instructions.
"Invicta, initiate auto-landing sequence. Coordinate landing to my position. Authorization: Delta Romeo Alpha Charlie Uniform Limo Alpha 2-0-0-1-1-0-2-7 over"
There was a slight pause, then the ship's computer responded.
"Landing sequence initiated. ETA: 90 seconds."
I gritted my teeth, turning back toward the group. Paul's voice came again, this time edged with desperation.
"Hurry the f*ck up, Drac! He's vitals are dropping!"
"ETA till Invicta lands 90 seconds pump him with additional stims"
I barked back, pushing through the pain and rushing over to Airid.
He was lying on the ground, his armor slick with blood, his face pale and drawn under his helmet.
Paul knelt beside him, jabbing his neck with one combat stim after another.
"You better not die you f*cker"
I muttered under my breath, my mind racing.
The distant hum of Invicta grew louder as the corvette descended from the sky. The ground trembled slightly under the pressure of its four vertical thrusters as the ship touched down just a few meters away from us.
"Fritz, get the stretcher from Airids medpack!"
I ordered. Darius nodded, rushing over to the pack and pulling out the collapsible stretcher.
In a swift, practiced motion, we unfolded it and carefully hoisted Airid onto it. His eyes flickered open for a brief moment, his breathing shallow, but I couldn't let myself focus on that.
"Go, go, go!"
I urged after we secured Airid on the strecher with lockable straps.
We ran with everything we had, racing toward the Invicta. Every step felt like a hammer to my side, wrist and my thigh, the pain growing sharper, but I forced myself to ignore it. Nothing mattered except getting Airid to the medbay as fast as possible.
We reached the ship's airlock, the doors hissing open as we burst inside, dragging the stretcher behind us.
The ship's interior lights flickered to life, illuminating the cold, sterile corridors as we rushed through the hallways once the airlock got pressurized and the secondary doors opened up.
"Hang on, man"
I whispered, more to myself than to him.
"Just a little further."
The medbay doors slid open, revealing a small but efficient room outfitted with everything we'd need. The sterile environment was a sharp contrast to the chaos outside. We lifted Airid onto the medical table, his body limp and his breathing ragged.
As soon as he was secured, the medbay's automatic systems kicked in. Rings built arround the table began scanning him, projecting a detailed holographic image of his injuries above him.
The sight wasn't pretty, Internal bleeding, shattered ribs, and shrapnel lodged in quarter of his body.
"Initiating medical intervention,"
The ship's computer stated. Robotic arms descended from the ceiling, poised to work, but we weren't just going to stand by.
The computer voice guided us through the process.
"Stabilize internal bleeding first,"
It instructed.
"Paul get the blood pack"
I ordered.
Hearing this Paul, his hands trembling but focused, grabbed the blood pack containing Airids blood from the fridge full of our own blood packs, drained and stored specifically for situations like these and hooked him up with It.
"Shrapnel detected. Prepare for extraction,"
The computer continued.
"Julian, get the forceps."
Julian handed me the forceps, and with careful precision, I reached into the wound to extract the first piece of shrapnel.
My good hand was steady, but every movement felt like a lifetime. Airid subconciuosly groaned in pain, and I clenched my jaw.
"Stay with us, buddy. Just stay with us,"
I murmured, pulling out the jagged piece of metal and tossing it into a tray. Blood welled up again, as It did one of the robotic arms categorized the wound with Its laser.
"Second piece,"
The computer prompted.
Paul stepped in this time, removing the next shard of metal with shaky hands. Another groan escaped Airid's unconcious lips, but his breathing was evening out barely.
"Stabilizing vitals,"
The computer reported.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the robotic arms moved in, suturing up the internal wounds and injecting additional medical stims to speed up the healing process.
We stood back, watching as Invictas computer worked with mechanical precision, its steady hands much more reliable than our own.
The room was filled with the soft hum of the medical equipment, and all we could do was wait as Invictas computer finished the procedure.
I wiped the sweat from my brow after taking off my helmet and tossing It randomly to the floor, blood smeared across my good hand.
Paul slumped against the wall, his chest rising and falling with each heavy breath.
"F*ck... that was too close."
"We're not out of the woods yet,"
I said, but relief was already starting to creep in. Airid's vitals were stabilizing, the internal bleeding was under control, and the shrapnel was mostly gone.
The medbay lights dimmed slightly as the computer gave its final report.
"Patient stabilized. Vital signs within an acceptable range. Continuous monitoring engaged."
I sighed, leaning back against the wall, the adrenaline slowly wearing off. My side, thigh, and wrist throbbed with pain, but I could handle it. Airid was alive.
"Good job"
I said, my voice hoarse.
"We'll keep watch here. Make sure he stays stable."
Paul wiped his hands clean, exhaustion clear on his face, but he managed a weak smile.
"You better get yourself looked at, too, Drac. You're bleeding."
I glanced down at the wound on my side, grimacing.
"Yeah... maybe after I catch my breath."
I said only for my view to black out.
...
As Dracula blacked out, his body slumped against the wall, the exhaustion and pain finally overtaking him. The last thing he heard was the muffled sound of his battle brothers' voices.
"Drac!"
Paul shouted, rushing over to his side.
"S*it, he's out cold,"
Julian muttered, dropping his sniper rifle and moving to help. He quickly scanned Dracula with the medbay's handheld diagnostic scanner.
Paul knelt beside him, his eyes wide in disbelief as the scanner read out his injuries.
"Scorched clean through thigh, broken ribs, and a fractured wrist? How the f*ck did he even manage to carry Airid over here like that?"
Darius, who had been silently observing the scene, shook his head, his face pale because of the pain killers, and combat stims finally wearing off.
"I swear this guy's a machine. He didn't even let on how bad he was hurt."
Julian gently placed Dracula onto one of the empty medical tables without fancy gadgets, gritting his teeth.
"We've seen Drac take hits before, but this? It's a miracle he didn't collapse sooner."
"Yeah, no kidding. Tough bastard."
Paul shook his head, hooking up an IV to his arm with his own blood and prepping the medkit for first aid.
"First things first, we need to stabilize him,"
Darius said, taking control.
"Get that gel pack for his burns, and let's wrap his wrist and ribs fist"
Julian grabbed the supplies and carefully applied the burn gel to his thigh after removing his scorched armor plate with fabric and flesh, wincing at the sight of the charred clean through thigh.