Princess Rescue Inc (93 page)

“Not
quite tea time sir, we've got some chores to do,” Perry frowned. He wave to the
battle. “We've got a lot to do if we want to keep those people alive,” he said.
He watched as Newban's artillery began to shell the Chinese machine guns set up
to cover the nearest gate. Men were running for their lives, abandoning the
machines.

 The
general sighed, glancing at his glass. “Work is never done,” he said. He
nodded.

“Duke
Emroy is coming out,” Ryans said pointing. Both men turned to see the battered draw
bridge creak down and the portcullis rise. After a minute or so, men
tentatively came out, then stepped hastily aside as riders rode past.

“It's
called a sally Ryans,” Perry replied absently. “Better late than never I
guess.”

“He
wanted to make sure it was worth it. Didn't want to commit since we were under
strength,” Ryans answered watching the mop up through his binoculars. One of
the gunners got out of her Stryker. A bowman shot her in the arm. Her driver
slammed the vehicle in gear and ran him down. Ryans winced, imagining the
crunch. He watched Corporal Patterson hunch over her arm, her good hand
covering the wound.

“Catchers
are out, hope they get most of them before they turn into locusts.”

“We're
going to have a bandit problem for quite some time,” the general growled.

Ryans
nodded. “Yes sir, that's why the more we catch now the less we'll have to deal
with later,” he said. The general grunted.

<==={}------------>

Rojer
was bewildered by the sudden change in fortune. Indeed, he was gratified that
he had survived; that he hadn't had to be called to battle at all was both a
blessing and a curse. The other lords were as shocked as he was, standing in
their stirrups and shading their eyes to look out into the battlefield.

“I
believe the gaijin were correct. War has indeed changed,” Duke Troy said
proudly, smiling gleefully. Rojer glanced his way and then to the other lords.

Duke
Pryor sat back in his saddle, seeming to slump in relief at not having to fight
in such a mess. Rojer couldn't very well blame the old man. He too was glad he
hadn't been called forth.

“None
gained glory?” Pettigrew asked, looking around. Some of the other lords were
already calling servants to help them out of their armor.

“It
seems not today,” Pryor said.

“None
but the gaijin,” Troy said, suddenly subdued.

“Indeed,”
Rojer murmured.

<==={}------------>

Ryans
and Perry rode in deathly silence as they watched Scooter pick his way through
the battlefield casualties. Scores of men and animals lay dead or dying all
around. A handful of men and women were going around picking at the wounded.
Perry looked away in disgust as a woman pulled out a dagger and stabbed a
wounded man who was trying to keep her from stealing from him.

Doc
had reportedly run out of Biofoam in the first hour of triage. Her surgical
teams were fighting valiantly to save as many as they could. It was a losing
battle for some. And for some here, the battle had already been lost.

“God,”
Ryans croaked. They pulled up to a mound of dead, unable to go any further.
Scooter got out to see if he could pull the bodies aside. There was no going
around, one side was burning, and another had titan beasts fighting over
carcasses. After a moment Ryans and Perry followed.

The
first man Ryans pulled was dead. The second was limp. He hefted the man; little
more than a teenager covered in blood and dragged him to the side. He felt his
cheeks were wet. When he gently set the body down he tried to withdraw but a
hand clutched at his. He looked down to see the boy was awake, alive but barely
clinging to life. He looked at the wounds and grimaced.

“Get
a medic over here!” he roared, looking around. Perry rushed over with a kit.
“Hang in there kid,” he muttered, avoiding the terrified eyes. He put pressure
on the wound. The boy gave a weak mewling cry.

“Damn.
I thought they got all the wounded out?” Perry muttered. He slapped a patch on
the wound, lifting Ryan’s bloody hand to do it.

“Apparently
not,” Ryans growled. The kid coughed then his head lolled back. Perry checked for
a pulse then lifted an eyelid to check the kid's eyes.

He
sat back on his haunches. “Fuck. We lost him. Heart or artery collapsed from
lack of blood,” Perry said, after a moment he rocked back on his heels and
shook the blood off his hands. Ryans frowned, looking down at the body. “Come
on,” Perry said, hand on his arm. “It's over for him Ryans. Maybe we can save
another.”

Ryans
frowned. “That still won’t make it right,” he said softly.

“No,
but they still need the help,” Perry said, locking eyes with him. After a
moment they each nodded.

They
checked each body and brought the wounded out near the vehicle. They quickly
ran out of dressing and resorted to their socks and undershirts and the rags
the wounded and dead wore. Perry called in for help when they had twenty
wounded. The area around the hummer was cluttered with broken, groaning bodies.
The men whimpered softly, expecting to die.

After
nearly an eternity of an hour men began to arrive. They were dressed in white
smocks with the Red Cross. Blood was splattered all over their outfits. They
looked like something out of a gore movie, but Perry blessed the sight of them
anyway. The men and women didn't say anything, they got to work right away,
gently pushing Ryans and Perry aside as they began to treat and then carry the
men to the waiting surgeons.

<==={}------------>

The
Imperium lords who rode out with them were disdainful of aiding the fallen
enemy. Many ended up in a party after the battle celebrating their victory.
Duke Emroy's sally had met up with the others and the old Duke was met by slaps
on the shoulders from his fellow Dukes and lords. He roared in mirth as his
fellows told him of their view of the battle. They turned as one and headed to
the tent servants had erected for them.

Even
the general joined the party much to Perry's undisguised disgust. He managed to
pry the general out when reports of pockets of enemy began to come in.
Reluctantly the general backed Perry when the gaijin lieutenant respectfully
requested they send out cavalry and other units to hunt them down and round
them up.

<==={}------------>

Lewis
radioed in large pockets of retreating soldiers. She circled during the day
making the rising smoke swirl around, blocking and dimming the two suns.
Eventually she came in to land on the straight stretch of road to refuel once.
When she became tired and punchy Perry stood her down over her objections and
had Sergio Velenkov orbit the area while she rested. Sergio however had to land
when the suns set and it became too dark to see. He lifted off when the moons
rose; giving off enough light, or so he said, to see. Perry was certain the
Russian just wanted to get away from the battlefield. He couldn't blame the
guy.

As
Ginger rested with the other gaijin Duke Emroy and the general visited her and
both shook her hand. The elderly Duke was dressed for battle, but quickly shed
his heavy armor when Perry pointed out it wasn't needed. He was relieved and
joked about having to wear the heavy kit in his advanced years.

The
catcher team, so called because they were the reserve cavalry sent out fresh to
round up enemy units brought back hundreds of enemy soldiers. A few were
wounded; others were just terrified and cowed by the day’s events. Hundreds
more turned up at the wall several days later only to surrender when they were
caught between the wall's defenders and a cavalry unit.

Deidra
met Ryans after dark. One moment he was carrying a broken body and the next she
was there, looking dirty and forlorn. He smiled tiredly at her and ran a grimy
hand through her hair. She cupped his hand to her face and then nodded,
stepping aside to let him pass. Buoyed by her survival he continued on his task
to save as many as they could.

<==={}------------>

Deidra
managed the logistics, taking over when the Dukes and other nobles became too
inebriated to handle the task. Doc, Charlie, Wanda, the local healers, and what
medics the gaijins had and others they had trained were busy fighting their own
battle, a desperate and losing battle against death.

“Triage
Doc, triage,” Ryans said one time when the Doc was seen leaning against a tent
post with her head between her legs. She looked up and waved. She was in a
surgeon's smock, covered in blood. She had a cloth mask around her neck,
dangling there. A cloth hat covered her hair. Her hands were pale, scrubbed too
many times.

His
heart was torn like hers, he tried to help all he could, at least give them
some measure of comfort until a medic could get to them. He came over to check
on her. She leaned into him as he forced her to the waiting table. She noted
the food and hid her intestinal distress. He smiled tiredly, noting it. “Doc, I
know you don't want it, but even you need fuel and rest,” he said patiently.
She was beyond exhausted but agreed. They kept it simple, a sandwich and a
drink. She asked for Sergio, but he told her he was scouting.

She
was instantly upset by this, he patiently explained that Sergio was needed
right where he was, helping them find and round up the enemy units before they
became a bigger problem. She looked stonily at him. “Doc, honest, we've got to
stop them before they turn into locusts. Just one of those larger pockets
turned loose on a small town or village? You really want them to get their
hands on any more kids or girls?” he asked. She shook her head then sighed,
letting her shoulders slump. He patted her shoulder in commiseration.

He
caught sight of an exhausted and grimy Deidra and waved her over. He noted a
look on her face and noted the jealousy but let it pass. “What do you need?”
she asked Doc.

“Blood,”
Sue answered tiredly. “More doctors, more time, more dressing, more ether or
chloroform. Buckets of biofoam and surgical gauze. Clean instruments. Alcohol.”
She scrubbed at her tired eyes. “Sleep,” she groaned. “God a week’s worth of
sleep,” she muttered. Perry came over and gave her a shoulder rub. She bowed
her head and groaned again, this time in relief.

“I'll
get a blood drive going. We Terrans can donate to set an example,” Perry said
quietly.

Ryans
nodded. “Best to lead from the front,” he said. He smiled and then the smile
faded. “Butchers bill?” he asked quietly, not sure he wanted to know the
answer.

Perry
grimaced as Doc groaned. “About two hundred on our side. About twice that
wounded. Half came from that flanking cavalry battle,” he sighed. “I told them,
god I told them to keep the range open,” he said. He shook his head in disgust.

“Easy
there, don't manhandle the patient,” Ryans said pointing to Doc. Perry looked
down and blushed. “Sorry Doc.” She chuckled, head still down as he eased up.

“The
enemy casualties are heavy.” Luckily Doc here has a good triage team and we've
got as many as we can stabilized. “The battlefield is clear of wounded and the
dead are off to the afterlife...”

“The
anesthetics helped a lot,” Doc sighed softly. “And the training...” she said.
“I don't think we'll have as many amputations as they did in old battles. Thank
god,” she said and then shuddered. Deidra did as well. She'd heard the pitiful
cries of the wounded; they tore at her heart, especially the cries from the
young. “I'm keeping the Imperium healers on light wounds and I'm handling the
worst myself. Well, me, Charlie, and Wanda. Both ladies make dandy surgical
nurses,” she sighed again then patted Perry's hands. He wearily sat beside her.

“I'll
go get the blood drive going,” Ryans said patting Doc and Deidra’s hands and
then moving off.

“Blood
drive?” Deidra asked turning to the others as a servant placed a bowl of mushy
porridge in front of her. She picked up a spoon and toyed with the steaming bowl.
She had just got the supply situation sorted out. Duke Emroy had taken charge
of the supplies headed to the duchy.

“We
take a pint or two or three from volunteers. Separate the blood into plasma and
red cells. The plasma can go into anyone, the red cells or whole blood can only
go into people that have the same type of blood,” Perry explained. Deidra
looked confused and then nodded anyway.

“Many
men lost blood. We don't have enough. We can't refrigerate it, so it spoils in
minutes,” Doc said groaning softly. “We've got to have more, saline is almost
out and isn't enough. If we can get them stable then we can hopefully keep
their hearts and arteries from collapsing from the lack of blood. Don't even
get me started on air embolisms,” she sighed.

“Can
anyone donate?” Deidra asked, looking off to where Ryans was, standing near a
pair of nurses drawing blood from a volunteer. Ryans was holding a bandage to
the inside of his arm.

“Men
and women both yeah. It doesn't matter as long as they're healthy and don't
give too much. It's a good idea to get them to drink fruit juices or eat after
though so they began to make new blood to replace the lost blood,” Perry
answered. “The blood will be completely replaced in a week.”