round 2 Malcolm & Inernie No One Loves the Messenger who Brings

[Alexander Matthews]

((Triage tent))

::Jen looked up at the new arrivals. Blood. Amputated leg. Tan.

Davies. No Ashley::

Malcolm: Davies? Where is she?

::He and Burt quickly carried Lt. Tan across the tent to the elevated

cot Jen was using as her surgical table. They laid him down, none to

gently, exhaustion from the lengthy, precarious walk finally taking

hold::

::Davies’ breaths came raggedly, his injured throat burning with each

shallow. He looked over and down at Jen, whose fingers had clamped

around his arm. His face must’ve told her what she feared, as he

watched his own dread settle into her eyes. When she spoke her voice

was hollow::

Malcolm: Tan said he found her. Where is she?

::He looked away, down at Lt. Tan, who’d risked his life crawling into

the daycare. When had he spoken to Jen? Davies took a deep breath,

preparing to tell the lie he’d been rehearsing in his head from the

moment he’d given up on the little girl::

Davies: She’s with the other children. The teacher is with them.

::He had to lie to her. There was nothing she could do for Ashley now

and too many people were depending on her for their lives. When the

time was right, he’d break the news gently. Her fingers dug painfully

into the flesh of his arm.::

Malcolm: That’s a lie.

::The venom in her voice sent a chill down his back and he felt a

warm, sickening sweat burst from his pores. He turned and put shaking

hands on her shoulders, stooping a bit to look her in the eye::

Davies: I couldn’t help her, Jen.

::Time seemed to pause as he waited for her reaction. The only thing

reminding him that the seconds passed by were the cries from the

injured around them, the sounds of medical equipment whirring while

the power lasted, the noise of the generator outside the tent.

Otherwise, it was as if someone had pushed pause and the woman before

him had frozen::

::And then it all melted. Her eyebrows gathered into an unhappy scowl

and she stepped backwards, slapping his hands off of her::

Malcolm: Where is she!? Why didn’t you bring her here!?

::He’d never heard her scream before. Heads turned their way,

startled by her outburst. He reached his hand out to her, trying to

calm her and draw her back to the table and the severely injured man

who desperately needed their help, but was met again with a violent

slap::

Davies: Jen, Lt. Tan needs attention.

::She looked down at the table, at the wreck of the man lying beside

her. She felt nothing. No sympathy for his injury. A leg? That was

nothing.::

Malcolm: He can die for all I care, Davies. I want to know where my

daughter is!

::Her eyes were wild and he wasn’t sure how to answer her. He couldn’t

tell her that her precious little girl was lying alongside a row of

corpses, wrapped in a uniform jacket, awaiting burial.::

Davies: She’s gone, Jen.

::Hands curled around the fabric at his neck and the next thing he

knew he was being pulled down within inches of her face::

Malcolm: You tell me where she is right now.

:: The ship’s bartender had been quietly standing off to the side for

the entirety of the conversation, not really sure what to do or say.

He wasn’t close with much of anyone on the crew, ‘cept maybe Whiskers,

and he had really only met Malcolm in passing, much like the rest. But

he felt for her... he did. Which was why he was so calm, cool and

collected. His hands came to rest on her shoulders, his voice soothing

as he whispered to her to try to relax.::

::After a moment, when it looked like she wasn’t going to let go, he

became a little more forceful - one hand moving to pry her fingers

from Davies’ collar, the other wrapping further around her shoulders

to pull her away from the other doctor. She seemed to respond a little

better to that, at least until she shot the most venomous look he had

ever seen in his life in his direction. His hands lifted from her

shoulder and arm, and he spoke very softly.::

Burt: Doc. He did everything he could to save her, but... she was

pretty much gone before we got there. She... she’s waiting for burial,

right now. We cleaned her up, best we could, on the way out here.

::She ripped off the emergency medikit that had been strapped to her

shoulder all day and it fell to the floor with a thud as she tore past

them and out the tent::

::She thrust a flap of material aside and instantly stepped back,

throwing an arm over her eyes to shield them from the huge lights

aimed at the tent. She stumbled forward, ignoring her temporary

blindness. A marine caught her before she fell, and he asked her

something, but she couldn’t understand what he could possibly want,

what could possibly be more important than finding Ashley. Why hadn’t

she gone to the daycare herself? Because she was a slave to her duty

to help people – help everyone else but her own flesh and blood::

::Only a few steps from the tent and she could barely see anything.

The shadows of twilight melded the landscape into one bluish gray

blur. Everything was foggy. The surrounding trees and rocks

dissolved into hazy blobs, shrouded behind a layer of what she assumed

was mist. She couldn’t make out the ship in the distance and wondered

if this was some sort of atmospheric occurrence particular to this

planet. Splatters of water landed on her chest and her eyes snapped

heavenward, only to find a clear sky::

::She flopped to the ground. She didn’t know where she was going and

couldn’t see to get there, anyway. Footsteps came up beside her but

she didn’t bother looking up. She knew who they belonged to::

Davies: Jen, Tan’s going to bleed to death.

::She pulled the elastic from her hair, letting it fall loose from its

ponytail and ran her hands through it::

Malcolm: So? You and O’Hanlon deal with it.

::He shoved his hands under her armpits and hauled her to her feet.

Outraged at the treatment, she grunted and struggled to get away from

him but he dug his fingers into the fleshy parts of her arms.

Jen: Get off me!

Davies: It’s awful, Jen. It’s bloody awful. But you can’t afford to

break down. People will die.

::He shook her, again and again until she stopped avoiding his glare

and looked at him. Finally, her eyes, filled with tears, met his.

Jen: Chris…

::He felt his resolve shatter and his own eyes well up.::

Davies: I’m so sorry. ::He had to swallow down the lump in his throat

before he could continue::

::She stopped fighting him and sank against his chest. He laid his

hands against her back and felt her heaving breaths hit his neck::

Davies: We need your help, Jen.

::He held her, hoping she would calm down. Behind them the urgent

cries of the injured mingled with the sounds of heavy construction,

but above it all he could hear her sobs::

Davies: Jen?

::She pulled away from him suddenly and wiped her eyes::

Malcolm: We’ll need to cauterize the artery.

::He wiped her cheeks and pushed her hair back from her face. A sad

smile touched his mouth and he took her hand in his::

Davies: Good girl. Come with me.

::He led her back to the tent and watched with quiet respect as she

began working without hesitation::

TBC

Dr. Jen Malcolm

CMO

USS Avandar

and

(PNPC) Ensign Chris Davies

Medical Officer

USS Avandar

and

(PNPC) Burt Inernie

Ten-Forward Bartender and Owner

USS Avandar

as played by

Ensign S’Acul

Edited March 11, 2012 by FltAdml. Wolf