Eric Hunt blinked a few times, trying to make sense of the colorful things in front of his eyes. His sight was getting better every minute until he finally managed to recognize the ‘thing’ in front of him.
“That’s Saturn... and there are the rings.” he thought, concentrating to clear his head. “I am... I am floating. What has happened?”
He still remembered working on the surface of Pan, trying to fix a problem with the anchor of the fusion reactor module they had brought to the Moon. Suddenly he recalled a bright flash.
“An accident. A malfunction?” he murmured, the adrenalin rush hitting him like a hammer. What was that red flashing nagging at his peripheral vision.
Something had to be damaged, he realized, feeling sick. He reached for the diagnostic panel on his wrist, but stopped as a sharp pain shot up his arm like a bullet.
“Hey!” he called out, hoping the communicator. “Hey! This is Eric Hunt. I’m out in open space I need help! If anyone can hear me, please respond!”
He waited... a minute? A second? His head swam with dizziness.
“Mr. Hunt, please remain calm, we are currently in the midst of the recovery process.” a female voice on his right side announced. “Are you hurt or in immediate danger?”
The left speaker crackles.
“My suit seems to be damaged and my right arm hurts when I move it.” He grimaced as another bolt of pain stabbed him hard “What happened? Where’s the rest of my crew?”
An Exocomp popped up in front of him, searchlights ablaze. He shielded his vision with his good arm, struggling to figure out what it was carrying in it’s jaw.
“A roll of duct tape” Eric murmured as he felt something touching his helmet.
“Mr. Hunt, we just found you. We are moving you to our station, you will arrive any moment” the voice tried to reassure him. “Please try not to move at all!”
Finally he saw the edge of one of the catgirls space station’s airlocks. A catgirl in a suit became visible in his view, pointing a miniature pocket lamp to his face.
“He is still consciousness, get him inside immediately!”
He felt a light touch of gravity as he was lowered onto a stretcher and moved through another airlock. A catgirl carefully opened his helmet and fresh air rushed in.
“Please keep down. Your arm is broken, we have to get you out of the suit.” a catgirl with a Red Cross batch around the arm told him. “As soon as we have secured your arm you can move again.”
All around he could hear other dialogs between catgirls and his crew members. Finally they managed to cut him out of the suit and he felt something hardening around his arm. Something was pressed against his shoulder and he felt the pain ending.
“Thank you” he said, looking at the hypospray injector. “Again, what has happened?”
“Someone has attacked your construction site with a long-range weapon, that is all we currently know. Serina managed to hit the projectile moments before it impacted on the moon, unfortunately not early enough.” The catgirl looked at the injector. “Just something against the pain, no handwavium involved.”
“Is my crew okay?” Eric asked, trying to imagine a reason for someone to attack their unfinished base.
“We are still getting them all in but I fear that a few of them were hurt badly,” the catgirl answered. “Fortunately no one was killed.”
Just as if her words had been a bad omen, the airlock to the room opened again and Eric could hear a woman screaming in pain.
“Someone get me an anesthetic... and something to seal of a major wound!” a catgirl shouted and several Exocomps rushed towards the airlock. “And a Blood Orange group AB! Quickly!”
“I hope she knows what she is doing” Eric said and stood up to get to Sarah Brown. He couldn’t fail to notice the large pool of blood below one of her legs. “Sarah... what has happened to her?”
The catgirl just ignored Eric and continued scanning Sarah Meier carefully with a device. She stopped for a moment and stared on her scanner while listening to something, then she grabbed one of the closeby catgirls.
“Get the machine over here quickly, we might need it” she whispered into her ear and the catgirl ran out of the room. “Where is that orange?” she called loudly, just as an Exocomp with the large fruit arrived at her side.
She quickly began to set up a blood transfusion, then she looked up to Eric.
“I had a six month medical training at the Kandor City Hospital last year” she said and looked back to her scanner. “Unfortunately this is... this is be beyond my abilities.”
“What are you telling me?” Eric shouted and the catgirl flinched.
“Mrs Brown has lost a lot of blood. I managed to stop the bleeding at her leg, but the scanner tells me she still has lots of internal bleedings.” She hit a button on her scanner. “I fear she will be dead before we can get her to a real hospital at Coruscant. Unless...”
“Unless what?”
“Handwavium might be able to save her, but she will not look the same afterwards.” The catgirl sighed. “We never would do this against someone’s will, but she is already unconsciousness and will be dead before we can get more help. You are her commanding officer, it is your decision.”
“You mean...” Eric gulped at the thought, but he forced himself to stay on the topic. “You are sure this is the only way to survive?”
“I am reasonably sure she will survive the procedure” the catgirl answered. “And I am nearly certain she will die before we can get her to Coruscant. Say no and we will put her in the fastest vehicle we have, but decide now... time is running out!”
“That’s Saturn... and there are the rings.” he thought, concentrating to clear his head. “I am... I am floating. What has happened?”
He still remembered working on the surface of Pan, trying to fix a problem with the anchor of the fusion reactor module they had brought to the Moon. Suddenly he recalled a bright flash.
“An accident. A malfunction?” he murmured, the adrenalin rush hitting him like a hammer. What was that red flashing nagging at his peripheral vision.
Something had to be damaged, he realized, feeling sick. He reached for the diagnostic panel on his wrist, but stopped as a sharp pain shot up his arm like a bullet.
“Hey!” he called out, hoping the communicator. “Hey! This is Eric Hunt. I’m out in open space I need help! If anyone can hear me, please respond!”
He waited... a minute? A second? His head swam with dizziness.
“Mr. Hunt, please remain calm, we are currently in the midst of the recovery process.” a female voice on his right side announced. “Are you hurt or in immediate danger?”
The left speaker crackles.
“My suit seems to be damaged and my right arm hurts when I move it.” He grimaced as another bolt of pain stabbed him hard “What happened? Where’s the rest of my crew?”
An Exocomp popped up in front of him, searchlights ablaze. He shielded his vision with his good arm, struggling to figure out what it was carrying in it’s jaw.
“A roll of duct tape” Eric murmured as he felt something touching his helmet.
“Mr. Hunt, we just found you. We are moving you to our station, you will arrive any moment” the voice tried to reassure him. “Please try not to move at all!”
Finally he saw the edge of one of the catgirls space station’s airlocks. A catgirl in a suit became visible in his view, pointing a miniature pocket lamp to his face.
“He is still consciousness, get him inside immediately!”
He felt a light touch of gravity as he was lowered onto a stretcher and moved through another airlock. A catgirl carefully opened his helmet and fresh air rushed in.
“Please keep down. Your arm is broken, we have to get you out of the suit.” a catgirl with a Red Cross batch around the arm told him. “As soon as we have secured your arm you can move again.”
All around he could hear other dialogs between catgirls and his crew members. Finally they managed to cut him out of the suit and he felt something hardening around his arm. Something was pressed against his shoulder and he felt the pain ending.
“Thank you” he said, looking at the hypospray injector. “Again, what has happened?”
“Someone has attacked your construction site with a long-range weapon, that is all we currently know. Serina managed to hit the projectile moments before it impacted on the moon, unfortunately not early enough.” The catgirl looked at the injector. “Just something against the pain, no handwavium involved.”
“Is my crew okay?” Eric asked, trying to imagine a reason for someone to attack their unfinished base.
“We are still getting them all in but I fear that a few of them were hurt badly,” the catgirl answered. “Fortunately no one was killed.”
Just as if her words had been a bad omen, the airlock to the room opened again and Eric could hear a woman screaming in pain.
“Someone get me an anesthetic... and something to seal of a major wound!” a catgirl shouted and several Exocomps rushed towards the airlock. “And a Blood Orange group AB! Quickly!”
“I hope she knows what she is doing” Eric said and stood up to get to Sarah Brown. He couldn’t fail to notice the large pool of blood below one of her legs. “Sarah... what has happened to her?”
The catgirl just ignored Eric and continued scanning Sarah Meier carefully with a device. She stopped for a moment and stared on her scanner while listening to something, then she grabbed one of the closeby catgirls.
“Get the machine over here quickly, we might need it” she whispered into her ear and the catgirl ran out of the room. “Where is that orange?” she called loudly, just as an Exocomp with the large fruit arrived at her side.
She quickly began to set up a blood transfusion, then she looked up to Eric.
“I had a six month medical training at the Kandor City Hospital last year” she said and looked back to her scanner. “Unfortunately this is... this is be beyond my abilities.”
“What are you telling me?” Eric shouted and the catgirl flinched.
“Mrs Brown has lost a lot of blood. I managed to stop the bleeding at her leg, but the scanner tells me she still has lots of internal bleedings.” She hit a button on her scanner. “I fear she will be dead before we can get her to a real hospital at Coruscant. Unless...”
“Unless what?”
“Handwavium might be able to save her, but she will not look the same afterwards.” The catgirl sighed. “We never would do this against someone’s will, but she is already unconsciousness and will be dead before we can get more help. You are her commanding officer, it is your decision.”
“You mean...” Eric gulped at the thought, but he forced himself to stay on the topic. “You are sure this is the only way to survive?”
“I am reasonably sure she will survive the procedure” the catgirl answered. “And I am nearly certain she will die before we can get her to Coruscant. Say no and we will put her in the fastest vehicle we have, but decide now... time is running out!”