Page 30 of Einar

“Usethat on her hair; start from the bottom and work your way up.Mostfemales are vain about their hair, and as bright and long as hers is,Iwould think that is a safe observation to make.”

“Youare simply giving me something to do.”

Ishould have knownIwould not be able to pull anything over on him, but he needs a task, or he will be in my way whileIam trying to fix his mate while mine also lies broken a short distance away.Rageis simmering deep inside me like a festering wound, butIdo not have time for it right now.

“Yes, you need to focus on something besides how this happened to her.Donot think for a moment thatIam not fighting the same battle.Mineis so broken there is not a single piece of skinIcan find, not covered in bruises or scars.Iam forcing myself to help with your mate while mine is stable.”

Hemoves closer to the table and starts at the ends of her hair just asIsaid.Themotions are slow and clumsy at first, but after a short time the repetitive motions become familiar and soon enough, he is fully invested in what he is doing.

Slavicis still brushing his female’s hair, butIcan tell he is watching me out of the corner of his eye.Sucha worrier he is.Notthat he can help it.Beingobserved does not bother me anymore; theAynartook care of that long ago.So,Igo between the beds holding our females, assessing their wounds and categorizing whatIneed to repair first on which mate.Ourcomms have gone off multiple times but neither of us answer, as the rest of our brothers are fully capable of running this ship without us, no matter the fact that they act like younglings most of the time.OnceIam sure of my next course of action,Iturn and faceSlavicto tell him what must be done.

“Slavic,Iam going to give her a sedative.Shecannot awaken in the middle of the surgeryIneed to perform to save her leg.”

“Einar,Ithought you said you were not sure on how to treat them?”

“Wedo not have a choice, butIunderstand your concern.Iused it on my own mate, and she had no reactions, so it should be safe enough to use on yours.”

Ioffer up a brief prayer of thanks to any deity listening to for that particular blessing.Itis a small miracle none of the medicationsIhave used on them has caused more harm than good.Slavic’seyes have gone unfocused, as if he is pondering something deeply, but as her mate, he must give me permission to begin repairing her.

“Doyou want me to proceed?”

Myquestion brings him back to the here and now, pulling him from his musings. “Brother,Itrust you with not only mine, but all of our lives.Ifyou believe it is safe, then do whatever it takes to heal her.”

Ihold his gaze for a few tics before turning and gathering up the materials and toolsIwill need.Hismate’s leg is in very bad shape, andIcannot afford to make any mistakes lest she be crippled for the rest of her life.Asit is, the damaged shoulder will always be weaker than her other and will probably cause her pain when the weather is cold.Lastbut not least, one of her wrists was broken and has started to heal crookedly.KnowingIwill have to re-break it and set the bone properly fills me with dread.Theyare so small…

Turningback towardSlavicand his female,Isee that her eyes are open.Shetenses up asIapproach and he reaches down, touching her arm in what is supposed to be a soothing manner.Iknow he means it as such, but she does not.Hisnext words are ones of reassurance.

“Youare safe little one, and we are going to get you better.”

“Ihope those growls are not telling me how you’re preparing me as a delicacy for your next alien social.Ican see the menu now, ‘specialty this evening, a redheaded human being served as the main course’.”

Slavic’syellow-green gaze looks up at me with a small smile at his female’s feistiness, given her condition.Shakingmy head,Ismirk.Slavicis going to have his hands full with that one.Reachingout,Iturn her over slightly so thatIcan administer the sedative, her dark eyes following my every movement with blatant suspicion lurking in their depths.Iwatch as her eyelids get heavier while she fights to keep them open.Ittakes longer than it should for her to fully succumb to the sedative’s effects, which proves she was doing her best to fight its influence.Hereyes move to watch me asIinject her with a numbing agent.

Finally, her eyes close and stay closed as her body relaxes and her breathing evens out.Assuredshe is fully anesthetized,Iprep her for surgery by first giving her fluids of the same saline solution thatIhave my mate hooked up to.Pullingmy tray of surgical tools closer,Ilean over her tiny form and begin the arduous task of mending her broken body.Decidingto repair the minor damage first,Ireach for her wrist and palpate the bones.Theydo not feel that much different from the bones that make up aRukuhks, so with that in mind,Iflick my fingers as gently asIcan, and feel the bones re-break.Grabbingher little hand,Ipull it and her wrist apart, making room for the broken ends of the bones to line up beforeIreach for a holding cast and slide it over the damaged area.Pressingdown,Imake sure the material is snug around the break before moving on to her shoulder.

Pickingup a mild accelerator,Iinject it into her shoulder.Thisparticular infusion is designed to target torn muscles, tendons and ligaments to help them regain structural soundness as well as fluidity within the joint.Idare not give her more than a small dose, as her system cannot tolerate instigating a rapid healing cycle where the accelerators force the torn tissue back together perfectly.Itis hard even on species as hardy as mine and the added stress on the body has been known to cause heart failure in some species.Nota riskIam willing to take with a fragile human.Thoseissues taken care of the bestIcan,Ifocus on the horrific wound in her thigh.Velgriddixare nasty creatures and always leave something behind when they cause a wound.Sureenough, onceIopen the wound back up,Ifind multiple spurs in the meat of her leg.Theinflammation and dark streaks around them tell me she was slowly dying from infection as well as the toxin inherent to the fracking bugs.Shewould not have made it much longer without medical intervention.PullingwhatIhope is the last of the spurs from her leg,Imake quick work of closing the wound up.Itwill leave a scar, but at least she is out of immediate danger.Raisingup,Istretch my back out after being hunched over.

“IbelieveIgot all the spurs out of her leg, but we will have to watch it closely for the next few risings, just in case.Hershoulder,Ihate to say, will probably always bother her some, butIwas able to fully reset her wrist.Iput a holding cast on it temporarily until the bones set.Ifeel like a back-planet medic here,Slavic.Someof these wounds could have been healed instantly, butIam too scared of the side effects that could occur simply becauseIdo not have the data to treat them accurately.”

“Butshe will survive?”

“Yes,Ibelieve they will both pull out of this, just not quickly.Minehas some internal injuries that have me worried.Thescans say thatIhave reversed her lung issues, and it keeps confirming that she is stable.Butwhereas your mate’s wounds are new, mine were old.Fromwhat the scans are telling me, she has been abused … for a very long time.”

Thatthought fills me with a dark rage that comes out in a low, rumbling growl as my words hang in the air between us.Ading from the medi-bed computers tells me that theDNAanalysis is done.Reachingup,Ipull the screen down from whereIangled it out of the way and pour over the results, scrolling through the information rapidly asIabsorb it faster than most beings can think. “Well, at least one question isanswered.Theyare blood sisters.”

Anabrupt banging on the wall causesSlavicto snarl and lean protectively over his mate.Itdoes nothing but prod the rage bubbling in my belly.Pullinga cover out from under the bed,Ihand it toSlavic. “HereSlavic, put this on her and once she is covered,Iwill see what the frack they have been insistently pinging our comm units about.”

Stompingover to the door,Iglance back to make sureSlavichas her covered up beforeIunlock the door to findRuarcandFalonstanding in the hallway.Nano-tics after the door slides open,Ruarcis in my face, snarling at me in outrage. “Whatthe frack is going on in here that is so important that neither one of you can take a moment to answer your comms?Youare needed out here.”

“Wehad pressing issues to deal with,Ruarc.Whatdo you need?”Igrowl right back at him.Bikar,MurgulorFalontold him exactly whatIwas doing and why.Iknowthey did, so why is he acting so fracking crazy?

“Idon’t know, maybe the fact thatIhave a sickPrincessin my quarters and could use some help?Notto mention thatFalonandBikarhave both given up their beds for the other three.”

“Otherthree what?”

Slavic’ssnarled question saves me from having to ask the same thing.

“Well, if you would grace us with your charming presence big brother, you could see for yourself.”

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