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On the Rim, Ch 18: Doc's Not the Kind of Talking Doctor

2020 copyright comidacomida

Chris was having a quiet morning, spending it in contentment cataloguing the medical supplies. The group had gone through a fair amount of medicine after the insect attack and he also wanted to make sure everything the away party checked out for field medicine was checked back in; it was. He had just moved on to review the recent addition of a chemical work station for distilling medicine from the local flora when the silence ended as Captain Archie showed in a stranger-- a Cytkus.

Dr. Zimmerman was familiar with the tall, lizard-like humanoids; he'd taken several classes on xeno-biology and was confident he'd be able to treat general ailments, but he still didn't quite know what to expect. Turning to the Captain he asked "So... what can I do to help here, Cap'n?"

The Dog gave a very precise and specific report. "The Overseer is providing safe haven for--" he glanced to the Cytkus.

She replied "Ferco. Ferco Etek... but Terrans usually just call me 'Lizzy'."

Chris looked back and forth between the two before quickly interjecting. "I see... so a general wellness check up?"

Captain Archie nodded. "That will be fine. Let me know when you're done and I'll have the Corporal show her to her guest quarters."

Just like that, the Doctor was alone with the newcomer. He immediately put on his professional air and began going over a full spectrum check-up; she wasn't the least bit shy and her clothing hit the floor the moment he suggested she change. The next twenty minutes progressed in a very similar fashion: he would make a request and she would more-than accommodate. Eventually, once he was running out of professional discussion he had no choice but to supplement his bedside manner with some personal discourse. "So... safe haven?"

Lizzy was apparently an open book. She told him about how she had been working for one of the numerous LLCs on the planet and the site where she worked had been raided by a tribe of large lizard people. "No, I don't mean Cytkus... they weren't Cytkus."

The clarification interrupted her otherwise very flowing narrative, and it snapped Doc back to the present; he removed the blood draw needle from her arm and placed a piece of cotton onto it. "So... you came here?"

She explained that she made it to safety, and remembered something her boss had said about a friendly settlement to the west, and so she traveled west. Lizzy honestly didn't know what became of the rest of her work sites, but a lot of them were good people and she hoped they made it out alright. The discussion would have continued, but there was a sudden cry of alarm from out in the main hall; a second later Grizz appeared in the doorway to the med bay, directing the Doctor in no uncertain terms "We got attackers. Stay here and out of sight."

A moment later the Overseer showed up with Ben, and so between the two of them, Lizzy, and Doc, they remained in the med bay. Although it couldn't have been more than a few minutes, to Chris it felt like an eternity. He grabbed knife he had been ordered to keep on his person at all times, and that's when Lizzy spoke up again. "You're holding it wrong, you know."

He almost jumped at the interruption to his thoughts. "Huh?"

She held out her talon and he placed it in her grasp. She moved it into a back grip, explaining "You're no fighter, and it shows... no sense sacrificing protection for reach. Hold it this way so you can block; you'll be able to live longer and maybe give yourself a chance for someone to come help you."

Lizzy returned the knife to him with a smile on her broad, scaly snout and he accepted it back with a smile of his own. "Oh. Thanks."

The Overseer was right there to question. "Did you work security for your base?"

The Cytkus shook her head. "No, Ma'am... our base was always in trouble-- between pirates and hostile tribes there was almost always something going on so our boss made sure we all knew at least something. Firearms aren't the easiest to get out here, so blades, spears, and clubs were the go-to for the largest of us, and you won't find much larger than a Cytkus." She flexed to accentuate the statement.

Chris knew that the females were the largest of the three Cytkus sexes and makes were the smallest, with the intermediary sex, the 'hemale' as the mid-size, and Lizzy was certainly a large woman. He was just about to ask a question related to professional curiosity, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Missy's voice called from beyond. "It's done. We have two still alive, Ma'am."

The Overseer stood up quickly, addressing the door. "Have the Captain bring them to the holding cell--" then turned toward Chris. "Dr. Zimmerman, get some of our herbal remedies together and come with me."

The Doctor was familiar with her policy regarding prisoners by that point. "Yes Ma'am."

Ms. Simpson opened the door, revealing both Missy and Grizz. The Bear kept it simple. "I'm supposed'ta lead our guest to her room."

Lizzy said a quick farewell and thanked the Human for his help and his ear, and followed off after the Corporal. Ben helped Chris gather up supplies and then left to do whatever it was the Wolf did and the Doctor jogged to catch up with the Overseer. He thought enough of her to say what was on his mind. "I'm glad we have security... but I hope we don't have to keep doing this, Ma'am."

She stopped outside the closed door of the holding cell for the prisoners and turned to regard him, resting a hand on his shoulder as she offered an empathic smile. "That makes two of us, Chris."

Dr. Zimmerman had no idea what to expect when he walked into the prison; he could have pictured savage, blood-thirsty wild men; he might have considered heavily-scarred hulking engines of destruction; he perhaps pondered the possibility of inhuman animal-like barely-human monsters; the two individuals laying bloody on the nearest beds were none of those.

The two humans had dark tan skin; they both looked incredibly thin-- frail almost. There was one man and one woman and, despite being no expert on warfare, his first impression was that they were definitely not combatants. They were old-- very old. He glanced to the Captain. "These two?"

Although the question opened him up to any sort of snide remarks (he heard Claw say from somewhere back in the hallway "You see any other prisoners around, dip-shit?") the Captain was full-on professional. "Yeah, Doc. He said his name's Abeo, and her's is Naabhak. Claw got her with a blow to the back of the head so she's been out cold; he passed out from the gut wound pain... lucky bastard too-- those hurt like hell."

Chris got right to work, tending to the male prisoner first, verifying there was no internal damage then making sure his bleeding had stopped. After that, the Doctor got to work on looking over the woman; she was far easier to tend, and actually woke up while he was wrapping her head. Her first response was nothing like what he expected. "Oh! Thank you, Doctor."

After that surprising first interaction, Chris calmed considerably. While he worked, Overseer Simpson began to question the woman. She was open and forthcoming, and, near the beginning of the conversation apologized profusely for the attack; it was surreal. According to the lady she and her friends were all that remained of her tribe; the youngest among them was, according to Chris' calculations based on the timeframe of Planet A, was probably in his early fifties. That begged the obvious question the Overseer asked next. "What happeened to the rest of your people? What happened to your younger tribesmen?"

A disheartening, sorrowful, and dark story was presented to them. Naabhak's tribe had once been large and healthy but pirates had come to their land and over the course of ten, or perhaps twenty raids they had killed all who stood against them and then kidnapped anyone they deemed suitable for slavery. After a matter of three or four seasons only the elderly remained, and that was when they realized that their tribe was doomed unless they did something.

Captain Archie, who was still in the cell with the Overseer and Chris grunted. "You attacked us because you thought we were the pirates."

The woman nodded. "But you spared us... you had your healer tend to us. You cannot be the people who took our sons and daughters."

The Dog's expression was hard to read, but Chris could see in Ms. Simpson's eyes a combination of rage and pity. She opened her mouth to say something, but the Captain quickly interjected. "Overseer... a moment, if you please?"

Chris couldn't help himself; he stayed with the two prisoners until late in the evening. Abeo regained consciousness and, with some help of both Chris and Naabhak he managed to walk around the room. Once Chris was confident that the old man was capable of moving under his own power they both gave him their blessing. Abeo apologized as well, and Naabhak asked if she could give the Doctor a hug. He tentatively accepted, and she squeezed him tight, whispering with a wavering voice "My grandson would be about your age... he wished to become a healer too. I think you two would have been good friends."

Although there were a number of differing schools of thoughts when it came to showing empathy with patients and the families of patience, Chris always found it hard to follow the one that said it was okay to cry with them because he was too empathic-- one he started it would be difficult to stop. He excused himself once she broke their embrace and he quickly showed himself out to the hallway where he could cry alone.