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War... War Never Changes - Cestus III - Side Sim

Posted April 13, 2020, 11:16 p.m. by Lieutenant Nathan Harland (Counselor) (Steven Sigle)

Posted by Ensign Chloe Harland (Nurse) in War… War Never Changes - Cestus III - Side Sim

10 Years Ago
https://www.star-fleet.com/core/stf3/outpost42/notes/69387/ Original post
SNIP

San Francisco 2375

“Come on Nathan, we have to help these people now!” Thomas shouted at his son as the weapon fire came down all around them. Thomas Harland had been working at Starfleet HQ for a while, raising his son as best as a single father good. Today though was something no parent could prepare for, as the lives of everyone around them came under fire as the Breen had begun bombarding the surface all around them.

Nathan stood, stunned and deafened to his father’s pleas as he looked across the San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate bridge laid in ruins burning as the fires seemed to sear into his mind before he felt his father’s arm pulling him as he snapped out of his daze.

“Nathan what did I say, follow me and don’t stop. We have to get to safety now, there are people here we can help!” Thomas said as Nathan looked past his father and saw the mass of huddled people, both Starfleet and civilian. “Get a move on now!” Thomas said as Nathan began to follow, running past the charred ash and debris that littered the quad as he entered the building as he caught his breath.

The moans of people could be heard, mixed the smell of blood and sweat. Nurses and staff all around were rushing to help people, but they were clearly short-staffed. Thomas handed Nathan a tricorder as he looked placed his hand on his shoulder as he squeezed gently. “I know you can do this, you are smart… smarter than me. We need help, I need you to go to the people who have been scanned and begin doing readings on them… let me or the medical staff know what they need and we can help them… can you do that Nate?” Thomas asked, trying to give his young son the encouragement he needed, but knowing deep down just how traumatic this was.

“Yes, I can,” Nathan said with a soft quiet tone as he turned. Most of the people on the south wall where civilian, a few children had even been here as he walked over and began scanning the patients as he tried to get past the smell of burnt flesh or the sight of severed limbs many of them had. Scanning slowly he tried his best to stay focused, look past the sites and just keep his face on the tricorder as he began sending results after the result to the staff. It was then that he heard the voice, soft and small, “Nathan.”

Stopping to find where the voice came from, in the corner Nathan saw a very familiar face. Jacqueline was a girl in his class with her pretty brown curls and dark amber eyes. The two had grown up together, having shared their first kiss, first date, first love. Their parents, of course, saw it as puppy love, and it was perhaps a bit naive and innocent. All the same, Nathan really liked the time he got to spend with Jacqui as he came and kneeled next to her.

“Jacqui!” he said quietly as he saw she had several bruises on her knee and scrapes all over her. She had clearly been near one of the strikes as Nathan began to notice she was breathing shallow and heavy. “Are you okay hon?” he asked in a quiet tone as he felt his stomach dropping, she was clenching her side as she looked at him, tears streaming down her face as she slowly shook her head no.

“I was walking with Dad…” she said slowly, her arm wrapped around her waist tightly as she began speaking. “We were coming to meet you and Mr. Harland.” she said as she began to cough, small traces of blood leaving her mouth as she did.

“Don’t talk… you are going to be okay…” Nathan said as he reached to grab her hand to comfort her, only to find as he moved her arm from her waist a slick gushing rush came with it as she began coughing more. The sight startled Nathan, the blood was from the piece of shrapnel directly in her as he looked closely. Unaware of many things, Nathan knew he had to save the girl he loved as he quickly began to remove the piece.

“We need to get this out, they can fix you up we need to just…” he said pausing as he got the piece out only to have more blood come with it as the girl began to crash. Nurses came running past as they shoved Nathan aside.

“Thomas! Get your son out of her, he just killed this girl.” one of the doctors said as they took out their tricorder to only find no pulse could be found. “Why did you remove that piece kid? It was keeping her alive!” the man shouted he got up and stared down Nathan angrily. It was clear everyone was on edge as Nathan just watched.

“No no no… I was helping!” he said as he rushed past the man to Jaqui’s side as he began to try to wake her. “Wake up… wake up!” he said loudly as he began slapping her as tears began to sting his eyes as he sat holding her tight, her body warm and wet as he couldn’t help but sob uncontrollably. Thomas began to walk near Nathan as he placed his hand on his shoulder as he let his son have the moment.

“You didn’t know better… it isn’t your fault…” Thomas said softly as Nathan shrugged get his father’s arm off him as he turned to look at him.

“It’s your fault… she came here cause you needed to see her dad! She wouldn’t have been here if it wasn’t for you!” Nathan snapped with an angry snot-filled sob as he looked back at Jaqui as he could feel nothing but the bile in his stomach-churning. “She didn’t need to be here…” he said softly as he felt nothing but numb silence as his world began to fade away as he sat with her body lying in his arms.

Cestus III - Present Day

“Nate. Nate we have to help him,” Chloe’s confused tone filled the air. The second her weight was not pressing on the wound, the blood bubbled quickly out of the wound pooling around the man. Thick red-brown trails dripped off the rubble filling the indentations of where Chloe had been kneeling. The man watched Chloe leaving him until he was no longer able to keep his eyes open. Seeing his face go slack sent Chloe into panic mode.

Nathan pulled her sharply away from the man, his hand gripped down hard into her arm as he began to yank her and himself to the door while still keeping Na’len firm in his grasp.

“Nathan,” she pulled away fighting every step Nathan took. “We can not leave him. Not like that. Not in the street. Nathan!” Chloe began to struggle against him as if she were being kidnapped. Twisting her body, Chloe squirmed as she pried at his fingers around her arm. “I am not leaving him,” she threatened, “if you won’t do your job fine but don’t you dare stop me from doing mine.” Nathan paused but not to begin a verbal confrontation. Planting his foot, Nathan jerked Chloe hard forcing her to fall into his side. The impact stunned her allowing Nathan to wedge Chloe against his hip. As he dragged her into the building H’rion closed it behind as the blasts just began to fall down as everyone began to have a sigh of relief.

Handing over Na’len to her father Nathan looked around and could see there were tons of injured all around as they began to huddle and gather around together as he looked over at Chloe. “Just what the hell was that?” barked Nathan as he began to help her up to her feet. He wasn’t one to ever mince words as he got to the point.

“Don’t you touch me,” Chloe tossed her hair over a shoulder looking up at him angrily. “You left him to die alone when we could have helped,”

“Stop being a child. His femoral artery was severed and his blood was deoxygenated indication some sort of thoracic or pulmonary injury. I did not leave him. It was triage. The dead don’t care if they are left behind… these people though.” Nathan turned to the room of Gorn and Human along with other mixed aliens of al types as all eyes seemed to be focused on them. “They care, you help the ones you can and you leave the ones you can’t. We can’t save them all… but we can save some.”

Nathan Harland

“What are you talking about? We are doctors,” she snapped moving back away from him. The sound of weapons fire in the street snapped her attention to the door breaking the tension growing between her and her fiance.

“Yes, we are… and that means we help those that we can and move on from those that we can’t. You can’t save everyone… you just can’t” Nathan said with a soft tremor in his voice as a small tear fell down his cheek.

Chloe stopped fighting and looked at Nathan confused at his reactions over the past ten minutes. He had gone from harsh and demanding to quiet and sensitive almost before her eyes. She had seen all these sides before but never a change so rapidly between them. It was this rapid change that concerned her most. Her mouth opened to speak however she was cut off from meaningful conversation by H’rion.

“Nathan,” the Gorn yelled out throwing him a small disruptor before taking up a position at the base of the stairs they used to come down from the street level.

Turning Nathan snatched up the disruptor as he began looking it over. He never liked using disruptors over phasers, but most of the Gorn only had these weapons on hand as they were cheaper and easier to make. “Thanks, who all did we get?” he asked as he began to look past as he took a count of everyone in the room. Eighteen, most wounded. This was going to end up being a long night.

“Not everyone but I could not hold the door any longer.” Gorn skeleto-musculature did not allow for the range of facial expressions but the tone of his voice informed everyone who could hear how bad the situation was.

“Are we safe here,” she asked him glancing back and forth between Harland and the door. Chloe was scared but not enough to panic. The ER had taught her to hide her emotions. Looking up at Nathan she fixed her eyes on his waiting for his response. He might downplay a situation but he would never lie to her.

“For now, but… we don’t have supplies. These bunkers can take a few hits but if they fire any photon or plasma torpedoes… we can’t make it out of that.” Nathan said softly as he began to move towards one of the wounded nearby.

“I need help. Someone help me,” cut through the room like a knife. Now that people were settling in and the fear of immediate death had disappeared, the occupants in the bunker could begin to attend to wounds or injuries. This was but the first voice calling Nathan and Chloe to work.

Turning to the voice Nathan saw the young woman and her mom sitting crouched and dirty in the corner as he tried to put on a brave face as he smiled softly at the pair. “What’s wrong Izzie?” he asked her as he knelt down as he began to look over to see what seemed to be

Chloe did not move as she watched Nate cross the room. She needed a moment to get herself together. Nothing made sense right now. Cestus was a colony world plagued by the occasional pirate not a world under attack so often it needed bomb shelters.

“My leg hurts,” Isabel said before breaking out in sobbing tears as she clung to her mother tightly. The girl’s knee was devoid of gashes or blood but had a large bulge on the lateral side of her kneecap. As the girl sobbed there was nothing the mother could do but hold her daughter and look up at Nathan desperate for help. The pain from her dislocated patella had to be immense. The injury was minor compared to many in the room but when it was your injury or that of a loved one, the injury suddenly became a life or death situation.

“Does it now… not as bad as that time you fell out of the third floor six months ago I am sure… chasing Terry if I recall?” Nathan said as he tried to distract the young girl away from the pain. If he could get her to smile even for a second it would help her greatly.

Looking over at her mom Nathan smiled as he gave a small wink. “You gave Nicole here almost a heart attack that day I think, can’t keep this up,” he said as he gently began to apply pressure as he nodded to himself, it was clear she dislocated it. Of all things to happen today, this was by far the least dangerous that he suspected he would see today.

“Is it broken,” Nicole asked nervously wrung her hands standing next to her child as Nathan began to examine the injury.

“No, that’s the good news. The bad news is it’s dislocated. We are going to have to pop it back into her socket.” he said as he looked over at Isabel and smiled gently at the young lady.

“Make it stop hurting,” the teenage girl begged trying to pull her knee away from Nathan as he examined it. The pain throbbed down to her foot and up through her groin in waves making the girl squirm on the ground. Tears flowed down her cheeks as the teen rocked slightly back on forth on her pelvis as if this would provide some relief.

Looking over at Chloe, Nathan motioned for her to come closer, as the pair crouched over the girl. “I can do that, you just have to trust me hon… I never steered you wrong before, not going to start now.” Nathan said as he placed his hand on the side of her leg as he looked the young girl in her eyes as he knew the next few moments were going to feel like hell.

Each palpitation by Nathan elicited another round of sobs and begging alternating her words from fix it to don’t touch it. Kneeling down next to the girl Chloe took the girl’s hand. There was nothing she could do to ease the pain. What she could do was try to stabilize the patient in order for Nathan to pop it back into place. “Hold my hand tightly. As soon as he gets your kneecap back where it needs to be, the pain will go away,” Chloe promised the teen. It was half a lie. The ache would be terrible but the sharp stabbing pain would go away. “Squeeze it when it hurts okay but you need to stay as still as you can sweetheart,” Chloe tucked the girl’s hair behind her ear tenderly.

The teen nodded until Nathan placed his hand under her leg grabbing her hamstring. “No no no no it hurts,” she begged shaking her head looking at Nathan wide-eyed. “Please don’t. It hurts me,” she moved back only an inch before the movement caused the teen to wince grimacing her face.

“One,” Chloe counted out trying to prepare the girl. “Two,” she kept her count steady knowing Nathan was about to reduce the dislocation. Doctors always went on two because if you gave the patient a three-count they tended to tighten up making the process harder.

The soft pop of the knee slipping back into place caused the girl’s face to relax. Reclining back, the girl placed her forearm over her eyes and sobbed hard enough her body shook. “She is going to be fine. We need to not move it. I am going to come back with something to splint the leg so try to keep her still,” Chloe asked letting go of the girl’s hand and standing up. There was little time for bedside manner here with so many injured.

Chloe followed Nathan to an elderly woman clutching her arm. It was clearly broken yet her stoic expression belayed none of the pain she must be experiencing. Her eyes held a somber expression as Nathan knelt down next to her.

“Figures you would be here. It’s Saturday night. I told you partying would kill you one day,” Mrs. Abernathy quipped with a motherly tone the warbled between jovial and scolding. She had a soft spot for the young doctor. He reminded her of her own son Clayton who had been killed during the war with the Dominion. Clayton and Nathan were headstrong, bold and determined letting nothing distract them from a course of action. Leila Abernathy worried this would one day lead to Nathan suffering the same fate as her son.

“No, you told me six shots of Tulabiran Wishkey would kill me…” Nathan said with a warm smile as he moved next to her as he kneeled down as he began to look at her arm carefully as she let him move back the cloth that was over the arm. “Nothing can take you out can it Mrs. Abernathy?” Nathan said with a soft wry smile as he patted her on the leg softly.

“I am going to remind you of that the next time you tell me to cut back on the Stolichnaya,” she managed a small smile. Letting her gaze lift from the young man’s blue eyes she looked up at Chloe. “Is this her,” she gave Nathan a sly wink still cradling her badly broken arm.

“Yes, this is my Clo,” Nathan said, his voice seeming to shift and turn as he spoke. It was clear he was proud of the statement. After more than a year her some people began to wonder if his Clo was nothing more than what he called his tricorder. Nathan, while having tons of photos of her, often kept all calls private. He didn’t like to share Chloe, their moments were meant just for them and no one else.

“Please please help me. ” a frantic woman began pulling at Nathan’s arm like a small child. “I need help. He won’t wake up. I have tried everything,” she began to cry as she backed up pulling Nathan’s arm to a ninety-degree angle.

Turning Nathan saw who she was talking about. Her grandson, Jasper was only three as he looked down at him as he took a deep breath. His leg had a large gash as Nathan began ripping his shirt sleeve off to serve as a tourniquet as he began to look over the boy. He also had a severe wound across his head, he was breathing but it was shallow as he began to exam him more. “Chloe, see what supplies we have. I told them all to try and stock as much antiseptic and bandages as they could in these bunkers… see what H’iron was able to pick up,” he said softly as he turned behind to point at the small storage area for Chloe to move over to.

“Bandages and antiseptic,” she raised an eyebrow at him. “Are they next to the leeches and hacksaw?”

“I wish, then this place could be called a clinic. You laugh but when you go ‘damn I really could have used some leeches’ I will be there to remind you that you mocked the supplies we had.” Nathan said, his tone wasn’t one that came off particularly snarky, but the small wink he gave her as she turned around was more than enough to let her know. He was always able to have some witty banter with Chloe, the two worked off each other so well that people often assumed they knew each other since they were kids and not just a few years.

Chloe looked around trying to find the replicator and stasis units that would hold the supplies Nathan would need to treat all the patients in the room. It took several long moments to step over the people lying on the floor and assuring help would be coming to those reaching out to her. Opening the metal wall unit, Chloe frowned. There were no actual medical supplies on the shelves. Just wadded up rags in a box and bottles of whiskey and vodka. Throwing the containers into the box with the rags, Chloe carried it over to Nate who had begun to tirage those in the shelter.

“I am going to do everything… your grandson is going to be in the best hands okay?” Nathan said as he looked over at Mrs. Abernathy for a moment before turning his attention back over to Jasper.

Nathan Harland

“Go. Take care of him and the others. I am not going anywhere,” Leila leaned her head against the wall closing her eyes. There were others hurt more. Nathan would come back. He always took care of her even when she did not need it.

As Chloe approached Nathan the sounds of sobbing, moaning, and talking echoed in the space creating a weird white noise only known by medical professionals in emergencies. The group must not have known there were doctors here or they were too used to events like this understanding medical treatments would be rudimentary at best. Chloe’s heart broke knowing there was so little they could do for anyone in this place. All the injuries at first glance would be a simple fix yet not here. A hypo of anesthetizing agents would take the pain away. A dermal generator would fix the wound. Chloe and Nate only had booze and rags.

“He won’t wake up,” Jasper’s mother said slowly as if in a trance. With Nathan here, the woman could attend to her son as she spoke. Brushing the hair off his brow she slowly lifted the young boy’s head to place it in her lap. “I can’t make him wake up. Why won’t he wake up,” she raised a tear-streaked face to meet Nathan’s gaze. The large gash on his leg was pumping blood out at an alarming rate but not fast enough to indicate he had pierced an artery. As the mother brushed the hair off Jasper’s brow the blood-caked strands showed the laceration was superficial but what under the laceration was not.

Nathan’s eyes dilated as he took in the wound. He knew what it was, or at least could guess within a 90% parameter. Head wounds where often the deadliest trauma on the battlefield. Your body could take so much damage, but your brain, on the other hand, wasn’t built to hand the same level of abuse. So many layers of fluid, fat, and skull fragments tried to shelter the brain but that also left it vulnerable when things forced the brain to slosh around in its own neural juices.

Chloe had enough experience in the ER to retain her blank expression even though the hematoma over Jasper’s right eye concerned her greatly. Without a tricorder or other medical devices, there was no way to know if the hematoma had a subdermal counterpart. The mother’s report of Jasper hitting his head during the attack and the boy’s lack of consciousness led Chloe to believe there was.

“Nathan,” Chloe kept her voice calm, “we need a tricorder.” She said nothing else as her hands and fingers began to cut away the material to expose the leg wound for treatment as Nathan examined the head wound.

“Oh, why didn’t I think of that, I can just take one out of my back pocket,” Nathan said as he began to look like he was searching for the device before stopping with a mock look of shock. “Oh my, I left them in the other trousers,” he said with an eye roll as he pointed for her to sit down next to him. “We don’t have equipment out here, the True Way tear down and we rebuild. They are lucky to have power and food, but they can’t have it all.

“Can you fix him without one? Is he going to be okay,” Jasper’s mom’s voice rose several octaves as she spoke displaying her level of panic was rising. His mom shifted the boy slightly in her lap pulling more of her small child into her arms.

“I will do all I can, I never give up Gilda… you know that. I will do all I can for him, he’s tough… if anyone can make it, it’ll be him.” Nathan said as the lies were flowing softly as he took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure any of them would make it even to the morning at this rate.

“You need to stop moving him until we can evaluate the extent of Jasper’s injury,” Chloe said sharply wiping her brow with the back of her hand. She had been in high-stress situations only there patients had a chance of severe injuries being remedied. Practicing medicine in this bunker was akin to administering medieval medicine with herbs, potions, and prayers.

“Is that going to make it worse,” the mother fisted Nathan’s shirt until her fingers began to turn white. “What is wrong with my son?”

“She is the best nurse I know, we are going to just take a look and…” Nathan said with a pause as he turned to hear his name being called.

“Nathan,” H’iron screamed out moving down the steps two at a time. “They are coming. Take up positions.”

“Aww fu…” Nathan said as he bit his tongue quietly to himself. Now was not the moment for losing his cool. Still, it didn’t help that this was all happening while he was attempting tirage.

The bunker’s cries and moans took on a distinct difference. The low white noise erupted into the sounds of panic as people shifted from their spots trying to find some hole or crevice to hide themselves. Punctuating his words, the doors to the bunker exploded sending billowing clouds of smoke and dust rolling into the small space.

Nathan grabbed Chloe as he found a small table they had in the room as he pulled her towards it as he pushed the table down to give cover as the fighting began. He didn’t have much time for anything as he pressed hard against the wood as he looked to the right of him as Chloe sat with a look of terror on her face. He was trying to push her against the back wall to give her more cover as he slid the disruptor from his back where he had placed it for storage as he began to look over it. “God I hope this has had maintenance recently…” he said softly to himself as he peered out from the edge of the table to look at what was going on next.

Coughing Chloe looked up. Several True Way soldiers emerged from the smoke like figures in a nightmare. Soft pings of phaser fire took out the Gorn and humans trying to defend the bunker. The brightly colored blots shot through the white-gray smoke creating more hysteria from the crowd. The individual descending the steps had to be in charge based on the slow, methodical way he moved. His confidence was almost palpable as he made one announcement to the group. “Rise my children and tell me who you belong to,” the man gestured with his hand’s palms out raising his arms to chest height.

Chloe’s mind immediately jumped to Nathan’s comment from earlier. “Is this where I say you,” she whispered softly to Nathan. The comment was flippant and sarcastic but in times of stress, one could either default to crying or humor. Her time in the ER showed, most people responded better to a lippy nurse than one sobbing on a patient.

Chloe.

“I mean they may already know… everyone else seems to,” Nathan replied with a small smirk as he looked over at her, leaning in he whispered gently in her ear as he placed the disruptor into her hand as he pulled back as he gave her a small wink before kissing her softly. “Remember… Patapsco… don’t do it until I say it.”

Standing up, Nathan kept his hands in the air as Chloe got up behind him close as he shielded her from view from the others. “Now now, no need to bring this to violence… Gul Sect if I recall correctly?” Nathan said, he remembered the man’s face from the briefing. He was one of Legate Dlar’s top henchmen. He was flanked by two Jem’Hadar soldiers as aimed at the crowd as he looked the man in the eyes as he slowly lowered his hands.

“No one here is going to fight you, they are just injured, civilians. Not a threat, and if anything you want me. I am Ensign Nathan Harland, Medical Chief for Fort Har’peng and senior recon sniper or Alpha Team. These people were just looking for my medical aid, they have nothing to gain you here but I do… ” Nathan said as he placed his hands behind his back in a military pose as he tried to appear in charge as the moved more out in the open, Chloe staying right behind him as he placed himself clearly in front of the people he aimed to protect.

“Her?” Nathan said looking behind at Chloe, her demeanor was meek and mousey as she clearly was trying to not appear to be anything. “She’s a nobody, just some street trash I found one day while swimming in the Patapsco,” Nathan said, hoping Chloe was paying attention to his words as he opened the palm of his hand he still held tightly behind him.

“No one is going to be leaving,” Nathan said, his eyes growing dark as he stared down the men before a flash he pulled back from behind the disruptor in hand as he fired away at point-blank range at the two Jem’Haddar officers as they fell to a heap before they could react as Nathan kept the weapon aimed directly at Sect.

“Now… let’s try again… but this time let’s see what you can do for me… call of the squads now… or so help me I will make you wish you never stepped foot on this planet… NOW!” Nathan barked at the man as he waited to see what the next move the man would do. The man seemed to hesitate as he began to reach down to his combadge, Nathan though knew what was going to happen.

Not surprised, Sect reached for the phaser he had on his hip, he figured one surprise draw surely could work a second time. Nathan though without hesitation fired right at the man’s hand as a seared hole left where it used to be as the Cardassian phaser flew across the room. Moving over to kick the weapon over to Chloe, Nathan pistol-whipped the Gul as he fell to his knees before putting the disruptor at the temple of his head.

“I will ask one more time before I have to remove more appendages, call off your squads now or leave this place a bloody stump,” Nathan growled as he felt his blood rising as he waited to see what he was going to do next.

Nathan Harland


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