This Is Not A Test

[Fitter]

Perhaps her idea had not derived of the most logical sense, but Fitter hadn't had the experience of living with space ships, advanced technology, or anything above basic levels of electricity. From her little knowledge on the subject, using water to short it out made more sense than firing a gun at it. Especially a gun designed for use in outer space. When Kaden suggested it, she initially panicked, her eyebrows furrowing together in concern.

Weren't those things ridiculously powerful?

She shrugged off her questions, shoving them in the back of her mind for a later time. If the man thought it would be the best way to get them out of the situation, she would keep quiet about any doubts. Any outburst would tip off the other occupants to exactly how much she knew -or didn't know, rather- about the world around her. Fitter swallowed and bundled Ero in her arms before accepting Richard's help to maneuver over behind the wall. "Thanks," she nodded to him.

Her ankle burned in defiance of the sudden movement, and Fitter leaned against the makeshift wall for support before sliding down the cool metal. Chills flew up her spine, causing her to wrap the blanket tightly around her chest. She snuggled into it, huddling tightly against the wall. Within her arms, Ero's muffled cry reached her ears. "Sorry buddy," she whispered to him. "Stay there for now." With one of her hands she softly rubbed his ears, trying to console the poor thing like she wished someone could console her.

Footsteps from far off caught her attention, and she turned to see an unfamiliar face enter the room. Rather impish look, Fitter thought on first take. Hopefully he could find another way out of the building. One that didn't frighten her as much.

[Daxen]

Thomas sullenly agreed, "Oh fine." He went back over to the kid and sat next to him, watching him intently. The moment this guy woke up and uttered anything close to "I'm fine," Thomas was leaving. He wasn't some babysitter. Though he supposed, to be fair, the kid couldn't be younger than 18.

While Thomas cursed his good luck, Daxen tried resting and calming his mind. He picked up meditation as a way of coping with stress back when he was young. Ironically his attention deficits helped a bit when meditating, as it prevented him from lingering onto some rogue thought for too long and return to peace.

Still, try as he might, he couldn't stop thinking about what he'd learned today. His own shadow was under his control; how did that happen? No one else seemed to have any sort of control over their shadows. In fact, no one else seemed remotely odd in any sort of abnormal way. So why was he able to? What purpose could it serve him, other than to potentially give attackers a momentary fright. Thankfully this preoccupation managed to keep Daxen's pain under control as everyone else went about their business.

[Kaden]

Another man wandered into the cargo bay and asked how he could be of assistance. While Kaden appreciated and honored the attitude there wasn't much he could do to help at the present moment. "We are going to blast these doors open. Please help with the construction of the shield before taking cover yourself," Kaden asked before climbing into the cockpit and beginning to warm up the fighter.

Much of the fighter's weapon capabilities were drawn from the excess energy produced by the engines. Since he didn't want to burn the lungs out of everyone here he didn't turn on the engines. Whatever the guns fired would consist of the charge they'd had before he'd last powered down the ship. Since he'd been approaching an unknown target at the time the guns had been fully charged but they had been sitting in this cargo hold for weeks and the charge would have leaked away over time. Kaden was just hoping it had leaked enough.

Before making his final decision he again debated the wisdom of this plan. Getting everyone back up to the bridge would not be too difficult, even with Fitter's ankle they might manage, all but Daxen anyway. He would be almost impossible to move through the halls that had become a jungle gym. And even if he didn't account for Daxen's injury they would move very slowly and Kaden had no idea how long it would take the Planetary Guard to get here but he knew what would happen when they did and they could not be stuck inside this ship.

Still, while he was %95 certain that the charge in the guns was not powerful enough to seriously harm anyone if they moved quickly and even worried that they wouldn't be strong enough, not that they would be too strong, there was still a small chance that he had calculated wrong. Well, he hadn't even done any calculations. His analysis was based on his personal experience with this particular piece of machinery. That was not ideal.

"Take cover," he said, projecting his voice so that all in the cargo hold would hear him. When he saw everyone behind something Kaden aimed the ship's guns at the doors and took a deep breath before firing.

As he'd expected things got very hot very quickly. There was an unholy shrieking noise as the energy of the guns ripped the air particles in its path apart before doing the same to the ship's hull. There was no fire but there was blinding light and heat. Kaden had instinctively shut his eyes but of course the light burned right through the thin layer of flesh.

He didn't try to figure out what had happened, he just visualized the doctor and Daxen as he had last seen them in the shadow of the cargo they were sheltering behind. He felt the terrible ripping feeling that he was actually becoming used to and he felt the air around him dim as he appeared in the shadow of the cargo. "Come," Kaden said as he blinked uselessly to clear his vision. He couldn't see very well but he could see blobs that he assumed were Daxen and Thomas.

He reached down and picked up Daxen as carefully as he could, painfully aware of the quickly rising temperature of the air around them. It was getting to the point where it was hard and uncomfortable to breath.

"Let's go," he said, hoping the others were close enough to hear him though he couldn't see them, before moving towards the doors. He wasn't sure what he would find when he reached the doors but he didn't let it show as he walked and his vision was starting to clear as the light from the blast faded. By the time he reached the door his vision was only blurred by his own tears and he could see the glowing edges of the metal where the blast from the guns had burned through it and the burning stone beyond. The ship had been very close to the mountain side and there was now a crater there as well but luckily there was enough room between the two for them to escape.

Kaden carefully stepped over the remainder of the door into the cool night air of the western mountains. They'd landed in a meadow of sorts and the high grass of this region brushed his calves as he walked past the blast zone and through it. Kaden looked over his shoulder to see if everyone else had gotten out. "Is everyone ok?"

[Angel]

Greg didn't waste time watching the survivors make their way out of the damaged ship. They would need some place to go when they all got out and, from the looks of it, they couldn't stay here. The ship had ripped a scar in the side of the mountain before getting impaled on the rock and finally coming to a stop. The soft moonlight glittered off the side of the ship's skin and showed him the outline of the crumpled ship. It wasn't made for atmosphere and metal designed to diffuse the heat of suns was not made to stand up to mountains. Even if they had landed properly a couple of hours in gravity would have done damage to the ship. There was no way to get this thing back in the air, let alone out of atmosphere. And it wouldn't make a very good shelter even if one assumed the locals weren't looking for it.

So Greg took one of the lamps they'd brought out with them and began exploring the meadow they'd landed in, trying to decide between setting up a base camp out here or trying to move. They had wounded with them and no doctor in sight yet. The young man he'd sent to find him hadn't returned and their other medic had accompanied Kaden to the hangar bay. But even with a medic they had a few who were too wounded to want to move them.

Greg walked past the jagged line of exposed rock that the ship had torn in the meadow and into the deeper grass, holding the lamp down by his thighs. He didn't want to be blinded by its light and preferred to let the moonlight show him what it could. The problem with lamps was that you came to rely on them and this certainly wasn't a time to rely on anything so uncertain.

After only walking a few feet Greg could make out a line of trees in the distance. With a small frown he turned back towards the ship and the small pool of light created by the rescue party. The milling shadows of the surviving crew as they moved reminded him of the mines of his home planet and the unfortunate time he'd spent in them. Surprisingly here, it was a comfort. It was nice to see something familiar.

Caught in the middle of memory lane Greg was unprepared for the blinding flash that lit up the night around them. He turned away quickly but it was too late to save his vision. Pissed off before he even understood what had happened he waited for his vision to clear before trying to move. As he blinked dots away from his vision he looked in the direction of the ship and saw the glowing metal hole where the hangar doors used to be and a few shapes stumbling out of the doors.

Still rubbing at his eyes, Greg headed right for them, the crew members in his way quickly finding somewhere else to be when they saw the look on the captain's face. As he passed by the priest Greg waved him over. Until they found a new medic the man was the closest thing they had. Besides, it was always possible someone would require last rights after he found out who was responsible for this little stunt

Walking up to the first person out of the hangar bay he was unsurprised to see it was Kaden though the boy he had in his arms did give him pause. Dismissing his presence for the moment Greg concentrated on Kaden.

"What's the meaning of this?" Greg asked in a congenial tone. "Wanted to make us easier to find by sending up a signal to our pursuers perhaps?"

[Deux]

Deux dropped into the Medical bay and landed on a wall next to the clear cabinets. The room was a complete mess and it was hard to move without coming close to something hazardous or sharp. Thankfully the soles of his boots where more than thick enough to stop most objects from causing injury. He glanced around the room before they settled on a limp form in the corner. From what little he could see he assumed it was the ship’s doctor.

As he approached Deux briefly wondered it would have been better to have checked the medical bay first. His systematic theory had seemed more logical but like the man from early had said, here he was at his station. Deux reached out a hand and turned the man’s head which rolled unnatural smoothly. Apparently he had been dead at his station, most likely since the crash.

Seeing nothing else to do Deux found a canvas bag and began loading supplies into it. No use in them going to waste and perhaps the other medic could use them. Perhaps he would need some of them if his injuries where graver than he originally thought. Deux made sure to grab the antibiotics and bandages before moving onto things he didn’t need like the painkillers. The bag was nearly full when he heard an explosion.

Deux pulled the bag over his uninjured shoulder and stood up on the stainless steel table. After gaining a firm footing he pulled himself back up into the hall. He shifted the bag on his back before running in the direction of the hanger. There was heat leaking into the halls and it was more than what he would expect from a conventional explosion. Then again he had never had a ship fire around him.

While Deux enjoyed talking to Kaden and looked forward to learning, he did not trust him. He liked to believe that the man would have stayed around but it was a matter of facts. Kaden was a prisoner, he wanted to escape, now he had the opportunity. Odds pointed to him running in the near future. It gave him incentive to see where the man was before he took the opportunity. Deux carefully ran through the chaos in the hanger toward the opening and jumped through.

The ground felt different. It was hard but it had the slightest amount of give. Ships and docks were solid floors. He took a second to just stay on one knee with his hand on the ground. Deux briefly wondered how long it would take him to adjust to the planets gravity as opposed to the ships. The sky was different too. It seemed farther way. People’s voices distracted him from his thoughts and reminded him of why he had left the ship.

He briefly regarded Kaden, mostly noting that he was still there and had Daxen, before turning to the Captain. “The doctor you sent me to find is dead,” he said simply and held out the bag, “I have some of his supplies for the medics if they need them.”

[Bartelby]

Bartelby covered his ears to stop the shrieking sound of the guns going off in the cargo hold, but quickly realized he should have covered his eyes. He almost went blind as colors he had never seen before filled his field of vision.

Bartelby's vision returned just in time to see the captain waving him over. He wasn't sure why he was needed, but didn't question it. He figured he would find out soon enough.

They arrived to find the teleporting criminal helping someone out of the wreckage. Soon to follow was the one who had been sent to find the medic. Apparently the medic was dead. A familiar mild weakness suddenly filled Bartelby and he wondered what was causing it. He doubted it was the news that the medic had died.

Maybe it was due to the fact that he had sent Patsey to go find the medic, but he still hadn't returned. Maybe, but he doubted that was it either. Ah well, no sense worrying about it right now. It was probably because he was just having a rough day.

Bartelby stood silently as he waited to see if he was needed. That, and he was taking in the situation and making sure he was in no danger. After all, there was still a lot of heat escaping the cargo hold. Bartelby didn't want to get burned by some unexpected debris.

Or stabbed in the back by that prisoner.

[Remy]

If it would help them get out faster, Remy just decided to just listen to the prisoner's instructions and help out. He grabbed a nearby crate that he was capable of lifting alone, and added it to the wall they were constructing, wondering just how well it would hold against a blast like the one they were planning. He remained quiet, aside from the occasional grunt or breathing when moving or pushing boxes and the like; it was just going to be a matter of time.

The prisoner warned them to take cover, so Remy crouched down behind their shield and held his breath. As soon as he heard the blast, his body instinctively clamped his eyes shut and covered them with one hand when the light was unbearable. The air was thinning, and he barely heard someone's voice telling them to go before he was racing towards the opening.

The night air was welcomed by Remy, breathing in clean gulps of the stuff and trying to rid the smoke and other pollution from the blast and other small fires and such from the initial damage to the ship. He was gone, on a new planet without the UIR on his tail...time to leave.

He had his plans, a gun, he knew how to survive and con a person or two. What was stopping him from leaving? The warm, yet cool sensation on his back, beneath his shirt and jacket. In fact, it was his shirt that gave it away, because it was sticking to his body. He craned around to take a look, and found a large crimson spot on his back.

"Perfect," he mumbled, finding a large wound that was open and bleeding. "Mind bringing that med kit over here?" he called to the guy he ran into earlier. "I need someone to patch me up."

[Fitter]

As Kaden climbed into the cockpit and prepared the weapon to fire, Fitter drew the blanket around her tighter, eyes clenched tight in anticipation of the blast. Of course, the girl had no notion of anything to expect. The only information she had on what a blast actually looked like stemmed from the tales recounted by travelers back home, most of which were frowned upon by her father and immediately halted mid-sentence.

The officer called out a warning, prompting the girl to take a deep breath. What happened if there was no air on this new planet? Or if the blast sucked up all of the oxygen in the room? She had never quite given much thought to death, but in the weeks since she had left home, Sheah, the god of eternal sleep, often visited her mind. And the consequences thereof, but Fitter’s train of thought was interrupted by a ear-splitting scream that could only be described as nature’s death cry. An intense heat enveloped the room, immediately dispelling the cold that had settled within her from the cooler. Now her blanket seemed more like a heat trap than a comfort. A bright light blinded the room and she curled up tighter, pressing her body as close to the wall as she could. Never had she heard a sound that tore at her mind like this! As quickly as it appeared, the noise vanished, only the hints of swinging hinges or debris resting trickling in the night.

Fist still clenched, Fitter reluctantly opened her eyes, terrified. White spots darted about her vision, barely able to make out the others heading toward the new opening. Her hands shook as she threw the now useless blanket off of her and attempted to rise. She stumbled at first, disoriented by nausea. Ero darted out from beneath her, scampering about like a demonic figure. Neither of them had been prepared for something like that. At least we made it out…she sighed softly as she took the moment to catch her breath. Voices drifted in from behind them, signaling the arrival of…was that the captain? He’d certainly have a plan or something; he seemed the ridiculously resourceful type. Willing herself to balance, she inched across the hanger, using every object in the way as a prop to hold herself up. Searing heat flew up her arms; probably not the best idea to use metal object that had just been zapped at a higher temperature than she had ever dreamed of.

Fitter drew her hand close to her chest, wincing from the pain as she finally reached the opening. The cool air settled softly on her skin, a welcoming sensation that brought a vague recollection of home. In her mild relief, she bypassed most of the other crew members and found a tree to collapse against. A moment behind her, Ero followed in rapid pursuit, scrambling between the feet of all the survivors before curling up in her lap.

Out of habit, her shaky hand rested on the small creature’s back, fingers gently rubbing in a circular direction. Fitter’s eyes darted about, analyzing the wreckage around her as her pulse slowly returned to normal. An unnatural glow illuminated the outside of the ship, of which she barely had a desire to look at. The size of the craft was unfathomable and made her feel like an ant next to the tallest tree in the forest. How had something taken down a ship of that size? It was beyond her understanding and Fitter hated it. There were so many things in this new world her family had barred her from that she didn’t comprehend. How could they just ignore all of this when so much depended on that information for survival? Her free hand rested on the cool ground and her fingers wrapped themselves in the soil. At least this made sense; dirt didn’t change much from planet to planet…as far as she knew.

[Kaden]

Kaden watched as each person made it out of the ship, Daxen's warm form still in his arms. He wasn't exactly sure what to do with him until the medic came out but, thankfully, the medic had followed close on his heels and was currently coughing and waving away the dust from the immediate air around his mouth, as if that would help.

The next person out was a young man that came out through the smoke and, expecting to see Richard, the only one not accounted for, he was surprised to see it was Deux. He was glad he'd made it out, though, of all the people here, Deux was the one he worried about surviving the least. The man who had shown up at the last minute was after Deux and then Fitter made her way out as well which really made him worry about Richard. Richard had been with her and had been supposed to help her. But before he could begin to worry about it too much he heard people approaching.

Kaden turned at the sound of the Captain's voice. For a moment he was at a loss about how to answer the question. He hadn't really considered what the blast would look like. Honestly, there had been no way to know. No one had ever fired a Falcon's canon inside a ship that was in atmosphere before. He'd only had a vague idea of what might happen but his focus had been on getting the people out safely. He'd actually been glad that the blast had created more light than heat (though there was still plenty of the later). The energy had to be released somehow and light was more harmless than heat.

But now that almost everyone had made it out and he had a chance to think he realized Greg was right. He might as well have just signaled everyone for miles, maybe leagues, 'here we are, come find us.'

Kaden grimaced. It was bad enough he'd made a mistake, it was worse to have it pointed out to him by Greg, a man he'd long ago dismissed as beneath his regard. "We needed to get out of the ship," was the only explanation he offered. He managed to do so in his usual calm tone but he was looking past Greg as opposed to at him and he didn't say more than that. The thought of apologizing or explaining himself was enough to nearly choke him.

'Since when have you gotten so proud?' An internal voice chided him but he ignored it. It wasn't really a time for self reflection. People were still hurt and they were still being pursued and he'd given away their position.

"Orders?" He managed to ask, looking at Greg.

[Angel]

Greg watched as each person came out, taking note of their condition. When Deux showed up he was glad to see the boy had sense enough to bring medical supplies when he'd found the doctor dead. Often it seemed as if he would do nothing without orders. Greg really didn't have time for people without a mind of their own.

Upon hearing about the doctor he only sighed. The news about the doctor was unfortunate but not unexpected. At least they had a replacement.

"Well," he said after Kaden had mumbled something like an explanation, "it seems we have to move." The choice between staying with the ship or moving on was now moot. There was no way they could stay here.

"Medic, I want you to take an inventory of all of the wounded. Find out who can walk, who will need assistance and who needs to be carried. Take the medical supplies with you. Stabilize who you can. If you can't stabilize them enough to move them they are going to be left behind so work quickly, but thoroughly. We're saving as many as we can. I don't want to hear complaints from the rest of the crew that their best friend got left behind because you didn't do your job, understood?"

The medic looked annoyed but nodded and walked over to Deux to take possession of the medical supplies. "Tom," Greg called as the man began to go through the supplies in the dim light of the glowing ship, "if I do hear complaints you'll have to answer for them yourself." The crew was mostly predictable. No one had signed on with him that didn't see the value of putting personal grudges aside to get the job done. Even so, they were still pirates, and personal revenge was not unheard of. Greg didn't condone it, mostly because it just made for a bad working environment. In this case he would flay anyone who took out their last real medic out of spite. But the suggestion did it's job. Tom swallowed visibly and went back to looking at the medical supplies with more enthusiasm.

"Father," Greg continued, the medic taken care of, "if you wouldn't mind can you accompany him? There may still be a few beyond saving that might need your services or a few who would benefit from your encouragement."

Greg looked over at Kaden and then back at the tree line he'd been approaching earlier. For whatever reason the prisoner seemed inclined to stick around and to listen and do what he was told. Greg didn't think it had anything to do with him or any loyalty to the ship. But Kaden struck him as the type to fear being thought of as dishonorable or less than perfect, no matter what the reality was. He seemed to have taken an interest in the health of a few of the younger members of Greg's crew. So be it. Let him labor to help them then.

"When we move we'll need stretchers and crutches for the wounded including your two friends here," Greg said, indicating Daxen and Fitter, who had walked off. "Perhaps you can go find some suitable material in the forest? If you two wouldn't mind going with him after you've seen to your injuries," Greg asked of Deux and Remy. "I'll send a few more to help you in a moment."

[Daxen]

Daxen was immediately brought out of his musings by the loud explosion. Next thing he knew he was surrounded by thick smoke and heat, and then being picked up by...someone; he couldn't tell who it was through the pain and the debris. He tried to hold his breath, but eventually it was too much for his out-of-shape body and he started coughing, which, due to his injury, proved to be the most painful thing he had done this whole time.

Eventually they had made it out to (relatively) fresh air, and he managed to get some oxygen into his lungs. He was still going through painful coughing spasms, though he tried his hardest to control them so nothing serious would occur. He looked around in a daze, trying to make out who had made it out. It seems the doctor, Fitter, the captain, and others had made it out alive, but what about Kaden?

He was then reminded that he was being held by a familiar voice from above. He looked up and paled (or as much as he could after being in his situation, at least) for it was Kaden who was carrying him. Forgetting about his injuries, he tried his best to wriggle free, though of course he could only manage minute, barely noticable movements. He hated being a burden; he was technically a stowaway, he didn't want to make things worse!

Finally an idea popped into his head and he tenderly reached into his pocket. He pulled out the hand-written botany journal he always carried and shoved it into Kaden's chest while saying quietly, "U-Use this...i-if you th-think it'll help." He hated parting with it, but it was better than doing nothing, and he knew he could trust him with it for now.

[Angel]

Jaxon ka'Lupo squinted in the dim light the moon cast as filtered through the branches of the forest. He wasn't really straining to see, however, it was just what he did while he was trying to figure out how to handle a situation. Behind him his partner had one of his knives out and was lightly flipping it through the air while he waited for Jaxon to make a decision. The Lupo Rangers always travelled in pairs.

Before he'd come here Jaxon had been a complete stranger to even the thought of Rangers. In his birth city they had only had the city guard and it had been much more of a structured environment. Like all other young men of his House he'd served in the guard until he'd married into Lupo. That was when he'd had to be completely reeducated. He had thought he was a good fighter when he was 19 but he had known nothing. In Lupo he'd been taught to truly be able to move through the forest as the capable animal he was, disturbing the wild life only as much as any large predator would.

It had been years since he'd come to Lupo and he was quite adept at his job now so the strangers in the clearing didn't see or hear him, nor his partner. He watched the silhouettes of the strangers as they milled about their downed ship like ants on a carcass.

He turned back to Maxim and motioned that they should leave and get reinforcements. There were too many bodies in that clearing for them to handle on their own even with the forest on their side. Besides, he wasn't even sure he should kill them. The law said he should but the law had been warped out of recognition lately. Perhaps there was a better use for the interlopers.

Maxim nodded. He'd wanted to go back from the beginning. He sheathed his knife at his waist and they both turned and headed up the mountain the valley was part of. Trying to go back to the city and call all the other Ranger teams in would take forever. But it wouldn't take long to call in the teams in the area.

[Kaden]

Kaden nodded tersely when Greg started handing out assignments. He began walking towards Fitter after Greg turned to take care of the rest of the crew. Conveniently, she was in the same direction as the tree line.

He felt Daxen stir in his arms and looked down to see if he had woken up. Kaden ad just assumed he'd passed out somewhere between getting hurt and getting out but Daxen was looking back up at him. "Good ev-" he began to say but Daxen cut him off when he pushed his cherished journal into Kaden's chest. They had reached Fitter by the trees and Kaden carefully knelt down and laid Daxen down next to her before using his newly freed hands to take possession of the journal.

As he picked it up and turned it over in his hands he was tempted to give it back. He didn't have place to put it where he'd feel it was safe while he tried find litter making material in the woods and he didn't want it to get damage. He knew how much Daxen treasured it if only by the way he held it the few times they'd spoken. But one didn't refuse a gift. This detail of good manners was as ingrained in his social makeup as please and thank you.

"Thank you Daxen," Kaden replied, putting the journal under one arm. "I'm sure it will help. I don't know the vegetation of these mountains very well and this might help me identify the trees in the area. I'll soon be back with litter and crutches supplies. Do you both think you'll be ok out here or do you want me to try to fetch the medic?"

[Deux]

With the supplies taken care of Deux turned his attention to his surroundings. It had been a while since he had stood on a planet and not rushed. He let his eyes wander across the tree line, getting to know the area. A movement caught his attention and his pupils widened. For a moment he swore he saw a glimmer of something but as he visually searched the area nothing came of it. Deux was about to take a step toward the tree line when he heard the captain speak again.

He nodded at the orders before turning back to the forest. The injuries he had were not life threatening at the moment and the wound on his head had long since stopped bleeding. If anything all he wanted to do was get clean. Without the tools to do so or even clothing to change into he left the notion alone.

Whatever he saw move earlier didn’t make itself known again. Either it had been the wind or it had moved to another location. Deux walked over to Kaden and took a knee next to him and Daxen. He pulled the knife out of his boot and flipped it around in his hand. It wasn’t near his best but it was the only one he was willing to part with. If it hadn’t been his imagination and there was something in the woods, Deux wanted to be ready and not worrying about others. Kaden had blades on him when he was captured, he had seen the man practice his martial art frequently, Deux hoped he had that dedication when he practiced with his weapons before they were taken.

“I do not believe we are alone,” he said offering Kaden the blade. The devil that you know, came to mind and he hoped the man wouldn’t try anything to terribly stupid.

[Bartelby]

Bartelby bowed his head respectively to the captain and followed the medic. There was no point in arguing. Attending patients was the priestly thing to do. Bartelby couldn't think of anything else for someone in his position to do (at least not anything that would avoid raising suspicions) so he obliged the captain's request.

But despite his compliant attitude, Bartelby did not want to spend any more time around dying patients. It was depressing.

"May your wounds be healed and your spirits rise," he said to one man who looked like he would probably make it. "May your soul rest at ease and your sins be absolved," he said to someone who's outcome was not quite as certain.

As Bartelby and the medic made their way through the injured crowd, Patsy finally showed up again. Bartelby's most loyal follower still had an obviously broken arm that had not been tended to. "Sit still and try to avoid causing yourself pain while we attend to others with more serious maladies," Bartelby instructed. He enjoyed having Patsy around as a sort of henchman, but he could also be rather annoying at times. Patsy was way too captivated by Bartelby's made-up religion.

"May the light of the universe ring true in your soul," he said to another patient. Bartelby was a little disturbed at how easily all of this religious mumbo-jumbo was starting to roll off his tongue.