![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Feb. 22nd, 2015 04:12 pmOne thing Ellen had to give the robots of General Atomics: they followed their programming to the letter. Their security programming, specifically. The instant the last intruder's foot crossed the invisible line extending fifty yards out from the General Atomics front gate, it went quiet- all the lasers, all the plasma bolts, everything.
"AND KEEP YOUR WORTHLESS COMMIE ASSES OUT!"
... well, nearly silent. Nothing could shut up a Mister Gutsy short of total destruction.
It didn't matter. They weren't being shot at any more- that was what mattered. Especially since from what she could see of D0G's supine passenger, Knight Conklin was still unconscious and unmoving.
---
Waiting for people to return from a combat zone is never easy. Sometimes you have to put your brain somewhere else or you fret yourself to death while it happens. Card games are good for that, especially when they're card games you've never played before. Learning new rules is something to concentrate on. Scribe Cancio was pretty sure the so-called dentist was lying through his teeth about some of them, but hey, it was something to concentrate on.
At least until Painless spotted something out the Red Rocket station's window and stood up so quickly he overturned the card table.
---
Painless glanced up from the unmoving Knight and did his best to stifle the knot in his stomach. "He's responding to pain, which is a good sign, but I don't like the quality of the responses," he said. "Just how hard did he hit his head, anyway?"
"Not sure. There was an explosion right before he hit the wall. My audio compensators were filtering out most of the sound," said- Kang, that was it, the man's name was Kang. "It was pretty bad, though."
"Crap." Painless started to rub at his own face, then dropped his hands. "Yeah, that's- I'll be honest, that's extraordinarily bad. I'm just a dentist, not a doctor. I've had to treat traumatic unconsciousness before a couple of times, but that was ice gangers getting knocked off their feet in a fight. This is a little outside what I've got the skills to handle."
The Knight, and the- mole people? Was that what they'd called themselves?- turned to look at Paladin 101. 101 didn't seem to notice; her eyes were on the unconscious man's pale, clammy face. "If he'd just gotten stabbed or shot or something I could deal with that," she said to no one in particular. "Voodoo, we may have to get a-"
She paused. She looked up at Painless.
"Wait. You mentioned people who did medical treatment in this city, didn't you?"
Painless hesitated. "Well, yeah, but-"
"Is there any chance at all that they'd be able to help with something like this?"
"Doctor D might," said Painless. "The Franklin Girls are good with a lot of trauma. I'm not sure about this, though."
"It's better than anything either of us can do," said 101. "D0G, once we've immobilized Knight Conklin properly, we're going to take him and follow Painless to wherever these Franklin Girls are. Unit 83, you take point and make sure nobody gets in our way."
"Order accepted."
"Voodoo, your people and Kang will be guarding the sides and the rear. You and I will be looking for every possible entrance to the country of the mole people between here and the Franklin Girls." She grimaced. "I'll deal with the repercussions if we happen to find one."
Painless raised an eyebrow, but since nobody seemed inclined to explain any of it to him, left it at that.
"AND KEEP YOUR WORTHLESS COMMIE ASSES OUT!"
... well, nearly silent. Nothing could shut up a Mister Gutsy short of total destruction.
It didn't matter. They weren't being shot at any more- that was what mattered. Especially since from what she could see of D0G's supine passenger, Knight Conklin was still unconscious and unmoving.
---
Waiting for people to return from a combat zone is never easy. Sometimes you have to put your brain somewhere else or you fret yourself to death while it happens. Card games are good for that, especially when they're card games you've never played before. Learning new rules is something to concentrate on. Scribe Cancio was pretty sure the so-called dentist was lying through his teeth about some of them, but hey, it was something to concentrate on.
At least until Painless spotted something out the Red Rocket station's window and stood up so quickly he overturned the card table.
---
Painless glanced up from the unmoving Knight and did his best to stifle the knot in his stomach. "He's responding to pain, which is a good sign, but I don't like the quality of the responses," he said. "Just how hard did he hit his head, anyway?"
"Not sure. There was an explosion right before he hit the wall. My audio compensators were filtering out most of the sound," said- Kang, that was it, the man's name was Kang. "It was pretty bad, though."
"Crap." Painless started to rub at his own face, then dropped his hands. "Yeah, that's- I'll be honest, that's extraordinarily bad. I'm just a dentist, not a doctor. I've had to treat traumatic unconsciousness before a couple of times, but that was ice gangers getting knocked off their feet in a fight. This is a little outside what I've got the skills to handle."
The Knight, and the- mole people? Was that what they'd called themselves?- turned to look at Paladin 101. 101 didn't seem to notice; her eyes were on the unconscious man's pale, clammy face. "If he'd just gotten stabbed or shot or something I could deal with that," she said to no one in particular. "Voodoo, we may have to get a-"
She paused. She looked up at Painless.
"Wait. You mentioned people who did medical treatment in this city, didn't you?"
Painless hesitated. "Well, yeah, but-"
"Is there any chance at all that they'd be able to help with something like this?"
"Doctor D might," said Painless. "The Franklin Girls are good with a lot of trauma. I'm not sure about this, though."
"It's better than anything either of us can do," said 101. "D0G, once we've immobilized Knight Conklin properly, we're going to take him and follow Painless to wherever these Franklin Girls are. Unit 83, you take point and make sure nobody gets in our way."
"Order accepted."
"Voodoo, your people and Kang will be guarding the sides and the rear. You and I will be looking for every possible entrance to the country of the mole people between here and the Franklin Girls." She grimaced. "I'll deal with the repercussions if we happen to find one."
Painless raised an eyebrow, but since nobody seemed inclined to explain any of it to him, left it at that.