War and MG Chap 2

Sighing heavily through her nose, Emrald wondered why she was required to attend these strategy meetings. As she was a surgeon in charge of a field unit, her role in an operation never much changed.Tucking herself in the back of the darkened room, she had hoped being situated behind everyone would prevent her inattentiveness from being discovered. While the commander of the operation was going on about unit positioning and flanks and other things she couldn’t care less about, Emrald leaned back in her chair and looked up at the ceiling. She went through her mental check list regarding the status of her unit for what had to have been the tenth time during this meeting. As far she knew they were in perfect readiness. The several battles she had been present for had been overwhelming victories for the Coalition. They’d sustained remarkably few causalities, so she had barely had to tap into their medical supplies.

 

Suddenly the lights snapped on, forcing Emrald to wince and look away. She had been directly at an overhead light without realizing it. Blinking rapidly to try and clear the spots, she felt the presence of eyes upon her. Looking up she realized that the commander and several others were looking directly at her across the sea of people exiting the room.

 

“Emrald!” Colonel Mirona Serlov snapped, after the last of the crowd had left.

 

“…Uh, yes, Colonel ?”

 

Serlov sighed and rubbed her temples, then looked back up at Emrald.

 

“Your inability to pay attention is wearing thin, Captain. That the lives of our wounded are in your

hands…”

 

Emrald briefly considered making a quip, but decided against it after considering the colonel’s

frustration. Instead she simply drew herself to attention and waiting for the Mirona to continue.

 

“We’re going to be using your unit a bit different in this op. We want you to follow the 51st Lancers in as they progress through the enemy’s lines. We’ve found that due to how fast we over-run the human positions, they often abandon their triage camps and leave their casualties behind. We hope to get you in there to capture them.”

 

Emrald stood surprised, her eyebrows arching up.

 

“Why would we want to take on the burden of their wounded? It would only waste our supplies.”

 

Serlov nodded in agreement, then continued “Yes, but we feel it’s worth it. We have captured few

humans. Command believes this would be an ideal way to gain intelligence.”

 

Emralds tails danced back and forth as she cupped her chin in her hand and considered things. She cocked her head to the side.

 

“And I assume I’ll have some sort of combat force attached?”

 

Motioning to an aide, Serlov grabbed a dossier from her and then handed it to Emrald.

 

“Yes, Lieutenant Reia Neuvirth. She and her unit excel in operations that require a bit of subtlety. I’ve requested that she meet you in your quarters at 0900.”

 

Emrald opened it up and scanned the first few pages, then looked back up.

 

“Now then, Captain Dirz, I expect you and your women will be ready for the operation tomorrow.

Additionally you will need to work things out with Major Orozco of the 51st. I will be anticipating your mission plan by 1600.”

 

Serlov fixed Emrald with a stare for a moment before she slithered out of the room, followed by her aide. Now alone in the room, Emrald sighed and rolled her eyes. Dealing with the centaur was always such a pain. They were so prideful and humorless. Hanging her head slightly, she trudged out of the conference room and back to her quarters.

 

 

 

Emrald was sitting at her desk when a knock came at her door. She looked to her side at the door.

 

“Who is it?”

 

“Lieutenant Reia Neuvirth reporting, sir”

 

“Come in.”

 

Emrald spun around to fully face the door as it opened. Reia had to crouch slightly to get through the doorframe, then came to attention just inside the room. Emrald cocked an eyebrow as she looked up.

 

“How is this subtle?” she grumbled.

 

“Pardon?” Reia asked, slightly confused.

 

“Oh nothing, please, have a seat… if there’s somewhere for you to sit in here anyways.”

 

 Emrald looked around the room quickly.

 

“I guess you can sit on my bunk if you want. “

 

Reia waved her hands in front of her,

 

“I’m fine with standing sir.”

 

Emralds ears twitched slightly.

 

“Please, just call me Emrald. I don’t much like being called sir and Captain and all that. Only reason I have this rank is because I’m a surgeon.”

 

“As you wish,” said Reia, shrugging.

 

“Now then, I believe you’re running guard duty for me and my medics while we attempt to capture a few human triage camps? Shouldn’t be too much trouble. A nice leisurely drive, stabilize whoever is critical, then stuff everyone in the trucks and ferry them back over here.”

 

Emrald had picked up a pencil and pointed it at Reia while she spoke.

 

Reia thought a moment before responding, crossing her arms across her chest.

 

“Yes, well, if there was so little risk as you seem to think then I would not be here. I would suggest you re-consider the risks. While we have been rather successful so far, I would not imagine it will always continue as such.

 

Emrald raised an eyebrow and the tips of her tails began twitching slightly.

 

“So I’ve been told. No matter,” waving away Reia’s concerns with a hand, “we probably won’t have any trouble. Well, I have to go speak with Major Teresa Orozco. Want to come with me? I can’t stand being near her alone.”

 

“Uh, if you wish.”

 

Emrald smiled, “Well I don’t really wish to, but the responsibilities of command and all that.”

 

Emrald stood up and smoothed out some of the surfaces of her uniform and then fluffed out her tails.

 

She frowned as she ran her hands through the soft fur.

 

“Ah, it’s impossible to get myself well-groomed out here. “

 

She walked over and looked up at the minotaur, then at the little poof of fur at the end of her tail.

 

“Must be nice…” Emrald said as she put her hands on her hips.

 

Reia looked down at Emrald, who was small even by kitsune standards. Letting a small smile form on her face, she responded in a pitying tone.

 

“Indeed it is.”

 

Emrald glowered at her before sighing.

 

“Well whatever, let’s get to the Major’s office.”

 

 

 

Sprawled out on her bunk, Emrald yawned mightily then hugged her tails closely, her face buried in their fluff and rolled back and forth a few times before releasing them. Awkwardly fumbling about, she dragged herself across the bed towards the nightstand. Groping for the clock, she managed to grab iit and bring it very near her face. 0455, five minutes before the alarm would go off. She grumbled in irritation and thought about whether to just get up now or wait for the alarm. With a snort she decided that she may as well get up now. Gathering up her things, she shuffled off towards the showers.

 

“Oh Reia, you’re here already?” Emrald was a bit surprised to see someone else here this early.

 

The only reason she had to wake so early was to prep the medical supplies and the morning briefing for her medics before the operation.

 

Reia nodded.

 

“I was up half an hour ago, actually. Morning jog.”

 

“You? Jogging? Doesn’t that, you know, hurt?” Emrald eyed the minotaur’s ample chest.

 

“They probably weigh as much as I do.”

 

Reia narrowed her eyes, then turned her head slightly and continued to stare at Emrald.

 

“No, we’re not doing this,” she huffed.

 

“Doing what?” said Emrald, doing her best to avoid looking coy.

 

“You know damn well what. This talk. About bodies… and body parts. It’s entirely inappropriate.” Reia was starting to blush slightly now. Before Emrald could protest, she turned, grabbed her things, and hid inside a stall to change into her clothes.

 

“Aww you’re so bashful,’ Emrald cooed.

 

Emrald snickered as Reia walked out without saying anything. Now in a decidedly good mood, she began humming to herself. After disrobing she poked herself in various places, then cupped her rear with her hands.

 

“I may not be able to compete with her in breasts, but this is my secret weapon!” she boldly declared to the empty room, jiggled her rump, then nodded with satisfaction to herself.”

 

 

 

Out in the field hospital, Emrald was busily sorting and counting a variety of supplies. As her medical staff showed up, she instructed them to begin loading the trucks with the supplies she had already organized. While she was checking off her supply list, Reia had shown up along with her squad and several large transport vehicles to use for the human captives. As Reia hopped out of a truck, Emrald walked over to her.

 

“You’re a bit early. The 51st  is scheduled to head out in an hour, then we’re to leave 15 minutes after them. I’ve just about finished all the preparations here. “

 

“Anything you need help with?”

 

“Nah, we’ve got it covered.”

 

Emrald looked around a bit, then leaned in towards Reia and spoke in a hushed tone.

 

“I am a bit excited though, I’ve never seen a live human yet. Well, I hope they’ll still be mostly alive when we get there. “

 

Reia noticed Emrald’s tails were waving back and forth energetically.

 

“Well you’re not missing much. They aren’t all that different from us, though they do all kind of look the same.”

 

“Oho~? Pictures and descriptions never match the real thing, you know. I’d like to see first-hand.“

 

Reia snorted, then sat down on the side step of the truck cab.

 

“Don’t get too excited. You’re probably just going to be disappointed.”

 

“We’ll see about that.” Emrald said as she turned to resume finishing her tasks.

 

 

 

 

 

“Emrald! Where the hell are you?”

 

Emrald was surprised by the urgency in Teresa’s voice. She fumbled for the radio as the truck bounced and jolted across the terrain. The ground had been more uneven and rough than anticipated, slowing the medical convoy as they attempted to stay behind the centaur Calvary.

 

“Ah, we’re not terribly far behind you, I thi-“ a sudden jounce caused Emrald to drop the mic on the floor. Scrambling to pick it back up, she resumed “I think I see your unit, or the dust they’ve kicked up anyways.”

 

“I need you up here now! We’ve sustained heavy casualties. Get your ass here now! I need to leave to re-join what’s left of my unit.”

 

“Yes sir, we’ll be making best speed to your position,” Emrald snapped back.

 

Heavy casualities? That left Emrald at a bit of a loss, then she thought about the previous day and how she had talked about things being too easy so far. She placed a finger on her lips and tilted her head while wondering if she had somehow jinxed things.

 

Turning to the driver of the truck she was in she spoke loudly,

 

“Well you heard her, let’s get a move on.”

 

Reaching for the radio again, she tuned to the general frequency of her unit and repeated the order to move at best speed.

 

After a few minutes, Emrald spotted the centaur. Some appeared to be walking around with great

difficulty. Countless more lay motionless on the ground. She quickly began to realize things were far more grave than she had anticipated from the short conversation with Major Orozco. Again she picked up the radio and began issuing orders to the fleet of trucks in an attempt to spread out the staff and supplies.

 

Soon they reached the battlefield and Emrald leapt from the truck before it had fully stopped. She

darted to the nearest walking centaur and asked about the situation. The centaur hesitated for a

moment before looking at Emrald’s collar.

 

“Well Captain, we were ambushed by a squad of men. They tore us up bad as we approached the trench line here. There’s not many of us able to walk.”

 

 The centaur gasped and wheezed while breathing. Emrald looked her over quickly and saw that she had been shot twice in her horse half’s chest. Likely had a punctured lung. Other trucks began pulling up, medical personnel streaming out to attend to the wounded. Emrald ran back to her own truck and got on the radio and contacted HQ.

 

“We’ve got a lot wounded here. Many of them severe – I’d like to setup triage here and begin to operate on the most critical.”

 

Seconds ticked by. She was beginning to get anxious.

 

“Repeat, we’ve go-“

 

“Heard you the first time. Currently waiting for a response from Colonel Serlov.” The operator

interrupted.

 

Emrald tapped her foot incessantly, her ears and tails twitching in equal measure. After what seemed like hours, the radio crackled to life.

 

“Captain,” it was Serlov speaking, “You are to leave a small contingent of medics and trucks there and continue with your mission.”

 

Emrald was speechless. Surely some of the wounded here would die without immediate surgery.

 

“But Colonel, these people need treatment and they need it now. I just talked to one who will likely

asphyxiate soon.”

 

“Are you disobeying orders, Captain?”

 

Emrald bit her lip hard.

 

“No sir – I just-“

 

“Then carry out your orders. We’re dispatching another field staff now. “

 

She knew they would take far too long to reach their location. She threw the mic down and looked out through the windshield at the centaur she had just spoken with.

 

“Gods damn it.”  She jumped out of the truck again to speak with the medics that were running about. As she approached the trenches, she came across Reia and her troops inside; they were removing bodies. When she came up to the edge to speak with Reia, there was a shout from one of her soldiers as they hefted a massive centaur body.

 

“We’ve got a human here, I think he’s still alive.”

 

Emrald jumped down into the trench and sprinted over to where the shout had originated. The

minotaur soldiers had moved the centaur’s corpse up onto the surface, completely exposing the man that had been pinned underneath. Emrald looked around at the ground and then back at the man.

 

Apparently he had fallen into a depression on the floor, preventing his body from taking the brunt of the centaur’s weight.

 

“Lucky…” Emrald breathed out.

 

Placing two fingers to the man’s neck she confirmed a pulse and was able to see that he was breathing, though it was sharp and ragged. No doubt he sustained significant injury from the centaur falling on top of him. She yelled for a stretcher, then considered how to move him without causing further harm.

 

Reia appeared overhead, her shadow completely covering Emrald.

 

“I heard from one of the others that we’re to keep moving.”

 

Emrald turned and shot her a glance.

 

“Yeah, though I recall I was supposed to carry out the original mission, which was to capture some humans I believe. And what do we have here?” she turned back to the man, a grin crooking a corner of her mouth.

 

“At least while I figure out how to get him stable and out of here the rest of my staff can continue to treat the centaur.” She said in a low voice.

 

Reia snapped a quick affirmative and went to help finish removing the bodies that were in the trench.

 

After a few moments an oni medic had shown up with a stretcher. As the medic was securing the man to the rigid board, Emrald had removed most of his upper uniform to ascertain the damage. Heavy bruising around his chest suggested to her that he probably had some broken ribs at the very least. Her eyes lingered on him with great curiosity. This was the first time she had seen a male of any species up close like this. Once he was securely fastened, the oni lifted him up to take him to a medical truck. Before heading to the truck herself, Emrald detoured to check on the centaur.

 

“How are things?” She asked, running up to her senior NCO.

 

“There are five that are severely wounded. Two of them might last until the other team arrives, but I’m not sure about the other three. The rest are minor enough that I think they’ll be fine.”

 

Emrald sighed deeply. She really ought not to leave the critically wounded like this. It went against everything she believed in. But, she thought, a court-martial for insubordination was the most likely outcome if she decided to stay. Being in a military prison wasn’t going to allow her to help anyone. She grit her teeth and suppressed a growl.

 

“Okay, I’ll be leaving along with the human we captured along with Reia’s team. I want the rest of you all to stay here and tend to the wounded. Once the other team arrives come in after me. “

 

The medic smiled.

 

“Yes sir. We’ll come help you wrangle some humans once we’ve made sure everyone here is stabilized.”

 

“Why they’re making a surgeon do this is beyond me,” Emrald said with exasperation, her shoulders dropping slightly.

 

Waving to the medic, Emrald ran back where the trucks and Reia were waiting.

 

 “We’re heading out now, let’s round everyone up and move out.”

 

 Emrald didn’t hear Reia’s reply as she had bounded into the back of the truck where the man had been stored. She looked up at the oni medic that was still with him.

 

“Liola, how’s he doing?”

 

“Fine, I think. His breathing is rough but it’s even. He’s also been moving about a little.”

 

“Oh?”

 

Emrald moved closer to him to get a better look. As she peered down at him, his eyes twitched and opened slightly.

 

Casey’s first thought was that his chest rather hurt quite a bit, and his second was that whoever was looking at him now had some very striking malachite-colored eyes.