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'''[Corresponds to Mutineers Episode 705]'''<br><br>
 
'''[Corresponds to Mutineers Episode 705]'''<br><br>
  
She couldn’t sleep. Dr. Grace Tian was beyond exhausted and her job was nowhere near completed, but every time she closed her eyes she relived having to give the order. ''Triage based on severity. Take the severest ones that have a chance of survival directly to the trauma rooms and surgical bays. The ones with no chance… put them in the third ward, make them comfortable.''<br>
+
She couldn’t sleep. Dr. Tian Grace was beyond exhausted and her job was nowhere near completed, but every time she closed her eyes she relived having to give the order. ''Triage based on severity. Take the severest ones that have a chance of survival directly to the trauma rooms and surgical bays. The ones with no chance… put them in the third ward, make them comfortable.''<br>
  
 
No doctor ever wanted to give that order, but military doctors in wartime had to make tough choices. She was no exception. She didn’t really have final say over who lived and who died… she only had final say over who would be treated and who would not. But she’d had only 3 trauma surgeons and 1 other ER doctor besides herself in the emergency center when the base was hit; resources had to be spent to save as many as possible.<br>
 
No doctor ever wanted to give that order, but military doctors in wartime had to make tough choices. She was no exception. She didn’t really have final say over who lived and who died… she only had final say over who would be treated and who would not. But she’d had only 3 trauma surgeons and 1 other ER doctor besides herself in the emergency center when the base was hit; resources had to be spent to save as many as possible.<br>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,  serif; font-size: 12pt; color: #660066;">'''''“What?” the lieutenant demanded sharply.'''''</span><br><br>
 
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,  serif; font-size: 12pt; color: #660066;">'''''“What?” the lieutenant demanded sharply.'''''</span><br><br>
  
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,  serif; font-size: 12pt; color: #660066;">'''''She gave the young man, who was probably not seeing his first combat but was clearly rattled by the scope of being in a full-fledged war, a stern look. “You heard me. Any medical personnel who are willing to stay are welcome to do so. We have a building full of critically wounded soldiers. I’m saving as many as I can."'''''</span><br><br>
+
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,  serif; font-size: 12pt; color: #0d0259;">'''''She gave the young man, who was probably not seeing his first combat but was clearly rattled by the scope of being in a full-fledged war, a stern look. “You heard me. Any medical personnel who are willing to stay are welcome to do so. We have a building full of critically wounded soldiers. I’m saving as many as I can.'''''</span><br><br>
  
 
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,  serif; font-size: 12pt; color: #660066;">'''''Yanking on a fresh pair of gloves and joining the nurses and medics meeting the incoming injured, Tian waded into the fray once more. There were bodies everywhere; the place looked like a cross between a food riot and a morgue though orderlies were doing their best to remove the dead and dying as fast as possible so the doctors could get to the living.'''''</span><br><br>
 
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,  serif; font-size: 12pt; color: #660066;">'''''Yanking on a fresh pair of gloves and joining the nurses and medics meeting the incoming injured, Tian waded into the fray once more. There were bodies everywhere; the place looked like a cross between a food riot and a morgue though orderlies were doing their best to remove the dead and dying as fast as possible so the doctors could get to the living.'''''</span><br><br>
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She wasn’t sure how to live with the notion that her own government had taken such drastic measures. And for what? Blowing Ares and dropping scores of missiles onto Boros wasn’t going to deter the Independent movement. And Boros itself had always been a world divided—some were adamantly Independent while others supported the Alliance, working jobs in the orbiting shipyard or other such things. They’d all managed a sort of peace with one another, political ideologies aside. Until now at least.<br>
 
She wasn’t sure how to live with the notion that her own government had taken such drastic measures. And for what? Blowing Ares and dropping scores of missiles onto Boros wasn’t going to deter the Independent movement. And Boros itself had always been a world divided—some were adamantly Independent while others supported the Alliance, working jobs in the orbiting shipyard or other such things. They’d all managed a sort of peace with one another, political ideologies aside. Until now at least.<br>
  
She fell into an uneasy sleep punctuated with dreams of the dying.<br>
+
She fell into an uneasy sleep punctuated with dreams of the dying. Over the next few weeks, Tian found her days falling into a routine. She slept some, got up and went to work. The Independent and civilian doctors welcomed her expertise and despite her status as a prisoner of war, she was treated well and given the freedom to move as she pleased around Vandenburg.<br>
 
 
 
 
----<br>
 
 
 
Over the next few weeks, Tian found her days falling into a routine. She slept some, got up and went to work. The Independent and civilian doctors welcomed her expertise and despite her status as a prisoner of war, she was treated well and given the freedom to move as she pleased around Vandenburg.<br>
 
  
 
Those on Boros who had wanted independence seemed thrilled. But they were all in the same boat when it came to dealing with the aftermath of the Alliance retreat—war is waged by soldiers but the civilians are always the ones who have to pick up the mess. Tian and a team of nurses and medics made the rounds of the city once a week to help where they could as people looked for lost, dead, or wounded relatives. A dozen refugee camps at the edge of the city housed families huddled around fires built from scraps of their former lives. There were food and water shortages everywhere.<br>
 
Those on Boros who had wanted independence seemed thrilled. But they were all in the same boat when it came to dealing with the aftermath of the Alliance retreat—war is waged by soldiers but the civilians are always the ones who have to pick up the mess. Tian and a team of nurses and medics made the rounds of the city once a week to help where they could as people looked for lost, dead, or wounded relatives. A dozen refugee camps at the edge of the city housed families huddled around fires built from scraps of their former lives. There were food and water shortages everywhere.<br>
  
The days were long and the more she was out among the population, the angrier Tian became. NONE of these people deserved what the Alliance had done to Boros. She found herself more and more unwilling to align herself with the military uniform she’d worn with such pride for the past 20 years. Nearly three months went by before she heard anything at all. <br>
+
The days were long and the more she was out among the population, the angrier Tian became. NONE of these people deserved what the Alliance had done to Boros. She found herself more and more unwilling to align herself with the military uniform she’d worn with such pride for the past 20 years.<br>
  
“Dr. Grace? Colonel Han would like to see you, ma’am.”<br>
+
Nearly three months went by before she heard anything at all. “Dr. Grace? Colonel Han would like to see you, ma’am.”<br>
  
 
Tian looked up from where she was gently removing the stitches from a 7-year-old girl’s face and nodded. “Give me a few minutes to finish here, all right?”<br>
 
Tian looked up from where she was gently removing the stitches from a 7-year-old girl’s face and nodded. “Give me a few minutes to finish here, all right?”<br>
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Tian merely nodded silently. ''And that in and of itself may be my downfall when I get back. If it’s not, sir… you may be seeing me again.''
 
Tian merely nodded silently. ''And that in and of itself may be my downfall when I get back. If it’s not, sir… you may be seeing me again.''
 
 
 
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