Summary: Spring debriefs his doctors after Operation Sol Shield.
XP:S1
< Without Employing Oranges | Sol Invictus Logs | The Flavor of Wine >
Spring stands before his team of doctors in the hospital, as Sunlands troops round up the incapacitated Broken Suns and march them away.
Spring "So."
Spring "Congratulations."
Spring "We have faced the forces arrayed against us and defeated them, using our dedication, our willingness to sacrifice, and our knowledge of healing, rather than our brute force."
Spring "Are there any questions?"
"Yeah," says Baerdha, still keeping up the front of attitude, but the signs of weariness quite visible on her face. "When do we get to go to sleep?"
Spring "You may do so now, if you wish. We must still give the patients final examinations, to ensure that their cures have been effected, and then discharge each of them according to the usual procedures, but of course that is volunteer work and you cannot be compelled to do it."
"Well, I didn't ask when we could go to sleep if we were bad at our jobs," she says, and grins. "Where do we want to gather up the rest of the patients?"
Spring "I see no reason we cannot gather them here in the lobby. It is probably the only space in the hospital large enough."
Spring "A design flaw." Spring seems thoughtful for a moment, then back to business. "Anything else?"
"We need to change the procedures here," Rikad says.
Spring "An excellent thought."
Spring "Speaking as a doctor, what would you say impeded your ability to provide for the health of your patient?"
"Probably the thing where people snuck into the hospital and infected our patients with a deadly and nearly incurable disease," he says, an unhappy look on his face.
Spring "Yes."
Spring "Astute."
Spring "And what change in procedure would prevent that?"
"Scanning everyone at the door," he says. "Subdivision of the hospital space to more effectively isolate potentially contagious patients. A way for doctors to examine potentially risky patients without automatically being exposed to whatever they're carrying."
Spring "How do you weigh the benefits of security against the loss of time per patient that the employment of such systems would necessarily entail?"
"Our resources shouldn't really be that limited, right?" Joi speaks up from somewhere in the back. "This is the capital of the Sunlands. Shouldn't someone be able to put together a gold doorway that checks the medical status of the patient and points them into the right wing or something?"
Spring "Ours was not the only target the Broken Suns attacked today."
Spring "We might provide such protection to one or two of the most important targets, but not to every location at which they might conceivably strike."
Spring "However, this is a question of security, and thus administration. For the moment, your focus should be on your duty."
"Oh. Well, you asked the question," Rikad says. Spring can see exactly how tired all of his doctors are here. "I think this went as well as we could hope once we got here, at least."
Spring "Yes."
Spring "How many of you have experienced combat before today?"
Joi, Tomar, and (after a long moment) Ekedra raise their hands.
Spring "What did you think of the action today?"
Tomar is smiling. "It's good to be back in the thick of it," he says, and laughs in that old-man way. Joi seems a little less satisfied overall: "The... time demand is much greater."
Spring nods agreement with Joi, then turns his attention to the other doctors. "It is to be inferred, then, that this is your first experience with battle."
Spring "What did you think?"
"It's very loud," Precious Blossom says.
"I didn't feel that worried while it was happening," Rikad says. "Just... now," and Precious Blossom nods.
"It's a lot like the rest of doctoring," Baerdha says, "there's blood and guts everywhere and you have to keep your own firmly inside yourself if you want to do any good." She scratches her arm absentmindedly. "A crazy person with a sword is a lot harder to work around than a case of the sniffles, though."
Spring "Did you enjoy it?"
Spring stands a little more still than usual as he asks this.
"Yeah," she says, and Precious Blossom, Tomar, and -- eventually -- Ekedra nod in agreement.
Spring "How unfortunate."
Spring "We must give it time."
Spring "But for now, I suppose, you may as well. You will face many more battles before we are finished."
Spring "Thank you very much for your work today, doctors." Spring dips his head politely.
The squad nod again in response, and Baerdha flashes Spring a tired smile.
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< Without Employing Oranges | Sol Invictus Logs | The Flavor of Wine >