Finally, we stopped and the doors slid open. Thankfully, the others on board exited and moved to the side to allow me to step off quickly. The bustle of people, humans and M’Nai alike, was much more pronounced on this level. Although still underground, the UV light we filtered through to keep the humans healthy meant the large space looked like daylight, just as it was on the surface. The space was four square miles worth of supported livable space, resting on top of the refinery and mines below. We all lived in a high-tech village, thanks to the M’Nai technology and resources. So why the med bay was at least a half mile from the main access to the mines was beyond my understanding.
When I finally entered the main lobby, bypassing the M’Nai technician posted there, I rushed into the main care room. Though larger than the lobby where patients would sit and wait to be seen, the care room was only equipped with ten beds.
“Assistance, please!” I called. Not waiting for a response, I laid her down on the first empty bed I found. The care room wasn’t exactly busy and while I did see the other two men being worked on, there were still a few people who could be spared. A med-tech approached me; brows raised at what I’d just placed on the bed. Humans were seen there every day, so I doubted it was that; it had more to do with the fact that I’d carried one in myself. It wasn’t every day that a M’Nai soldier got close to a human, much less carried one like I’d just done.
I ignored his reaction. “She needs tending to,” I told him.
With observing eyes, he checked over her unmoving form. “Mmm,” he murmured, and taking out a pocket scanner, he passed it over her body from head to toe. Reading the results, he nodded to himself and then turned away. He took a half step before he belatedly stopped and turned to smile at me. “She’ll be taken care of, corporal.” As if I need not worry about her any longer, my job done, he turned back and walked away.
I was feeling a little out of my element. I mean, what the hell was I doing here in the first place? I should have just let the other humans care for her. They were a hovering sort of people, always in each other’s business. She would have been fine had I gone on about my own duties.
After a few minutes of waiting, I grew irritated. It was apparent the woman had a concussion, but it wasn’t nearly as worrisome as the men who had been brought in ahead of her. Still, there were clearly a couple of med-techs milling about behind a desk. Did the job require both of them? Could one not come over and check on…
“T’Laurish!” A male’s voice broke me out of my spiraling thoughts. Whipping around, I gazed at the private standing at the entrance of the medical ward.
I lifted a brow at him, “Yes?”
He was a younger male, but not as green as someone who had just graduated from training. “You’re needed in the mines. The colonel has requested your briefing of the…incident.”
Frowning, I found myself hesitant to leave the female’s side. The thought alone made me uncomfortable. Since when did I care about a worker’s wellbeing? Besides, she’d be fine, I thought. I turned to give her prone figure one last glance and then forced myself away, following the male out into the busy street.
Truce: Book 1 in the Aftermath Series Page 19
