Episode 1
Part One
"We're losing her."
Medtech Onokido hunched over the pale, long-boned form of the woman, searching for signs of life. The white wrap she wore marked her as one of Lal's trusted Talents, but now it was plastered around her body, soaked through from the downpour outside. Her unusually curly hair clung to a face as cool and lifeless as porcelain. He brushed the hair away, trying to see her eyes.
They remained closed.
"Quickly." He gestured to a stimpack with long nervous fingers. A blue-suited assistant handed him the pack and he selected an appropriate dose, hesitated, then increased it. No time to be conservative.
"What's happening out there?" he asked, hearing the roar of another needlejet overhead.
"We're holding them," his assistant said through clenched teeth. "With the storm it's difficult to tell."
He nodded, thinking of the thick layer of clouds that had boiled up over the battlefield. He remembered the forks of lighting lancing down, outlining the Peacekeeper guards on perimeter defense as they fought off Spartan tanks.
And this woman, a Talent, had been caught in the crossfire. He pulled a layer of the white wrap off, then reached out to touch the burn mark on her chest.
"She's not going to make it."
'Two more coming in, sir." He looked up to see a crowd of people at the entrance to the bubbletent, ragged bodies in tow. He looked down at her...the stim had no effect. Not even a quiver of life stirred in the body. Her lips remained slightly parted but he could feel no breath.
"Very well, move her aside. Talent..." he checked the identity tab on her wrist. "Talent Miyuki Jaydo, time of death...seventeen-oh-seven metric hours."
The bearers carried the next man over, a Citizen holding one burned limb to his side. The man was soaked through from the downpour, burned wet cloth clinging to his wounds. His black eyes looked haunted.
Outside, the thunder of battle continued.
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