Growl let out a slow whistle as she handed a pad over to James. "It looks good," she told him. "I wasn't expecting to get these inventory audits done until next week. Did Annabelle come in to work on them?"
James shook his head. "She came in this morning, but she wasn't ready to do any real work. We did some cleaning, and she helped me for a little while, but left before noon to go speak with her counselor." He noticed the look his wife gave him, and added, "It was her own idea. I think the attack, and the effects of the dragon healing ritual left her a bit more shaken than she was ready to admit."
Growl nodded her agreement. "Even if she won't admit it to us, she's strong enough to seek help when she needs it. So, did Ribbon come in and help with the audit, because she has the day off."
"Her new telepathic training starts today," James reminded her. "I think Lilybelle did this."
"Hasn't she been working all day?"
"She came in quite a bit earlier than scheduled, and did take a break, mid-morning." The gryphon doctor shrugged. "She's been on fire all day. There honestly hasn't been much for me to do. Did something happen?"
"I should probably ask her." She put a hoof on her husband's shoulder. "We've been trying to have lunch together for what, a week now?"
"Something like that." He nuzzled his beak into her neck for a moment before pulling away. "We have to take care of our nurses first. We always have dinner."
"That we do." She planted a small peck on his beak. "Just, not tonight." She shrugged. " Security briefing."
He frowned. "Breakfast then?"
"Incident report with Orbital Authority," she replied.
"Hm," he scratched his head, "I thought that would have happened sooner. Lunch tomorrow?"
Growl shook her head. "Press conference."
"Dinner tomorrow?" James winced before she could answer. "Mac has his pre-surgery physical. His replacement kidney is growing much faster than I expected."
"Ribbon's brother said it would," she reminded him. "It looks like we'll have to settle for midnight snacks sometime."
James rolled his eyes. "How romantic."
Growl chuckled as she stepped away from him, letting herself out of the storage closet. The rest of the medical bay was back to normal, curtains separating out the individual exam rooms and beds. Proper separators had been ordered a month ago, but they were built to order, and still two months from being delivered.
The head nurse walked to the main corridor, and waited. But, not for long. Only a few seconds passed before she heard Lilybelle's voice from a few rooms down.
"All right, you're all set to go. If you feel any itchiness around the area we just regenerated, apply this cream, and it should go right away in seconds. I'll let you get dressed."
As she headed towards the voice, Growl heard James exit the storage closet behind her, and walk back towards the other side of the medical bay.
Up ahead, Lilybelle let herself through the curtain, and saw Growl heading her way. "Good evening, ma'am, did you need something?"
"Evening?" Growl raised an eyebrow. "It's barely fourteen hundred, station time."
"Is it?" Lilybelle chuckled nervously, and tried to walk past the older nurse. "I haven't been keeping track, honestly."
Growl watched her a moment, then followed alongside. "Are you shaking? Did you eat lunch yet?"
"Yes!" The outburst was sudden, and Lilybelle was red in the face as she looked back at her boss. "I mean, no, but, no need for me to stop for food when there's work to do, right?"
The older nurse blinked. "Lilybelle, is something wrong?"
"No!" Lily dismissed the notion with an exaggerated wave of her hoof. "What makes you say that?"
Growl wanted to say it was the way the younger nurse was acting, but held her tongue. "Then, did something happen you don't want to tell me about?"
Lilybelle looked really guilty. "I... I tell you everything," she nearly whispered, "don't I?"
Growl nodded. "Now, I won't pry, but if something is bothering you, I'll be here whenever you're ready to-"
Lilybelle interrupted her with a garbled, frustrated sound of helplessness. "Come on," she she grabbed the older nurse by the hoof and dragged her towards the office. "You're gonna find out eventually. I need advice now, and my mom's still on vacation."
"Ok..." Growl let herself be dragged along. This was not like Lilybelle at all. What happened to the meek and studious nurse that she was used to?
They made it to the office, and Lilybelle let go of Growl. She immediately shut the door, and made her way to her drawer among the filing cabinets. She pulled out a beat up metal lunch box, and set it on the desk, pointing at the flower and smiley face drawn on with a white paint marker like it somehow answered all of life's questions.
"A lunch box?" Growl looked at it for a moment. The flower was clearly a Lily, and the smiley face was clearly a generic pony. But the lunchbox itself seemed oddly familiar. "This doesn't strike me as quite your style."
"It's not." Lilybelle undid the latches, and pulled out the wafer-thin item on top. She held it up so close that Growl had to pull her head back. "Look at this!"
"It's a cookie," Growl observed as she pushed the younger nurse's hoof out of her personal bubble.
"Chocolate Chip!" Lilybelle exclaimed. "Baked from scratch!"
Glancing into the lunchbox, Growl noticed it was a well-packed, and well-balanced lunch. Vegetable soup in a mason jar, a salad in another mason jar, some chips and crackers in a third, a sandwich wrapped in white paper, a spoon, a can of apple juice, and a cloth napkin. "Well, I can tell you didn't make this."
"Of course I didn't," Lilybelle said as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "Look at the jars! That's brilliant! You think I have my shit together well enough to pack a four-course lunch like this in the morning?"
"No, but I wasn't going to say it." Growl had to keep herself from laughing. "So, who made this?"
The younger nurse nervously held the cookie close to her chest as her face went red again. "Pipsqueak."
Growl nodded slowly, realizing why she recognized the lunchbox. If she recalled correctly, Pipsqueak made and sold them while he was learning to weld with modern tech. "I know him. Good kid, and the best repair tech we've got." The older nurse smiled. "Did he drop this off for you?"
Lilybelle shook her head. "It was there when I woke up."
Oh. the embarrassment suddenly made sense. "He was in your quarters?" Growl asked with some concern. Not that she didn't trust Pipsqueak, it was just that those quarters were Annabelle's hideaway, and bringing a stallion there, especially one with any amount of white fur, was probably a bad idea.
Lilybelle shook her head a second time. "I was in his."
Growl shrugged. That was probably for the best. "Did you have fun?"
If Lilybelle's face heated up anymore, she would most likely start steaming. Looking down with a guilty face, she gave a small nod. "It could have gone better, but he was really sweet about it."
Growl smiled happily. It was good to know things were going well between them. "So? What did you need advice about?"
Lilybelle clutched the cookie even tighter, and it was coming perilously close to crumbling. "It was my first time." She paused for a moment, and looked up.
Growl bobbed her head to show she was listening. "Go on."
"We were drunk," she admitted. "We were talking, at the bar, and kind of lost track of the drinks, and oh, goddess, does he have the most amazing voice when gets a few in him."
"Focus," Growl playfully admonished.
"Right." The young nurse blushed again. "Anyway, he invited me back to his place, and we had dinner. He had this amazing soup just waiting in a slow cooker, and he made pasta to go with it. And we were just eating, and talking, and then he brought out the cookies, and we were just sitting on the couch together, eating cookies, and it was just too much. He's so cute, and he's kind, and oh, goddess, his voice was more intoxicating than the blackberry rum. I kissed him while we were sitting there. He got my first kiss!"
Growl thoughtfully rubbed her hoof over her mouth. Truthfully, she was hiding a ridiculous smile, and trying her hardest not to laugh. Her first time kissing a boy! Growl chastised herself for letting her thoughts steer down a dirty path. Of course Lilybelle, of all ponies, would take far longer to make that sort of connection with somepony.
"But, then I, um..." Lilybelle bit her lip, nervously shifting the cookie around in her hooves. "He was cleaning up, picking up the dishes, and he asked if I needed anything else. I said no, but then he asked if I wanted anything else, and I sorta... jumped him."
A rapid blink-blink was Growl's only reaction.
"I flipped the lights off with magic, and just kept kissing him, and dragged him to the bed." She looked down at the cookie. "I didn't even stop to ask if that was what he wanted. I mean, he got up and scoured his med kit for a condom, so I guess he was ok with it, but I still should have asked."
Growl shrugged. "So, you slept with him? What do you need advice on? Sounds like you have a handle on things."
Lilybelle chewed her lip for a moment. "Well, it was my first time, and I wasn't ready for it, and, oh, goddess, that voice of his. So, it kind of... didn't last long?" With a wince, Lilybelle corrected herself. "I mean, I didn't last long. And it was too much for me to try to keep going, and I don't think he was able to... you know?"
"I've been married for twenty years," Growl reminded her with a sigh, "I think I do. He didn't finish, and you're worried about it."
The bashful young nurse nodded in shame. "Should I apologize? He left for work before I woke up, and I don't know if he's upset about it."
Growl closed the lunchbox, and rotated it so Lilybelle could see the drawings. "Look at this. Does this look like the work of an upset pony?"
"I guess not," the younger nurse admitted. "So, what should I do?"
The older nurse smirked. "Do you like him?"
Lilybelle nodded quickly. "More than I'm ready for."
Growl pointed a hoof at her. "Honesty is good, remember that. Does he treat you with respect?"
The younger mare nodded again. "He even asked if I had any allergies before offering me any food."
"Thoughtful of him," Growl said appraisingly. "Last question, would you repeat last night if given the chance? Even if you two switched places?" The younger nurse went bright red, and Growl quickly clarified, "not like that! I mean, reverse the roles. How would you feel while you were packing a lunch for him to take to work?"
Lilybelle chewed it over for a moment. She didn't usually bother packing her own lunches, but she did sometimes. She could put together a mean berry and lettuce salad, and knew how to make a decent vinaigrette dressing to go with it. And when she made salads, she usually stuck an ice cube or two in them to keep them cool. She imagined Pipsqueak digging into a cold, refreshing salad while filthy and tired from working, bandana burnt like the other day in the commissary, and thinking of her. Her heart was beating so fast, she was worried it might stop. "Irrationally happy," she answered Growl with a blank expression.
Growl nodded. "Then, here's my advice. First, you enjoy every bite of the lunch he prepared. Second, you return his lunchbox, filled with something you made would be a nice touch. Third, you thank him for last night, but don't apologize for anything. And fourth," the older nurse chuckled, "you make it up to him next time."
The cookie snapped in Lily's hooves. "Next time?" She looked down at the lunchbox, realizing she was clearly meant to return it once empty. She also realized that the flower he had drawn was a lily. She felt just a tiny bit stupid for not noticing that sooner. "Oh, he's a clever one."
Growl leaned forward, putting her hoof on Lily's shoulder. "One last thing, you need to sit down and have a good talk with him. Iron out exactly what this relationship is, what you both want out of it, and what you want for the future. Don't interrogate him though, and don't do all the talking yourself, make sure it's a discussion. Communication is what separates a fling from a life-long-"
"Growl!" James' voice echoed through medical, loud enough to interrupt her, even here in the sealed office. "Get out here! Bring a drug scanner and Epi!"
Barely exchanging a glance, both Growl and Lilybelle leapt into action.
Being closest to the desk drawers, Growl dug out the drug scanner kit, a specialized scanner for analyzing substances, in or out of a patient's bloodstream, and comparing them to a database of known medications. The average scanner could do the same, but this one had software that could trace metabolites, and determine dosing, even if hours had passed.
Lilybelle had the drug storage drawer unlocked and three epinephrine options floating beside her, ready to go. The nasal applicator for overdoses, the standar needle-free pressure injector for anaphylaxis, and the long needle used as a last resort to restart a stopped heart.
"I hope we don't need that," Growl told her as she held up the scanner kit for her to take. They both ran out of the office, and Growl took a deep breath. "James?!" She shouted out, needing a location.
"At the entrance!" He bellowed back.
They ran down the curtain-lined aisles, and just as they rounded the last turn, Growl was splattered by vomit. She ignored it as the pony responsible lurched forward, falling. "Fluttershy?!"
Growl caught the larger pony before she could hit the ground, and lowered her gently. She quickly rolled her onto her stomach and checked to make sure her airways were clear. At the moment, they were, no aspirated vomit. And, she was still conscious. Trembling, eyes glazed over under the influence of some unknown drug, but still conscious. Her mouth was moving, making the same motion over and over, trying to speak.
Growl glanced behind her and realized that she was the lucky one. James was standing over Mac, the large red stallion they kept having to patch up. The big pony was on his back, and James was performing chest compressions. Lilybelle had run over to him with the epinephrine, and James grabbed the nasal option as the unicorn took over chest compressions with magic.
Growl looked back at her charge as they worked. "Fluttershy?" She brushed the feral pegasus' hair out of her face, getting a closer look. Without more information, they could only hope she held out until the other pony was stabilized. "Can you hear me? What happened? Did you take something?"
Dull eyes flicked upwards, but couldn't focus. Gasping breaths escaped her like a broken bellows before she managed to speak. "Bottle," was the only word she said, "bottle."
"There!" James pointed towards the entrance with one claw while he focused on administering the starting dose of nasal epinephrine. With any luck, it would get him breathing on his own again. If not, they would up it slowly, before switching to harsher methods. "She dropped it when she came in, had it in her mouth."
Growl saw it. She grabbed the drug scanner and headed over to it. Opening the box, and spreading the necessary parts on the floor, she set to work. She assembled the vapor probe in seconds, followed by the contact probe. The bottle was empty, so any remaining compounds would be faint traces.
She connected the vapor probe to the main unit, and inserted it through the neck of the bottle, swirling it around so it could sample the air within. The scanner would connect to the main computer, and check for matches. Depending on the concentrations, it could take up to a minute to identify any unusual compounds.
So, Growl was rather surprised when the scanner returned a result almost immediately. It was concentrated. "James, stop! Don't give him anymore!"
She got up and ran into the nearest of the makeshift rooms. It was unoccupied, fortunately, so she didn't have to terrify another patient by running in covered in puke and running off with a rolling cart full of medical gear.
She rolled the cart out to James, who had put down the nasal applicator, and resumed chest compressions. "It's a mix of drugs," she told him, "there's a powerful stimulant, and a suppressant. We give him more stimulant, and the suppressant wears off, it could kill him all the same."
"Lilybelle's grabbing the RT Table now," James told her, glancing worriedly at their second patient. For the moment, she was breathing on her own, he could only hope it stayed that way. "Stomach pump and a neurotab to keep his autonomous functions going?"
"Safest bet," Growl pointed out as she dug into the drawers of the cart, searching for the necessary equipment. "I'm pumping and putting an oxy patch on her, just to be safe. Damn it! Where the hell did they get that bottle?"
Berry glanced over at Flint as he explained the various settings on the welding unit in front of them. The rest of the crew was busy removing bits and pieces from the ship that were actively unsafe. Anything hanging loose where it might fall, or leaking coolant and other chemicals. After that, they would employ a few more hands and hooves and sweep through the ship from top to bottom, cataloguing and removing anything that isn't bolted down.
In the meantime, Flint was briefing her in the particulars of the available maintenance equipment. Berry was well acquainted with most aspects of the work, but was used to scavenged tools she made herself, or older ones modified by her grandfather.
This led to some unavoidable confusion.
She glanced over at Flint again, peeking out from the welding helmet as he rubbed his face. "Are you OK?"
"Hungover's all," he answered. "Had a bit much beer with my glass last night."
"Hungover?" Berry asked, removing the helmet, and setting it down.
"When ya drink too much, and ya get a headache the next day," the living stone grumbled.
Berry nodded her understanding, though, she didn't have any sort of headache. "How do you know how much is too much?"
"When ya get a headache," Flint answered. He supposed it wasn't the most helpful answer, but screw trying to think right now. "I'm surprised you ain't still drunk off yer noggin with what you drank last night." Flint immediately groaned at his own words. "I'm starting to sound like Pip."
Berry thought about it a moment. "How does a rock get a headache?"
The golem looked over at her. "I'm not just a rock, you know."
"Actually, I don't," Berry pointed out, "we didn't get to talk much last night."
"Ah, right," Flint scratched his head, "we didn't, did we?"
"So, if you aren't a rock, what are you?"
"I am a cryptoendolith, according to science." He gestured to his body. "All this rock is just where I live. The living component of my body is millions upon millions of algae cells colonized within the pores of the rock." He shrugged. "Then again, I may as well be a rock, since I can never be separated from it."
"Algae?" Berry scratched her head. "You're a plant?"
"Aye." Flint held out his thumb, and out popped a teeny tiny bloom, kind of a mushroom, kind of a flower, giving a thumbs up within the thumbs up. "It's a strange and wonderful universe we live in."
"Aye," Berry agreed, staring in wonder at the new micro thumb. "Granpa always said it was."
Flint glanced back at the Philomena, checking for his fellow maintenance crew. "Speaking of him," he started slowly, hesitant to broach the subject, "how much did King Norland tell you? About himself? About his... Well, for lack of a better word, about his business?" Berry's ears drooped, and Flint realized it was a sensitive matter for the mare. "I'm sorry, it's not my place to pry."
Berry shook her head. "No, it's something I need to get used to. My grandfather was the galaxy's worst pirate."
Flint shrugged. "I think that technically makes him the galaxy's best pirate."
A faint hint of smile showed on Berry's face, but didn't stay long. "And he never told me about any of it."
Flint patted her on the shoulder. "I'm sure he had his reasons." Berry was surprised by the warmth of the touch. "And, I know it isn't the same, but let me tell you what I know about him. I'll tell you the story that the golems pass from generation to generation, hiding it from the rest of the galaxy. You are King Norland's heir. You deserve that much from us, at the very least."
"I would like that." Berry nodded slowly. Any chance to learn more about her grandparents was a welcome opportunity. "When?"
"It will have to be later. The story is..." Something grabbed Flint's attention. "...rather long."
Berry looked up to see Growl approaching with one of the other nurses in tow. Behind them, two armored security officers aimed weapons at the pink pony. "This again?" She groaned.
Growl walked over, grim look on her face, and a putrid smell clinging to her matted fur. "Yes, this again."
"Ma'am, what's going on?" Flint eyed the guards. There were only two, both human, he could knock them out quickly if necessary. Growl, was another matter, and so was the unicorn with her. Not that he wanted to start anything, but Berry's safety was his priority.
"Butt out, Flint," Growl ordered, still glaring at Berry. "Better yet, leave."
The older nurse glanced back at her weary unicorn companion. The younger nurse saw the look, and a glass bottle she held in magic floated over and dropped on to the table.
Growl's eyes were feircely focused on Berry's as she pointed at the bottle. "Explain. This."
"This is from the bar," Flint answered for her, earning a glare from Growl, "she bought it at the party last night, and brought it back to her friends."
"No," Berry took one look at the bottle and sneered in disgust, "I drank that one. This is from that creepy guy."
"Creepy guy?" Growl glanced between Flint and Berry, and saw the golem staring at the pink pony, mouth hanging open in surprise.
"What creepy guy?" Flint demanded. "You drank an entire bottle of scotch, on top of everything else you ordered, and went with some rando for more? How are you not dying of alcohol poisoning?"
"Berry," Growl interrupted her answer, "did somepony give you this bottle?"
The pony looked up, shrinking under scrutiny from all sides. "Yeah, and I gave it to Fluttershy and Mac, since they didn't get to go to the bar with everypony."
Growl rested a hoof on the table. "Where did this happen? Who gave it to you? Do you have a name? A description?"
Berry struggled to process the rapid questions, and the whole situation, really. She didn't know what was going on, and there were guns being pointed at her again. Why? "R-room three-fifteen," she stammered, "he wouldn't tell me his name, and he got all weird when I asked for it. And, then he got all touchy, and wouldn't let me leave."
The fire in Growl's gaze was doused with the water of realization. "Oh, hell... I'm sorry, Berry." She touched her hoof to her ear. "Ops, patch me in to the com in temporary quarters room three-twenty-seven." There was a slight pause as someone on the other end of the line responded. "I know," Growl said impatiently. "Just do it!"
Growl waited a beat as she was connected. "Micah, are you there?" She looked relieved at the answer she got. "Good. Sorry, but your lunch is now on hold. Get to room three-fifteen asap. You have permission to to override the door. Secure the location, back up is on the way." She looked back at the two guards with her. "Temporary quarters, room three-fifteen, we'll be right behind you."
They each have a nod before running off.
"What's going on?" Berry demanded, she could feel her anger rising. She should be relieved that the guards weren't threatening her, but she found herself upset instead. "You come in and point blasters at me, and now you just leave?" The pink pony slammed her hoof down on the table. "No, you explain this."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Growl sighed, and placed her hoof over Berry's. "Berry, the Vodka in that bottle was poisoned."
Berry gasped, chest tightening. She gave her friends poison. Poison that was meant for her. Her lips trembled as she fought to get some sort of words out. "N-no... Are... Are they..."
"Stable," Growl answered quickly, seeing the pink pony's distress. "We pumped their stomachs, and found a passable antidote. They're recovering."
"I need to see them." Berry stood up quickly, and rushed for the door.
Growl stepped out of her way. "Lilybelle, go with her."
The younger nurse scrambled after the pink pony, calling back a hasty, "yes, ma'am!"
Growl was set to march out behind them, but Flint was out of his seat and ran in front her. He waited until Berry was out of earshot before asking, "What kind of poison? Was somepony trying to kill her because of her grandfather?"
Growl glared at him for blocking her path, but she forced herself not to snap at him for it. He was just worried for her. These newcomers made friends quickly. But, it was worrying that people were learning about her connection to Norland. "A mix of drugs," she answered quietly. "Hallucinogen, stimulant, neural suppressant, beta blocker, and traces of a few others. As it was mixed, we're guessing that a normal dose would be four to eight ounces of the spiked licquor. The intended result is probably a conscious pony that's so out of it that they do anything they're told."
Flint understood the implication that she left out. "A roofie?"
Growl nodded. "Fluttershy and Mac split the bottle, and finished it. Even taking into account their size relative to other ponies, they each received at least five times the regular dose. Fluttershy's internal chemistry is unusual, to say the least, so she was able to resist the hallucinations long enough to drag Mac to medical. All I got out of her were the words, 'Berry,' and, 'bottle.' Mac was hit harder, and stopped breathing, but we stabilized him in time."
Flint didn't respond, just stared at her, stony face unreadable.
"Flint, I am covered in vomit, and somepony, who may or may not have been my best friend, put it there because she od'd on whatever was in that vodka. So, either say something, or get out of my way," Growl ordered, "I need to get the bastard responsible for this."
Flint stepped to the side. "Of course, ma'am."
By the time Growl reached room three-fifteen, there was nothing for her to do. Micah was standing outside, face buried in a pad, and waved her down. He was in his casual clothes, jeans and a t-shirt he got free at some advertising event in the Commisary. But, he had his ballistic vest on, the one with the claw marks from the cargo bay, and his personal plasma rifle, a dark and dangerous-looking piece earth military tech, slung under his shoulder. The guards she sent were with him, standing at ease. "You need to see this, ma'am."
"What is it?" Growl walked over, sparing a glance through the open door as she walked. A dumped over chair, stuff knocked over on the table, and a spot of blood on the floor. Oh, goddess, was that Berry's? "Please tell me you found the occupant."
"I did." Micah said without looking up from his pad. "But not on the station. He was arrested on the surface about an hour ago, on an outstanding warrant. Something about fraud and a Hearson Financial case out of the Solar Domes. They caught him checking into a hospital for an orbital rim fracture."
"A broken eye socket? How did that happen?" Growl walked to the door and took a better look into the room, noting the scattered lingerie and the camera she couldn't see earlier. "Did you move anything?"
"No, ma'm. I swept the quarters, found them empty, and came back out. Only touched the closet door to open it. While waiting for these guys, I had records dig up the occupant's name, and found that he left on a shuttle late last night. Tracked down where he disembarked, and contacted the local police with his description. They informed me of his arrest, and I was about to send them this." He held out his pad. "I was able to download the video from that camera. It wasn't even password protected."
Growl took the pad as the human hit play. The volume was muted, but the visual alone got the point across. The stallion in the video was standing over Berry, holding her as she struggled to get her hoof back. Growl didn't want to watch the rest. She offered the pad back to Micah. "I need to go find her."
He pushed the device back. "No, keep watching, trust me on this."
Confused, Growl looked back at the screen, just in time to see Berry kick the chair away from the table. The stallion, dragged along with the mare he refused to release slammed chin first into the chair, then the floor. Berry quickly started pummeling him with her free hoof, and then came the final blow. Growl turned the volume up as Berry scooped up the vodka bottle, and swung.
It hit with a loud satisfying thud, and Berry stood up. She wobbled a bit, a combination of anger and alcohol. "I'm keeping this," she said in the video, then walked off with the bottle in her mouth.
"That explains the orbital rim fracture." Growl held the pad back up for Micah, breathing a sigh of relief. "How the hell did that guy get on my station with active warrants out on him?"
"Fake name, fake history. And he must have paid a good deal of money for them, because nothing in this guy's history says he's the type that can pull this off." He played the video again, shaking his head. "I've seen footage of Grinparch Norland in combat. There was a video where three guys had him chained up in the back of an aircar, and he pulled the same move at the end of the fight." With a shrug, he added, "Only, it was with a briefcase. And he didn't stop with one hit."
"Your point?" Growl asked tiredly. She didn't need a reminder of what Norland was. Everypony in the galaxy had seen that ten second video at some point. Two thugs, a rival crime boss, and a driver in the car, and only Norland walked away. One thug choked with the chain that bound him, then blasted by his buddies plasma pistol, the other thug stabbed with a broken glass, crime boss beaten to death with his briefcase, and the driver died when the car crashed. Norland grabbed the pistol and blasted the controls before bailing, and blasted the door from the outside, so the driver couldn't escape. "He probably taught her the trick himself."
Micah smiled. "Yeah, but she stopped. She can't be half as bad as he is if she held back on a guy like that."
"Optimism," Growl sighed, finding herself returning the smile, "I needed some of that after what happened earlier." She held up her hoof again, beckoning for the pad. "Let me see that again."
"Sure." He handed it over. "Should we blur her face before sending the video? It doesn't sound like they need more evidence to put the guy away."
"Yeah," Growl said as she took the pad, "blur her face, and don't volunteer her name or lineage. If they need to talk to her, they can ask. Also, seal the room after taking holo-images. Treat it like any crime scene. Even if we won't have to worry about him ourselves, I want every, 'i,' and, 't,' dotted and crossed properly in case planetary authorities need anything."
Micah saluted before turning to the two fellow guards. "You heard her, nobody goes in." He pointed at one of them. "You, go fetch the equipment and the forensics tech. I'll wait here, and run the holoscans myself since I was already in the room. Minimize any contamination in case we have to run prints or DNA."
While the guard saluted and ran off, Growl made a call to medical with the pad. It took a while for anyone to answer, but she wasn't surprised by that. James was by himself monitoring two patients when she left. But, it wasn't him who answered, it was Ribbon, answering from the wall panel in the OR. "Report."
"Hi, Growl," the rainbow maned nurse glanced down, "um, I know it's my day off, but I was nearby and felt the confusion and panic, so I came in." She glanced back, then shook her head, reacting to something only she could hear. "Okay, wow. Um, James filled me in on most of the stuff that happened, and I helped him set them up with a better tuned filtering and antidote. The neural suppressant is pretty much gone. Mac regained consciousness briefly, but was still hallucinating. I restrained him long enough for Mezzo to sedate him, and we are keeping a very close eye on him in case it happens again."
Ribbon winced suddenly in disgust. "I did not need to see that," she muttered. "Right now, he seems to be in a dream like state, but the hallucinogenics in his system have him pretty agitated. If we don't see an improvement soon, James and I may look into speeding up the timeline on his kidney replacement, so his body can filter the medications faster. Artificial blood filtering is only helping so much."
Ribbon blushed furiously. "Definitely did not need to see that one." She shook her head. "Fluttershy is still conscious, but in a poor state. She seems to be experiencing hallucinations, but can tell that they aren't real. The stimulants in her system are making it worse, but the beta blockers are keeping her from panicking. She is mentally holding herself together on willpower alone. Her body seems to be metabolizing the medications quickly, and she should be over the hallucinations in about an hour."
"Good. Keep me up to date." Growl glanced down at herself. She may be able to spare the time to get cleaned up before returning to medical. "Is Lilybelle back yet?"
Ribbon shook her head. "I haven't seen her." she closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. "I can't feel her, either, she isn't nearby."
"That's ok. She's bringing Berry to see her friends," Growl explained. "She gave them the poison without knowing it. It was spiked alcohol. Some creep brought her to his quarters, and offered it to her, then wouldn't let her leave. She fought him off, knocked him out, and left with the bottle. When they get there, tell them it wasn't her fault, and that the creep is in custody on the surface. It seems he was a wanted stallion."
Ribbon nodded. "I will. It shouldn't take them long to get here."
Growl nodded. "Tell Berry, I'm sorry for accusing her. And tell Lilybelle to take a break, she pushed herself hard today, she deserves a nap."
In a quiet hallway, somewhere between the Philomena's docking bay and medical, Lilybelle was already taking that nap, courtesy of a stunner bolt from a side corridor.
A unicorn stallion in body armor let out a scream as his leg snapped. After the the pink nurse collapse in front of her, Berry pressed herself to the wall. Adrenaline kicked in fast, fear and anger springing up with her heart rate. And when a stallion ran up to check on the fallen mare, she had tackled him, grabbing the limb, and continuing the roll before twisting in the other direction.
He had a companion down the hallway, who moved to help him, but the pink pony was up and firing the first stallion's stunner indiscriminately. His armor absorbed wave after wave of energy, and most blasts went wide, but the bright flashes of blue light obscured his vision. It wasn't until they stopped, and he blinked away the after image that he saw her charging at him.
He raised his own stunner to stop her, but she was too close. She side-stepped his blast, closed the distance, and reared up. She knocked the helmet off his head before she lost balance, and as she fell, chomped down hard on his ear. She was able to drag him to ground like this, and started striking blows to his neck and face.
He raised his hooves to protect himself, and she tore the stunner from his hoof. It was stuffed under the back of his armor and fired several times before he could react.
As he went limp, two more figures grabbed Berry off of him. They dragged her back, clamping a cloth over her face, and shouting at each other that, "this was not according to plan!"
Twisting, and grabbing, she managed to snag a hoof-full of silvery white hair. She yanked a short humanoid, even shorter than Flint, out from behind her. He had coppery colored skin, and she kicked him hard in the nose.
He bled green.
The hands that still held her gripped tighter. She could feel claws pricking her skin. She refused to let go of her dwarven attacker, and kept kicking him, focusing on his ribs. Her first kick yielded a sharp crack, but she felt her strength waning, and only got a few more kicks in before he managed to pull away.
But, before he was completely out of reach, Berry managed to steal a weapon from his belt. A dagger, gold and ornamented, more likely a cultural oddity than meant as a tool. The last, and largest attacker shifted his grip as the pony tried to stab blindly behind her.
He grabbed the hoof with the knife, at the expense of his grip on her body. She twisted away from him, but he held fast to her hoof. He pushed forward, tackling her to the ground, and she saw him for the first time. A dragon, many times her size, mottled green-grey like moss, scales bristling as he looked down with wide eyes.
Berry locked eyes on his as he held her down with sheer weight. She growled at him as she fought to free her hoof. His other claw scrambled to grab the cloth he dropped. She still had the dagger. She could still fight, and she saw in his eyes the same thing she saw in her own reflection when she faced Vizor. "You're afraid," she told him as she twisted her hoof down.
He slapped the cloth over her mouth as the knife broke the scales on his arm. "You're damn right I am!" He tried to twist his arm away, while she twisted her hoof for a better cut, pressing the tip of the blade slowly deeper between scales. A millimeter, two, agonizingly slow, blood welling up in the tiny, growing, wound. "Agh!" He squeezed his claws harder as the knife slipped deeper, drawing blood of his own. He grit his sharp teeth and fangs against the pain. "Damn monster!"
The dragon's bleeding humanoid companion didn't point out the irony as he dragged himself over. Instead, he did what he could to hold her hoof back, to keep his knife from digging any deeper into his friend as the sleeping potion soaked into the rag worked its magic.