The Strings Of Life:
Chapter 41- Stressed Minds:
“Sir, second and third platoon are about to be deployed to secure the remaining portions of the city. Though we only have around three hours or so of daylight remaining, we will be dragging this into nightfall sir. They will also join fourth and fifth platoon in the streets.” Stated one of the soldiers, as he looked over at the sight of what appeared to be three soldiers, and three civilians from a distance heading into the safe zone.
“What are you stopping your talking fo-…oh…they’re back.” replied the lieutenant.
“We need medical attention on both him and this young lady here ASAP!” The lieutenant yelled to the CO’s, demanding immediate care to them.
“Ma’am, do you need anything?” a well-trained medic rushed up to her, along with a few others. Two of them came out with a stretcher just in case.
“No, I’m actually fine thank you. You may need to help Octavia here though.” Harmony replied back to him.
“Of course.”
He then turns and faces Octavia as she tries to keep up, but she was now feeling tired herself now.
“Miss…or…oh right…miss Octavia, please come with me okay? I can get you fixed right up.”
“Thank you. I…I could use some peace for now.”
“Absolutely miss, you’ll be just fine with me. Now please, this way ma’am.” the medic says, guiding her into one of the medical tents to be treated and tended to.
Meanwhile, Harmony was being led in the same direction where Maestro was being carried. Luckily he was still out of it from being so exhausted and tired, he was also losing a bit of blood from the agitated wound.
“Ugh, clean up that wound a little more, its bleeding process is returning back to when he was first shot.”
“On it sir, lay him over here.”
The three medics find a suitable place in the throne room that was transformed into a medical facility to house the wounded and inured…pretty much a basic hospital.
“Celestia…grant me peace.” Maestro’s mother prayed to herself, feeling concerned for her son.
“He will be fine won’t he? He’s my only son.” She added.
“Ma’am, I assure you he is just fine, he’s just tired is all, and needs to be patched up some more on his wound. He just needs some rest, though the General won’t take him going AWOL lightly.” One of the medics replied.
“AWOL?! You mean he wasn’t at the house at the beginning?!”
“No ma’am, he was actually wounded by a sniper shot in the leg earlier today…you can see how that turned out.”
The three medics along with Harmony were now heading out of the room, and on their way to a place where Harmony can reside safely for a time. Since Octavia and Harmony were the first civilians they’ve brought back to HQ, they didn’t know how or what to do with them?
“My sweet boy was awfully concerned for us wasn’t he?” she asked.
“I’m not sure, but no doubt it was very wrong of him to go off like that. So the house he was at was his actual home? Ah okay now, I get it. So you’re his mother, and the other one is his…wife?” replied the medic, as the other two left to return to their stations.
“Well…they aren’t married yet, but the other one you referred to is Octavia.”
“Oh okay, I gotcha miss. Well you just stay out here, and I’ll talk to the lieutenant about what you and miss Octavia will be doing.”
Without further saying anything else, the medic went back into the tent to inform the lieutenant and the other CO’s in charge about the situation.
A few hours later, Maestro finds himself back in the same room he previously was held in.
“Uh…why must this…ah forget it…what can I do about it now?” he thinks to himself.
He looks back down to his leg, as it’s been brought under better care from the looks of it to him, and he even got an upgrade with his bed. Maestro continued lying there, trying to gather in his surroundings. Hearing the occasional noises and complaints of pain coming from the wounded soldiers around him. He kept lying there, and he began hearing firm steps making their way in his direction, though he didn’t feel like looking to see who it was.
He then begins to hear faint chatter from the hooves that seemed to stop near him.
“This is…ah okay…so it is him.” he heard a familiar voice.
“Private Maestro, a unit within the 31st Equestrian Division. You managed to escape a small ambush from Changeling scouts at the camp you were located…mere miles away from the battlefield…is this correct?”
Maestro then recognized who that bold and strong sounding stallion was.
“Yes sir…that’s correct.”
“Of course it is, cause I’m looking at the damn thing right now…look up at me when I’m talking to you soldier!” General Orion raised his voice thereafter.
Maestro then propped his head back onto the pillow, looking Orion straight into his eyes.
“Won’t happen again.”
“Hope so…now then…do you have any bucking idea what you just did? Do you have any idea that because of your actions just a while back, I had to risk the lives of some of my men who didn’t even have to go out there to pull your ass right back to HQ?”
“Yes sir, but because of my actions, my partner didn’t die. She was literally about to get killed.”
“In wars…things happen Private.”
“General!”
“I said things happen damn it!”
“You don’t understand, she’s the love of my life, I love her! We live in the same house together! Celestia willing, we’re about to have a family in not too awful long!”
“Does it look like I care about that lovey-dovey stuff? Hell no I don’t! I’m a soldier, not a psychologist to just sit here and listen to all of your problems!” Orion replied firmly.
“It wasn’t a problem…it was a-”
“That’s enough out of your damn mouth, I’ve heard enough horseshit for once. You went AWOL; it’s pretty damn hard to break a rule that simple, and it takes some serious guts and stupidity to do so.” Orion stated once more, getting close to Maestro’s face.
“You listen here Private, and you listen mighty damn well, you broke a simple rule, and chances are you might even be dishonorably discharged. You went out there still wounded when you were clearly told to remain where you were; you disobeyed that order…simple as that.” Orion adds.
“Yes sir.”
General Orion then gestures the rest of the MP’s (Military Police) to leave him and Maestro.
“Good…then I will see you later on tomorrow morning. You will sign the necessary papers to complete the process of you being relieved from your duties. Meet me in my office at 0930 hours.” Orion then turned back around heading back to his duties.
Maestro couldn’t stand to hear these words, he never wanted this to happen, but in his gut he knew it would happen due to his actions.
“I…I understand, sir…” Maestro replied, followed by a sigh.
“Appreciated…oh and…I honor your courage and will to your family…well done soldier.” Orion saluted, then turned back around heading off to his quarters.
“Damn it…damn the war, damn the Changelings, damn everything for all I care.” Maestro hit the sides of the bed frustratingly.
The sun had now gone down from the passing hours, as Octavia and Harmony were able to reside with a few kind nurses in a tent they lived in. Only three of them were in there, Octavia, Harmony, and a nurse by the name of Redheart.
“There you are miss Octavia, I have warm beds for you and miss Harmony. I also apologize about your son ma’am; I hope for him a speedy recovery.” The nurse smiled warmly to her.
“Thank you, you’re a doll dear…what’s your name?” Harmony asked.
“Nurse Redheart miss, I tend to the ones who come in. No way am I cut out for that combat medic stuff, that would stress anypony out.” She replied, as she sorted through medical files in her file cabinet. She was sitting at her desk, adding new medical statuses of units hurt or killed in combat. A single lamp shined softly over her desk, and gave a soft yellow glow throughout the tent as it had approached nightfall.
“Miss Octavia, are you feeling fine over there? Redheart spoke up across the tent.
“Yes I’m fine, thank you for the support by the way. I didn’t expect this to come from a military is what I was most speculative about?”
“I understand, but there’s always those units who still have hearts and souls that are willing to help and care for others as kindly as possible.” Redheart turned back to face Harmony.
“We ordered the civilians to take shelter as best as they could within there homes or some place of safety they knew of before the shield was dropped by the princess. I just hope each and every one of them is doing okay out there. You two are the first two we’ve had to bring back with us. Was there a reason for that by any chance?”
“I’d rather not say.” Octavia looked off, recapping the close call in her mind before Maestro arrived, and after.
“It’s something I’d rather not think about. I’ve had to-”
“No need to say anything else, it’ll be fine miss Octavia…just know that you’re in good hooves now. Why don’t you take a rest alright?” Redheart interrupted her and insisting. She was atleast trying to help ease Octavia into a different and more easing thing or topic to think about.
Harmony seeing Octavia look a little bothered, made her way over to her own bed next to her.
“This is certainly a strange day isn’t it dear?”
“Yes it is, the strangest day I have ever experienced in all my life.” Octavia replied.
“Indeed, well don’t you think we need to get some shuteye? I find it kind of odd for it being so quiet around the tent?”
“Oh that he-he, yes the fourth and fifth platoons are out currently fighting. The daytime forces you could call them are currently sleeping and resting up. Who knows what we will be dealing with tomorrow morning.” Redheart spoke up.
“True, very true, thank you nurse.” Harmony smiled a bit, pulling the covers over her while facing the direction of her hopeful future daughter-in-law.
“Octavia, a mother knows when there’s something wrong…you seem a bit distracted by something on your mind?”
“My own mother said that to me once when I was little…but I’m fine…thank you for asking.” Octavia then brought the covers over herself as well, as she began to settle in for the night into military grade beds. Not the most comfortable thing in the world, but what can you do?
The night went on, they heard occasional silence with the clicking of a pen scribbling on paper from the nurse. The faint noise of an explosion here and there could be heard all the way on the other side of the city, but they would still be safe. The security was extremely tight around the castle and around the HQ in general. Spotlights were shined all over the place around the HQ, and some every now and then shined over the tents and so forth. Maestro back in the medical area was sleeping soundly, despite all he had been through, though some of those painkillers and drugs caused him to sleep much heavier. He was a heavy sleeper to begin with, even without them. His mind began thinking of his family and Octavia…but what of Starlight? What of his foster parents?