Camp Calls

Posted on Sat Mar 23rd, 2019 @ 12:05am by Major Jacob Asher & Staff Sergeant Rhiannon O'Connor & Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Corvus

Mission: The Lost Boys and Girls
Location: P3X-842
Timeline: Arrival +9 hours to Arrival +10 hours, Regression: 4.5 to 5 Years

Captain Valenti left Vasquez and Djebar to set up the mobile lab and followed Jake to the campsite. When the Lost Children saw Captain Valenti in her bio-hazard suit, they grabbed their weapons. Ree intervened and told them it was okay, that there was a person in there, and they were a friend. The eternal children seemed to settle a bit.

Jake looked around. "Where's Shae?" he said when he didn't see the Kitsune.

Sanicios said something to Ree, who nodded. "Uh, Sanicios and Morgaine say they're sorry. They were trying to cheer her up, but she got upset and stormed off in that direction. Second time today she's done that, sir. I think she's getting wicked messed up by this disease thing."

"Alright," Jake said. "I'll go and find her. This is Doctor Camilla Valenti of the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service. She's a Captain in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, so even I have to do what she says. She's going to want samples from you and Crow, and probably the kids. Captain, can you wait until I get back to take my blood? I'm worried about Shae. She's probably better suited to surviving out here than we are, but...she had a terrible childhood and I don't imagine getting younger, even just in her head, feels very good to her."

"Of course, Major," Valenti said. "Go ahead."

"Thanks," Jake replied. "Back soon."

Jake took off in the direction Shae stormed off in at a jog.

After he was out of sight Valenti turned back to everyone else. "Alright," she said. "Let's get started. First you and Sergeant Corvus, then you can help me with the children."

"Yeah, sure, whatevs," Ree said, then froze. "I mean, yes ma'am. Sorry!"

Valenti chuckled. "I have a teenage daughter. I'm used to it. Let's go have a seat and I'll examine you and draw your blood and then we can get Sergeant Corvus...is he digging latrines or graves?"

"I don't know," Ree said. "He's been at it all afternoon, whatever he's doing. He's like all boys. Dumb. Wicked cute, but dumb."

Valenti started working on Ree and when she had her data, she took blood and a cheek swab.

"Why the swab?" Ree said. "Isn't my blood enough?"

"We may need extra DNA samples to refer back to," Valenti said. "Now, let's go and get Sergeant Corvus."

Jeremy was almost finished with the second grave. He made sure his was finished first and was finished to a way that he would fit. He only got to a four foot depth but, well, that should be enough if the carrion eaters around here were too lazy to even carry off part of their finds. He was sore, filthy, sweaty and but for his tactical gloves, he'd have developed large, deep blisters that would have opened twice over by now. Worse of all, even all this exertion wasn't as effective as it should be because he was aching, sore and hard as the rocks he sometimes struck as he dug.

He'd been able to extend the handle of his trenching tool with another large branch and that helped increase his work pace. Best of all, between his work and his headphones he was left alone. What was bad, though, was his ravenous appetite. He'd settled it once a few hours before with an MRE, but it was back and - once again - he knew that was only going to get worse. He should have sent Shae out for another deer or more meat because if he were any indication, when he, Asher and Hawkins got to this stage, they'd eat much more than their bodyweight in food in only a few hours while the body thought it was 'storing up' for growth spurts.

He was tossing out loose dirt, shoveling away the detritus of the sides he was carving out when he caught the sight. Someone in a medical quarantine suit heading his way with O'Connor. He stopped and stared, every aching, sore, sweaty, frustrated part of his body momentarily forgotten. Then shaking his head, he attacked the dirt with renewed fury and frustration. He took only a moment to turn his volume to max. It would just be the strictest definition of 'coincidence' that the dirt happened to be flying in the direction of O'Connor and the suited figure.

"Hey!" Ree said. "Watch it, asshole! You may not give a damn about me you big jerk but the lady in the suit's a Code Six!"

The good thing about the headphones was that it gave him a perfect excuse to just ignore the both of them without fear of reprisal. The dirt continued to fly.

Ree curse and jumped into the grave Jeremy was digging and when he crouched down to dig, she gave him a combination of a hard kick and a shove and knocked him over, causing his head phones to slip out. "You hear me now, asshat?" Ree yelled. "The lady in the biohazzard suit is goddamned Code Six, stupid! Jeez! Straighten up and fucking fly right! If you stopped acting like such a dumbass all the time, those sexy muscles of yours might get you laid more often!"

Valenti was glad she was wearing a mask and hood. It made it easier to avoid laughing at the two Sergeants. They reminded her of her own children. While this job had been a good move for her, she missed her kids. She hadn't seen them in...no. Better not to think of that.

"Alright," she said. "Stand down both of you. That's an order. I need to do exams on both of you and take some blood and some other DNA. Are you going to cooperate? Or am I going to have to get Major Asher and Captain Hawkins to hold you both down while they're still adult enough to follow orders?"

For several long moments Jeremy stared at O'Connor, admiring her features, the form he knew was under the uniform and he considered her to be the solution to a problem. So much so that he barely heard what the doctor said. "Good luck getting Major to do anything but trip over his own tongue whle chasing after Shae," Jeremy said, kicking himself backward until he hit the wall of the grave he'd dug and was as far away from O'Connor as he could make himself. His body might be betraying him, but he was damned if he was going to let this infection take away the ethics and morals his parents instilled in him so long ago. And he was damned sure his first time was not going to happen like this. Sighing he did the quick mental calculation. "What were your orders, Captain?" he asked, sitting, awkwardly, with his knees to his chest doing his best to hide his embarrassment at the situation. "Wait? Exams? Like phyiscals?" he said, suddenly very, very frightened of her answer. "I'm going to refuse anything like that, respectfully, Captain." He couldn't see her, but she was a woman and he wasn't going to shame himself further by letting her see everything.

"I'm sorry," Valenti said. "I know that when I'm polite people get confused and think I'm making requests when I'm actually issuing orders. I need to take your vitals, some blood, and some DNA. If I didn't need that data to help everyone else, I'd let you be an asshole and die. But there are other members of your team that I can save with that data. So, if you cooperate, you can remain conscious while I take your vitals, your blood, and do a cheek swab. If you refuse to cooperate, I can order Sergeant O'Connor here to beat you unconscious with that trenching tool and I'll get my data that way. Your call."

"Do you...is there a male doctor available?" he asked. It wouldn't be any less embarrassing but...actually it would be. At least a guy would understand what was going on with the...the...

What the heck? He knew this! He was actually pretty darned good at the medic stuff, and biology was pretty basic! How could he be blanking on what the condition was?

"If not then..." he wondered about this. If he were unconscious would his body still betray his values? But, he remembered morning situations, and times he was dozing in class and the problem would present itself. "Just, do you have a male doctor?" He didn't look at O'Connor, he was sure she thought he just wanted to be a butthead and high drama. He hoped it was dark enough in the shade of the trees that nobody could see his face turning into a blazing inferno. "If not, it's not like her beating me unconscious is going to stop any of us from dying in the next forty hours."

"Listen to me, you dumb son-of-a-bitch!" Valenti said. "I'm giving Goddamned ORDERS not making suggestions or offering options. At this point, I've pretty much decided to let you die and focus on saving everyone else, unless saving your life can't be avoided! But I need your vitals, your blood, and a cheek swap. If you'd rather, I can have Sergeant O'Connor beat you all the way to death, I'll skip the vitals, and make do with the blood and the cheek swab!"

"Uh...ma'am?" Ree said, more than a little shocked. "Are you sure--"

"Did I stutter, Sergeant?" Valenti said, looking at her with cold eyes. She finally closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Fine. My nurse will be here in about 5 to 10 minutes. If when he gets here, you aren't being 100% cooperative, I'll declare you a national security threat and order Major Asher to shoot you dead and be done with you. Note that I didn't stutter there, either."

Valenti turned on her heel and left the two Sergeants there, in shock.

Ree stared in utter amazement as Valenti stalked away. "Did a Public Health Service Captain just a) threaten to order me to beat you to death and b) then threaten to have you shot? Cuz I'm pretty sure she just did! What the fuck is going on?"

Ree looked at Jeremy. "Uh, right," she said, lowering the trenching tool. She offered Jeremy a hand up. She rolled her eyes when Jeremy hesitated. "Jeez, Crow! I promise not to tease you if sprout wood from the sexy touch of my naked hand with all of it's callouses!"

"I hate this!" he spouted with venom. "Not just what's happening but that they wasted nine hours! I told them we could use a quarantine suit to get samples to them! Didn't I tell them! Why doesn't anyone ever listen to us? Oh, that's right, we're just stupid sergeants and don't matter." He stood. "Let Major shoot me, we're going to die anyway, at least this way I'm dying like a man! Not some brain dead retard shitting in my own pants! They got frikken Andrews as the 'authority' on this? Andrews? What does she care, she's not affected is she. Nothing special about her but a parasite. Take that away and she's nothing but an ego!"

He saw her hand and shook his head, taking it to stand up, sure that his condition was on complete display. "And how come it's not like this for you? How come you're not..." he turned a deeper crimson as he looked down at the ground. "Why aren't you horny and ravenous?"

"I'm... um... feeling pretty frisky," Ree said. "But I'm not some dumb boy with my brain between my legs..." God I wanna get laid so bad!

"Oh, yeah, women go through their intense sexual cycle later in life. Lucky you," he said, standing against the edge of the trench, leaning on his arms. "I mean it. I'd rather be shot now then keep going through this. Nothing's going to save us. Not even someone claiming to be a doctor but is going around ordering people killed."

God! I would so do his dumbass if just wasn't so Goddamn DUMB! "Nice attitude, dumbass! Real positive!" Ree frowned. "But yeah, that was weird! Anyway, I don't wanna get shot" though I wouldn't mind so much if she ordered the Major to spank me! Oh, GOD! NOW I SOUND LIKE DUMBASS OVER HERE! Why doesn't he get that I'm being a bitch cuz I think he's cute?? Uch. BOYS. ARE. SO. DUMB! "Uh... yeah... so let's go over and get examined." Maybe she'll ask me to take a sperm sample from Crow. That might be fun and it would totally shut his ass up...for maybe five minutes. Uch. Boys.

"Yeah, nine hours wasted!" He sighed and tried to 'adjust' himself before he climbed out of the grave. He wasn't sure how many more he could dig before he'd lose the ability to concentrate for the time it took to finish, maybe two? "Let's go and get this over with, so we can get back to the business of dying. Where is the Major anyway? Was I right? Did he go chasing after Shae again? Like it wasn't creepy enough watching him stalk her before all this."

"Hey!" Ree said. "Why do you care? You got the hots for Shae? I mean, I guess she's kinda hot, you know, if you're in to that kind of thing."

"No," Jeremy said, "not normally. In about eight hours I won't again. It's just...look, we've got problems too, right? And where's he been since we arrived? He even say two words to you, offer you any hope? Cause I sure as heck haven't seen him. And all he does is threaten to shoot me all the time. But he's the CO of the team right? How do you think it'll go with the CO panting after a member of the team? Especially if she doesn't run back to him like she's not been doing." He waited at the lab area, trying not to look at her.

"You..." he swallowed as he looked at the equipment outside the tent that served as a portable lab, knowing that he once knew what all of it did. He still did, sort of, but it wasn't the same. "You ever...do...have you..." He swallowed again and dropped the tool he was holding back on one of the rovers parked outside.

Valenti came out of the tent. "Glad to see you both. Please take a seat on one of the empty rovers and we'll get started."

Ree shrugged and took a seat. The CDC doctor seemed perfectly normal now. Ree took off her uniform jacket, under which she was wearing a t-shirt. "I'll go first because I like the thought of horn dog over there being forced to think about baseball or whatever because the woody he's sporting over the sight of my scandalously bare arms... though I don't know how thinking about long, hard, wooden bats will make him feel any better."

"Yeah, well, that's not a problem cause thinking about doing anything with you would be like thinking of doing my sister. My ugly sister. My ugly little sister who holds a trenching tool like a girl!" He shot back. "And I'm not from Kentucky so I'm not into doing my little, fat, ugly sister. Now," he said, with a smile, "the doctor on the other hand. She's got that Mommy Dearest vibe. I bet she could spank real..." Jeremy heard what he was saying and his eyes went wide as his hands covered his mouth. "What am I saying? I'm a frikken Air Force operator! Not some douchy, fratboy freshman!"

Ree looked absolutely heartbroken. His UGLY LITTLE SISTER!! Ree didn't want to be Crow's sister, ugly or otherwise! And... he thought she was ugly?!? Tears welled up in Ree's eyes as she struggled in vain not to burst into tears. "You--you--you--JERK! Maybe I don't wanna be your sister, shit for brains!" Maybe I want to be a lot more than that! Does he really think I'm ugly? Ree shoved the CDC doctor away and ran off sobbing.

"Sergeant!" Valenti said. "Sergeant! Come back here this instant!" She turned to Corvus. "Well, you're the one who upset her, so right after I'm done taking your vitals, blood, and DNA, you will find her and bring her back. That's and order, and so is this: Take off your jacket and sit your ass down on this empty rover here, now!"

"Why do I have to do everything around here!" Jeremy said as he tore off his blouse. "Who cares if she ran off, she's stupid anyway!" he said, taking off his t-shirt as well. O'Connor was just some dumb girl he was forced to work with. The Captain, on the other hand, was a cougar. And one, he hoped, that was on the prowl. He sat down, folding his arms across his chest in a way that showed off the amount of time he spent in the gym doing chest exercises. "Anything else you want me to take off?" he asked Valenti with a smirk.

"Thankfully, no," Valenti said. "Not only couldn't you handle my needs, but I'm not in the habit of fucking the diseased and the filthy. In short, you're not man enough. Now that we have that out of the way..."

Valenti took Jeremy's vitals and then his blood. Finally, she swabbed his cheek for an extra DNA sample. "Hmmm... Chow was right. No fever on any of you so far. It's like you bodies just aren't fighting off whatever you've got. Alright, run along like a good little boy. Go fetch me Sergeant O'Connor. Go. Scoot. Screw off down the road."

Jeremy stood and stretched, making sure to show off all of his naked torso. "Yeah, I'm not really into chasing after emo girls," he said, shrugging as he tugged his t-shirt back on. He knew he had tighter and wasn't sure why he didn't wear any of them. He'd plenty of compression shirts that really showed off his hard work. "I'm sure she'll come back if you play some Fall Out Boy or something equally stupid like that." He tossed his blouse over his shoulder and rested a hand on his drop leg holstered sidearm. "Isn't it cool? All I had to do was join the Air Force and they let me carry a gun around everywhere. I got an assault rifle too. I'm thinking I should get better then go to like, California or some place and really melt a bunch of snowflakes!"

Valenti sighed and then drove an extremely powerful uppercut into Jeremy's solar plexus that left him gasping for air. She hit almost as hard if not hard than he did. The blow bent him over, at which point she grabbed him by the throat with a powerful grip. "I warned not to test my patience, Sergeant. Now, one more time, go and fetch Sergeant O'Connor and bring her back here. I don't care if you have to falsely profess your undying love for her and tell her she's the most beautiful girl you've ever met or just do her to calm her down, but get her back here forthwith."

Valenti released Corvus and entered the tent.

Mumbling the entire way, Jeremy went in the general direction as the whiny little emo girl. The whole way, it all seemed wrong, somehow. He knew several things: this was not the way operations like this went, this was not the way he acted - even when he was younger, and his thoughts were wrong. The hormonal dumps must be screwing with all of them. Just the amount of express frustration and rage he had in him at the moment wasn't right. He knew there were terms for what was going on...they were on the tip of his tongue but he just couldn't express it. Just like the tools back on the rover. He knew what they were but if you asked him to use those tools, he'd have a hard time doing so. But yesterday? He wouldn't even have to think about it.

O'Connor wasn't hard to find, all he had to do was follow the ceaseless sobbing and whining. No...that wasn't right either. O'Connor wasn't a weak, helpless whining little girl. He knew what she had to go through to get through PJ school because he did it (which seemed like it happened a million years ago which also concerned him...how about those skills, where they like his medical knowledge?). Worse, she was a girl and the physical challenges alone smoked him. It wasn't a sexist thing, at least not for him, simply...he knew this too. Why it would be different for her as a girl, the medical and scientific reasoning behind it.

"Hey, stupid, it's your turn," he said. And he was tired of the captain. The only good that the punch gave him breathing room from the constant need to screw something, for at least a little bit. But he was hungry again and there was some stew on the fire over the stove, plus the MREs. He wanted food,not chasing after some whining no she's not! stupid not true! fat lie! ugly control yourself Airman! (the last said in a combination of his father and old CO's voice. He wished he were here with his old CO, he'd know how to handle this. He'd know how to help keep things together and maintain the unit as a team.

He wouldn't be off chasing tail and leaving everyone else to die hateful and alone. "I'm not kidding," he said, "I'm tired and hungry and I don't want crap from you." He grabbed her, yanked her up and over his shoulders, then, in a fireman's carry, took her back to the tent. She hit and kicked him, harder than the vet did, much harder, but it still wasn't good enough because she couldn't generate enough...stuff...to make it hurt. Her attempt to grab him around the neck was stymied by his grip on her arm and a sudden bucking of his shoulders that bounced her enough to grip her arm away.

Stalking back to the tent, he dumped O'Connor at the door to the tent. "There she is you snooty dyke!" he shouted, before turning back to camp, heading for the stewpot. He'd grab a bowl, or two, and take it back to his spot where he left his stuff. He contemplated just sleeping in the grave tonight, he might as well get used to it.

By now Ree was sobbing uncontrollably. Morgaine and Trestana saw the whole thing and, sending their boys to keep an eye on duine mór greannmhar ciallmhar dúr (big ugly mean stupid person), then both comforted Ree until she stopped crying.

"Tá, ann, mo mhilse," Trestana said as the two eternal girls held Ree and stroked her hair. "Ní fiú aon deora é aon bhuachaill! Ciúin leat féin agus triomaigh do shúile. Tá, anois, tá sé sin níos fearr."

(There, there, my sweet. No boy is worth such tears! Quiet your yourself and dry your eyes. There, now, that's better.)

Ree had just settled down when Captain Valenti came out of the tent. "Welcome back, Sergeant," Valenti said. "Care to introduce me to your friends? Can you speak their language?"

Ree sniffled. "Uh, not either of these girls' languages, no. But even though Trestana is I think a Breton, can speak and understand Irish Gaelic, though hers is a little old fashioned to my ears, Morgaine speaks Welsh, but I believe she understands Irish Gaelic."

Valenti nodded. "Alright," she said. "Can you have them stay and watch while I examine you quickly, and then try to talk them into letting me examine them and take some samples from them."

Ree nodded and explained to the two girls what Valenti wanted them to do. They agreed to watch and then, through Ree, told Valenti that the Bird People had done something similar to them many, many cycles of the moon ago, when the Great Sickness afflicted their people, and others had done it since. They dutifully submitted to the exams, then ran off to fetch their boys, who also obediently submitted to the exam. They talked first Matina and Rigard and then Isbeil and Estin into cooperating as well.

"How do you say 'thank you', Sergeant," Valenti asked when they were all done.

"Go raibh maith agat," Ree supplied.

"Go raibh maith agat," Valenti said. She looked like she was about to say something else when Jake's voice came over the radio Ree had with her.

"Hawk! Ree! Crow! Jessica!" Jake's voice came bursting out of the team's radios. "I'm inbound with Shae. To make a long story short, she foxed out, she's in heat, and her scent has attracted a large pack of who the fuck knows what! We're leading them away from the camp, the kids, and the CDC tent and up to the Altar. Ree, Crow, get the CDC guys into the camp and help the kids hold off the...whatever the fuck kind of canine or vulpine or whatever is coming after Shae if they make a run on the camp! Hawk and Jessica, arm up! You, me, and Shae are making our stand at the altar!"

"Ó cac!" (Oh shit!) Ree said as she rose to get her gear and translated Jake's message for the kids. Maybe some good would come of this. Maybe some horned up dire wolf would violate Jeremy's poop shute!