The Gyrus Dross was an asteroid belt that stretched only a few parsecs out of the main interplanetary cosways- far enough away that it did not cause any more damages than the occasional falling star but close enough that planetary corporations found it feasible to mine the larger asteroids for valuable minerals.
Dross-6 was one of those corporately owned mining colonies. It was not the largest, and certainly not the most profitable. The Company that owned it tended to be one of the overwork-and-underpay types, in an attempt to squeeze as much profit out of the failing financial venue. As such, the people were hard, miserable, and desperate; prone to doing whatever it took to keep on going. The Company was apathetic to the plight of their workers, only taking interest if it damaged company property or profits.
Which made it a perfect place for unsavory types, drawn to desperation like vultures. Here, the black market was more reliable than the company stores, and anything could be found regardless of legalities: guns, drugs, ammunition, anything. Outside the Company, no one came to Dross-6 for legitimate reasons outside of crime.
So when Valko told her that Noah had gotten them a job there, Viva was understandably nervous. Dross-6 was no cake-walk, no matter how the boy's tried to sell it as a quick pick up- no fuss or mess. This rock was hard, and the people harder- and with her brother's temper... So Viva sat at the ready in the cockpit while the boy's dealt with the cargo, her music cranked up loud to drown out her anxiousness.
Sure enough, all hell broke loose and Noah was hauling her brother in cursing up a storm, bellowing and cursing up a storm. Adrenaline hit her system hard, and the Lucidae hit atmo about as fast as physically possible for a ship of her size.
"The fuck happened out there?" She'd snapped back at them, when she finally caught sight of them, her hands already keying in the coordinates to Noveria as Noah told her too- it was the closest port with any kind of civilization. Valko looked like hell, black eye and wet dirt smeared all over, but most damning was the still growing damp patch of blood about his stomach.
"Heh, fucking fucker," Valko swore and coughed wetly from where he laid propped up against the wall where Noah had set him, his teeth red with blood, "You should see the other guy. Fucking coward couldn't even fight fair."
"Valko," Viva growled in frustration, worry and fear snapping in her tone like a live wire, "You fucking idiot."
"What was I supposed to do," He laughed, his breath coming shallow and he groaned in pain as Noah applied pressure to his wound, "Just le-let him bad mouth Luce-cough like that? Had-ta teach th'fucker a lesson. How-th fuck wss I supposted to know th' astro-trash would p-pull a gun a-after I kicked his ass."
"For fucks sake, just shut up Val!" She said, her knuckles white at the wheel, and she turned her head back just in time to see her brothers eyes roll back into his head. "Fucking FUCK!"
Lucidae had been pushed to her hardest burn, and Norevia winked into sight just as Valko lost consciousness. With her captain bellowing in her ear, Viva swung into a landing that was almost recklessly fast.
"Viva listen to me." Noah said in a calm tone, "I can't go out there like this. I will draw everyone's attention. We need to keep a low profile, if anyone notices us- If anyone checks the cargo, we all go down. Now you need to stay calm, do not grab anyones attention. Get a doctor and get one quick, do whatever you have to do, he doesn't have much time."
"Right. Right," Viva said, nodding her head and her lips pressed firmly, trying to express a confidence she didn't feel even as her too-wide eyes belied her underling panic and fear for her brother, "Okay."
"I've got him, now go." he said, cursing under his breath.
She stood up abruptly and threw on her coat, trying not to look at all the blood on the floor that was supposed to be inside her brother, "You better not die on me you fucking bastard."
And she was out the door, trying not to let the panic churn in her gut at the lack of his usual parting remark.
("Ha! Then what does that make you?")
Down the inclining hall, she reached the cargo hold- having to step over the crates that hadn't been battened down securely before their fast burn to atmo. She didn't even look to see what the damn things were, just taking the side hatch to the cargo hold door (so that the entire back opening wasn't gaping open for the world to see). And she was dirtside.
How the fuck was she supposed to find a doctor now?
Fear and urgency are great motivators, however and so she moved- striding through the crowd purposefully, her eyes taking in everyone- looking for any sign that they'd be of the medical profession. Where those scrubs? No. A stethoscope? No. A fucking lab coat? No. By the time she reached the first hotel lobby-outpost for the port she could feel the stomach dropping sensation of desperation beginning to set in- when she saw it.
Stopping in her tracks she scanned the crowd, heart hammering in her chest when she saw it again. It helped that the man was sitting down, his hands reaching up to his head to put his hair back- and she got a full look at his ID-badge... one DR. LIORE LANRETE.
"Hey!" She called to him, pushing her way past a few dilly dalling people passing by to get to him, "You a doctor?"
