Guns, Germs and Steal, Season 1, Episode 5

[Dillin Cheshire]

"I usually never leave home without packin' a pistol, but it seems that in the manner of dressin' nice to meet the newest member of the HII's team, I seem to have done so. I'm fully confident that you know how to use that, Miss Cheshire. I shall stick by your side and hope that the number of bullets in your gun outnumber whoever may be on this ship uninvited."

Dillin nodded quickly, her eyes glancin around the small cargo bay. Fastened in racks along one wall were the tools that had been ordered for the G18 mission, and she reached out and, as quietly as she could, unfastened a shovel and handed it to Daniel with a wink, whispering, "Stay behind me and try not to whack me int the back of the head."

Twelve bullets wasn't a lot, but it only took one to kill a man. Dillin slipped through the doorway, knowing that Daniel was close behind her. Her eyes skimmed through the gleaming flexi-glass of the containment chamber, catching her own reflection on the opposite wall. Satisfied it was empty, she put her back to the chamber and edged forward into the medical infirmary.

Soiled surgical tools were scattered, towels and linens drenched red, and the bitter copper tang of blood overpowered the antiseptic smells. Her gaze snapped rattlesnake quick across the room, scanning for threat. Satisfied it was empty, she was about to turn away when the faintest sound in the silent room caught her ear and she looked again.

splip. A tiny droplet of red tapped the floor beside the com-panel. Running forward, she spun the chair.

splip.

The figure was slumped, a small fragile thing. Crude stitches swerved around her bare abdomen, and a few were torn free, leaving the thick crimson droplets to fall unhindered. It took a moment of blinking for Dillin to identify the pale, distressed creature that, in her current state, looked about as much like her security captures as she looked like a pepperoni pizza. Doctor Blodwyn Bardier. Gun still in hand, Dillin snagged a clean cloth from a tray and pressed it over the wound, "Daniel? Help me get her back onto a bed! Dr. Bardier? Doctor, can you hear me? Who did this?"

[Daniel Roberts]

With Miss Cheshire

"Stay behind me and try not to whack me int the back of the head."


"It wouldn't be a very gentlemanly thing for me to do, Miss Cheshire." replied Daniel, giving her a smile as he took the shovel into his possession.


Daniel gripped the shovel in both hands as he closely followed behind Miss Cheshire. It had a good heft to it and the blade looked sharp enough that if given a good swing, could lop someones head off or at least cause a very nasty wound. He followed her every move like a shadow as she checked the containment chamber and then moved on to the infirmary.

Something must have happened inside as Daniel saw bloodied surgical implements and towels strewn about the floor. It was almost like something out of a bad horror movie the way that things were thrown about and how it was eerily quiet. The smell of blood in the air only added to the creepiness. They were just about to leave when Miss Cheshire heard something and went to investigate it. Daniel tightened his grip on the shovel and immediately followed her.

Someone was slumped in a chair. Daniel couldn't make out who it was at first, but the blood that dripped onto the floor still looked fresh. When Miss Cheshire spun the chair around, Daniel's eyes grew wide as he recognized that it was Dr. Bardier. She looked very worse for wear and as pale as a ghost. His breath stopped a bit at the sight of the haphazard stitch job on her abdomen. It looked as if whatever happened to her, Dr. Bardier tried tried closing her own wound up before losing consciousness from the loss of blood. At least that was what it looked like to Daniel.


"Daniel? Help me get her back onto a bed! Dr. Bardier? Doctor, can you hear me? Who did this?"


Daniel nodded and set the shovel down on the com-panel. He then went to the back of the chair and hooked his arms underneath Dr. Bardier's armpits. He hoped she was still breathing as he waited for Miss Cheshire to pick up the other half.

[Blodwyn Bardier]

Blodwyn twitched, eyes flickering beneath their lids.

"-dier?"

Her eyes flickered once more and then opened, and she stared up at Dilan with a mixture of confusion and pain. "-n?"

The voice was continuing to speak. Blodwyn tried to focus. It seemed like an important question, though

"-did this?" The blurred figure whispered, voice smearing in the coppery air

she couldn't remember why.

Blodwyn shook her head, eyes squeezing shut as a wave of fresh pain rippled up her spine. she pressed against the iron bands

(hands, hard enough to hurt, but she didn't even notice)

wrapped around her lungs, her back, hands now clenched into painful fists around her fingers as the murky thoughts dissolved, as the whiteness in her mind became a sea of clouds that shifted and rolled languidly within the fingers of the tallest masts, jewelry scattered at her feet, shaking breath brushing against her jaw. This, she thought, might be

(screaming, shuddering, shaking, fingers straining and jerking, twisting in on herself and ripping herself to shreds)

the end of the world.

"N-never blamed you," she gasped, and scratched at her chest, unable to breathe or live or think for the pain. His name froze on her tongue.