Part 35: Episode 6-4: Culurium

Episode 6-4: Culurium



Maria: He says he'd be glad to show us the way to the mine. He also says thank you for saving the villagers.

Valerie: That's nice to hear, but tell him we still have a ways to go before Stigma can be prevented.

I hate actually using gimmick names over multiple chapters for fear they become annoying, so the Sargeant's name, given later on, is Lopez.

Lopez: My men and I will escort you there, but it's a dangerous area. We should avoid staying too long.

Markus: There's no reason to worry. We have Pepita with us, remember? Besides, it's pretty important.

Pepita: *pant* *pant*

Man: Oh! Tof turui pasa mical.

Maria: He says that since we have a dog, this might help. It's a towel used by one of the mine workers.

Elena: Ah! This'll keep us on the right track.





Elena: What is it, Pepita? Is something there?

Markus: Let her be. She's probably just barking at shadows.

Yeah, it's real smart to ignore your trained guard dog in a dark, dangerous area.

Markus: I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed. I wasn't expecting this mine to look so ordinary.

Valerie: According to Robert, this is the world's only deposit where special microorganisms live in the ore.

What?

Valerie: He also told me its formation has something to do with bionic alloying.

What?

Markus: Let's bring a sample back with us, even though we already have some of the imported metal. …Do you think that the Stigma occurred here naturally?

Valerie: This is a unique environment, though the ore's been mined here in the past. Regardless, Stigma is a bizarre organism. My guess it that is was deliberately introduced to the area.

Markus: Remember what that bastard Kidman said? "Stigma would be the ultimate weapon there!" What if this place was targeted?

Valerie: The mine?

Markus: Considering the amount of profit it generates, it wouldn't be surprising if they showed up here. This is the perfect place to test Stigma.

Valerie: You think Kidman's involved somehow?

Pepita: Woof woof woof!

*KABANG*



Lopez: We're under attack! Return fire!



Elena: Isn't there anything you can do for her, Doctor?

Valerie: She'll go into shock and die at this rate!

Incidentally, Deadly Premonition forced me to look this up: the medical definition of shock is a decrease in the amount of blood entering the cells.

Markus: Well, we're not vets, but we have to give it a shot!



I could write about dogs here, but instead I'm going to GIS "cool dog" and post my favorite picture from page 1:



Elena: Multiple pellets have struck her abdomen. We've seen this before.



Markus: It's a shotgun wound. Looks like she was shot from a distance, though.

Elena: None of the pellets went all the through, so they must be embedded inside her. Our goal, then, is to extract all the pellets, but have either of you operated on a dog before?

I'm surprised they don't bring up the failed trip to Philly to see a dog operation here.

Valerie: Never in my life, but it can't be all that different.

Markus: Let's remove as many pellets as possible without opening her up, and suture the wounds.

Elena: Got it. I'll do my best to help.

Dogperation duty goes to…



Val!



I knew this one didn't have much new to offer, despite the gimmick, so I went in without a practice run, to increase the tension.

OPERATION VIDEO

Viddler Backup

_{I didn't set it to private this time.}



The first thing you have to do is to defib, but you'll be using a lower voltage to compensate for the patient's dogness. This changes the timing significantly. You'll need to defib repeatedly, and there's a bonus for using it less than 8 times, so practice doing this is very valuable.



Shotgun pellets are removed in the same way as last time, but there's no shortage of gel to deal with. Constant flatlining means you'll have to deal with vitals being low for most of the operation. Valerie's Healing Touch is actually the better of the two in this case, for that reason.



There are also blood pockets and blood "clouds" to deal with in this one. None of them are new, so you just need to work quickly and precisely.



She goes into cardiac arrest one last time once you've dealt with all the wounds. Just bringing her back from that finishes the operation.





I wish I'd done better so I could use here.

OPERATION END



I'm so timid when dealing with these operations with the constant defibs, that I missed the bonus for them, as well as time. Those are tied together, in that working quickly will help with both.





Markus: I'm glad it turned out okay.

Lopez: This is Segreant-Major Lopez. What seems to be the problem? …What!? Regroup immediately! Doctors, we have a situation. We have to get back to camp immediately! The guerrillas have attacked! A full-on battle's broken out!

Next time: Surgery blooms on the battlefield.