With the fires out, DS calls for one of his fire trucks on the two-way radio, with the Scania responding to the crash site. Since the previous attempt to pull EM-1 out failed, he's going to try using the fire truck to two him out. It's bigger, it's heavier, so it might as well be able to pull EM-1 out of the crater with much more ease. Things would have been much easier if he had a tow truck or even better, a telescopic crane to lift not just EM-1, but damaged objects in general. But the Red Cross isn't a construction company. Other than firefighting, they can't do anything else as a medical service. Rebuilding damaged structures or hospitals is way out of their jurisdiction. Their tents and ambulances are pretty much enough for them. Sure they would like to assist in the rebuilding efforts in war zones, but it's just not up to them unfortunately, and DS knows that very well. Sometimes he wishes he could have been a floating crane. He might have contributed less that way, but at least he would have been able to build shelters for those who need them. But apparently, his fate is to cure and treat the wounded.
With the fire truck having arrived, DS pulls out the winch and attaches it to the rear bumber of the Lotus. This time, the towing attempt won't fail.
-'You ready?', asks DS through his two-way radio.
-'Ready here', replies the fire truck.
-'Alright then, heave', says DS and the truck starts to slowly pull the Lotus out. This time, the attempt proves successful as the car appears to be slowly moving. The truck retratcts its winch very slowly as EM-1's axles are on the verge of breaking apart. One sudden move and the entire thing will fall off, thus immobilizing the car. The fire truck itself knows that better than anyone else as it has done that many times before. There were several times where it had to tow away crashed or rolled over ambulances in Austronesia, and it has done so successfully and without any mishaps occuring on its watch, so this is nothing. The inly difference is that it will have to be extra careful as it drags the car out.
With a little bit of effort and caution, the Lotus is pulled out of the crater. Surprisignly, the axles are still intact. That's a good thing because it will allow DS to move the car with much less difficulty. Problem is that they need a crane and a flatbed trailer to move it, and he has neither. Maybe he can ask for Vestal to provide him one. She is a repair ship, so she might as well have the necessary equipment that he lacks.
-'Do you have any flatbed trucks I could use?', asks DS to Vestal, who is trying to pull her sleeve back down after having completed the medical checkup.
-'I might have something. I just need to take a look', replies Vestal.
-'I better come with you and assist', continues DS.
-'As you wish', says Vestal and they both get in the Jeep.
-'Rescue 1, stay here on standby, I might need you to tow EM-1 again', says DS to his fire truck through his two-way radio again.
-'Copy that, standing by', replies the fire truck.
With that being arranged, DS drives back to the main harbor where his and Vestal's ships are stationed. DS for somereason looks much more concerned. The medical test he did on Vestal came up with some very conerning results. Scans showed that she had part the shrapnel she got hit with were too close to her bones, meaning they could have fractured her body parts. Not only that, it appears that some sort of rust germs had infected her blood cells. He doesn't know what they are exactly, but it appeared to be similar to what is encountered in a metal fatigue condition. If a ship's part is infected, then it can spread towards the entire structure. The only way to counter it is to wash it away with soap and some alcohol or even with hot water, depending on the ship's parts and areas. DS has seen what metal fatigue does to a ship, and it's not something pleasant. Because once the entire ship is infected, the condition becomes equivalent to a terminal illness or worse, like cancer. If left untreated, Vestal only has one to two years left, so he has to act fast and remove the disease before it spreads any further.
-'You seem concerned', says Vestal, having noticed how DS is awfully quiet. 'Something wrong?'
-'How can you tell?', asks DS. 'I'm waring a helmet and my face is covered. So how can you tell what I'm thinking?'.
-'You're very silent', replies Vestal. 'I might know you for only a few hours, but you're not usually that silent'.
-'Your medical checkup brought some very concerning results', admits DS and starts to explain. 'The shrapnel you got hit with contained some sort of rust germs. Those are the same germs I've seen to some older ships, and they are very infectious. Once a ship becomes infected, it is necessary to start emergency treatment, otherwise decommissioning and scrapping or scuttling is inevitable'.
Hearing this, Vestal is shocked. Of all things that have been happening, this was the least she was expecting. She's been saving her fellow shipgirls from death, and now death is right at her front door, waiting to take her away. Of all things, this was something she thought she would never hear happening to her. In fact, she was hoping to never hear such news. And here she is now, learning the truth.
-'How long do I have?', she asks, trying to keep her cool.
-'If left untreated, a year or two', replies DS, still calm as ever. 'I'll give you an injection later. It will kill the virus and get rid of the infected blood cells, but it won't be permanent. I'll have to give you injections once a day or once a week depending on how serious the disease is. So far, it's in the early stages, so there's still plenty of time to prevent it from spreading'.
-'That's a relief', says Vestal, feeling somehow relieved hearing that she has a chance of surviving.
Just then, the Eurocopter, which had been refuelled and is now on a recon flight above the island, contacts DS.
-'Samaritan One, this is Savior One, are you receiving me?', it asks in its usual electronic voice, asking the same question as the protocol requires.
-'Go ahead Savior One', replies DS, also under protocol.
-'I'm currently looking at the area where the battle took place and I found something rather interesting', explains the air ambulance. 'I think you might want to see this. I'm transmitting the images now'.
DS turns on the screen on the Jeep's dashboard, which displays a shipgirl unconscious on top of a submarine. Judging by the conning tower, it must be I-19. DS recognizes the design very clearly. He's seen a similar submarine once in East Timor which was put on display by the Timor Leste Defence Force. It looked so similar that one could confuse it for a copy of the original submarine. How the Timor Leste military was able to acquire it? They didn't. It was actually a narco submarine that was used by a local drug cartel to smuggle cocaine and heroin. It was actually captured two day prior by the Timor Leste navy and has been on display ever since.
Judging by how the young girl is struggling to get up, she's probably wounded. The Eurocopter then zooms the camera closer, which confirm DS's concerns. She's bleeding heavily on her left arm and close to the stomach. She needs medical assistance. She might be an enemy, but she still needs assistance. Besides, she might have valuable information the Azur Lane Faction could use to their advantage. As long as DS gets to treat every single patient and wounded soldier, he doesn't care about the war between the factions. If he can provide the medical care, that's good enough to him.
-'Try and contact the submarine', says DS rather quickly. 'Tell her that we are offering medical aid if she surrenders'.
-'Copy that', says the Eurocopter. But before it can establish contact, the submarine points her AA guns towards the Eurocopter, forcing it to maneuver out of the way. Then, all of a sudden, she aims her deck gun at one of the Bulin ships which is still stationed at the harbor, and fires a shot, damaging the bridge. Before anyone can act, she dives and disappears from everyone's sight. Well, it's too late to engage in hot pursuit. DS' sonar is turned off and all the ships are docked now. It will take them too long to track down I-19. Only DS can sail out of the harbor in such a short time, but with the damage he suffered from the battle, it's totally out of the question.
Taken by surprise, the Jeep accelerates towards the harbor with its lights and sirens on while DS checks his first aid kit. Looks like his work here has just begun. He was right to set up a field hospital here, as it is apparent that his services will be much more useful here than at the Universal base. With all the bombardments and aerial attacks, it looks like it's going to be a really long day.
(And that's all for today's chapter. Sorry for not making it longer, but this is all I could write so far. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Also, feel free to check out my Youtube (Literature Defense Force) and Dailymotion (PeacekeeperLDF) channels. Until then, see you next time. Remember, your opinion is always important).