Princess Rescue Inc (88 page)

“Some
of the lords do now that the planting and second harvest has been completed. I
too wish we could go. I would like to see my cousins saved,” she said giving
him a look.

“We're
almost there dear. Give it a couple of more days. A week at most if the weather
holds,” Ryans answered hugging her.

<==={}------------>

Sue
smiled encouragingly as she explained to Xeji and the other students how the
machine worked. The patient was lying on his back on the bed; a special water
cushion supported his kidneys.

Xeji
had quickly become one of her favorite students. They young man seemed to soak
up the techniques quickly, far quicker than the older students. Many had years
of bad habits to unlearn.

“Now,
the ESWL, or Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy device is an ultrasonic
device invented over thirty years ago to break up kidney stones. Usually we use
pain medication to manage the stones, opiates if possible,” she explained and
then shrugged, certain they were only getting half of the explanation. They'd
get the gist of it in a moment.

“And
this?” Xeji asked, pointing to the LCD screen.

“That's
him. See the ultrasound scanner showed us where the stones are. See?” She
pointed to a mass on the screen, then to a few more. “You've got a lot of
them,” she told the patient. She shook her head. “You need to cut down on your
salt and proteins. drinking a lot more water would also be a good idea. The
water can irrigate your kidneys and flush these out when they're still tiny.”
The patient grunted.

She
looked at the image and typed at the keyboard. “You see, when the stone passes
it irritates the inside of their body, especially the urethra when it passes.
If a stone grows too large it becomes trapped and can cause damage or shut the
kidney down.”

Xeji
nodded. The other students murmured. “Can we get on with this doctor?” Duke
Troy asked plaintively. She smiled.

“Sure
thing. This is going to sting a little. It'll feel like a rubber band snapping
on your skin... ah... wait you don't have them... um...”

“Try
to hold still Dominus,” Xeji said to Duke Troy, nodding to her.

Sue
nodded in response. “Right. What we have here is the lithotripsy device.” She
held up an elliptical device then placed it on his side. “This sends shock
waves through his body to the stone. It creates cavitation bubbles around it
which breaks it up into tiny pieces.”

She
thumbed the activation switch. Duke Troy grunted and grimaced. “Almost there,”
Sue said, guiding the device. She turned it off then repositioned it for the
other stones. The Duke began to twitch and move a little.

“You
have to be careful while using this device, it can tear capillaries and cause
internal bleeding if the patient doesn't
hold still
,” she almost barked
that last part out. He grunted a chuckle and then held still.

“I
shall endure,” he ground out, freezing in place.

She
nodded. “You'd better,” she growled. Some of the class tittered a little. “All
right, that's it for the big ones on this side, let’s see...” She refocused the
ultrasound then repositioned the lithotripsy device then paused. “Here,” she
said. She held them out to Xeji as she got up. “You take a turn.”

He
frowned then nodded and took the seat. She guided his hands to the stone. They
both watched the monitor. “Can I see?” the Duke asked. Smiling Sue angled the
LCD so he could get a better view. Xeji initiated the pulses. The Duke watched
amazed as the stone broke up on the screen.

“That's
it?” a student asked as they wiped the gel off the Duke and he sat up.

“For
now. He will need to be checked every couple of months to make sure he doesn't
have any larger masses growing. I'd say every half year or year depending on
what's found,” Sue said. She eyed the Duke who nodded.

“Thank
you doctor. Such a wondrous device to do such a thing. And simple to use as
well,” Xeji said, touching the wands.

“Simple
to use, but hard to make. It'll be years before we have another so we better
take good care of what we've got,” she smiled at him. “And teach as many people
as we can to use it properly.” He chuckled at that as the Duke left. “Okay,
who's next?” she asked turning to the class.

<==={}------------>

“Are
we ready to fight?” Baron Siegfried Von Shale asked querulously. “It's getting
unbearably hot out there. Men and beasts will tire easily if we don't move
soon.”

Ryans
nodded. “Agreed, but we can't move until we're ready. If we do, we invite
defeat,” he said. He shrugged at the Baron's vexed expression. “We're getting
there; I'd estimate another week before we move.”

“Ah.
Well, I wish you had a device that could cool the air,” the Baron whined,
fanning himself.

“Oh
we do. It's called an air conditioner. It can heat the air as well,” Ryans
replied absently.

The
baron looked condescending. “Another of your magical devices? Too bad you don't
have one,” he said.

“My
aren't you sounding a bit snide. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” Ryans
asked getting up. “As it is, we
do
happen to have some of these devices
here. They are built into some of our vehicles. Follow me.” He led them out of
the castle. Amused the Baron and courtiers followed.

In
the outer courtyard A Stryker pulled up. “Thanks Scooter,” Ryans said waving.

“No
prob. What's this about anyway?” Scooter asked giving the courtiers a look.

“Oh,
just a demo,” Ryans said as he opened the passenger door and then cranked up
the AC. “Yup, nice.” He smiled as the cool air hit him. “Baron? Care to feel
it?”

Other
lords looked amused and motioned for the Baron to move. He went over and put
his hand out. “I don't...” He got closer to the cab then his brows knit. “How
is this possible?” he asked looking surprised and perplexed.

“Is
it true?” a lady fanning herself with an Asian style fan rushed over and stuck
her head in. “Oh it is, it is!” she shrieked happily. Ryans winced at the tone
of her voice. She cooed as the cool air flowed over her.

“I
want a device like this,” the baron said suddenly, eying the lady.” Ryans and
Scooter chuckled.

“Don't
we all. We're working on it. Max is setting up the factories for many things.
Once we get this little invasion settled we can build all sorts of things,”
Ryans said exchanging a look with Scooter.

“Other
things? Like the heater you mentioned?” a person in the back called out.

Ryans
nodded. “That too. And lights. Medicine, radios,” he waved. “All sorts of
things. For any who can afford it.”

“Ah,”
a lord nodded wisely.

“But
who will build it?” another asked.

“Why,
artisans of course!” another said snidely.

Ryans
frowned and then shrugged. Before he could say anything Scooter stood up. “Well
some will, but the factories will employ peasants as well. They'll do simple labor
and be paid for it. They can use that money to pay for food and their taxes...
and get some items for their families.” Scooter said giving Ryans a look.

“Ah.
I'm not so sure about that...” Siegfried said rubbing his chin.

“If
your peasants prosper so too do you Baron. If they have enough to eat, enough
to pay their taxes and more to do with as they please then they can do other
things,” Ryans said smiling. “Of course those who invest in the future will
have a greater stake in it,” he said suggestively.

The
Baron's eyes narrowed. “Go on.”

“Well,
you aren't the only one interested in such devices. Many here would love to
have them, as would others in this city and beyond. Now if someone invested in
making them and selling them...”

“Then
they could sell them for a profit,” a lord laughed from the back. “And it would
be on their land employing their people! A grand idea indeed, I see great
interest in this. I have invested for years in commerce with good results.
Though many a ship has been lost, those that got through brought much fortune
back with them. I can see this bears thought,” the portly lord rumbled then
nodded to himself. “Much thought.”

Siegfried
gave his shrewd colleague a look then nodded. “That it does.”

Ryans
nodded. “Right, now, Scooter here can show you some of the other gadgets like
lights,” Ryans said. He reached in and flicked a light on inside the cab of the
truck. “I understand you've got bioluminescent ones in some areas. They work
okay, but don't throw a lot of light, and require constant tending to work.
Well, we've got electric lights that are brighter, or dimmer if you prefer,
come on when you want them and will work as long as you have power. Day or
night,” he smiled. His audience began to murmur at that idea.

<==={}------------>

“We
can't hold back much longer. The natives are getting restless,” Perry murmured
as they watched the remorseless drilling going on in the quad.

Ryans
sighed. “Yeah, tell me about it. How are the Silent Knights doing?” he asked.
Since the main camp had turned into such a hornet's nest they'd switched the
commandos over to ambushing the raiders out looking for food and material. It
had gone well, at least for a while.

Perry
scowled and shook his head. “Terrible. Duluth has stopped sending out raiders
in small groups since we've been picking them off. He's beefed up security so
we can't sneak into their camp anymore either.”

“Ah,”
Ryans nodded. “Well, it's about time he smartened up a little.”

“Yeah,
you can't have everything go your own way. We've got word he's about ready to
break camp,” Perry grimaced. “He's gotten wind of Galloway's forces holding the
gap and his logistics are getting mighty tight. His last three attempts to
break them have gone nowhere. I'd say he'll leave a containing force and then
go shopping for greener pastures any day now.”

Ryans
nodded. “So it's definitely time. All right, spread the mobilization word. I'll
talk with the natives.”

“Right.
You realize we've only got about nine hundred riflemen and musketeers right?
Twice that many bowman? Not to mention the main army,” Perry said. There were
another seven thousand in the main army but none with modern arms.

Ryans
frowned. “Yeah well, we've got to go with what we can. I think we'll have to go
with the Bravo variant of the plan.”

Perry
shook his head. “Send the Strykers up hay diddle diddle right up the middle?
They'll be trapped and unable to maneuver. A human wave will overwhelm them.”

“No...
I guess I should have said the Charlie plan then,” Ryans grimaced. He hated
getting things mixed up.

“Oh.
Ah... Hmmm,” Perry nodded thoughtfully. “Okay, I'll think about it.” He waved
as he walked off.

<==={}------------>

Princess
Deidra and the Queen talked about things with Wanda, Charlie, and Sue. They
talked about why they love their countries. Wanda finally got a mystic smile
and pulled out her laptop. She pulled up a video and played it for them. God
bless the USA by Lee Greenwood. The Queen was a little baffled at first, until
Doc paused the video and had Wanda pull up a captioned version, then translated
that into the native language. Wanda showed them several music videos, as well
as videos of many things from earth. The Queen was interested,

Deidra
was humbled by the show of patriotism; she bit her lip in thought. “Why did you
leave then?” she asked when they paused the video.

Wanda
paused in pulling up the next clip and smiled. “New frontiers. We're always
exploring now. Medicine, the sea, space... ourselves... this...” She waved to
indicate their world, “It's new to us. Something new to explore, to learn.”
Deidra nodded. There was something in what Ryans said that was similar she
realized.

Wanda
smiled. “Many of our people love it; we can't get enough of it. New frontiers,
new things to learn, to explore, to see... new places to set down roots too.”
Doc nodded. “For some more than others,” she shrugged it off. “Only time will
tell.”

Deidra
looked away then back to the Doc. “Can you tell if I'm pregnant?” she asked
softly.

Doc
gave her a long look. The Queen smiled a little, proud.

Wanda
chuckled. “Not by one of us.” Deidra and the Queen looked surprised. Deidra
looked a little hurt. “We all took infertility implants before we came. He's
infertile for another year dear,” Wanda explained softly. Deidra looked
crestfallen. The Queen grumbled.

Sue
shook her head, suddenly understanding their intent interest. “Oh it might have
worked, trap him into remaining for a family, but he would immediately
recognize the trap and deep down would have resented it,” she explained
patiently. The Queen's eyes narrowed in thought. “Let it go. Things will happen
whether you want them to or not. Let nature take its course,” Sue said and then
sighed, knowing what she and Wanda had been saying was falling on deaf ears.

Wanda
nodded. “See, we've spent a great deal of time educating ourselves, not just
about medicine, machines, war, and the world around us, but about politics,
psychology, social interactions, and manipulation too. In fact we've taken a
very dim, cynical view of anyone who manipulates others for their own ends,”
she warned, eying the Queen, hoping her message was getting to her.