A large, black airship appeared in the night sky of St. Lewis. It was like a gigantic whale when seen from afar.
The airship was a massive fortress in the air, ninety-five metres long and thirty-five metres tall. It had a large ballonet which allowed it to float in midair. Printed on its envelope was the emblem of the Nationale des Grands Médecins, along with the ship’s name—Diana.
The crew members were all dressed up in fitted black military uniforms and caps. Apart from the silver-white shoulder mark and lanyard resting on their shoulders, the crew also had a silver lapel pin, on which a Star of Life was placed at its centre and above it engraved an Ouroboros, fixed on their left chest. A red brassard with a white circle decorated their left arm. The circle was outlined by a Caduceus embroidered with black thread.
The crew were all members of the St. Podalirius Legion, a force affiliated with the Nationale des Grands Médecins army. Also known as the ‘Black Salvation Army’, they were a peacekeeping force. Unlike the national defence army, their existence was to deliver humanitarian services. Although they had brilliant weapons and great talents, they were never involved in unrelated combat.
Diana’s captain was Lieutenant Archie Noc. His black hair was in a mess, and his stubble wasn’t cleanly shaven. When in the cabin, he usually wore short-sleeved black clothes with his military coat draped over his shoulders. Despite the fact that Noc reminded his subordinates to keep their uniforms neat and tidy all the time, he never really cared about his own appearance.
‘Reporting to Lieutenant, we’ve received a letter requesting help from the Black Dukes.’
‘What? From whom?’ Noc lifted his head up in response. He was relaxing and enjoying some science fiction, but he sprung to his attention right after his subordinate’s report.
‘The Gray Brothers,’ replied the soldier.
‘Right. Request approved! We’re going full speed ahead now!’ Noc lit a cigarette, grabbed hold of the intercom and ordered everyone on the ship, ‘Attention to all crew members! This is Lieutenant Archie Noc speaking! We have a code amber now! I repeat! We have a code amber! All crew members return to your seats. Pilots and combatants man your places!’
Following the captain’s announcement, the code amber alert went off. Everyone was in their places, ready to rescue the emergency patient.
‘Reporting to Lieutenant! We’ve found the Gray brothers’ signal flare. It’s code amber, meaning there are injured people at the scene. It’s about fifteen miles to the southwest,’ said one of the soldiers after confirming the coordinates.
‘Right! Prepare the work platform! Gunners, standby for defence! Pilots, be in position for rescue at any time!’
‘Reporting to Lieutenant! There are no signs of fenrius within five miles of the landing zone. Clear for landing,’ another soldier reported.
‘Be careful and stay alert! Rescue team, prepare to receive the patient!’ Noc ordered.
“Yes, sir!’ Immediately, the rescue team put on their biochemical protective gear and gas masks, ready to start their work.
The Notre Dame Hospital was located on top of Mt. Angel in St. Lewis, the capital of Venaheim. Following the gothic style of past Catholic churches, it was the most unique local Middle Age architecture.
The Notre Dame Guild was affiliated with the Nationale des Grands Médecins. Located at the centre of the Notre Dame Hospital, the guild served as the Venaheim base of operations for the Nationale des Grands Médecins by managing anti-epidemic work in Venaheim and nearby regions.
Venaheim was in the shape of a hexagon. Covering over seven hundred thousand square kilometres of land, its terrain was low in general, and two-thirds of the country’s land was two hundred and fifty metres below sea level. Venaheim’s southeast had a higher terrain and plateaus. As for Venaheim’s northern and western parts, there were mainly fields and knolls. Rivers flowed and crossed each other’s way within it, so there was a rich water resource across the country. Over sixty per cent of the country’s land was for agricultural use. The nation was rich in rice, wheat, vegetables and fruit, especially grapes and oranges.
At this point, a few children were gathering together at the south wing of the Notre Dame Hospital.
‘Come, children! It’s already very late, so it’s time for bed!’
‘But I don’t want to!’ a boy whined.
‘Me neither! I’m not sleepy yet!’ another girl said.
‘Doctor! Me too!’ The other children started to kick up a fuss.
‘Alright! Alright! How about this? Before you go to bed, I’m gonna show you a magic trick, okay?’
The children, who were about to go to bed, were attracted by a twenty-year-old gentleman as he sat on a chair placed in the middle of the ward, surrounding him entirely.
His name was Andre Greider, a Black Duke. He was slightly thin with skin as white as snow and chestnut hair. Standing 178 centimetres tall, he had excellent features and a sharp jawline. Although having suffered a bone fracture before, his tall nose was still charming.
‘I wanna see! I wanna see!’ The children were over the moon.
‘Alright, I get it! Quickly go to your seats then, as I’m about to start the show!’ said Andre.
He had a deck of cards in his hand. The back of the cards was facing himself, while the other side was facing the children. They were absorbed by his cards, a total of fifty-two. Not one was identical.
‘Okay. I’m gonna take them back.’ Andre put the fanned-out cards into a pile and said, ‘Okay, are you all ready? I’m gonna change all the cards into the same colour.’
Andre piled up the cards skillfully and then blew on the cards once. Whoosh!
As he spread out the cards again, all the cards were hearts.
‘Haha! See? I turned all the cards into my love for you all! I’m gonna give them all to you, okay?’ Andre cheered.
‘Yay!’ shouted the children at the same time.
‘Wow! That’s amazing!’ One of the girls stood in front of Andre and complimented his performance.
‘It’s an honour for me to have such a lovely young lady as my audience.’
At this moment, Andre took a small flower crown out of nowhere and gave it to the girl.
The children were overjoyed and were on cloud nine. Suddenly, the hospital was overflowing and bustling with energy.
Seeing the beams on their faces, Andre believed that love did exist. He was fond of children, and that made him determined to become a paediatrician.
‘Doctor Greider!’ A nurse wearing a nun’s clothes ran towards him.
‘Anna? What’s wrong?’
It was Anna, the head nurse of the Notre Dame Hospital.
‘There’s an emergency. Would you mind coming?’
‘Got it! What is it?’
‘Seems to be a case of Kamer fever, from what I heard from the Grays.’
‘What?’ Andre quickly jumped into action. ‘Prepare the isolation ward right now! And also set up an infusion and blood transfusion for the patient!’
‘Watch out! Here comes the patient!’ Aiken and Alex Gray ushered Andrew into the isolation ward right after the black airship carrying the patient had landed on the ground.
‘Prepare for blood transfusion and infusion!’ Aiken ordered the nurses as he checked Andrew’s heart and lungs.
‘Understood,’ One of the nurses quickly replied.
Andre had already put his bird-like beak mask on and worn his long, black rope. He had been waiting outside the ward, and as soon as he saw Aiken and Alex, he asked, ‘Is this the Kamer fever patient?’
‘Yes!’ said Alex.
‘I’ve prepared for an infusion and two units of blood.’
‘Blood pressure 90 over 50, pulse rate 120, SpO2 55,’ Anna said while looking at the sphygmomanometer.
‘Blood pressure’s way too low. We have to do the infusion now! His heart’s beating way too fast because of the infection. I’ve just given him some Ephedracinae. Supply the patient with pure oxygen,’ Aiken gave the order.
*Ephedracinae: a potio that protects the heart. Main ingredients are Ephedra, Seville Citrus Juice, Eucalyptus, and Devil’s Claw.
‘Patient’s in a confusional state. Is it a sign of encephalitis?’ Andre asked Aiken.
‘Correct.’ Aiken answered.
‘How will you treat the patient if it’s Kamer fever?’ Andre asked another question.
‘It’s a viral infection, so antibiotics have no effect. We need antivirals. Let’s use Acyclovir!’
‘Got it.’ Andre took a bottle of medicine labelled ‘acyclovir’ from the cabinet.
**Acyclovir: An antiviral agent. Strongly effective against herpes viruses by inhibition. Treatment effects are evident.
‘Aiken, is two-hundred milligrams alright?’
‘Yes!’
With Aiken’s agreement, Andre delivered the injection.
Meanwhile, Alex and Anna were performing tracheal intubation for Andrew. The intubation was a preventive measure since Andrew’s condition was critical. If his cardiovascular function failed, he would need a ventilator to sustain his life.
‘Aiken, SpO2 is rising,’ said Alex.
At this moment, a bit of colour finally returned to Andrew’s face.
‘That’s great! His heart rate has slowed down too. That was close. If he weren’t sent here in time, he wouldn’t survive.’ Aiken let out a sigh of relief.
After all, encephalitis was an acute disease usually caused by viruses. Viruses were very small, even smaller than bacteria, so they could permeate the blood-brain barrier and enter the cranial nervous system. If not treated with medication promptly, the patient’s condition could worsen, leading to death.
Andrew had already been in delirium when he was sent here. This meant that he had a serious case of encephalitis. Fortunately, the treatment was delivered in time, and only by this could Andrew barely survive.
Andre gently nodded. ‘By the way, how did you two find him?’
‘His mother sent a letter of request to the Notre Dame Guild, but nobody accepted it even two days after. So we accepted it. In the end, we travelled through the Forêt de la Mort to find their residence.’
‘Through the Forêt de la Mort? Just you two?’ Andre was completely taken aback by the brothers.
‘Mmhm,’ said Aiken.
‘That place is so dangerous that not even soldiers can make it out alive! And both of you ran into the woods wearing just this? It’s suicide!’
‘That’s what I said! But Aiken never listens to me. Thanks to him, we also ran into some fenrius.’
‘Really? How many were there?’ Andre wasn’t surprised, but he still found it hard to believe.’
‘Nine. And they were all strong and fully developed.’
‘Unbelievable! And you killed them all?’
‘Yes.’
‘That’s amazing! You two really are the Gray Brothers!’ Andre looked at the pair with great admiration.
‘Actually, it wasn’t much. Didn’t we train for this type of quest? If we can’t complete quests of this level, how are we any different from ordinary doctors?’
‘Aiken, although Andrew’s in a more stable condition now, he’s still in a critical state,’ Alex said after checking Andrew’s breathing and pulse.
‘Right.’
‘What should we do next? Andre questioned.
‘The Kamer virus is contagious among humans, so we have to isolate him. It takes one to two hours for the antiviral medicine to be effective. Once it takes effect, the symptoms of encephalitis will be eased. Prescribe him some corticosteroids, sedatives and painkillers. Make sure his liver and kidneys are functioning normally.’
‘Right. Got it,’ said Andre. ‘I have a night shift today. I’ll definitely take great care of him until he’s stable.’
’Mmhm! Then Andrew’s in your hands! Reach out to us at any time if you need anything!’ Aiken said. ‘Normally, the treatment’s going to take one week, but you’ll know whether the treatment works after twenty-four hours.’
‘Understood.’
‘Now it’s up to the patient to help himself.’ Aiken signed on Andrew’s medical record before continuing, ‘I’ll speak with Mrs Wesley about Andrew’s condition. My job here is done. The rest is in your care, Andre.’
Andre gave him a serious look and proclaimed, ‘Yes, sir!’
Despite having experienced thousands of quests, Aiken still signed his name on the letter of request in a serious fashion. He even carefully took a seal out from his waist pocket and stamped it on the letter’s final page, which read ‘Quest Completed’.
After humans contract the Raëlian virus, symptoms such as fever, headache, redness and swelling of the eye, photosensitivity, diarrhoea and difficulty in breathing will first appear. The virus has an incubation period of one to five days. Before symptoms appear, there is no trace of the virus in the patient's fluids. The virus is also intransmissible during this period. For newborns, toddlers under the age of five, children, pregnant women, the elderly, people suffering from respiratory diseases, and people having low immunity, the mortality rate when contracting with the virus is over 99%.
—Excerpt from The Federation Medical Journal
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