"The first thing we need to do," Canard informed them as they wound through the underground tunnels of the rebel base, "Is get you guys checked out with medical. We're gonna need you in top condition for this work." Wildwing nodded, still wondering what exactly Canard had planned. Nosedive was uncharacteristically quiet, his face unreadable as he took in their surroundings. Ducks in military garb nodded at Canard as he passed; some even soluted. Canard barely acknowledged most of them, to intent on where he was going to give them more than a barely perceptible nod in response.

They were deep underground by the time they stopped, and Wildwing had lost count of how many twists and turns they had taken along the way. "Most of the sensitive areas of the base are down here," Canard told him, "Which is one reason I think that the infirmery should be closer to ground level. To many people who aren't cleared to see the information stored down here come in and out of this area because they've got business in medical. Makes it easier for traitors and spies to crack in. The head of our med teams disagrees, however, and she's got a lot of pull with command. Not to mention that arguing with her is about as effective as asking Dragaunus nicely if he will kindly cease and desist his hostilities toward are peaceful little planet. Believe me, I've tried."

The doors in the lower levels were metal, and those that weren't locked ran on the same kind of automatic sensors that had been common on Puckworld before the invasion. Canard led them through a door with a faded red cross painted over crossed hockey sticks--the symbol of the Puckworld Healer's Guild.

The infirmery was crowded. Injured soldiers were everywhere, their wounds varrying from minor abrasions to broken limbs and bad laser burns. Several areas were blocked off with hung sheets or privacy screens.

Medical staff in white coats were milling around the soldiers, tending to them as quickly as possible before moving on to the next. Canard caught one by the arm. "Where's LaGlace?" He demanded without preamble. The young man glared at him slightly but jerked his head toward a door to their right.

"Lila's making her rounds through the IC. I'll have someone let her know you're here."

Canard released the man and strode through the door, ignoring the medic's indignant call for him to stay out. Wildwing looked at his brother and shrugged, following his friend.

Immediately he wished he'd stayed outside. The injuries in the front room were nothing compared to what he saw here. He tried not to look as he passed the beds that lined both sides of the room, but looking straight ahead, he only saw more injuries. Some ducks were swathed in bandages so thick that Wildwing couldn't even tell the color of their feathers. Others had tubes connected all over their bodies, some were even missing limbs. Wildwing shuddered as he noticed one bed with a sheet draped over it, the shape of an unfortunate Puckworlder showing through the makeshift shroud. There were few medical personel in this area, and Wildwing found himself wondering if it was because these fighters were beyond help.

"Dr. LaGlace!" Wildwing winced as Canard's call shattered the quiet that uptil now had been broken only by the beeping of vital moniters. Canard headed for a figure in a green sterile vest that was seated beside one of the beds. "I've got some new recruits that need to be checked out." The woman he was addessing stood and turned.

"First of all, Thunderbeak, you know this is a restricted area--or did you just miss the big sign that said 'Medical Personal Only?' Second, it will have to wait. I'm busy at the moment. If you're in a hurry, have one of the others look at them." She turned back to her patient. "I'm sorry, Galen, go ahead."

"No, it's okay, Lila," the young duck lying on the bed gave a weak and pained smile. "You've got more important things to do than listening to my stories."

"Nothing's more important to me than you right now, Galen." She leaned over and took his hand. "Just go ahead with whatever you were going to tell me."

"Doctor--" Canard began impatiently, but she cut him off with a look.

"Really, Lai, go on. Ah--" he winced. "I don't feel like talking much anymore, anyway." She frowned.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah."

"I'll be back later, then." She brushed a strand of limp red hair away from her patients face, and then turned to Canard. "Gentlemen," She gestured back the way they had come. They left the intensive care unit, and followed Dr. LaGlace into an empty room. She turned, and the second the door shut, her mouth opened.

"You've got a lot of nerve, Thunderbeak, going in there like that. Do you have any idea how many germs you just exposed them to? It's hard enough to fight infection under these conditions, without a hot-shot captain deciding that he's exempt from med center regulations!" She yanked the surgen's cap off her head, releasing a long braid of mohagany hair and revealing the Healer's Guild Badge on the headband under her bangs.

"You know how important this mission is--"

"All of your missions are important, Canard, that's what you tell me everytime you come busting in here insisting that your hand-picked commandoes deserve priority over everyone else in here," she snapped, pulling the plastic gloves from her hands and throwing them in the disposal unit.

"I'm doing my job," Canard said harshly, "We're fighting a war, here, and if we don't defeat Dragaunus--"

"Spare me," she shot back, pulling off the green paper vest she'd been wearing and shoving it down the disposal as well. "You're doing your job? Well so am I! My job is to keep this army alive and able to fight. Part of that is spending time with them to keep their spirits up, showing them that they're still needed. We lost Dagan today, do you know how much that scared the rest of my IC patients? Those people did their part too, Thunderbeak, and they deserve to be cared for!" She stalked to the stack of data pads on the wall shelf and began looking through them.

"Just get these guys ready for combat, LaGlace," Canard gritted.

"Yes. Sir." She didn't look up.

"I'll be back for you guys later," Canard sighed as he left the two of them there. Dr. LaGlace found the file she wanted and tossed it on the desk.

"I'm sorry we bothered you, Dr. LaGlace" Wildwing offered, feeling like a clod. Dr. LaGlace gave him a tired smile as she guided them out of the room.

"It's not your fault, I know, and I'm sorry I got so upset. The captain and I--don't often see eye to eye on some things. And call me Lila. Just about everybody but Canard does." When she smiled at him this time Wildwing suddenly realized how young she was. The sable eyes looking back at him could not be out of their early twenties. He doubted she was any older than he.

"Nice to know some things never change, eh Wing?" Nosedive chuckled. "I can't believe Canard finally met someone as stubborn as he is. And she's a chick, too, no wonder he's got his feathers ruffled."

"You know the captain?" Lila raised an eybrow at them.

"He's been my best friend since we were six," Wildwing answered with a nostalgic smile.

"Oh, you must be Wildwing then. And that would make you Nosedive, right? Have a seat, one of you, I don't care who goes first." Wildwing sat in the chair she indicated.

"Canard's mentioned us?"

"Not recently, no, but he did talk about you a good bit when he first joined the Resistance." She took a black glove and a blue tinted visor out of the leather pouch around her waist. "And really he hardly mentioned Nosedive at all." She slipped the glove on and set the visor on her face.

"Gee, I'm so shocked," Dive said sourly.

"That was several months ago, actually," she said as she connected a port in the side of the glove to a computer key pad the size of a datapad that she had produced from her belt pouch. "Back when he was more--friendly. The war tends to have that effect on people. As it wears on they get more and more focused on ending it, until it pretty much crowds all other thoughts out of their heads." She connected another wire that ran from the computer to her visor. "Hold still, please."

Lila raised her hand and a blue scanning beam shot from her hand to the wall just above Wildwing's head. Using her free hand, Lila manipulated the keys of her computer pad. The scanning beam widened until it looked like a triangle, the base against the wall and the vertex against Lila's hand. As she lowered her hand, the scanning beam ran down Wildwing's body. When it reached his feet, Lila raised her hand again and the beam went back up him. Lila shut the field off, lighted numbers dancing accross her display visor.

"It looks like you're healthy, for the most part," she told him in a distracted voice. "Malnourished and a little low on the energy level, but you're not infected or sick." The display faded. "You're very lucky," she told him. "Most that come here from the mines can barely move. Now you, Nosedive."

Wildwing watched her intently as she repeated the process on his brother, worried about Nosedive's condition. He'd spent some time in a chain gang before being sent to the mines, and there was no telling what he'd been exposed to. He breathed a sigh of relief when Dive's condition was also reported acceptable.

"It looks like you're both fine," Lila told them, dismantling her minimedicom and replacing the components in her belt pouch. "But I'm quarantining you for two days. It's standard for ducks coming from Saurian work camps. The crowded and unsanitary conditions breed germs like snowrabbits. You're not to leave the medical facility until I give you the word." She leveled her gaze at Wildwing. "Whether Canard likes it or not."

"You're the doc," Nosedive said cheerfully.

"Although you seem awfully young to have gone through med school already," Wildwing commented.

"Photographic memory," Lila tapped her head. "And my father's work allowed some unique educational possibilities."

"You're father--" Suddenly the name clicked. "You're Ambassador LaGlace's daughter?"