Doctor Sam, or How to Steal the Skills of Someone Actually Conpetent

A bead of sweat rolled down my brow.

I wasn't the most confident in my abilities, but I had absolute faith in the abilities of Isa. I shook lightly at the idea of something dying because of my failure, but oddly enough it was as though I could feel an echo of her spurning me along.

I let out a breath and stared directed into his eyes.

"I can do this." He let out a grunt accompanied by a nod and started moving. He was faster than expected, but I easily caught up without any boosts. Our boots crushed the snow underfoot as we moved and we turned into a full spring at the sight of the injured bodies.

One man, the first one I spotted, looked like his helmet had been crumpled so hard by a baseball bat that the metal from the helmet put its fragments into his skull.

Knowledge flowed through my mind as the blood leaked out onto the snow. His breath was slow, and without any instant interference he might suffer brain damage.

"Set down this stretcher." I turned to one of the soldiers carrying it and Dunn next to me waved a hand while picking up another soldier with a broken leg.

"Listen to him until he makes a mistake." The two guards set down the guy softly and I sat on my knees as I eyed him. Dunn turned to me after a moment and told me something important.

"Don't let Ryan die." I let out a light breath of determination. This wasn't just some soldier. This was a young man with green eyes and blond hair. His name was Ryan and Stelle nearly caved his head in.

I had to save him.

I snagged a medical bag from one of the soldiers and cracked it open before removing a laser scalpel and an anesthetic. Both of which I only knew how to use thanks to Isa. Applying the formula to his nose I just hoped it would hold. If he woke up we'd have a whole different problem then him dying from a brain hemorrhage.

I softly cut under the skin and grimaced at the nasty sight of the unconscious man. Then I ignored the fragments in him for the moment as I had to drain the excess blood from his brain or he'd die within minutes.

"GET ME A BLOOD DONOR FOR HIM." I shouted at the guy next to me who seemed to be watching in horror before he sprinted off presumably to get some synthesized blood.

Making careful incisions in the bone of his skull I softly pulled it out with a pair of tweezers. The hole was barely the size of a pencil's eraser, but it allowed the blood to slowly leak out.

The blood could cause extreme pressure if not promptly removed and cause his head to try and crush itself. So I allowed it to drain while I moved onto removing the metal fragments. I was careful to count each ounce of blood that left his body while I worked.

Isa truly was amazing.

I removed the fragments and set them on the ground next to us as I gritted my teeth. Damn it! Where was that fucking blood? I did my best to stitch the brain injury closed but I wasn't sure if it would hold for very long.

I used some bio sealant from the bag to reattach the bone temporarily, but he still had more blood that needed to be drained.

However, if I let all the blood out of his brain, he'd die. I needed more blood, and needed more tools to close the brain injury. His eye was bleeding as well as my own became glassy.

Was he about to die?

Then someone ran over with a weird metal box. I could see a blood bag hanging off the side and I could instantly feel the knowledge of how to use a Blood Infuser enter my mind. I stuck the thing into his arm and sliced open his skull once again.

Now that he had blood I could properly drain it.

"Doc . . . is my brother gonna be alright?" I didn't even glance at the man who spoke.

"I hope so."

Yet I wasn't sure how much hope remained.

. . .

I did everything I could, and I managed to stabilize him but it wasn't looking good. They moved him to an operating room and I waited outside while other surgeons started working. I was in proper medical scrubs now, and I stared at them through the window while they worked.

My fist clenched as one of them doctors walked out of the room with a sigh. A middle aged man with glasses and a scar on his jaw. He threw me a light glance before turning to Dunn next to me.

"This young man does good work. He'll make it through the night."

We both let out a sigh of relief before Dunn patted me on the shoulder.

"Damn, well done! So Doctor Vergus, you want to hire this kid then?" He let out a snort.

"I know you won't let me take him after his display." Dunn gave a massive smile as he laughed.

"You know me so well. My team needs a field medic with your prowess, you want to join my team?"

I blinked and then gave a smile.

"Yes sir!"

"Good, keep that up! We still have lots of training for you to get through before I'll let you in the field!"

I gulped lightly. I sure hoped things were doing alright on my clone's end.

Because I knew I was about to get put through some very intense training!

Swarm: Prince Sting POV

I'd been drugged unconscious. That was unfortunate. Smoke enraptured the area and I'd felt my consciousness fade while I was pulled away, and now I found myself in a bed of some sort. I shot out of the bed and immediately knew I had to find the prince's companions, and I needed to do it before the situation could spiral out of control.

This physique had quite strong drug resistance, so whatever smoke was used certainly was not ordinary.

"You're still injured you need to-" The grey haired nurse spoke as she turned to me. I was covered in bandages, yet I needed no time to heal from such wounds.

[SPOILER="Doctor, Turn off my Pain Inhibitors! (wait shit go back)"][/SPOILER]

I Propagated.

I Assimilated.

The light wounds I'd sustained during the fight and while I was unconscious healed themselves with relative ease causing the nurse to widen her eyes in surprise.

"You seem to have yourself handled then."

For a moment I considered the options I could use to handle this situation, and I decided it would first be best to gauge this individual's personality.

"I'm Sam, a pleasure to meet you Miss . . . ?" I gave her a small smile while dancing light in my eyes. The soft stare caused her to let out a small huff as she turned over to one of the Prince's companions.

It was the girl with pink hair, March 7th, yet she preferred to be called 'March' or 'Princess'. My eyes slowly gazed over the working woman.

Unfortunately I did not have the same capacity of the Prince to Infest, yet I could still forcibly Propagate upon his preexisting skills.

I Propagated and my medical knowledge suddenly increased in clarity and understanding.

What this woman was doing wasn't harmful, instead she was aiding us. So I allowed her to continue working instead of stopping her.

"Natasha young man, Sampo has already run off if you're wondering about the man who brought you to me."

Sampo, for some reason my instincts chittered in my chest when I thought about him.

There was just something . . . off, about him.

Though unfortunately I could not place my mandible on it- ah, having the mindset of the Swarm while bearing a piece of the prince's crown truly was and odd feeling. I approached the Doctor with a small smile as I recalled my duty.

To protect his companions, and to not say anything too strange.

I could do that, yet the desire to Propagate still remained. While I would avoid speaking 'oddly' as he put it to his companions, would it be wrong to do so those unrelated to the Astral Express? After all what even constituted 'weird' behavior anyways?

Sam Fuller POV

Eh, it was probably fine. I highly doubt he'll do anything to weird to anyone with my clear instructions to avoid doing so. I'd started moving alongside my new Commander who was giving me a tour with a big smile. Dunn really was a nice guy, and he was currently showing me the 'ropes' of being part of the Silvermane Guards.

I really hoped I wouldn't have to fight him or anything in the future, that would suck. However considering my current 'ploy' it was probably inevitable.

Honestly this entire situation feels like a joke. Why in the world is an Emanator of Propagation meandering around on some ice planet with the Nameless while trying to stop the Destruction who is masquerading as the Preservation?

I'm pretty sure there is an Aeon of laughter or something so whoever that is currently laughing manically at my current situation.

"So this is the Cafeteria rookie, we'll be back here soon enough." He let out a laugh an I still couldn't get over how gigantic he was. I wasn't small, but he was a walking mountain of a human being.

"Need to still get my uniform, right?"

"Yep, then its more training for you. We'll fill you up with food and have you properly meet your fellow Guardsmen afterward."

Right, I was part of a squad now. I wasn't super used to fighting alongside others, but it would be an important skill to hone while I had the time. I was certain I'd be getting into a lot of group fights in the future so learning this while I could was a great idea!

"Of course!"

. . .

We made our way back out into the snow, my new uniform was a bit tight but I didn't outwardly complain. It stuck to my body and I could feel the armor keeping me safe while a medical bag and patch hung on my body. I was to be the 'medic' so I needed some form of identification while out in the field.

Most doctors stayed on the back line, but as someone 'blessed' I was going to be fighting with everyone else. I wouldn't have it any other way. I wanted to help these people, not make their lives harder by holding back my strength. Though I'd have to remain holding back all of what I could do, at least for quite some time.

I didn't want the Big Boss getting any ideas after all.

"Alright then, as our new medic you'll need to keep your supplies safe while on the frontlines. You'll be protected by the formation for the most part, but right now we just need to train your ability to dodge."

"So when do we-"

Before I even finished speaking he picked up a brick the size of my head and chucked it at me.

"DODGE!"

WHAT THE- I threw my body to the side as the missile slammed into the snow, my heart raced and my eyes widened. Then he reached down to grab another brick.

Oh no.

The bricks rained down upon the area I resided in, but after third one an unlucky fall had me dodging without accounting for my medical bag. The medical supplies were obliterated in an instant and I paled. That had a actual medical supplies in it. Instead Dunn only laughed at my misfortune, opting to pick up another brick while I was stunned.

I managed to dodge it as he spoke.

"The fragmentum won't wait for you to get your head back in the game . . . and neither will these bricks!"

The onslaught continued and I decided to follow a version of is instructions. After all he was right. Nobody would wait to for their enemies. Not even if their enemies were throwing bricks like a crazy person! The crushed bag clung to my form, and I still accounted for its weight as I jumped upon one of the bricks flying in my direction.

"-ey"

I flew through the air and my legs wrapped around his neck after flipping off the speeding concrete missile, using the momentum I brought him to the ground with a slam. Much to both of our surprise. Was I already seeing the benefits to my training? I hadn't even rested yet!

"hey."

He kicked me in the gut and I got sent backwards, however I caught myself after a small roll

and realized I was right next to the pile of bricks.

"You wouldn't." His voice was grave.

"I would." I reached for the brick but a familiar voice shouting in my ear while grabbing it cut me off. I turned and spotted Pela screaming at me and I paled in fright Since when was she so scary?

"HEY!"

"A-ah, Intelligence Officer Pela, what can I do for you?"

"Don't give me that crap Dunn, HE still needs to fill out the rest of his paper work after you dragged him around with out handling the basics, and don't use actual medical supplies for this type of training!" She let out a sigh and pushed up her glasses.

"I'm surrounded by idiots."

"Sorry Ms. Pela." I spoke up with embarrassment, and as I prepared to blame Dunn for everything she cut me off instead.

"Just . . . just come to my office. We have much to discuss."

She was so forgiving, I had no idea how much those medical supplies even costed!

"Thank you for helping me out, I really apricate everything you do." My tone was genuine and my smile honest, yet for some reason she gave a slight blush instead of just a casual nod. I wasn't even trying to flirt, what is this!?

"Don't think your smooth talking will get you out of this one."

Uh oh.

AN: Another chapter has descended upon this realm. We get to see a mini-Isa in action through the power of Infestation. Truly Propagation is OP. Also while Clone!Sam starts actively seducing Natasha, Original!Sam starts accidently seducing Pela! Truly he is cursed with passive charisma . . . Bug Dad would be proud.

Also a few hints at Aha running around, as the Elation does. Personally I'm of the opinion that Aha is fully aware that Honkai Star Rail is a video game, so I'm going to be running with that. Will that mean Aha is aware THEY are in a fanfiction? I'm not sure yet, buy Aha knows things and is freaky about it! Truly Aha is above it all . . .

Anyways feel free to leave some comments or questions down below (also please point out any typos if you catch them!), I love to read them! If you'd like to support me you can do so on my Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/c/BobOfTheHedgeField

See you all in the next one!