The Starfield Farming Sovereign (Elizabeth Schofield) novel Chapter 359

Chapter 359 The Other Ship

5 Pear

Elmer nodded, and something heavier moved into his expression. “Yes. There are others on that ship. Veterans and their families with more serious situations.”

“More serious, how?”

Elmer exhaled. “This escort mission had two parts. The first was the placement group you just met. The second is everyone on that ship.”

He paused. “Their injuries are more severe. Most of them can’t perform any kind of regular work. Some are fully conscious but completely paralyzed. Some have lost the majority of their senses. Many require long-term life support and ongoing medical care. The plan is to bring them, along with their families, to a more stable planet where the First Military has established a dedicated care community with the full support infrastructure they need.”

Can’t perform any kind of regular work.

The woman Elizabeth had seen in the hatchway came back to her, tired eyes, quiet strength, a child held close.

“Their families are with them?”

“Almost all of them.” Something softened in Elmer’s voice. “The First Military puts serious resources into veteran welfare and family support. The policies are solid. Cases where a severely injured soldier gets abandoned by family are rare, and when it does happen, the military steps in early, arranges proper care, and holds people accountable. The men on that ship went down hard, but most of them still have someone sitting beside them.”

Elizabeth was quiet for a moment, looking at the ship with its closed hatch.

“Can I go in?”

Elmer blinked. Then it clicked. Elizabeth was Cristian’s wife. In every practical sense, she was First Military. Wanting to look in on the more seriously wounded, to offer some acknowledgment, was entirely reasonable, and carried the weight of the Hewitt name behind it.

“Of course. Follow me.” He led her to the ship without another word.

Up the gangway, through the hatch, into the hold.

inside was wide, the lighting kept soft, the air carrying a faint layer of antiseptic and nutritional

The space supplement.

Nothing like the disciplined formation outside. This was closer to a mobile care ward. Rows of modified fixed berths and portable recovery pods lined the space, most of them occupied, each one connected to a network of monitoring equipment.

Family members sat or stood nearby, some speaking in low voices, some quietly tending to their person. some keeping small children occupied and calm.

The atmosphere was heavy, but it wasn’t hopeless.

9:09 am Pppp.

Chapter 359 The Other Ship

+5 Pearls

The children, even though they were kept as quiet as they were, couldn’t entirely help themselves. Small movements, half-suppressed sounds, the natural insistence of being young and alive.

Elizabeth spotted the little girl almost immediately, the same one who’d been peering out of the hatch.

She was tucked into her mother’s arms now, but her eyes found Elizabeth the moment she stepped in, going bright for just an instant. She looked like she wanted to say something, then thought better of it and buried her face against her mother’s shoulder, keeping one eye out to watch.

The mother recognized Elizabeth and rose quickly, shifting the child against her hip, dipping her head in a small apologetic bow.

Elizabeth gave her a gentle smile and let her gaze move to the recovery pod beside them.

A man lay inside behind the transparent cover, looking up at nothing in particular. One eye was intact. The other side of his face told a different story.

His arms ended at the elbow in prosthetic limbs, silver-grey and still, resting at his sides. The readouts on the pod’s display weren’t encouraging. Tubes and monitoring patches covered much of his body.

He looked like a man being kept going by the machinery around him rather than anything left inside.

Elizabeth didn’t stop. She signaled to Elmer that she didn’t need introductions and moved through the hold slowly, one berth at a time.

A veteran who’d lost both legs, the lower half of his body simply absent, managing a smile for the standing at his bedside.

person

A young man with severe burns across his face, breathing through a mask, only his fingers still capable of small tremors.

A soldier whose nerve damage had taken his muscles with it, his body curled inward on itself.

A man who was conscious, eyes open, but not really there, somewhere inside a loop of memory that had no exit.

Their families were as varied as they were. White-haired parents who should have been resting, still keeping vigil at their children’s sides.

Middle-aged spouses worn down by years of caregiving, the exhaustion written into them permanently

And women like the one holding the little girl, slight in build, with eyes that held something that hadn’t broken yet and showed no signs of starting.

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