Comm-Link:Tracker - Stop & Maintain

The most important tool in any hunter’s arsenal? Information, and today’s episode of TRACKER is like a full knowledge assault aimed at your brain. I’m Garret Coliga. Welcome back to the official guide to all the latest Bounty Hunter Guild news, tech and tips brought to you by our sponsor Preacher Armaments and their 2945 Justice line-up, featuring improved hardpoint communication for a response time that’s faster than you are. With Preacher on your side, they haven’t got a prayer. Preacher has teamed with Voyager Direct to offer a limited time TRACKER discount on their entire ballistic line. If you’re not already sporting these bad boys, now is the perfect time to upgrade. Just make sure to tell them Garret sent you.

First up, the HotSheet rundown. As you may be aware, the Guild has declared October to be Slavery and Sentient Trafficking Prevention Month, so we will continue to feature bounties related to this barbaric practice. I don’t know about you all, but some of what makes this job worthwhile to me is being able to put scum like this away. Slaver jobs might not always have the highest payouts when it comes to credits, but trust me, they are worth the effort. I still comm with a young man that I was fortunate enough to help free, along with a dozen others, from a Starfarer’s stash my first year on the job.

Top of the Sheet, Morde Bali. Morde is what’s known as a ‘clinker.’ Finds people drinking alone in a bar, tells them he’s celebrating a big promotion, his birthday, whatever, and offers to buy them a drink so he doesn’t have to toast alone. The last thing those poor souls hear before they wake up in chains is the clink of their glasses. He was last sighted working the fun mile in Tram.

Next, Robbie Christensen. His mining operation got busted a month back when it was revealed that the entirety of his workforce were in fact being forced to work. He has been in the wind since. No known family or contacts. He was last picked up on a security camera at a refill station in Odin.

And finally, we have Sadha Kunsaya, a sentient runner working in Terra. A cautious approach is advised since she’s been known to ‘dump-n-jump’, aka escape by dumping her human cargo into space. The Advocacy has lost her a few times thanks to this little trick, and while I know that, unlike agents, we are under no obligation legally to help save anyone she drops while being pursued, please, if you do find yourself in this situation, try to do the right thing, people. Even better, bring a medship along to do rescue ops while you focus on bringing Kunsaya to justice.

That is today’s HotSheet. Remember to consult your local Guild or Law Enforcement office for a complete list of available bounties and double-check any bounty before confronting a fugitive, as bounties may have been cleared. All cases must be performed by licensed Guild Members in good standing. And remember, preventing slavery and trafficking isn’t someone else’s problem, it is the responsibility of every sentient.

Before we move on to our guest for today, I have a special message that Kasey Levato, Fatima Levato’s niece, asked if I could share. She wanted to thank everyone for the outpouring of support and well wishes that came in after last week’s special memorial for her aunt. Also, since a lot of you had been asking, Kasey wanted to let you all know that she’s decided to apply for Guild membership so she can carry on in the family business. She will continue fly and operate the Long Tread; collecting bounties, tracking criminals, and all around honoring her aunt’s name.

Coming off the tragedy of losing one of our own, it behooves us all to take a chance to reflect and learn. We talk enough about defending yourself, and smart tactics; today I want to reflect on what to do when the worst does happen. Try as we might to be safe, when you’re on the hunt sooner or later you’re going to get hurt. What you do next can make all the difference between life and death. Being prepared to handle medical emergencies doesn’t just stop with your own health either. Keeping a bounty alive can often be the difference between getting paid or having to spend a lot of time in an Advocacy hold answering questions. And don’t forget, especially during Sentient Trafficking month, that sometimes it falls upon us as the first ones at the scene of a crime to help victims the best we can.

Today’s guest will help us shed some light onto what all of us can do to better prepare ourselves to handle medical emergencies while out on the hunt. It is my pleasure to welcome to TRACKER, Dr. Ernie Kotoi, a trained first responder who has spent the past 10 years serving aboard an ERS. Thanks for coming out to talk with us, Dr. Kotoi.

DR. KOTOI: It is my pleasure, Garret.

What is the first thing someone who is completely untrained medically should do when they find themselves in an emergency situation?

DR. KOTOI: Contact a medical professional.

(Laughter) Doing some self-promoting, doc?

''DR. KOTOI: (laughter) Yes, I know I work on an emergency response ship, but in all honesty, if the situation is serious enough, the best thing you can do to help the injured party is get them professional help as soon as possible. Best case scenario, after you make that comm, you find out that you could handle everything yourself, but if the situation winds up being serious, you’re going to be glad that an ERS is already on its way.''

All right, comm is placed, help is on the way, and the injured person is still bleeding all over my ship. What’s next?

''DR. KOTOI: The important thing that people should understand, when you’re dealing with an emergency situation, the goal is never to fix. Fixing comes much later in the healing process and for that you’ll probably need to seek out a fully equipped medical facility or ship. The goal for the first responder is what we call the ‘stop and maintain’ method. Stop the bleeding. Maintain breathing and heart rate. If you can do that, then you’ve already greatly improved the injured party’s chances of survival.''

And that’s where something like a Dynapak or an MTS would come in?

''DR. KOTOI: Correct. If you’re going to be heading into a potentially dangerous situation you really should plan on carrying some sort of portable medical aid. A properly applied mobile trauma system should be able to curtail the bleeding from even a significant wound, and — maybe even more useful to those in your profession — keep you on your feet long enough to extract yourself from the situation that caused the wound in the first place.''

Fair point, doc. Stopping up a bullet hole won’t do you much good if you can’t deal with the bastard that shot you. All right, before we get into the nitty gritty of just what it means to ‘properly apply’ an MTS, we need to go ahead and take a quick break. Stick around to hear more words of healing wisdom from our guest, Dr. Kotoi, but if you can’t, take care and watch your back.

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