Hit the Air, Chapter One
(A/N: If you are wondering why EDI is still around, it gets explained in Chapter Three. Thank you for reading!)
"Paging Dr. Melfisa."
Dr. Bei Melfisa's omni-tool lit up at the summons. She took one look and said to her colleagues, "Sorry, I've got to go. My VIP's awake."
She had been in a meeting with roughly a dozen of her colleagues. A few other physicians smiled at her, but most narrowed their eyes. She pretended to ignore it as she left the room. As one of only few Asari doctors on Earth, and the only one at this hospital, she had learned to harden her heart to human jealousy and prejudice. Or at least to act as if she had.
She took the elevator to Level 17, submitting to a quick retinal scan along the way. That was how tight security had to be these days. Then she strode down to Room 32 and tapped on the door, which slid open in response. She fixed on a placid smile and said, "How are we doing today, Commander?"
Bei did not expect a response. The patient had been in a coma for several days, and even now, in his sporadic moments of consciousness, he gave no indication that he was aware of his surroundings. She had never heard him speak.
Until today.
"N..." The voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper, and it startled Bei. She forgot the readouts that she had been about to examine and went to her patient's bedside.
"It's alright, Commander Shepard," she assured him. "You are in the First London Alliance Military Hospital, and I am your attending physician, Dr. Bei Melfisa."
"Nor..."
The Asari thought quickly. "Normandy? You're asking about the Normandy?"
She was rewarded with a nod, if a faint one. Bei smiled. She was nothing if not over-prepared for every situation.
"Word is they made an emergency landing on a garden planet, but they're about to depart. Destination Earth." She produced a data pad from her hip. "I have the ship's manifest here. You don't want to know what kind rigmarole a civilian doctor has to go through to get something like this," she said with a wink. "Shall I... operate it for you?"
Shepard's right index finger twitched, as if he was testing his hands. Then he gave another slight nod.
Bei held the data pad a comfortable distance from Shepard's face and started scrolling through the names. She didn't know what kind of reaction to expect—she had no idea how this list differed from what it had been before the final strike on earth. Other doctors would never do something so reckless. But the way Bei saw it, this man needed something to help him wake up—even if that something included pain.
I should be taking notes on his progress, Bei thought to herself.
Shepard's eyes flicked over the list of names. Then widened. "Lieu-"
He stopped, choking on his own breath. The heart rate monitor gave a cry of alarm. That look of awareness receded from Shepard, leaving in its place only animal fear.
Dr. Melfisa hit the command panel to administer 50ccs of Savarphin. Shepard stiffened, then slumped. His eyes were closed, now. Bei finally released the breath she'd been holding all the while.
That was some stunt, Bei, she mentally reprimanded herself. Better not emphasize this in my report. Better start working on my report.
And then,
Who is Lu?
"Joker. Can I have a minute of your time?" asked Liara, approaching the Normandy's cockpit.
"Can I take a raincheck? Sometime when I'm not trying to take off after a crash, maybe?" Joker sniped back.
"I have time for you, Liara," said EDI, turning and smiling. "And I would argue that I am just as involved in the takeoff process as Jeff here."
"But you're—but I—fine." Joker looked back over his shoulder. "How can I help you, Liara?"
"It's a request from Shepard's doctor on Earth. ...Right, I thought that might get your attention."
Joker looked like he would he stood up if he could. "What's the news?"
Liara shook her head. "No news. Critical condition, but we already knew that. But he asked for someone who used to be on this ship. A 'Lou' or something like that. Joker, you've been on the Normandy the longest. Who do you think he's talking about?"
Joker looked at his hands. "I don't know about that," he said.
"Might it not be short for 'Lieutenant'?" EDI interjected.
"That was my first thought, too. We are missing a flight lieutenant. But... he kept to himself. None of us knew him that well," said Liara.
"But that's exactly the kind of person Shepard is!" declared Joker. "We heard Cortez go down over radio. Shepard saw the crash. So when he wakes up, does the Commander rejoice in the fact that he's just saved the whole fucking universe? No way! He agonizes over the death of the guy who flew the shuttle."
"Ahem," said EDI. The organics looked at her. "...Neither of you are aware?"
"Aware of what, EDI?" asked Joker.
The AI paused for a moment before replying, "The Commander frequently visited the shuttle bay while Flight Lieutenant Cortez was there. It seems likely they... struck up a friendship."
"Just like him," Joker decided. "He didn't take anybody on the ship for granted."
Liara stole a suspicious glance at EDI. "Cortez isn't necessarily dead," she pointed out.
Joker shook his head. "We'll do right by his memory, Liara. We've gotten pretty good at that. Anyway, I guess this means the commander isn't speaking in full words yet."
"I guess that's what it means."
A short silence descended upon them.
"He'll make a full recovery," declared Liara. "He's gotten pretty good at that." She heaved a breath. "Well. I'd better let you get back to it." She started to turn around.
"Wait, wait!" said Joker. "One more thing."
"Yes?"
"How'd you hear all this?"
"Beg pardon?"
"Shepard's doctor wouldn't happen to be Asari, or anything?"
"What? ...Oh, Joker!" Liara shot a frown at him. "For the last time, there is no 'Asari Phone Tree'! Give it a rest already!"
Lu?And with that, Liara stormed out of the cockpit, completely forgetting her suspicion that EDI had been hiding something.
"Dr. Melfisa," asked Dr. John Waits, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"
He was not smiling as he said this. Bei bowed her head. She knew this could seem like an invasion of territory—she was not assigned to Wing F and had no official business there. "I know this is is an unusual request, but I was wondering if I could talk to one of your patients. He might be able to fill in some medical history for one of mine."
Dr. Waits nodded. He and Bei were both Chief Residents of their respective wings—hers, head trauma, and his, amputations and prosthetics. He knew that many of her patients could not speak for themselves, and he didn't bother asking which one. Instead, he brought up his omni-tool and asked, "Patient ID?"
"AF34890-8," she rattled off.
"He's in room 47, recovering from morning surgery. Don't know if you'll get the answers you're looking for, but you're welcome to try."
Room 47, it turned out, was a double. Around the bed nearest to the door, the curtain was drawn, but Bei could hear well enough to know that she didn't want to see. Choking sobs, a young woman calling for her mother and father, and the hushed voice of a young man: "You know they're with us right now. They're watching and protecting you. They're—they're so proud, Linda. Everyone is so proud of you" —a swallow— "and we're going to get through this together."
The next bed was quiet.
Just a man, lying awake in bed. Expressionless. Staring at the ceiling. Bei froze when she saw him. It wasn't the sight of his injuries that made her nerve waver—she had seen far, far worse, especially these last few days—but the fact that she was about to intrude on someone's private affairs. It wasn't too late to change her mind. But Bei strengthened her resolve. She had a chance, here, to bring some peace to the man who'd brought peace to the universe. She wasn't going to waste it.
"Lieutenant Steven Cortez?" she asked. The man nodded without looking at her. She took a few brave steps forward. His condition did not look so bad, actually, from what she could see. Some scratches on his face and arms, bruising too. Of course, there was the uneven lump underneath the bedsheets, and she knew from his file that the amputation surgery had not spared enough nerve tissue to make an artificial leg a viable option. Still, he was probably going to be released soon.
No, Bei could not waste this chance.
"Go ahead. What bad news do you have for me this time?" said the man, without any humor.
"I don't know if this is good or bad news," Bei admitted, "but I'm Dr. Bei Melfisa am the physician attending to Commander Shepard."
For the first time, Cortez looked at Bei. "What happened?" He pressed a button by his bedside, and the steel bedframe began to bend at its hinge until Cortez was sitting upright.
"You were on the Normandy with him, correct?"
"Yes. Now tell me what happened," Cortez insisted, suddenly seeming to come to life.
"He's recovering," said Bei, to the lieutenant's visible relief. "It might not seem like much, but four days ago, he was in a coma, and now, he can communicate—just barely."
Cortez was silent for a moment. Then, "Thank you," he said. "It's hard to get reliable news around here. I've heard rumors, but... thank you."
Bei smiled at him. "To think that you were in the same hospital all along. I had to do some major digging to—but that's another story. Anyway, I asked the commander if he'd like to for you to visit. He said yes."
"Yes?" Cortez repeated, his voice taking on a new tone. "When can I see him? Can I see him now?"
"Now?" asked Bei. "He's awake, but are you up to the trek?"
The lieutenant glanced at the space where his missing leg should have been. "A vidcom might be a better option.
Bei winced. "I'm afraid it wouldn't work. The commander's voice box has been damaged; he can barely make a sound. And he can hardly move. He communicates with his fingers: right finger twitch means yes, left finger means no. It just wouldn't come through on vid."
"And that's 'progress'?"
Bei nodded gravely.
"Well, I guess that means... I need to find myself a wheelchair."
