I jumped up as quickly as I could, or at least tried to when I finally came to. The swift movement however simply ended up with me cringing in pain and letting out a groan before falling back down.
I felt sick right away as the pain eased up slowly, giving me a chance to take in my surroundings. Though there really wasn't much to look at, the room was almost completely barren.
Sterile white walls and floor, a small cart, some equipment for monitoring health with a few wires running to me, and an admittedly comfy bed with soft sheets. Well, the bed was nice at least. The only thing that was admittedly a bit odd, was the glowing blue circle hovering in front of what I assumed was the door.
I let my head fall back onto the pillow as I glanced at the wires running from the various equipment and back to me, then under the blankets. I was covered up to my shoulders in a few of the sheets, but I couldn't help but feel a bit curious as to where the wires ran to.
I gently eased myself up slightly, and with a great deal of effort and minor discomfort I was able to get my arms to move. I felt stiff really, like my joints were literally locked in place almost.
Moving my arm a bit, I couldn't help but freeze and stare at the black metal that appeared from under the cover after it fell from my shoulder.
Any thoughts of being in a hospital were lost as I slowly eased the arm completely into view, black metal trailing down from part of my pectorals and shoulder advanced down my arm all the way to my fingertips.
'Where the hell did that crazed lunatic send me?' I couldn't help but feel fear and anxiety as I moved my hand to uncover my other shoulder, I shouldn't have been surprised to see the same thing there.
I felt my heart drop like a stone as I brought both hands in front of my face and stared at them. Slowly but surely they moved as if they had been that way my whole life, it was almost like I had been born with these.
I began to calm down a bit, and after a moment I could not longer feel my heart literally pounding.
A quiet beep followed by a swoosh, made me jerk my head toward the door. Meeting eyes with a young blond haired woman dressed in a labcoat, who seemed to be in equal shock.
We stared each other down for a minute before her face flushed and she ran out the door. "Hey! Wait… Damn it all." I groaned as my one chance of answers had fled from me. 'Just peachy'.
Staring at the wall, I began listing various options currently available to me. I could try getting up, as painful as it would be or just lay here and wait for someone. Honestly, there's probably more choices than just those two. Get up and get answers, focus on that.
Grunting as I pushed myself up, I couldn't stop the grin on my face as I reached a sitting position though. I took note of the various wires, electrodes, and IV's attached to me. The thought of needles made me nauseous really.
Carefully and slowly, I began the process of pulling out the IV syringes while doing my best to ignore the needles. A total of four syringes were removed before I began pulling the electrodes from my chest, after that I simply began yanking the wiring from my arms that led back to the equipment.
"I hate hospitals." Grumbling, I stood on shaky legs, slowly adjusting to the feeling of standing. A deep breath in and I eased myself into standing straight up, legs still weak, but I could walk.
Frowning slightly, I rolled my head around whilst grimacing at the cracking and stiffness I felt in my joints. Stretching a bit, I could feel my joints and muscles relax a bit, just enough to not be irritating.
Giving the room a once over again, I noticed there was a small door that blended into the wall with an actual handle. Grabbing the handle and sliding the door back, I found myself staring into a mirror.
The person in the mirror looked familiar but at the same time, it was like looking at someone you'd never met. Well defined and toned muscles accentuated the body, a small amount of dark chest hair that matched the Five O'clock shadow on my face and the short messy hair on my head.
The metallic pair or arms were noticeable as well as matching pair of legs, and if I wasn't mistaken there were two small black parts near both my arms, outlining the outer edges almost.
I stared back at the man in the mirror, eyes focused and uncertain. His expression matching mind with every thought that pass through my head, and before I knew a shattering crash broke me from my thoughts. My hand was now firmly in the wall behind the broken mirror, glass scattered upon the floor.
Looking back into the mirror, I released a soft sigh at the broken reflection. A small shelf laid inside the closet to the left, a suit left there folded up neatly. Glaring at the clothes, I looked down at myself knowing I couldn't just walk out in only a pair of boxers.
Choices limited and my own pride not allowing me to shame myself, even if it was possible that people here could be slightly hostile, I donned the suit. Pulling on the black socks and slacks, a red dress shirt, and the black coat; I ignored the black tie and grabbed the rather nice polished shoes before sliding them on.
Pulling at the jacket to make sure it was straightened out, I began my march to the door glaring at the small holographic floating orange button in front of it. 'How exactly does this work?' Standing directly in front of it I waved my hand a bit, walked toward the door, nothing happened at all. I began to feel like an idiot however after simply touching the small panel and it blinked green.
"Well, hello there." I couldn't think of anything to say as an older man stood before me, two men flanking both sides of him with weapons drawn, and the same nurse from before standing behind them trying to seemingly hide behind the group.
"Nice to meet you too." My grunt caused one of the guards to jump a bit, my voice didn't sound that bad did it? "My name's Daniel Sirta, and I do believe we have a lot to talk about." The elderly gentleman spoke with a smile on his face and he waved off the guards.
"Walk with me?" I simply stared back at the man as he smiled back at me while I scowled. "I don't have much of a choice do I?" The elder didn't answer though, opting instead to begin simply walking.
The walk actually turned out rather pleasant, mostly after I stopped scowling and actually answered the Doctor back. Apparently my 'care taker', was Dr. Daniel Sirta, the head of the Sirta Foundation.
The good doctor was a friendly fellow, he liked to crack jokes and had quite the positive outlook. He was also very forthcoming with information, revealing plenty of things to me, such as information on the new prosthetics that had replaced my extremities.
The first tidbit I received was my current location, I was currently on a planet named Elysium and located in the 'private' department of the Sirta Foundation's Elysium branch. The next bit of information was of a higher priority however, these prosthetics as the doctor explained to me were not of his own creation and were actually drafted from plans that Olaf had procured from another place.
I knew exactly what they were in all honesty when he began explaining them, they were augments. Specialized prosthetics made to react as if they were your original body parts, they offered better reaction times, strength, and were above all versatile. I could recall every augmentation from the Deus Ex series pretty well, especially Jensen's, these specific augments mirroring his almost exactly.
Those were topics we had spoken about during our walk, which had ended with us in his office. The old man was generally kind, even offering a drink to me as we took seats, but he had said he had an offer for me and I wanted to know more about it.
"Now then Nathaniel, you're young and you could have a bright and spectacular future ahead of you. So, what I would like to offer is this, I'll hire you on as a security officer here." Dr. Sirta said and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him. "Those plans that gave your arms and legs back will never see the light of day again, and since I'm the only one who knows how to repair or make them, it would be in both our interests if you stayed. I'm offering you a living space here as well as pay. I would like you to be my chief of security in three years time though, so we'll have tutors brought in under contract to get you up to speed as well."
"I have nowhere to go, don't know anyone, and lack any funds. This is quite the deal you're giving me. I really don't even have much of a choice." I received a smile as he placed his cup on the table, I couldn't help but sigh.
"Alright, I'm in." Dr. Sirta simply cracked open his desk and pulled out some files and paperwork. "Well, now that everything is settled for today, how about we go over some of those augments you were asking about."
I couldn't help but grin back at the doctor as he began explaining the functions to me, this might not be too bad at all.
Hey guys, Anvast here and I know this a slow start, and slow going. But, I wanted to get a good setup before I rush into things. Now I know you're probably a bit confused, but yes this will be before the blitz, and I'll be skipping a good bit of training and completely skipping the tutoring. The next chapter will start with a time skip of several years and begin the blitz, Shepard will be part of the blitz but they won't be a commander or even a lieutenant. A much lower rank will be given since this will be earlier in the military career, I hope I can do well with typing out the fire fights, and I honestly want your opinions on a Male or Female Shep.
Anywho, leave a review or even pm me if you want and I'll respond when applicable. I know this was a boring chapter, but it was going to be.
See ya'll round, Anvast