9/12/07

Chapter Seven-A

Agendas

Gratti sprawled in the chair across the desk from his nephew. "I've just come from a strategy session. You probably know by now that we offered our newest and most advanced prosthetic prototypes to your Crusader friend."

Aquelev looked up in surprise. "I didn't know we were involved in that. Why? Why pick him?"

"He's a hero aind if we're ever going to get our modern weapons accepted in the army, we need to tie them to ..."

The younger man stood, his balled fists planted on his desk. "You're using him to push a business deal?"

Gratti spread his hands in the universal merchant's gesture. "He can't use a sword anymore. So if he ever goes back into combat, he'll have to use a gun. We just say how we returned a Great Warrior to the field complete with a new arm and leg and armed with a new weapon. It's a natural."

Aquelev's lip curled in disgust. "How long have you been planning this?"

"Oh, it was a spur of the moment decision. When we heard his story, I remembered how impressed you had been with him, then somebody mentioned the new prosthetics and ..." He snapped his fingers and shrugged. "It just all fit together. Perfect!"

"I think you may have missed something. Nooj is y taydrcaagan."

"I hadn't heard that, but what does it matter? Just means he'll be in even more of a hurry to get back to the front - unless you think he'd rather cut his own throat. They don't do that. Do they?"

"Not usually and I'm fairly certain Nooj won't. But do you really want to put him in position to hunt death again, especially after what's happened?"

"You think it'd be better to let him moulder away in a nursing home? Think that'll make him happier?"

"Go away, Uncle. I'm too tired to argue with you."

So that was what they were up to. The fancy arm and leg were business ploys. He should have known; his people were never ones to let a chance slip.

-X-

"Have you seen him? Is he really alive? Is it just the arm and leg? Tell me everything you know." LeBlanc burst out as soon as the Al Bhed was shown into the reception room.

He held up his hands in a gesture of both surrender and calm. "Sh. Sh. Yes, I've seen him and talked to him. He's alive and nothing's wrong with his brain. He's still Nooj - impatient, more bad-tempered than ever. You know, you know ..." He hastened his words as she threathened to interrupt. "You know about the arm and leg. That's the worst of it although there was some damage to his eyes - nothing spectacles can't correct. He's lucky to be here and not on the FarPlane."

"He's not blind, is he? Tell me he's not blind."

"Dear LeBlanc, I just told you spectacles will take care of it." Aquelev patted her hand. "He's going to be all right. He's past the worst - physically, anyway."

She thought for a moment, her brow furrowed. "You said his mind was all right. I think you're hiding something. What's wrong? You have to tell me. I'm turning a whole floor of this place into a hospital for him to have his therapy in private. I know how he hates having people around him when he's not in command. Will you help me get him here? He listens to you and you can talk him into it."

I was with extreme difficulty that Aquelev disengaged himself from the woman and made his belated way to the hospital. He was beginning to feel like the ball in a three-corned game.

-X-

Aquelev knew things had changed the instant he opened the door. "'Lev, have you seen what they've done to me?" The voice held such despair, the merchant felt tears stinging at his eyes.

Nooj was lying, propped on the inclined plane of the mattress. His eyes were uncovered save for wire-framed spectacles sliding down his narrow nose. He was still held to the bed by the fabric bands across his chest and hips and the sheet was pulled over his legs. He looked more familiar, less of a caricature of himself although no one would ever again call him young. The events of the past week had aged and changed him in profound ways.

Aquelev could find nothing to say, no answers to the question.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Nooj continued.

"Because I'm a coward. I didn't want to be the one who..."

"So you left me to learn when they unbandaged my eyes. The first thing I saw were these - these travesties where my limbs had been. You could have warned me. You were my friend."

"Nooj, I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do. You seemed so fragile. I - I didn't do the right thing. I know I didn't but I thought you were going to die."

The maimed man tried to twist his body on the narrow bed. "I should have. Better that than this."

"But you're alive and these limbs are far better than the ones that used to be available. You'll be able to walk and use both hands." Aquelev pasted what he hoped was a reassuring smile on his face.

Nooj looked at him with a horrified expression. "Have you forgotten? I don't want to live, especially not like this. I was trying to die. Why didn't they leave me alone to get it over with? What business was it of theirs?"

The Al Bhed moved to the bed and laid a calming hand on his friends right arm. "You're a hero and they felt like they had to save you. You almost died anyway that first night. I was here." He paused to consider what he was about to say. "I knew what you wanted and I would have let you go."

"Why didn't you put a pillow over my face and help me? You could have done that for me." Nooj snarled, baring his teeth.

"I couldn't do that. I couldn't help you but I wouldn't have stopped you. Give it a chance, Nooj. You're strong and brave, stubborn too. You proved that the first night. You don't give up easily, so try."

"Look at me, damn you! I'm half man, half monster, thanks to your tribe of meddlers. What sort of life am I likely to have?"

Aquelev examined the recumbent body. "The sort of life you let yourself have. You haven't even heard yet what these can do and how they work. Use your brain, man. All the important parts are intact. You can still think and reason. All you have to do is learn to use the new arm and leg and you'll be very nearly what you were. You still have a lot to offer the world."

"My eyes..."

"Are fine. So you need spectacles. So? I tell you, everything important is still there. You're still a man and still a Warrior. Do you have any idea how strong that left hand is? You'll be able to rip the throats out of fiends with one twist. Give it a chance."

Nooj was still for a long moment. "Will you undo these damned straps? I need to shift position. If you're here in the room, I'm not likely to fall off the bed and perish on the cold floor."

When his arm was free, Nooj moved his hand under the sheet, first to his groin, and then up to his face where he pushed the spectacles back to the bridge of his nose. "It seems I am to be spared few indignities. This is the first time I've had the use of my hand since - since all this happened." He then moved the hand over to touch the machina arm lying inertly at his side. When he made contact with the device, he flinched in spite of himself.

"Painful?"

"The surgeon who came in this morning insists that's a good sign. It shows the nerves are still functional. I'm not sure I understand it but it seems they have somehow connected these things to my nerves and expect me to move them with my mind."

"Amazing." Aquelev marveled. "I didn't know we'd gotten that far." He watched as Nooj reached toward his left leg, noting the hand again paused briefly under the sheet in the area of the groin.

Nooj pushed back the cover from his hip and inspected the metal sheath. "They said they pinned this directly into the bone of my thigh to reinforce the attachment and make it stronger. It's very sensitive." He was almost apologetic as though admitting to any pain was a disgrace. Abruptly, he stopped talking and Aquelev could see his body trembling.

"What's wrong? Shall I call someone?"

"No. It's nothing. Hand me a blanket. I get these chills, nothing important; they go away." His teeth were chattering and he seemed to contract into a smaller form as the shaking spread throughout his body.

"Here." The Al Bhed tucked one blanket tightly around his friend and draped another across him, wrapping it close to his chin. He laid a hand on Nooj's brow and found it to be clammy, almost frigid. "I think I should call a Healer. How often does this happen?"

'O-only the second time. D-d-don't worry. It'll pass." The broken man huddled under the covers and closed his eyes. "Better already."

"You're still weak. Stop trying to impress me and take it easy."

A faint smile traced itself across the lips and Nooj nodded silently.

After a few minutes, he stirred again. "You say they saved me and installed these things because I'm a hero and they needed one. Does this mean they're going to let me back into battle?"

"I don't know."

"If it'll get me back to active duty, I'll work with these abominations. I'll do what they tell me to. Promise me, Aquelev, that when I fall again, you'll fight for my right to be left alone. I'll go back and be their hero if it gains me another chance at Death. And freedom from these horrors." The last was said under his breath.

"I don't want to make a promise I might not be able to keep. Even if you'd been open about being taydrcaagan they would have still saved you this time. They needed you."

"Then just swear you'll try or I'll turn my face to the wall and will my death this very day."

Aquelev nodded reluctantly. "I swear I will do what I can to make sure your wishes are heeded."

Nooj pushed the covers down from his chest and looked intently at the burned tissue running down his side. "This will hinder my ability to bend and stretch." He grimaced. "And won't make me any more human in appearance."

"Are you warmer now? That scar tissue will get more flexible as you heal. Therapists will have special exercises to to help and the colour will fade gradually. Are you thinking about women?"

Nooj gave a bitter, grating laugh. "Not likely any time in the foreseeable future. It's just as well that was never of great importance to me."

Aquelev remembered the halting question from the day before and the checks executed by the questing hand just a little while ago, but kept his peace. This was not the time to challenge the damaged man.

"If you're so determined to get back to action as quickly as possible, LeBlanc's offered you a place to heal and train. She's turning the fourth floor of her mansion into a suite for you and a team of therapists to use." He was almost frightened by the look which distorted Nooj's face.

"Are you out of your mind? I won't do it!" The man on the high bed almost shouted his response.

"Be rational, Nooj. It makes all the sense in the world. LeBlanc has arranged things so you can have complete privacy while you recover and learn to use your new limbs. She's even hired a team of Al Bhed engineers to keep everything working properly and therapists to keep you progressing."

"You want me to move into her establishment while I'm helpless? That woman's a man-eater! Can't you find someplace else?"

"You're the most infuriating man I ever knew. No - I can't find another place. You either stay here or accpt the lady's generous offer. Your decision." Aquelev folded his arms and leaned back in his chair.

Nooj tried to shift on the bed but the heavy prostheses held him as firmly as if he had still been bound by the strips of linen. He glared fiercely at the other. "Whose side are you on, anyway? Has she bribed you to try to persuade me?"

"How could she? She's got nothing I want or need. No, I'm thinking of you and your stubborness. Nooj, you'll hate it here in the hospital or in regular rehabilitation facilities. LeBlanc has promised to leave you alone in your own part of the house and not even ask that you see her until you're ready."

"Has she? Will she keep her word? I don't want her to see me like I am now."

"If it'll help, I'll move in too and make sure she keeps her distance. Believe me this'll be better for you than any other solution."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Of course. I can conduct my business as easily from LeBlanc's place as from my own apartment - easier even. And it'll partly atone for keeping you alive that first night." He laughed a bit nervously.

Nooj did not even smile. "I can leave if I want to?"

"Yes, she'll have no hold on you at all."

"All right, I'll try it and see how it works out." Nooj's tone was grudging but Aquelev's spirits leapt with joy at the words.

-X-

Because he did not want to be seen in a state of helplessness, Nooj arrived at the hotel in darkness, entering the basement floor at the rear of the building near the middle of the night and being transported by lift to the fourth floor in great secrecy. He was closely screened at all times and LeBlanc kept her word and her distance.

Even though much care had been taken to make it as easy as possible on him, the move had left Nooj sick and trembling in his weakness.

"It's all done now, my friend," Aquelev spoke quietly and laid a gentle hand on the man's forehead. "You'll be getting a shot soon and can rest. Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

Nooj accepted a sip of water before he could force his dry lips to form words. "Yes, if it's not too much to ask. I would like knowing you're near in this place."

"I'll have a cot brought in and be right at your side if you need me. Then tomorrow I'll move in the rest of my things."

"I'm so cold. It feels like the metal from these damnable things is channeling its nature into the very core of me and making it as cold as they are. I don't think I'll ever be warm again." His teeth chattered as he spoke.

"Here, there're some blankets on the chest over here. I'll put a couple over you and tuck them in to hold the heat. Is that better?"

"Yes. You're very kind to me, Aquelev. Why?"

"Because you're worth it and you're fighting for my life and the lives of my people. Besides, I like talking to you." Aquelev's heart was breaking to see the strong, fearless man brought to such straits - so helpless and frail.

The other tried to shape a smile but it quickly turned to a grimace as a nurse injected a tranquilizer into his right bicep. "Thank you. I expect I'll be asleep soon."

The Al Bhed smoothed the coverings over the battered body and did not speak, hoping he had not been wrong to push this arrangement. He resolved to put all his other affairs on hold in order to keep his friend protected and as calm as was reasonable to hope.

-X-

The morning came and the work began. Therapists and engineers gathered as thickly as swarming bees around Nooj as he lay propped up on his bed. Healers cast strengthening spells to re-inforce the wounded man's energy and help him muster his remaining muscles to their tasks. The engineers explained how the mind must locate the nervous impulses to trigger the mechanisms in the implant and move the machina arm and hand. Therapists took notes and learned, along with Nooj, how the exercises must be done.

After several hours, a nearly exhausted and sweat-drenched Nooj had managed to twitch a finger and the attending multitude cheered loudly enough to be heard throughout the building.

Two floors below, LeBlanc heard the hullabaloo and wondered what was happening. At the distance she could not be sure of whether she was hearing sounds of celebration or of disaster. So she paced the floor and imagined the worst.

-X-

Weeks passed and progress was erratic. Nooj had quickly managed to master the skill of using the prosthetic arm. The major difficulty lay in learning to judge the amount of pressure required to lift and otherwise manipulate objects with the machina fingers which could perceive no feed-back. Many items were alternately dropped or crushed before he gained the experience to use the hand effectively. When he was finally proficient, the engineers rewarded him with a handsome black leather glove to hide the rods and levers.

He continued to have periodic chills and at those times huddled miserably in a corner, clutching blankets around himself and lamenting his past life.

"I don't understand. Why can't I get warm? I never used to feel this way." His teeth chattered so that he could hardly speak. "I need exercise to stop this. Damn this leg!" He crashed his left fist against the machina limb.

"Take it easy. You don't realize yet how strong that fist is. You don't want to mess up the leg you'll need to exercise with. I'll check with the therapists and see what they can rig up to let you work out until you can walk. OK?" Aquelev was getting used to accomplishing the impossible as he devoted more and more time to assuaging Nooj's demands.

"OK. I'll need to tone the muscles in my right arm if I'm going to be able to pick up my sword, let alone swing it." The thought of fighting again seemed to warm the Warrior.

Aquelev did not think this was the time to tell Nooj the chances of his ever being a swordsman again were slim or that his sword had been broken to pieces during the encounter with Sin. The Crusaders who had been saved by his sacrifice and who had witnessed the event had drawn a parallel between the shattering of the sword and the breaking of the man and had woven the thought into their tales told around the campfire. The ones who had paused to pick up bits of the blade cherished them as relics of their fallen leader and superstitiously carried them on their persons like amulets.

-X-

In her second floor dressing room, LeBlanc brooded. She had worn through the euphoria which had accompanied knowing that Nooj was phyically present in her house. Now, it was no longer sufficient to be conscious of his being under the same roof, she wanted to see him with her own eyes. It had been a very long time since she had actually looked at him, not since that morning when she had told him good-bye and watched him stride off to war which his arms swinging and his head high. Hearing from Aquelev about his injuries and the progress he was making to adapt to his new condition was no longer enough. The images her mind conjured up were almost surely more dreadful than the unknown truth. She made her decision. She would tell the Al Bhed merchant that she must see her guest if only from a distance and without his knowing. She could not continue with this nerve-wracking existence, feeling that a disaster dwelt upstairs and she had no control over the situation.

Accordingly, she confronted Aquelev later that day. "I've been very patient for all these weeks and I've kept my word, you know that. But, I want to see him. He doesn't have to see me; I'll be content to stand behind a curtain and he doesn't even have to know I'm there but I want to look at him. I don't even know for sure if he's alive or not. For all I know, you could have nobody up there on the fourth floor. So, will you arrange it?"

Aquelev was not at his most tactful. He had had a difficult day. Business had piled up on his desk and he was seriously behind with meeting his commitments to the companies which depended upon him to supply them with the wares they needed to stay afloat. Nooj had been especially demanding since his attempts to use the leg were not progressing. He could not yet put weight on the limb because of the pain caused by the pressure of the connecting rods against his remaining flesh and bone. So, he was not as sympathetic or congenial as he might otherwise have been.

"No. You and I had a deal when I agreed to persuade him to come here. I have kept my part of the bargain and I fully expect you to keep yours. You said you would keep your distance until I told you he was prepared to receive you. He's not ready, not by a long shot. No, you cannot see him, not even hidden and from a distance. I give you my most sacred word that Nooj is alive and where I said he is - on the fourth floor of this very house." He tightened his mouth and turned away.

LeBlanc did not try to argue. She recognized the hopelessness of doing so. Besides, she had her own ideas about getting her way. It was her house and she had overseen the renovation of the fourth floor.

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