Chapter 11

Battered but Alive

Logan was still out cold and was taken for medical treatment, while being carried past squads of marine's quiet chatter about Logan's escape spread very quickly and as a result many were trying to get a look at the man who survived by snapping his own arms. The doctors had surrounded Logan and were trying to repair his shredded leg, however due to the extent of his injuries he was transferred to an Alliance space station where he could receive more medical attention as well as being able to recover in a military hospital without taking up beds that might be needed for the more seriously injured marine's.

On his way to the space station, a doctor had come to greet them as soon as Logan was on board

"So what's his story?" the doctor asked

A field medic who was assisting with transporting Logan answered "Dr Chakwas, this is Gunnery Chief Logan Shepard" he told her "he was captured and tortured for a day and a half, he broke his arms to escape" he said

Dr Chakwas looked at Logan and shook her head "you poor boy" she said "what did they do to you?" she asked as she looked over his wounds "third degree burns on his left forearm" she said more to herself as Logan was wheeled into the med bay "electric burns on torso as well as small marks from a type of needle on his torso and bicep" she said thinking what could of coursed them "do you know what could of done this?" she asked the field medic who shook his head

"Might be from fire needles" he said "small needles covered in a chemical that burns on contact with flesh" he said "it's more like poison ivy than a real burn but it hurts like all hell"

Dr Chakwas nodded while running a scan over his body "broken rib and of course two broken wrists" she said shaking her head, she had been in the Alliance all of her adult life but this was the first time she had seen a marine go to such lengths to survive "his leg is a broken shredded mess" she said "we need to focus on that first" she said to her assistant before turning to the field medic and dismissing him so he could return to his duties.

Logan woke up a few hours later he was very groggy but felt no pain and he also felt a little giddy, it was then he noticed the IV in his arm that was hooked up and must be feeding him painkillers, looking around he could see another marine in the same room as him who was awake.

"And look at that, the dead wake" the marine said when he saw Logan stirring

"How long was I out for?" Logan asked

The other marine thought for a moment before he answered "few hours, they just bought you back from surgery" he said "how you feeling anyway?"

Logan groaned as he sat up "sore" he said cracking his neck, he was silent for a few moments as he remembered what had happened to him and for some reason what the asari did to him seemed to bother him more, he didn't know why "so what's your name?" he asked

The marine smiled "Matthew Dinnie" he said "I'm an infiltrator" he said looking down at his leg "my leg got broken, almost ripped off"

Logan nodded "how did you do that?" he asked

"Well I didn't break my own leg if that's what you're asking" Matthew said laughing "nah got launched by a biotic" he told Logan "I flew around twenty feet before I landed" he said

Logan nodded "that must of hurt" he replied before adding "news travels fast around here, I wasn't expecting anyone to know just yet" he said simply

Matthew nodded "yeah, you're kind of infamous now" he said chuckling "everyone wanted to see you when you came in, nobody really believed that you broke your arms so they wanted to see for themselves" he said

Logan rolled his eyes "so when are you getting out?'

Matthew sighed "few weeks" he said as he picked up a pistol that was heavily modified and began to take it apart

Logan sighed and cracked his neck "so where did that happen? I didn't see you on Korlus" he asked

Matthew shook his head "nah not on Korlus, I was a part of a raid on a refuelling station"

At that point Dr Chakwas entered the room and took a look at Matthew taking apart his pistol "I believe I have told you before not to do that in here"

Mathew smiled "c'mon doc it's boring in here" he said

Dr Chakwas just rolled her eyes "now how are you feeling?" she asked Logan as she began giving him a medical scan and checking his bandages

"Good" Logan said "all things considered" he told her "I'm not in pain though if that's what you mean" he said

Dr Chakwas nodded "good then the pain killers are working then" she said "oh and when you feel up to it Commander Anderson and the psychologist want to talk to you"

Logan rolled his eyes "I'm fine, I don't need to talk to a shrink" he said sounding annoyed

Dr Chakwas just looked at him "well then I will not clear you for active duty until you do"

Logan sighed "fine, I'll talk to them" he told her

Dr Chakwas nodded "good she will be here to see you in a few hours then, after you have recovered a bit more" she said "and Commander Anderson will see you….." she was saying as Commander Anderson walked into the room "oh Commander you're here" she said

"How is our Operations Chief doing?" he asked

Dr Chakwas nodded "remarkably well" she said "I would like to keep him for observation" she told him who only nodded in response

"Wait, did I just hear you refer to me as Op-chief sir?" Logan asked

Commander Anderson smiled "you have been promoted effective immediately" he told Logan "I will still have to know what happened down there" he said as he sat down on the edge of the bed

Logan nodded and took a deep breath as he recounted what had happened, while he told his story he noticed that Dr Chakwas was listening to him as was Matthew Dinnie and he couldn't help but notice the shocked looks on their faces

"He was going to cut my legs off with a chainsaw when an asari stopped him" Logan said "she said that she could get the info out of me without killing me….again" he told Anderson "then her eyes went black and then she was in my mind" he said

Anderson just listened "did she get anything?" he asked "I'm not judging you son" he quickly explained

Logan looked at Anderson and though gritted teeth he said simply "she didn't get shit!" he said before continuing his story once he was done he looked at Anderson who nodded and looked almost proud of him

"Get some rest son" he said "you did good and thanks to the names you got we now have a few leads on where to go next" he said before standing up "I'll let the rest of your squad know you pulled though they are eager to see you"

Logan smiled "send them in" he said his sprits lifting

Anderson shook his head "not yet, you need some rest first" he told him before saluting him and talking to Dr Chakwas and left soon afterwards

Dr Chakwas walked over to him and injected a needle into the I.V bag and almost right away Logan started to fall asleep

"What's that for?" Logan slurred

Dr Chakwas finished doing her checks before answering him "it's just to put you to sleep we need rest" she said as Logan's eyes closed before she finished answering him

When Logan woke up again it was hours later and was hungry looking around he could see there was Dr Chakwas talking to a another doctor

"Ah he is awake" the new doctor said "my name is Dr Miller" she said "I will be talking to you about what happened to you"

Logan rolled his eyes "look this is not needed, I am fine" he told her

Dr Miller smiled "well that's what I am here to find out" she said still with that bubbly personality that made it really hard for Logan to stay pissed off

After a hour of talking in which Logan answered every question she had asked but was pretty much telling her what she needed to hear

Dr Miller smiled at the end of the session "well that was good, maybe next time you can tell me the truth" she said as she wrote a few things down still smiling "I can't help you if you don't talk to me" she explained "you went through more than most it would be understandable if you were suffering from post-traumatic stress" she said "but we can talk about that next time" Dr Miller told him before telling him she would be back tomorrow

After having something to eat Logan saw Melina come to visit him she was in a somewhat happy mood which was rare for her

"Hey" she said as she sat down his bed "how is the food?" she asked

Logan chuckled "tastes like shit" he told her "you're in a good mood" he said

Melina smiled "well we all thought you were dead" she told him "I should of know it would of taken more than pirates to kill you" she joked before she went quiet "hey listen I have been meaning to ask….are you and Jamie an item?" she asked

Logan looked at her "no, we are just friends" he told her "why do ask?" he wondered out loud

Melina smiled "when you get out of here, ill shout you a drink" she said and with a wink she stood up and went to leave

Logan raised an eyebrow "are you hitting on me Ma'am?" he asked

Melina just smiled "something to think about" was all she said before she left

Over the next few days Logan's squad had come to visit him but due to the war going on they couldn't always make it and as a result Logan spent most of his time talking to Matthew who he had found out was an Operations chief as well. Of course Dr Miller was still giving him a hard time wanting him to open up but he didn't like doing that, growing up sharing personal weakness to anyone would be a death sentence even though he knew in this case it wasn't it still took some time, old habits die hard after all but over time Logan opened up.

"I never knew the Asari could do that" he said "invade people's minds like that" he told Dr Miller

"Well what Zorilla did to you is seen as a serious crime amongst the asari" she told him "most asari are not like that at all and would look at Zorilla like humans view a rapist" she explained to him

Logan went silent and blinked "you're saying she raped me?" he asked

Dr Miller bit her lip as she thought of way to tell him "as far as asari look at it, yes she did" she told him

Logan looked down at his hands "too bad I couldn't kill her twice" he snarled under his breath

Dr Miller studied her patient reaction before adding "it was not your fault, no one could have done more" she tried to reassure him

Logan looked back up at her "I know that" he said not really sure what to think before he asked "so how do you know all this about the asari anyway?"

Dr Miller smiled softly "my bond mate is an asari" she told him "and believe me asari like Zorilla are few and far between and are no more common than human's who do the same" she said

Logan looked at her "still happens a lot though yeah?" he asked

"Yes but not in large numbers" Dr Miller said "some of the Terra Firma party like to claim it's every one in four or that every asari will do it, not true" she reassured him "the real numbers are closer to one in twenty or something like that" she told him "so you see it does happen but nowhere near the amount those bigots claim" she said before asking "how do you feel?"

Logan sighed and rubbed his eyes "like I can't wait to catch up to her partner" he told her

Dr Miller smiled "I think you're going to be fine" she said

Logan raised his eyebrows "does that mean I'm clear for active duty?" he asked hopefully

Dr Miller shook her head "not yet, I don't want to rush you back into the thick of it just yet" she said "just take it easy you will be back in the fight soon enough, you have my word" she told him before leaving

Once Logan was by himself when he tried to for a walk, against doctor's orders, a bad mistake, something Matthew was telling him not to do just yet, but Logan was very stubborn and couldn't stand sitting in a comfy bed while his squad were getting shot at.

As soon as Logan put weight onto his bad leg a sharp pain shot up his leg before his leg buckled and he fell over in agony

Dr Chakwas came running into check on him "Mr Shepard I believe I told you not to get out of bed" she said while helping him back up onto his bed "you have reopened your leg" she told him as she began stitching him back up and gave him some more painkillers "now when I tell you not to get out of bed I mean it" she told him in a motherly sort of way

Logan sighed "I hate it here" he told her "I'm going stir crazy in this room" he said

Dr Chakwas nodded "I know I don't like here much myself, I'd rather be on a warship" she said "however I'll see about getting something to keep you busy" she told him "but if you keep getting out of bed you will be here for longer and I really don't want to have to tie you to the bed"

Logan chuckled at that "Kinky doctor, but I think we should keep it professional" he joked

Dr Chakwas laughed at that "one more comment like that and you can go without painkillers for a little while" she joked

Logan eyes went wide "you wouldn't?" he asked

"Oh wouldn't I?" she said with a chuckle as she left

Logan shook his head "your evil doctor" he joked

Watching the news Logan heard his name mentioned so he turned up the volume "…was captured by pirates and had escaped by breaking his arms before fighting his way through the base" the reporter said "he has since been taken for medical treatment and is now up for a promotion" the reporter said before moving onto another story

Matthew chuckled "looks like your famous now"

Logan sighed "yeah looks like" he said "I hope it doesn't make my job more difficult now"

Matthew smiled "I'm sure it won't" he said "although you might be asked for interviews now"

Logan rolled his eyes at that "great"

Logan introduced Matthew to Douglas McKay and Wesley Callaway when they came to visit him a few hours later and ended up playing poker with them, while playing Logan thanked Wesley for saving his life

"No problem sir" he said with a goofy looking smile on his face "I'm sure you will repay the favour someday"

Logan chuckled "I'm sure I will" he said "and don't call me sir, I work for a living" he joked "so where are you guys heading to next?" he asked

Wesley placed a card down before answering "well I am heading to some trade point between slavers and buyers" he said "we going in as possible buyers to draw them out into the open" he said slamming his fist into his open hand

"What about you Douglas?" Logan asked

Douglas dealt a new hand of cards before he answered "me, I'm retiring" he said "I bought nice little bar on Elysium, they needed new businesses to open since the raid so I happened to get it heaps cheaper than what it was selling for before the raid" he said looking at his cards "just one last mission before I can retire" he said

Logan nodded "nice, do we get a discount or a bar tab?" he asked chuckling

Douglas smiled "Alliance half price drinks" he said "my way of giving something back" he said laughing "gotcha" he said throwing his cards down "royal flush" he said

Matthew swore "god damn it, how do you keep doing that?" he asked

Douglas chuckled "well I could tell you how I keep beating you guys but then I would have to kill you" he joked

"So where is this last mission anyway?" Logan asked

Douglas started to deal a new hand "one more hand" he told them "they have me going to some backwater planet to do a simple sweep" he answered

Logan shook his head "man I wish I could join you, one last time before you retire" he said

Douglas smirked "well you would have been if you didn't fuck up your injured leg again" he told him

Matthew picked up his cards "so what's the name of this planet anyway?" he asked

"I don't know" Douglas answered while thinking "Akuze I think" he said "I'm leaving tomorrow" he told them