AN: i) Thanks Angel, Icy, and Missbug, ReBoo, KillRaven. Chapter 9 was hard for me to write. Thanks for sticking with me. ii) -pokes Icy- Emailed you but it bounced. -cries- iii) i miss the days when uploading didn't destroy the original formatting. -mutters-
-o-O-o-
Witnessed.
-o-O-o-
Guard duty again..
'Cadet Noin, we here at the academy feel that, given your condition and prospectus for recovery, it is in your best interest that we remove you from active duty and place you in rear guard.'
Yeah, my best interest.
You could have saved yourself all that formality and just said, "Well, it's great to see you survived, Cadet. Hey, it's even better that you saved the lives of your crew. But we've lost all confidence in you so we're grounding you for all eternity. Go stand in a hallway and look meaningful."
Gee, I'm glad this is my best interest. Stupid me would have thought standing in one place staring forward all day long was some kind of torture method.
And, Ok, so I shouldn't be running and jumping and wrestling and what not. That's fine. But what part of standing for hours is good for a back injury, huh? That landing must have messed me up worse than i thought. Man, do I ever need a massage.
I bet that handsome blonde cadet gives a wonderful massage.
Okay, Luc. That's quite enough of that train of thought. Not like the hours are going to go by quicker with a hunk on the mind. And no one's going to take a drooling guard seriously. Tighten your bootstraps, girl. Ok.
It was entirely unncessary to slap myself that hard. I'm awake, but I bet my cheek's red. Good going, Luc.
Sigh.
Who on earth is going to attack a hospital anyhow? Sure it's a priority structure and deserves protection, but..
"Ma'am, do you need a hand?"
Can't hurt to offer. It's not like I have anything better to do. As long as I stay on this floor, I'm technically on post.
Hm, she must not have heard me. She does look pretty tense. That gurney must weight a ton with all that extra equipment attached. Probably not allowed to let non-Med staff get involved anyhow. That case looks special.
Why are there be so many computer links?
Gotta be cybernetics, but still. That can't be all for just one arm or leg. Someone's getting some serious patchwork there.
That stuff sure is creepy, but it serves a purpose I guess.
That's... so strange.
Two hands, two feet, I'm sure i saw them. Just what is that poor woman getting done to her? They only do arms and legs, right?
Just how far can they go these days?
Gah, that smarts.
Ok, back to my post. Guess they weren't lying about me needing down time. I don't remember it hurting this morning, though. What did I do to myself now?
Guess it could be worse though. That girl's got more months in traction ahead of her than I ever did.
Ok, I heard it. Somewhere here, where was it? Someone's raising a ruckus. The crew in the wreck didn't scream that much, geez.
This room, no. Hallway? no. Closer this way, east rooms? no, no, no, woah. Bingo.
Four armed guards? Where did they comes from? They'd said I'd be alone on this floor.
Glad their here still. Man, has that guy ever lost it. Just from that patient rolling by?
Oh, Great! .. Bet this is another religious fanatic. Yeah, look at him, he's a mess. He's going to bust out into hell and brimstone any minute now about a soldier getting some metal in her to walk again or whatever.
Ignorant prick. Yeah, cybernetics weird us soldier out, too. But for heaven's sake, preach to your choir, not to us.
He's ... calling her name.
Good thing you didn't open your fat mouth for once, Luc. Talk about being an ignorant prick.
No wonder he's so distraught, but... I've never seen a man cry like that for someone who was still alive. Those two guards seem to have him pretty well secured in his room. Looks like two more inside. He looks weak anyhow. Just how long has he been there brooding over her in there?
Let's see, note, note, signiture, guard posted, note, note, here.
Two weeks.
Room Occupant Name: title title Officer-something title title Peacecraft.
Peacecraft... Sanc Kingdom Peacecraft? Small galaxy. Gotta be, only royalty would think up a title that long. Didn't know we flew royal types to remote base hospitals just to screech and threaten people.
Yes I can smile on duty. Hey, at least the only royalty in these parts is whining about a loved one and not about raising taxes. Guess they aren't all inhuman after all.
He... looks so familiar, though.
Probably seen him on the vidcomm somewhere. Bet no one's seen him looking that bad, though. Maybe I should get a pic and sell it to the tabloids.
Back in your cage, evil Luc. Not like they'd have trouble figuring out who took it from this oh-so-crowded empty hallway.
Groan.
Ok, curiousity killed the Leo. Blah Blah, I know. But it's eating me alive. I have to know what's the deal with that woman. I've seen mobile suit telemetry reads that didn't require that many wires.
Let's see, where did she go? Elevator stopped on floor four. On its way back up. I'll just slip down there and look around real quick.
Floor Four, Operating Room Floor.
Stop shivering, Luc. No one's going to believe I'm a capable soldier on duty here if I'm sicker looking than the patients.
There she is.
Wow.
Five, Six, Seven... Ten... Fourteen attendants for one surgery?
Oh, ok. They have someone else there, too. No wonder.
Wow, she's beautiful. Hey Nurses, while you're at it, could you give some of her bust to the wired up girl? There's enough there for two easy, and that cyborg chick could use a boost in self confidence when this whole mess it over. Heh.
Oops, shouldn't be talking in OR, should I.
Must be some serious drugs in the air in here. I'm feeling woozy just being here. Guess that's what those silly little mask things are for.
I guess wounds sympathize. Just looking at that poor cyborg girl is making my back hurt worser.
Worser, listen to you.
So sleepy. Glad you have those masky thingies, Doc. Wouldn't want you falling asleep or anything.
Ok, so why was I here?
Oh yeah, let's look at the print outs here.
Medical stuff, I bet I could pilot a Tragos with just a tech manual, but can't make jack out of this medical jargon.
Guess we'll just have a looksie at the patients here...
On table A we have a fine specimen of Cyborgius Screwedus, average height cute athletic type wired up like a cricket in a spider's web.
Table B, seems we have here Blondicus Beautimus. No surface injuries visible. Here we see a classic example of their tendencies towards huge chests they use to lure in helpless prey. Shorter than Cyborgius, but far more deadly. This fine specimen is also bearing the blue tribal markings on her mid to lower torso of the... um.. their something..
What are all those blue marks anyhow? Bet they keep the OR off limits so no one will see them doing weird black magic rituals and stuff. Heh.
For goodness sake, Focus Luc. When did I get so silly? This is important stuff here.
Definitely some kind of blueprint. Those dotted lines there are for incision marks. Those marks there must be measurements. Those...
Ok, surgical map. Now I get it. Yeah, that makes sense. Might as well get all that info mapped out in big blue letters so they won't muck it up later. So now that nurse there reads them off while the one over here draws the schematics on the wired patient..
Man, that marker tickles.
-
Oh My God...
-o-O-o-