"Noelle please wake up…please…" Java cried. This was her daughter and to see her dying? No, she could not take any of that. Her temper rose quickly with anger and fear, her hands shook. "Get her to a hospital dammit!" she barked to those next to her.
"Java calm down, I got her." Jay said. He effortlessly scooped up Noelle's limp body and began walking out of the building. As soon as they were out, he began in the direction of the Mallrats.
"Where are you taking her?" Java asked.
"To the hospital," Jay sighed calmly as he turned around to go the other direction, "at base." He knew that neither one of the two, Java nor Byte, would approve of the care given by the virts. "May as well give up the fight,"he thought.
"Good." She pressed on her headset. "I need some people out in the hospital now! We got a Techno down! Move, move, move!" Her voice quivered as she spoke.
Within a few minutes, they were in a different sector where the medical base of the Technos stood. It was located in an old hospital, now restored and fully equipped with the necessities any other doctor or surgeon would need. It also contained new state of the art facilities, such as a new machine that sped up the ossification process of bones. This helped greatly if any one of their people had broken a bone and needed accelerated healing.
Technos were already outside with a stretcher upon their arrival. Jay put her on the stretcher gently then stepped back to let the medics do their work. He watched as the white sheets slowly turned into a deep red. From this, he began to fear for Byte's life. But he had to remain strong. He felt the obligation to.
Jay watched the medics wheel her away. "She'll be fine," he whispered to Java as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"It's my fault, Jay. If I had stuck by her side, none of this would've happened. That should be me over there! Not her!" She buried her head in his shoulders as she cried.
Jay glanced down at her then took her by the shoulders. There was no way she could be blaming herself for such an unfortunate incident. He was in disbelief. Of all people, he thought Java would be the rock for everybody else since she usually was to Siva. But this situation she was different. This time she was the one needing help and Jay would be the one to help her. "Java, none of this is your fault. There's nothing that could've been done to prevent this," he said sternly. He sighed softly then enveloped her into a tight hug. "Don't blame yourself, okay?"
"Kay," she nodded. After a few moments, she composed herself enough and by enough, just to get herself to stop crying. She walked back to where the medics wheeled Byte away and followed them in. She stood inside the room, off to the side as they began work.
"We got to stop this bleeding!" one of them yelled as they applied pressure to her wound. Another medic brought out other supplies needed while another tore off Byte's shirt. The stab wound wasn't the only thing on her torso. Her chest was covered by a large purple bruise, her back was scraped, and the opposite side of the stab wound laid a small shard of glass which they were quick to remove. One after another, they found several injuries, several lacerations on the girl's body. The bustling only brought more confusion to Java. Then there was Byte, half clothed.
Her eyes opened slowly, only to find a horrified Java staring back. She tried to get up but the medics only pushed her back down. Her whole body trembled. Once she was back lying down, she mouthed something. "Cold…it's…cold," she mouthed and Java saw it.
"Noelle…" Java simply said as she tried to fight back the tears.
Byte heaved a shaky breath and her eyes shut again. Suddenly, all in the room heard a prolonged beep. "She's flat-lining!" a medic yelled. "Get me the defibrillator…we're gonna have to shock her," he muttered.
One of the assisting medics approached Java carefully. "Commander," he warned.
Java shook her head. "No! I'm staying right here!" she yelled. She then watched them put the paddles against her daughter's helpless body and shock her. Still, she flat-lined and everyone around her still remained determined to save the lieutenant. They tried again but Java couldn't handle it. She stormed out of the room and suddenly broke into tears. "This can't be happening," she said to herself. For once in her life she was powerless.
"Why aren't they trying harder? Where was Max when all of this happened? Where's Jay? Okay, he's right behind me. Where's Mega? He's somewhere in the hospital…at least he's here. Siva? Oh what a cow, she's probably with Lex. Ram! Oh shit. Alright, Ved's there…it's okay. What do I do? What do I do? What can I do?" Even though several thoughts raced through her head. she dared not to think of the question of whether or not Noelle would make it.
Jay neared Java after seeing her break down once again. He approached her bravely then held her in his arms. "It's gonna be okay," he whispered into her ear.
Max suddenly burst into the hospital, his blue eyes helplessly searching for Byte. He ran over to a window and finally saw the sight. His eyes watered while he breathed deeply out of anger.
Mega moved quickly toward him and grabbed a hold of his arm right before Max was about to strike the wall. "Stop, Max!" he yelled.
Max huffed then shook his head. "I should have been there," he muttered.
Java glared at him. "Would have, could have, should have," she growled. She gently pulled away from Jay and approached Max like a hungry wolf. "If you would have been there, she could have been safe and should have been back at base instead of this hell hole!" she barked.
"Yeah? Well what about you? Weren't you there before this happened?" Max asked defensively.
"Oh don't you dare…" Java gritted her teeth. She clenched her fists, ready to give him a piece of her mind.
Jay grabbed her by the arm and gently pulled her back. "Java…Max…this isn't helping at all. Cool it!"
"I want him out of here," Java said a bit more calmly now.
"She's my girlfriend, I can stay here if I want," Max replied.
She crossed her arms and looked scornfully at him. "Yeah? Well she's my daughter. So why don't you get lost?"
Max stared at her then looked up at Jay. He sighed angrily for he knew that Java had a point and with Jay and Mega present, he felt that he served no purpose to them. They didn't need his sympathy; instead they just needed him to leave. He turned around and stormed out of the hospital.
Java sighed deeply as she bravely entered the room once again. She stared down at the wounded Techno, her wounded Techno daughter. "Noelle, don't give up on me. Don't you dare." Java spoke with anger; anger at herself and those around her for their negligence. She didn't want to think of what life would be like without her baby. Yes, Noelle was still her baby. In her mind, Noelle was still four years old packed with large amounts of temper and intellect.
Her brown eyes glanced over to the monitors which then indicated her heartbeat. It was weak, but hey at least it was still beating. She hoped that the medics wouldn't have to use the paddles again in case her heart stopped again.
"Thank god she's okay," she heard someone say from the door way. It was Siva's voice. She could tell it was hers by the higher pitch, and the way she spoke so gracefully.
Java didn't look back at her sister. Instead, she kept a vigilant watch over Noelle. "Where've you been?" she asked.
"Working with Ram," Siva replied.
This came as a surprise to Java. She thought that Siva would rather gnaw her own arm off than work alongside that creep of a husband. "No Lex today?"
Siva shook her head before moving towards Byte. It was weird seeing her this way. Usually the kid was so strong yet here she was, unconscious with her heart just barely beating. She shot a glance over at Java. She had never seen her so scared in her life. Even the time when Ram had fallen seriously ill she seemed so calm compared to this. Then again, Ram wasn't her kid. She could only imagine what her sister was going through and no one else around her could help her. Mega wasn't close enough to her; Jay…maybe; and now herself, Siva, maybe not. She and Java drifted away ever since Lex came into the picture. She regretted some of it but in the end, she knew Java was thinking the same thing as she was – that in the end, they were sisters and nothing could ever change that. "Java, if there's anything I could do-"
"She ain't dead, Siva," Java said quietly. At that moment, tensions rose. Java was already upset and Siva's unnecessary comment just made matters worse…well to Java it did. After knowing her for her whole life, she knew that when it came to Java's emotional side: when it rained it poured. And when it was pouring rain, Siva liked staying dry.
"Thanks anyway, Siv." The two sisters recognized that voice, that slightly raspy but now weak voice. They both looked over at Byte who barely opened her eyes.
Siva looked down at the young girl with a slight smile on her face. She was amused at the fact that no matter how bad conditions were, the kid always seemed to make some kind of sarcastic remark. Like mother like daughter. How cute.
Java rushed over to Byte's side. "Noelle, what's up…how are you feeling?"
Byte sighed then gave her that infamous smirk she inherited…well sort of. She showed weakness and pain behind the smirk instead of the usual confidence and the intimidating demeanor it exuded. "Hurting and tired," she simply replied.
"Alright, I can kinda fix that. How about some dope?" Java asked.
"You're dealing drugs to me? Really?" Byte asked, startled at her mother's question. She sighed softly then closed her eyes once more.
"No…pain killers, kid." Java chuckled. It was good to see that the kid was awake but she knew that she had to rest up. She turned away for a moment to get a medic until she heard a prolonged beep. She looked back at Noelle then the monitor to find that her heart was barely beating. It dipped down to twenty-seven beats per minute. Frantic, she grabbed a medic and dragged him into the room. "What's wrong with her?" she asked.
"Her heart isn't pumping the proper amount of blood needed. She's gonna have to get a blood transfusion. I don't know why they didn't administer one before but she needs one ASAP. But we don't have any blood. I don't suppose you know her blood type…" After receiving Java's "no", he took a large syringe and inserted it into Byte's left arm. Blood barely filled up the tube so the medic had to work with what he had. He deposited the contents into several tubes and awaited the results. "She is AB negative. We need someone that matches her blood type exactly. Hers is probably the rarest out there."
Java shrugged and just as she did that, the doctor pulled out a fresh syringe. "Oh no, no no, I don't think we have the same type anyway."
Siva approached the two with a slight smile on her face. "She's afraid of needles," she whispered to the medic.
"I am not afraid of needles, Siva. I simply fear the- YOU MOTHER! "She yelped as the doctor ambushed her arm with the syringe.
He drew a tube full of blood and once he was done, he placed gauze over the wound then taped it in place. He then went into another room and did the same process all over again. "You're B positive," he said as he walked back into the room. "We need someone here to do a direct transfusion."
At that moment, Jay walked in. "What's going on?" he asked curiously. After receiving a quick explanation from Java, he smiled slightly. "Alright check me," he said. After a moment, the medic drew some blood from Jay. The result was that he was O negative, the universal blood donor.
Java grabbed him by the arm and dragged him over to the medic, "He's a match! Let's do it!"
"Okay, we're gonna have to have the General lay three feet above the Lieutenant. So let's move the Lieutenant to the floor and the General to the bed. Nurses, go get towels to lay on the floor," the medic said. Within seconds, the towels on the floor were ready. Now all they had to do was get Byte there.
Jay inched toward the bed and slid his hands under her. "I hope I'm not hurting her," he said quietly.
"She's out cold. I don't think she'd be feeling anything," the nurse explained.
He then lifted the girl off the bed and gently laid her down on top of the towels. After doing so, Jay hopped onto the bed while the medic then came with a tube with a needle on each end and a clamp on one end. He then inserted one end into Jay's vein and the other into Byte's. Then he released the clamp. All of them watched and hoped that Byte would make it through the night because of the transfusion. After ten minutes the medic took out the needles from both Jay's arm and Byte's arm. After wrapping them up, Jay did the honor of moving the girl back to her bed. Java sat back in a nearby chair while Siva and Mega went back to headquarters to continue work.
Of course by this time, Jay was in no condition to get back to work. He felt weak at the knees and there were two explanations for it. One: the blood transfusion and Two: Java's presence. He moved over to a chair and sat down in it after a bit of a struggle to get to it. "Now we wait," he muttered.
"My near and dear friends, I have decided that we need a second base. No, kids this ain't baseball, I'm talking about a second home. Take, if you will, a sort of vacation home. But first, we need to scout this area." Ram pointed over to a monitor where a map of some secluded area was shown. "I wish to send my troops to this area in three months. I need pilots, battalion officers, whatever is needed to take hold of this area. I have been informed that there is currently a tribe residing in this area, so phasers will be necessary as well as other weapons." Ram smiled slightly then folded his hands together. "My wife, Siver will read off the names of those who will be heading out there in those three months."
Siva held the paper up and began reading the names off slowly. When she reached the thirteenth person, she hesitated slightly. "Cadet Max," she said then continued.
Max sighed slightly and remained calm about it, especially since he was in front of Ram. "What a selfish jerk. We don't need another damn base, we're perfectly fine here. All he'll do is sit on his ass and press buttons all while we fight for a worthless piece of land. I've got a girl here and I don't want to leave her. I mean, what if something happens to her and I'm not there to…protect her? It already happened once, I can't let it happen again. Her family's here though, so I can count on them to watch over her for me." He glanced over at Siva once she was finished reading off the names. She shot a look to the door then to him as a way to get him out of the room. Max followed after her along with two guards. After reaching the doorway, the guards left and now Siva and Max were alone. "Look, Siva…I don't know how to say this but I need to ask a favor."
Siva gestured for him to follow her. "Walk and talk, kid." Once they started their walk along the halls, she turned to him. "What is it?" she asked.
He sighed, hesitant to ask her the favor. It had to be done though, what's he got to lose? "I was wondering if you could take me off that list. I just don't want to head out there, especially with Byte in her condition."
She smiled slightly as she glanced up at him. "Man, I wonder how he keeps his hair so nice. Just the way a few strands fall over his eyes and that nice volume…and those killer green eyes…wow. He reminds me of someone though…a virt. Who is it?" Siva finally came to a stop in front of her room. "You're such a good boyfriend," she teased. "But I can't do that kid, sorry. Ram already knows that you and Byte are dating and that she and I are close. Now if you magically disappear off that list you're not only putting your neck on the line but mine and Byte's as well," Siva explained. "I think his name was something like Prayer…wait no that's not right. I think I got it-"
Max looked down at Siva. By this time she shook her head to herself. "You okay, Siva?"
"Bray!" she quipped. She then noticed the odd look from Max then smiled slightly, "Sorry. Just yeah, can't do it. Just think of it this way, once you come back there'll be a promotion for you."
He nodded then patted her on the shoulder lightly. "Thanks anyway," he muttered then went on his way. He was disappointed but Siva did have a point. It would be a selfish thing to do if he made her take his name off the list, knowing that her family was already behind her and willing to help.