DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MASS EFFECT ONLY MY SELF AND THE PLOT OF THIS FIC...I AM BROKE PEOPLE!
A/n: Thank you all for reading this it means the world to me. And thank you to my awesome beta for giving me a hand in my grammar issues. And to all you folks out there who had left me encouragement to continue I thank you all for that it helps me a lot. So please enjoy this next chapter and remember no FLAMES, LORE MONGERS AND BASHINGS PLEASE! Thanks.
Mass Effect The Immortal Series pt 1: Flight of the Normandy
Chapter 10: What was hidden
It took them a while to safely transport Martha back to the medical bay. Her body was covered in burns and lacerations. The only thing keeping her alive was the alien device on her left arm. The doctors immediately went to work removing the rest of the hazmat suit that was melted to her skin. As they were doing so, Dr. Shenoy was amazed at the alien tech as it glowed - keeping Martha alive while fighting off monsters was amazing. The alien device had a blade protruding from it, glowing orange and humming with anticipation, like a lightsaber from a Star Wars movie.
Martha started to cough while they were operating; the sound of gurgling told the doctors that there was fluid in her lungs. Acting quickly, they managed to attach tubes and needles into her sides, penetrating her lungs and allowing fluid to drain while at the same time allowing her to breathe. It was tricky work as they managed to drain five liters of fluid from her lungs and place cooling ointments on her burns. The only reason they knew she was still alive was because the alien device served as a monitor, showing all the life signs from brainwaves to heartbeat. The doctors, of course, placed their own devices on her to monitor her just in case. Her hair was gone as well as all the skin on her face.
In total she was a total mess, and it was nothing short of a miracle that she was alive at all.
Observing her from the sides was Hilary, who watched the whole procedure with Dr. Alenkov. With what little equipment that they had, they worked on Martha till the early hours of the morning. With the worry on the ship, no one had gotten any sleep. They did not want another death to fill their consciousness. When it was over and they managed to do all they could, Martha was left in the makeshift I.C.U. unit of the medical wing. Dr. Kimber and Dr. Jackson were already there, though their injuries were not as life-threatening.
When the doctors left Hilary felt tears in her eyes as she watched Martha. Her breathing was very shallow and very ragged as if she has trouble breathing. Machines and tubes were going in and out of her mouth, helping her to breathe as monitors recorded her progress. It was heartbreaking to see her friend like this. As she watched her friend struggle to breathe, she felt an arm go around her shoulder. She recognized Ichigo as he placed a kiss on her brow, worry etched into his voice.
"You need to rest," he said.
"I know but….I feel as if something would happen if I leave," Hilary said, her voice hitched with pain, and her eyes were watery, on the verge of tears. It was a sad time for them all.
"Get some rest Dr. Ballard, I will remain here to keep watch," Dr. Alenkov said from the other side. Hilary said her thanks as she reluctantly let Ichigo guide her away towards their bedroom. Alenkov watched them go before turning back towards Martha: her body was covered in bandages with barely any breath coming in and out of her. Tubes came out of her nose, mouth and extremities. The chill of the deep ocean did not help at all as Alenkov shuddered at what had happened to her.
"Dr. Alenkov?" a soft voice said.
She turned towards the voice - it was one of the medics. He was an Arab named Amr Amari, and he was the head medic in this station. His white coat and blue medical garment made him stand out from the other medical staff. He wore his stethoscope around his neck, like a classic doctor from media, and a digital tablet in his hand. He was a typical doctor, one you would find in a hospital - not here, beneath the surface of the ocean.
"How is she?" Alenkov asked.
Dr. Amari sighed, "Not good: she suffered many third-degree burns and deep lacerations from where she was attacked. We had to pump out five to six liters of fluid in order for her to breathe. She's flat-lined ten times within the last five hours. If it wasn't for the alien device, then she would surely be dead" he said, looking at the bed.
The other two beds in the room had the other two patients safely tucked in and fast asleep. Martha was the only one on major life support. The sound of the medical equipment made the background noise almost deafening to some. But the coral rock has thankfully absorbed most of the sound that the constant beeping normally would have carried had it been in an actual hospital on the surface. Dr. Alenkov looked at the bed where Martha laid in, with tubes going in and out of her charred body. The alien device was glowing once again, adding to the monitors. Thankfully, however it was silent.
"If she survives, she will not be the same," Alenkov said.
"That is if she survives the night. We tried our best, but we are not a fully staffed trauma hospital. We have the equipment for an emergency, but not enough in the long run. It would be a miracle if she survives this, and even then, she probably will still be in a coma." Amari was a realist, he wanted to make sure that the Doctor knows this and would make the appropriate phone calls. Alenkov stared at him for a bit, trying to see deceit or any sort of betrayal. But she had to stop herself from going for the gun that didn't exist on her side. Taking a deep breath Alenkov listened to the constant beeping of the life support systems. She could hear Martha struggling to breathe with the tubes going into her mouth. Reluctantly, she had to agree with Dr. Amari.
"I will inform her family of what is going on," she said sadly, feeling the wetness of tears starting to form as she turned away from the hospital bed and walked away.
Amari looked towards the bed that contained the burn victim dying on the bed. He noticed that her brain waves were flat with minimum activity. That meant she was either brain dead or in heavy coma. The alien device was nowhere to be seen. After the operation, it ceased to function. To Dr. Amari, that was not a good sign, which meant that Martha could die likely within the next few hours. Sighing, he checked her vitals once more before closing the privacy curtains around the bed.
DR ALENKOV'S OFFICE
Alenkov was at her desk, typing an email away to all of Martha's family, informing them of the situation and the inevitable. Tears stung her eyes as she typed away. It hurts when she has to fill letters to family members of her crew. As she typed, she read what she wrote, making sure her grammar was correct before sending the e-mail. When she did so, Alenkov gave a sad sigh; the feeling of hopelessness came to her as she listened to the faint sounds of the ocean just outside the hull. The eerie silence of the dark abyss beyond the ship was in a way a comfort and an entrapping entity to Dr. Alenkov. She found it claustrophobic at times, but most times, an oasis from life beyond the depths.
Today, however, it leaned more towards hopelessness as she read through her e-mails. The buoy that relays communications from beyond the trench was still working. However, she didn't not know when the generators on the alien vessel were going to go out. The gas that ran the generators was starting to get low and people were rationing power. There was no sunlight to power the solar panels, and so, they had to rely on old-fashioned generators. As she read her latest e-mail, dread filled her being.
The substitute ship that was supposed to arrive with food and water for the crew found itself to be ill-equipped to deal with the door onto the vessel. The people who tried to help did not realize that, to get onto the alien vessel, they needed specially-made submersibles... ones that only the Ocean Odyssey provided. Alternate vessels can be made, but it would take too long and the costs are in the billions. No nation was willing to spend that much for a small group of people. Alenkov placed her head in her hands and wept.
Ivan, I wish you were here with me, she thought, thinking of her husband, who was out in space, while she was here, deep beneath the ocean. Looking to the side, she could make out the photo of her, her husband and three children, all of them grown-up and with families of their own. She looked to the list on her tablet, which laid on the desk. She did not want to look at it further, but as mission leader, it was her job to do so. Taking up the tablet again, she read through the lists of problems that the crew was now facing.
Food was starting to run dangerously low, along with fresh clean water, and the air had become very stale. The air scrubbers died, leaving them at times out of breath and gasping. Those with asthma were suffering the most, and after the explosion in the E.Z.C., many governments were considering pulling out. If they did, the people here were doomed to die without seeing the sun once more.
Alenkov had been on the phones and on the vid-cams for hours, assuring the governments that the core was no longer a danger and that they were safe. But governments will be governments, and they will cower under pressure. The only other news was Aaron's reports, for they have turned out to be more positive, along with her contact in the Science Division, back in the United States. Alenkov was happy to note that the people onshore were willing to donate money to come up with the funds to help them in their time of need. Humanitarian efforts were on the way to help her people as best they could. They were trying to set up a fund to build a submersible based off the designs that already were on the Deep Sea Exploration website. If they could pull it off, then it would help her and her crew.
But it would take time, and time was what they didn't have. Every few hours, Alenkov was looking over food rations and water supplies. Already, they were dangerously low, and without the air scrubbers, it was difficult to breathe. Dr. Amari and Dr. Shenoy both told her that CO2 levels were getting dangerously high, and without any source of oxygen soon, they'd be as good as dead.
The science divisions report also turned out to be fruitful, in the regards that her friends in Washington had discovered attempts to erase the data on the bodies found on the alien ship. Alenkov was pissed, but her friends has managed to recover just enough data to accuse Alexandria of treason. That alone would put her away for life, or possibly put her to death. But because their lives were in danger, they had hidden the files and sent copies of them in packets to Alenkov. The people in question had forwarded the information to Interpol, and Interpol was investigating Alexandria Wilcox for treason, as well as the murders of many multinational people. Many countries were looking for evidence on the bodies of the missing people. And so far, her contacts in Washington had done a fantastic job of uncovering the evidence. Now, it was a matter of dealing with the more immediate issues.
Looking at her watch Alenkov realized that is was rather late. It was past 1a.m. A yawn started to form as she rubbed the latest crick out of her neck. Getting up, she walked to where her coffee would normally be hidden. She cursed when she realized that the coffee had run out two weeks ago. Giving up, she started making her way to the cot on the side of the wall. Exhaustion creeped in as she stripped down to her underclothes and curled up in her thermal blanket. Her eyes closed as she became dead to the world even as voices filled the hallways.
THE HALLWAYS OF THE SHIP
Hilary, Ichigo, a young man in his early twenties named David, a woman also in her early twenties named Jessica, and a big burly man named Lucas, sat in the meeting room normally reserved for Dr. Zenger. Dr. Zenger had currently gone to bed, so it was the only place where they could have enough privacy to talk. Though Hilary knew Ichigo because of their relationship, she did not know the other three so well. But they, like Ichigo, were part of the subject group that was brought onboard to help activate and study alien technology.
On the table in front of them lay Martha's sketchbooks. They were spread out and in order from oldest to newest, with the latest entry being at the front. All five of them looked through each and every one of them carefully. Martha had thankfully dated them, from when she first started getting them to now, with other drawings in-between, such as sketches of other scientists and test subjects. She even had one of Alexandria Wilcox - though the blood stains on the side said a story they did not want to discuss.
"I barely remember that part where we see the terminal. I just remember going to this one place, and then I wake up," Lucas said as he scoured through one of the books.
"Why are we looking through these, when we should be focusing on survival?" asked David, who placed his book down, feeling bored.
"I agree. Why are we looking through these?" asked Lucas.
"Because Martha was on to something!" said Hilary, flabbergast.
"What would you know? You are a Marine Biologist not a detective!" said Jessica, trying to put up an argument.
"I agree with Jessica why are we looking through someone else's things? They are Martha's private property, not something we can use for survival. I mean, what do pictures of nothing have to do with our situation?" asked Lucas.
"It has EVERYTHING to do with our situation Lucas. Martha was here for what? Nearly four months? Almost five months, without going to the surface. That is enough to drive anyone insane! I mean, look at the other subjects, even Ichigo gets to go to the surface every month for a few days. Martha was never offered the chance. Why? I don't know, but if this helps our situation, then we can help her and maybe, just maybe, find a way to get off this sci-fi shit hole and go home!" Hilary said.
"We all would like to go home, but without the Ocean Odyssey it's impossible!" Jessica said.
"The thing I don't get is, why take that ship, when they can just use the submersibles to get down here and kill us all?" asked David.
"I have to agree why not kill us all? I mean, they have the means to do so, so why not?" asked Lucas.
"They are not trained to pilot the subs. And even if they convinced the others to do so, the chances of them just sabotaging the sub just to protect us is too much of a risk. Besides, if that doesn't kill them, then the ocean pressure would. I mean, look at where we are! We are at the bottom of the deepest part of the fuckin' ocean. One wrong move and we are dead! So why take such a risk, when you can just go for easier prey like the Odyssey, which has all the tech onboard. Not to mention, that with the subs, they can raid other ships for less effort than it would for them to get down here. It is just not worth it," said Jessica.
"They want to starve us out then when we are dead come in and pick up the pieces," David said while nodding in agreement to Jessica.
"Alright guys we need to focus," Ichigo interrupted.
"Ichigo's right; speculating on why the pirates stole the Odyssey isn't going to help us. We need to focus on finding out what Martha's drawings mean. I mean, if she was drawing her dreams in the journals that Dr. Zenger gave us, then they are the clues to help us solve this riddle. I mean, it is like those weird movies, where the main protagonist has, like, weird visions or something about aliens. So maybe we are experiencing the same thing, only Martha has it at a higher degree." Lucas said.
"I agree with you there, Luke; Martha has one of the highest amounts of element zero in her bloodstream, so maybe that could be a factor," said David.
The others had to agree and started once again to pour into the sketch books to see what they got. Looking at the images from the first to the latest one they could see where things are going with the drawings.
OCEAN ODYSSEY
Enrique watched the guards change shifts, and it was starting to get bothersome. The crew members of the ship had been given their rations of food and tensions were still high among the people who are with him. He and the other submersible pilots had just been separated from the main group, and were now being kept in the engineering room just off from the main crew quarters. The captain and his officers were kept in his cabin while the rest of the research crew was kept in the mess hall. Years living off the streets of Guatemala had taught Enrique to recognize shady behavior when he saw it. He also recognized military training in most of the guards with them. The men carried themselves as ex-guerrilla fighters and marines, so that meant that these pirates were no strangers to combat.
Enrique listened as they conversed among themselves and from the limited knowledge of the language these men are speaking he recognized a few words. Things such as 'buyer' and 'Alien.' Are they talking about the alien tech?
"Micheal! Micheal!" Enrique said nudging his other companion. Micheal Cameron woke with a start, jerking awake as he looked around.
"What is it?" he asked Enrique.
"I don't understand Cambodian very well, do you?" he asked the film maker.
Micheal Cameron is a photographer and film maker, but he is also one of the submarine pilots. So when he listened in to the conversation his eyes grew wide before he turned to Enrique.
"We are being sold to someone in the Philipines!" he said to him.
"What?" Enrique said in shock.
"Someone hired these men to capture us and are paying good money to bring us all in alive. Whoever it is must want what we got badly, and if they want us alive, that could only mean that they want the research as well as the alien tech," Micheal said to Enrique.
"Then we must pray to the Almighty that someone would save us," he replied back to Micheal.
The guards ignored them as they whispered to themselves.
USS ALASKA
With their allies gathering, the U.S.S. Alaska and her fleet, along with the fleet from the Japanese and Chinese Navies, were closing in on the Ocean Odyssey. The commanders of all the vessels read the satellite reports from their various spy networks. The Ocean Odyssey was not traveling alone, but was escorted by three other pirate ships, all of them heavily armed and fortified with modified weapons and armor on their ships. That means that these boys are not your typical pirates.
There was a total of eight ships with the Alaska to make a small patrol fleet, the Alaska being the biggest battleship and the command center. America was not going to use the big guns on this one. It was supposed to be a routine catch and bag. But when the Alaska reported that the ship had three heavily-armed escorts, intelligence went to work on the pirates. When the reports came back, however, was when four more ships joined in from their base in Okinawa. They were supposed to arrive along with the Japanese Defense Fleet and the Chinese Naval Fleet. The commander of the Alaska hoped that they would have brought bigger guns. But it seemed that it is unlikely they would get more than four more ships. If things are not settled soon, things were going to get a lot more dodgy from here on out.
CHALLENGER DEEP
The monitors attached to Martha's body went silent hours ago and the alien device had not made another appearance. The faint glow on her left arm was nowhere to be seen, and it seemed as if there was no life at all in the burned body. Dr. Amari sighed as he placed the blanket over Martha's body, tears filling his eyes as another life was taken before he could save it.
As the doctor turned down the lights, he felt something wet come from his eyes. He hated every life lost under his care. He has been through the worst in his home near the border to Iraq, and saw the horrors of war. He has seen victims like this, but none has touched him more than the woman who gave her life to save others. She willingly gave her life to protect those she barely knew. He walked out from the lab wanting a stiff drink and to wash his hands in the last of the sterilizer that he had with him.
If he had stayed he would have noticed that the alien device sprung to life again. The device has a last resort to give in order to save the life of its host. In its reserves was a special gelatin that is only used for emergencies, and at this moment, when the victim's body has completely shut down, it began to release that gel. Blue fluids also pumped into the body and started its cycle of healing, bringing back the blood and started the heart pumping again.
At the sound of beeping, Dr. Amari and Dr. Shenoy rushed into the med bay just as they saw the light from the device. Martha's body also started to glow as her brain activity started going off the charts. Her heart rate and her breathing began to accelerate, making every instrument and wire in her start to raise alarms. The alarms were so loud that they woke up the entire medical ward, and both Dr. Jackson and Dr. Kimber from their slumber.
"What the hell is going on?" Dr. Kimber called out grumpily from where she was sleeping in the far corner.
Both doctors quickly went towards Martha's bed, seeing, for the first time, the monitoring devices that were placed on her start to heat up. Sparks were seen from the Alien Device as electrical currents went directly into Martha's body from the device. Heavy coughing could be heard as Martha gasped for air while her eyes remained shut. Both of them were baffled with Dr. Shenoy also screaming, "Holy Shit!" from the sides.
This also alerted the guards at the entrance of the medical area as they quickly rushed in with guns ready.
"What is going on here?" one asked. Both doctors looked up in surprise at the guns pointed at them and at Martha. Just as they did, a clear gelatinous substance started oozing from the device onto Martha's body and even made its way up her arms.
"Someone get Doctor Alenkov NOW!" Amari said.
DR. ZENGER'S OFFICE
"We have been searching these images for hours and still, we have not found anything!" Complained Jessica as she threw down a book.
For the past three hours, the group had searched through all of Martha's books - even the printouts from her computer, and still they had found nothing. They were tired and grumpy. Old journals from other patients had yielded no results, either, and the sleep that they did get was still the same.
The others have not been able to decipher any of their dreams and it was starting to turn into a useless barrage.
"You know, what if we are thinking this all wrong?" said Lucas, when the group met for their breakfast ration.
"What are you talking about?" asked David.
"I was thinking when I looked at the drawings with the terminal - you know, the one where it says, 'say my name,' I think the ship is trying to tell us something," he said.
"We already figured that out already, dork, you don't have to say the obvious," Jessica said.
"You guys I think he is right?" Ichigo spoke up.
"About what?" asked Hilary
"About the whole 'ship is trying to tell us something' I think these dreams are the ship's way of telling us something. I think we need to find the answer to all this somehow, some way," Ichigo said.
"Like how? We tried everything, and still there is no way we can solve it. We tried hypnosis, dreaming, even mild sedatives, and nothing works," Jessica said and she was looking at one particular picture.
"Let me see that?" Hilary asked, and Jessica handed Hilary the sketchbook that was dated to just before they had received word that Martha had died of her wounds in the medical ward.
It was the usual sketch, this time very clear about what was happening in the dream. Again, they found Martha's shadow looking at the computer, but the angle was different. Instead of looking down a long tunnel, it was looking behind her. That thing behind her was nothing but a white blur against a rather gray background. The structure was the same, but the white blur looked to be words of some sort.
"Have you guys noticed this in your dreams?" she asked.
"I sort of did but ignored it, I thought it had something to do with the lighting of the room," Lucas said.
"I have been noticing the dreams becoming more tense lately; more lively, with individuals running around, like we were under attack. Has that happened to you guys?" David said.
They all looked at the image: it was some sort of large word on the walls. It was something that they could not pass up. Whatever it was, they knew that the blur was something important. Maybe a way of finally activating the ship.
"We need to find Dr. Zenger and Dr. Alenkov immediately," Hilary said.
MEDICAL BAY
Dr. Alenkov along with Dr. Zenger watched as the alien device finished coating Martha's body in a clear gel-like substance and injected her with some sort of blue liquid. The combination of both seem to act as some sort of body rejuvenator. She and Dr. Zenger were watching Martha's body begin to heal itself of all the burns and lacerations that had killed her. Dr. Amari began taking samples of her tissue and the gel surrounding her body. But when he returned to Dr. Alenkov, his results were astonishing.
"What have you found out?" Dr. Alenkov asked. Out of breath because of his excitement, Dr. Amari and Dr. Shenoy, who also joined them from the biological laboratory, was showing a smile on his face.
"The device is emitting a gelatinous substance around Martha's body like a mucus membrane. It is acting like some sort of first aid material. The gel itself is made from a sort of ambionic liquid that acts like a sort of protective coating. The blue liquid that was pumped into her is acting as a sort of stimulant, like what doctors in the E.R. would use to jump-start a patient's organs. Only, the stimulation is in the cells themselves and not the nervous system." Dr. Amari said, his eyes shown with a new found light as if he had found the holy grail in medical advancements.
"What about her mental capacity?" Dr. Zenger asked
"We don't know yet for sure, but with the amount of alpha and beta waves from her brain, I wouldn't know the full condition of her brain activity until she wakes. I can only imagine the medical advancements we would make with this new discovery!" Dr. Shenoy said to both Dr. Alenkov and Dr. Zenger.
"Remember, Shenoy, that is a human being first and foremost, not another lab rat for you to conduct your experiments on!" Dr. Amari interrupted glaring at Dr. Shenoy.
Dr. Shenoy looked down, ashamed as if chastised like a misbehaving child. Dr. Alenkov raised one eyebrow at the exchange between the Arabian and the Indian Doctors. Both were born in nearly the same region of the world, but unlike Dr. Amari, Dr. Shenoy tends to forget that his test subjects are also human. She sometimes has to wonder if he is one of the test subjects himself.
After listening to the banter between the two, Dr. Alenkov got back to business, "Dr. Amari, how long would it take for Martha to make a full recovery given her state of injury?"
"The healing process would probably take a few hours, give or take. But I would let her rest before we attempt to wake her, unless she wakes on her own," Amari replied.
"Good. Keep me informed of any changes in her condition. I will luckily not be sending any e-mails to her family about her funeral. And I don't need to arrange any funeral services. Good luck to you, doctors, and remember to keep me informed." With that, Dr. Alenkov, along with Dr. Zenger, left the medical wing.
KAILUA KONA HAWAII
Aaron was thanking the gods in heaven for their blessings! Martha is alive again, thanks to that alien device she accidentally put on. He read the letter from Dr. Alenkov about what had happened and he wanted to cry to whatever deity was out there. When he first heard of Martha's death, his heart stopped, and the world came shattering down on him. His already over-reactive brain thought the worst when the read the e-mail. When he informed his parents, they were in tears along with his nephew. Her family on Molokai was equally devastated and wanted to have funeral preparations ready for when her body was returned to them. Now, however, with this new e-mail about her resurrection, he felt as if he could fly to space himself and soar above the heavens. That was how happy he felt, along with Martha's family, when he wrote them the text message and a copy of the e-mail by Dr. Alenkov. Feeling as if he was on fire, Aaron got to work on his latest findings.
The latest information that he had gotten from one of his contacts with the federal government had mentioned that someone had sent Alenkov valuable information and is now in hiding. That part, he already knew. The part that alarmed him was the one about the woman who was in charge: Alexandria Wilcox
Apparently, his contacts told him, Wilcox is wanted for treason and is now on the run from authorities. Her own contacts made sure that no one knew where she went. But all hands are down as who is hunting her. F.B.I., U.S. Marshals, Interpol, C.I.A., K.G.B. Everyone was involved, which got Aaron whistling. Everyone was angry and they were not happy that their loved ones and national citizens were forced to serve such a cause without just warrant. The expedition was supposed to be voluntary, not involuntary, and the methods that Wilcox used to force people down there was equivalent to slavery. Aaron's thoughts ran to Dr. Alenkov and if she knew about it….probably to some extent, but not like she could do anything about it.
Still, he needed to forward this information to Dr. Alenkov immediately. Typing his e-mail and sending it off to her, Aaron quickly did a viral scan before shutting down his computer. His brain was going a million miles a minute at all the craziness that has been happening in the world. Getting up, he felt his stiff legs crack and his mind starting to slow down with relief at being able to finish what he was doing. He headed outside to feed his animals, before heading off to bed. He had been awake for nearly twenty four hours and now, he could finally rest, since he was off from work tonight. Placing his head on the pillows, he hoped Dr. Alenkov was still alive to receive his message.
DREAM SEQUENCE
Martha once again found herself on the alien ship. This time, she was waking in a strange room of some sort. The room itself was rather large and lavishly built; something she would expect from a five-star hotel.
Where am I?
The question reigned through her head as she looked around. She found herself staring at a fish tank full of fish. It was amazing to see such fish swimming around. She turned to find a glass case full of strange ships. She walked up to the models, and found them quite fascinating. As she looked in, her curiosity grew, as she had never seen ships like these before. They were shown in vivid detail. One even looks like a cross with a huge hole in the middle.
Martha placed her hand on the glass and saw her reflection in it. She could only stare at how shallow her skin had become and how thin her face is. She then turned around to see more of the room, only to find herself staring at a strange looking hamster-like creature.
Its large round eyes stared back at Martha with a very timid expression. Putting her finger to the glass that separated her from the animal, she saw it come close to her fingers before hiding in the small shelter built into the corner of its tank. Curious, Martha had never experienced this room before in her dream. Looking down at herself she found that she was wearing an ordinary pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Not her parka and sweat pants, like she normally would wear when exploring the labs. Feeling her face, she felt for her glasses. Finally noticing them on her, she could see the room with clarity. Now that she was able to see, she began to explore more of this strange room.
She turned around and saw the door that lead to the bathroom. She could see the toilet and the shower were quite open with no privacy curtains. This means that whoever occupies this room is the only occupant, and that the door is the only way in and out of the room. Though small, Martha did see that there was a small shelving for towels and toiletries lining the walls. Walking out, she could see the large luxurious bed once more and the casing off to the side. It was also the first time she noticed the desk and the strange devices mixed with some ordinary things she recognized. One such thing was a black case with a silver medal pinned to it. Meaning that, whoever owned this room must have been some sort of hero or major company owner.
The other thing she noticed was the wardrobe and the table near the bed. There was even a lounging couch wrapped around it for someone's private moments. There was even another desk with a helmet and a strange floating ball in the middle of the table. There were even pictures on it, that Martha did not recognize. Strange creatures filled the images; some were tall and others short. There were also folders and books on the table. The bed itself had a lamp on the bedside table next to it. Sheets that look to be of the finest quality and a wall full of drawers.
She walked over to the drawers and opened them up. Strange uniforms and clothes filled the drawers. The larger part of the wardrobe had a floating image of someone's bustline. It was all state of the art and luxurious to her….too luxurious.
Where the hell am I? Am I on some sort of luxury cruise-liner or private plane. What the fuck is going on? Martha thought to herself. Then she felt a stabbing pain in her skull, as if someone took an ice pick and shoved into through the top of her head. Images started flashing through her eyes as things became clear to her. It was an avalanche of memories flooding back into her. She fell to the floor, unable to hold back the pain as she whimpered and cried. When it was over, her memories of recent events suddenly and violently came back.
The element zero core, the monsters, Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Kimber.
Martha now knows where she is, This is the alien ship! Just….I can see it a lot more clearly now!
Fascinated, she looked around the room again, admiring the view with such clarity. When she returned to the desk near the front of the room, she found herself staring at a computer. It was the very same one that was in front of the large case. It was just like the one in the large room. Wow, shit, this must be some sort of communications terminals and these ships...their space ships! Martha thought. When she looked at the terminal again, it flashed in front of her and words started to appear.
It took some time before Martha could make out the words, but the familiar words on it became very clear. 'PASSWORD,' It said.
"I don't know the password!' Martha shouted, screaming at the top of her lungs.
The words changed as it scrolled across the screen, 'What is my name?' it asked.
"I don't know your name! I could probably come up with a hundred different names and none would have matched! I don't know how to find your name and I don't know how to get your name so don't give me that BULLSHIT!" now Martha was screaming at the computer.
She put her hands on either side of the screen, her mind giving in to an enormous headache as she stared at the holographic image. "Can you give me a clue or something, anything that would help me find your name? I mean, come on, I don't know where to start!" she said.
The computer screen went blank for a few seconds. Martha could only stare at the blank screen. It just vanished. The entire screen vanished! She stared in astonishment as it remained that way until it lit up once again. As if understanding her, words started to form on the screen.
'When East fought West during a time of war, when three kings rose from depression's ashes; one from the east, one from the north and one from the south, the north declared that he is God, the East declared that he is Emperor, and the South declared that he is King. The North killed the first race, the east killed the oyster, and the south killed democracy, on the sixth day of the sixth month of the fifth year of the fourth cycle, the West rose from the sea to fight the three kings. The West fought the East and the West became victorious. Where am I?' at that statement, the screen went blank, and Martha was left stunned.
That was something new; And yet it did not make sense at all.
END DREAM SEQUENCE
Suddenly Martha's eyes shot open and started to cough violently. Dr. Shenoy was there, immediately allowing Martha to bring up any fluids that were in her lungs. Pulling tubes out of her throat, both doctors let her heave out any fluid that has yet to leave her lungs. This continued for about a good ten minutes till there was nothing left but a woman gasping for air. She continued to choke and heave, leaving behind a bucket full of fluid. When she was done, she laid there like a fish gaping water through its gills; gasping for air and trying to breathe. It took about ten minutes before her lungs were satisfied, that everything was gone and that she could breathe normally once more.
Slowly, Martha reached for her now-bald head and held herself in her hands. A massive headache had formed from all the violent coughing that she had done. While this was going on, she could hear crashing items as things were being thrown about. Slowly opening one eye, she turned towards the source of the noise, and her eyes opened in astonishment.
Everything in the room was floating up in the air and was being thrown all over the place. Even beds that contained patients were thrown, and Martha's bed was the only one not being used as a sort of missile.
What the hell!
As if by magic, her concentration broke, and everything that was floating came crashing down HARD! The noise was so loud that Martha didn't hear anyone calling her name. In fact, the sound of the crash is what drew people who were nearby to the room. Dr. Shenoy was shouting at everyone to get out while Martha was being given something to calm her down by another member of the medical staff. Martha looked down at herself and found herself covered in bandages. She then felt her face which was also wrapped up in gauze. Her arms were in casts, which made feeling her face rather awkward. Breathing better and feeling calmer, she looked rather sheepishly at Dr. Shenoy. The look on his face was one of total shock, and from the views of both Dr. Jackson and Dr. Kimber, who were on other beds cowering, it didn't take long to figure out that she was the cause for the distress.
"Did I do that?" Martha asked, her voice coming out hoarse and raw. Suddenly, there was shouting and Martha looked up to see everyone trying to get in with Dr. Amari, who had been woken up by the noise trying to keep people out of the Medical Area. Dr. Shenoy then started to remove some of the bandages from Martha's face and arms. Just as he did so, the shouting came again and Dr. Amari was shoved to the side. A dark streak came flying into the room and latched herself to Martha's head like one would do in an anime.
"Oh my God Martha! Martha! You're alright!" Hilary shouted, making Martha cringe at the shrill volume of her voice. Hilary quickly let go when Dr. Shenoy cleared his throat, and the marine biologist looked at him rather sheepishly, her face burning in embarrassment.
"Now, if you don't mind, Dr. Ballard, I need to check on the progress of Martha's injuries, so if you could move away please," he said and Hilary graciously moved away, while Dr. Shenoy got to work. When he fully removed the bandages from Martha's face, he was shocked to say the least.
"What is it Doc?" Martha asked, her voice still hoarse.
"Um, what do you remember before your awakening?" asked Dr. Shenoy.
"I remember the monsters and telling Dr. Jackson and Dr. Kimber to run. Then I remember the alien device turning into some sort of weapon, a blade of some kind. I fought off as many monsters as I possibly could. But when they pushed me too close to the core….it was so hot and it burned! Oh the burning!" Martha said as flashes of the fire from the core came crashing back. The heat from the golden rocks melting away her skin and her hazmat suit. She could feel the heat and the pain as the fire touched her face and hands it was all too much.
"You felt your own demise is that correct?" Dr. Shenoy said to her. Martha could only nod a reply, the memories still vivid and fresh.
"Well….I don't know how to say this, but the alien device saved your life, Martha. In fact, with what you just described, you should be dead. But..." he was about to say something, but was interrupted by Hilary.
"Marty, you look as if you've never been burned at all," she said out loud.
Shocked, Martha expected her face to be in tatters. She expected puss and blisters to still cover her face. She slowly raised her hands and felt smooth skin, without a single hair on it. When a mirror was handed to her, she was surprised to see her face clear of any sort of blistering or burning. Not a single charred mark was seen. In fact, other than the gelatinous substance on her face, she was as if she was reborn.
"How?" she asked Dr. Shenoy in her hoarse voice. Her confusion was evident on her face as Dr. Shenoy removed the rest of her bandages from her arms and body. He had to close the privacy curtains to ensure privacy as he removed all of the bandages. The whole time, he was explaining to Martha about how she was brought back to life.
"That device on your arm somehow saved your life. You died, Martha, several times on the operating table, and each time, that thing brought you back. It is as if the device somehow connected itself to your biological functions. It senses your distress and your needs and responds to it. So when you were dying, it immediately became a medical monitoring device for us to see your vital signs. But when our methods were not enough it stepped in to finish what we couldn't, hence why you have that gel all over your body," Dr. Shenoy replied.
Martha looked down at her left arm. The device began to glow and show itself. There it appeared, as a monitor of some sorts, showing Martha's biological readings, from her heartbeat to her brain activity. It even went into detail about her water intake and her blood sugar. Shocked, she looked down at her legs and saw that they were nearly fully healed after Dr. Shenoy removed the bandages. The scarring of her burns were nothing more than dry scabs, nearly ready to flake off, and the stab wounds on her side and back where she hit the rocks was nearly completely healed. The fractures on her arms, legs and back were nearly nonexistent, and from the picture of her skeleton from the alien device, it showed the work it had done to heal her body.
"Holy shit!" Martha said out loud, her voice coming out raspy and hoarse. She then started coughing at how dry her throat felt, and she felt someone press something into her hand. Looking down, Martha realized it was a bottle of Gatorade.
"Here drink this," Dr. Shenoy said.
Martha drank it with a gusto and found the taste to be quite exquisite, "Thanks!" she said gratefully.
"Was saving that for a while, but since you are a medical miracle, that makes it worth bringing out," Dr. Shenoy said.
Now that the crowd had been successfully dispersed by the newly-arrived guards, Dr. Amari began taking down notes on the readouts on her device and on the various medical equipment around the room. He then took her blood pressure and temperature to ensure that she is fine. Then he proceeded to give her a full physical. Dr. Shenoy went to check up on the other two patients, to see if there were new injures from Martha's recent….episode. Dr. Amari wanted to take over to see for himself that Martha was truly on the mend for leaving the medical wing.
"She seems fine other than what's left of the burns and the bones still on the mend. She would have to stay here for one more night before she can go back to her room though," Amari said when he was done.
Just as he said it, there was a knock on the pole to the medical ward, and Ichigo was there. Looking at the group before him, he waited till he was allowed to enter, before coming in. When he got there, he presented a large gray object and two smaller ones. When Dr. Amari's eyebrows were raised, Ichigo quickly rushed past the doctor towards where Martha was sitting on the bed.
"Here you go Martha, Hilary asked if I could bring your computer and bamboo tablet, so you can draw while you await release," said Ichigo, and had nearly tripped on one of the fallen materials, when he realized that the room is a complete mess and nearly dropped Martha's computer in the process.
"What happened here?" he asked, looking around. Just as he said it, Dr. Shenoy returned with something for Martha to use her laptop on. Using her good hand, she happily turned on the computer and started up her art program. Then, taking her tablet and connecting it to her computer, began to draw not paying the least amount of attention to the others who wanted to know what was going on.
"Martha, are you drawing another one of your dreams?" asked Hilary, coming closer to her.
"I have to draw this! It is an important clue," Martha replied as she continued to draw, leaving the others wondering what it was that drew her to its conclusion.
They watched as the image began to unfold from her computer screen. The image, at first, looked fuzzy and unrecognizable - nothing but blobs of color - but slowly, with each passing minute, Martha's careful hand began to make the blobs of color take shape into something they can see. The image became clearer the more she drew with her pen and tablet.
It appeared to be a room of some sort, with its glass windows and large bed. The computers on the so-called desk makes it look like some kind of luxury office.
The model ships were seen also as she drew them in detail. She also drew herself looking at a screen on one of the terminals. She then made a box on the side like a comic book with the words, 'When East fought West during a time of war, when three kings rose from depressions ashes one from the east, one from the north and one from the south, the north declared that he is God, the East declared that he is Emperor, and the South declared that he is King. The North killed the first race, the east killed the oyster, and the south killed democracy, on the sixth day of the sixth month of the fifth year of the fourth cycle the West rose from the sea to fight the three kings. The West fought the East and the West became victorious where am I?' Martha had to make sure she remembered every bit of detail in that clue. She wanted them to know that everything is going to change from here on out.
As soon as she was finished she showed it to them.
"By Allah, what is that?" asked Dr. Amari.
"The next clue," Martha replied.
TBC
A/n: Whew! It took me a while to rewrite this one. I had to basically gut the whole thing and add a whole bunch to it. After rereading the original file (Thank God I still had it!) I found that there was a lot of holes in it that had to be fixed. One of them being Martha's dream the other the reactions of the people around her. What where they doing exactly? The original story I wrote kind of rushed this and made it seem as if no one cared at all and made me look as if I was a retard. Plus it is good to know that things are starting to look better. Till next time.