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Bleedingheart station - chapter 5: Click
🕑 Added 2024-11-09 20:37:04 +0000 UTCYuri focused fully on her job, trying to ignore the drops of blood that were floating around the white bag. She could hear Sandra repeatedly swallow over the comm and ignore it in favor of removing the skull top she'd just sliced open.
The brain had become a frozen, shriveled-up small raisin, causing the X3 implant to jut out and over it, bent by the forces. Still, Yuri had seen enough in her career to notice a few oddities.
"It's changed…" she muttered, looking up at Sandra, who was staring at the skull, seemingly entranced- her face pale.
"If you vomit, you might die," Yuri snapped, causing Sandra May to look up with wide-eyed fear.
"Sorry, Nurse Yuri," she said.
"Good. Now, remember your schooling. Your recommendation letter said you had specialized in implants. So, tell me, what is wrong with this implant?"
Yuri was glad to see the young woman's eyes sharpen as she focused on the implant.
"It has overloaded, as can be seen by the slight discoloration along the edges and the back," Sandra May said, moving a bit closer. "It was bent, but that is likely because the liquid in the brain dissipated before it could freeze, and…"
The young nurse frowned as she leaned closer, suddenly seeming to forget that they were in a fourteen-foot-square MVCU tent, bent over a shriveled body.
"The neuron mesh is odd… it shouldn't move after the brain is mature, but-" Sandra May shook her head and looked up as her finger pointed to one of the thin filaments that connected the brain to the main implant body. "It's too big… to spread out."
"Now look at the Synaptic Link Array," Yuri said.
Sandra May slowly pushed the implant a bit to the side, looking below it, and she hissed.
"That's not possible! How?!"
"I don't know, but as soon as the Captain is back, we need to talk with him. We need power to the medbay so I can do a full MRI and DTI scan."
"And a PET scan to say how active it is," Sandra May said as her hands slowly rose to her head. "Do you think it's only happened to the X3 and below?"
No, Yuri thought as she glanced at the full scan her implant had just given her.
Having an X5 implant, as one of the few onboard, she also had one specially equipped to assist her with a familiar Epilepsy. The two combined let her do a full rundown of her brain's current state and that of the implant. Normally, it just told her the current state of her brain's electrical activity, allowing for the implant to counter it and give her some feedback on when it happened… Now? Now, it had told her that her brain was running over six percent better than it had ever done before, while the electrical activity was more normal than normal.
"We will see as soon as we can get some scans ready," she said, keeping her growing excitement from her voice. "Now, let's open up someone with an X4 implant."
--
"Jack! It's so great you made it," Hilbert roared over the collective group call.
Garrick almost muted him, then held back. He could sense Hilbert's true joy at seeing the others, and he left them to chat for a bit. A call came in as he pulled himself further into engineering.
"Yes, Yuri?" he asked.
"Captain, you need to come see us immediately. We are in cargo old three."
Garrick moved immediately, hearing the worry and excitement mixed in what he guessed was his current lead medical specialist. Atleast until those currently in cryo were revived.
As he pulled himself into the cargo hold three, noting the many bodies tied to the racks and closets. A space had been cleared in the middle, and three MVCU tents were latched to hooks drilled into the ceiling and floor.
Yuri hovered before one, looking at him anxiously and beckoning him over.
Garrick moved toward her and then followed her into the tent. Nurse Maryland hovered over a body whose scalp had been shaven, the top of its skull expertly removed.
"Talk to me, Yuri," Garrick said as he calmly examined the oddly brown and shriveled-up brain. The implant had been partially removed, showing the many membranes and attachment spots.
"I think it would be best if Sandra May told you," Yuri said.
Hearing her refer to the other nurse like that, Garrick knew whatever he was going to hear, he'd probably not like.
"Nurse Marryland?"
The nurse looked up, seeming almost startled to see him there. Then, her eyes widened as she began talking.
"Captain, this is incredible! Whatever happened during that pulse changed parts of the brain implant bios and lower-level software layer. Normally, that's impossible to touch after it's been implanted, and it's what determines most of the implant's base functionality, like how it grows with the brain as children grow and automatically assists with the more common brain disorders, but now.."
Nurse Marryland shook her head, looking up again.
"The implants we have seen have started growing new parts of their Neuron Mesh, connection to parts of the brain in a way I have never seen before. It… actually incredible!"
Garrick shared a look with Yuri, who nodded.
"Is this happening to our implants right now, or is it just happening to X3 and below and causing them to die?" Garrick asked.
"We don't know, but it could very well explain why they didn't wake up," Yuri said. "More Neuron Mesh means more requirements for the central processor of the implant."
Garrick could see her hesitating.
"Nurse Marryland, I need to discuss something privately with Nurse Yuri. One moment, please," Garrick said before locking Nurse Maryland out of the conversation.
"What is wrong, Yuri?" he asked.
Yuri looked down at the body, then back up at him.
"Captain… you know I have an X5 implant," she said. "Well, I've noticed a change with it."
Garrick listened quietly as she explained what had happened, and when she finished, he remained silent for another minute. Finally, he sighed.
"As soon as we have power again, I want you to figure out what is going on and if we need to worry," he said.
"Yes, Captain. Do you think Macdewil will be able to get a reactor backup?" Yuri asked.
"Yes," Garrick said, nodding. "But I'm going to have to check and see if he needs any help."
"I'll continue with the bodies," Yuri said. "Perhaps I can learn more. If that's alright, Captain?"
"It is," Garrick said. "And keep me updated."
He turned and pulled himself back to the other room, staring at his own H.U.D. and wondering what might be happening with his own implant. After a moment, he created a timer, having it start from the moment his implant had stopped during the first wave, almost five hours earlier.
Let's hope he's nearly done, he thought.
A few minutes later, he drifted into the busy reactor bay three. Macdewil was halfway inside a wall, the panel drifting to the side, while six engineers were working on a piece of equipment, Garrick knew was way more complicated than he could understand.
He called Macdewil on a private connection, and his chief engineer joined himself within a moment.
"How is it going," he asked, hovering behind Macdewil.
"I'm cannibalizing realtor one, as it's the least likely to ever function again," Macdewil said, without looking up, though his proximity sensor in the conversation would have told him Garrick was hovering behind him. "We are immensely lucky that the boards that were friends on reactor three were those we either had backups for or didn't get fried in reactor one."
"Any idea how long till we have power?"
Macdewil didn't react but instead pushed himself out of the large wall socket.
"No more survivors?" he asked, looking at Garrick.
"Hilbert was the last one," Garrick said.
Macdewil's eyes hardened. "Then it's going to be close. Those who had the worst exposure might be getting some troubles soon."
Garrick shook his head. "That's not acceptable. We have too few people as it is now. What can I do to help?"
"Unless you have knowledge you didn't tell me about," Macdewil said. "Nothing. I'm sorry, Captain. I'll work as much as I can, but… the best I could ask for is some more liquid sus- that's all."
"I'll make sure you get some," Garrick said, drifting back and hiding his annoyance at his inability to help. "What about the things after we get power?" he asked.
"The boys outside could use help gathering more panels to line the walls around engineering. Even with power, we will still need them lined to provide enough protection against the radiation."
"I'll see what I can do to help," Garrick said, getting a nod from Macdewil.
Watching his friend and lead engineer stick his upper body back in the hole, Garrick turned away.
--
Six hours and twenty minutes later, and over ten hours after the pulse, the first engineer had to stop and be moved into the impromptu medbay that had been set up in cargo bay five. Close to vomitten and slightly confused, he'd started making too many mistakes. With no Pressurized Surgical Tent, he was left to lie quietly and told that he was not to vomit. Though his suit would be able to filter most of it, the chance of choking was too big.
Yuri couldn't tell him if it was radiation or the implant, as the symptoms could potentially be attributed to both.
An hour later, four more were added as Garrick and four Engineers continued lining the inside with damping panels that usually covered the ship's outside and the outside with wall panels jerry-rigged with a web of magnetic shielding. They would barely help now, but as soon as Macdewil got the power going, the magnetic shielding would guard them from the radiation.
Finally, thirteen hours and forty minutes after the pulse, Garrick stood beside Macdewil, who was glaring at a panel in front of him. An odd handle was added to the side, bolted there in a way that showed it wasn't any normal implementation.
"If this doesn't work, there's nothing more I can do," Macdewil said, looking up. His eyes were bloodshot but calm. "There's no time to try anything else."
Garrick held his gaze, then nodded.
"Do it."
Macdewil grabbed the handle and brought it down.
Garrick held his expectations low, but when the massive turbine-shaped reactor began humming, noticeable by the vibrations of everything touching walls, and lights flickered on quickly stabilizing, he almost let out a whoop of joy. A few of the engineers weren't as quiet, and he heard shouts coming over the general chat, which he'd kept running in the background. He didn't blame them.
The lighting that came on all throughout the room and the sense of security that came with it, no longer having to keep all the emergency lights on, made the ship suddenly feel like it used to. A safe haven against the horrors of space.
Too bad we don't have everything up and running, Garrick thought.
"Good job," he instead said calmly.
Macdewil looked back with gleaming eyes.
"Yeah. Now, I need some sleep."
He walked to the side, grabbed a cable, attached it to his belt, pulled it tight, and simply closed his eyes.
Garrick wished he could just do the same, but he knew before he could sleep, he had things to do.
A call came in before he could even move further, and he accepted the connection to Yuri.
"Captain, how stable is the power? I need enough to decompress a room and put up a proper sick bay," Yuri said, her voice cracked from lack of sleep.
"Macdewil needs to sleep," Garrick said. "He is no use if he makes mistakes due to being overly tired. Now, with the shielding up, how long till everyone will feel better?"
Yuri was quiet, then let out a long sigh. "I brought medication when we came here, but it was useless until now. With the shielding up and no more radiation pouring in, I'll start administering it. With some luck, they will feel better in a few hours. Still, I would suggest having everyone remain here for the next week. We have plenty of food and water, and they will need that much time to recover fully. After that, we need to make sure none of us are outside for too long."
Garrick quietly listened to Yuri rattle on before holding back a sigh.
"Yuri, have you slept yet?"
There was a moment of quiet, then Yuri snorted. "No, Captain. And I wouldn't know how to sleep now. So much needs doing, and now that we have power, I-"
“Nurse Yuri Saly Suzuki. You will sleep for a minimum of four hours immediately," Garrick said, interrupting her. "That is an order."
There was a longer moment of silence, then a weary sigh. "Who will take care of my patience if I sleep?"
"With medicine and time, they will be fine," Garrick said. "Unless they have more than the minimal radiation poisoning you told me, there is little you can do to speed it up. Anything else will have to wait."
"Very well, Captain," Yuri said. "I'll get a few things in order, then sleep."
"Ten minutes, and I wasn't to hear you snoring," Garrick said.
"Yes, Captain. I'll make sure to put my connection on open for your pleasure," Yuri said, sounding annoyed.
Garrick held back a laugh, pulling himself into the main engineering bay. The six engineers that hadn't succumbed were hovering there, eyes bloodshot and looking almost asleep where they hovered.
"Everyone, go and sleep," Garrick said over in the general voice group.
There was a muttered agreement, and a moment later, the different engineers moved and found themselves a place to anchor on.
Twenty minutes later, Garrick and Hilbert were the only two still awake.
"You should sleep, captain," Hiblert boomed as he continued moving things around in the hanger he'd claimed for his food. "I'll keep an eye out and wake you if anything happens."
"What about you?" Garrick asked.
"I slept three hours while you were all busy," Hiblert said, grinning widely. "I'll be fine."
Garrick didn't hesitate but moved towards a free anchor. As soon as he hung, his eyes closed, and he was asleep.
--
Admiral Norrington stared at the paper in front of him. Usually, he'd have felt a deep appreciation at the mahogany desk and the true paper- a ridiculous luxury on a completely ice-covered moon with nothing but artificial trees that were all cultivated with a specific goal in enormous greenhouses.
No. Currently, his mind was still. Stunned by what he'd read. Even the message that lay waiting beside the one he had opened, which would explain what had happened to the Shipslinger and his Third Fleet, was forgotten.
"This… can't be real," he said in his somewhat high-pitched voice.
"I assure you, Admiral, that it is," an old man with pearlescent eyes and stringy white hair said. "We have checked all readings multiple times, both ours and that of every other major space agency."
"You are telling me that a large ship of unknown origin has entered Ross 248, destroyed the observatory there, killing all seventy thousand people residing on it. It then commenced to Ross 154 and did the same…"
"Yes, and from our readings, multiple more ships of the same size are heading towards the other fifty-one human colonized color stems. From what we have heard of the Unity Pact, one is heading to the Gliese systems, and it will arrive in Gliese 667 C within eleven years."
"How many more ships have you found," Admiral Norrington asked.
"Eleven so far, and they are all coming from distant systems that we know to have Shipslingers," the older man said.
"How early till the first one arrives anywhere close to a inhabited system?" he asked, forgetting for a moment the thousands of deaths of the station described on the paper before him. Thousands would be nothing compared to the billions that could die.
"Gliese 667 C seems to be the first system."
So… eleven years to figure out who they are and why they are attacking us, Norrington thought, feeling his skin crawl.
He knew that for the largest known time that humanity was around, this would have been plenty. Now, however, with his closest fleet being close to sixteen years from any Gliese system, he knew it would be unlikely that he or anyone of The Igniz Commonwealth could assist.
"Arrange a call with Earth and make sure to get everyone there," he said, taking a deep breath.
Then, he focused on the old man.
"And Malcolm? I fear it is time to start operation Diaspora."
"I've already called a meeting with the others," Malcolm grunted, turning to the door.
Just before he left, he glanced over his shoulder.
"Norrington… I suggest you also rethink your stance on destroying the Shipslingers."
Admiral Norringon nodded, but Malcolm had already left the office.
After a few moments, he used his H.U.D. and contacted the Quantum Net, setting a direct call to the other fleet captains. As he picked up the final report on Fleet Three, he shook his head.
You might have gone missing at a rather inopportune time, Garrick, he thought. I could have really used The Sibilis now.
Comments
Carrarn
It's mostly an Easter egg - I enjoy putting little references to either my own stories, other stories, or legends into my stories. This is one of them. Also, I thought it hilarious to have one of the super powers have their main world be a frozen ice moon and be called something like Igniz :)
Govir Drauka
Is Igniz related to your Cardsmith story? I feel like the fire women there are Ignitzin? (Been awhile once I noticed their race, may have spelled it incorrectly).
