Post by Kavid on May 6, 2004 16:57:53 GMT -5
Chapter Three
Recovery
When I woke up, the first thing I saw was Kavid sleeping in a chair at the foot of my bed. Ugh. Not the prettiest image to wake up to.
Before I even thought about where I was or how long I’d been there, I saw an opportunity and took it. Slowly picking up the pillow behind my head, I squished it into a ball, and hurled it at Kavid, smacking him square in the face.
The poor guy awoke with a muffled shreik and collapsed to the floor. I started to laugh, and that’s when it dawned on me: everything sounded… different.
Kavid arose from the floor, but he didn’t have the look of vengeance I expected. He looked more… concerned.
“Are you okay, Jeremy?” he asked. But his voice was… tinny.
“I’m fi—“ I started to say, but then I realized my voice was tinny, too.
It was hard for him, but he explained that the explosion from the Iron Kong deafened me. I could only hear through cyberphonic implants. He seemed to feel guilty about it. I let him know that I blamed no one, and was thankful that I could still hear at all, even if everyone sounded like robots, now.
Kavid still seemed sad.
After a couple of days they let me out of my recovery room and let me walk around. The doctors seemed a bit paranoid about my health, but I know I can thank Kavid for my early release. When he wants something, he doesn’t shutup until he gets it. Besides, I could tell that he was bored.
Not surprisingly, the first place we went to was the cafeteria. The food was lousy, but when you’re recovering in a hospital, you can eat anything.
After our meal, Kavid took me to Sifen’s room. Sifen was the luckiest old fart we’d ever seen. After all that battle, all he suffered was a scrape across the face and a broken finger. When we arrived he was still his seemingly morbid self. He showed a little happiness when we walked in, but that was about it. I couldn’s tell if he was in pain or depressed or what. He was just…neutral.
Mansod was another sotry altogether. His raw-green attitude seemed to explode out of his body bandage. The poor kid was so wrapped up he couldn’t move, but he was so cheerful I was almost scared. Still, I couldn’t leave right away. Mansod was hurt the most by the Iron Kong. Half of his body was burned, over two-dozen bones were broken and he lost his left eye, arm and leg. If not for the glory of cybernetic technology, he would have died.
Although I could still see the need for company in Mansod’s eyes, I had to leave. Despite how strong I wanted to seem, I was tired, and my ears hurt. Kavid ended up helping me walk the last thirty yards to my room. The last I remember of that day was the feel of a pillow against my cheek.
After three more days of recovery, I was allowed to leave. Sifen had left two days before. Mansod was improving, but still had a lot of recovery left to endure. My arm worked, but it felt achy and slow. My ears really hurt, but the cyberphonic implants were working about as good as my old eardrums. Kavid said he kept my old eardrums in a can for me. For good luck. I told him I’d just hang around quiet old Sifen more often. But even I couldn’t believe that.
That night Colonel Sared called us in to his office. Mansod wasn’t physically there, but joined the meeting through a videopatch I wore on my chest.
“Ah, at last, the Heroes of Mt. Hoploy!” The Colonel was almost as perky as Mansod, but something was…different. “I’m glad you all survived the Iron Kong attack. Your discovery of the early assault team and the tunnels they were drilling to get here are incredibly important. We still don’t know how they learned of our base, but at least we can prepare ourselves now.”
Sared slid out four flat black boxes across his desk to us. “These are, naturally, Helic Republic Medals of Honor. I’m sorry we have no time for any kind of ceremony.”
“Yes!” cheered Mansod. I smacked the Videopatch.
“Since you’ve all shown great fighting skill, I want the Orion Wolf Team to start taking on missions for the Republic. No more patrols for you!”
Sifen looked concerned, but Kavid was grinning. My leg started bouncing.
“You will all be raised in rank. Lieutenant Kelt, you are now a Captain. Sargeant Deen, you are lieutenant, Corporal Sifen, a Sargeant, and Private Mansod, well, we’ll keep you at Private for a while longer. You’ve only been in the Army 3 months!” I could hear Mansod sigh. “But don’t worry, Private, your road to Corporal has become much shorter.” Sared grinned and leaned back on his chair.
“That brings us to our problem of filling the hole left in your unit by Private Mansod’s injured status.”
I should have seen this coming. “Sir?”
Kavid butted in, “I know of a Corporal in Engineering that--.”
Sared cut him off with a stare and slid a file over his abnormally fat desk. “I believe this pilot will be quite able to strengthen your team.” There was that weird grin again.
I picked up the file and opened it. It revealed the picture of a young, red-haired woman. The name on the file? Katrana…Sared.
“She just graduated from Zoid Piloting Basic Training and has shown immense potential.” My leg stopped bouncing. “I’m sure heroes like you can show her the ins and outs of Zoid fighting?” His eyes were staring right through me.
“Colonel, I--.”
“She is waiting to meet you in Hangar 3. She has your new mission orders with her.” I’d never seen Kavid’s jaw drop before. “As another reward for your victory, you have been assigned the new P-A-C Wolf Unit, or PAC-Wolves, for short. I’m sure you’ll enjoy them. Dismissed!”
Recovery
When I woke up, the first thing I saw was Kavid sleeping in a chair at the foot of my bed. Ugh. Not the prettiest image to wake up to.
Before I even thought about where I was or how long I’d been there, I saw an opportunity and took it. Slowly picking up the pillow behind my head, I squished it into a ball, and hurled it at Kavid, smacking him square in the face.
The poor guy awoke with a muffled shreik and collapsed to the floor. I started to laugh, and that’s when it dawned on me: everything sounded… different.
Kavid arose from the floor, but he didn’t have the look of vengeance I expected. He looked more… concerned.
“Are you okay, Jeremy?” he asked. But his voice was… tinny.
“I’m fi—“ I started to say, but then I realized my voice was tinny, too.
It was hard for him, but he explained that the explosion from the Iron Kong deafened me. I could only hear through cyberphonic implants. He seemed to feel guilty about it. I let him know that I blamed no one, and was thankful that I could still hear at all, even if everyone sounded like robots, now.
Kavid still seemed sad.
After a couple of days they let me out of my recovery room and let me walk around. The doctors seemed a bit paranoid about my health, but I know I can thank Kavid for my early release. When he wants something, he doesn’t shutup until he gets it. Besides, I could tell that he was bored.
Not surprisingly, the first place we went to was the cafeteria. The food was lousy, but when you’re recovering in a hospital, you can eat anything.
After our meal, Kavid took me to Sifen’s room. Sifen was the luckiest old fart we’d ever seen. After all that battle, all he suffered was a scrape across the face and a broken finger. When we arrived he was still his seemingly morbid self. He showed a little happiness when we walked in, but that was about it. I couldn’s tell if he was in pain or depressed or what. He was just…neutral.
Mansod was another sotry altogether. His raw-green attitude seemed to explode out of his body bandage. The poor kid was so wrapped up he couldn’t move, but he was so cheerful I was almost scared. Still, I couldn’t leave right away. Mansod was hurt the most by the Iron Kong. Half of his body was burned, over two-dozen bones were broken and he lost his left eye, arm and leg. If not for the glory of cybernetic technology, he would have died.
Although I could still see the need for company in Mansod’s eyes, I had to leave. Despite how strong I wanted to seem, I was tired, and my ears hurt. Kavid ended up helping me walk the last thirty yards to my room. The last I remember of that day was the feel of a pillow against my cheek.
After three more days of recovery, I was allowed to leave. Sifen had left two days before. Mansod was improving, but still had a lot of recovery left to endure. My arm worked, but it felt achy and slow. My ears really hurt, but the cyberphonic implants were working about as good as my old eardrums. Kavid said he kept my old eardrums in a can for me. For good luck. I told him I’d just hang around quiet old Sifen more often. But even I couldn’t believe that.
That night Colonel Sared called us in to his office. Mansod wasn’t physically there, but joined the meeting through a videopatch I wore on my chest.
“Ah, at last, the Heroes of Mt. Hoploy!” The Colonel was almost as perky as Mansod, but something was…different. “I’m glad you all survived the Iron Kong attack. Your discovery of the early assault team and the tunnels they were drilling to get here are incredibly important. We still don’t know how they learned of our base, but at least we can prepare ourselves now.”
Sared slid out four flat black boxes across his desk to us. “These are, naturally, Helic Republic Medals of Honor. I’m sorry we have no time for any kind of ceremony.”
“Yes!” cheered Mansod. I smacked the Videopatch.
“Since you’ve all shown great fighting skill, I want the Orion Wolf Team to start taking on missions for the Republic. No more patrols for you!”
Sifen looked concerned, but Kavid was grinning. My leg started bouncing.
“You will all be raised in rank. Lieutenant Kelt, you are now a Captain. Sargeant Deen, you are lieutenant, Corporal Sifen, a Sargeant, and Private Mansod, well, we’ll keep you at Private for a while longer. You’ve only been in the Army 3 months!” I could hear Mansod sigh. “But don’t worry, Private, your road to Corporal has become much shorter.” Sared grinned and leaned back on his chair.
“That brings us to our problem of filling the hole left in your unit by Private Mansod’s injured status.”
I should have seen this coming. “Sir?”
Kavid butted in, “I know of a Corporal in Engineering that--.”
Sared cut him off with a stare and slid a file over his abnormally fat desk. “I believe this pilot will be quite able to strengthen your team.” There was that weird grin again.
I picked up the file and opened it. It revealed the picture of a young, red-haired woman. The name on the file? Katrana…Sared.
“She just graduated from Zoid Piloting Basic Training and has shown immense potential.” My leg stopped bouncing. “I’m sure heroes like you can show her the ins and outs of Zoid fighting?” His eyes were staring right through me.
“Colonel, I--.”
“She is waiting to meet you in Hangar 3. She has your new mission orders with her.” I’d never seen Kavid’s jaw drop before. “As another reward for your victory, you have been assigned the new P-A-C Wolf Unit, or PAC-Wolves, for short. I’m sure you’ll enjoy them. Dismissed!”
