*Transmission logged from deep within detroit debris field*
*New York wide broadcasting loop*
..
..*deep gutteral changing to high screams of a man are heard*
..
*Transmission distortion detected*
*Transmission cutoff reached.*
*Frequency dampening protection enabled*
*Analysis of recording > human in need of medical assistance*
*Tracing location*
.
.
.
*Location determined*
*Rochester base > Docking Bay > Ship Storage Berth 7*
*Ship Identified*
*Junker Collector (CSVII) > Very Heavy Fighter Class*
*Alerting nearest medical facility*
-----------------------
*Transmission logged from deep within detroit debris field*
*New York wide broadcasting loop
sorrysorrysorrysorry
sorry
sorry
Daniel
sorry
sorry
Daniel Hale floated unconcious in his escape pod for hours. His thoughts passing to the alien creatures who destroyed his ship as they sat in space nearby watching his dreams.
Light.
Hale regained consciousness, he was in the medical bay of West Point academy.
"...but they didn't kill him, they just sat there, watching" said a female voice from the ther side of the room. Hale tryed to sit up but found himself restrained by various tethers as would be used for some raving nutjob.
"Don't move Hale." It was Commodore Talons voice this time "We don't know what it did to you, you were nearly dead by the time we found you."
"Why am I tied down?" croaked Hale "Why am I not dead? The last thing I remember...."
"Quiet now hale" Talon said, sounding almost like he cared "That was a brave thing you did back there, the Nomads destroyed your ship."
"It felt like they were in my brain Sir... Dreams of blue and cold, cold...."
"We're gunna keep you in isolation until we're sure you haven't been" Talon coughed "changed by them, I'm sure you understand."
The weeks passed and Hale grew used to his surroundings, things un-fogged in his mind and the events leading up to the explosion became clearer.
A man walked into the room, it was captain Jake Benson
"Right Hale, We are gunna put you back on duty soon, just go easy ok? NO more of this hero stuff, if the nomads come again I don't want you trying to take them on alone, hell they even scare Talon, just don't mention that to anyone, he'd have me shot for saying it ok."
*Rochester Medical Facility*
*Samantha Turrell - Nurses Report*
Patient - Male Caucasian. No ID on person.
Age - Approximately 21 years of age.
Comments - Ship registered to Junker Hyung Soong. Retrieval team found patient in the cockpit. I'm going to assume this is him.
Symptoms - Patient is in good physical health. Seems to have taken care of himself. No traces of Cardamine in blood. No traces of Ethynol. Moderate traces of radiation exposure. No abnormal physical signs of harm. Patient has a minute recent scar from rightside temple to upper jaw.
Patient was found in the fetal position at the back of the cockpit of his ship. We do not yet know how he got back to dock. Patient drifts in and out of consciousness. In coma state, the patient twitches and mumbles and opens eyes - yet there is no response when tested for vision. Pupils remain dialated. No focusing achieved.
When conscious, patient repeats over and over "sorry Daniel sorry sorry." Sometimes patient wakes up screaming this phrase and thrashes about. We have had to put restraining belts on patient for his and the attendants' own safety.
At times patient is awake, but does not respond to outside stimuli.
Suitable doses of Rlaxitomim have been administered, but no discernable response. I have increased the dose somewhat hoping for a better condition.
Personal Comment - I believe the patient has suffered some traumatic event. As the report says, there is no physical damage and all tests check out, yet he is clearly ... delusional. I'm recommending we get a mind Doc in to observe. From my own observations the patient is stuck in some kind of guilt loop that he is replaying in his mind. He doesn't respond to the drugs.
I'm out of my depth here. All I can do is look after his physical health while we get someone in to see him.
Sovereign Wrote:Seek fun and you shall find it. Seek stuff to Q_Q about and you'll find that, too. I choose to have fun.
Hale returned to his wife and children later that day.
The next few days he spend in rest and recuperation, his wife had been pale with worry constantly since the day of the explosion until his return home. And he walked through the door flanked by LSF officers she flung herself at him almost knocking his weakened frame to the floor.
"Danny!!" - she sobbed. "I was so scared"
"It's ok now hun." - he replied in the most calm tone he could muster, the LSF guys scared him a little but he tried not to show it as his young daughter clung to his leg. "I'm home.. at last."
Daniel's dreams were still haunted by vivid scenes of colorful skies and blue flashes on the horizon, a feeling of an ancient menace woke him from his slumber almost every night. Dreams that carried his mind through space and time, showed him things he can't posibly hope to understand, beyond imagination. Images of the planet Manhattan, his home, frequently appeared more often than not came accompanied by feelings of loss and longing, often so intense it hurt him physically. His own reasoning had led him to believe that the dreams and thoughts had been implanted by the nomads while he was unconcious and floating in his escape pod.
He found it both exhilerating and terrifying, he felt as if he knew what he was seeing yet at the same time knew he was totally failing to comprehend. Afraid, yet he still craved the understanding of what it was that these dreams could bring. It felt ancient beyond belief, and powerful. His mind was a mess of conflicting ideals. He started to feel the beauty and loneliness of the ancient species yet feared for Liberty's safety and destruction they could bring, the safety of his family and friends.
His house was being watched by the LSF, and they weren't making any secret of it. He suspected his phone was bugged, and his friends seemed too scared to come and visit. People started to avoid him.
Dan woke from his sleep suddenly, a flash of clear and bright memory searing through his mind.
"Lucy!" - he shook his wife. "Wake up!"
"wuh? huh... jus' go back to sleep love... its another one of your dreams." - she muttered sleepily.
"No, this was different, I remembered something! There was someone else there... a junker."
"Doctor! He's conscious!! He...he's getting agitated. Nurse! Inject 20mls of Rlaxxitomim quickly.
Make sure his mouth guard stays in. Watch his hands. Hold him until he...
.
.
.
He's gone under again. I'm sorry Doctor. There's not a lot I can do here. We simply do not have
the facilities for this. Most of the people who come through here need medical help, not pyschiatric
help. You know, Junkers who made a bad patch or stepped on the wrong wire. Rogues who had too
much to drink. This man is just wasting our resources and needs better care than what we are
trained for. I'm recommending you take him off my hands. I have 6 more patients to process by
the end of lunchtime."
"I see" said Doctor Timothy Dahn, Ba, Msc, PhD, MBioPsy. "I agree this would be as good a time
to take him. I'll see to his personal effects." Dr. Dahn nods to his lovely assistant. "And Sandra here
will help you load him onto the transport pod." "There were no personal effects Doctor." Dr. Dahn's
eyebrows shot up in surprise. "No effects? No wallet, no pictures of ladies in every port?
No family contacts?"
"Nothing, Doctor. Nothing recognisable anyway. There was this." The nurse hands Timothy a rusty
scrap of metal less than a fingerwidth across, with a little insignia scratched on it - .:j:.
"What does it mean?" Timothy asked. "I don't know" replied the nurse. "But I know one thing.
You can sort that out when you take him."
------
Timothy Dahn stepped out onto the hanger docking bay where his ship was berthed. Sandra had just
finished preparing the patient and directed the antigravity medical bed past the doctor towards the landing
ramp. The doctor watched the twitching comatose man as he went past, and Timothy thought "What have
you been up to little man?"
Sovereign Wrote:Seek fun and you shall find it. Seek stuff to Q_Q about and you'll find that, too. I choose to have fun.
As Dr. Timothy Dahn approached the entrance, the guards stiffened up slightly. "Who's the
slab doc?" "Someone who needs help." The guards brows bunched up in a little frown. "He
doesn't look like a civ doc. In fact from his garb, he looks more like a Junker. I don't think
you should be bringing him in here." Dahn looked at the guard, his gaze strong and unflinching.
The guard stared back. Just as the silence started becoming unbearably uncomfortable
Timothy said quite coolly, "I don't tell you how to do your job, do I?" The guard shook his head,
a snide little smirk on his lips. "Then kindly refrain from telling me who I should treat. This man
is need of my help. Some day you might be in his position." The smirk vanished from the guards
face as Dr. Dahn strode past, the antigrav bed following closely behind.
-----
Timothy's head rose from his medical book that was laying open in front of him, as a gentle knock
on the door sounded. Sandra popped her head around the door edge and said, "Doctor, I have
assigned the patient his room and made him as comfortable as possible. I've given him a dose
and he is sleeping for now. Is there anything else I can do for you?" "No thank you Sandra,
You've done enough" he replied. "In fact why don't you go home. Get some sleep. I'll have need
of you tomorrow, sure enough." "Thank you Doctor," Sandra vanished as quietly as she had
appeared, leaving the Doctor alone with his thoughts.
Timothy picked up his pen and wrote some scratchy notes in the patients medical log book.
Then he activated his voice module, and switched it to record mode.
"The patient is now fully in my care. The transfer went smoothly and the patient has been given
his room. I believe he is unaware of what has happened since whatever has caused his mind to
fixate. It is my hope to find out from the patient, using orthodox methods of recovery, what has
happened to him and why he is so traumatised. I have a number of unorthodox methods available
as backup, but I would like to do this without further stress to the patient.
First some observations.
The patient has been stabilised physically. He is comatose at the moment in a drug induced stupor
but I'm expecting him to wake sometime during the night. The nurse from Rochester informed me
of his...patterns of wakefulness. She also gave me a list of the words the patient has said.
Obviously he has spoken, or screamed them consistantly enough that the nurses remember
most of them without to much difficulty.
In order of regularity:
Sorry
Daniel
Alive
Hidden
Hurts
Light & Dark
Library
Names
Knowledge
Valhalla
Burning
Run
Attack
Yes & No
New York & Nomads
That the words Nomads is on the list is supect as they don't come here as far as I'm aware.
However seeing as the patient is incoherent and speaking from his unconscious mind, this is a
thread worth following.
The patient always says 'sorry Daniel sorry sorry' without fail. Occasionally he sits bolt upright and
says 'I'm sorry Daniel!' The ratio of 'sorry' and 'daniel' is 3 to 1 respectively and they are always linked.
When he says one, the other is not far in coming also. This indicates, obviously, he feels guilty about
something that happened to this Daniel, whoever that is.
When he gets off that track he next most often says 'alive alive alive' with mixtures of 'I am alive' spoken
occasionally. Sometimes he mentions 'dead? no' and continues on the sorry track. This indicates
to me he is surprised to be alive, and fully expected to die. As a result the patient is confused, but is
aware that he is still in fact alive. This suggests we might be able to find something external that he
reacts to. What the reaction will be I have no way of knowing as of yet.
I personally have not heard the other words yet. I will continue to monitor him. It might be worth finding
out if any 'Daniels' have been admitted to hospitals lately. I'll get Sandra to do this in the morning. For
now I'm pleased with the smoothness of the transfer and with how the patient is currently accommodated."
Timothy stopped talking to give a tired yawn, and switched the voice recorder off. Mmm he grunted, as he
picked up his coat and started to walk out the door. As he walked down the brightly lit corridor he stopped
outside of door 23, the transparisteel automatically detecting his presence and fading on his side so that he
could see inside to the man lying in a coma on the bed. Mmm, he grunted again as he walked on, the lights
fading behind him as Timothy Dahn walked out the door and into his city flier to go home.
Sovereign Wrote:Seek fun and you shall find it. Seek stuff to Q_Q about and you'll find that, too. I choose to have fun.
Timothy was sitting next to the subdued patient when Sandra knocked on the door.
"Doctor? Is everything alright? You weren't at your desk." "Yes, thank you
Sandra." He removed his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes gently. He
stopped as he became aware that Sandra was still looking at him. "How
did the hunt go Sandra? Did you find out about any Daniels?" Sandra blushed
slightly and said "No Doctor. The other New York hospitals are refusing to say
anything. I got numerous Privacy Act speeches thrown at me and a few military
clerks said if the information isn't in the public records then the information is
classified." She put on a sotto voice " 'And we don't discuss mission reports with
civilians.' "
Timothy leaned back in his chair, a puzzled frown upon his face. "So we're back
to square one." Sandra shook her head and then replied "One of our other leads
managed to contact another Junker. We can confirm that this," she indicated the
slightly twitching fellow on the bed, "is Hyung Soong. He was seen in New York
around the same time and in the general vicinty of at least one nomad. But there
are conflicting reports and no one seems to know what was going on. One suggestion
was that Hyung was trying some technology to do with the nomads, a networking or
some sort of communications, but that seems silly to me. Wouldn't he have to be in
close contact with them if that were the case? Or is that what we are dealing
with here - an infection?"
The doctor laced his hands together behind his head and stared at the ceiling, hoping
for some inspiration. Absently he said "I don't think it's an infection - there are no
physical signs of a normal infection. Hyung is stuck in his mind and he just keeps
repeating 'Sorry Daniel', then switches to 'I'm alive.' I have heard him say something
about nomads in New York. He is starting to move towards what actually happened
to him, but there are many things he says that don't make sense."
Sandra waited patiently as the doctor continued. "For instance, he mentions a
library and Manhatten in the same sentence. He also speaks, if you can call it that,
of light, dark and names. What do those have in common and why does he repeat
them in the same sentence?"
Timothy sighed in frustration, "It is a pity that we couldn't turn anything up on any
Daniels." Sandra nodded in silent agreement. Doctor Dahn got up and walked to
the window, his hands clasped behind his back and his white robe swishing gently.
For a few minutes he didn't speak, then he shifted his weight as if making
up his mind. "We'll try something different in the morning. I think our treatment needs to
get a little more aggresive. If nomads are involved, I want to know what has happened.
And I want to see our friend back there get better."
Sovereign Wrote:Seek fun and you shall find it. Seek stuff to Q_Q about and you'll find that, too. I choose to have fun.
*Manhatten Medical facility*
*2 months after the "incident"*
White Blurry Lights Bright Pain I'm alive What is this? Where am I? What
happened? My head...feels like a bad reactor. All Jumpy. White blurry blob
moving. I hear sounds But I can't understand them. One sound is familiar.
Something moving. Pain. Arm? my arm pain but its gone now. Mother? Dad?
Who? What? Blue. I remember blue. and fire. And pain. So much pain. What
is blue? What is pain. Am I dead? no. I am alive. I remember fire. I remember
sorry. Sorry? What? Sorry! Daniel. I remember Daniel. Sorry daniel! Yes
Daniel Sorry. Sorry Daniel. Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry. Pain fire Lights moving
burn pain. light. Light? Dark. Pictures. Dark. pictures Pain. Blue. Space. Newyork.
What? what is newyork? Pain. Pain? where? arm. head. Pain. Eyes. hurt.
I like the dark. I want to rest. I am alive. Light hurts. rest. Alive. Sorry Daniel.
sorry sorry Dainel. Sosry danl. No!!!!!! Not here! dead. not alive? Alive? pain.
Pain is alive. I am pain. Pain I am. I am alive. I am Pain. Dark. Light. Hurts.
pain. I must hide. hide? hidden. I am Pain. pain is hidden. I know what pain
is. Where? Here. Head. Eyes. Mother? Dead? No! Alive! Mother Alive! not
dead. too much pain.
Sovereign Wrote:Seek fun and you shall find it. Seek stuff to Q_Q about and you'll find that, too. I choose to have fun.
Dr. Timothy Dahn pulled the needle away from Hyung Soongs arm, a semi-permanent
scowl now upon the doctor's face. The ever present Sandra gave him a questioning look
as the doctor pulled back and straightened up. "He'll be resting soon enough." Sandra, having
been with the doctor for a very long time already, was not fooled. "What's bothering you Doctor?"
The doctor sighed. "It's this damned 'illness'. He should be awake by now. He still continues to
resist the treatments we've been administering. Although he has calmed down a little it is nowhere
near where I expected him to be. It's troublesome. I have not seen trauma like this for a long time.
The nearest thing I can think of that is like Hyung's ... resistance... is from war veterans, in a particularly
bloody war. But that doesn't make any sense. There has to be a reason for this."
Sandra busied herself doing some paperwork while she kept a subtle eye on the now-pacing doctor.
Over the last couple of months, they had tried various methods of mind and body restoration techniques,
both legal and illicit sorts. The effect on Hyung was insignificant when compared to the doctor's rising
frustrations. Sandra was starting to get concerned for the Doctor himself. She tried to placate him.
"He will be all right doctor. You will find a way." Timothy scowled at her, then released an explosion of
air, and sat down at the table with his face in his hand. "Yes, I guess you're right. At least he's not
screaming anymore." Sandra nodded, her eyes gleaming in the subdued lighting. "You will see," she said.
----
Timothy sat at his desk, his medical datapads and manuscripts strewn all over any available flat surface.
A knock sounded and Sandra poked her head around the door, a new light in her eyes. "Doctor!" she
gasped. "Come quick! Hyung has opened his eyes, and this time they are focusing!" The doctor sprang up,
knocking over some of the loose datapads and cursed as he hobbled out of the door, rubbing his complaining
knee. He and Sandra rushed down the corridor to Hyungs room and barely skidded to a halt. They walked
briskly in, just as Hyung's eyes closed. The doctor pulled up a chair beside Hyung's bed and gently called
his name. "Hyung."
Hyung groggily, and slowly, opened his eyes, then promptly screwed them shut, a low moan escaping from
his dehydrated lips. The doctor, barely able to restrain his excitement at this first sign of coherence, quietly
called Hyungs name again, as he turned down the lights a few settings. "Hyung, can you hear me?" Hyung
was very still, and just barely audible, he breathed, "what?" "Hyung do you remember what happened? Do you
remember how you got here?" "What?" Hyung slowly squinted, "Who's there?" The doctor introduced himself and
Sandra then repeated his earlier question. "Hyung do you know what has happened?" Hyung started to
shake his head then stopped, a grimace plainly visible on his face, his eyes once more shut tight. "I'm afraid."
The doctor glanced up at Sandra who shook her head slightly. Then he replied,"It's ok, Hyung. You're safe
here. You just rest. There will be time for talking later."
Hyung had already closed his eyes, and the doctor lingered for a moment, unsure if Hyung could still hear
him. He glanced up at Sandra, a hungry expression on his face. "Maybe soon we will find out." Sandra
nodded her head, the gleam back in her eye. It was always nice when things turned out right. And they
had made good progress tonight.
Sovereign Wrote:Seek fun and you shall find it. Seek stuff to Q_Q about and you'll find that, too. I choose to have fun.
Thats what I was told. Nightengale responded as she looked down at Cesar. My sources say he has a patient there, another Junker. It seems like this Hyung came into contact with the nomads.
Cesar stood up from his desk and paced back and forth across the room. So is this doctor some expert on nomads?
Nightengale shrugged. I dont know, but I am sure he knows more than I do.
Dont sell yourself short Night you saved his life.
Nightengale sighed. Did I? Or did I make it worse?
You stopped the infection didnt you? Thats a start.
I guess but I had to freeze him to do it.
Cesar frowned, Cryofreeze technology is as old as the sleeper ships. Its tried and true dont worry.
But what if
Enough of that. So where do we find this guy?
Last report I received was that the Doctor was at the medical facility on Rochester.
Alright well have the crew load Diego on the ship, full bio suits for everyone. I dont want any slip ups.
Ok are we taking the cruiser?
Yeah. Cesar responded. Its the only ship secure enough to transport him. Beside we need to see if the repairs went well. Get everyone ready Night.
Nightengale nodded and walked out.
Cesar sat back down at his desk and fiddled with the comms. He punched in a password and waited for the secure light to come on. Ratchet you there?
After several minutes a series of 1's and O's appeared. The computer converted them and a synthesized response came back, I am here.
How is it going?
It is going well. I have disabled the other robot and I am beginning alterations now.
Alright well be safe and dont get caught.
Do not worry; they do not suspect a thing. Ratchet out.
Cesar stood and headed to the docking bay, he hoped Ratchet would be alright.
*Rochester Medical Facility*
Im sorry Governor but Doctor Dahn has left for Manhattan.
Cesar frowned at the nurse. And his patient?
Um, we dont have any records of a patient named Hyung.
Really? Thats interesting.
The nurse glanced around then whispered. I cant be certain but I think someone erased his files.
She stepped back and said loudly. Sorry sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?
No. Thanks for the assistance.
Cesar and Nightengale headed out to the docking bay.
Why would someone erase the files? Nightengale asked.
Im not sure. But there is more to this than meets the eye. We need to find this Doctor Dahn and see if he can help us.
Ok I will tell the crew to get ready.
No we cant take the cruiser to close to Manhattan; something of that size will not be welcome. Im surprised the navy didnt stop us on the way in to New York."
Well it barely looks like a cruiser, Nightengale said with a slight smile. Looks more like a floating debris field.
Heh, well she was built to guard Rochester. Im just glad the Hessians sold her to us for such a good price. Lets take the Tiburon, the order upgraded her communication systems. We should be able to send the coded messages to Ratchet without a problem.
Wont the LPI be upset about a Rogue ship that close to New York?
Heh they wont see her.
Huh?
There is a blind spot near Manhattan, Carmen told me about it.
Nightengale frowned. Speak of the devil.
Carmen sauntered into the docking bay and stood in front of the two. Are we ready to leave?
Your coming? Night asked barely concealing her disdain.
She glanced at Nightengale, Yes. We are financing this.
Financing? Night asked.
Ahem yeah Night they have given us some money.
You mean the cruiser
No that was my money. Ratchets ship however was all them.
Nightengale sighed Ok what about Diego?
He will have to stay on the cruiser until we find out whats going on. I dont want to bring him on Rochester just yet.
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