Reaching the only active medical unit was turning into an ordeal. Lucas could feel his perforated lung struggling to keep with the pace he had set. If not for the stimulants in his blood, he would have collapsed, however, he was made to take punishment. It was not the first time he had done something like this, but it was the first time the one he was rescuing was an unenhanced human.
There was a good chance he was doing more damage by moving her in such a way, but he could not allow her to expire. If he stopped and thought about it, he was doing it because he wanted to avoid the reality of his situation. He could not deal with the fact he had lost everything. Just like Zeti, who used Goliath as a reason to function, he used this girl to move forward. But it was all about the end because he could feel the body glove covering his forearm soaked by her blood. Lucas had completely forgotten that Zoë did not have modified red cells, which should have closed most of the wound.
Struggling to take a good breath, he covered the last hundred meters and slammed into the door of the unit. One look at the ashen colour of the girl in his arms told Lucas everything he needed to know; he was running out of time. The damned thing was locked with a touch plate next to it. Whoever had designed this, without the use of a proper AI, was an idiot. This whole United Republics was just some forsaken backwater hick nation, which would run itself into oblivion. And, as an added bonus, there was no one around to help him. Come to think of it, Lucas had not seen a single soul for the entire time he was rushing towards medical.
Pressing Zoë’s body against the door, Lucas managed to free his right hand and slam his palm at the bloody plate. The crystal cover shattered from the force he had used, but at least, it had registered the command. With a whine, the reinforced bio-plastic door began to retract into the top of the frame. It gave him the extra second he needed to get a proper hold of the girl in his arms.
The layout of the medical unit, to his surprise, followed what he had been used to seeing of such places. Thankfully, some form of sanity had been preserved over the years. Quickly he placed Zoë on the operating table and adjusted the surgical robot above her. While the machine took over life-support and resuscitation functions, Lucas began to rummage through the large refrigerated cabinets by the wall, looking for suitable blood packs. His focus was failing, if he was going to try and save the girl, he had to patch himself first.
Helix unfastened his chest armour and pushed the power pack from his back. With the help of his combat knife, he removed the upper part of his body glove and lightly touched his wound. From the pouch at the back of his belt, he removed a programmed stem-cell foam dispenser and filled the hole in his body. If only he could have used that on Zoë, however, it was manufactured by the ordained scientists at Osiris specifically for him and him alone. In a day, his lungs would fully repair themselves, but for now, he could use them at reduced capacity. A couple of localised pain suppressor injections and he was as good as new. Well, for the most part at least. It would be three or four days before he was at combat-ready condition by Demon standards.
Now, Lucas had a different problem. The language had changed too much. He could not read a single one of the labels on the packs. Getting a crash course on speaking the damned thing through the reactive AI and the enhanced capabilities of his cortex implant was one thing, but reading and writing were another. Heart-rate, blood pressure, he could understand all those from the small screen of the robot working on Zoë, but that was because of his training.
“Zeti, where the bloody hell is Dr Saiko!” Lucas almost screamed at the control AI.
“Decontamination protocols have been triggered in auxiliary lab 3.” The calm voice of the damned thing only angered him. “It will be an hour before he can exit the facility and make his way to you.”
“Shit…” Lucas threw away the blood pack he was holding. “Patch him through.”
“Establishing link.”
“Doctor, I want the blood type of Miss Kurtz and where I can find it.” He barked as soon as he saw the channel open.
“It is B negative. There are two banks marked for her in storage two, it is the one with a security lock…” Dr Saiko sounded detached, like any military physician Lucas had come across.
It was the one on the other side from where he was searching. He drew his pistol and put a slug through the metal frame of the container, blowing half of the door in the process.
“What was that sound?” The doctor’s voice came through the feed.
“Took care of the lock. Where are the banks?”
“Third row from the top, fourth from the right. The two in front are for guard Silvester, the two after that are for Second Officer Kurtz.” Saiko paused for a moment the worry plain to hear in his voice. “Helix, I am not sure you have the skill to…”
“Doctor, this is not the first time I’ve cut open a person.” Lucas said with more confidence than he felt, omitting the fact that this time he would be operating on a natural human. “Miss Kurtz is considered a soldier, even if she is a security guard. Which means there should be spare organs for her. Where?”
“Your assumption is correct. There is a deep-freeze vault inside the wall to your left.”
“I see it. The code for the lock is?” Lucas said after spotting the thick metal door leading to the room in question.
“A37CH442KL2785. You are looking for a heart. It is on the shelves at the back. How did you know we keep spare organs?” The physician asked while he punched in the combination.
“It was a practice introduced by His Holiness Constantine III during the Nezerim Genocide. I cannot imagine such a valuable military advantage would be allowed to fade.” Lucas answered while comparing the label on the blood pack with the ones on the hearts stored in transparent biotic bags.
Once he found what he was looking for, he returned to Zoë and prepared the robot for the transfusion procedure. He took off his gloves and dipped his hands inside the vat of antiseptic gel, hanging from the side of the operation table. After making sure that it was properly applied, Lucas took a set of tools and began the complicated task of replacing the girl’s heart.
Helix had to give some credit to the changes in the medical field. The surgery robot’s deep body scan function was far more refined and accurate compared to the ones he was used to. And the micro tools felt more comfortable when attached to his fingers. If only the Madeira had those things, Lucas could have saved Tobias, when his heart exploded after getting caught inside the blast zone of an Ul’s sonic grenade. But that was all in the past, and no matter how many ifs he considered it wouldn’t change a thing.
What should have been a two-hour operation, at the best of his estimates, took him only forty minutes. The vast majority of the work was done by the robot, which he only needed to guide. Lucas was running into another problem - Zoë had lost too much blood. Even after using her allocated two banks and the extra ones for the other security staff members, it just was not enough. He took an intravenous pump tube and placed one end in the vein on his forearm.
“Helix, what are you doing?” Zeti’s voice echoed in his ear.
“What does it look like? I am saving her life.” Lucas answered without hesitation.
“I understand your need for a psychological anchor, but what you are about to do is in violation of seventeen civilian and three military laws, as well as it is forbidden by three imperial edicts.” There was a warning in the AI’s tone, one he was supposed to heed. “If you continue, I will be forced to…”
“Forced to do what? Report me?” Lucas snapped. “And who exactly are you going to contact? In case you’ve forgotten, I am the highest military authority that is left of the Holly Empire!”
He took a long breath to calm himself down. Helix was worried that what he was doing was wrong, not because of the law, but because his blood could actually kill Zoë. True, Lucas was a universal donor and there were enough enhancements to the fluid running through his veins, but there was also quite a large chunk of Xith and Nezerim DNA mixed in as a Gen 3.
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“Your argument is valid. However, I am familiar with the orders you were given upon arrival on Sigma 37-4H. Project Goliath should be your top priority and it requires the psi-witch. Further delays only…”
“That’s it.” There was one option he had not considered. “Zeti, can the vault be accessed?”
“Yes, but I…”
“Have Dr Saiko retrieve serum KTR7, batch 27-G. There should be at least one stored as a back-up.” Lucas placed the other end of the intravenous pump tube and attached it to Zoë’s system.
“Helix, your interruptions are unbecoming of you.” There was no mistake, the AI was annoyed. “And yes. There are four duplicates of every tested batch in the vault, as per the instruction of Bishop Lola Cortes.”
After a short pause, Zeti continued.
“I can divine your hypothesis. However, individual Kurtz is not a suitable test subject. She is not a psi-witch and furthermore if I ignore that, she is far too old to be considered a viable specimen.”
“I’ve spent enough time ensuring the safety of the specimens in Cryogenics to know that. However, we don’t have that many options and this could prove a good experiment for the renewal of Goliath.” Lucas knew his argument would hardly convince the AI, but there was a chance and he had to take it.
“Using your blood as a catalyst borders heresy.” Zeti warned him.
“I am a Demon. I am not of the faith.” He chuckled at the thought that he would be accused of breaking the dogma, he was forbidden from believing in.
“The blood of Demons, run through their hearts and poisoned their souls and He wept.”
“Scripture of Regret and Damnation. Why are you quoting it?”
“With your actions, you have made sure that individual Zoë Kurtz would be forever damned and would not know the salvation the Blessed Saint of Hell could offer.” Lucas shook his head at the disappointment contained in the AI’s voice.
He removed the pump tube from his arm and walked to the blood store. Among the ones, he could only think were separated for the civilians, he found a few more bank of B negative. What he was doing was burning through the resources of the station. There was not going to be next shipment of needed medical supplies. But in all honesty, he couldn’t care less. In his eyes, all these people were nothing but heretics. They should consider themselves lucky he had not ordered Zeti to vent out all the oxygen from the station.
Lucas loaded the remaining three banks in the robot, hoping they would be enough until Dr Saiko returned from the vault. If he was not mistaken it would take the physician about eighty minutes to come to the medical unit. The blood would last for about the same time and Helix had managed to stop all the internal bleeding and the majority of the wounds Zoë had, were fixed. But there would not be enough for the doctor to perform the operation needed to fix her lungs.
“I will instruct Dr Saiko to take several banks of Oxion Bio-fluid, batch 11-C.” Zeti had guessed his thoughts from the way he was staring at the robot.
“No.” Lucas shook his head as he tried to pit on the ruined scraps of his upper body glove. “Use batch 10-N. 11-C will react with my blood and will lead to unchecked fatal mutation.”
“Very well. I will refer to your expertise, Helix. Might I inquire where are you going?”
“I have an appointment with Miss von Eisstahl. It wouldn’t be good if I am late for it.” Lucas then switched the feed. “Mr King, who do you trust without question among the people on this station?”
“Ugh… That would be Sergi Gomez from the day shift and Karter Hinkley from mining, boss… I mean Helix, sir… Why?” At least the stutter from Felix’s voice was starting to disappear.
“Miss Kurtz is in medical and I need someone to guard her while I’m occupied.” Lucas paused long enough for his words to sink in. “And Mr King, do I need to threaten you so that you understand how important this task is to me?”
“Oh, bloody hell, no! I mean no, sir. There is no need for that. They’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“I’m glad you understand Mr King.” With that Lucas cut the feed and walked out of the medical unit.
----------------------------------------
Alexandra awoke to a splintering headache. Her first instinct was to clasp her head with her hands but found that impossible to do. She could not move nor could she see. For a moment she felt panic enter her mind. Her throat was burning and there was something stuffed inside her mouth. It only made her want to struggle more, however, all her efforts amounted to nothing. The Knight Protector could feel that she was tightly strapped to something by metal binds. A bed, or a chair perhaps. And she wasn’t blind, there was something wrapped around her eyes. She had to calm herself and think.
The last thing she remembered was that Helix had attacked her and that by all accounts he was an Ul-Battyr, by his own admission. Then the girl from the security HQ had entered and… The damned ringing in her head was tormenting her far too much. Alexandra could barely keep her thoughts in order. And the voices; there were so many of them! Couldn’t they just shut up and allow her a moment to concentrate.
She felt someone touch her head and remove the cloth from her eyes. The light blinded her for a moment until her implants could compensate. Once her vision cleared, Alexandra froze in fear. Something was very wrong, everything she saw was distorted and warnings of malfunctions popped in and out. There were so many of them in such a short time, she was unable to even start and comprehend what they were trying to tell her.
“What you are experiencing are the effects of the methanifoxiqualone coursing through your system.” Someone behind her said in a level tone.
Alexandra was sure she knew the person, but the voice was echoing in her head. One moment it was that of a man and the next that of a woman. She was sure it had to be Helix because she doubted anyone from the security force on Last Hope could even pronounce the strange word he had used. No, it wasn’t strange, she had seen it before, written somewhere. The knowledge was there and that infuriated Alexandra that she could not access it. She attempted to access her memory implant but was greeted by the painful sensation of faulty feedback.
She had to stop the on-setting panic attack. Alexandra forced her eyes to focus on the room. Yes, she was half-sitting on a chair, there were odd glowing and beeping machines all around and her hands were… She was sure she saw metal braces warped around her wrists, but they were constantly shifting.
“Don’t worry, the effects won’t last for long.” The man-woman spoke and spun her around.
Her stomach lurched and Alexandra wanted to throw-up as the world around her became a twister of conflicting images. But the gag in her mouth prevented the bile from exiting and she began to choke on her own sick. A large hand removed what looked like a ball of cloth, she just couldn’t tell from the tears clouding her vision, and the vomit spilt over her lap.
“The use of forbidden psionic blockers is in violation of…” The man in front of her spoke, but that was not Helix.
The Ul-Battyr did not have a large cybernetic attachment that covered half of his head. And the voice of this new person was softer, kinder. It almost sounded as if he was worried about her.
“Doctor, you had your chance and as expected the results were unacceptable.” This had to be Helix, he was in the room for sure, but she could not see him.
Wait, right now he said this was not the first time this had happened. Alexandra’s mind raced to remember, but the more she tried, the more confused her thoughts became. She felt blood drip from her nose and the back of her throat. At least, it quenched her thirst for a moment.
“Miss von Eisstahl, I need you in a reasonable mental state.” The unknown man was replaced by Helix, who was leaning towards her. “The doctor here showed me techniques used by your United Republics in dealing with psi-witches. I must say, I was not impressed, by his gentle approach.”
He grabbed her chin and began to twist her head. Alexandra felt like an animal being observed by a sadistic researcher.
“I would have preferred to use my methods of dealing with your kind earlier, but synthesising the required compounds takes time.” Helix continued and flashed a light directly into her eyes.
“How… long…” Alexandra was surprised at the weakness of her voice.
“You’ve been sedated for the last six hours.” She couldn’t understand why he was so open with her.
It was only normal to show trust when she thought about it. He had her at his mercy, so there was no reason for him to lie to her. The least Alexandra could do, was to trust him. No! That was wrong, there was something else he and his accomplice had said. Psionic. Yes, that was the word. Her thoughts began to swirl again.
“You… Ul… Battyr… Bastard…” She managed to form the words.
“I am sorry, Miss von Eisstahl, but you are very wrong.” The young man chuckled. “It would seem, those taŭroj have forgotten the lesson His Holiness taught them during the Samsara Crusade. But the Ul aren’t famous for having a long memory, so I shouldn’t be surprised they would need a reminder after seven centuries.”
“What…” Nothing he said made any sense to her.
“At first I thought I could use deception until I could figure out what has happened here. But you see, I am not Command. And you Alexandra, were a latent psi-witch. Psionic should be the term you are more familiar with.” He connected a hard-link cable to the port hidden on the side of her head.
“What… What are… you doing?” She managed to ask before her memory implant was flooded by terabytes of disconnected information.
Her scream lasted longer than the torture she was experiencing. Once Alexandra was calm enough to think again, she heard Helix speak again.
“You see, I’ve spent enough time around the interrogation chaplains in this place, guarding them while they prepared your kind for the next stage of Goliath.” The words sent chills down her spine. “Don’t worry. I do not plan to waste you on pointless experiments. You, Miss von Eisstahl, are in a position that is of value to me.”
She could see his smile and wanted to cry. It was supposed to calm her, but all she saw was the promise of the terrible fate awaiting her.
“I am sorry, but this is going to hurt. After that, you and I can have a long and honest chat.” With that Alexandra screamed as she felt her brain melt under the assault of images and sounds downloaded to her cerebral implants.