Chapter 3 (What Dosen’t Kill You)
So I wonder what you guys think of the characters so far. As the story progresses I wonder which character will become your favorite. Let me know what you think of the cover picture for the story. I took the picture myself and thought it would fit so tell me if you like it or if I should look for a different image.
Thanks,
Znomad
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Nemis POV
Shit! What the hell just happened. I mean seriously what the hell. I watched Asena and Sy wonder off to have fun on this island when suddenly I get an emergency signal from both of there locations with a iminate medical situation alert. The drones that were stationed nearby already grabbed them and should be here any minute. I mean there shouldn’t be anything on this planet let alone the island that could have taken down either of them. Just what in the world is going on. I prepared two table like gurneys with some drones help.
“Status of incoming patients?” I growled which got me the classic answer.
“Unknown condition. Colonel” The drone respond in rote and unemotional monotone.
“Not helping.” I growled. “What is the ETA (estimated time of arrival) of Sy and Asena?”
“Two minutes for Lieutenant Sy and three minutes for Major Asena. Sir” The drone crisply responded as we quickly set up a basic ER (emergency room) style area next to the pod. A inflatable hazmat station was already set up and a drone was helping me with a full biological contamination lockdown situation and the ensuing protocol. As no dangerous local life or fauna had been discovered the only logical conclusion would be some form of microbial or fast acting virus. It seemed a little impossible after the thorough scans that we had completed but stranger things had happened with equipment on new planets.
“Put Sy down on gurney one and run full preliminary test. I need to know if any foreign bodies have entered his body.” I called to the drone as it transferred Sy into the room. “Prepare to put Asena on gurney two.” I said to the other drone on standby by the door.
Semi organic partitions seemed to grow from the part of the gurneys and covered most of Sy. A clear see through cover slid into place over Sy and a greenish light filtered out as he was put into full stasis until we analyzed the multiple samples that we had collected from him. The process was repeated for Asena and I stood there as full holographic display of each of their bodies appeared above the gurneys. My hands extended into each display comparing traits as the medical program tried to give helpful insights into what the problem may or may not actually be.
“This universe is the real problem you damn machine.” I exploded at the unintelligent machine that continued to try and give me helpful hints. I quickly disabled all of the help or assistance that the database could provide.
“This thing seems to act like some form retrovirus that is trying to change Asena and Sy from the inside out? Hmm it doesn't seem like it is trying to destroy or control the organism however.” I mumbled to myself as I looked through data again.
Whatever the strange new particle that seems to exist in this universe and not ours was going to change us somehow. I could feel my own nanites and various organic defences trying to stop this change at a molecular and in some cases atomic level. I could hold it off because of it seemed to affect me less than Asena and Sy.
“Well there is one way?” I mumbled as I started to remove my bio suit. “This might be painful.” I said as rocked my head back and forth and then cracked my knuckles. “Here goes nothing”
I quickly commanded the drones to create a full tiered safety and security perimeter with the pod and its patients as the center. Full heavy ordnance drones and robotic soldiers started to be formed with the replicators and printers. I went and sat outside the medical tent in a meditative pose two medical drones and a combat drone stood behind me.
Stolen novel; please report.
“Here we go. Start lockdown emergency protocol. Defend the castle protocol with organic crew as priority for safety.” I commanded the drones and main computer on the pod. I fully stopped all biological and mechanical counters to this foreign substance and allowed it to flow into me. Not wanting to inhibit my thoughts or the knowledge gained by this I did not allow myself to lose consciousness.
“AHHHHHH” I screamed in pain. It felt like my body was being resculpted. I had a duplicate of most major organs in my body that worked in tandem with the other in case of severe injury on the battlefield. As I monitored my body I coughed up some blood. A weird change covered my eyes causing me to go blind for a few minutes as I continued to vomit out some blood and various bones in body torn apart. Fragments penetrated and stuck out of my skin as blood pooled out slightly. It seemed that I was dying a violent death from within.
“UGHHH” I groaned out as my vocal cords ripped and I lost my voice completely. “Shit! Holy Hell that hurts.” I grumbled in my brain. The nanites and various other addons in my body valiantly strove to piece me back together from this violent attack and the microscopic level. I knew that my body could withstand metric tons worth of force. I mean I came from a high gravity world. We trained and lived in a ship that was twenty times that gravity. I knew that on this planet had what we would consider standard or one gravity. I could operate at forty gravities easily and maxed out needing my armor to function at fifty gravities.
I could easily pick up twenty five tons of weight if needed without my armor in this world. I knew my bones undoubtedly be harder than the diamond yet still supple enough to withstand a free fall drop to the ground. Yet here some of them stuck out of my skin. My enhanced eyes had gone blind and I felt more pain than should be possible. If I had allowed it my body would have passed out due either to the pain or the severe trauma that had been inflicted to my body.
I was on the ground in a pile of disgusting bodily fluids, dirt, and sand. I’m sure that it was utterly revolting and I was almost grateful for my lack of current working senses. I felt a large amount of pain as I was lifted and placed on a gurney that the medical drones put me on. I felt some form of motion even with the destruction of my inner ear. I would have thrown up if I had fluids left in my digestive tract. I smelled a awful burnt charred smell and felt a little residual heat as per protocol the soldier drone used a flamethrower and plasma rifle to burn and vaporize any leftover contaminants or traceable evidence behind.
I felt my body being lowered into some form of liquid or gel and I could only extrapolate that it must be the regeneration tank in the pod. It was full of medical nanites and huge quantities of medicinal extracts and vitamins that would help rejuvenate and heal and near death soldier medevaced from the field of battle. I wanted to scream in agony again as my bones got pushed back into my body and started to fuse back together at the atomic level and in some ways actually improve what had been their before. Unfortunately no noise came out of my mouth because of my torn vocal chords.
The regeneration tank or RT as we soldiers called it worked off the dna of the patient to properly bring them back to their original and whole self with the loss of limbs or even if the patient was in stasis and all but brain dead. I was gladly not nearly in that bad of a position. I could feel some changes to my body. I still refused to pass out as my body got put together piece by piece and reassembled in agony. I swore that even if both Asena and Sy did have to go through this process that they would do it in stages and without pain. With the ramping up of various a few changes in my body it did something I thought would be impossible it started to repair itself using the very particles that had caused so much damage and the indescribable pain that I had experienced. As my body repaired at an impossible speed with the nanites, gel, and my weird new regeneration ability I wondered what all had truly changed about me. With a huge absorption of more of the strange particles and my body continued to heal a explosion of the of force exited my body and ruptured the tank and everything went dark.
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Well people I hope you all are still enjoying the story. ;) It is still in its infancy…. Oh so cute…. LOL Anyway if any of you have thoughts or suggestions let me know. I really focused in in Nemi this chapter is he is supposed to be my main character. :) Anyone feel the how OP he will be yet. Oh and let me know if you can guess what fantastic racial traits he has just picked up/ assimilated.
P.S (Do I sound like a native english speaker or not?? Oh and extra credit to the one that can guess where/ what country the cover picture was taken in.)
Znomad