Online Life

Medical Bay - RHQ London

If there's one place that could be named alone as the place that keeps the Repliforce running, the medical bay would not fall beyond the top three. Here is where the Repliforce is kept active, kept alive, kept running, through the variety of repair chambers for all shapes and sizes through to the medical tables for repairs, modifications and what have you. There are also stasis cells and de-contamination areas at the rear of the large medical bay.

Ten [Main] [RF]
Heilen [Normal] [RF]
Pallbearer's Office and Quarters <POQ>
Repair Chamber

Obvious exits:
South <S> leads to Second Sub-Level Hallway - RHQ London.

For the most part, it's a typical day in the repair bay. Medics are repairing damaged soldiers, while drones get supplies, and do little chores here and there.
But in one corner, there is something not so typical. A certain red and gold reploid is sitting on a med table, sobbing intensely and looking absolutely miserable. Her back is to the med bay entrance, which makes the reason for her sorrow obvious. Her wings are completely gone. The beautiful red and gold appendages which have carried her through the sky time and time again are completely missing, dents and damage to her back the only indication that they were ever there.

Flare Feline's diagnostic cycle completes. Fully repaired, shiny new armor, Flare awakens. It's true that Flare's injuries were minor, but he refused attention until Ten was stabalized, only now he is finally back at nominal status. He stretches his arms a bit to loosen them, he always finds that he's a bit stiff after spending any time in the medbay. But then there a sound which distracts him. Curious he heads over to the sound of the sobbing, and there he sees a form he can't quite recognize for a second. Then it horrible truth hits him, it's the wingless form of his friend. "...Ten?"

Ten doesn't have any tear ducts, but her 'pseudo-crying' is quite intense. As she hears Flare Feline's voice, she pauses in her sobbing, and slowly turns toward him. Even without tears, her expression still seems filled with sadness. There is no hint of the cheerfullness she is usually filled with. Quietly and slowly, she says, "Hello, Flare."

Flare Feline begins to mouth the words 'what happened' but it's all too obvious what happened, Burst Man happened. A better question to ask is where are Ten's wings. It's pretty apparent that her missing wings are what's troubling her. Even Flare can figure this out... "What's... wrong? What happened to your wings?"

Ten slowly, the occassional sob escaping as she does, Ten explains to Flare what happened. "My wings... in fact my entire flight system, was nearly destroyed in the battle with Burst Man. I overheard a relatively new medic Private talking about it. It's possible... that the damage might be... permanent and... unrepairable. I might..." She can barely force herself to say it. "I might... never... fly... again!" After saying that, her face falls into her hands, and she begins sobbing uncontrollably.

Flare Feline is taken aback by this. "Never... again?" Unbelievable... oO(Not again... this can't happen again... I... failed again.) "This... is my fault..."

Ten looks up, and shakes her head. "It isn't your fault, Flare. I heard from a medic that you were the one who blasted Burst Man, and brought me to the repair bay. It's because of you that I'm still alive. I don't see how you can blame yourself for what happened. Oh, and thank you for saving my life."

Flare Feline shakes his head "No... it IS my fault. I was too late in arriving, as soon as I got there I saw you fall. And I... I don;t know what happened, what I felt. What I SHOULD have done is gotten you out of there right away, but no... I think I was mad... I wanted him to pay for it, and I wasted too much time fighting him when I should have gotten you out. And then my radio was damaged in the fight, so I had to get you back on my own. If it wasn't for that, you could have been stabalized sooner, maybe your wings could have been saved. It's... my fault."

Ten shakes her head again. "If you hadn't gotten rid of Burst Man, he could have blasted you as you tried to get back to the repair bay with me. Moreover, even if you had escaped, he could have blasted the pieces of me that were lying there, making them totally unsalvageable. It's because of you that they were able to salvage some pieces of my flight system, and there is at least some hope of me being able to fly again someday." There is sincerety in her voice. Even in Ten's state of intense grief, her desire to cheer up others endures.

Flare Feline is stunned from the whole bit of news. He's not one to just throw off his guilt, Ten certainly knows that. However he's better at dealing with it now thanks to her. oO(I.. can't let myself be overcome like this, it won't help Ten at all. She's done so much for me in the past, I have to do something for her now.) He sighs and tries to smile "Maybe, I guess we can't change the past now. That still doesn't change that I acted out of anger there... Ten, I'm sure you'll fly again. Like you've said to me, I'm sure you'll rise from the ashes and be reborn. ... ... I'll see to it." He turns and faces a comm panel "...I'd like to call the Doc. I know he isn't familiar with your design, but he was able to save me when Heilen and the other doctors didn't. That is probably because he created me, but still, I'd like him to look at the damage. He might be able to do something... I'd trust his opinion more than anyone elses. We have to stay optimistic here, right?"

Ten actually manages to smile for the briefest of instants as she says, "Thank you. I'll.. try to stay optimistic." However, it's clear from her voice that it isn't going to be easy for her. Loosing her flight capability was clearly devastating for her. Sadness is quite evident in her voice and expression as she says, "There is... one thing you could do for me right now."

Flare Feline nods, a bit curious "...what?"

Ten looks a little embarrassed as she looks into Flare's optics and says, "I could really use... a hug."

Flare Feline also starts to look a bit embarrassed, but how could he turn this request down? "Sure thing." He sits down next to her and just, hugs. It's a bit awkward, the only hugs he was used to getting and giving were to a human girl a fraction of his size. "I'll call the doc as soon as I can, I'm sure he can do something..."

Ten sobs a bit as she is hugged by Flare. In a way it's comforting, reminding her that she has big and strong, yet gentle friends like Flare who are always willing to support her, and in a way it saddens her, because she feels his arms against her back, not against her wings. It reminds her that her wings are not there right now. Quietly, she says, "Thank you. Thank you... for everything."

Flare Feline nods "It's the least I can do. You've done more than enough for me." oO(I hope the Doc can do something.... and if I ever see Burst Man again...)

Just then, a medic gumby walks over. "Commander Ten, it's time for the stabilization treatment. We have to do this regularly. It's the only thing keeping your flight systems from deteriorating to the point of complete unrepairability." Ten nods to the gumby, then moves away from Flare and says, "Thanks again. I'll stay optimistic until then." Then she lies down while some other gumbies bring in the stabilization equipment.

Flare Feline nods and steps out of the way "Don't lose your optimism Ten, I'll keep my hopes with you, and I'll ask the Doc to come as soon as he can." As Ten starts her treatment, Flare heads to the door, he's been ordered to continue to train in cold environments, and he'll do just that... with a certain robot master as the simulated opponent.

*Later....*

You enter the Medical Bay - RHQ London.
Medical Bay - RHQ London

Ten [Main] [RF]
Pallbearer's Office and Quarters <POQ>
Repair Chamber

Obvious exits:
South <S> leads to Second Sub-Level Hallway - RHQ London.

Ten is trying to take her mind off of her problems by reading a comic book. Not surprisingly, it's a comic in which the main characters are cows. The title is: Black and White: The Moo-sic of Life. She occassionally giggles slightly, but doesn't seem to be truely getting into the comic. It seems her efforts to take her mind off of her probelms are not working well.

Flare Feline walks in somberly. And behind him is a familiar figure to Ten, Doctor Snow. After clearing with the medical staff and security, Flare easily managed to get the Doctor access to enter RHQ-London, especially since it was Captain Ten he would be treating. Flare slowly makes his way over to where she is "Ten? I've... brought the Doc in." Jedidiah Snow walks up past Flare and up to Ten, until he gets started on the examination all he can do is offer a smile "Hello again Ten. How are you feeling?"

Ten forces herself to smile as Flare Feline and Dr. Snow show up. "Heya, Flare. Heya, Dr. Snow." Then she answers his question, sadness evident in her voice. "I have some minor pain physically, but emotionally, I... I'm not doing so well. I probably would still be sobbing uncontrollably if Flare hadn't comforted me earlier." She looks down, and sighs. Sadness is quite evident in her voice as she adds, "I miss my beautiful wings."

Doc Snow gives a sympathetic nod "Yes, I can understand that. Well that's why I'm here, to see if I can help return them. If you don't mind I'd like to take a look at the damage myself. Perhaps I can do something, perhaps not, but it's always good to get a second opinion isn't it? Besides, Flare was so adamant about it. And you've done so much for him I feel I owe it to you." The Doc has with him a pouch of his own tools, he's ready to begin an examination at any time. Flare just stands there behind him, waiting to let the Doc do his thing, and to be there for moral support for Ten.

Ten nods to Dr. Snow, and doesn't have so much trouble smiling this time. "Thank you. Whatever happens, thank you." With that, she lies down on her front, since the damaged area is on and under her back.

The Doc nods and takes out a medical scanner from his bag, it seems standard issue but it looks as if it was personalized. As he begins his scans Flare walks over closer to the bed "Don't worry Ten, I'm sure the Doc will be able to do /something/. I mean, with one extra mind working on the problem, it's more likely to be solved, right?" As Flare is speaking with Ten, the Doc narrows his eyes, frowning, not liking the initial scans so far...

Ten doesn't look over at Flare, but she does respond to him with words. "You are right, having an extra mind will help, especially if it's the one who built a great reploid like you, who managed to blast apart a Robot Master I barely scratched."

Flare Feline shakes his head "That battle was all luck. Combat wise you're a much more powerful reploid than I am, and you have much more experience. It was luck, Burst Man got lucky fighting you, and I got lucky fighting him." Flare sighs oO(Well it may have been more than luck for me, anger was another factor...) Flare continues to stand by Ten, as the Doc continues into the second level scans.

Ten replies to Flare's words. "Well, whatever it was, luck or otherwise, you still succeeded, and you saved my life. Knowing that Dr. Snow is the one who built you gives me confidence in his abilities. Great confidence."

Flare Feline nods "Yeah, I trust the Doc too. Even though he was the one who created me, and thus knew my systems the best, he was still able to repair the delicate damage done to my systems while the Repliforce doctors couldn't. I'm sure he can do something..." The Doc begins to finish up the third level scans, 'hrmm'ing to himself.

Ten simply says, "Indeed." some worry is evident in her voice this time. She can tell by the Doctor's hrmm'ing that something isn't quite right, and she is in suspense as to what it is.

Doctor Snow finishes him his scans. Taking the data he looks over it carefully, taking into account what he has been told so far, what Repliforce medical has given him, he spends a few moments thinking. Ten's not the only one in suspense, Flare is anxious too. Finally, after long, agonizing minutes, the Doctor sighs, and speaks "You weren't exaggerating Flare, this damage is dreadful. The cyber neural connections have almost all be severed, the synaptic relays have been fried, and when that happened it apparently overloaded her flight systems..." He looks over the data one last time "I... I don't think I can repair this. I'm sorry, but the damage is too severe for me to handle... But..." Just as Flare begins to look like he's lost hope, the Doc says the magic word, thank god there's a but "While I can't directly repair her systems, I believe I can stimulate the damaged parts to keep them from degrading. Similar to what happened to you, your synaptic relays were severed as well, and the neural connections degraded too rapidly for effective repair work. If I implement the same process here, I can help maintain her flight systems until a way to repair her is found. I'm sorry, it's not much but it's all I can do for her." Flare sighs, not sure what to say. However, he feels that this is better than nothing, "Don't worry Ten, who knows, the time that the Doc will buy you could be what will be needed to save your flight systems." He leans down, so his face is even with hers on the bed "Don't worry, I'm positive you'll fly again someday."

Ten sighs in despair. For just a moment, she seems as though she will loose hope. Dr. Snow's mentioning of being able to keep her flight systems from degrading doesn't seem to improve her mood much. However, as Flare kneels down and looks into her optics, as looks back into his optics, and listens to his reassuring voice, some hope returns. Quietly, she says, "Thank you both. I won't give up. I will believe I will fly again someday." She doesn't sound truly convinced as she says this, but some hope is evident in her voice, indicating that while she hasn't managed to gain anything near complete confidence in her hopes of recovery, she is holding onto some hope.

The Doc nods "I can't assure you that this will absolutely gaurentee to restore your ability to fly one day. However I can say that you have a better chance now than you did before. As long as you hang in there..." He takes out a few more tools from his bag "I'd like to begin work on stabalizing the damaged areas. It's not a long process and you don't need to be deactivated for it. You might feel a bit odd back there, a reploid equivalent of pins and needles, perhaps. And once I'm finished I'll leave a copy of my data with Repliforce medical so they can study it, perhaps they could use it better than I have to work on a solution." He takes one of his tools, and begins passing it over Ten's damaged back, it looks like one of those medical thingys in Star Trek.

Ten quietly says, "Thanks again, Dr. Snow. Whatever happens, thanks." With that, she tries to relax, using her training to tune out pain and nervousness and let the Doctor do his work.

Slash Beast arrives from the Second Sub-Level Hallway - RHQ London.
Slash Beast has arrived.

Slash Beast silently enters the room. He is obviously somewhat concerned and worried as he looks around for Ten.

Flare Feline stands around as Doctor Snow finishes his work on Ten's back. He doesn't notice Slash enter as he is too focused on Ten's well being for now. Constant thoughts go through his mind oO(I shouldn't have let this happen...)

Ten tries to focus on something other than pain and sorrow as Dr. Snow does his stabilizing work on what remains of her flight systems. A sob escapes as his tools touch her back without her feeling it against her wings. The wings that aren't there anymore.

Slash Beast doesn't take too long to locate Ten. Storm Owl's report was grim enough, but Slash wasn't prepared to see her wingless. He immediately takes a step toward her, but then hangs back, not wishing to interrupt the medical procedure. He nods to Flare Feline, but doesn't announce his presence; he watches in silence from a respectful distance.

Flare Feline finally turns and faces Slash Beast "Good evening sir." He looks back from the Doctor and Slash "Oh, this is Dr. Snow, he's my creator. I cleared with security and medical for him to be here, I requested that he take a look at Ten." He sighs "It's a bit of a long story." The Doctor continues his work, nearly finished, and not acknowledging the rather large reploid Beast who walked in.

Ten is trying to lie still, so she doesn't look at Slash Beast, but she does acknowledge him with words. As usual, she ignores military etiquette and use of rank when addressing if she feels she can get away with it, which in this case, she does. "Heya, Slash Beast. Um, I'm sorry you had to see me like this." Sadness is evident in her words, and she doesn't know what to say other than the 2 simple sentences she just said.

Slash Beast speaks softly so as not to alarm the doctor with his rumbling voice. "I'm glad she's in good hands, Flare." Repliforce's formalities of address just don't seem important right now. He then turns to Ten. "Don't apologize; I'd rather see you like this than never see you again. I was worried that we might have lost you forever..." He finds himself at a loss for words.

The Doctor speaks as he finishes his treatment "There, that's all I can do. At the very least that shall keep your systems stabalized." He hand a data pad to a medic gumbie "That's all the information I have on this particular type of damage." He places his tools in his bag "Well then, I hate to run but I guess you could say I'm not used to house calls. However if your medical staff would need to get in contact with me if they find something in my data, please tell them not to hesitate." He turns to Ten "Try to cheer up Ten, just because there is no immediate solution now by no means says that one won't arise. Things will work out." He nods at her once more, and at Flare, then heads out. Flare stays behind though, the Doc will find his way out fine, and he's more worried about Ten.

Ten smiles for the briefest of moments, happy that Dr. Snow did his best to help, and that he has given her some hope. Then she replies to Slash Beast. Her voice is still weak from sadness, but a little stronger. "Thank you. You would have lost me forever if it wasn't for Flare. He saved my life."

Slash Beast turns to Flare and smiles faintly. "We are all in your debt, then." More somberly, he continues: "Reports of the incident have been sketchy. At some point, I'd like to hear a detailed account of what happened, but this is not an appropriate time. At present, I'm more concerned with Doctor Snow's prognosis. 'No immediate solution?' How extensive is the damage?"

Flare Feline sighs, apparently the news hasn't spread outside the few who do know, Flare, Ten and Heilen, and about a dozen or so gumbies, but they won't say anything. Flare looks back from Ten to Slash, letting Ten speak if she wishes. Regardless of who says it, Slash probably won't like the news...

Ten sighs, and slowly begins, though it is very difficult for her. "The damage is... very bad. None of the medics who have tried to repair it have been able to even come close. Moreover, I'm one-of-a-kind, so a replacement system doesn't exist. Even if it did, my design is such that completely removing the flight system would kill me. It's poss..." She chokes on her words for a moment, then slowly continues. "It's possible... that I might... never... fly... again." As she finishes, her head falls into her hands, and it becomes evident that she is extremely grief stricken over this.

Slash Beast is stunned into silence for a moment. Half of him wants to lay a paw on Ten's shoulder, and the other half is frozen in place. Eventually he speaks: "There... must be someone who can find a way. There must be some method that has been overlooked." At the same time, his mind reels as he realizes that Ten may indeed be flightless forever. Certain systems aren't conducive to repair, and if Ten's creators didn't anticipate this particular type of damage...

Flare Feline sighs again, and decides to speak on Ten's behalf "Apparently, from what I understand, the flight system itself was damaged, and neural connections and synaptic relays that are necessary for the systems function began to degrade as a result of the damage." He pauses "The Doctor managed to stabalize them and keep them from degrading further, or at least slow it down. He bought some time for a solution to be found to repair her." He looks at Ten "And I'm certain a solution WILL be found."

Ten speaks again, a little more sadness has left her voice. "Thank you both. I needed something to give me hope. Dr. Snow's visit and stabilization treatment has bought me some time, which was something I desperately needed. I also needed to find strength and will, and you both have helped me find it through your words. I won't give up, not while there is still hope. Thank you both for helping me to see that there is still hope." While she does seem less sad and more hopeful, she is still so very far from being the cheerful, energetic reploid she used to be.

Slash Beast is surprised that he isn't screaming for blood, as his instincts might dictate; rather, any thoughts of revenge are clouded out by an aching sadness. Once again, the forces of chaos have succeeded in shattering any sense of security that might have built up since their last assault. To see his normally cheerful and vibrant colleague reduced to this broken state is almost more than Slash can bear.

Flare Feline's expression doesn't change. oO(Don't thank me, I couldn't get you out of there fast enough, I don't deserve thanks...) "There's always hope Ten, no matter how bleak things may get." He says that, and he believes it. But there is still that nagging little 'what if' in his mind. Not to mention the feel for revenge. Sure, he already blasted Burst Man to oblivion, maybe if he did it again he'd feel better... Flare doesn't even know what to say to Slash, not knowing him well enough, aside from which Ten is the one who needs attention now.

Ten sighs heavily, but then looks up, and nods to Flare Feline. "I won't give up hope as long as I have friends like both of you. We fight this war to give the world hope. Now, I'm fighting an inward battle to give myself hope. Thank you both for being by my side in that battle."

Slash Beast wishes that he could offer Ten some assurance of recovery, or personally assist with the healing process, but he can't. It's rare that he feels entirely powerless, but this is one of those moments. Still, he resolves not to let it show; the best he can do is to be there for Ten and maintain as much hope as she does. "I know we'll find a way, Ten. We won't give up until we've explored every option."

Flare Feline nods at Slash "That we will. Anyway Ten, I'm sorry but I have to leave. I have a few things to take care of with my squad. I'll be back to see how you're doing tomorrow, alright?" With the Flare heads for the door, once he's done with his squad duties he feels like going to the training facility and loading up the simulation of a certain robot master...

Ten waves weakly at Flare Feline and says, "Thank you Flare, for everything you have done for me. Bye for now."

Slash Beast has to stop himself from pacing as he thinks. Of all the great minds in the world, at least one must be capable of solving Ten's unique problem... and he thinks he knows who to ask. In the meantime... "If there's anything I can do for you, Ten, don't hesitate to ask."

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