Post by Omegarex24 on Sept 18, 2009 2:19:49 GMT -5
The hangar doors opened wide in the desert floor as Riptide descended into the enclosed space, wires and circuitry sparking from the massive amounts of damage sustained in the battle against Byose. Ben checked out the other two mechs as he landed. Cerberus was still being repaired after the battle in Moscow, but would eventually be back up and running. And Lenneth...Lenneth was a wreck. Most of the armor plating had been melted to slag by some intense fire. The armor plating was made out of a similar composite alloy to Riptide's own frame, but whatever did this seemed beyond the ken of his understanding. This worried him too. He knew Natalie wasn't an experienced pilot, but the General let her go anyways. And with heat that intense...
"Davidson, report to central command for debriefing," came the call over the intercom.
Once the docking clamps were fully in place, the pilot exited his machine and hurried for debriefing. He wanted to make this fast, so as find out what happened to Natalie. The elevator shaft took him to the deepest part of the facility before opening the doors, leading into the cool and brightly lit central control facility. General Williams stood overlooking the room, watching the large monitors as they in turn revealed things that were happenign worldwide. Nothing but death and destruction, as far as the eye could see.
"Report."
"Sir, the target has been neutralized and damage to the city appears to have been contained around the initial landing site. Riptide took a beating, but should still be serivicable."
"Good work. We'll get..."
"Sir," Ben said, interrupting General Williams. "What happened to McKenzie? I saw Lenneth when I came in. Is she..."
General Williams looked away and grimaced, making Ben fear for the worst. "You better come with me."
The elevator shaft took them to a higher level of the facility. The infirmary wing was small, since most of the time it didn't have anything more severe to deal with than papercuts, headcolds, and the occasional burn wound from the machine shops. It was poorly equipped to handle severe injuries. But since they were headed here, and not to a major hospital, Ben became slightly less worried. But only slightly.
Natalie was propped up in one of the beds, and was currently the only patient visible. Bandages covered a cut in her forehead, and more covered parts of her hands and arms. An IV line was hooked up to the left arm, and an EKG monitor recorded a slow, steady heartbeat. She seemed asleep at the moment.
"Is she alright," he asked the doctor in attendance.
"The physical wounds are relatively minor, a few cuts and bruises from a couple of bad landings, and some minor contact burns, all of which are easy enough to fix. But...the psychological wounds appear to be deeper than that. Wahtever she went through out there appears to have been very hard on her. We can't be sure of what ourselves, as most of the recording gear was fried in the battle and the ensuing explosion, and she hasn't woken up yet to tell us herself."
"You mean she's in a coma?"
"No, nothing like that. She's alert and responds to stimulus, but she's just not waking up from this right now. It's more akin to a dream or a trance than a coma."
"Is she gonna be OK?"
"As far as we can tell, yes. We can treat the wounds, but the mind...not so much."
"Thank you, Doctor," General Willaims said, before the doctor in turn left the room. "We're doing all we can for her, son. But she just needs time."
"Yeah," Ben said, as he watched. "Unless you've got something else that desperately needs doing...I think I'll just stick around her for awhile."
"Alright. Riptide's not going anywhere for awhile. Just, take it easy, OK? We can't afford to be down two pilots."
"Yeah, I hear ya."
General Williams nodded as he left the room. Ben watched him leave, then pulled a chair up beside the bed and sat.
"Come back to us," he whispered.
----
For two days he stayed in that room, leaving only to use the bathroom. He even took his meals there and slept in the chair. He talked with her too. The conversations were one-sided, but it helped him pull through this too. He told her about what it was really like, being a pilot, going out there to save the world, and in turn, having to bear that burden all the time. He talked about other things too, but mostly, he just talked. Sometimes, he was sure she heard him.
Dawn on the third day came and went unnoticed beneath the desert sands, as Ben slept rather uncomfortably in his chair. The doctors had been by earlier to change out the dressings on the burns, but other than that, it had been just the two of them. Sleep came as a necessity, and was light by necessity. He awoke with a start, unsure at first what had caused it, when he felt something squeeze his hand. The lights were dimmed to help him sleep, but not so much that he couldn't see Natalie's hand, bandaged as it was, entwined in his own. Her face was turned towards him, her eyes half shut, and her features looking worn. But a small smile still managed to tease the corners of her mouth.
"Hey there handsome," she whispered.
"Davidson, report to central command for debriefing," came the call over the intercom.
Once the docking clamps were fully in place, the pilot exited his machine and hurried for debriefing. He wanted to make this fast, so as find out what happened to Natalie. The elevator shaft took him to the deepest part of the facility before opening the doors, leading into the cool and brightly lit central control facility. General Williams stood overlooking the room, watching the large monitors as they in turn revealed things that were happenign worldwide. Nothing but death and destruction, as far as the eye could see.
"Report."
"Sir, the target has been neutralized and damage to the city appears to have been contained around the initial landing site. Riptide took a beating, but should still be serivicable."
"Good work. We'll get..."
"Sir," Ben said, interrupting General Williams. "What happened to McKenzie? I saw Lenneth when I came in. Is she..."
General Williams looked away and grimaced, making Ben fear for the worst. "You better come with me."
The elevator shaft took them to a higher level of the facility. The infirmary wing was small, since most of the time it didn't have anything more severe to deal with than papercuts, headcolds, and the occasional burn wound from the machine shops. It was poorly equipped to handle severe injuries. But since they were headed here, and not to a major hospital, Ben became slightly less worried. But only slightly.
Natalie was propped up in one of the beds, and was currently the only patient visible. Bandages covered a cut in her forehead, and more covered parts of her hands and arms. An IV line was hooked up to the left arm, and an EKG monitor recorded a slow, steady heartbeat. She seemed asleep at the moment.
"Is she alright," he asked the doctor in attendance.
"The physical wounds are relatively minor, a few cuts and bruises from a couple of bad landings, and some minor contact burns, all of which are easy enough to fix. But...the psychological wounds appear to be deeper than that. Wahtever she went through out there appears to have been very hard on her. We can't be sure of what ourselves, as most of the recording gear was fried in the battle and the ensuing explosion, and she hasn't woken up yet to tell us herself."
"You mean she's in a coma?"
"No, nothing like that. She's alert and responds to stimulus, but she's just not waking up from this right now. It's more akin to a dream or a trance than a coma."
"Is she gonna be OK?"
"As far as we can tell, yes. We can treat the wounds, but the mind...not so much."
"Thank you, Doctor," General Willaims said, before the doctor in turn left the room. "We're doing all we can for her, son. But she just needs time."
"Yeah," Ben said, as he watched. "Unless you've got something else that desperately needs doing...I think I'll just stick around her for awhile."
"Alright. Riptide's not going anywhere for awhile. Just, take it easy, OK? We can't afford to be down two pilots."
"Yeah, I hear ya."
General Williams nodded as he left the room. Ben watched him leave, then pulled a chair up beside the bed and sat.
"Come back to us," he whispered.
----
For two days he stayed in that room, leaving only to use the bathroom. He even took his meals there and slept in the chair. He talked with her too. The conversations were one-sided, but it helped him pull through this too. He told her about what it was really like, being a pilot, going out there to save the world, and in turn, having to bear that burden all the time. He talked about other things too, but mostly, he just talked. Sometimes, he was sure she heard him.
Dawn on the third day came and went unnoticed beneath the desert sands, as Ben slept rather uncomfortably in his chair. The doctors had been by earlier to change out the dressings on the burns, but other than that, it had been just the two of them. Sleep came as a necessity, and was light by necessity. He awoke with a start, unsure at first what had caused it, when he felt something squeeze his hand. The lights were dimmed to help him sleep, but not so much that he couldn't see Natalie's hand, bandaged as it was, entwined in his own. Her face was turned towards him, her eyes half shut, and her features looking worn. But a small smile still managed to tease the corners of her mouth.
"Hey there handsome," she whispered.