USD: The Morning After Arrival to MIL-1A
Location: Van Biesbroecks star, ltisar, MIL-1A, Navy Neurotrauma and Rehabilitation Center, Resident Annex A5, Room F
The nurse asked if there was anything she needed. Alex shook her head. No thank you.
Soone had been to check on Elis every thirty minutes and Alex was grateful for the care they seed to give her sister. The doctor had scheduled a eting with both of them for later in the day to go over the test results and discuss treatnt options and prognosis.
That made Alex nervous. She didnt want to hear bad news, but at least the dical center seed much better staffed and equipped than the shipboard dbay the Iron Horse had. Although the nurse had suggested that Alex find an apartnt on the station to stay in rather than Elis's room.
After a night of sleeping there, Alex understood why. With soone coming in every 30 minutes, and all kinds of noises and people going and leaving on the floor at all hours, it was difficult to rest. Alex had grown used to that partly while on the Iron Horse, but it was a far cry from the once peaceful evenings she rembered having on the Tears.
She was torn though, as she didnt want to leave Elis alone. Deciding not to go far, Alex headed to the dical centers cafeteria. It was much larger than she had expected, with a half dozen different food stations and all kinds of naval and dical personnel taking breakfast.
She spotted one hot food place that was cooking different breakfast foods. There were multiple different options, but she decided on trying the sausage, mushroom, and green pepper olet. So fried hashbrowns were also on offer, and she took them without hesitation. There was also the option of so type of red sauce, and she took that, too.
Instead of going back to the room to eat with Elis, she elected to sit in the large dining area. Mostly because of the pleasant view of the window booth and a change of scenery. Having a table was a nice bonus, too.
While eating, she considered her options and situation. In the short term, there was no avoiding staying on MIL-1A and she acknowledged that Eliss condition would determine a lot of her options, so definitive decisions would need to wait until later.
Switching her Datapad over to the StationNet, she browsed information on the prices of purchasing a ship. A small, long range courier would be ideal, but when she saw the listed prices from a local shipyard she felt gut-punched.
| Barton Industries Inc. |
|| Starship Class List ||
||Civilian Recreational||
|Starline Class Light Yacht: 885,000,000 SE|
|Diamond Class Yacht: 1,500,000,000 SE|
|Luxurious Class Yacht: 8,888,000,000 SE|
||Civilian Class Light Freight||
|Raleigh Class Light Cargo: 1,850,000,000 SE|
|Grissly Class Fast Cargo: 2,225,000,000 SE|
|Fireok Class Heavy Cargo: 2,885,000,000 SE|
||Civilian Heavy Freight||
|Hulk Class Super Freighter Modular: 56,000,000,000 SE|
|Evergreen Class ga Freighter Modular: 255,000,000,000 SE|
|Notice: All prices represent average costs only. All ships are built to custom specifications and are subject to contractual agreents for procurent. Contact the nearest Barton Industries representative for more information.|
Alex thumbed off the site page in annoyance. The prices for everything were 10 tis higher than she was used to on the frontier. She wasnt even looking in the right place. Purchasing an interstellar vessel was apparently a lot different than she had expected, and the ti durations for getting a ship were listed in years.
Realizing she needed to find a used shipnot look up new construction, she changed her search criteria. There were many more ships available in the new list, but prices were still extrely high and far out of her 150 million credit budget.
She was even outpriced from intra-system ships ant for independent mining and prospecting around the star and moons of the system. It looked like most independent contractors often relied on loans, but she had no credit score and she had no intention of finding a loan shark or sothing of that nature.
She was pretty sure that only worked in video gas and fiction stories.
Switching tack to look at prospective travel tickets to 92 Pegasi was also a dead end. The news had ant that the relatively few possible routes taking passengers there were canceled or delayed indefinitely. No civilian contractor wanted to fly a passenger ship into a warzone, apparently.
The route back would likely need to go through Solarian space, which would take at least two, but more realistically, three months. It had the huge advantage of not going through a secure inner system that was likely to have an NAI guardian. Alex felt like she had sohow lucked out in 63 Hydrae. Thraker had confird that the woman who had visited her in the smuggling compartnt via hologram was the custom stations NAI.
Recalling that conversation, she wondered what would have happened if she had accepted. She knew that she had the highest authority level possible, but she suspected that just taking over and commanding NAIs wasnt a realistic idea. As evidenced by rogue and escaped NAIs possibly living in ltisar.
It seed that sohow, they could get around and escape if they wanted to?
She shook her head; until she found one to talk with, shed have to be wary and not take anything for granted. There could be the possibility that theyd hijack and take her over instead, even with Oga authority Who knew what they had co up with or done in the last 80 years to circumvent the Entitys programming?
She took a bite from her breakfast and swapped over to looking at more ships, this ti searching for ones related to private military contractors.
The old military ships for sale turned out to not even be a consideration, as the market was even more arcane than the civilian one. Alex realized she might have asked Thraker, but the prices werent likely to be lower than the civilian ships and she realized now why the Iron Horse was in such a bad shape despite the inco the rcenary company had commanded in the frontier.
Frontier rates probably barely covered port fees and crew salaries here
Alex sighed and focused on her olet before it got cold while looking out at the white-orange clouds of the gas giant.
Getting back wouldnt be easy. So she decided to think about a different approach. Fixing up Naless. If he was online, she didnt care if they had to go to so uninhabited place in the system and build everything from scratch. She was sure hed be able to bootstrap them to a ship, eventually.
Or even better, repurpose available things and technology and improve it and turn a profit. Dozens of ideas floated around in her head how they could earn enough money just by using advanced NAI technology and selling advanced items locally. Even if she had to stay a bit on the shady side and avoid detection by the authorities, who probably wouldnt appreciate an unregulated FedTech supplier suddenly appearing without authorization.
Nearly finished with her breakfast, Alex considered why Thraker had directed her to keep her PSI status hidden beyond the obvious. Hed given her his number and let her know she was welco to visit the Iron Horse and the skeleton crew manning it while it was in port, or to contact him if she needed help but other than that he had seemingly cut her loose.
Admiral Darren as well. Despite all the angst and trepidation she had experienced; the Admiral had given her his private number and told her to contact him if she needed anything, and that he would make sure that Elis remained eligible for every dical benefit the navy could provide.
She looked up and around the dining area, wondering if she was being watched. The feeling was silly, considering the entire station had caras in the public areas. Theyd have no problem surveilling her remotely.
Finishing the last of her water, she picked up her tray and carried it toward the tray return.
There was a digital sign above the slot thanking everyone for returning their trays, but it prompted another thought. What had the ssage in the bathroom been about?
If the Admiral could put her in contact with another NAI, then shed be able to repair Naless, she was sure. She didnt want to take over or force them, but surely theyd be willing to help her jumpstart a new computronics module?
Although the issue of where to keep it or how to get around was not obvious. She would need a ship. Or at least an office or industrial space large enough for one. She knew the dinsions, at least roughly. Even if the first thing she did was turn it into so type of hand fabricator.
Wondering if Naless would be able to surf the ltisar SystemNet as easily as he had in the frontier systems, Alex made her way back to Elis's room. Elis was sleeping as usual and Alex went to the recliner and plopped into it. The fake window display was showing a sunrise on the Gas Giant.
Alex imdiately launched into a net search for information on NAIs. There was a lot of data, but it was almost all related to NAIs everywhere but ltisar. There were only a few conspiracy theory sites that had anything to say about NAIs in or around ltisar itself. Most of those purported it was so type of trick or conspiracy from the military to control the population.
She wanted to laugh and tell them they werent far from the truth, but she doubted that the navy would appreciate her humor. Especially since there was so truth to what they were saying even if they were saying it in an incredibly nonsensical way.
The numbers for Thraker and Admiral Darren both blinked on her screen after she closed the browsing program.
Shed avoided considering asking them for help because of her distrust of them, but maybe the devil she knew was better than one she didnt?
Closing her eyes, she fell into a nap. Shed needed it apparently, because the next thing she knew she was being gently woken up by a nurse.
Alex?
Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, Alex felt surprised at the prompting. Hi?
The doctor will be here soon to see you and Elis. Youd been sleeping so soundly all day I thought Id wake you up.
Oh. Thank you.
Alex looked at the fake window, the morning had been replaced with an evening shot of the moon, showing the divide between the dark and light sides of the moon, the city lights of the nightside shining up from the surface.
Shed slept all day. It felt like she slept all day, and she stood up and stretched while the nurse took care of and checked on Elis.
Well, they both had needed so rest, apparently.
The nurse finished checking on Elis and left the room. It wasnt long before the doctor arrived. Alex stood up and stood by the side Elis's bed, hoping he would have so good news for them.
The doctor was an older, tall, thin man with graying hair. He smiled and introduced himself.
Hello Alex. I am Dr. Pierce, and Ill be attending your sister while she is here at the Neurotrauma and Rehabilitation Center. Im sure you have a lot of questions. He said, offering her a warm smile.
Alex nodded, feeling a well of anxiety building in her chest. "Yes, I do. Is there any way to help her? Will she wake up?"
Doctor Pierce's expression softened. "Right now, your sister is unresponsive but still showing signs of brain activity. She is scoring a ten out of 16 on our clinical scale for comas. Shes in what we consider a vegetative state.
The doctor approached the bed and examined Elis.
Her pupil and corneal reflexes are normal, which is a good sign. She also has normal breathing patterns after we did so tests, which is also excellent.
He gentling squeezed Elis's hand and prompted her to squeeze his hand back, but Elis didnt wake.
I understand she has been opening her eyes and moving on her own?
Alex nodded. She has been waking up, but I havent noticed a pattern. She was real active on the way here, but has been sleeping a lot since getting to the room. I think they sedated her for the transport. Would that have had an effect?
Doctor Pierce shook his head. It could, but her chart showed it was a very mild sedative and should be out of her system by now. These things can co and go in waves, so it might just be shes resting better now.
The doctor checked Elis's breathing with a stethoscope.
Her lungs and heart sound fine. Im afraid we cant be certain how long it will take her to recover. She might stay like this for a long ti and not improve at all. Or she might recover gradually. Unfortunately, other than confirming that she has active brain activity, our tests havent been able to discern anything specific.
That was not what Alex wanted to hear, and she felt like she was being crushed.
Ive seen in her notes that shes been given a priority directive from the admiralty, so its possible we can consider advanced experintal treatnts, but I recomnd that we wait before we move on to any of them.
"How long do you think we should wait? And why?" Alex asked, her brows furrowed in worry.
At least a month, but two or three would be best, I think, considering that she has considerable brain activity and is breathing without issue. She will likely need a new feeding tube, but she has done well on it from the notes from her previous physician.
Alex frowned. And why cant we consider the advanced treatnt now?
I need to emphasize to you that the experintal treatnts we can consider are not without risk. They involve utilizing pre-programd nanites and invasive procedures that could cause trauma or even worsen her condition. While weve seen promising results in certain cases, there is no promise of success.
Weve seen similar cases to your sister, who show improvent on their own, with no experintal or invasive treatnt. I cannot say for sure, but its very possible that giving her more ti will allow her to recover on her own and it would be much safer.
The doctor pulled out a datapad from his pocket and handed it to her. I have so further information on these treatnts here for you to read. Ive also included my number that you can call directly if you have any questions or concerns for Elis.
Alex accepted the pad and nodded quietly, taking in the information. Waiting for Elis to improve over possible months made her feel tense.
If we wait, could it make the experintal treatnts less effective? She asked.
Excellent question. Currently, no. As long as Elis state continues to be at the level she is at now, it should not. From the brain and body scans there seems to be no current inflammation or degradation of tissues, so as long as she continues to breathe on her own, have good pupil reflex, and maintains so flexion and brain response the treatnt should be just as effective if we wait.
What if she shows so signs of degradation? Alex asked.
Doctor Pierce nodded. In that case, we can reassess and possibly begin the treatnt imdiately. I cant stress enough how dangerous the nanite infusion can be.
Alex frowned. If you are using nanites, does that an you have an NAI that provides it? I didnt think they were permitted in ltisar.
Dr. Pierce shook his head. The nanites are pre-programd as ntioned. Its possible they have more advanced treatnt by NAI who can oversee the nanites directly, but Im afraid thats not an option here.
There is no possibility of maybe transporting her to a dical center with an NAI that could do the treatnt?
The doctor hesitated, but then nodded. Patient movent is restricted but it could be possible to transfer to a center in the Imperium. However, that process would be quite difficult and long, and take up to six months or a year. There is also the consideration of cost of care, and it might be difficult for you since you are not a citizen.
"I understand, Doctor," she said, doing her best to keep the heaviness out of her voice.
Doctor Pierce patted her arm. "Well do everything we can to make sure Elis gets the best care possible. Try to get so rest and take care of yourself. You can't help Elis if you're not at your best."
Alex nodded as the doctor left, still holding the datapad in her hand. The only thing she could think of was that she needed to restore Naless to help Elis.
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