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Outlaw, Chapter 4
Posted By: Chris Cassani<plindberg01@earthlink.net>
Date: 28 October 2002, 6:27 am
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Authors Note: Despite breaking my right wrist on Friday I've worked over the weekend to crank this out. Still no feedback, all I want is one email people.
Date: 0700 Hours, September 12, 2552
Location: 3 Miles under the surface of Reach, Camp Hatchcock
Timeframe: 13 Days after the fall of Reach.
Atmospheric Conditions: No Atmosphere Detected
Temperature: -100 Degrees Celsius
The doctor once again walked up to Maj. Zecks in his full body cast. Four days had passed since his operation and it was time to remove it. He shook Outlaw awake and informed him that it was time for the cast to be removed and to start therapy.
"Alright doc, lets get this damned itchy thing off me." Grumbled Outlaw.
"All in good time, you don't still feel, as you put it, heavy, do you?" asked the Doctor.
"Nah, not anymore." He replied.
"Good, then your heart has adjusted to the changes and increased blood flow to the muscles. That's what made you feel heavy, your blood was spread thin. The bones should be long repaired by now as well, the ribs in your back had been completely crushed, that's why I had to do the ossification." The doctor informed.
"Ok, let's get this thing off already." Outlaw grumbled once a gain.
"Yes, yes." Said the doctor, starting the saw and putting it to his wrist to show that it wouldn't cause any harm.
For the next few minutes, they removed the cast one piece at a time, first the legs, then the arms, and the chest. At this they paused to let him air out, the stench was nearly unbearable. Then, at last, he removed the cast covering the head. Outlaw rolled over to get out of the bottom half of the cast.
"Whew, well, that was fun, let's not do it again." Said Outlaw, as he slowly raised himself up, only to fall back down onto the bed.
"Major Zecks your going to need a good week of therapy before you can stand up on your own. The muscles, despite the muscle condensing booster shots, have still atrophied. Most of your leg and back muscles were ripped to pieces anyway. Now come on, we're going to start you off in a one half gee environment." Said the doctor as several nurses rolled the cart down to the gravity training room.
They all felt a slight sense of vertigo and nausea as they shifted suddenly to a half gee. There, in the room, stood Switchblade, grinning from ear to ear at the sight of his friend, in one piece for the first time in five days.
"Ok Outlaw, this may come as a shock but I'm going to be your therapist." Said Switchblade, his voice dripping with sarcasm on the shock remark.
"Yeah, big surprise, so what first?" asked Outlaw as the doctor and nurses retreated back out the doorway.
"Well, how about we try standing up, eh?" he said.
At this, Outlaw rolled over and tried to stand up. He fell down a few times, but he could do it.
"Alright, now for today we're just going to do some coordination exercises, standing on one foot, closing your eyes and touching your hand to your nose, maybe some jumping, that kind of stuff." Said Switchblade.
After standing on both his left and right foot, they moved on to touching the nose, and a long day of therapy ensued. Day Three "Ok, time to stop jumping and standing on one foot, today we're bumping you back up to normal gravity. This morning's medical scans showed that your muscles are at half strength and ready for a one gee environment." Said Switchblade.
"Horay for me..." muttered Outlaw.
"Alright, change the spin boys, give us a full gee." Said Switchblade into a radio.
There was a slight humming noise and the room felt normal again to both people inside of it.
"Ok, stand up." Said Switchblade.
For the third time Outlaw got out of bed and stood up, a little unsure of him self. He wobbled a little bit, clinched his teeth, and at last got all the way up.
"Good, this means they don't have to wheel you in on that bed anymore, assuming of course you can still walk, give it a try." He said.
Outlaw walked around some, jogged a lap around the oval shaped room, than did a full out run, feeling for the first time in a week independent in his motions.
"Wow, that was more than any of us were expecting. A jump perhaps?" asked Switchblade.
"Ok, lets see what I can do." Said Outlaw
He jumped into the hair and nearly hit the ceiling...six meters above the ground, then landed with perfect grace on both feet.
"Alright, that was Grade A weird." Outlaw said, aghast at what he had just done.
Switchblade got the radio from his belt once again and said "Control, are you sure we're at one gee, I think we all saw that." Switchblade said in a state of awe.
"That's an affirmative Major Beckstead, all systems are running normal, we read one gee.
"Ok, time to get you back to MedBay for some scans. Something weird is going on." Said Switchblade, turning his friend around and walking out of the room.
"Good, I see he's walking, but are you really done so soon?" said the doctor.
"Uh, doc, we did a jumping exercise and he nearly hit his head on the roof." Said Switchblade.
"Major Zecks, stand in front of the scanner please." Ordered the doctor with an interested look on his face.
Outlaw walked in front of the scanner, and it hummed to live.
"Ok, all done, step away please, the scans are coming up now."
What the three of them saw didn't make any sense to Outlaw or Switchblade, but the doctor could read it just fine, and much to their joy never got an expression of worry on it.
"I should have expected this, its happened before. The operation is having a combined effect just like with the Spartans. This man can now function normally in three gee environments, lift three times his own body weight, and run at fifty five kilometers per hour." Said the doctor, obviously more than pleased with his work.
"But should he be adjusting so fast?" asked Switchblade.
"Well, frankly, I almost expected this to happen. Major Zecks is now better than he was, there is no need for further therapy. Now we have three options on the table." Said the doctor, cutting off at the end to add some fake drama.
"Well, go on, what are they?" asked Outlaw.
"Option one, we can undo the changes and have you back to your normal self by tomorrow morning, option two, we can leave you the way you are, or option three, we can give you the rest of the operation and make you a full blown Spartan." The doctor said "So what's it going to be, door number one, door number two, or door number three?"
Outlaw sighed, his brow furrowed in thought "I'll take door number three if you can do it to Switchblade too. If not, I'll take door number one. I can't work without him." Said Outlaw, giving Switchblade a friendly jab in the shoulder that knocked him to the floor.
"Damnit, sorry, sorry." Said Outlaw, gently helping his friend up.
"Well, both of you are 23 correct? That eliminates some of the risk, your in your prime. But, there are no guarantees, if you and Switchblade are willing to take the risk, I suppose I can go all the way with this." Said the doctor in a somewhat dour voice.
"How 'bout it Switch, wanna be a super soldier?" asked Outlaw jokingly, already knowing the answer.
"Sure, why the hell not?" said Switchblade, giving Outlaw a friendly punch in the arm, then grabbing his fist in pain "Oops...ok that was a stupid move." Day Five "We're ready to being if you are, gentlemen." Said the doctor, now in a full white surgical uniform.
"Doc, we both agreed to this beforehand, and I hope you honor this condition. If one of us isn't going to wake up fine, neither one of us want to wake up at all." They said in unison.
"Alright...I..I understand." Said the doctor as the nurses put the masks on and they both blacked out. Day Eight "Ok, physical therapy completed. Congratulations gentlemen, your bonified super soldiers. Lucky to, that was the last two sets of Spartan operation materials we had left. If Reach hadn't been glassed, we'd all be in a jail cell about now. But since each day is a fight to survive and we're cut off from human contact until Reach has stabilized, we're going to have to take some extreme measures to keep ourselves alive." Said the doctor.
They were now in a strange square room, unclothed except for their surgical robes. They had been through the operation and three days of physical therapy. It had been tough, but they were both glad that the operation had worked. They were now stronger than ever and could help their squad in ways they had never before dreamed of.
"Would you like some information on yourselves? You may not believe it, but during therapy we recorded all of the important information." Said the doctor.
"Sure, why not?" Said Switchblade.
"You can now both run at fifty five KPH, lift three times your own body weight, function normally in three gee's, see in the dark, and your reaction time is twenty mili-seconds." Said the doctor as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"Woah... that's great Doc, I never dreamed I could get this strong. I don't just know it, I can feel it pulsing through my veins. But why are we here, unclothed?" asked Outlaw.
"Yes, that. I went searching through the bowels of Camp Hatchcock, knowing that the Chi Cheti Four MJOLNIR research program had been moved here shortly before it had been glassed. It took some doing, but I found enough components in the three damage suits they had to make two full sets. These are the newer, shielded models capable of carrying an AI." The doctor said.
"Slow down doc, MJOLNIR? What's the hammer of the Norse thunder god have to do with us?" they both asked, confused.
"MJOLNIR are the green power suits worn by the Spartans. I already implanted the advanced chip you need in your skulls, and found two functional AI's in a damaged carrier that was being repaired in an underground facility during the attack." Said the doctor.
"Wait a minute, we get the suits? This is a pretty sweet deal." Said Outlaw.
"Alright gentlemen, just remain still while these techs suit you up." The doctor said, as the door to the room opened and two green suits were rolled in.
Fifteen minutes later they both stood there, now standing two meters tall and looking at each other, not believing their own eyes.
Two holotanks activated, one with the image of a muscular man holding a grenade, the other a slim man clutching a sniper rifle.
" Here are your AI's. They have renamed themselves to something that they believed more matched your individual fighting styles. Major Zecks, here is yours, C12. And Major Beckstead, yours, Sharp Shooter." Said the doctor, as he yanked the AI's out and extended his right hand, two small, yellow chips resting in it.
They both felt the typical cool presence enter their mind as the AI came online. Both of them greeted the AI's, got to know them, and learned how they could help them in combat. They had been refitted with the latest hacking and translation software, copied from the computer core of the damaged carrier.
"Now, remember to move slowly at first. Just think about your movements, don't try to do them. Once you feel comfortable, you may leave the room. By tomorrow you'll probably feel naked not wearing your suit." Said the doctor, strolling out of the room with the techs.
"Well, this is a change." Said Switchblade.
"That's an understatement. Two days ago we were just grunts in the trenches, now we don't even know our limitations anymore. I suppose we should uhh...move?" said Outlaw.
For the next half-hour they adjusted to moving, until eventually they were walking in unison down the hallways, now, thanks to the added height of the suit, towering above most of their comrades.
Little did they know it, the next day they would be involved in one of the largest attacks on a Covenant base, to eliminate the threat so as to wait for the ability to call for help in peace.
Next Chapter 5, Suicidal Attack and Learning Your Limits
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