2011-03-01 - Ark Hammer Of Pain

After the events surrounding the 'blockade' of the Martian farms. The Ark Hammer: Medical Ward

White is a prominent feature onboard this ship. Though the hallways may be leaning towards gray, there is a rounded feeling to many of the rooms on board of this ship. This is especially the case within the Medical bay. A series of beds are set to walls with tubes and all kinds of machinery connected to people. The Ark Hammer had taken a severe hit, and lost some of its people. But more importantly at this time, were the people who were in a critical state but could still be saved. And it was amongst those people being treated that Sinya Leland would find herself. A doctor is walking around the room rather frantically, checking on everyone's life signs, whilst one of the many nurses types up a report on the computer.

Standing outside of this very room is a young man with blue hair, whose left eye is bandaged off again due to the backlash that had occurred within the Orbital Frame during the hit. A faint red glow comes from underneath the bandage, as well as the lines that lay beneath his other eye, indicating some light remnants of Metatron poisoning. A nurse comes outside and looks at him, nodding patiently. "She'll recover." Is all she says. Of course, in the framerunner's eyes, that's not really 'good enough'. The nurse seems to pick up on his annoyance with that answer. "If you really want to see how she is doing, you'll come see her. Just keep your voice down. Some of the patients are resting."

And so it was that Ascian Luddite, BAHRAM framerunner, stepped into the medical ward after some hours of waiting, and hesitantly peeks over to find the La Gian female laying in one of the beds. He tries to keep his distance however, feeling guilty for having gotten Sinya involved. After all; she wasn't a mercenary. As much as she's truly held her own against that Boyle person, she was still an innocent civilian in his eyes.

In many ways, the catgirl is quite lucky to be alive. The blast was enough to severely damage a battleship, and it certainly was more than adequate to blast a single mech into nothing more than a piece of twisted metal. Somehow, though, she'd managed to escape the worst of the blast - perhaps by the grace of a few members of the Crusaders who'd tried to come to her aid, or just by some of that cat-like luck. Afterall, cats do have nine lives, and it seems that this particular cat is down at least one after this particular battle.

Sitting on a table next to the bed is a flight suit which looks far more modern than the normal mechanic's gear that Sinya had worn when working in a more civilian fashion. Atop it is a black helmet with a visor across the front, splattered with a few drops of conspicuous red. There is singing along the plastic and metal, warping it in a way that seems to match the injuries to the side of the catgirl's head. Her head is wrapped in bandages, including one ear which is permanetly bound in place at a strange angle. The last two fingers, wrist, and forearm of her left side are bound in a thick brace, as is her leg on the same side.

Still, as bad as it seems, at least she's alive. Groggy, probably from a good dose of pain killers, she peeks one green eye open, scanning the room before closing it again. Then, opening both eyes, she raises one hand, and then tugs the blanket up off of her feet and begins counting outloud. "One, two, three..." Just what exactly /is/ she counting? Perhaps her brain was more addled than the doctors thought?

Ascian observes as the girl seems to come to. A nurse quickly walks towards her, and the young man follows. And whilst the nurse seems initially confused, Ascian's perception quickly picks up on what he believes to be what she is doing; "They're all still attached." He mutters to the girl, putting his hands behind his back as he isn't sure where else to put them. The framerunner felt nervous, afraid to be resented by this person.

The nurse moves next to Sinya's bed and tries to put the blanket back onto the feline beastwoman, before telling her that she ought to stay still. "You need some rest, and you have some fractures. We may have a high tech facility here, but even we cannot take away the need to rest." She claims authoritively, giving that look only nurses can manage some how. Well... nurses and librarians who wear glasses.

There's worry in Ascian's one visible eye, still 'underlined' by the gently red glow of Metatron energy flowing through the strange 'scar' there. "How are you feeling?" He knew the answer was obvious, he felt compelled to ask nevertheless.

Wiggling her toes on both feet, Sinya stops her counting and looks up towards Ascian, a smirk playing on her lips as she gives a chuff of a laugh. "Mmm." She looks at her opposite hand, eyeing the two braced fingers with a scowl. It's the nurse's voice that has her good ear perking in that direction, followed by a slow movement of her head. She's definitely drugged, but not completely out of it. There is a stubborn sort of look in her eyes, glancing first at the nurse, and then to Ascian, but for the time being she plays the part of the invalid, nodding once and then leaning her head back into the pillow.

Only when she hears the clicking of the nurse's footsteps moving away does she let one eye peek open again, "Is she gone?" The catgirl whispers under her breath, and then seems to affirm her own suspicions, pushing herself up with one arm in an attempt to get into a sitting position. "Didn't happen to get the number of that truck that hit me, did you?" There is an attempt to smile, but it sets of a wince of pain from the burn marks on her cheek and quickly fades. "I'm fine." As she finally struggles into that sitting position, there is another wince. "Okay, mostly fine."

She pulls the blanket back, looking down at the brace on her leg. "That's going to be problematic." Murmuring as if she were appraising some broken machine, the catgirl shakes her head, and then glances at Ascian. "You know, you've got glowing lines, just here." She points beneath her eyes, stating this as if it she were pointing out that the walls are white, or the sky is blue. Drugs plus already straightforward natured catgirls don't tend to go well together. "I must concoct a cunning escape plan. Woaah." She declares to no one in particular, trying to shift her legs off of the bed but only managing to move them an inch or two before her hand slips and she has to scramble to stay sitting up. "Hrm. Gravity you clever devil." Yep, definitely drugged.

Ascian presses his lips together to hold back a smile as she gives that stubborn look to the nurse. He knew exactly what that was like. In fact, the top nurse at the NUT facility tended to get on his case all the time for all the punishment he puts his body through. And even though he knew she was right in telling him off for it, he never really listened. Especially not these days.

He patiently remains standing there as the nurse wanders off to check on a different patient much further along the room, then nods at her in order to tell her that the woman was indeed gone. "The name of that truck was Boyle Fortner. A Frightner. They are mercenaries that tend to deploy on Mars. Some of them are good people..." She could probably tell by the look on his face that he believes that this 'Boyle' person is definitely not one of those to count amongst those 'good people'.

"As for your escape. I suggest against it. As much as I don't usually agree with my doctors either..." He wanders along the side of the bed where she seemed to want to get off, and kind of tries to 'block' her path. That, or he's there to catch her in case she falls. The young man smiles a bit. "After all, that clever devil - gravity - will surely have your head in this state." He then proceeds to look at the beastwoman, but keeps his hands behind himself.

"And yes." Somewhat out of order to reply to it now, but that didn't really seem to matter to him. "I indeed 'glow' underneath my eyes. I didn't get off lucky either... though a whole lot better than you, may I add. Think you'll be okay?"

"Boooyle." Sinya drags the word out as if she found it somehow funny, although there isn't a laugh that follows. Instead, her head tilts, eyes closing, then widening as she seems to try to sort out the swimming feeling in her head. Besides the pain killers, she did get a good dose of head trauma, which probably isn't helping her ability to function at the moment. "Mercenaries. It's bad enough everyone assumes every Trailer is just some merc for hire." She groans, letting her forehead come to rest on her uninjured palm. "Would be just my luck to get fired on by my own people." She laughs this time, but it's a bitter sort, followed by a sigh. "I need more trainng."

She doesn't try to move again, although it's clear that she's working more on sorting out her disjointed mind. "Listen, I don't like being trapped. I don't want to stay here." Her head moves back and forth even as she explains this, a purr in the back of her throat showing the effects of her injuries. "So you can either help me, or get them to sedate me. Your choice." She looks up at him, obviously still being quite stubborn about the whole issue. Trapped in a strange place is not a good thing for a cat, especially one that was a former slave.

She's only momentarily distracted as her eyes come back around to the glowing lines on his face, regarding them with a tilt of the head. "Metatron poisoning." She notes as if this were a piece of trivia she were answering. "You should get your AI checked out, it probably needs an upgrade." Scootching her butt back, the catgirl sits more fully up, leaning over her legs as she pulls the good one closer to her. "I'll be fine. I heal. I'm more worried about Arius." She takes a deep breath, glancing over at her helmet. If that was any hint at the damage to her mech, it is going to be /bad/. "You realize that he's not exactly a bastion of modern technology, right? I don't even know where I'm going to find the money..." She trails off, swinging her good leg down in what is obviously preperation for that daring escape, even if it's going to be more of a slow hobble.

Ascian gives the girl a weary look. Helping her 'escape' probably was not a good idea. Especially not with the girl in this state. Still thinking this over however, he decides to instead tackle her cnote about his A.I. "Yes. Duat is in need for another series of updates. But the development of the unit cannot keep up with the output of my Orbital Frame. I will one day either have to do away with it, or install something new. Without the original plans, all they can do is increase its buffer and do some minor editting to the Metatron Computer."

Giving away a bit too much information? Perhaps. In his eyes though, it was alright. It was not as if she could do anything bad with this information. "And yes. Your... guymelef... was it?" He pauses for a moment whilst he conciders that name, before he continues, "It does indeed look like it is hard to get the parts back for. I admit, I am not entirely knowledgable about La Gias equipment. But if it is money, we can at least give you a partial contribution. After all, it is because of us that you got to be in such dire straits."

He takes out what looks like a PDA of sorts and starts punching in some things, whilst he looks at the girl again. "Also. If you want to 'run' away from here, how are you going to get the Arius repaired? I admit, I don't know what its state is. But we are currently en-route to the main NUT complex. We have some decent repair facilities there. I can get you off-loaded there. We ought to be arriving in less than fifteen minutes." Ascian turns his head towards her helm for a moment, and then back at Sinya trying to move her leg over the edge of the bed. It doesn't look like he is really going to stop her, as he takes a step back.

"Computers aren't my strong point." Sinya replies without much hesitation, her visible ear drooping slightly as she shakes her head from side to side. While she is at least somewhat knowledgable about Orbital Frames, she isn't anywhere near skilled enough with the mysterious material they are made of to do much with them. "Any advice I can offer, you probably have already heard and disregarded." Things like: Don't push the system too far, or distance yourself from the Metatron. "You 'frame pilots are a stubborn lot." Stubborn? This from the girl intent on walking out of the infirmary after nearly getting herself killed?

Swinging her braced leg down, Sinya just sits at the edge of the bed for the time being, giving a nod. "Guymelef, yes. It's an Ispano, which makes it that much worse." She swings her good leg, as if debating actually tring to stand, but holds off on that thought for the time being. "Back on my world, you had to pay a heavy price to the Ispano to get a unit like that repaired. The technology is so far above even the Zaibach guymelefs. Luckily modern tech in this world is a good enough alternative." She smirks, although only using one side of her face to keep from pulling at the burns. "Still expensive though."

His offer to give her money has Sinya's ear perking and her eyebrows raising slightly. "Uh. No. I'm drugged and half dead, but I'm not about to accept a handout." She raises her uninjured hand and shakes her head. "I got /myself/ into this mess, and I'll get Arius repaired doing what I do best. Work. If you have a job for me and want to pay me, that's fine. Otherwise, I won't accept charity." Definitely stubborn. "If you can get me and what's left of my mech a lift to Pandora Frettum, I can handle things from there."

"Framerunners, stubborn? What about you then? With your money problems, do you really think you have the luxory of being that picky about how you get your money?" He isn't trying to berate her, but rather just ask her - trying to understand the kind of person she is, his voice more 'joking' than anything else. "But fine. I will see if I can get you a 'job' then, though giving you money for what you did back there - trying to protect the farm - it is something commendable."

The young man pauses for a moment and then sutes down on the bed next to her - seeing as she has already swung her legs to the side, and there is room. "You can put an arm around me if you need the help." He quickly eyes the doctor and nurse, who are both busy with a man who is coughing up blood. He winces. "So glad I was inside an Orbital Frame, and not on board this ship." He whispers, intending it not to be heard by Sinya.

"When we arrive at Nereidem, I'll get you a freighter who can move you to Pandora. But..." He eyes her. "You don't look that poor..." A pause. "... or rather. You are skilled enough to make money fairly easily."

"Yes, framerunners are some of the most stubborn people I've ever met." Sinya replies, sounding as if she were absolutely certain of this fact, although only as much so as anyone else who is under the influence of something more than asprin. With another moment spent trying to focus her brain on something other than wobbling slightly back and forth, the catgirl seems to focus her eyes on the red lines on Ascian's face, prodding at one lightly with the tip of her claw. It's not a gesture meant to hurt, just to point out something. "The metatron gets into your blood. Better be careful or you just might lose yourself to it."

Taking a breath, she seems just about to edge herself off of the bed when he raises the offer of help, and she can't help but tilt her head at him, as if trying to see if there is more to the offer than it seems. It is enough to distract her drugged mind for a moment from what she was doing, at least until she gets lost in some other thought that flitters by. "Ascian, I was raised as a slave. I fought for my freedom, and not without cost. This time I want to earn the rewards of my own work." If nothing else, at least she has a very good work ethic, which is more than can be said for some Trailers.

"Besides, I'm not poor." She seems to forget about the offer of help, hopping the short distance off the edge of the bed and letting her feet land on the ground. There is an unstable wobble, as if she might fall, but then she catches herself with the uninjured fingers of her left hand. Her eyes scan back towards him, blinking as she clears her vision. "Any money I have left over from contracts that isn't going to my stomach and my mech goes into renting out my storehouse here on the red moon and my shop on the mystic moon." There she goes, using that strange terminology for Earth and Mars again. Still, the drugs seem to be wearing off a bit, and she stands a bit more steadily on her feet. "Sure, I've got more in stock than I'll probably ever find a buyer for, but I like to tinker with the parts."

"I'll be careful. No worries. There's a whole medical team that keeps track of my body..." He turns his gaze a bit to the side, trying not to reveil that they tended to be a bit too invasive into his privacy at times. Damn doctors, and their constant worrying about people's health and all that. His twitches his eye a bit as she touches the glowing area, and blinks at her.

His confusion is replaced by a more serious look however when she begins to talk about her history as a slave. He nods understanding as she talks about her lack of freedom, whilst following the little expressions he catches on her face. Ascian could tell she was being entirely honest. "I understand." He nods. "Very well. If that is how it is to be, so it is to be. And I'll respect it." God, Ascian can be a nice guy when the person on the other side of the table... or rather, next to him on the bed... is not a member of A-Laws.

As she continues to get up, he has his hands at the ready. But when she looks like she might fall, and he places his hands on either side of her body - but slightly away from her... he is somewhat glad she doesn't fall. He realizes that things like that look bad at times. It is only hesitantly that he retreats his hands to his lap though, as she continues to talk and gets to her feet properly. ""Mars and Earth, I assume you are refering to?" He makes sure. "And I am sure there are some places that'd love to hire you. The problem is... many of them have requirements and contracts that... might not suit someone like you."

"A whole medical team?" Sinya's head tilts slightly to the side, giving that look with cat-like curiousity. "Seems like more trouble than it's worth." Looking towards his hands, the catgirl just offers a small smile. "I'm fine, really." She continues to steady herself, and then glances around to track the movements of the nurses, who thankfully haven't noticed her moving. "Humans tend to overmedicate me. If I wanted to feel drunk, I'd much rather do it drinking." There is a bit of shuffling as she moves over to the chair, plucking up the flight suit from the chair.

Then, realizing the all too close by prying eyes, she spins her hand in the air, "Mind giving me some privacy for a sec?" She asks, and then starts to pull off the robe the doctors had placed around her, not waiting to see if he's going to be polite. it doesn't take her long to zip the tight fitting flight suit across her chest, especially as they had already cut open the arm she needed. The pants are going to be more trouble, though.

"Where I come from, what you call 'Earth' hangs in the sky as one of our moons." She explains, using one claw to slice through the trousers of her flight suit, making room for her leg brace. It takes a moment of struggle to get herself dressed, but at least without the hospital gown she doesn't look quite like an invalid. Only once she's presentable does she turn around and look again at Ascian. "What is that supposed to mean? Because I'm not out for blood, or to be a killer for hire...? that's not the type of work I'd want, anyways."

"Yeah. A whole medical team. Good framerunners are few and far in between. So they try to keep good track of their health." That, or they are seen as research subjects, or simply both. He finally gets up himself, ready to catch her in case she goes falling, especially as she tells him basically that she was feeling drunk due to the medication. "Can't blame them, they aren't used to seeing your species around here." Though admittedly, they probably should underdose in such a case. Right?

The girl then suddenly spins her hand in the air, and he just looks up at it in confusion. And she starts saying something and already is pulling off her robes. The red underneath his eyes from the Metatron light flares up, along with the crimson on his cheeks - and he gets an accidental look before he turns around and stiffens up. His hands by his sides, he stands like a nervous soldier - back facing her. His brain is not sure what to do right now. Parts of it going 'they're not that different' where-as another part goes 'we should not have seen that!'

Poor Ascian. He's blushing furiously, and takes a moment to look at the doctor and nurses... until the girl speaks again. "That. Which would suggest I was right. But I was actually talking about the fact that most of those contracts require you to become part of their army permanently." He then steps forwards stiffly. It was probably clear that he was embarassed about 'something'. "I'll distract the doctor and nurses." He just mutters and stiffly wanders along to the doctor in order to talk to them about a strange headache. One that would surely magically disappear if Sinya made it out of the door.

While she's had quite a bit of experience working with LEVs, she hasn't been able to see much of Orbital Frames outside of combat situations. They tended to be kept a bit under wraps, especially for those like her who are not part of the Crusaders. "I can imagine." There is a shuffling sound as she finally gets suited up, although it ends up being a more painful experience than one would guess, even with the drugs. She's not about to let that on, though, otherwise he might not let her sneak away.

She doesn't seem to care one way or the other if he looks, as she doesn't even bother to check. "Yeah. The only other place I've even heard of one of my kind is over the radio the night that monster attacked." There is a bit of a lonesome tone to her voice. She's been alone - a single entity for the better part of two years, and in many ways she still had yet to find a real place among the people who lived outside of La Gias.

She seems to grow quiet as she considers his words, "I can't. I'm not really the military type." She admits, looking at the soldiers who are in just as bad, if not worse shape than she is. "Maybe if..." She starts to say something, but then he's walking off, serving as her distraction. What had happened? Confusion shows briefly on the cat-girl's features, but she doesn't have time to dwell on it. While they are focused on him, she shuffles her way out the door, intent on finding her way to the remains of her guymelef.