Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (40/?) WiP 1 (Patreon)

Hey everyone! Here's the Work in Progress for Chapter 40 I hope you guys enjoy! :D 

(A small trigger warning for injuries and emergency medical treatment in this one. Also, I might change a few things about this WiP in the full release tomorrow, but this is how it's looking so far!)

“How?”

“How what?”

“How did you keep on fighting? How did you keep up hope when it looked like there was no way out? The station was melting at that point, Auntie.”

“I think the question you’re looking for, Emma, is not how but why. Because the how is obvious: I powered through. That’s it.”

“Okay… then, why-?”

“Because that’s my job. I was made very clear what the consequences were of me signing that contract. I was made very aware of what the oath and the creed meant. The moment that contract was signed, was the moment I could no longer say no to my job, my duty. When you sign up to become a (), you become a keeper of the peace, a protector. You’re the last line of hope. The very thing people look to when they’re at their worst, when people have no one else to turn to. You know the Thai saying your mother always said to you when you were sick?”

“You don’t think about Doctors until you yourself are sick?”

“Exactly. The same thing applies to us. Nobody thinks of us until they’re staring death in the eye and there’s nothing between them and the abyss but a thin sheet of composalite. Nobody registers our existence until shit hits the fan. But when it does, we’re there. Ready to put it all on the line no matter the place, no matter the time, and no matter what stands in our way. Because that’s what this whole thing is about. Everyone has a job to do, Emma, and when any one of us refuses to do it, it all comes apart at the seams. I did what I did that day because I knew there was no one else to do it. If not me, then who? Even if it was just one civvie in need of rescue, or even if it was a thousand, it wouldn’t have changed my actions that day. I would’ve gone in there until fire ate through the damn hull, because there was no way I was going to betray the hope of those who put their faith in us. Do you understand, Emma?”

“I… think I do. Thank you, Auntie Ran.”

“Critical: Requesting operator status.”

…

“Running PHYS-STAT functional diagnostics. Standby.”

[PHYS-STAT SYSTEMS ONLINE. RUNNING MEDICAL SURVEYS.]

…

[VITAL SIGNS: WITHIN NORMAL LIMITS. PRIMARY, SECONDARY SURVEY + ADJUNCT SURVEYS: AIRWAY INTACT. BREATHING NORMAL. NO SIGNS OF INTERNAL HEMORRHAGE. NO SIGNS OF TBI. GCS: PENDING. ALERT: RIGHT SHOULDER DISLOCATION DETECTED. REPORT: PHYS-STAT [4] NON-LIFE THREATENING INJURIES DETECTED.]

“Cadet Booker, you must respond. Your mission is not over yet.”

DING-DONG!

DING-DONG!

DING-DONG!

Those were the first sounds that entered my frayed and frazzled mind. The sound of a town-bell ringing, over, and over again incessantly.

DING-DONG!

DING-DONG!

Everything was a daze. My whole body felt like it was coursing with adrenaline, yet still couldn’t move despite it.

DING-DONG!

DING-DONG!

But I had to.

Because I still had a job to do.

“Operator Status…” I managed out in between pained, broken breaths. It felt like even moving just a little bit hurt. “Operator Status: Nothing to report. Just… pain… right arm… shoulder. Headache.”

“Affirmative. Right shoulder dislocation detected. Initiate manual reduction?”

A wave of hesitation hit me, and it hit me hard as the EVI uttered those words as clear and concise as could be. All spoken in that same flat, professional synthesized voice.

That hesitation however, lasted only as long as my eyes took to adjust to my surroundings. Surroundings which could only be described as a whole load of nothing. Nothing but a pitch black with only a few specks of light poking through.

We were buried under rubble.

We, being the operative word here.

I didn’t have the luxury of prolonging the inevitable.

“Do it. Do it now.”

“Affirmative. Assuming partial control…” The VI spoke just as I felt everything above the torso of the suit suddenly go stiff. “Initiating manual right shoulder reduction in 3…”

My heart raced, as I closed my eyes shut, forcing my muscles to relax as best they could given clenching would’ve done nothing but to hamper what was about to happen.

“2…”

I tried regulating my breathing, doing everything I could to prepare for the inevitable-

“1.”

-pain.

POP!

“AAGHHHHHHHH!”

I felt that distinctive sudden, sharp shooting pain hit me like a bolt of fucking lightning. Followed by a sore, dull aching pain that felt like it pulsated in rhythm with my heartbeat. The shooting pain lasted only for a few seconds, while the dull aching pain continued to drone on for long past its welcome.

“Manual reduction successful. Relinquishing partial control. Returning control to operator.”

I wanted to continue lying there for several more minutes. I wanted nothing more than to just wait it all out.

But I had to keep on going.

“Okay, let’s get up, clear this rubble, we need to check up on-” I stopped in my tracks as I felt my lower half refusing to cooperate. It felt like I could extend and flex everything by just a few inches, before finally, it just stopped. My heart skipped several beats as my eyes sprung to the medical diagnostics, only to find nothing that would’ve indicated any injuries below the waist. This meant only one thing.

“EVI, Quick status report.”

“Parsing QSR request, standby… Suit Integrity: Nominal, No Suit Breach Detected. Environmental Control Systems: Nominal. Mechanical Functions: [4 Errors Detected]. Suit Systems: Nominal. Superficial damage registered on [7] components localized to the dorsal aspect of the suit. Field-Maintenance Required on [1] vital component: EXO-SKEL-HIPACTUATOR.”

That explains it…

“Is that why I can’t move anything below my hips by a few inches?”

“Affirmative, Cadet Booker. Lower mobility and strength assist is inoperable. Movement in affected areas will be limited until field maintenance is completed.”

I sighed, trying my best to reach for my tool belt, to reach for anything even underneath the rubble and debris with only one good arm.

Nothing worked.

And time was running out.

“EVI, disable mobility and strength assist on sections of the suit affected by the damaged mechanical component.”

“Warning: Disabling mobility and strength assist functions will result in the affected areas relying on operator-strength alone. This suit is not rated for-”

“Just do it! I’ll crawl my way out if I have to!”

Every second we waste on this crap is another second Rila’s not getting the medical attention she needs.