Book 3: Chapter 89: MIL-1A (1)

Book 3: Chapter 89: MIL-1A (1)

USD: 80 days after the battle of Dedia IV, 30 minutes after arrival at MIL-1A

Location: Van Biesbroecks star, Meltisar, Orbital Elevator Nexus MIL-1A

Elis woke up when the airlocks cycled open to the stations gangways. Alex squeezed her sisters hand supportively. A weak grunt came from the bed before Elis started to flex and move randomly in agitation.

Elis, its ok. We just arrived at the station, Alex whispered.

Eliss movements slowed down and her eyes roamed listlessly until they finally settled on Alex. She stopped squirming as much and made some noises that Alex couldnt find any meaning in.

Feeling a bit lost, Alex launched into a concise explanation of where they were and what they were doing. A few moments later, a nurse and CNA from the station came on board.

The nurse shook her hand and greeted her while the other checked Eliss vitals. Are you the patients sister, Maam?

Alex nodded.

Im Josh. Ill be Eliss nurse while we transport her to the Navy Neurotrauma and Rehabilitation Center.

Thats on the station, right?

The nurse nodded. Its part of the Navys Level One Trauma center on the station. It normally only serves service members and their families. I understand she has been registered as a veteran?

Alex blinked in surprise. Captain Thraker handled her registration.

Thats great. Youll be coming with us to the medical center, according to the chart. The doctors will need information on her medical history, along with any relevant information about her condition.

It wasnt in the notes sent ahead? Alex asked.

Josh smiled at her. It was, but it would really be best for a family member to go over things with the staff. It was in the notes that youve been with her when the injury occurred up to now, so its medically relevant enough for you to come with us.

The CNA looked over at her. Get to bypass the security screening line, isnt it nice?

Alex laughed weakly.

No, seriously. The lines are getting out of control lately. Budget cuts on station have meant less staff for the same amount of traffic.

Josh nodded. Spent an hour in line with the wife last week waiting to go planetside. Was a nightmare.

Alex felt a bit of relief. Going through security checkpoints was likely to lead to questions that she didnt want to answer. Still, there was another big reason that was obvious to prefer skipping the line, too. Thats good then. I wouldnt want Elis to have to wait in line with a bunch of people.

Exactly. Dont worry about it. The medical center has its own express tram line. Well be on it.

How far away is it, exactly? Alex asked.

About twenty kilometers? Its not that far. Its one of the first structures down the main line from the transfer hub.

Alex nodded. I saw the map. It didnt seem like that far to need a tram.

Thats a deceptive thing. The station might seem small, but its massive. You dont really get a good idea for it on the way in on a shuttle or from the map. Best advice is that everything has a direct line to the main hub station, which is really a bunch of little hubs that are numbered. You can always find a tram between them or that leads to the major annexes. Josh advised her.

Thank you for the tips.

It only took a few more minutes before they certified Elis for transport and Alex quietly followed behind the medical bed. Once they had maneuvered the bed out of the shuttle and down the gangway, it surprised Alex at just how fast they moved down the corridor.

Despite the thick crowd of humanity exiting the shuttle and lining up at a gate, she and the medical team had their own little cordoned off lane they zipped through. When they came to the scanner, Alex felt nervous. Josh swiped his badge through a card reader, and the gate light turned green. The sliding doors responded immediately, opening for them with not protest.

No one really paid them any mind as they went through, either. Everyone else was having their bags searched while they went through detectors and scans. When the medical bed suddenly stopped, Alex almost tripped and bumped into it.

The space past the gates was mostly empty, with only a few crewmen filtering out of the gates at a time, but Captain Thraker was already standing in their path. Gentleman, if you could wait a moment, I would like to have a word with Ms. Myers.

Josh and the CNA looked at each other with a confused look for a second.

Josh ended up shrugging. Sure. Its not a problem as long as it isnt too long.

Thraker nodded, and Alex stepped to the side to talk with him.

How are you holding up, Alex?

Remembering the last time Thraker started a conversation that way, she went with the truth. Im feeling nervous, but Im okay. They said they want Eliss full medical history and stuff, but Im not sure how much to tell them.

Josh laughed. Yeah, but there are a million people on this station. Cant be going down the big lift planetside every time you want to do a bit of shopping. The central hub is a city in itself, with the specialized military segments going down both ends of the ribbon.

So, the main hub has the habitation and commons? Got it. There isnt security between it and other levels? Alex asked.

Josh looked over at her. Depends on which level youre going to. Most of them, theyll scan your military ID, but medical is designed for civvie visitors so you wont have a problem. You got your passport, right?

Yeah, the Captain gave it to me before we left, Alex answered.

Josh nodded. Nice of him. Pretty important, too. You will not be happy if you gotta go through BuPers to get a new one.

Shes a refugee. Shed go through the embassy. Its not as bad. The CNA offered.

Josh laughed. Still bad.

The CNA shook his head. Not nearly. Plus she wont get her ass reamed for losing it. They are pretty nice over there.

Wouldnt know. Never been to it.

Alex quietly dropped out of the conversation as she took in the sights of the station as they moved through it. She realized that the colored lines on the floor had meaning and were the reason that no one ended up blocking their path.

Red lines meant a medical transport path, and there were literally signs painted on the floor that said, Do Not Block! every dozen meters.

But she found herself looking at the people more than the floor. Everywhere she looked, there were different people she hadnt realized existed. Shed seen different skin colors and ethnicities, but on the station, there were literally people with metallic body parts.

One man looked to be made more of metal than flesh, with a chrome skull and arms. She had almost mistaken him for an android.

Until they passed by a real android that was clad fully in silver-colored metal, complete with blinking lights on his chest piece. The robot was in conversation with someone, so it wasnt just a drone.

That android wasnt a NAI, was it? Alex asked.

Both of them laughed at the same time.

Josh looked at her as they turned the corner. Hardly. Plenty of GAIs on station, though. Some of them can even hold a conversation just fine.

The CNA chuckled. Just dont ask one to draw hands.

Alex furrowed her brow. Huh?

Josh shook his head. Its a joke, because GAIs used to struggle to draw hands, but its not really true anymore.

They suddenly stopped and Alex almost bumped into the bed again. Elis made a noise and moved under the covers slightly.

Alex leaned in and patted a shoulder gently to soothe her. Its alright Elis, we are on the way to the hospital. It seemed to work.

Josh frowned. The light sedation shouldnt be wearing off already.

Alex looked up at the gate they were standing in front of. It read Medical Personnel Only on the sign, with a small timer indicating a few minutes wait. She wondered just how often the trams traveled between each station.

Alex continued petting Elis gently while they waited. When the tram arrived, it was empty, and they gave the medical bed priority for boarding. There werent that many people boarding with them, but getting on first let them take a space in the back that left them to their selves. Boarding only took a few moments, and then the tram accelerated rapidly.

It was obviously using inertial dampening, because Alex barely felt the movement. The tram was sleek and, like the rest of the station, reminded her of the interior of the Shrike. Everything was relatively clean and polished. Shed even noted some small bots roaming around, taking care of cleaning.

Really, it felt like they had achieved a lot with GAIs, but then Alex realized that had likely been the norm before NAIs came into existence. One supposedly led to the other, after all.

When they arrived at the hospital, everyone hurried off the tram, and they were the last to disembark. People were scanning their cards as they went through the gated checkpoint while they escaped once again through the express lane.

It didnt really feel like a separate building to Alex as they traveled down the hall. The only sign they were in a separate section of the station was the sudden lack of view ports and windows. That, and the outfits worn by most of the people they passed by changed to a medical theme.

How big is the medical center? Alex asked.

5,000 beds, not including long-term care facilities. Dont worry about getting lost. Ill send you a map file to your pad once we get to Elis room.

Thanks.

It felt like a maze of corridors as they continued, but Alex realized they were taking some arcane labyrinth of back routes to avoid most foot traffic. Every so often, she spotted an entryway that led to a lobby or lounge that was bustling with people waiting.

As they came to a new floor, Josh looked over at her. Before you leave this section, make sure you get a floor-pass from the department nurse. Youll need it to get into this section and prove youre a visitor for Elis.

Okay. Thanks for letting me know.