Book 3: Chapter 92: Introspection and Medical Advice

Book 3: Chapter 92: Introspection and Medical Advice

USD: The Morning After Arrival to MIL-1A

Location: Van Biesbroecks star, Meltisar, 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.

Someone had been to check on Elis every thirty minutes and Alex was grateful for the care they seemed to give her sister. The doctor had scheduled a meeting with both of them for later in the day to go over the test results and discuss treatment options and prognosis.

That made Alex nervous. She didnt want to hear bad news, but at least the medical center seemed much better staffed and equipped than the shipboard medbay the Iron Horse had. Although the nurse had suggested that Alex find an apartment on the station to stay in rather than Elis's room.

After a night of sleeping there, Alex understood why. With someone 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 remembered 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 medical centers cafeteria. It was much larger than she had expected, with a half dozen different food stations and all kinds of naval and medical 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 omelet. Some fried hashbrowns were also on offer, and she took them without hesitation. There was also the option of some 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 Mega 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 agreements for procurement. Contact the nearest Barton Industries representative for more information.|

Alex thumbed off the site page in annoyance. The prices for everything were 10 times 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 time 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 extremely high and far out of her 150 million credit budget.

She was even outpriced from intra-system ships meant 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 something of that nature.

She was pretty sure that only worked in video games and fiction stories.

Switching tack to look at prospective travel tickets to 92 Pegasi was also a dead end. The news had meant 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 somehow lucked out in 63 Hydrae. Thraker had confirmed that the woman who had visited her in the smuggling compartment via hologram was the custom stations NAI.

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 some 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 come 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 time 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 experimental treatments, but I recommend 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 treatment now?

I need to emphasize to you that the experimental treatments we can consider are not without risk. They involve utilizing pre-programmed 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 improvement on their own, with no experimental or invasive treatment. I cannot say for sure, but its very possible that giving her more time 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 some further information on these treatments 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 experimental treatments 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 some flexion and brain response the treatment should be just as effective if we wait.

What if she shows some signs of degradation? Alex asked.

Doctor Pierce nodded. In that case, we can reassess and possibly begin the treatment immediately. I cant stress enough how dangerous the nanite infusion can be.

Alex frowned. If you are using nanites, does that mean you have an NAI that provides it? I didnt think they were permitted in Meltisar.

Dr. Pierce shook his head. The nanites are pre-programmed as mentioned. Its possible they have more advanced treatment 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 medical center with an NAI that could do the treatment?

The doctor hesitated, but then nodded. Patient movement 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 some 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 Nameless to help Elis.