09-13-2016, 05:52 PM
Nothing about his time in Freetown sat well with Jay. From the first day, pulling Natalie out of the hospital and getting disabled by a ten-year-old to the setup at the refinery to becoming a real soldier again. All of it left a bad taste in his mouth. He went back and forth on his belief in Jacques as a leader, never deciding if the man was a stupid hero or a calculating conqueror. In the end, it probably didn't matter. Jay was here by choice, free to rip up his contract and walk away. Although if he did that the closest thing he'd get to mercenary life afterward would be mall-cop in the Des Moines mall.
He was here voluntarily. He stayed voluntarily. He owed it to the Hellcats, owed it to Vanders as a debt to repay for patching him up.
And Vanders had patched him up. Something told Jay that Jared wasn't even aware of his potential healing spells until the last couple of days. For one thing, Jay had to ask if it would work on his knee. When it did, Jared seemed as shocked as Jay.
There were plenty of people in the hospital that could use the services of a healing Mage. But Jay saw how much Jared spent to patch up Natalie. So the magic taxed the body. Made sense. Nothing was free; everything cost something.
Natalie was recovering quickly. Better than Jay had. He finished the half-sandwich in three large bites. Either it was a puny thing or he was starving from the day's excursion. Probably the latter. Natalie went in search of showers, which he understood. Fires were messy business, and the smell of smoke etched into your skin like tattoo ink. While she was gone, he took the time to go over his weapons, inventory what ammunition was left, inspect the contents of all his pockets. At one point he put the helmet back on to see if anyone had been trying to get ahold of him.
It powered up, and a rainbow of feeds came to life before his eyes, filling the screen.
Four messages from Legion Premiere seniors. Telling him to report. To bring back the mega expensive suit on his body. Asking about the status of their contracted Red Cross girl. So on and so on. He frowned and ignored them all for now. Only to hear a gasp behind him.
A nurse had entered the room. When Jay turned around to greet her, she screamed, fumbled her tray and darted out, screaming something in the local language that Jay figured wasn't good news. When he realized he was standing there holding the rifle he'd been inspecting, in full gear while wearing the helmet, he cursed and stepped out in the hall to explain himself.
"Wait!"
He emerged before three large men, probably doctors, one of whom held a fire extinguisher, another held a gun, and the third wielded a heavy cane. Apparently they were going to shoot the soldier, then whack him to death and spray him down with foam.
Actually, Jay eyed the fire extinguisher the most. At this range, the pistol would probably ping off his armor, and the cane would be laughable, but the fire extinguisher could muck up the gears in his suit, or at the best, cover his face shield.
He put one hand up in the universal sign of a peacekeeper, while the other angled the rifle toward the floor. "I'm going to take off my helmet,"
he warned them, and slowly lifted his free hand to his head. When it was off, blue eyes darted between the three men warily, "See? I'm with Legion Premiere."
The three men exchanged looks. All around them, movement in the hallway slowed. Nurses watched. Patients lifted their heads from cots. Only noise was the beeps and ticks of machinery.
They yelled something in unison and the three men rushed him.
"What the hell!"
Jay backed off. He had no intention of hurting any of them.
He quickly swung the rifle around his body, having zero intention of shooting anyone today. And a man never pointed a gun he didn't intend to shoot.
Helmet in one hand, he swung it at the man with the pistol, needing to disarm him quickly. The man ducked of course, which Jay counted on, and he grabbed his flailing arm, clamped down on the wrist and wrenched the arm up and out, putting intense pressure on the shoulder socket. He was easily able to grab the gun away then. He tossed the man to the floor.
The other two were going on about something along the lines of foreigners conquering their city, and Jay guessed they were Mende by what he could make out. Using the helmet as a block, he parried the cane with a wide swing of the arm, and put an elbow in the guy's jaw in order to wrench the cane away. That left the fire extinguisher, which slammed into his other shoulder with a painful thud that made him stagger. For the most part, it richocheted off the rubber of the exoskeleton suit, but the shoulder beneath absorbed enough of the impact to feel it.
Wielding the confiscated cane, he stood off with the doctor holding the fire extinguisher, wary of the man flipping it on and spraying him head to toe with foam. That would make for a hell of a slippery mess on these hospital floors.
"I'm with fucking Legion Premiere,"
he tried to reason with the man. But his eyes were glass, his face a scowl of hatred. Jay was very aware of the man's physical size, but he also kept an eye out for his two buddies. Not to mention the audience gathered around to watch. Someone was going to get hurt.
He was here voluntarily. He stayed voluntarily. He owed it to the Hellcats, owed it to Vanders as a debt to repay for patching him up.
And Vanders had patched him up. Something told Jay that Jared wasn't even aware of his potential healing spells until the last couple of days. For one thing, Jay had to ask if it would work on his knee. When it did, Jared seemed as shocked as Jay.
There were plenty of people in the hospital that could use the services of a healing Mage. But Jay saw how much Jared spent to patch up Natalie. So the magic taxed the body. Made sense. Nothing was free; everything cost something.
Natalie was recovering quickly. Better than Jay had. He finished the half-sandwich in three large bites. Either it was a puny thing or he was starving from the day's excursion. Probably the latter. Natalie went in search of showers, which he understood. Fires were messy business, and the smell of smoke etched into your skin like tattoo ink. While she was gone, he took the time to go over his weapons, inventory what ammunition was left, inspect the contents of all his pockets. At one point he put the helmet back on to see if anyone had been trying to get ahold of him.
It powered up, and a rainbow of feeds came to life before his eyes, filling the screen.
Four messages from Legion Premiere seniors. Telling him to report. To bring back the mega expensive suit on his body. Asking about the status of their contracted Red Cross girl. So on and so on. He frowned and ignored them all for now. Only to hear a gasp behind him.
A nurse had entered the room. When Jay turned around to greet her, she screamed, fumbled her tray and darted out, screaming something in the local language that Jay figured wasn't good news. When he realized he was standing there holding the rifle he'd been inspecting, in full gear while wearing the helmet, he cursed and stepped out in the hall to explain himself.
"Wait!"
He emerged before three large men, probably doctors, one of whom held a fire extinguisher, another held a gun, and the third wielded a heavy cane. Apparently they were going to shoot the soldier, then whack him to death and spray him down with foam.
Actually, Jay eyed the fire extinguisher the most. At this range, the pistol would probably ping off his armor, and the cane would be laughable, but the fire extinguisher could muck up the gears in his suit, or at the best, cover his face shield.
He put one hand up in the universal sign of a peacekeeper, while the other angled the rifle toward the floor. "I'm going to take off my helmet,"
he warned them, and slowly lifted his free hand to his head. When it was off, blue eyes darted between the three men warily, "See? I'm with Legion Premiere."
The three men exchanged looks. All around them, movement in the hallway slowed. Nurses watched. Patients lifted their heads from cots. Only noise was the beeps and ticks of machinery.
They yelled something in unison and the three men rushed him.
"What the hell!"
Jay backed off. He had no intention of hurting any of them.
He quickly swung the rifle around his body, having zero intention of shooting anyone today. And a man never pointed a gun he didn't intend to shoot.
Helmet in one hand, he swung it at the man with the pistol, needing to disarm him quickly. The man ducked of course, which Jay counted on, and he grabbed his flailing arm, clamped down on the wrist and wrenched the arm up and out, putting intense pressure on the shoulder socket. He was easily able to grab the gun away then. He tossed the man to the floor.
The other two were going on about something along the lines of foreigners conquering their city, and Jay guessed they were Mende by what he could make out. Using the helmet as a block, he parried the cane with a wide swing of the arm, and put an elbow in the guy's jaw in order to wrench the cane away. That left the fire extinguisher, which slammed into his other shoulder with a painful thud that made him stagger. For the most part, it richocheted off the rubber of the exoskeleton suit, but the shoulder beneath absorbed enough of the impact to feel it.
Wielding the confiscated cane, he stood off with the doctor holding the fire extinguisher, wary of the man flipping it on and spraying him head to toe with foam. That would make for a hell of a slippery mess on these hospital floors.
"I'm with fucking Legion Premiere,"
he tried to reason with the man. But his eyes were glass, his face a scowl of hatred. Jay was very aware of the man's physical size, but he also kept an eye out for his two buddies. Not to mention the audience gathered around to watch. Someone was going to get hurt.
Only darkness shows you the light.