The last thing he saw as his vision went dark was the swirling faces of his friends.
…
Allen Praxis was the first to get to Daniel when he fell. Holding his fingers up to the fallen man’s throat, Allen felt an incredibly fast heartbeat alongside the hum of the Psionic energy. The unconscious man seized up in his sleep, his body clearly fighting against itself, and Allen called out: “Anyone have a tranquilizer?”
Arnold was the first to hand over a syringe, and Praxis administered the drug with rapid precision. Daniel’s breathing evened out, his limbs relaxing as they stopped trying to tear themselves apart. Alan had immediately recognized that the man’s body was damaging itself as it tried to cope with the trauma of absorbing the overpowering energy. The tranquilizer would help stop that, but it wouldn’t fix the underlying problem, so Praxis looked back at Arnold and curtly ordered, “Get him to medical. Tell them it’s a Psionic OD.”
Arnold had already thrown Daniel over his shoulder and was halfway out the door by the time Praxis finished his comment. A Psionic OD was exactly what it sounded like. When an Enhanced absorbed a Morphic stone beyond their limits, they risked overdosing on the Psionic energy. There was the damage involved with Psionic poisoning, of course, but it went further than that. Attempting to absorb all that energy at once could cause someone to go into shock, often threatening their lives. In extreme cases, they could come apart at the seams or spontaneously combust. At best, an OD victim would experience a hefty amount of Psionic poisoning and extreme soreness.
Unfortunately, Daniel’s symptoms didn’t seem minor, which didn’t make a lot of sense in context. Absorbing one stone only a single class above your own should create a minor OD, at worst. Daniel’s friends had watched him absorb the G class stone without concern, believing he was merely taking a small risk to prepare for the upcoming fight.
Arnold dashed down the ship’s hallways at full speed, a massive hurtling object that startled any of the naval workers he came across. He was easily at the point where he could kill someone by running into them, especially in these cramped confines, so Arnold grit his teeth and slowed from his max speed. He still moved inhumanly quickly as he weaved through a startled trio of technicians faster than they could react, before finally bolting into the medical bay. He told the surprised doctor what Praxis had said and handed Daniel’s body to the nurses. They took him inside one of the bay’s emergency rooms while Arnold waited in the lobby. Leaning up against the wall, the large man crossed his arms, appearing unemotional. Only the soft, swift tapping of his index finger on his arm betrayed his true feelings.
Soon after, the other Pioneers arrived in the medical bay’s lobby, each of them glancing at Arnold for a status report. He could only shrug in response, so everyone hung around the lobby and awaited the doctor’s verdict. They only waited around 45 minutes before the physician, a wrinkly old man with piercing blue eyes, came out of the emergency room and addressed the waiting soldiers: “Don’t worry, friends, the patient is stable. He’s had a bad Psionic OD, but it shouldn’t be fatal. We’ve got him started on some medicines that should help him absorb the energy more steadily.”
“How long until he recovers?” Arnold rumbled out; eyes locked on the doctor unblinkingly. Despite the Pioneer’s intensity, the old man remained calm and amicable, responding gently, “Hard to say. He will likely be awake within a week. As for physical recovery, I would recommend three months of rehab. He can’t be cleared to participate in the upcoming battle, of course.”
That news went over like a lead balloon. The soldiers exchanged glances with one another, the atmosphere suddenly oppressive as they processed the information. Daniel, with his technology, was easily the most valuable member of their group. If the doctor was right, they’d be down their most capable ally in what could become the deadliest fight of their lives. The Pioneers thanked the old man and withdrew. They couldn’t do anything more for Daniel here.
In silence, the Pioneers went back to the training room and redoubled their efforts. Gronik quit shadowboxing and started boxing Arnold instead, both bruisers beating each other bloody without hesitation. Allen and Emily also paired off and started sparring in their own special way. The tactician’s Psionic lasers could threaten Emily’s life under normal circumstances, so he buffed her defenses before he started shooting at her. She activated her own dodging ability and tried to avoid them, focusing on smoothing out the gaps in her defenses. She could usually evade his attacks while her ability was up, but when she was forced to drop it, she’d typically get hit. Emily needed to get better at dealing with the change that came when her ability winked off. If she could make a smoother transition, and improve her dodging skills in general, she could become much more effective. Leka and Robert got rougher, kicking things up several notches and doing real damage to each other. Above, Reggie worked on healing everyone while maintaining his acrobatics.
The squad continued like this, logging more hours in the training room than anyone else. They did their necessary reading during mealtimes and recovery sessions. Arnold realized that his squad had grown complacent in knowing they had a powerful ally like Daniel. The man’s incapacitation might’ve been a blessing in disguise, though he still fervently hoped that Daniel would somehow be able to go on the mission anyway. Irrespective of the doctor’s statement, Arnold had a sneaking suspicion that his friend could make it happen.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
That suspicion was contradicted when Daniel spent the next two weeks unconscious. The doctor indicated that his patient was more damaged than he’d initially anticipated, though he was still confident Daniel would survive. That didn’t stop the squad from worrying, especially as their destination grew closer. Six hours before landfall, the Pioneers finished their last training session, and Arnold decided to check on Daniel one last time before going to the cargo bay. As he walked, he pulled up his Status:
User Name: Arnold Martel
Age: 20
Pioneer Class: Delta
Rank: Master Sergeant
Status
Strength: 260 -> 262
Dexterity: 256 -> 258
Constitution: 230 -> 236
Adaptability: 275 -> 276
Psyche: 296
Psionic Capacities:
Slot 1: Spinning Strike (Delta) (MP=0/21)
- User can infuse weapon with Psionic energy, creating a powerful rotational force.
- The longer the User spins, the faster they go, and the more Mental energy they consume.
- User can change travel vector but beware disorientation and consumption cost.
Slot 2: Last Moment Defense (Epsilon) (MP=7/10)
- Create skin-level Psionic defenses of the highest caliber.
- User can adjust size and area of defenses.
- Barrier duration has hard and soft time limits, due to the nature of the Capacity and high consumption respectively.
Slot 3: Empty
Personal Attributes:
Slot 1: Efficient Psyche (Delta) (MP=0/15)
- Lower Mental Energy Costs for Capacity activation.
- Improves User’s ability to process information.
- Scales with Psyche (D) and Adaptability (E).
Slot 2: Superior Danger Awareness (Delta) (MP=0/15)
- Prodigious enhancement of personal awareness and balance, preventing the User from being surprised or disoriented.
- Improves User’s reaction time when in danger.
- Scales with Adaptability (C) and Dexterity (F).
Slot 3: Pneumonic Enhancement (Epsilon) (MP=0/7)
- Increases lung efficiency, allowing the User to survive with less Oxygen.
- Allows User to more easily convert the atmosphere around them to Oxygen, making breathing in many hostile environments possible (e.g. Breathing underwater)
- Scales with Adaptability (E).
Slot 4: Empty
Slot 5: Empty
Integrated Technologies:
Slot 1: Empty
He’d been near the pinnacle of Epsilon back on E2555 before breaking through to D class with an E class stone he’d found while they’d been relaxing on the beach. It would have been easier if he’d managed to get the D class Leviathan’s corpse, but that had been impossible for obvious reasons. Since then, he’d grown considerably from the relentless training and the Abductor Leviathan meat he’d been eating. His Constitution was finally starting to catch up with the other stats, meaning he wouldn’t need to be so dependent on the Last Moment Defense going forward.
As for the others, the Kharnidd Thralls had dropped some stones that they’d made use of. They’d offered Arnold an E class stone, but he’d refused on grounds that he hadn’t personally fought the Thralls. The others needed the help more than he did anyway. All of the Thrall stones had been used, catapulting several members of their party to D class. The remaining laggards in Epsilon had made their way to Delta over the course of their training sessions. Many of their abilities were still E class, but they were as prepared as they were ever going to be. Without Daniel, at least.
Arnold arrived at med bay, and a nurse escorted him to his friend’s bedside, commenting, “He’s been improving recently. The doctor says he should be awake within a few days.”
The large man fought the urge to roll his eyes. The doctor hadn’t been accurate the first time. Even if he was right now, what difference would it make?
He got to Daniel’s bedside, and the nurse pulled the curtains back. Arnold was relieved to see that the nurse was right. His friend was breathing more easily, the man’s complexion brightening considerably since the last time Arnold had seen him. In another context, Arnold would have said that the man was merely fast asleep, and he was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to shake Daniel awake. He suppressed the impulse with everything he had, suddenly ashamed of the selfish thoughts. Taking a deep breath, Arnold mused, “He needs to recover. We can’t rely on him to protect us this time.”
Arnold tried to focus on that idea, ignoring the other voice that was cropping up simultaneously: “This battle will probably be crawling with Delta, Gamma, and even Beta class enemies. How are we going to survive?”
Emotionally conflicted, Arnold lingered for a few more minutes, before turning to leave. But just as he was about to step over the room’s threshold, he heard something—a groan. Turning, Arnold looked back at his friend, who groaned again as his fingers began to twitch.
Then, Daniel’s eyes began to open.