Shell-Shock (TR)

[Orisoll]

I don't care what the brass says, this is not a glorious struggle to maintain order. Nor is it a grand crusade for peace. What we do here on Auraxis can hardly even be called war, it bares more resemblance to mass murder than anything else, and whatever the motive, whatever the cause, we are all in the wrong.

Not that there's anything I can do about that, I'm just a medic, drafted from the Explorer IV's medical bay and thrust into this conflict with all the care and precision of a Decimator rocket to be used as either cannon fodder for the rebels, or a tool to get useful soldiers back into the fight. That said, I fight for the Republic, I fight for unity and peace, no matter how far-fetched those goals seem.

I held my assault rifle close to my chest, letting the minute warmth of recently fired rounds sink into my shivering body. It wasn't cold that caused this, it was the moisture. So goddamn wet and muddy. Nothing was quite like fighting on Hossin, there were foot snags everywhere, the ground seemed to be hungry for footwear of all kinds, and all the muck and grime made my job very hard to do.

"Speaking of my job... that guy's getting a little too far out of cov-"

CRAACK

"AUGH! My arm!" came the terrible shriek of pain from the poor sod that ventured out from behind the stump he was using as cover.

"Kerner! We've got a man down over!" called one of the two men next to him.

The wounded soldier's cries of pain ripped through the misty air, prompting me to vault over my cover and run full tilt towards his position, exposing myself to enemy snipers.

ZZHHIP ZZHHIP ZZZHIP

The coilgun rounds slammed into the ground all around my frantically pumping legs as I streaked to the side, narrowly avoiding a Bolt Driver round, and dove chest-first into the muck behind the thick tree stump the wounded man had been dragged behind.

"My arm! It- it's gone! AHHGH! Medic!"

"It's okay, I'm here. You'll be fine, just stay still." I issued some calming words as I scrambled to my knees, drawing my medical applicator and beginning to apply a steady stream of Nanites to the gushing red stump that was once an arm, taking out a rejuvenation syringe with my free hand.

The Nanobots didn't work quite fast enough, as the kid in front of me began to grow pale and clammy, and drew shallow, frantic breaths. He's going into shock.

"Damn it kid! Stay with me!" I shouted, shaking the scrub back into semi-consciousness.

Finally, after at least minute of steady healing, the obliterated arm began to reform itself, extending new flesh to cover exposed bone and muscle tissue, then creating more bone and more tissue to replace what had been lost.

Once the initial healing and reconstruction had finished, I held the new arm steady and drew up the rejuvenation syringe, preparing to reactivate the arm's nervous link.

"Don't worry, you won't feel this at all." I stated flatly upon noticing the young soldier's grimace, then plunged the needle deep into the pale flesh and watched as the skin regained it's color and the pores began to open up one by one.

"Pretty neat huh?" I said with a smile, withdrawing the syringe from the now fully-functioning arm.

"I... wow. I didn't know we had stuff like that." said the soldier, staring wide-eyed at his new arm as he flexed the fingers and bent the elbow experimentally.

I gave the kid a pat on the shoulder, then took up a position beside him to keep out of the line of fire.

Whatever the greater good may be, whoever is in the right, I only know that my job is one of honor and sacrifice. A duty to be fulfilled, a loyalty stronger than death."

"Thanks." the young soldier said quietly, fixing me with an appreciative glance.

"It's my job." I said dismissively, looking over into the dark goggles that covered his eyes, then added a little more softly, "I do what I can."

After a minute's worth of relative silence, I risked a glance out of cover to see if the enemy was still there... only to see a New Conglomerate grunt rounding the corner of our tree stump, weapon raised cautiously.

"Oh shi-" I began, before the impact of a forward-thrust rifle butt snapped my head back and shook my vision violently. A few shots reverberated through the air as the soldier I had just saved, along with all accompanying him, were mowed down in a flurry of blood, mud, and yellow tracer rounds.

"No...." I rasped, scrambling to my elbows only to find myself staring directly down the barrel of an EM1 Light Machine Gun.

"Sometimes I even impress myself." the blue clad soldier said cockily, then fired his weapon.



I felt my head jerk backwards once more, this time feeling much lighter. Then, vision gone and body immobile, I drifted into the blessed blackness of death.



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I plan on adding a few new characters to the mix in coming updates, just to give the other factions a perspective. It will remain hooked to Kerner's endeavors though, for the sake of consistency.

Anyhow, what do you think of the introduction? It's the first story I've written in a while, so I may be a smidge rusty.