Felar's throat felt like it was full of gravel. Her head throbbed in sync with her heart, big painful pulses that made her queasy. She opened her eyes slowly and blinked several times, trying to remove the gritty feeling. She experienced a stab of panic when everything remained black, but then realized her vision was fine and it was just a dark room.
As she regained full consciousness, the illumination came on. The sudden light nearly blinded her, but Felar quickly adjusted. A tall, dark skinned combat physician walked in a moment later. He began checking the various machines hooked to her, making notes on a handheld terminal. The man looked in his middle years, which was old for the position his fatigues denoted. He had a fit, elegant grace Felar interpreted as an ability to handle himself in any situation.
“Don't try to speak,” he said, noticing her open eyes. His voice was deep, melodious, and rich. “You sustained a severe head and neck injury. The medications we’ve been giving you have noticeable side effects. Nothing too serious, but one of them causes inflammation of the vocal cords. We are no longer administering that particular drug, but the inflammation will take a day or two to diminish. In the meanwhile, use this,” he pulled another hand held terminal out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Use it to communicate as necessary. I'm Doc
Hase, by the way.”
Felar began typing on the terminal screen with quick, precise strokes. As she completed each line, a voice emitted from the computer. “How long have I been unconscious? Where am I?”
“To answer to your first question, you have been in a drug-induced coma for two weeks.” A slight frown crossed his mouth as he spoke. She began to type on the pad once again, but he caught her wrist gently and continued, “I know what you are going to ask. Let me save you the time.” Letting go, Hase walked over to a small window.
“No one knows what happened. A few witnesses saw you inside an Init training facility on Ashamine-4, but no one is willing to say who assaulted you. Someone found you in a side corridor, unconscious and in need of medical attention. Medics were called and you were brought to the training hospital.”
Anger filled Felar as she heard his words. No one knows what happened? How is that possible?
She typed furiously on the pad, the auto-correct working hard to fix her mistakes. “How could no one know? That building is full of Inits and officers. And why can't I remember anything?” Her synthetic voice lacked the emotion Felar felt, and this only increased her anger.
“You'll have to speak to the investigating officer. He can explain the details. I only know medical specifics. You sustained a blow to the back of the head, as well as several minor internal injuries. The cranial trauma erased your short-term memory. Thankfully, all scans show your mental functions are normal. It is unlikely you will experience long-term effects.” Hase gave her a consoling smile, eyes soft.
“Thank you,” she typed, and he nodded in response.
“Since no witnesses stepped forward, Command decided it best to get you off Ashamine-4 and away from your attacker. I told them it was unlikely you would regain memory of the event, but the attacker wouldn’t know this, so there is a danger
he might try to silence you. Command issued transfer orders for a new tour of duty, effective as soon as I clear you for combat. I think they hope to catch the perpetrator by the time you complete your new assignment.”
The thought of her attacker being free made Felar angry. She was glad Command had transferred her, thankful she would have separation from the person or persons who’d done this. Given her new assignment, Felar now had more questions than ever, so she began to type. As she finished the inquiry, the synthetic voice intoned, “Where to?”
“Haak-ah-tar, one of the former Entho worlds. Things are getting messy in-system. Apparently, the Enthos are gathering forces on the edges of Haak-ah-tar space and seem to be prepping for something. We, in turn, have been sending ships there in an effort to maintain the blockade. I've also heard the Enthos landed forces and are engaging our troops. It would be the first time those alien buggers actually put up a resistance. It's strange, we take the planet from them, and they wait over fifty years to try to take it back. Now, they face a massive buildup of forces.”
Feeling relieved, Felar began to type again, “I'm happy to hear they aren't putting me on some blighthearted admin duty. When do I ship out?”
Hase chuckled, his big smile also shining in his eyes. “Strange you ask. I'd think an experienced grunt like yourself would feel the ship's worm drive powering down, but you're still groggy. We’re already in Haak-ah-tar space. The Separate Commander said we will arrive on-world in a few standard hours.”