I blinked.

  “Airships? Come again?” I said.

  “Choppers, hovercars, mag-lev trucks, even a few small planes, just dropped out of the sky right on top of us.” Megan informed me.

  She paused.

  “There were still people in them.” She admitted. Her eyes went hollow and Ifelt like I was starting to see the trauma of this event surfacing in her. Most of the people I'd met so far were still in their fight or flight response, and what had happened hadn't seemed to sink in. I could see it sinking into Megan as we spoke.

  I held my breathe before speaking.

  “How many did you lose?” I asked

  “Half.” She replied. “Twenty-two.” Megan replied.

  I swore. A lot.

  I turned from where Megan was holding me steady to the doctor.

  “Let's... let's set all that aside. So... what's going on Doc?” I needed to focus on what I could change, and I couldn't bring back the dead.

  “Your brain shows signs of Trauma, like you said, signs of a stroke.” Doctor Smith said.

  I nodded, hoping this would amount to more than the doctors back on earth had given me.

  “But I can literally see the damage healing before me.” The Doctor continued.

  “What?” I said. That was a first.

  “This device gives me a real time view of your brain.” He said, pointing at the little metal armature that was connected to my temple, my forehead, and my upper right cheek, encircling my eye.

  “When I first got an image it was exactly what a stroke patient looks like, multiple damaged locations, area's shrunken from being strangled of blood, but I am watching those areas regenerate even as we speak.” He motioned to his eyes, and I noticed a projection on them, like I was looking through a semi transparent tv screen.

  “So what does that mean.” I began.

  “Hmm... tell me, when you are in 100% synch, do you experience any symptoms? You say the ship becomes your body, do you ever misfire thrusters or accidentally fire your weapons systems... any of that?” Doctor Smith asked.

  “Not since I was first learning how to control it, why?”I responded.

  “Well, two things, one you have astonishing neural plasticity.” The doctor stated.

  “My ships computer said the same thing.” I responded.

  The doctor nodded.

  “You're neurons are also extremely rugged. Or rather, they don't seem to die.”Smith Continued.

  “I'm sorry what?” I replied.

  “They clearly suffered significant trauma, trauma that should have triggered cell death, but it's like they go into hibernation at the trauma rather than trigger apoptosis. That's why, despite having had multiple strokes, you are still basically functional.” Doctor Smith said, dropping a massive bomb on me.

  I snorted at that.

  “Believe it or not Captain anyone else with this amount of damage would likely not even be conscious, let alone speaking as coherently as you. I have seen coma patients with less abused brains than yours” Doctor Smith said emphatically.

  “So my brain is durable and regenerates, okay, but what's the source of the strokes.” I asked.

  “I think it's disconnecting from full synchronization that causes your flare ups, attacks, episodes, pick a word.” Smith concluded.

  I blinked.

  That made way too much sense.

  I didn't feel any of the effects while I was in synch, and it was always when I tried to get up and out of the ship that it was the worst.

  “That makes sense... though I do suffer similar things even when not connected.” I said. After all It was the whole reason I had gotten dumped in cryo in the first place, and it's not like I had been synchronizing before any of that stuff had even been invented.

  “Yes, I am certain you have other triggers, but as to what they are specifically I couldn't say. I think whatever makes your neurons so exceptionally durable also renders you extremely susceptible to other events that can cause stroke. Have you heard of epileptic seizures leading to strokes and the like? I believe you have a number of triggers for these stroke events, and they ARE strokes, but in the past doctors likely dismissed the possibility since you showed little to no long term effects of having a stroke.” The doctor continued.

  “So what's the treatment.” I asked.

  “Well there are some prophylactic medication we can put you on to try to prevent them, but I think we need to give you a stockpile of emergency medication to help with the aftereffects of stroke, to be injected just before you come out of full synch. That should limit the damage you suffer to your nervous system... I know it's not feasible for you captain, but I wouldn't be doing my duty as a physician if I did not tell you to limit the amount you use this full synch, or at least give your body time to heal between disconnects.I also believe the length of time you spend in full synch may impact the total damage suffered at the end, though without actually observing you going in and out of full synch I cannot say for certain. Was there anything else Captain Cofey?” Doctor Smith concluded.

  This was... a lot to process. I had spent the majority of my adult life sick with no one able to tell what was happening to me, and to have a doctor come out of the blue and lay it all out... I felt numb.

  Though that could also be all the death and destruction going on around me. That probably didn't help.

  “Nothing for me, but my crewmate Carolina, she suffered a pretty strong exposure to radiation and is developing cancer. My ship was able to diagnose the cancer but other than some basic prophylaxis to keep it from metastasizing we couldn't do much more.” I said.

  The doctor nodded “I will go examine her presently, and send you a list of the drugs you'll need to take before exiting full synch from now on.”

  “Don't suppose you have any of those with you?” I asked.

  “No, but there is an airport pharmacy. If I can get an escort I should be able to find one of the possible medications that can help you.” Doctor Smith stated.

  “If you can do that that would be great, but be ready to move. We might all have to pile into my ship soon if they are dropping flying cars on us.” I said. Fuck, how WAS I going to deal with that.

  The doctor nodded, grim faced and turned to leave.

  “And see if you can grab anything for my crewmate!” I called after him.

  He turned back before leaving. “I'll grab some of the more common medications, but you need to understand cancer is a complicated thing, and not all medications will work on any one cancer.” He looked... Not aggravated by my asking, but more concerned. I could tell he was running something through his head.

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  “Just do what you can please, doctor.” I asked.

  Carolina has been a trooper this whole time, constantly helping me, but I know part of that was just keeping herself busy so she didn't have to think about her pending mortality. Taking care of her would make both her and me feel better.

  Megan looked at her counterpart and flicked her head towards the doctor.

  Her counterpart, another private from the insignia on his uniform; which was decidedly not how I remember military insignia from old earth... no chevrons, just squares for whatever reason; nodded back and fell in with the doctor, presumably to keep him safe.

  “Can you help me back up to the tower? I need to figure out what the plan is.” I asked Megan.

  Megan nodded and moved beside me, letting me put a hand on her shoulder.

  I really did feel much better, and even though I could feel my suit trying to stabilize me with its remaining motors I felt I could balance well enough on my own.

  We made our way out of the room and into the main thoroughfare of the starport, though this time it was far less eerie as I spotted a pair of uniformed army personnel with rifles patrolling. Megan nodded to them and they nodded back.

  The pair patrolling this section came over to us as we walked, slowly.

  “This the VIP? The wirehead?” One of them asked.

  I raised my eyebrow at them, then looked at Megan.

  “I dunno, am I? A wirehead?” I asked Megan, a little smile.

  She gave the pair of military personnel a scowl, then turned it to me, then looked back at them.

  “This is Captain Cofey, and he is HOPEFULLY going to be our savior.” She stated, with a little bit more emphasis on the hopefully than maybe I would have liked.

  “He looks half dead.” One of the military personnel, a vaguely asian girl with the frayed edge of a ponytail sticking out from under her helmet.

  “You have a stroke while fighting a berzerker virus and getting beat on in the real and see how you look.” I fired back, not actually insulted, but I didn't have it in me not to return the serve.

  Ponytail took it with grace and gave me a grin.

  “You'd better get up to the control tower, think the VP is getting nervous.” She said, a bit of scorn in her voice.

  “I take it you are not a fan.”

  “She was a diversity pick, only caucasian in the running last election cycle, and with fuck all political experience. It got the president the election, but now we're in the middle of this shit sandwich with a president whose principal qualification for the role is she looks exotic, straight out of snow white.” The woman vented.

  I whistled and chuckled at the invective this small, though heavily armed, asian woman was spitting towards what was ostensibly her commander and chief.

  “Take it you voted for the other guy?” I said.

  “You bet your ass.” she smirked at me.

  “You heard about what the plan is?” I asked.

  “Heard? No, but we're all expecting to make a push for your ship, Captain.” she paused a moment before saying captain.

  I nodded.

  “It's a lot more secure than this place, but I need a hardline connection to your network or anything I do to try to fight the virus could be compromised during transmission.”

  “So that's what the sarge was talkin about...”Ponytail said.

  “What?” Megan asked.

  “Sarge had two of the techs ripping out as much fiber optics from the walls as they could and started winding it up and splicing it together into a giant cable. Guess the plan is to run it out to the ship... but I don't know how we'll keep the bots from destroying it. Or you know, killing us as we try to stop em from destroying it.” Ponytail continued.

  I paused.

  “I think... I think once the cable is down they should leave it alone. They have the bots 'attacking' people by making them think all the humans around them are in need of emergency aid, and removed the safeties from all of their aid protocols, killing whoever they are trying to help. The virus would have to recognize what we are doing, reprogram the bots to first identify, then interact with the cable... I don't see that happening before I can shut them down. You all will be in danger though, so you will need to run the cable and hunker down in my ship. And this is all after I reach my ship and regain control.”I said, hopeful. I wasn't actually sure I could get them shut down in time but I didn't really see any other options, and letting them know my doubts... well I did understand morale.

  “Can we run you over there when we run the cable.” Ponytail asked.

  “I mean I guess... but it would be better if I could get on board the ship and cover you with it's guns.” I said. That would be the optimal strategy, if I got there first I could cover them... but then we had to make TWO runs under threat.

  Megan responded “That would be nice. I'm going to have nightmares about airships dropping on our heads for years.”

  Ponytail and her partner looked solemn too as we made our way to the tower.

  “You think you'll be able to cover us from more rain like that, Captain Cofey?” Ponytail asked.

  “If I can get the point defense systems back online I should. Won't have near the range I am used to, they're all made for space, no air to get in the way of the plasma.”I replied.

  “All your guns use Plasma?”

  “Yeah, most efficient for a C.O.G. Ship. That way we don't have to keep finding nickel iron rocks to eat for railgun ammo.”I said.

  All three of the soldiers snorted, then Megan looked up. “That was a joke right?”

  “Not really. C.O.G. Members don't have a point we generally resupply, so any munitions we expend, we gotta make. So if I were using railguns for example, I'd have to keep finding rocks full of ferromagnetic ore that I could use to make more ammunition. Turns out finding a bunch of hydrogen to stuff into the reactor and then just blast reactor juice at people out of the turrets is way easier and cheaper.” I said, half talking out of my ass.

  I didn't actually know if C.O.G. Didn't have a big ass resupply base somewhere, but I also got the feeling that giving the people of this planet all the information I could on C.O.G. Was not a good thing. Ever since I landed I had gotten a vaguely hostile feeling from most of the people here.

  Especially from the vice-president, president... lady-whose-title-was-currently-in-flux-but-definitely-important. I got the feeling she was itching to blame this whole thing on me.

  “Huh... so only plasma guns?” The hitherto unnamed private asked. He was big with vaguely yellowish asian skin, and brown eyes, which was all I could see of him underneath his kit. The way he said it made me more than a little suspicious... like he was logging a weakness.

  “Yeah...” I decided to throw in a little lie. “My main guns are down for repair, so all I have are the point defense sweepers, plasma shotguns. Close range but more than enough to deal with any robots or airships that get close.”

  The guy nodded a couple times at me, and ponytail and Megan both looked uneasy.

  Thankfully I was saved from awkwardness by us reaching the tower, and we, slowly and painfully, made our way up the stairs.