The little finger.
Corby watched as John and Olive left the Docks behind. It was hard to realize looking at the screen this was not a real world she was watching through a security cam and she knew how it felt on the inside from her time in there when she had been there broken after a medical chopper had been hit when scrambling to dodge an alien retaliatory missile a fighter jet had crashed into the chopper veering off at an impossible angle even as it had hit them. Inexplicably the missile came between them as it detonated but all the energy from the missile had hit the fighter, instead of being blown to bits they had fallen a half mile from the sky spinning so hard nobody could even get the seat belts off.
Then they hit and while the speed they fell at wasn't terminal the chopper still running had torn its self to pieces and those inside it before the engine had torn itself from the airframe spreading debris everywhere. The para medics had cut her free from the wreck, and had to pull her from the wreck by her clothes so compacted around her was the battered craft yet seemly almost unhurt apart from a missing little finger, she had complained when they insisted she lay back even standing at one stage she was well enough to return to work.
12 hours later as they were about to release her as seemingly no reason to keep her in hospital a nosebleed had started and grown severe. They had got it under control by cauterizing the vein in her nose. Then her face started to bleed first on spot then several soon her face and half off her chest fast losing skin and muscle as it all fell away from her skull and bones. On life support and dying an alien doctor who had been allowed to join the medical unit identified it as a result of being so close to the missiles directed energy field. Seemingly back-spikes from the field even as it contained the energy from the explosion had penetrated down to her bones and spread out over the surface of the bone destroying the molecular bonds between tissue and bone.
He said it was a common injury easy to cure in his race by a simple pill that would cause the tissues to re-grow to the bone. The problem was the pill was not compatible with human physiology, they had to do it the hard way she had spent 8 months in a tank as they stripped all the flesh off those areas and re-grown her tissues, he had told her she was very lucky the polarized visor she had been wearing on the helmet and the army composite helmet had protected her eyes and most off her head.
She found out later she had been the only person to survive that crash and the only medical team hurt it seemed the aliens even though fighting for their very existence and betrayed by the humans had not attacked any medical units.
She had spent most of her conscious time in the virtual world then doing much as Olive was doing now, she had befriended the alien doctor in there , his avatar was like a grizzly bear only larger, black shaggy hair and he had played a role as an alien spy trying to take over control of one of the villages she had played the part of his spy and for him going out into this world and meeting many people who ran the world and guided it trying to find secrets.
Some days after she had left the virtual world he had visited her, he had 2 marines in tow as escorts, his presence had shocked her so large and powerful he looked like a grizzly bear would be something he could take on in his sleep as she looked at his claws, she wondered how he could use his paws as hands and blurted the question out to him. Simple he had replied in my world I have what you might consider as powered hands I simply wear them and they allow me to directly attach all the tools I require to them. I wondered and here. Ah he replied your people have refused me them here I have had to stand and explain many procedures to your surgeons as we have gone along, it has been much harder than it needed to be I think your race is a very suspicious race by nature.
It matters little soon, I will leave this planet as I have told those I have helped. It was a condition they agreed to and in 3 more days I will depart a ship is on its way for me. I will to extend the offer to you off joining me when I return. How would I return I asked You would not he said not to this world but there is a world much like this where we would go and there you could be very rich and powerful and learn much of medical science beyond even my knowledge and then bring that back to me, I have agreed should You succeed in that would be allowed to send that knowledge here to share for it is entirely in both our races interests to share all medical knowledge.
She had declined and they had parted friends and he had said he while direct communication with his worlds an ours was not possible he would attempt to connect through the virtual world when possible. 3 Nights later a large black disc had slid down from the sky, she had been invited to see him off. There were several large crates loaded into the ship by workmen, he had whispered to her see your world gives me presents to take to my world they have told me to spread them widely which off course is shall do. I have a small present had you come with me I would have returned to you let me show you, he opened a small green box and inside was a little finger in perfect condition. Is that mine I asked yes he said it was at the time it was was found it was to late to reattach it with-the resources of this world however my world can do that. As you will not be coming I will retain it keeping it in stasis which is a scientific knowledge we had declined to share with your world, should you ever find me on my world I will see your returned to it. We can even grow a new body for you from the little finger and transfer your conciseness from your present body to the new one in fact.
He said we could do that from my worlds once the body is ready, Showing his teeth in a smile he said you will see now. Goodbye friend Corby, do remember me well, as I shall you. He left boarding the ship a hum arose the ship rose into the air climbing effortlessly into the sky, hovering several hundred feet up to move away towards the military vehicle that were parked around the landing area to over where the general was located the the hatch opened and crates fell from the ship. Falling to the ground crashing in and around the command vehicle and bursting in a whoosh off expanding green gas which spread out for miles before slowly vanishing.
I realised the ship had gone and it was later revealed the gas had been a bio agent that should have killed all of his race had it been delivered but it was harmless to humans. The general claimed before he died as a result off the intense expose to the gas, which was poisonous even to humans at that concentration that had been ordered by and was just following orders from the UN. The UN denied the generals account counter claiming he had ordered it after reading a consultative paper that had been decided against acting on due to public perception that the eradication of the aliens had been unnecessary and the riots that had followed. Now however there was a new problem the aliens knew where we were earth was at risk.
Corby missed her time in that world and wasn’t allowed in the virtual world now not even on a text or voice interface because what had been said to her by the alien had been overheard and the people upstairs , stupid dicks she thought had decided the risk was to high for her, as if that alien would bother with her and what did she really know anyway, thats what she wondered anyway. She also had a feeling the people upstairs didn’t trust her and that made no sense to her at all.
Chapel went in world on occasion as part of the job and that was something Corby really missed, she even had friends that used to ask after her, but wasn't allowed to even talk to them in world. So that was that she had decided a long time ago. Having moved on she now carried out her duties and was counting the days until her tour was up and she could resign her commission. Having a highly paid job lined up in a teaching hospital back in Her old home town of ####### ###### ####### near Boston, She had studied there and would be glad to go home.
Looking at Chapel she realized the older woman had a lot to be bitter about The army had banned same sex partners after the, Christian Democrats had risen to power in the US, outlawing same sex marriages along with no abortions after the one day old egg had been grated person status. Soon after that a raft off laws which effectively destroyed the women's lib movement and curtailed most Female freedoms in the US taking a leaf out of the Islamic movement, it was no illegal for a woman to say no to a husband over anything including sex or even being beaten a married woman had basically no rights except those her husband allowed her. Chapel had been forced to separate from her wife and the standard rules for protection orders applied forbidding them to be in the same town or closer than 100 miles with a court permit. Her Wife had been jailed for breaking that rule and Chapel had only just escaped the same fate. The units Commodore had stepped in to support her, and she was granted and exception until she left the service or ceased to be a nurse then she would appear before the church court and probably jailed for several years for her offense, under the offenses against God act.
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