Junior swung Firebird around in a wide arc, catching one mechanized defense suit with a forearm and ducking her under the swing of a second.
The one he hit flared brightly and fell silent, his heads up display informing Junior that the trooper was "off line". He kicked behind him, catching the third mechanized defense suit in the chest with his foot while moving to put his arms between himself and the second, which was launching into another attack.
Simultaneously, both suits locked up on contact with Firebird and her power-leeching crystalline capacitors. The markers on Junior's display of the suits flashed from red "Warning" to green "off line" instantly.
Junior stepped lightly out of the cockpit to shake hands with the others in the training exercise.
He looked up at Dank in the control booth and waved him down onto the floor.
Dank arrived, data terminal in hand, to find Junior working through the power cycle and recharge on the first mechanized defense suit.
"Dank," Junior asked, "You take one of these defense suits apart yet? See how it works?"
"That'd be against regulations," Dank replied, "But, between you an me, yeah. Pretty nice machines."
"How hard would it be to replace these old capacitors with ones like Firebird's got?" Junior continued, moving on to the second defense suit.
"Easier'n makin' that swap on Firebird, prolly," Dank considered.
"Good," Junior nodded, "Pull some surplus stones out of inventory and let's meet up later to start rigging these machines up." He patted the dorsal casing on the sleek, black defense suit.
"I got another project to keep you busy, too," Junior added.
Trixie May had taken to spending more time in the medical bay. While she was a quick study, to be sure, she repeatedly had issues with actually following Earth Prime Protection Force medical procedures.
When troopers arrived with small injuries, she was more likely to patch them up and recommend some exercises to restore the lost mobility gradually rather than supply the trooper with pain medications and send them back to active duty. This was a major source of frustration for Dr. Jackson, who had spent a lifetime building a career around establishing chemical blends and setting the proper dosages.
While Trixie May practiced her "healing", Dr. Jackson tried to intercept as many patients as possible to hasten their return to active duty.
Still, he had to admit that, under certain, non-military circumstances, her techniques might have some merit.
A return to the ancient days of medicine could do a lot to alleviate suffering and, over time, reduce the rates of the Benevolent States United "citizen retirement" program -- a program that he privately thought, in spite of the published Truth, was enacted for the sole purpose of eliminating the high cost of elder health care.
Chapter Thirty Three Interlude
File: Datanet Core Server Delta Alpha forty six, Galactic Technologies, Era: Modern -0, Index Earth Prime Protection Force, Medical Technologies, Data Supplied by Datanet Medical Officer's Manual
Medical Condition S937492 - Sprained ankle - Subject reports pain or difficulty walking, usually following a fall or training/combat injury. Provided the proper forms have been filled out, the subject should be given .002ml of solution PR293711 to eliminate sensation. Following this, the subject is sent back to active duty.
Medical Condition B392228 - Broken bone - Subject reports pain in the affected area, usually following a fall or training/combat injury. Provided the proper forms have been filled out, the subject should be given .003ml of solution PR293711 to eliminate sensation. Following this, the bone should be set and wrapped and the subject is sent back to active duty.
Medical Condition T395002 - Ingrown toe nail - Subject reports pain in the affected digit and difficulty walking. Provided the proper forms have been filled out, the subject should be given .003ml of solution PR293711 to eliminate sensation. Following this, the nail should be removed and the digit wrapped and the subject is sent back to active duty.
Medical Condition N564900 - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - Subject has difficulty using a standard Data Terminal without discomfort. Provided the proper forms have been filled out, the subject should be given .001ml of solution PR293711 to eliminate sensation. Following this, the subject is issued a projected keypad (paid off through low interest loan via future pay) and sent back to active duty. In the event the subject is reassigned before the equipment is fully paid off, the surviving family will receive a bill via Datanet attached to the reassignment paperwork they must complete.
She had also heard of the wonderful medical advances available to Earth Prime doctors, advances that could speed healing or aid in recovery from far more serious conditions than those even treatable on EcoHope 11. So far, her experience with "modern" medicine was anything but enlightening. On the up side, word of her methods was spreading quickly through the ranks, ensuring her a regular influx of patients.
She feared that her treatments were a novelty and that eventually the crew would revert to the approved practices, but she didn't know of anything to do about aside from making her patients feel better for as long as they came to her.
She even began to see members of senior command from time to time. Some of them had been living day-to-day with ailments such as arthritis or sleep disorders or memory loss which they had kept hidden for fear of appearing infirm before the rest of the crew.
Dutifully, Trixie May did what she could and offered support where she could do little else. As she had learned, the nature of the various illnesses was never communicated to anyone but the patient, and they seemed to appreciate that as much as anything else she did.
