The Last Orbit: Project Ara

46: Backup #theCage

Hala had sent him back into theCage using one of the glass elevators. He had one more contact that he needed to establish a connection with. The binary Kane was a whitecoat. He would regularly put in a good number of hours at theClinic and so that was something he was going to do.

He was using his time to familiarize himself with the ins and outs of theCage. Hala had instructed him to limit his movements to that one grid. With each passing time frame, he waited for his contact to show.

At a painstakingly slow pace, Mikhail had changed into a pair of brown pants, a black shirt and brown jacket. He moved his fingers through his now jet-black hair, having lost almost all that electric blue colour as his body tried to heal. He took off his gold ID clip and put it into his jacket pocket. The bright glare of the grid hurt his eyes as he stepped out of his box.

Hala had sent him the location of the binary he had to find. Mikhail briefly looked at the file on his wristcom before requesting a trio of bluecoats as he walked through a chaotic maze of boxes. He was immediately assigned the ones nearest him. Within minutes they were right behind him.

He stayed out of sight by keeping his distance. The box was well maintained, clearly assigned to a binary that made a good number of points. It was also in a quieter, cleaner part of the grid. Mikhail glanced at the file again - frequently visited: theClinic. The bluecoats were waiting for his signal. He looked up and gave them a slight nod.

The knock was answered by the binary in the box and the one right above it. As the bluecoats proceeded with the command, [... you have been Chosen.] Mikhail locked eyes with the binary that was watching from above. His eyes glowed a murky green. He had successfully established contact.

Kane came down the steps on the side of his box, his big muscular frame causing the steps to bend under his weight. He wore a blank expression as he took in the scene his contact had just created.

"No! please!" begged the binary the bluecoats were taking away. She looked at Kane with sad, frightened eyes. "Kane!" She knew there was really nothing he could do to stop them but seeing him so indifferent towards it all, made it a lot worse. He had changed. He wasn't the same after returning to the station following an attack on the shuttle he had been on. "I love you!" she whispered under her breath as she composed herself and walked away with the bluecoats.

Kane made his way to Mikhail and pulled back the sleeve of his tight green shirt. He had a thin glass tube of quicksilver attached to the inside of his wrist. He peeled it off, little pieces of his skin sticking to it, and handed it to Mikhail.

Mikhail slipped the tube into his jacket pocket and walked away. Once the binary had been removed from theCage, he sent an update to Hala.

"Not now," said Kelly as she brushed past Ace. In her hurry to get back, she had taken a glass elevator into theCage and had completely forgotten that the one she was taking was going to drop her just by the bins.

Confused by her reaction he chased after her. "Don't you want an update?"

"I'm sure it's all good."

Ace let her go. Ruzgar however didn't - she looked ghastly pale and he cared too much.

She moved through the grid in a haze, replaying in her mind all the times she had seen him, the things he had said. She couldn't understand why there wasn't a single memory that felt odd, that would make her question him in some way. Kelly stopped in her tracks as she remembered something – the day she had told him about the attack on her.

The box was empty. Her heart was beating madly. Slightly relieved he wasn't there, she went back to the door and opened it wide. She couldn't breathe. Her wristcom was beeping - she was dangerously low on energy, again. Kelly reached out as she tried to steady herself. Her vision had gotten blurry. Within seconds she blacked out.

Ruzgar had followed her. He didn't know whose box it was she was at, but he had decided he was going to wait for her. The second he saw her at the door again, he took a step forward - something was wrong...

In an instant he was by her side. He checked her wristcom and immediately picked her up. She needed a whitecoat.

At theClinic he laid her down on a bed and stepped out of the way as a whitecoat took over.

In the grid there were multiple units of theClinic all strategically spread out for regular health checks and emergencies. They were decent facilities that provided the same level of quality service as theInfirmary of the BlueGrid ensuring there was never a need to take a binary from theCage to the BlueGrid.

He couldn't understand why she was so low on energy. Surely she had enough greens on her. He hated to think it was something else. The whitecoat left saying she was going to be alright but there was something in the way he said it that made Ruzgar feel like he wasn't being entirely honest. He sat by her side and waited, hoping the whitecoat would return with more information but he never did.

His wristcom had gone blank, followed by a bright gold dot blinking in the center of the screen. There was an incoming message from the GoldGrid. Ruzgar looked up to see binaries either looking at their wristcoms or one of the many screens within theClinic.

[This is a safety warning. The binary 'L05' is highly contagious. Any binary that comes in contact with L05 can expect to experience a rapid decrease in energy. It is vital for the safety of the grid and the entire station that L05 be found...]

"Shit!" whispered Ruzgar under his breath. The first thought that crossed his mind was whether the whitecoat had figured it out or not. Kelly looked slightly better. Her wristcom indicated her energy level was back to normal but there was no knowing how long it was going to stay that way. At least he knew what was causing the drop. He had to get her out of there.

Kane had his bot show him the records of binaries that had been through theClinic in the last few time frames. There had been a surge in cases directly linked to the abuse of the black pill. Kelly's case was different - despite taking the recommended dosage of green pills she had collapsed from a sudden decrease in energy. On closer examination he noticed her file didn't go all the way back - the only information the system had on her was fairly recent.

Mikhail made sure the door to his box was locked. He could tell she had been back. He took out the tube of quicksilver and carefully placed it on his bed. From what he knew, it was going to hurt but if he wanted a quick and full recovery, he was going to have to take it.

He undressed, picked up the tube and gave it one last look. His mind went back to Kelly and he kept it there. He closed his fist tight until the tube smashed into tiny little pieces.

The pain was instant and brought him to his knees. He tried to steady himself while he placed his hand on the side of his abdomen, covering the wound. As the quicksilver absorbed into his skin, he screamed in anguish and fell onto the floor. His eyes flickered as he slipped in and out of consciousness. Knowing he had only a few seconds to get it on to his other wounds, Mikhail reached out and rubbed his hand down his right leg. Once again, the excruciating pain of quicksilver ran through his veins, and he kicked in agony. Curled into a ball, he pulled at his hair as he begged his heart would just stop - anything to make the pain go away.