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Chapter 70

Chapter 70

February 4th, 2158 (station time)

Jean woke, but didn't open his eyes. Lying motionless, he absorbed any available information.

Pain was present, every part of his body felt it. It wasn't a sharp pain, it felt old and in the process of healing. It was most notable in his lungs. It made itself known with each forced inhalation he took. A mask was affixed to his face, feeding him cool moist air.

Then came a new feeling, the feeling of being restrained. No, not restrained, but held down. The feeling was the same as a heavy blanket pressing down on his entire body. His skin was wet, as if it were covered in some liquid.

Jean could hear the hum of electrical equipment. The hum came from all around him, and wasn't stronger in any one direction. The electrical sounds were overwhelmed by the sound of his own breathing each time he was forced to take a breath.

From the gathered information, Jean surmised that he was in a medical bay. It took him less than ten seconds to come to this conclusion. This was a conclusion that he would have reached immediately if he had opened his eyes.

There were two reasons he didn't open his eyes or move whenever he first woke from sleep. The first reason was to keep his senses sharp. In his line of work, collecting the most information in the shortest time was valuable. As for the second reason, if for some reason he was captive, it was always better to gather any info on those holding him before they knew he was awake. Captors tended to speak a little more carelessly when their hostages were asleep.

Now knowing that he was alone he opened his eyes. The room had dim lighting, which was good because even this low level made him squint. Looking over his body, he was lying in a sleeping bag that spacers often referred to as a "G bag". In a zero G environment, the bag would be attached to a wall. The bag could be programmed to simulate a range of gravitational forces, making it easier for some spacers and most all non spacers to sleep while traveling in space.

As Jean had predicted, the room was a medical bay, a small one. The room was well stocked with all of the essential medical supplies. One thing that the room lacked was a med tank. The room was too small to fit a tank, but its presence would have cut his healing time by a fraction.

Slowly and methodically, Jean began to test his body. He gently stretched and moved each muscle one at a time, taking inventory of his aches and pains. His right side was the origin of a fair amount of the pain. He must have hit something as he was blown out of the station.

As he slowly worked on his body, he glanced around the room. To his left, and almost out of view behind him was an IV bag. The label on the bag read, Calcium Gluconate 2.5% (IPPB). The IV bag was connected to a nebulizer and pump that fed into the tubes connected to his mask. He wasn't exactly sure what that was, but assumed it was a treatment for his lungs.

After working every major muscle in his body, Jean came to the conclusion that he had suffered no lasting injuries. All of his injuries were soft tissue, the worst being his lungs, then probably his eyes.

Working one arm free of the G bag, Jean turned it off, and he felt the gentle pressure of the simulated gravity slacken and then leave altogether. Once it was off, the bag could be opened simply by sliding his hand along the right seam. The action always made Jean feel as if his hand were cutting the bag open.

Once open, Jean pulled himself out into the room. The temperature of the medical bay was cooler than inside his G bag. A shiver ran though his body, he wasn't concerned, and he would get use to the cooler air shortly.

Jean was wearing a thin med skin suit. The suit was primarily made from a hydrophobic material that wouldn't let any moisture leave his body. The suits main function was to keep a moist environment were nanobots could work externally on a body without the use of a med tank. It was a less effective version of a full med tank.