The Archon Arc

Pain, my old friend

It's all she could do to keep sucking air into her lungs. There just wasn't enough to go around. Air...

Drack had her arm over his shoulder and his arm around her waist. He half carried - dragged the almost limp Pathfinder onto the Tempest. Vetra came following behind with Ryder's weapons in her hands. "What happened?" Cora asked, rushing towards Drack to help.

"She took a rocket to her chest," Vetra reported.

Drack got Ryder onto the bed at the med bay with surprising gentleness for a Krongan of his size. Lexi turned to the crowd in her domain and barked, "Cora and Vetra stay, the rest of you out!"

When the med bay was clear, Lexi's orders flew with precision and firmness. "Vetra, Cora, get her out of her armour."

With practise ease, buckles were snapped and the armour were all dropped to the floor. "Ryder, can you hear me?" Lexi asked as she had her omni tool up to scan.

Yes... I can, yes. Ryder panted and blinked Lexi. She didn't feel up to do more. Lexi frowned at the readings on her omni tool. "Get her out of that under armour," Lexi ordered.

Vetra retrieved a pair of medical shears ready to cut Ryder out of the skin tight suit. "No," Ryder crocked. "Too... expensive..."

"This is your concern when your heart rate is in the 200 beats per minutes?" Lexi asked incredulously. "I'll buy you another one, get it off her."

The shears made quick work of her under armour, leaving her in her black Initiative issued bra and underwear. Her entire chest was an angry red that promised to be an impressive bruise the next day. "What's wrong with me?" Ryder managed to squeeze out in between her pants.

Lexi ignored her question and instructed, "Fit the oxygen mask over her nose and mouth."

Cora pulled a heavy duty mask over her face and secured it around her head. The cool oxygen flooded her lungs. Suddenly, Ryder didn't feel quite on the verge of death as before. Lexi busied herself with attaching those same wireless leads on her chest. The heart rate monitor screeched an angry series of beeps. "That's not normal right?" Cora asked.

Lexi didn't answer instead she addressed Ryder. "Your blood pressure is too low. I can't give you any sedatives."

"Why would I need any?" Ryder asked, her voice muffled through the mask.

Lexi took out a large pad and placed it over right side of her chest. "Cora, Vetra, help me turn her."

Ryder grimaced and bit back a cry of pain as they flipped her onto her side. The heart rate monitor cried as her heart rate spiked. The second pad was placed on the left side of her back before they returned her to her back. "I'm going to carry out electrical cardioversion to get your heart rate back to normal."

"Ahh... Lexi, my translator might be glitching but electrical is not sounding so good to me," Cora said.

Tell her, Cora. Ryder agreed but she was too busy sucking in air through the mask. Lexi attached the wires leading from the pads to a machine behind Ryder. A loud whine filled the air as the machine was turned on. Ryder's eyes widened as the realisation hit her. "You're going to shock me," she mumbled through the mask.

Lexi nodded. "This will get your heart rate back to normal range while we figure out what caused this. Cora, Vetra tuck her arms under the sheets."

"Ryder, I'm not going to lie, it will hurt, a lot."

No... Ryder groaned internally but nodded her acknowledgement. It wasn't really giving permission since there was no other choice in the limited facility of the med bay. Lexi looked at Cora and Vetra making sure they were done with tucking Ryder's arms in. "Ready, Ryder?"