Rultaos

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

Just wrote up a short reply to show Benny's thoughts on the whole thing and to show how socially incompetent he is XD. I'm wondering how Amy's going to take this poking by Matija.

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

Before Amy was able to respond to his greeting, Matija had flicked him on his nose and clicked her tongue at him, causing him to flinch with an exclaimed "Wha-?" before he turned to look at her questioningly. "Well, we all know he has more than an additional spotter now, am I right?" Amy responded to his question as he helped herself to some of the pancakes.

Matija meanwhile, got up to greet them and make conversation. "Glad you two can come on over! What took you guys so long? Busy?" she asked, with her tone being teasing at the end. Benny wasn't too sure what she was teasing them about, he figured that couples tended to enjoy snuggling in bed for longer than usual anyway. Was she implying they had sex? He didn't quite see how that was something to poke fun at seeing as couples did that all the time anyway, at least in the holo-movies he had watched. "To be perfectly honest, I was in bed deciding whether to stay tucked in or come down and join you magnificent people. I mean, it was a really tough decision for me, so that's why we're late." Amy replied cooly.

Matija made her way to the coffee machine before responding. “Guess I’d feel the same if I had some... special breakfast in bed too. Hope it was steamin’ cuz this breakfast is... proobably not as hot anymore.” She said before pausing. ”But hey, that’s just me,” She finished.

Benny couldn't tell if he was missing something here but, was Matija really trying to get a rise out of Amy? If she was he didn't fully understand what the point of it would be. Then again, there was still a lot of things about her that he had found strange, even after 8 months recovering from a coma together. Deciding it would be better to distance himself from what these 2 we're getting into he turned back to his food to finish the last slices of bacon and bits of egg he had on it. At least the ones that Matija hadn't taken, causing him to silently huff in exasperation at the white-haired girl's inability to keep her hands off things she didnt own

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

"Don't call me that, Matija. How's it hanging with you two being free from your comas?" Their skeletal pilot responded, shaking off the nickname that Matija gave him as people usually did. It was an odd thing that she did to almost everyone, even their doctors, calling their Physical Therapist "Doc" instead because she said he didn't look like a Frank, and his last name was too hard to pronounce.

"As boring as watchin' a brick wall. I'd kill fer some excitement now that I can move like a normal person again. Might even mean that lit'rally..." he said as he chewed on one of his bacon slices. His time after their recovery, aside from being beaten up regularly by Matija, was spent in the labs where he was reunited with his explosives and bomb-making kit. He'd been crafting a steady supply of explosive ordnance for himself just to pass the time, and had even made a few bombs and grenades that looked like toys and trinkets. He got told off for that after one of the crew mistook a small tear gas bomb for a simple music box and had a nasty surprise when the sad music ended.

He kept the "goofy-looking ones" locked away in containers in the labs after that incident, but didn't exactly stop making them. They had their tactical uses, especially since unlike bombs that looked like real bombs, people wouldn't instinctively run away from them, maximizing the chances of hurting someone with it.

After most of the people at the table had nearly finished their meals, two of their other crewmates arrived. Grayson and Amy from what they remembered. Benny could still recall helping her with her luggage when she first boarded The Revenant and had heard news from the rest of the crew that she was getting her eyesight back through some experimental tech.

While Stryker greeted Grayson, who seemed a little embarrassed at Stryker's greeting (though Benny wasn't really sure why as he was still very poor at reading social cues) he decided to say hi to the blonde girl that came along with their resident sniper "Oi! I heard the blind lass ain't so blind anymore. Guess ol' Grayson finally has a spotter other than that drone of his, aye?" He said as he turned around in his chair towards her.

tagged

@Crossfire@Xandrya@Gardevoiran@Silver Carrot@BKburke@iTem Essentially everyone since we're all meeting here

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

Amyson: The Sniper and Spy romance, but with less homosexuality than Team Fortress fanfictions!

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

Holy Hell that collab. And I was worried I was making our posts too long xD. That's some quality exposition @Crossfire @Xandrya

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

@iTem posted on behalf of both of us. IC that involves both Benny and Matija will most likely be collabs between us so we can make things go by more smoothly. I hope we're not making our posts too long because of that >_<. Nobody also got our RVB reference in the timeskip post it seems

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

@Crossfire there is just something downright adorable with the mental image of some bearded, grizzled mercenary making bacon and eggs for his crew of misfits xD

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

@Crossfire We finished our long-ass collab. I hope we didn't make it too hard to read for you guys. We tried to keep it from turning into a straight-up wall of text while putting in everything we figured was important over the course of the timeskip.

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

Matija:

After the little fiasco on the two coma patient’s first few waking moments, the two would eventually wake again the next day, less agitated and confused than before, but still aching and wary.

Matija found herself would wake back on her bed with an IV connected back to her. She thought that maybe it would be wiser to NOT tear it off of her. Speaking of such, it seemed that the med bay was still as deserted as it had initially been. But she was thankful that the room was at least lit. That kept her nerves at relative ease.

“Is anyone there?” she would try to rasp when she notices the sound of someone breathing. But her state within the past month degraded much of her body’s abilities that it would sound more like the mumblings of a somniloquist. When she manages to tilt her head to the side, she notices that the sound was coming from Benny who was still on his bed. She would sigh to herself, which seemed more like shoulders mildly shaking, and wonder if he was still very much alive or just a vegetable on bed.

She would try to make sense and attempt to remember recent events. Little would come to her and she gets distracted by the sounds of life and activity that was muffled by the frosted glass dividers that separated them from the world beyond the med bay.

Wanting to be distracted from the noises, she tries to converse with Benny whilst hoping that the man was as awake as she was, if only to make sense of what’s happening as well as to break the painful lump growing inside her throat. But the silence was stifling. In the back of her mind she wonders if this was regret that she is feeling for taking a job that got her caught in the first place, or was it leaving her father behind with a now forgotten promise? She couldn’t tell. She could barely even remember bits and pieces of herself which frustrated her needlessly. All that she knew was that she felt hot tears fall from her eyes as she laid there, ruminating about the few strands of memories that she could grasp.

Benjamin:

On the other hospital bed, Benny would also begin to stir, emerging from the sea of unconsciousness once more. He blinked several times and tried to get his memories organized in his head. He vaguely remembered getting off the bed, and detaching the tubes on his right arm. He also remembered seeing the woman on the other bed, Sandra he thought her name was, bleeding on the floor. Yet, they were both back on their beds now, seemingly none the worse for wear. He wondered if perhaps all of that had been a vivid dream, though the pain he felt was certainly real enough. Breathing was a chore as an intake of breath that was too deep would bring pain to his chest, moving was also a lot more difficult. With little else to do, he went back to trying to remember where he is and what was happening

Obviously he was in some kind of hospital room if the IV tubes were anything to go by. But how did he end up here. He ha a vague recollection of being kidnapped by aliens of some kind, but that didn’t seem right. The machinery around him was clearly Alliance technology. Alliance….. The word made him feel… anger. He felt his heart rate rising and a strong urge to clench his fist, though trying to do so caused even more pain. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but he really did not like that word.

He was distracted when he heard laboured breathing, like the sounds of someone who was nervous. He tried to turn his head to the side where the other bed lay and saw that the woman there appeared to be awake. He tried to say “Hello? Are you okay?” But it only came out as more of rasping and wheezing as his time of inactivity had rendered much of his physical abilities nonexistent.

Matija:

She couldn’t quite tell if she heard that right, but she thinks she just heard Benny talk. Normally she would quickly react to a response by snapping her head towards the direction of a sound. But right now she just ended up slowly looking at his direction. ”...Benny?”

Talking hurts, as everything does. But her eyes are easier to move now thanks to the tears that had fallen. But the pain was worth a little company. At least she’s sure that the guy isn’t clinically dead and is very much alive.

The med bay doors slid open and a human woman with short-cropped black hair came with a lab coat and a clipboard. She was followed by an older and shorter man in green scrubs. ”Oh! You’re awake!” the woman would cheerily exclaim with little surprise in her voice. ”This is good. We can finally talk and assess you.” Matija found her cheeriness a bit relieving but quite fake. She supposes that anyone forced to work with... criminals? Would feel the same. ”We’re all criminals here, right? She found herself second guessing as a memory digs itself out of her mind. It just felt like everyone on board had done something that people normally would call law enforcement on. If so, she was surely one of those people.

Benjamin:

Before the two of them could make any attempt at communicating further, new people entered the room. The two of them appeared to be in medical clothes, with the woman looking like a doctor while the man behind her appeared to be an assistant. The doctor took on a cheery tone when she addressed them, saying that they could be assessed. Benny couldn’t quite place it but he found her cheerfulness unsettling given their situation.

Not to mention that he felt that these two were out of place in this ship. Wait… why am I sure this is a ship? And why am I thinking they’re out of place? Benny thought to himself. He didn’t know where these assumptions came from, but he felt so sure of them.

Before he could wonder about that any further however, the woman continued speaking. “Okay! First off, my name is Doctor Emily Grey, your neurologist. Now let’s try to see how your memory is. Can you two speak?” She asked. Benny tried to respond but it only came out as more mumbled rasp as he struggled to get words out of his mouth. “I see… Alright let’s keep things simple! I’m going to ask some yes or no questions, and simply respond by either nodding or shaking your head. It doesn’t need to be big movements, okay, dearies? Just a tiny little nod and shake for our questions. Let’s start by seeing if you remember your names...”

---

The doctor would answer ask them rudimentary questions such as affirming if a name is in fact their real name, their age, their home planet, and so on. The assessment would show reveal that Benny’s name was Benjamin Quincy, the woman that Benny had been calling Sandra was actually named Matija Holmström. Both of them were on their late 20s but Matija was older by a year in comparison to her male companion.

By the end of it, the result of their assessment showed that they were recovering better than expected. However the Doctor said that they were still suffering from mild verbal and moderate motor degrade. ”Guess that’s the effect of being bedridden. Oh well! That can easily be fixed if you’re willing to help us back. So for now I suppose I should leave the P.T. to the actual P.T!” With that she gave way to the shorter and older man on the green scrubs. He would looks stern, but his voice was quite comforting and more genuine than the female Doctor’s voice. ”I am Doctor Frank DuFresne, a Physical Therapist. I will help you recover what you can from your motor abilities if you help me.”

Thus the therapy and recovery begun. The two patients would get monitored every day and were submitted to a routine that was composed of check ups and physical therapy. The female doctor would check their cognitive functions by checking each patient’s ability to respond to stimuli as well as pain recognition, regulation, and/or their ability to follow simple orders such as flexing their arms and legs, pointing at specific objects, and their ability to remember past memories and events. Meanwhile the male Doctor would help them regain their basic motor skills such as limb movement, flexibility, and grip. Since the Doctors only saw negligible issues with their cognitive skills, they were mostly left alone. Eventually, the Doctors would turn towards muscle strengthening in order for them to be able to do harder tasks such as balancing, walking, and running.

---

The 8 months spent in recovery were grueling for both of them. It was difficult for both of them to deal with the fact that, for a long while, they were unable to move their body in the way they were used to. Benny had to make do without Skelly as his left arm for a while until they decided that his brain was capable of handling him again, meanwhile Matija struggled with her inability to be as agile as she was before. At first, their shared misery was a blessing, as they at least did not feel alone in their struggle to recover, bonding over their hate of the situation they were stuck in. They spoke about their criminal careers, interests and dislikes, and some sparse details of the lives they lived before becoming wanted, finding it both an interesting and humorous pastime in between the routine tests and exercises.

Later on however, it became a source of turmoil as Benny started recovering faster than Matija did. While Benny did not mind the degradation of his physical abilities (as he was more reliant on his brain than his body), Matija’s specialty in stealth and infiltration all relied on her agility, and without it she felt useless. By the time that the doctors decided that Benny was cleared to have Skelly reinstalled, Matija was still having difficulty recovering and ended up overexerting herself on the routine exercises in a desperate attempt to try and make herself recover faster, although it was having the opposite effect.

Both Benny and the doctors were concerned over the consequences of her misguided efforts. While the doctors kept her from overexertion by limiting her time in exercises, Benny tried to console her by recounting his own difficulties of readjusting after he had first gotten Skelly installed as his left arm.

”I’m probly tha’ last person you want ta’ hear this from right now but… I know what yer going through. I know what it’s like ta’ feel like ye cannae do what you’ve always been doing. Ol’ Skelly here is my proof o’ that.” He said to her sometime during their 5th month of recovery.

Matija had found herself hating the way Benny spoke lately. This especially takes the cake. She would glare at him for a moment before she looked away, angry at the seemingly pretentious words that she was hearing. Her accent would show as she no longer found it necessary to hide it from Benny, especially at this moment. ”Ohoo, yea! Ya totally know it. Say, ya need yer body to scale walls too, amirite? Oh an’ try to distribute weight when walking on pressure sensitive flours. Oh! An’ let’s not fuckin’ forget about yer need to bend yer body to fit them stupid gaps between them stupid ol’ laser shit that everyone seems ta love!”

Benny’s face grimaced at her response, but he chose not to interrupt. He wasn’t the most patient of people even at the best of times, but he knew where this was coming from and he didn’t want to make her feel worse than she already was.

He sighed and took a deep breath before responding ”Couldinnae do any o’ that even if I tried... Wot I could do was make tha’ finest explosives the galaxy ‘ad ever seen. Makin’ bombs requires a delicate touch and precise movements with yer hands. When I ‘ad Skelly here installed… I couldinnae even do it anymore. Everythin’ about movin’ him felt clumsy an’ wrong. I try ta’ reach my chin, I press my nose. I try ta’ hold a glass beaker, it shatters in my hand. I try placin’ a wire into a slot, I spend 30 minutes tryin’ ta’ align the bloody thing. Makin’ things go boom was what I was best at, and Skelly kept me from doing it…” He said, taking a pause to catch his breath before continuing.

“I hated this arm at one point. I hated how it dinnae feel like my real arm. I thought my career was over, and that I’d never make another explosive ever again. So fer a while, I just drank myself into a stupor an’ hoped I’d jus’ die before everyone I knew realized I couldinnae do the one thing I was best at anymore. But... after a while I started gettin’ used to this odd and clumsy rascal. I realized that the problem was that I was tryin’ ta’ use him like I did my old arm, but that’s not how it works. I ‘ad ta’ start over again, like a baby learnin’ ta’ crawl ta’ their Mum’s teats. I ‘ad to accept the fact that a piece o’ my old body was gone, and that I needed to learn how I could handle this new one.” He took another pause before continuing his monologue.

”The… point I’m tryin’ to make is, when ya lose control of yer body like this, yer not gaunnie get yer old self back. Ye need ta’ treat it as a fresh start and try ta’ learn how ta’ do everything again, otha’wise you’ll neva’ be satisfied. Ye cannae compare yerself now ta’ how you used ta’ be or you’ll jus’ keep focusin’ on what yer missing instead of wot ye need ta’ learn… It’s not easy ta’ accept, but ye’ll end up killin yerself if ya don’t,” he finished.

A small wave of sadness washed over Matija. Sadness and guilt. She thought that she was having it tough when it turns out that Benny had gone through worse and then some. While she hated being guilt-tripped and would have snapped at him again under normal circumstances, she found herself listening more and more to his words before she found herself wondering if what he said would apply to her. Was she really trying to get back what she lost, or was she trying to make the most of what she has now?

With a small and shamed voice, she would speak after a long period of silence ”So this ain’t yer first time getting this fucked up, huh? Guess I should’ve thought about it more when I compared tomatoes to potatoes,” she says with a humorless chuckle.

”I… guess. I’ve been too focused on what happened that I couldn’t find myself doin’ more than i should, which is adaptin’ to… well. This. This… body.” Matija would gesture to herself and look down and moved her body slowly to feel how each movement felt for her. She then would turn to her side so she could fully face him on the bed across her. ”’m… Sorry. Sorry for lashin’ out like that. It was out place and… I thought I was the only one sufferin’ here and I forgot that you’re doin’ this twice over. Would ya… accept this shitty apology? ‘Cuz I sure cain’t get there ta hug ya. Not yet at least.”

Benny chuckled at that and shook his head in response. ”No need ta’ apologize. If ye were with me when I was still pissy at Skelly I’d ‘ave done the same ta’ you, and threw in a few more curses fer good measure.” He said with a smile, somewhat glad that the earlier tension had lifted. He then looked at her more seriously before continuing. ”Jus’... stop tryin’ ta’ kill yerself, aye? This isn’t the end, not if the Alliance has anything ta’ say about it, and as long as they can squeeze some use outta ya, even if it’s jus’ pumpin yer brain for info, they’ll do it. So we both need ta’ get better soon and serve these high an’ mighty pieces o’ bitch shite on OUR terms, doing what WE enjoy doing, aye?” He said to her, hoping it would motivate her more positively.

Matija would grin to what Benny had just said. She suddenly found the daily regiment that they were forced to go through as something more exciting than frustrating and dreadful. ”Hell yeah! WE’re gonna get them sick fucks good!” Matija said as she raised a fist of approval towards him. When she calms down a bit more, she would smile softly at Benny and tuck a loose lock of hair behind her ear. ”Yanno, Benjamin. Ya ain’t half bad. If ya only bathed as frequently as ya get wet dreams from blowin’ shit up, people would probably go out with ya or somethin’. Ya don’t look bad or any at ALL but… she yawns as she feels herself getting all the more tired from their efforts for the day ”...I dunno. I fergot what I was sayin’...” With that Matija yawns again and tries to make herself comfortable for the night. Tomorrow’s another day to get better, tomorrow’s another step towards revenge.

Patient Log Summaries

Summary of Doctor Grey and Doctor DuFresne’s Patient Logs

Initial assessment:

Benjamin Quincy (AKA: “Benny Boomer”), Human, Male, 28 years old:

Comatosed for 27 days, electrocution due to contact from a high voltage wire during a power surge from the ship systems forcibly restarting..

Assessment:

• Eye Response 4/4
• Verbal Response 4/6
• Motor Response 5/6
• GCS: 13 points
  
  - Mild damage

Recommendation: Start with oral massage and exercises to strengthen tongue and jaw muscles.

Matija Holmström (AKA: “Brown Recluse”) Human-Mecorian, Female, 29 years old:

Chemically enduced comatose for 27 days, blunt force trauma incurred from crate collision on skull (on sphenoid bone). Required stitches for a 2cm gash, recently removed to foster further healing.

Assessment:

• Eye response 4/4
• Verbal Response 3/6
• Motor Response 5/ 6
• GCS: 12 points
  
  - Moderate damage

Recommendation: Oral massage to stimulate oral muscles to help with coherent speech, CAT scan for potential damage on broca’s area.

---

First Month:
The two patients were able to sit up with assistance. While they seemed to have trouble keeping their upper bodies upright for longer than a few seconds (approx 18). Over-all fine motor skills on hands can be rated as a 4/10 in average. Both can now hold on to heavier objects (such as apples) without dropping it. Objects of smaller sizes will be considered as subjects for further exercises. Almost perfect facial reactions. Mild slurring of speech was noted when Quincy attempts to communicate. Slurring is negligible and no longer requires too much intervention. Holmström now capable for coherent speech but slurring is obvious due to inability to finely control tongue, still requires further oral exercises.
Lower body will gradually be given more attention on next month in hopes of starting walking exercises by 4th month.
Emotionally the patients may require rehabilitation due to agitation and feelings of loss towards lack of complete bodily control.

Second Month:
Patients are now able to sit up without assistance. Both can now hold on to a piece of 70 gsm paper with no difficulty. Quincy’s feet no longer stuck in plantar flexion, able to dorsiflex and wriggle at will; shows partial ability to flex legs towards himself. Holmström still requires assistance on moving legs but has been showing signs on ability to dorsiflex; may need further assistance and massage.
Patients may be prepped for walking exercises by the middle of next month.

Third Month:
Continuing preparations for waking exercises, delayed by 15 days. Quincy has more control on leg movement in comparison to Holmström. When both patients were assisted on sitting by the edges of their bed and told to do basic leg motions, Quincy was able to do instructions 6/10 times while Holmström was able to do 4/10.
Holmström shows extreme agitation towards loss of motor movement. May be delayed for walking exercises.

Fourth and Fifth Month:
Quincy is recovering as expected. Within the 5th month, he can mostly walk with little assistance though he is expected to continue using crutches for a few more weeks. Left bionic arm has also been reinstalled after multiple scans and tests shows that he is now fit for bionic use. Holmström on the other hand has been reprimanded multiple times for overexertion on exercises. Her recovery had been pushed further by a month due to multiple injuries as well as additional time for talk therapy to deal with surfacing self-harming tendencies. For her safety, her time in the training walkway will be reduced from 2 hours a day to 1 hour and a quarter to make time for talk therapy.
Strength exercises will be implemented for Quincy next month and Holmström’s will be on the next if all goes according to plan.

Sixth Month:
Holmström has recovered faster than initially expected when talk therapy has been included in her daily regiment. Though self-harming tendencies are still present, coping has been noticeably been healthier and better than previous months.
Holmström is now using crutches and is expected to have the ability to walk independently within the next month. Quincy is expected to do the same.

Seventh Month:
Patients no longer require crutches and is capable of independent movement. Strain is no longer an issue and strength exercises have been raised into harder difficulties as to push the patients to reach near pre-comatose states as initially ordered. They are now allowed to stay back in their respective rooms in order to allow them to re-adjust to their normal lives.
Bi-daily medical bay visits and check ups are still required of them for monitoring purposes.
End of quota is less than two weeks. Can’t wait to leave this place.

Final week of the Seventh Month:
We have been ordered to leave the Revenant. Patients have shown remarkably fast recovery despite initial expectations. This especially applies to Holmström. We don’t think we can do much beyond this point. We have done what we can.

---

Final assessment:

Benjamin Quincy (AKA: “Benny Boomer”), Human, Male, 29 years old:

Comatosed for 27 days, electrocution due to contact from a high voltage wire during a power surge from the ship systems forcibly restarting..

Assessment: There has been negligible degrade on motor capacities. No problem on mental faculties and claims to have recalled most of his memories.

Matija Holmström (AKA: “Brown Recluse”) Human-Mecorian, Female, 30 years old:

Chemically enduced comatose for 27 days, blunt force trauma incurred from crate collision on skull (on sphenoid bone). Required stitches for a 2cm gash, now completely healed but with noticeable scar..

Assessment: Patient was not expected to reach the quota due to incidents that had occurred during the 4th and 5th month of therapy. However they have recovered with negligible degrade on motor capacities. There are also no longer any problems on mental faculties and claims to have recalled most of her memories.

Final decision: Both patients are fit to return to duty.

Signed:


Doctor Emily Grey


Doctor Frank DuFrense

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

@Crossfire Mackielars and I are still working on Benny and Matija's rehab collab for the timeskip as well, but if you guys finish before us feel free to just assume that the two of them are in decent physical condition already and can be called to action if they are needed for interactions. We'll be ending our collab at around the end of the timeskip in IC.