Second Chance War

Recovery

Thomas spent two more days in bed, the whole time they had given him experimental injections to speed up the recovery process. They made his body itch all over as if a thousand ants were crawling in his skin. It did the trick though, unfortunately only a select few could use this drug, otherwise, it would certainly be mass produced. He was told to take it easy, any exaggerated movement could mess up all the work they've done to keep his organs from falling to pieces. When it came down to it, he guessed the Americans can be just as inventive as the Germans. None of this would be possible without Kincade of course, but that's a small price to pay to ensure American comes out of this war ahead.

On the third day, Thomas was able to get out of bed, although he was restricted in what he could do, he was satisfied to already be on his feet. Another thing that pleased Thomas is that he learned that Elaine is the same Elaine Schubert from the dossier. He had much to thank her for and on top of that, he got to experience her medical skills firsthand. Major General Hughes stopped by to tell him that she spent sixteen hours saving his life in surgery. Also to discuss the next steps in the operation with him.

They took a short walk around the medical facility, Thomas wasn't allowed to exit the facility during his recovery in case something breaks down. The experimental pharmaceuticals they were using weren't perfect, it was just a stopgap method to ensure a faster recovery. It wasn't perfect though, there were already several mishaps where his body rejected the drug at its full strength. They had to dial down the dosage to around half. Otherwise, he would have made a full recovery within three days, instead of the full week it was going to take. 

"Thomas, we're going to have to vastly speed up the project, this accident has put many things into motion. Operation Ascension, our back up plan in case something happened to you, has been greatly accelerated." Major General Hughes said. "Not only has it gotten more funding than us, but the Senate Committee is also unsure of whether you'll survive this ordeal. They're on the fence, that means we need to speed up as well and show them you're capable of surviving this and much more."

They stopped outside the door that leads to Thomas's medical suite. It wouldn't be fair to call it a room, it was fully equipped with anything they might need and was much larger than a regular medical room. Major General Hughes finished up with a parting sentence. "Tomorrow we're going to start the chemicals for the experiment, we've brought a British scientist and mathematician in on the project. In exchange for some classified data, Britain was willing to loan him out to us to build something highly sophisticated. Get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow morning."

With that, the major general turned sharply on his heel and marched off, it was a weird sort of occurrence to see. Thomas turned his mind to other things. He needed time to process what happened. He should try to see if he could affect anything when he next faces off with Kincade. Maybe there is a way to prevent massacres from becoming reality. Existing between two different times...Thomas rubbed some of his new scars, was rather unpleasant to say in the least. Time to turn in for the night, he grabbed some of that injection he was supposed to take and stabbed himself viciously in the thigh. He soon after drifted off into a dreamless state.

The next morning he awoke and dressed in his officer's garb, his newly minted Captain's bars shined brightly on his collar. He walked outside the door to find ten armed escort guards, they all clutched their rifles fearfully and looked at him as if he were some sort of monster. They heard the tally, fifteen dead guards, the man was just oozing blood everywhere from where those guards shot him. They filled him with countless holes, yet here he was, standing in their midst like some unkillable mythological monster. The lead soldier stepped forward and saluted with a trembling hand.

"Sergeant Francis and company here to escort you to the lab, sir!" The soldier refused to lock eyes with Thomas, the fear palpable on his face in the form of sweat. Who knows how long these men have been waiting here for him, maybe enough to gossip about what happened to those other guards. Thomas waved his hand, inclined to follow them. He'd rather not say anything in case they mistake him for trying to eat them and pull their triggers. They sure were a jumpy bunch, this experiment should take care of that though.

After about twenty minutes of walking through the winding corridors and open rooms that make up the medical facility, they arrived on the far side in front of the connecting door to X-wing. It was labeled restricted personnel only, unauthorized persons will be shot on sight. Pretty standard as warnings go. The lead sergeant saluted and pulled out the funniest looking key he had ever seen. It was a serrated knob with a short handle. He put his key into the lock in the center of the door and gave it a half turn right, then three quarter turns left. KACHUNK! The door gave a solid click then started whining as you could hear the gears inside of it moving. The door itself started to slide open slowly, they really took security around here seriously, especially when Thomas saw what was on the other side of the door. No less than four large MG nests crewed by serious looking people and around fifteen guards were in that room, pointed at the door.

After Thomas was cleared by the security checkpoint, the guards relaxed their stances and started chatting with one another about recent events. They tactfully avoided the incident that Thomas was involved in and started discussing Elaine Schubert and how hot she is. Thomas paid them no heed, men will forever be men, he stepped through into the lab where he was greeted by a lab assistant.

He ushered him over to a serious looking doctor who obviously had Germanic origins.

"Hello, Thomas." The doctor greeted him in a thick German accent. "Please, do not be worried, today we are just using chemicals made in the lab here to test how hardy your brain is, so to speak." He gestured to a nearby table, it looked comfy enough with its leather backing, but those restraints were quite worrying.

"Please, do not be alarmed, those restraints are there merely in case something goes wrong, we will not put them on you." The doctor noted his concern before continuing. "Oh, and I am Doctor Bernard Katz, pleased to meet such an interesting one as you."

The doctor took him over to the table and had him lay down before taking out a chilled box from the medical cooler in the corner. He opened it before taking out a vial and needle, the needle was empty, but the vial was filled with a liquid of rainbow color, it also had a slightly metallic hue. The doctor looked at him and smiled.

"This is experimental drug X-BC 257, and today, we are going to inject this stuff into your brain to figure out where Kincade is hiding."