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Rook panted - heavily, and frequently.
“Sir, are you-” One of the BLADEs assigned to him tried to ask.
“Are the supplies intact?” Rook cut him off.
“Wh- well, yes, they are, but-”
“Alright then, we have to move on to Ga Jiarg’s base. They need these supplies.”
“Sir, you’re missing your arm!”
Rook took a second to register what the BLADE was telling him.
Sure enough, the adrenaline started to wear off, too. He looked down.
Huh.
Damn it all, did it really have to be the same arm that he lost the first time? He must not have realised that it got blown off during the fight.
Shit. The stump was leaking fluid like crazy. What was it that Lin told him to do if this ever happened again?
He looked around for any weapons that he could find.
Thankfully, the BLADE in front of him had a raygun.
“Mind passing me the raygun?”
“Sir, you need-”
“Give me the damn raygun, man. I don’t have time to waste.”
The BLADE looked skeptical, but he gave the raygun to the one hand Rook had.
Rook flipped the gun onto its stock, positioned his stump shoulder onto the edge of its barrel, and used his working hand to quickly pull and release the trigger of the weapon.
A burst of light pierced the sky, and Rook screamed like hell.
By the time the light dissipated, Rook was panting again, but his stump wasn’t leaking anymore.
“Cauterise the wound. Lin told me to do that if this ever happened again. Stops the fluid from running out like an actual body. Probably should wrap it, too, just in case.” Rook explained.
“Sir, we really need to get you an extraction back to-”
“No. That’ll take time, and Ga Jiarg needs the medical supplies ASAP. We deliver the supplies, then you can haul my ass to New LA.”
“But sir-”
“Don’t make me pull rank on this, man.”
“…yes, sir.”
It wasn’t hard for Rook to push through until reaching Ga Jiarg’s stronghold. The good thing about knowing you’re a mimeosome the second time around is that you’re able to use fancy technology to push the prodding pain out of your mind.
Not that he particularly wanted to go through it again. But hey, at least he knew this time.
At the very least, Rook had almost entirely forgotten that he was missing an arm. Enough that, when he met the Wrothian guards to the stronghold, he hadn’t quite figured out what their astoundment was about.
“Is it safe to assume you ran into trouble on the way here?” One had asked Rook.
“Had a bit of a tangle with the Ganglion, yeah. We made it back… okay. Ish.” Rook told them.
The two guards exchanged glances with each other, but looked back to Rook.
“Clearance code?”
Ah. Right. Clearance code. Almost forgot that part.
Rook pulled his communicator out of his pocket, and he spoke into it. “THX-1138.”
The audio message was recorded and sent to the guards, and Rook’s communicator flashed green. Rook and his group were allowed entry into the stronghold.
They moved through the tunnel, handling the crates with as much care as they could afford in the suffocatingly small corridors. Making a right at the wall, they entered further into the cave.
Eyes were once again focused on Rook, and it finally clicked with him as to why.
“You surely know how to make an entrance.” Ga Jiarg welcomed Rook.
Rook rubbed the back of his head with his only arm. “Didn’t really mean to, this time. Ganglion caught us by surprise on our way here. Supplies are intact, though.”
“That is good to hear. What of your comrades?”
“I bore the brunt of the injuries, I think. Didn’t really realise it till the battle was over, though.”
“You continued to fight even with one arm? Impressive.”
“I’m right-handed, thankfully, so my left arm wasn’t the worst thing I could've lost. And a sword and an assault rifle at least work with one hand, even if it’s not ideal, so.”
“I’m familiar with using a sword with one hand, but how did you ever use a rifle with just one?”
“Little trick I picked up from Irina.” Rook moved to demonstrate. “Pull the magazine release and shake out the magazine… stick the rifle upside down in between your arm and your chest… reach for a new mag, shove into the mag well, and you’re good to go.”
“Most impressive. I must afford my apologies, however. As you know, we are low on medical supplies, but even were we not, I’m afraid none of us are familiar with your mimeosome bodies. We cannot treat you here.”
“Figured. But I’ll be alright until we get back to New LA, so don’t worry. You need the supplies right now more than I need a new arm… Elma and Lin might disagree, though.”
“I appreciate your willingness to fight on. Not many in your position would make the same decision. Speaking of, where are your companions?”
“Ah, yeah, Elma wants me to take on more leadership stuff. She thinks I’d be good at it.”
“And? How do you think it is progressing?”
Rook stopped looking at Ga Jiarg, and instead took a look at his stump shoulder.
“Subject to change?” He nervously said, looking back at Ga Jiarg in an almost scared manner.
He got a chuckle out of the Wrothian, which was at least something.
“Keep at it, my friend. You’ll still make a fine leader yet.”
“…dammit, Rook.” Elma said, exasperated.
“Look, in my defence, did you really think I was going to do anything else?” Rook asked her. He spun his left shoulder around to make sure the arm was working.
“No, I didn’t. But I still wish you’d put yourself first sometime. How’s the new arm?”
“Better than last time, but… well, we both know why I was scared as hell last time.”
“Yeah. Oh, before I forget. Lin wanted you to have this.”
She pulled a new Sakuraba light jacket from behind her. Navy, as Rook always wore.
“Heh. She knows me so well.”
“Luckily, so do I.” Elma chuckled as she said that, revealing the gray Sakuraba light jeans and belt that he always wore.
“Holy hell, I don’t think I’ve ever been more grateful for pants in my whole life.”
“I’m glad. Now get yourself cleaned up, Rook. You’re not going off-duty this time.”
Rook chuckled. “Copy that, Colonel!”
Elma turned around to leave the Mimeosome Maintenance Center before Rook could see her smile.
He came a long way from Starfall Basin, she thought to herself.
She couldn’t have been more proud.