The Dark Harrs

[Misha_Gottlich]

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Name: Taden Harrs: "The Dark Harrs"

Origin: Unknown, Liberty Space

Age: ~50

Cyber-Augments: CPU, Bio-Suit, Full Left Arm, partial Right Arm, Full Right Leg, Lower Left Leg, Various Internal Upgrades

Owned Ships: <Requiem> Heavy & <Blacktip> Bomber

Current Home:H+ Clinic, The CORE

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Taden Harrs (AKA: The Dark Harrs)

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Awaken In Darkness

Taden awoke on a cold metal operating table. It was dark, too dark to see anything at all, but he could feel the smooth cold steel of the table against his back. Taden made an effort to turn his head to the side, to see what he could observe, but his neck refused to budge. He made a second attempt, but gave up after a short struggle. Perhaps there was something restraining his head, possibly the same thing that was blocking his vision. He tried to lift his arm and feel around, but it refused to move as well! He tried the other hand, same result. Panic slowly began to creep into Taden's mind. He wanted to thrash about on the table, violently throwing himself to the floor, but his body completely refused to cooperate. He just laid there motionless on the freezing table.

After what felt like hours, but was probably closer to a few seconds, the stark panic began to ease as Taden assessed his situation. He forced himself to calm down. He was not in any pain. He could feel the table beneath him, but was unable to move. He couldn't see anything, either because it was too dark, his vision was blocked by something, or it was possible that he was actually blind! Taden struggled to remember where he was, how he had gotten there, what he was doing before waking up here. Bright, hot pain flashed across his mind. Re could recall nothing. He knew his name. He knew he was a pilot and a ship captain. He knew he was fighting a was against an infectious alien menace called Nomads. The rest was blank. Flashes of fire, blinding darkness, and suffocating pain wracked his minds-eye when he tried to imagine anything from his recent past. His distant past was a blur as well. It didn't hill his brain with electric fuzz when he thought about being a child, but he couldn't form a clear image or memory from his youth either. What was going on here? He couldn't move and he could barely think! The panic started to pry it way into his psyche again. Taden's mind was screaming towards insanity in this prison of black immobility.

><FLASH><

><CRACK><
><BUZZ><
><FLASH><><Flicker><><Flicker><><Flicker><
><Hummm><

Taden was momentarily blinded, then deafened, then bombarded with an inexplicable sensory overload! He tried to close his eyes against the blinding flash, bu once again it seemed that his body refused to obey him. An immeasurable moment later and the chaos ended as abruptly as it started. His vision snapped on with an audible ><CLICK>< and Taden was immediately inundated with an overload of information. Not only could he now see the very well lit and extremely advanced looking medical operating facility that he was trapped in, but a feed of other information was steadily streaming into his consciousness. What appeared to be a system boot check was scrolling down the very edge of his peripheral vision. It ran threw a check of critical systems that he had no recollection of and no clue what they were scanning. Elsewhere in his field of vision, his mind was picking out, highlighting, and cataloguing everything he could see. His brain automatically identified medical equipment, read electrical and chemical signals in the area, and fed him with tactical data involving the entry and egress points and fortified position possibilities. The tremendous flood of information was nearly too much for Taden to handle, and he struggled to maintain both consciousness and his sanity for several seconds. Shortly, without any effort or conscious thought, the noise in his brain caused by his augmented vision cleared and he began to effortlessly process the fluid stream of data he was taking in.

The room he was in must have been nearly silent, as Taden noticed that although he could see his surroundings, he didn't appear to hear anything. Wait, no, hadn't he heard a click when his sight popped on? Mere seconds after his vision returned, Taden heard the fairly familiar static click of an intercom. He tried again to turn his head toward the sound, but was still unable to move. He couldn't even shift his vision to one side or the other, as if even his eyes were paralyzed in his skull.

"Taden Harrs, can you hear me?"

Taden heard her perfectly. It sounded like she was right next to him. He could read the level of her emotions by the tone and camber of her few short words. Somehow, he knew that it was because his hearing was improved or augmented in a similar fashion to his vision. He could even hear in the background of the intercom transmission that someone in the room where the speaker was broadcasting was informing them that 'the subject' was picking up the audio clearly. Could they be monitoring what he saw and heard somehow? Taden was terrified! What was going on here?

"The subject is picking up the audio clearly... ... His emotional state is elevated... ... He is experiencing heightened levels of anxiety and aggression."

"Please, Taden, listen to me. Just try to calm down and I'll explain what is going on to you. My name is Dr. Elyxzer. I'm a cybernetic surgeon here at the H+ Clinic. Can you relax for me so I can explain your situation?"

She sounded very calm and extremely well composed. The Dr.'s words were surprisingly clear and soothing to hear. Taden did relax, bot physically and mentally. He regained his composure and tried to answer Dr. Elyxzer. He wasn't shocked to learn that his vocal abilities were also non-functional. It mattered not. Harrs knew by now that they could read his vital signs and would know he had calmed down more accurately than he could.


"Thank you Taden. I understand this is very difficult for you. I'm going to be blunt with you and try to keep this as short and simple as I can. The direct answer to why you can't move, your vision is strange, and how we can monitor your vitals without interacting with you physically is that a large portion of your body has been replaced with artificial systems and tissues. Before you freak out or demand answers, let me give them to you. This was entirely necessary. A scouting crew found you floating in a derelict fighter with failing life support systems. You were badly injured from what appeared to be violent hand-to-hand combat and had blaster wounds and severe burns on huge patches of your body. Honestly, when I looked at the initial scans from the rescue medical team, I was amazed that you survived at all. You were placed into a medical coma and transported here to the H+ Clinic where we began to repair what organics we could save on your badly damaged physical shell. In truth, there was little we could save. I can go into detail with you sometime, but for now, I'll just tell you that both of your legs, one of your arms and most of the other, many of your internal organs, and even a significant portion of your brain have been replaced with cybernetics. I realize this is a lot to take in, this is why we have kept you immobalized and sedated. Its for your safety, the safety of the equipment and facility, and the safety of all of us here in the monitoring lab. Your new physical body is capable of drastically increased strength, speed, and agility. It may take some time to adjust to your new body. We have a complete physical therapy routine planned to assist in getting you fully functional again... ... Now, I'm going to unlock your speech function so you can respond to me... ... There, How do you feel Taden?"

Another audible ><CLICK>< and Taden felt the muscles in his neck and face relax some. He tried to speak again, but he just uttered a weak, shallow croak. He cleared his throat, which took actual effort, and tried his response again:

Witha raspy harsh, mechanically filtered voice he says:
><Cough><"Yes, I understand. I feel fine. I'm not in pain. I, I can't move. Wha... What do I look like?"

He waited nervously for the response. He knew he must not look anything like he once did. Did he even have a face to look at?! Taden was almost afraid to get the answers he blindly searched for.


"Yes, ok I understand it must be very strange not to be able to control your won body. I promise this is only a temporary measure. This one of the most complete cybernetic replacement procedures we have ever undertaken and we are still very uncertain about the results and your ability to control your new augmented limbs safely. In time, very soon, you will have full unrestricted access to your body. Eventually, we will completely remove the override control systems and you will be free to live unrestricted without needing to fear unwanted external access of your mechanical systems in the future... ... OK, I'm going to unlock your upper extremities. If you sit up and look ahead of you, there is a large floor to ceiling mirror where you can see what you look like. I warn you though. It may not be a pleasant visage for you."

There was another ><CLICK>< and a sharp drawn out HISSSS and Taden felt his back and upper body relax from its rigid position. He let out a groan as he slowly sat forward and took in the sight of his new body. It was a lot to adjust to, but he was glad to be alive. Taden knew that his recovery had just started, but it was clear that his future was going to be a very interesting time!

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The saga continues... ...

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