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#Hospital – August 20, 2015
Jason shoves his hand into his pocket and starts down the street. A nagging feeling bites at the back of his head. It only takes a few steps before he removes his hand from his pocket and stops dead in his tracks. He reaches across his chest to rub at his shoulder for a moment and then holds his hand out in front of him, flexing it open and closed a few times. With a frustrated sigh, he
turns on his heels and heads right back into the hospital and straight towards Halisi's office once more. He gives a few hard knocks on the door.
There is some delay before the door slides open. Halisi sits behind her desk still. She collapses the datapad she was holding and looks at him. "Jason, there's a button... seriously."
Jason glances over at the button and scrunches up his nose. "Noted." he says as he steps into the room, "Look... I'm sure you've got a lot of work to do and I'm not gonna keep you from it for too long, but I've got a few more things I need to ask before I feel comfortable with this decision..."
Halisi raises an eyebrow, deactivating the holoscreen of her computer terminal so that she doesn't have to look through it to see Jason. "Alright?"
Jason approaches the doctor's desk. "So... This new arm." he begins, "I won't be able to feel anything with it, right? I mean, I'm guessing it'll have some sort of sensors or something, but I won't actually feel...?" he asks, sounding quite confused and concerned over the whole situation.
Halisi leans back in her chair, scratching the back of her neck with a sigh. "Well... it has pressure sensors. A necessity. They will allow you to know when you're touching or holding something. If you choose to apply a skin at a later date... advanced variants include more comprehensive sensation... touch, temperature... no pain though. It's... not the same as the real thing, from what I understand. Still... lesser." She looks both
apologetic and a bit distant at the same time. "It's the best that can be done if you don't want to wait."
Jason lowers his gaze and nods a few times, "But... It'll still react the same, right?" he asks, sounding a bit uncertain. Possibly even confused at what he, himself, is asking. He gives a bit of a frustrated groan at his own inability to express what he means, "Reflexes. Just... manipulating items. All that will feel pretty close to normal? It's not going to... hold me back, right?"
Halisi smiles faintly. "Coordination shouldn't be an issue once you learn to control it. Is it fighting you're worried about?"
Halisi shakes her head. "It won't be an issue. Most cybernetic prosthetics are designed with combat in mind, since soldiers... and mercenaries, are by far the most common users. Most will testify that a quality cybernetic limb will boost combat performance."
Jason smiles sadly. He gives a short nod and a snort as if that was the answer he was fishing for, although he doesn't look too happy to hear it. He places his hand at the edge of her desk and raises his head to meet her gaze. "Like I said... I know going after Linda is a longshot. With everything we've seen, it's not a stretch to assume she's already one of those freaks." he sighs, "Or
just... dead. Worst case scenario, I'm going after a corpse. And I keep having to ask myself..." He pauses and looks down at the desk again, "How far am I willing to go just to bring back something to bury..." He swallows hard and nods a couple times. With a raise of his arm, he opens and closes his left hand a few times, tensing the muscles in his forearm. "Order two. Make sure they're suited
Halisi doesn't seem to process what he's saying right away. She blinks, struggling a bit to speak her mind. "You want-... Jason, that's not-... cutting off a healthy arm is-..." She trails off. "As a doctor... I don't support this. You'd be mutilating yourself." She doesn't seem at all comfortable with the idea, silver eyes staring at him with furrowed eyebrows.
Jason gives a loud sigh and looks up from his hand. "Then it's a good thing I'm not asking for you to support it. Just to do it." he says, "These past few run-ins with those creatures have been a huge wake up call, doc. A slap in the face. We've yet to encounter them without suffering heavy losses. So when I bring a team with me to get Linda back, I'm asking them to risk everything. I need
to be at my best so they have the highest odds at coming home." He tenses his forearm again, making a fist and releasing it, "I can't ask them to risk sacrificing everything if I'm not willing to myself."
Halisi 's gaze rails along Jason's arm as she ponders. "I-..." She closes her eyes with a sigh. "Our odds aren't very good, are they? Going up against monsters and terrorists..."
Jason shakes his head from side to side. "This is important, Halisi. Any chances we can take to improve those odds... we have to. If that arm will increase my performance by-... by... by 1%." he says arbitrarily pulling a number out of his ass, "Then it's worth it. Don't worry about the cost. I took out a loan-..." he takes a deep breath, "...a big loan. We've got the second Kodiak which
Halisi drums her fingers against her desk and makes a grimace before nodding faintly. "If you're sure." She says reluctantly.
Jason gives a stern nod. "Absolutely." he lies. "What sort of features can you pack into them? If I'm giving up my arm, I wanna make sure it's gonna be worth it."
Halisi stands up as she speaks. "I'll try to get my hands on the best hardware I can... I'll get back to you as soon as I know." She walks around the desk and grabs the arm he still has for now, tilting her head a bit to seek his gaze. "We'll get her back. We can get her back. I know we can." There is a surprising amount of conviction in her voice, which wasn't really there just a moment ago.
Jason allows a genuine smile out and gives a nod as he holds eye contact. "You're damn right we will." he agrees, "Whatever it takes."
Jason holds her stare for a moment longer before drawing his arm away. "Contact me as soon as you've got any details." he says, "The sooner we get all of this taken care of, the better. Sorry to bother you with all this..."
Halisi smiles a bit, although with a distant look on her. "I still owe you, all of you, for getting me out of that asteroid... I'm happy to help. Always will be." With the remark she offers a reaffirming nod and returns her gaze to him. "I'll contact you as soon as I know."
Jason returns the nod before turning away. "You don't owe us anything, doc." he assures her as he starts towards the door, "You've already done more than your share. We're lucky to have you with us." He slaps a hand on the door frame as he exits the room.