[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 191: Rage

Ves had a premonition that if he replied with the wrong question, he might not have his head on his shoulders anymore. A lot had happened that pushed Doctor Jutland to his breaking point. One more shove could send him over the edge.

He decided to come clean, if only a little bit. "I can work! I've been working on my mobility. Look, I can move again!"

He allocated a tenth of his focus on his Jutland organ. His energy cycle became lethargic, which relieved some of his pain and loss of control. Ves quickly demonstrated his competence by moving his fingers.

"This shouldn't be possible!" Jutland muttered as he stared at Ves dancing his fingers. "Your physique should still be adjusting to its changes."

Enthusiasm replaced his earlier rage. The speed in which he changed his mood astounded Ves. For fear of triggering him back to a fouler mood, he kept his mouth shut and tried not to resist the doctor's inspection.

"Hmm, this is exceedingly strange." The exobiologist mused and pulled out a rusty scanner from his lab coat. "But the readings don't lie! This phenomenon is exceedingly rare!"

Jutland practically slobbered over Ves as he poked and prodded his body. The man particularly paid attention to his internal energy cycle and noted how much it had diminished compared to its uncontrolled state.

"You shouldn't be able to exert any influence on your Jutland organ! Your regulator organ lacks the capacity to do so!"

Despite his discomfort, Ves mentally sighed in relief. At least he got rid of Jutland's impulse to wrench apart his neck. The doctor had proven to be highly unstable when things didn't go his way.

As the doctor dragged him back to his cot and brought out a number of machines to study his body, Ves tried to wait out the examination. All he had to do for now was to drag out the time while he waited for rescue.

Hopefully his help was on its way, because he did not enjoy Jutland's ministrations. The obsessive doctor started cackling as he injected Ves with several different solutions. The uncertainty of their purpose kept Ves from relaxing. Who knew if Jutland decided to kill him off on a whim?

In order to distract himself from all of these morbid thoughts, he tried to think about what happened to the expedition as a whole.

What concerned him the most was whether he'd still be able to leave this planet when the forty-day window came at an end. With the metallic storm on the surface of Groening IV starting to pick up again, the groundside forces had scant little time left to leave this exotic but exceedingly dangerous planet.

Without a fleet presence in orbit, they'd never get picked up. Still, Ves didn't entirely lose hope. A naval defeat rarely spelled the annihilation of all of the ships on the losing side. As long as the Ark Horizon herself retreated in good order, then the nucleus of the main fleet could still stage a comeback.

In addition, Ves could also rely on getting picked up by the Barracuda. His corvette might have been seconded to House Kaine, but the crew answered only to him. If Captain Silvestra could get his ship out of House Kaine's leash, then she'd certainly attempt a pickup.

Therefore, he still clung to hope. Even if the worst-case scenario happened, he still had a lifeline in the System. As long as he spent a couple of years pumping out designs, he'd be able to accumulate enough DP to purchase a long-range teleporter that could take him away without going through the murderous metallic storm clouds.

The doctor eventually left him alone and returned to his biolabs. The reprieve allowed Ves to relax and prepare for his escape attempt. Depending on the effectiveness of the diluted chemicals, the Kaius could still retain some of its functionality. Hopefully, the formula affected more than just the mechanical parts which mainly played a supporting role.