Titan and Seth stood over the the stranger lying on the operating table. On the other side of the table the doctor charged with him worked tirelessly to restore consciousness to the man, whose vitality was decreasing rapidly.
“Tell me, Archivist,” The Doctor asked Seth in a thick German accent, “vhat compelled you to use a [i][b]stick[/i][/b] to subdue this man?”
“You underestimate the power of the stick.” Seth simply replied.
The man shrugged, and continued working.
“I am unsure whether or not instead of a medical professional you should have called a [i]mechanic[/i] for zis type of procedure!” The Doctor chuckled. “For zis man, is almost not man at all, but a [i][b]machine[/b][/i] houzing a man’s consciousness!”
“We have a name for that.” Seth told the Doctor.
“Yes,” The Doctor nodded, “there is no doubt that this, is an Exo.”
“An Exo from the Mandalore system no less,” Titan observed, “that is an interesting combination.”
“An odd one too.” Seth added. “Mandalorians don’t use Exo technology. They see it as cheating. Either he’s a renegade Mandalorian, or something else is at play.”
The machines next to the operating table started creating a loud whine, and the heart monitor started flatlining.
“Oh no, not good,” The Doctor fretted, “not good at all!”
The grey light of the exo’s eyes started to fade.
“Ve are losing him!” The Doctor exclaimed.
The medical professional scrambled to the nearby defibrillator station, took out the device, rubbed it together and placed it on the Exo’s chest.
“Clear!” The defibrillator sent a shock throughout the body. No response.
“Clear!” Another shock. Nothing moved.
“Clear!” One more shock, but still the exo remained motionless.
The Doctor stood upright and shook his head. “Ach, it is of no use. Ze man is dead. On ze plus side, his corpse will make for a fascinating study!”
He pulled out a clipboard and pen and presented it to the two spectators. “Since this man has no immediate family present, would you mind signing zis consent form for me?”
Titan was appalled, but Seth kept his cool. “That won’t be necessary, Doctor.” He said.
“Oh come on!” The man pleaded. “I haven’t had somezhing worth studying in ages! At least let me harvest his organs!”
“My answer is no.”
“Aww....” The doctor said walking out, disappointed.
A beep from one of the monitors suddenly drew his attention. In a flash, the doctor was back at the computer, and a puzzled look flashed across his face as he studied the monitor.
“Vhat? Impossible! Th-that’s just, that’s impossible!” He sputtered.
“He’s...he’s coming back!”
The dull, grey light from exo’s eyes slowly brightened into an indigo blue. He let out a pained moan.
Titan hurried over and helped the doctor ease the exo upright into a sitting position. The doctor turned on a small flashlight and started passing it back and forth over his eyes.
“Zhey respond to visual stimula” the doctor confirmed. “Zhat is good. Miraculously, he seems to have made a full recovery.”
The exo, partly blinded by the flashlight, squinted his eyes and muttered in a deep robotic voice, “Wha...where am I?”
“You are in the C6 memorial hospital,” Seth answered, “In the mountains of Lore.”
“You, uh, tried to kill us too.” Titan added.
The exo stood up, ignoring Titan’s accusation, and looked out the window. “I should not have stayed here. You are all in danger.”
In the skies above Lore, the silhouettes of three arrow-shaped ships could be seen.
“He is coming.”
-
Sweet....