Death Drop by Sean Allen Page A

considered that he could have been a threat. And now my best man is dead and Malo is…” He paused and looked over toward Dr. Blink, who was still staring at his glowing tablet and scratching his chin as he contemplated the image on the screen. “How is he, Doc?”
    “I can save his arm,” said Blink matter-of-factly as he looked into Malo’s big left eye. “Malo, you’ve obliterated your elbow. The tendons and ligaments have literally exploded into thousands of strands of torn fibers, and the joint itself is shattered beyond recognition.”
    “Sounds serious,” Otto said. “Are you sure you can fix it?”
    “Quite sure.”
    Otto looked at Blink doubtfully, but the doctor did not notice; he had already descended the tiny stairs and was rummaging around up to his smocked elbow in yet another one of Bertie’s hidden compartments—this one on the front of the machine’s chassis, opposite the stairs—addressing Malo as if no one else was in the room. “Malo, I’m going to use something I recently developed to save your arm. I call them Haleonex bandages!”
    Otto looked at Abalias skeptically, and the expression on the colonel’s face reflected the same sentiment.
    “I don’t quite understand how a bandage will help Malo’s arm heal, Doctor,” Abalias said, trying very hard not to sound as if he knew the slightest thing about medicine.
    “Haleonex is a regenerative exo-armor that is flexible like a bandage when applied,” the doctor responded excitedly. “Once it’s wrapped around Malo’s arm, it’ll inject millions of nanomachines into the wounded area, where they’ll begin reconstruction of the damaged bones, tendons, ligaments—and anything else that needs to be repaired—on the molecular level.” The doctor’s eyes were wide with exhilaration as he lectured the three on the finer points of advanced medical science while pulling out, from the depths of the compartment, an ordinary-looking roll of dark, cross-hatched medical fabric in a tightly sealed package. “The machines will begin reconstruction on the most damaged areas first while supporting other areas waiting to be repaired.”
    “How can they do that?” Otto asked.
    “By linking their own structures together; thus forming temporary, artificial replacement parts. They will also release amounts of medicine into his bloodstream in order to help with the pain and prevent infection. He’ll have full use of his arm after he walks out of this room, Colonel.”
    Doctor Artemus Blink took the awestruck stares from Otto and the colonel as complimentary and shot them both a quick wink as he held his palms up under Bertie’s right hand. Without a word from Blink, the top digit on Bertie’s index finger flipped back on itself and a hiss of white gas engulfed the doctor’s hands as he turned them over and then rubbed them together under the jet of cool, tingling cleanser.
    Otto noticed his jaw was slightly open and his mind was running wild trying to imagine what other wonderful contrivances the doctors in the Dissension used to keep the soldiers alive and healthy. “What about protection, Doctor?” asked Otto, regaining control of his rampant imagination. “You mentioned it was an exo- armor. ”
    “Ah, yes,” replied Blink enthusiastically, the wild look flashing in his eyes again. “Once the bandage is set and the nanomachines have deployed, they release a chemical agent that seals the outer surface of the bandage. Its impact resistance and strength will be comparable to the armor on a Fire Sprite class ship, but it will continue to be as light and flexible as an ordinary bandage. It’s quite an amazing invention!”
    “Sounds like fixing Malo’s arm is going to be easy,” the colonel said, sounding relieved.
    “It sounds easy—because that’s the easy part.” The painful wincing look returned to Doctor Blink’s pointy face.
    This time, Malo read the not-so-subtle insinuation and raised his head to speak. “What hard