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actually is the truth, since you would not have had such a pronounced reaction had the caffeine not been present. You would have still felt it, but it would have felt more like a normal headache."
    The crew from the medical section had arrived while the three of us had been speaking, but none of them had overheard anything.
    Christy smiled at the young woman again. "So, we'll have to postpone dinner for a night or two. Once you feel better, we can reschedule it."
    Freyair was smiling again as she was moved onto the floating gurney and taken away. "Sarah, relay the observation orders to Main Medical and list me as her primary for the time being. Make sure all her information is secured as well, she really is terrified of anyone finding out about her. Do the Shallans really do that sort of thing? I thought it was only the humans on Earth that did."
    "There is still much we do not know about them, Christy. Now that they are full members of the Alliance, that knowledge is coming, but it is a slow and tedious process," Sarah replied.
    ––––––––
    L ong-term Care
    Main Medical Facility
    Alliance Apollo Base
    Selene, Earth’s moon
    Sol System
    ––––––––
    "W ell! You're looking much better today, Commander!" Vance said, smiling warmly as he entered the private room.
    "I'm told I'm doing much better, Sir! I’ve probably already said it, but congratulations on the promotion! It's been long over-due!" Lennon replied.
    Vance chuckled. "You did, but I'm told your memory will be spotty for a while. The doctors tell me you'll be up and about in another week or so, so you won't have to deal with being in that bed for too much longer."
    Lennon nodded. "Yeah, but they still haven't told me if I'll be able to fly again. I know I was pretty banged up, but they haven't told me everything yet. I get the feeling it was pretty bad though." She sighed. "I watched the vid of the funerals, Sir. Thank you for the speech."
    Vance nodded and sighed. "Len, you were... well, let's just say that you should have died. I couldn't let you go though, not after what you did to save us. When you were located, the ESAR guys placed you into a stasis unit. The only sign of life they had was brain activity, but it was enough. Somehow you managed to keep your brain going far longer than should have been possible, considering your condition."
    "What condition, Sir? How bad was I?" Len asked.
    "It would be easiest to say you have a completely new body, which is why your recovery is taking so long. It was pretty bad, Len. So bad that you have been officially recorded as the most injured person in the history of the Alliance to have survived their injuries. So please try to keep that in mind when you start getting anxious about getting out of there. The only thing that saved you was a new and experimental medical procedure invented by a young doctor from Earth," Vance said.
    "I've met Christy, Sir, is she really the one that rebuilt me?" Len asked.
    Vance nodded. "She and her husband have made discoveries and advancements that have changed the course of this war and will be felt in the Alliance for thousands of years. Her husband is the man that invented the AI that has been running this base helping the doctors get you fixed up. In fact, you're going to have to go back through flight school just to learn how to fly the new fighters. They’ve reduced all the data you need to keep track of while improving over-all performance by an order of magnitude. They even carry more firepower now. Very soon, you'll be getting a new flight suit that will give you and your people a much higher probability of survival in combat. I don't know if the new armor would have saved any more of your team, but it certainly would have improved the odds."
    Lennon nodded. "Can you tell me the deal with the Veranorians? I've been trying to get caught up on current events, but that one is still confusing me."
    Guardedly, Vance asked. "What part is confusing to