Commander's Rounds

Entry 127: Lingering Injuries

Albert Kesler sat at home in the Royal dorms. It had taken him time to recover from the numerous injuries he had sustained after putting on the Siren armor suit and being forced to fight at a level well beyond his body's ability to physically sustain. The physical injuries were gone by this point, thanks to Vestal's incredible expertise.

However, there were other problems not yet resolved.

Albert's dreams were plagued by nightmares of being cleaned in a tight space of total darkness, unable to move or feel anything on his own. He had been fully aware of what he had done while in that suit, and occasionally he had a vision of what might have happened if he hadn't been saved... Or even worse, if he had been made too strong by that Siren equipment.

He knew that none of these were further attacks by whatever Siren had manipulated him into putting that armor on in the first place- His dreams still had that hazy, half-remembered quality of real dreams, but...

Albert had other issues as well that kept him at home, for the most part. He did concentrate on his work, as that, at least, made sense, and he still had an obligation to the commander. He still also took visitors as well, and those women in his life did do a great deal to take care of him. He gratefully accepted it, even though he was beginning to wonder if they were pitying him for his weakness and conduct unbecoming of an officer in the face of the enemy.

However, he was not yet ready to return to public life because while things that happened at night were one thing, things that happened during the day were another.

While Albert was still working on catching up on old works thanks to the fact that feedback could take a while from the various departments, he soon received a call- It happened to be from Foch this time.

He picked it up. "Hello, Foch."

"Hey, Alby. How're things going over there?"

He shook his head a little, even though he knew she couldn't see it. "Still have some work to do. Playing catchup after my absence is both unfortunate but necessary."

"Aww... Well, I know you won't be working all day, and it has been a while since you've been out thanks to your time in recovery. So... Want to go out and do something?"

He was caught up short. He didn't know what would happen while he was out there, as things could happen that the girls might find embarrassing, and it would certainly bring a sharp end to whatever date Foch had in mind. "I'm sorry, but not this time... There's... Still a great deal of adjustments to be done."

"...Alby, is there something wrong? You're not talking like you usually do, most of the time you got everything with a snap."

He replied instantly. "I'm not entirely sure I've fully recovered from what happened with the Siren armor."

"Ahhh... Well, if that's how you feel, that's one thing, but I'm not sure being locked up all the time is all that good for you, either."

Locked up.

Something about those words, and the feeling they caused, seized on Albert, and he suddenly spasmed a little. His phone tumbled out of his hand, landing on the floor with a thump, and he could hear Foch's voice. "...Alby, what happened over there?"

He heard her, but at the same time, he could do nothing to respond. He shivered in his chair, and held his shaking wrist with his other hand, He was suddenly hyper-aware of his own heartbeat and breathing, and he felt like he had to concentrate on both if they were going to continue working. He was dimly aware of Foch trying to talk to him, but his conscious, regular breaths and everything he did to ride out the chill that descended on him took precedence over everything else, even awareness of the world around him.