Of Wings To Fly (Part One)
Title: Of Wings to Fly
Author: hunters_retreat
Rating: R
Summary: Jared Padalecki is the world’s foremost Augmentor, an expert in making life better through technological advancement. He’s designed steam-fueled carriages and even made improvements to his brother’s airship. His passion though is to help the less fortunate, to use mechanics and gear work to help heal broken bodies. In all his years as an Augmentor, Jared has never let any of his clients get under his skin, but no other client has ever been like Jensen Ackles before. Jensen is a Mer with surgically created legs instead of a tail and a broken exoskeleton that should make it possible for him to walk.
It isn’t a simple task. From the first observation, something feels wrong to Jared. His desire to help Jensen takes him on a long journey, through confidantes and betrayal, airship flights and naval battles, to grief and love. As Jared and Jensen find the truth behind the broken exoskeleton, they find an even greater truth. It doesn’t take wings to learn to fly.
Or, the J2 AU Steampunk Little Mermaid.
Jared ran a finger over the edge of one of his certificates and realized he should have dusted his office. Or had Alona do it. The photos on the other wall were dusty as well. His brother would laugh to see the photo of him and his airship, the Chaser, so well-loved but left to dust in this office. Jared wasn’t one to sit in his office. If he needed to work on a desk, he was often found in his drafting room.
Well, he would need to make note that his office needed to be better cleaned in the future. And not just for client visits. Alona would see to it. That was what assistants were for after all. He just wished he’d thought of it before he was about to meet with his new client.
Jared was good with people. His mannerisms and charm had a way of calming people and got them to open up to him about their fears and their needs. It was one of the reasons he was recommended so highly by both his peers and his clients. Restoring failing mechanics was a part of what Jared did, but he’d become world renowned because he knew what people really wanted and he invented it for them. He was the world’s leading Augmentor and he gave people hope and life when they thought they had none.
However, he was horrible with first impressions. He knew it. Alona laughed at him and called it nerves but Jared had a need for people to like him and he was always too eager, too overwhelming. In the beginning, the only reason people gave him a chance was because of his mentor. Jeff had laughed at his botched meetings and convinced people of his brilliance before they saw it for themselves. The reason anyone gave him a second chance now was because of his reputation. Jared had a reputation for fixing things no other could fix. For making things, no other would dare dream of.
“Dr. Padalecki,” Alona came into the room and smiled. Her blue dress was immaculately pressed and her hair was piled on top of her head as was all the rage in the port city she had informed him last week. She had a warm but professional air about her as she welcomed their clients into his rather outlandish office. She also had a wicked sense of humor. She never said anything about his botched meetings but the way her eyes lit up and her lips pressed together showed how much she enjoyed his embarrassment.
“Miss Tal.” He straightened his vest and pulled at his tie to make sure it was in the proper place. He might be nervous but his assistant would have said something if he looked a mess.
“You have a client here to see you,” she turned back to the hallway and gestured for the client to follow. “Mr. Ackles, right this way.”
Jared stood taller as the new client came in. He knew from their correspondence that the man was in a wheelchair but as Mr. Ackles wheeled himself into the room, Jared realized the man had neglected to inform him of a number of things.
Including the fact that he had scales.
“You’re a Mer,” Jared said before he could stop the words. Mr. Ackles wore a fine, conservatively cut suit that showed off his broad shoulders well. His tie was dark with a green vest that matched the color of his eyes. The only way Jared was able to deduce that he was a Mer was because of the way his pants laced up the side of his legs, revealing scales where the laces allowed the metal anchors of his exoskeleton through.
Mr. Ackles frowned and his lips were pulled into a tight, angry line. “I wasn’t aware you needed that information. It shouldn’t affect anything that we’ve discussed in our correspondence.”
“No, no, of course not. I’m sorry. I was just surprised. Please, come in Mr. Ackles. I’m Jared Padalecki.”
He’d moved one of the chairs out of the office to accommodate the extra wide wheel chair but it was still a tight fit. It was the smallest room in the building because Jared knew he’d spend as little time in there as possible. He spent most of his time in his drafting room. There was also an examination room where he spent most of the time with his clients, a rarely used surgical room and recovery suite, and an out building where his metal work was done. All far more spacious than the little office.
Truth be told, Jared would have forgone the room all together but his brother had reminded him of the importance of appearances. Especially, Noah had said, when Jared screwed things up so bad as soon as he opened his mouth.
“You come very highly recommended,” Mr. Ackles said as Jared came around to sit on the edge of his desk.
“You were very clear, Mr. Ackles that you had an exoskeleton that needed repaired. Why don’t you tell me more?”
Ackles ran his hand over the metal exoskeleton that was still wrapped around his legs. Jared made an attempt not to stare at it. There would be a time to take Mr. Ackles to the examination room for a much more detailed look but for now, Jared had to keep from looking too closely to see what had happened to what must have once been a magnificent tail.
“Four years ago, I went to see a doctor, like yourself, an Augmentor. Mr. Johns said he could change me. He said he could give me legs and teach me to walk. It took a year to complete the surgeries and everything was fine.”
“Why did you want legs?”
“I have a wasting condition that specifically affected the control of my tail. I decided if I couldn’t swim, I wanted to be able to walk. Dr. Johns said he could make it happen.”
“So, he performed the surgeries?”
“Yes. He cut my tail and fashioned legs of the tissue. He also performed the surgery to remove the webbing in my hands and feet.”
Jared nodded his head to keep down the bile as it rose in his throat. Jared had read that the first set of surgeries were horrifically painful. He refused to even think of performing them himself. He had too much awe for the Mer and he couldn’t imagine desecrating the tail they had to create something as mundane as legs. That Mr. Ackles had gone the full length to have surgery on his hands and feet spoke of his need to remove himself from the Mer population completely. There was far more to the story and he had the feeling it would take time to get Mr. Ackles to disclose it all. “And then Dr. Johns created the exoskeleton. You were able to walk?”
“I was able to run. I was able to dance,” Mr. Ackles said with a bitter laugh. “I was able to do the things I could only dream of under the sea.”
“Then what happened?”
Mr. Ackles turned his eyes to the hands in his lap and Jared couldn’t see a single scar from where the webbing had been removed. The surgeon had a fine hand but Jared had never heard of him. He turned his attention back to the client’s face as he let out an angry sigh.
“The exoskeleton lasted six months and then suddenly I was having trouble controlling the exoskeleton. It started to break down and I called on Dr. Johns but he wasn’t home. The landlady told me he had moved. When I went to his office, it was cleaned out. I contacted the board of Augmentors but they said there had never been a Dr. Johns. I wasn’t sure where to turn after that, but when I began talking to people I heard about you. You were very highly recommended.”
“I’m glad to hear I have a good reputation,” Jared said.
“I wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.”
Alona came in at that moment with the tea tray and Jared was grateful for the interruption. She served him a cup with far more sugar than she thought was acceptable but Jared smiled at her for it. When she asked Jensen, he took his tea light with the lemon and no sugar. She handed him his cup before turning away.
Jared took a sip from his cup and watched Mr. Ackles for a moment before he spoke. “What is it you want me to do for you, Mr. Ackles?”
“Jensen, please.”
“Alright, Jensen. What do you want me to do?”
“I want my legs back.”
“Not your tail?”
“I wanted to dance, Dr. Padalecki. I’m not done dancing.”
The schematics of Jensen Ackles’ exoskeleton were spread out over the large drafting table and Jared sighed as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
“This isn’t right,” he said with a sigh.
“What’s wrong, Boss?”
Jared looked at his apprentice, Osric, and gave him a small smile. Osric was always aware of Jared’s moods and he never let Jared brood too much while he worked. He was a good man to have around. “These schematics are brilliant.”
“I’m not sure how that is a problem.”
Osric walked over to the table and stood to the side, careful not to get in the light but so that he could see the drawing. Osric was always considerate like that, even when he was muttering about Jared’s overzealous nature.
Jared happened to be affectionate with the people in his life and Osric was well aware of the way people spoke about Jared. How they whispered about the fact that he had no wife and showed no signs of ever wanting one. They whispered about deviant behavior in polite society but smiled and shook his hand and expounded on his merits to his face. Jared had some concerns about what deviance was, when that sort of back stabbing and gossiping was the norm they considered appropriate.
“The problem is threefold. First, if the schematics are this well-drawn, how has no one ever heard of this Dr. Johns?”
“And second, how did the exoskeleton break down if it was so well designed?” Osric supplied.
There was a reason Jared had picked a street kid as his apprentice. At a young age, Osric had managed to dazzle the academic community, though they held tight to their prejudice against his upbringing on the streets. Jared had never had cause to regret that choice.
“Exactly,” Jared said. “The last problem is that these schematics aren’t right.” Osric looked at him curiously and Jared pointed to the drawing. “I only did a preliminary examination of the exoskeleton but I know for certain that it isn’t the same.”
“You think Mr. Ackles has the wrong schematics?”
“No,” Jared said with a frustrated sigh. “I think Jensen was given the wrong ones on purpose. A doctor who can’t be reached? Schematics that are exemplary but that don’t match what is actually done? It doesn’t make any sense. If it was a hack, then we would see shoddy metallurgy, but when I looked at the exoskeleton, it was exceptional craftsmanship. The welding and the neural grafting are very fine work. Not to mention all the metalwork that was hand crafted for this.”
“Can’t you find the maker’s mark on the metal?”
“Not a single brand.”
“That’s … why would someone put this amount of work into something and not claim it as theirs?”
“I don’t know.” Jared looked down at the schematic on his desk and shook his head. Augmentors were highly sought after because they were more than just doctors. They were engineers and mechanics and inventors, rolled up with a doctor. They designed their creations, but they made every bit of tubing and plating they put into their work. It wasn’t on every piece, but every Augmentor put their brand on a few pieces to show the master behind the work. It wasn’t just professional pride, but so that if something broke down it was easy enough to find the maker.
“Jared, none this makes any sense.”
“That, I do know.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I have a friend who might be able to help.” When Osric left the room, Jared rolled the schematics up for safe keeping and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. He dipped his quill into the ink and started writing.
“Jeff, old friend, I hope you can figure this one out,” he mumbled quietly as he asked his mentor for a meeting when he was next in town.
Jensen wheeled into the examination room and Jared smiled. “Good afternoon, Jensen.”
“Dr. Padalecki.”
“Jared, please. If you keep calling me Doctor I’m going to start feeling my age.”
“It must be hard, being in your twenties, to feel all that age.”
Jared laughed. “Some days I feel it more than others.”
“You wanted to look at the exoskeleton today?”
“Yes,” Jared said as he walked closer to Jensen. “The schematics are a little vague in some areas and I wanted to take a closer look to fill in the details.”
“Ah,” Jensen said as he looked down at his hands. He had been reluctant to allow Jared to do a more thorough examination but Jared had informed him at his last visit that he couldn’t work any further until he was able to review the metalwork to determine the problem.
“I just wanted to get some more details,” he lied. Jared was a quick hand with a sketch and he should be able to make a rough draft quick enough that Jensen wouldn’t notice. “The type of weld and the placement of the neural grafts aren’t always indicated on the drawings. I wanted to add that to my own work so I don’t have to keep asking you to come in every time I have a question.”
“Alright,” Jensen said. “What do you need me to do?”
“Why don’t we get you up on the table?” Jared asked. “You can just relax, take a nap, and I’ll get what I need.”
Jensen set the brakes on his wheel chair and he let Jared lift him up to the table. It was intimate, to be holding Jensen like that, but the Mer let himself be carried with an easy grace.
“I’m going to take some notes as I examine the exoskeleton. Will it bother you if I need to touch the framework?”
“No, of course not. I assumed you’d need to today if you were going to get closer to fixing it.” There was a long pause as Jared watched Jensen settle his limbs on the table comfortably. “You do think you’ll be able to repair it though?”
“I believe I can, yes,” Jared said as he went to the small table at the back of the examination room and looked over the schematics he’d drawn from memory.
“They said,” Jensen’s voice trailed off and Jared turned back around to look at him. “They said if you couldn’t repair my legs then no one could. I will never go back to my home under the sea, but I would still like to be able to move without that damned chair. I… I was never good at being still.”
Jared gave Jensen a small smile. “I can see that,” he said as he came closer. “It will be helpful if you could be still while I’m looking at the mechanics though. Can you do that for me, Jensen?”
Jensen let out a deep breath as he lay back on the table. “I’ll do what I can, Dr. Padalecki.”
“Jared.”
Jensen seemed uncomfortable for a moment but then he nodded. “Jared.”
Jared turned away from Jensen’s conflicted emotions to look at the exoskeleton. And more importantly, at the neural grafting and the surgeries that had been done to Jensen.
Jared didn’t want to imagine what Jensen went through to get legs. Somewhere down the evolutionary line, Jensen’s ancestors had stayed in the water, while Jared’s had crawled onto shore. Jensen’s people had strong bones in the tail and they were evidence that human and Mer had once been related.
He knew there were Mer who had chosen to get legs. Mer legs didn’t work the way human legs did though. The muscle and skeletal structure no longer supported their weight out of water. He’d seen the scientific reports of muscle and sinew scraped from scaly skin and twisted and tied together to approximate legs. He knew how to perform the surgeries himself if it were ever called for and he prayed it never was. It had been done to Jensen and there would be others still, but Jared was repulsed by the idea of it. The Mer were beautiful creatures and no one deserved the pain and agony that the surgeries must have been.
Jared trailed his fingers lightly over the metal exoskeleton that had been designed to give Jensen mobility. The metal was cool to his touch but the Mer ran at a lower temperature than humans did. Jensen squirmed a little but when Jared looked up, Jensen gave him a small smile.
“It tickles a little.”
Jared smiled but didn’t say anything as he began to inspect the rest of the work. The exoskeleton was important but Jared needed to see the links that allowed Jensen’s mind to connect to the skeleton. The neural grafting was delicate work and there were few surgeons that could handle it.
He found the metal chips that were inserted into the skin and he drew back at what he saw there.
“Dr. Padalecki?”
“Jared, call me Jared,” he said without thought.
“Is there something wrong?”
“No, not at all. I was afraid I’d tickled you again,” Jared lied.
Jensen let out a small laugh and Jared smiled up at him but he was seething inside. He barely knew Jensen but the doctor who did the surgery had to have known him far better before he did this to him. “I just need to grab something from my office. Relax and I’ll be right back,” Jared said, patting Jensen’s arm slightly before he left.
He walked out of the room and to the door farthest from it. When he got to his office, he dropped both hands to the edge of his desk and lowered his head as he tried to take deep breaths.
“Jared? What happened?” Osric came into the room with Alona not far behind him.
“The neural connectors are grafted into both skin and flesh, not the bone.”
“What?” The alarm in Osric’s voice was as deep as Jared’s concern.
“What does that mean?” Alona asked. He turned to look at her as she nervously played with the front of her long skirts.
“The first thing they teach you,” Osric answered, though he didn’t look away from Jared as he spoke, “is not to graft the neural connectors into the skin. You drill anchor posts into the bone so if something happens the neural connectors can be replaced. If a neural connector or a transceiver needed to be replaced it would be a painful surgery, but it would be possible and once the recovery period was over there would be no further concern. If they’re connected to the skin, not only would it cause horrific pain, but the way the nerves are grafted it would make it almost impossible to avoid causing nerve damage with any attempt to repair or replace it.”
“Jensen will never swim again because of what Dr. Johns did to him, but if I removed the neural connectors, he may lose all feeling below the waist.”
Jared looked up and saw the growing horror on Osric’s face. “The work might be fine, but the design is flawed,” Osric said softly. “This exoskeleton was designed so that if it broke, Jensen would too.”
Osric sat heavily in the chair and Alona brought her hands up to her mouth to cover her gasp. They’d both seen people who had come to Jared with the hope that he could somehow help them regain their movement. Some days he could. Some days he had to send people home with their hopes dashed.
He prayed that he was able to do something for Jensen. Whatever he did though, he couldn’t let Jensen remain in the exoskeleton he currently wore. In its current state it was only a matter of time before the metal began to catch and drag and that would begin to pull at the neural connectors.
Jared let out a deep breath and patted Osric on the shoulder before he squared his own and headed back to continue Jensen’s examination. He had to find a way to make this work because if he couldn’t fix it, he would have to remove it and force Jensen into a life in the chair he hated.
On to Chapter Two
Author: hunters_retreat
Rating: R
Summary: Jared Padalecki is the world’s foremost Augmentor, an expert in making life better through technological advancement. He’s designed steam-fueled carriages and even made improvements to his brother’s airship. His passion though is to help the less fortunate, to use mechanics and gear work to help heal broken bodies. In all his years as an Augmentor, Jared has never let any of his clients get under his skin, but no other client has ever been like Jensen Ackles before. Jensen is a Mer with surgically created legs instead of a tail and a broken exoskeleton that should make it possible for him to walk.
It isn’t a simple task. From the first observation, something feels wrong to Jared. His desire to help Jensen takes him on a long journey, through confidantes and betrayal, airship flights and naval battles, to grief and love. As Jared and Jensen find the truth behind the broken exoskeleton, they find an even greater truth. It doesn’t take wings to learn to fly.
Or, the J2 AU Steampunk Little Mermaid.
Jared ran a finger over the edge of one of his certificates and realized he should have dusted his office. Or had Alona do it. The photos on the other wall were dusty as well. His brother would laugh to see the photo of him and his airship, the Chaser, so well-loved but left to dust in this office. Jared wasn’t one to sit in his office. If he needed to work on a desk, he was often found in his drafting room.
Well, he would need to make note that his office needed to be better cleaned in the future. And not just for client visits. Alona would see to it. That was what assistants were for after all. He just wished he’d thought of it before he was about to meet with his new client.
Jared was good with people. His mannerisms and charm had a way of calming people and got them to open up to him about their fears and their needs. It was one of the reasons he was recommended so highly by both his peers and his clients. Restoring failing mechanics was a part of what Jared did, but he’d become world renowned because he knew what people really wanted and he invented it for them. He was the world’s leading Augmentor and he gave people hope and life when they thought they had none.
However, he was horrible with first impressions. He knew it. Alona laughed at him and called it nerves but Jared had a need for people to like him and he was always too eager, too overwhelming. In the beginning, the only reason people gave him a chance was because of his mentor. Jeff had laughed at his botched meetings and convinced people of his brilliance before they saw it for themselves. The reason anyone gave him a second chance now was because of his reputation. Jared had a reputation for fixing things no other could fix. For making things, no other would dare dream of.
“Dr. Padalecki,” Alona came into the room and smiled. Her blue dress was immaculately pressed and her hair was piled on top of her head as was all the rage in the port city she had informed him last week. She had a warm but professional air about her as she welcomed their clients into his rather outlandish office. She also had a wicked sense of humor. She never said anything about his botched meetings but the way her eyes lit up and her lips pressed together showed how much she enjoyed his embarrassment.
“Miss Tal.” He straightened his vest and pulled at his tie to make sure it was in the proper place. He might be nervous but his assistant would have said something if he looked a mess.
“You have a client here to see you,” she turned back to the hallway and gestured for the client to follow. “Mr. Ackles, right this way.”
Jared stood taller as the new client came in. He knew from their correspondence that the man was in a wheelchair but as Mr. Ackles wheeled himself into the room, Jared realized the man had neglected to inform him of a number of things.
Including the fact that he had scales.
“You’re a Mer,” Jared said before he could stop the words. Mr. Ackles wore a fine, conservatively cut suit that showed off his broad shoulders well. His tie was dark with a green vest that matched the color of his eyes. The only way Jared was able to deduce that he was a Mer was because of the way his pants laced up the side of his legs, revealing scales where the laces allowed the metal anchors of his exoskeleton through.
Mr. Ackles frowned and his lips were pulled into a tight, angry line. “I wasn’t aware you needed that information. It shouldn’t affect anything that we’ve discussed in our correspondence.”
“No, no, of course not. I’m sorry. I was just surprised. Please, come in Mr. Ackles. I’m Jared Padalecki.”
He’d moved one of the chairs out of the office to accommodate the extra wide wheel chair but it was still a tight fit. It was the smallest room in the building because Jared knew he’d spend as little time in there as possible. He spent most of his time in his drafting room. There was also an examination room where he spent most of the time with his clients, a rarely used surgical room and recovery suite, and an out building where his metal work was done. All far more spacious than the little office.
Truth be told, Jared would have forgone the room all together but his brother had reminded him of the importance of appearances. Especially, Noah had said, when Jared screwed things up so bad as soon as he opened his mouth.
“You come very highly recommended,” Mr. Ackles said as Jared came around to sit on the edge of his desk.
“You were very clear, Mr. Ackles that you had an exoskeleton that needed repaired. Why don’t you tell me more?”
Ackles ran his hand over the metal exoskeleton that was still wrapped around his legs. Jared made an attempt not to stare at it. There would be a time to take Mr. Ackles to the examination room for a much more detailed look but for now, Jared had to keep from looking too closely to see what had happened to what must have once been a magnificent tail.
“Four years ago, I went to see a doctor, like yourself, an Augmentor. Mr. Johns said he could change me. He said he could give me legs and teach me to walk. It took a year to complete the surgeries and everything was fine.”
“Why did you want legs?”
“I have a wasting condition that specifically affected the control of my tail. I decided if I couldn’t swim, I wanted to be able to walk. Dr. Johns said he could make it happen.”
“So, he performed the surgeries?”
“Yes. He cut my tail and fashioned legs of the tissue. He also performed the surgery to remove the webbing in my hands and feet.”
Jared nodded his head to keep down the bile as it rose in his throat. Jared had read that the first set of surgeries were horrifically painful. He refused to even think of performing them himself. He had too much awe for the Mer and he couldn’t imagine desecrating the tail they had to create something as mundane as legs. That Mr. Ackles had gone the full length to have surgery on his hands and feet spoke of his need to remove himself from the Mer population completely. There was far more to the story and he had the feeling it would take time to get Mr. Ackles to disclose it all. “And then Dr. Johns created the exoskeleton. You were able to walk?”
“I was able to run. I was able to dance,” Mr. Ackles said with a bitter laugh. “I was able to do the things I could only dream of under the sea.”
“Then what happened?”
Mr. Ackles turned his eyes to the hands in his lap and Jared couldn’t see a single scar from where the webbing had been removed. The surgeon had a fine hand but Jared had never heard of him. He turned his attention back to the client’s face as he let out an angry sigh.
“The exoskeleton lasted six months and then suddenly I was having trouble controlling the exoskeleton. It started to break down and I called on Dr. Johns but he wasn’t home. The landlady told me he had moved. When I went to his office, it was cleaned out. I contacted the board of Augmentors but they said there had never been a Dr. Johns. I wasn’t sure where to turn after that, but when I began talking to people I heard about you. You were very highly recommended.”
“I’m glad to hear I have a good reputation,” Jared said.
“I wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.”
Alona came in at that moment with the tea tray and Jared was grateful for the interruption. She served him a cup with far more sugar than she thought was acceptable but Jared smiled at her for it. When she asked Jensen, he took his tea light with the lemon and no sugar. She handed him his cup before turning away.
Jared took a sip from his cup and watched Mr. Ackles for a moment before he spoke. “What is it you want me to do for you, Mr. Ackles?”
“Jensen, please.”
“Alright, Jensen. What do you want me to do?”
“I want my legs back.”
“Not your tail?”
“I wanted to dance, Dr. Padalecki. I’m not done dancing.”
The schematics of Jensen Ackles’ exoskeleton were spread out over the large drafting table and Jared sighed as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
“This isn’t right,” he said with a sigh.
“What’s wrong, Boss?”
Jared looked at his apprentice, Osric, and gave him a small smile. Osric was always aware of Jared’s moods and he never let Jared brood too much while he worked. He was a good man to have around. “These schematics are brilliant.”
“I’m not sure how that is a problem.”
Osric walked over to the table and stood to the side, careful not to get in the light but so that he could see the drawing. Osric was always considerate like that, even when he was muttering about Jared’s overzealous nature.
Jared happened to be affectionate with the people in his life and Osric was well aware of the way people spoke about Jared. How they whispered about the fact that he had no wife and showed no signs of ever wanting one. They whispered about deviant behavior in polite society but smiled and shook his hand and expounded on his merits to his face. Jared had some concerns about what deviance was, when that sort of back stabbing and gossiping was the norm they considered appropriate.
“The problem is threefold. First, if the schematics are this well-drawn, how has no one ever heard of this Dr. Johns?”
“And second, how did the exoskeleton break down if it was so well designed?” Osric supplied.
There was a reason Jared had picked a street kid as his apprentice. At a young age, Osric had managed to dazzle the academic community, though they held tight to their prejudice against his upbringing on the streets. Jared had never had cause to regret that choice.
“Exactly,” Jared said. “The last problem is that these schematics aren’t right.” Osric looked at him curiously and Jared pointed to the drawing. “I only did a preliminary examination of the exoskeleton but I know for certain that it isn’t the same.”
“You think Mr. Ackles has the wrong schematics?”
“No,” Jared said with a frustrated sigh. “I think Jensen was given the wrong ones on purpose. A doctor who can’t be reached? Schematics that are exemplary but that don’t match what is actually done? It doesn’t make any sense. If it was a hack, then we would see shoddy metallurgy, but when I looked at the exoskeleton, it was exceptional craftsmanship. The welding and the neural grafting are very fine work. Not to mention all the metalwork that was hand crafted for this.”
“Can’t you find the maker’s mark on the metal?”
“Not a single brand.”
“That’s … why would someone put this amount of work into something and not claim it as theirs?”
“I don’t know.” Jared looked down at the schematic on his desk and shook his head. Augmentors were highly sought after because they were more than just doctors. They were engineers and mechanics and inventors, rolled up with a doctor. They designed their creations, but they made every bit of tubing and plating they put into their work. It wasn’t on every piece, but every Augmentor put their brand on a few pieces to show the master behind the work. It wasn’t just professional pride, but so that if something broke down it was easy enough to find the maker.
“Jared, none this makes any sense.”
“That, I do know.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I have a friend who might be able to help.” When Osric left the room, Jared rolled the schematics up for safe keeping and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. He dipped his quill into the ink and started writing.
“Jeff, old friend, I hope you can figure this one out,” he mumbled quietly as he asked his mentor for a meeting when he was next in town.
Jensen wheeled into the examination room and Jared smiled. “Good afternoon, Jensen.”
“Dr. Padalecki.”
“Jared, please. If you keep calling me Doctor I’m going to start feeling my age.”
“It must be hard, being in your twenties, to feel all that age.”
Jared laughed. “Some days I feel it more than others.”
“You wanted to look at the exoskeleton today?”
“Yes,” Jared said as he walked closer to Jensen. “The schematics are a little vague in some areas and I wanted to take a closer look to fill in the details.”
“Ah,” Jensen said as he looked down at his hands. He had been reluctant to allow Jared to do a more thorough examination but Jared had informed him at his last visit that he couldn’t work any further until he was able to review the metalwork to determine the problem.
“I just wanted to get some more details,” he lied. Jared was a quick hand with a sketch and he should be able to make a rough draft quick enough that Jensen wouldn’t notice. “The type of weld and the placement of the neural grafts aren’t always indicated on the drawings. I wanted to add that to my own work so I don’t have to keep asking you to come in every time I have a question.”
“Alright,” Jensen said. “What do you need me to do?”
“Why don’t we get you up on the table?” Jared asked. “You can just relax, take a nap, and I’ll get what I need.”
Jensen set the brakes on his wheel chair and he let Jared lift him up to the table. It was intimate, to be holding Jensen like that, but the Mer let himself be carried with an easy grace.
“I’m going to take some notes as I examine the exoskeleton. Will it bother you if I need to touch the framework?”
“No, of course not. I assumed you’d need to today if you were going to get closer to fixing it.” There was a long pause as Jared watched Jensen settle his limbs on the table comfortably. “You do think you’ll be able to repair it though?”
“I believe I can, yes,” Jared said as he went to the small table at the back of the examination room and looked over the schematics he’d drawn from memory.
“They said,” Jensen’s voice trailed off and Jared turned back around to look at him. “They said if you couldn’t repair my legs then no one could. I will never go back to my home under the sea, but I would still like to be able to move without that damned chair. I… I was never good at being still.”
Jared gave Jensen a small smile. “I can see that,” he said as he came closer. “It will be helpful if you could be still while I’m looking at the mechanics though. Can you do that for me, Jensen?”
Jensen let out a deep breath as he lay back on the table. “I’ll do what I can, Dr. Padalecki.”
“Jared.”
Jensen seemed uncomfortable for a moment but then he nodded. “Jared.”
Jared turned away from Jensen’s conflicted emotions to look at the exoskeleton. And more importantly, at the neural grafting and the surgeries that had been done to Jensen.
Jared didn’t want to imagine what Jensen went through to get legs. Somewhere down the evolutionary line, Jensen’s ancestors had stayed in the water, while Jared’s had crawled onto shore. Jensen’s people had strong bones in the tail and they were evidence that human and Mer had once been related.
He knew there were Mer who had chosen to get legs. Mer legs didn’t work the way human legs did though. The muscle and skeletal structure no longer supported their weight out of water. He’d seen the scientific reports of muscle and sinew scraped from scaly skin and twisted and tied together to approximate legs. He knew how to perform the surgeries himself if it were ever called for and he prayed it never was. It had been done to Jensen and there would be others still, but Jared was repulsed by the idea of it. The Mer were beautiful creatures and no one deserved the pain and agony that the surgeries must have been.
Jared trailed his fingers lightly over the metal exoskeleton that had been designed to give Jensen mobility. The metal was cool to his touch but the Mer ran at a lower temperature than humans did. Jensen squirmed a little but when Jared looked up, Jensen gave him a small smile.
“It tickles a little.”
Jared smiled but didn’t say anything as he began to inspect the rest of the work. The exoskeleton was important but Jared needed to see the links that allowed Jensen’s mind to connect to the skeleton. The neural grafting was delicate work and there were few surgeons that could handle it.
He found the metal chips that were inserted into the skin and he drew back at what he saw there.
“Dr. Padalecki?”
“Jared, call me Jared,” he said without thought.
“Is there something wrong?”
“No, not at all. I was afraid I’d tickled you again,” Jared lied.
Jensen let out a small laugh and Jared smiled up at him but he was seething inside. He barely knew Jensen but the doctor who did the surgery had to have known him far better before he did this to him. “I just need to grab something from my office. Relax and I’ll be right back,” Jared said, patting Jensen’s arm slightly before he left.
He walked out of the room and to the door farthest from it. When he got to his office, he dropped both hands to the edge of his desk and lowered his head as he tried to take deep breaths.
“Jared? What happened?” Osric came into the room with Alona not far behind him.
“The neural connectors are grafted into both skin and flesh, not the bone.”
“What?” The alarm in Osric’s voice was as deep as Jared’s concern.
“What does that mean?” Alona asked. He turned to look at her as she nervously played with the front of her long skirts.
“The first thing they teach you,” Osric answered, though he didn’t look away from Jared as he spoke, “is not to graft the neural connectors into the skin. You drill anchor posts into the bone so if something happens the neural connectors can be replaced. If a neural connector or a transceiver needed to be replaced it would be a painful surgery, but it would be possible and once the recovery period was over there would be no further concern. If they’re connected to the skin, not only would it cause horrific pain, but the way the nerves are grafted it would make it almost impossible to avoid causing nerve damage with any attempt to repair or replace it.”
“Jensen will never swim again because of what Dr. Johns did to him, but if I removed the neural connectors, he may lose all feeling below the waist.”
Jared looked up and saw the growing horror on Osric’s face. “The work might be fine, but the design is flawed,” Osric said softly. “This exoskeleton was designed so that if it broke, Jensen would too.”
Osric sat heavily in the chair and Alona brought her hands up to her mouth to cover her gasp. They’d both seen people who had come to Jared with the hope that he could somehow help them regain their movement. Some days he could. Some days he had to send people home with their hopes dashed.
He prayed that he was able to do something for Jensen. Whatever he did though, he couldn’t let Jensen remain in the exoskeleton he currently wore. In its current state it was only a matter of time before the metal began to catch and drag and that would begin to pull at the neural connectors.
Jared let out a deep breath and patted Osric on the shoulder before he squared his own and headed back to continue Jensen’s examination. He had to find a way to make this work because if he couldn’t fix it, he would have to remove it and force Jensen into a life in the chair he hated.
On to Chapter Two