Heavy, booted footsteps crunched outside the door, and Luke tensed in anticipation, the nanite swarm hovering just above his head. He looked back at Alice just in time to watch the onset of her panic attack, and swore inwardly as she began 'porting wildly throughout the room. Shockwaves rippled to and fro, ripping shelves from the walls and sending debris and furniture flying. For a moment Luke could see the expression on her face in the instants that she remained solid, read the fear and anguish that was obviously clouding her mind. Before he could think to activate a gravshield she 'ported near him, the accompanying tremors throwing him against the wall and sending him back to the floor. The swarm remained airborne, still under Nirvana's control, but Luke had no choice but to curl up and protect himself until her attack was over.<br/><br/>He didn't have long to wait. She remanifested just in front of the door, suddenly illuminated by a heavy floodlight. She stumbled back and threw up her hands to shield her eyes from the light, and looked down at Luke, her expression haunted. "Luke, I-" She tried to speak, but was cut short by a new stream of bullets. Most were pitifully wide, but more than enough found their mark to accomplish their work. Round after round slammed into Alice's chest, ripping through her heart and lungs, obliterating the perfect breasts and flawless skin he'd been subconsciously admiring the night before. She went down in a spray of blood, twitching and gasping like a beached fish mere feet from where Luke lay.<br/><br/>'Goddammit! Nirvana, do you still have any control over the medichines I gave her earlier?' 'Affirmative. I'm rerouting them through her system and distributing a heavy coagulant to staunch the bleeding, but there's still critical tissue damage. The medichines won't be able to repair her injuries in time, Luke. She's got maybe three minutes.' Luke rose to his feet and assumed personal control over the nanites to allow Nirvana to concentrate on Alice's injuries, throwing up a gravshield as he stepped out into the hall. His sudden appearance took the attackers by surprise, but not as much as the nanites did. The cloud launched at the nearest soldiers and began eating through their weapons, as well as the flesh and bones of the hands holding them. Apparently whoever they worked for didn't train them to fight as amputees; several passed out from the pain and blood loss. The remaining soldiers attempted to retreat back down the hall. Luke let them go for the moment, returning his attentions to Alice.<br/><br/>'How is she?' 'Not good. One of her lungs was completely destroyed, and the other is only 40% functional. Her heart was only nicked, but she's still got severe internal bleeding and one of the bullets passed right through her liver. She's got four broken ribs, and it looks like there are bone fragments lodged in her bloodstream. She needs immediate surgery, Luke.' 'Then we'll have to work fast, won't we?'<br/><br/>Luke knelt beside Alice's prone form, turning her face gently toward his and patting her gently on the cheek. "Honey, I know you've been feeling suicidal and all, but you do know that standing up in front of a hail of gunfire is just fucking stupid, right?" He asked as he activated the pgm. A flash of light enveloped them both, and the pair were instantly transported to Luke's Command Center.<br/><br/>A pair of automatic cannons swiveled onto their position and prepared to fire the moment they appeared; the security systems were still activated. Nirvana broadcast a safety code and the cannons returned to standby mode as Luke gathered Alice in his arms. He held her as gently as he could and quickly brought her to the base's medical bay, depositing her on a clean and waiting operating table. Then he stood back, allowing a trio of servitors armed with finely tuned manipulators, surgical tools, and equipment to roll into position. The A.I. operating the servitors, Aeschylus, was not quite as sophisticated as Jenny, and lacked even a basic personality, but its medical knowledge was encyclopedic. It was, in effect, as good as or better than any first class hospital in the world. Aeschylus would save her, if anything could.<br/><br/>Part of him wanted to stay, to help with her surgery, but there was still a battle to be fought. There were still opponents to kill. He glanced down at his arms, soaked with Alice's blood, and absently rubbed some of it between his fingers. With a shrug and a quick look back at Alice's pale, shivering form lying on the table, Luke activated the pgm once more and flung himself back to the dojo.