Universal Healthcare

Gilgamos was, to say the least, a little startled by his patient's confession. And considering his patient's obvious mental state, he felt it was not to correct his as to his own rank in the clinic.

"Well... we don't get many soldiers passing through here, I have to admit that. Especially ones quite so forthcoming. They usually stick to the military hospitals. Nice facilities, if I recall correctly... huh. I do recall them. That's... interesting."

Gilgamos was drifting off topic, as little scattered bits of memory grew more clear. Days spent receiving numerous physicals with expensive equipment. Had he forgotten those days, or did he just have no reason to remember them until now? Gilgamos stopped his ramblings when he realized his patient was getting worse.

"Alright then, Mr. Knight. Lets see what we can do with you. Before we start the examination, I'm going to see if I can get you more comfortable with our facilities. No, no, I don't mean drugs, so you don't need to gulp like that. Just some simple breathing exercises to start."

Gilgamos's bland attempts at humor didn't seem well received. He would need to work on his bedside manner in the future. For now, his patient hadn't even blinked since entering the room, his eyes locked dead forward with no particular focus on him or the materials within the room.

"Let's get started then shall we. Don't worry Mr. Knight, we'll do these exercises together, and I'll guide you along. Just take it nice and easy. To start, take a deep breath in. Relax your jaw, you can't breathe with your teeth clenched like that. Good. Now breathe in. And breathe out. Now this time, try to relax your shoulders a little, there's way too much tension in your stance. No, you're not relaxing at all. That can't be comfortable. Here let me just see if..."

Gilgamos made an attempt to adjust his patient's stance physically, unsure what else to do. Upon touching his patient though, a loud screech filled the room. Gilgamos jumped back, now sufficiently startled himself as well.

Noah the lawmaker. Despite his patient's reaction, Gilgamos focused on that phrase. Obviously it was in reference to him, but how and why he couldn't determine. Unsure if the statement was to be an insult or not, Gilgamos opted to tread lightly with his response. Maybe he should have offered the drugs?

"Well, that's a... different response. Nothing seems wrong with you physically, judging by your reaction time, strong vocal cords, and stance as you continue to pace through the room. I guess the issue lies up here."

Gilgamos tapped himself on the temple. To his recollection, Gilgamos understood himself to be a man of more physical science, focusing on the treatment of wounds and afflictions. A man, if he wishes to call himself that, should be able to stomach whatever horrors life throws at him without so much as a whimper or tear. The thought of slapping this boy repeatedly while screaming at the patient for crying about his nerves crossed Gilgamos's mind. It was a fleeting thought, especially considering the reaction to the last physical contact made.

Gilgamos glanced around the room. Locating a chair he pulled it up close to the circle his patient was still pacing. It wasn't his forte, but he could at least try.

"Perhaps this Noah can lead away from this oppression that haunts you so. I may not be able to offer you a promised land, but I can at least try to lead you away from that which punishes you so. Whether you return to your unit, or desert, it's not my place to know. For now, let's just start simple. My name is Gilgamos Uruk. Could I have the pleasure of knowing your first name, Mr. Knight?"

"I think you're giving the Feddies too much credit. If they were capable of anticipating your movements between where you encountered with this battleship you mentioned and where you intend to rendezvous with your unit outside of Jaburo well enough to plant a spy within a free health clinic you would just happen to visit... well, this war would have been over for our Duchy long ago. "

Gilgamos paused for a moment after his statement. Why did he say 'our'? Something else he'd have to review afterwards.

"Lets say, for the sake of argument, I am a Feddie spy. If that were the case, everything you would have just said would have been recorded. What would they have learned? That a Zeon unit is near Jaburo? When isn't there? That a TAF office by the name of Tony Knight is shaken? You never mentioned your mobile weapon, so they'd never be able to pinpoint you in a battle to exploit. That your job requires you to be suicidal? That covers almost everyone still piloting a Zaku I. Beautiful machines by the way. Such a lovely shade of green... *cough* er uh sorry about that."

Clearing his throat, Gilgamos continued.

"That you're not supposed to take any prisoners? Harsher than I recall Zeon being, but still expected for wartimes from any soldier. That if taken prisoner, you're supposed to kill yourself? If you are a Zeon Officer, you know there's always ways to keep a prisoner alive. Teeth can be removed, limbs crippled or severed. The brain is all that needs to be kept intact on a living host, after all. You'd be surprised what you can live through."

"Really, the only revelation worthwhile you made was that Commander Char and Officer Sebastian Brennan were participating in an assault on Jaburo. Considering how much fame he has, I'm fairly certain a whole group of spies are assigned specifically to Char to watch his every move. I mean, updates on his triumphs and defeats are broadcasted over local news, and South America is Federation territory."

"Lets suppose I am a spy, and the Federation learned all of this. If you walked out of here peacefully, the most they could hope to gain would be to track your movements to the Zeon unit you mentioned, which I'd be willing to wager they already know. Considering you mentioned you were an officer, the ideal course of action would have been to sedate you while you were in your previous stupor by slowly filling the room with some sort of nerve gas. We'd have both passed out, I'd recover, but you would have been apprehended, processed, and stored so as to prevent any attempts at suicide or rescue. Then they'd extract far, and I do mean far, more information out of you than I could posing to be a doctor."

"Considering the fact that we are both still conscious, I believe that suggests I am not a federation spy. However, that is for you to determine. As I said before, what you've done and what you are doing is not my concern. My concern is to treat my patient. You can accept my help, which I offer to you freely, or you can return to your unit or desert, and in your current state I doubt you'll survive long after either of the latter."

"Now. You mentioned nightmares. You don't have to give me names or locations. Just discuss what you feel safe discussing, and we'll work from there."

Gilgamos had a tendency to drag out his speeches when he had an opinion. He crossed his legs and prepared for Mr Knight's response.

Gilgamos sat back in his chair, taking a moment to rehearse his reply. Now he knew the source of his patient's ailment, the trick was to determine the best course of treatment.

"When treating a new disease for the first time, one has to draw on previous experience, training, and theory. No matter what one has experienced or what one has been taught, you can only assume the best diagnosis for treatment based on the facts at hand. No matter how much you research your treatment, and no matter what safety measures you take, nothing is certain."

He paused for a moment, unsure if anything he said was sinking in.

"As I was saying, when treating a new disease, you have to test your treatments first. Very rarely is the first treatment attempt successful, thus why animal testing has lasted to this day. It is not uncommon for numerous animals to die during the course of developing your new treatment. The key thing to take away from each passing is the knowledge that it brings you. How did the subject react, what did you do, what was it you could have done differently to provide better results? These are the key questions one must ask oneself. If you abandon your research because of numerous failures, not only have your subjects died for nothing, but countless more victims to the disease may suffer as well. That is what it means to be a doctor."

Gilgamos leaned forward in his chair, hoping a face to face encounter may help his last statement sink in.

"What did you learn from their deaths? What could you have done differently to prevent them? These are the questions you need to ask yourself. If not, your unit died for nothing, and many more may die at Jaburo due to your absence. Those men and women in your fleet are waiting for you to come and apply your knowledge learned from both training and experience to help them survive the coming battle. If abandon them in their hour of need, many more soldiers just like your unit may die. That is what it means to be a soldier. THAT is what it means to be an officer."

Gilgamos sat back again, waiting to see if his own treatment would yield any results.