The Feirbon family, Naval hospital.

  The Feirbon family wasn't Uber rich by any stretch of the imagination. They ran a small shiping company of 5 merchant vessels, and were relatively nomadic as things went.

  The only times they dropped to planetside were the births of Nivka, and Darien. Most anything else can be done via stations and planetary elevators. Otherwise, they ran their ships in convoy and in person.

  When Nivka joined the UNSC armed forces, it was a punch in the guts for both David and Melissa. Darien hadn't actually met his sister at all yet. Until today, that was...

  As the small family looked into the operating room, Nivka's parents were crying. Sobbing really as they watched the delicate body of their only daughter get operated on.

  They watched as machines and doctors whirled around the top of her body, operating on her head first. Melissa turned Darien's head away, not wanting them to see the chunks of blackened bone being removed from his sister's skull.

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  They had been given a list of her injuries, and it made Melissa vomit and David shudder. They had also looked into her previous injuries in light of this... incident. Only then did David puke too.

  Their daughter... missing every limb... She wasn't able to reproduce, had more metal then flesh now...

  They comforted themselves as best they could. Darien, confused and scared, just hugged his father's leg. They eventually staggered away, and sat in the hospitals waiting room, still sobbing.

  A doctor coughed in front of Melissa, David and Darien. "Excuse me, sir and mam? You are the Feirbon family, correct?" He asked.

  "Y-y-yes... Wh-what happened to my daughter? Is Nivka still alive?!" Melissa asked desperately.

  "Yes mam. Lieutenant Nivka Feirbon survived her surgery. It will take at least 2 more, but we are hopeful in her chances. In point of fact, they improved dramatically with the removal and draining of-"

  Melissa covered Darien's ears, and the doctor coughed, slightly embarrassed. "My apologies, miss. Ahem. Yes, your daughter's chances of recovery have dramatically increased. There is little to worry about." He said, smiling softly.

  "No...full recovery." David said softly.

  The doctor hesitated, and sighed softly. "No, sir. The injuries sustained are... Well, it's a miracle she survived in the first place. The only reason she likely survived was her body being used to the shock of severe injury. And even then, this was magnitudes worse." He said.

  "Anyhow, your daughter will have permanent lung damage, a severe iron deficiency, and a few issues besides. While these can be treated with medication... She is quite frankly the luckiest person I've seen this year." He said.

  The family took that in silently, and the doctor returned to whence he came. The small family cried once more, only this time, a touch of hope invaded their sorrow.