Onward!: Pt. 6

Smith woke up to the lights of the infirmary bay. He had been placed on a gurney and strapped down. He looked to his right and saw the morphine drip. He tried to speak to the nurse who was taking his vitals but his speech came out slurred.
"Mr. Smith, you know very well you can't talk with morphine in your system. Please just relax, the procedure is almost over.
Smith's eyes widened as he looked to his left and saw two surgeons removing part of the body armor from his left rib area. Their headgear made them look like monsters with glowing eyes and odd protrusions from their skulls. Smith's vision blurred for a second then focused on the spinning saw blade in the larger surgeon's hand. He watched it approach his ribcage and could do nothing. On the bright side he could feel nothing either.
Darkness crept over him yet again. He heard voices one male and one female but could not make out what they were saying. He wasn't exactly sure if his eyes were opened or shut. He decided to go to sleep.
Smith woke once more in the infirmary. This time he was in a different room. Drake and Larissa Gwen were sitting at his bedside watching the vid-screens and taking in the sights of yet another riot near the spaceports. It had been day 27 of fighting near the ports and the Company was losing Operators rapidly. Smith heard Larissa sigh heavily...


Previously on Onward!:
Smith could feel the fiber bundles on his vertebrae straining to stay together. The body armor that all Operators wore underneath their clothes saved him countless times before, but now, under the heel of an alien warrior, the suit was failing him. There was a loud pop and crunch followed by Smith losing consciousness.
When Smith finally came to three Operators were standing over him, one carrying a hand-held rail gun that had just been discharged. He shook his head and tried to get up. The three Operators helped him up and told him not to move. The smell of ozone was in the air. Smith managed to get a glimpse of the warrior crushed into the wall of the building they had been standing next to.
"You're lucky to be alive Smith," said the female Operator closest to him. She smiled.
"Yeah, I've never seen something like your back before. She basically squeezed the fiber bundles out of your suit. You're gonna be paralyzed while you're in your suit. We already called the Company and told them the situation," said an Operator Smith knew
"Drake? That you? It is isn't it? Where the hell am I?" said Smith.
"You're in Low Town, you got stomped, literally, by a Neekreshi Warrior. A female one at that. Don't know why you were down here though," Drake said.
Smith nodded his head and tried to move his arms, but they didn't move.
"Why did the suit paralyze me?" Smith said. He turned his head to the female Operator.
"It's part of the emergency process. You aren't supposed to be able to move in case any of the fiber bundles breaks or tears. In your case, they were squashed out of their netting and that caused the suit to stiffen. You're lucky your back is not broken," she said.
"What's your name?" Smith said. He tried to crack a smile through his lacerated face.
"Gwen, Larissa Gwen," Larissa said.
"I'm Smith. Deacon Smith, nice to meet you Larissa Gwen," Smith said. He smiled and then passed out again...