Forbidden Love in the Mecha Ac

The flickering fluorescent light buzzed overhead, casting a sickly yellow glow on the cramped corner Alice had been assigned.

 Dust motes danced in the stale air, clinging to the outdated medical equipment that looked like relics from a forgotten war.

 A wave of despair washed over her, threatening to drown the flickering embers of hope she'd clung to since arriving at the prestigious Mecha Combat Academy.

 She'd dreamed of this, of using her skills to heal the warriors of tomorrow, but this… this felt more like a janitor's closet than a medical bay.

 She slammed a fist on the rickety metal desk, the clang echoing in the small space, a defiant sound against the oppressive silence.

 "I won't let this beat me," she muttered, the words a promise to herself.

Luna, a senior medic with a smile as sharp as a scalpel and eyes that held a chilling glint of malice, sauntered past Alice's corner, her arms laden with the latest medi-kits and advanced diagnostic tools.

 Alice watched, her jaw tightening, as Luna dumped the supplies onto a pristine workstation, a stark contrast to Alice's own dilapidated setup.

"Oh, Alice, darling," Luna cooed, her voice dripping with false sweetness.

 "I didn't see you there tucked away in your little… nook. I'm *so* sorry, but all the good stuff is spoken for. You wouldn't want to break anything, now would you?" She winked, a gesture that felt less playful and more like a venomous snake baring its fangs.

Alice's blood boiled.

"Excuse me," she began, her voice tight with suppressed fury.

"But those supplies are meant for all medics. I need them to treat the students."

Luna laughed, a high-pitched, grating sound.

"Oh, honey, you're so adorable. You think this is about fairness? This is the Mecha Combat Academy, darling. Survival of the fittest. Learn the rules, newbie, or you'll be crushed." She turned to leave, then paused, glancing back at Alice with a smirk.

 "Speaking of rules… I hear Professor Smith is *very* particular about proper procedure.

Wouldn't want to get on his bad side, would you?

"

Alice's fists clenched, her nails digging into her palms.

She opened her mouth to retort, but Luna had already disappeared, leaving Alice fuming in her dusty corner.

 Just then, the med-bay doors hissed open and a young man, David, stumbled in, clutching his arm, a deep gash oozing energon.

 He looked around, his eyes widening in panic as he spotted Alice.

 "Help..." he gasped, his voice barely a whisper.

Alice rushed towards him, her frustration momentarily forgotten.

 "Don't worry, I'll…" she began, reaching for her limited supplies.

 A shadow fell over them, and a deep voice rumbled, "Step aside, medic. I'll handle this." It was Ethan, a visiting instructor, his eyes cold and assessing.

He looked at Alice's meagre supplies, then back at her.

"You.

Report to Professor Smith.

Now.

"

Professor Smith, a man whose face seemed permanently etched with disapproval, stormed into the med-bay, his jowls quivering with indignation.

"What in the name of Hippocrates is going on here?

!

" he bellowed, his voice echoing off the metal walls.

He pointed a trembling finger at David, whose arm was now bandaged, albeit with Alice's hastily applied, and admittedly, less-than-ideal, wrapping.

"This student claims he suffered a… a *complication* after treatment.

And guess who was the medic on duty?

*You*!

" He glared at Alice, his eyes like chips of flint.

Alice's heart plummeted to her stomach.

"Professor, I can explain…"

"Explain?

!

" Smith scoffed, his face turning a shade of purple that threatened to give him an aneurysm.

"There's nothing to explain!

Your incompetence is on full display for everyone to see!

You've botched a simple procedure, clearly.

And the worst part?

I knew you were trouble the moment you walked through that door!

" The vitriol in his tone was like a physical blow, leaving Alice reeling.

A wave of murmuring swept through the small med-bay as other medics and students, drawn by the commotion, gathered at the doorway.

Eyes, full of suspicion and judgment, bored into Alice, making her feel like a bug under a microscope.

It was like a cold, sharp wind had pierced her, chilling her to the bone.

She opened her mouth to defend herself, but the words seemed to freeze in her throat, a lump of ice blocking any attempt at explanation.

She wanted to shout, to scream, that she didn't do this, that she was an experienced healer but everything in the environment seemed to deny it.

Despite her mind reeling, Alice took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

She had to be professional, she had to be methodical.

She reached for David's chart, her fingers tracing the notes she had taken earlier, a glint of determination appearing in her eyes.

"Professor," she said, her voice surprisingly steady, "I followed the standard protocol, and the symptoms David describes are… unusual. They don't correlate with the medication I used." She pointed to a specific entry, "The reaction David experienced is most likely linked to the residual energon residue that was still on his wound when he came into the med-bay, not to anything I used.

" She carefully broke down the medical jargon, making it easy to understand, her explanation punctuated by the sound of her pen tapping against the chart.

The room fell silent, the murmuring replaced by a hum of confused contemplation.

Luna's smile faltered ever so slightly, the first hint of unease flickering across her face.

"That's absurd!

"Smith scoffed, but for the first time, he paused, his anger momentarily stunted.

But Alice was already pushing forward, she was not going to give up.

"My notes show the initial readings were clear," she declared with an unwavering gaze, a steely resolve strengthening her voice.

She continued her clinical breakdown, her fingers flying across the datapad as she displayed the analysis.

The crowd was visibly impressed, they murmured again but this time the tone was different, less judgmental, more like a low hum of understanding.

Her skill was undeniable, even for those who came to condemn.

Alice finally looked up, her eyes locking on to Professor Smith's who was now clearly unsure what to say.

She was about to elaborate on the next step in her investigation when she realized her datapad was now empty.

The data she had just been showing everyone, the data that contained the crucial evidence, had disappeared.

"Where…" she whispered, her eyes wide with shock.

She looked up to see Luna turning away, her lips pressed into a thin line, but there was a barely perceptible twitch at the corner of her mouth, a tiny smirk that went unnoticed by everyone except Alice.

"Well, look who's here," Ethan's cold voice cut through the air, his gaze locked onto a distant point past everyone, his words dripping with a kind of bored indifference, "time to get your hands dirty."