Tension began to fill the room as Cameron continued to stare into the mirror, analyzing his new mechanical-esque eyes. The revelation of the neon blue orbs seemed to suck all the enthusiasm out of the room as he gawked at himself noiselessly, with no one yet willing to break that silence. Instead, the quartet that was Logan, Aurora, Sybil, and Marcus were content to give Cameron sympathetic looks as he tried to make sense of his current evolution.

"This is fucking trippy..." He whispered, turning his head back and forth, watching the ones and zeros rush through his irises in random sequence. He wanted to ask Aeia if she knew, but whether it was her hesitancy to speak to him for fear of him speaking aloud, or if she simply did not know the answer, the A.I. remained silent like the rest. Eventually, he sighed and shook his head looking up at Sybil, who smiled softly when she registered his gaze.

"Thanks for showing me," He said, offering a half smile at her as she withdrew the compact, "I can see how it'd be hard to describe."

"To be fair," She said softly, "I don't think they're ugly. If anything, I'd say they make you look... distinguished."

"Y-Yeah," Aurora chimed in, chuckling nervously from outside of Cameron's view "Definitely a conversation starter to be sure."

"It seems rather rude to be making conversation about someone's physical qualities Ms. Lorentis," Marcus said, before something that sounded like a boot striking a shit caused him to hiss in pain, "Why you little-"

Cameron chuckled at the exchange, and as he did, it felt like a weight was lifted from the room. He reached out with a stiff trembling hand and tugged at the hem of Sybil's cardigan grabbing her attention, "Think you can figure out how to sit me up in this thing? My body’s not exactly compliant at this point."

She nodded, "Sure thing hon," before reaching down towards a nearby table and grabbing a small white remote. With a click, the half of the bed supporting his chest and head silently inclined, pushing Cameron up to comfortably view everyone without having to strain. To his horror, it also gave him a comfortable look at his own body as it was reflected back at him through a wall mounted mirror.

"Holy fuck!" He exclaimed, taking in the state of his injuries. Multiple lines of purple stitches criss-crossed his bruised torso in a myriad of different directions including one that ran the length of his upper body, starting just below his collarbone and ending a few inches above his navel. His arms bore the scars and bandaged wrappings around each of his uplink points, and judging by the tugging sensation that came when he tried to move his legs from underneath the sterile cotton sheet wrapped around his waist, he figured that they too were in the same sorry state as his arms. But the one thing that kept drawing his gaze, the one thing that made his heart drop was the three fist sized holes bandages splayed across his stomach.

A memory forced its way to the forefront of his mind as he recalled what exactly put them there, enhanced in its clarity by Aeia's ability. He recalled in perfect detail the events that led him to be in this bed. His muscles tensed and relaxed in rhythm to the memory as he watched himself hack and slash with Headsman's massive sword, catching nothing but air. He felt his stomach spasm as the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth, as he remembered looking down to see a clawed gauntlet ripping its way through the back of his cockpit. The scent of ozone filled his nostrils as he watched his mech fall to ground, with him still inside just as a wave of energy washed over the whole unit, accompanied by a wailing shriek that seemed to distort into nothingness. Then, there was only black as the scene in his mind faded like a bad dream.

Cameron grimaced and shut his eyes tight, shaking his head to try and clear it from the emotions that threatened to break free onto his face.

"Damn it Marcus," He heard Logan shout from somewhere far away, "Get that fucking mirror out of here."

A commotion seemed to be happening in the medical room, but Cameron couldn't hear anything specific to make out. All around him, the sound of rushing air bombarded his senses. Cameron felt like he was in the eye of a hurricane and it was enough to make want to grab his head and scream. But as a gentle hand lay atop his bare shoulder, the sounds stopped, cut off in an instant like a light switch and bringing him back to reality. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Sybil looking back at him with affectionate concern. She smiled and brought her hand up to gently caress his cheek as she spoke at a tone barely above a whisper.

"You okay, Hon?" She said softly.

"Y-Yeah..." He said, taking a deep breath to gather himself, "I think I'll be alright."

'Sorry about that,' Aeia said inside of his mind, 'Your memories seem to be much more vivid now than what a normal human would experience. I think that was a by-product of my being inside you.'

'I don't like that phrasing,' Cameron thought back, smiling outwardly as he tried to calm himself down. He pulled away from Sybil's hand and grimaced, looking around the room before finally speaking aloud.

"Just had a flashback is all," He said, eyes locking onto Logans, "About... you know."

Logan nodded in understanding, crossing his arms as he did so, "Nah, I gotcha kid. It looked rough from where I was standing, so I can only imagine what it felt like actually enduring that shit."

Cameron's grimace of pain turned into one of confusion as he sat there, eyebrows scrunched together in contemplation.

"He..." He began to say, chewing at his lip as he struggled to find the words.

"He what?" Logan asked.

Cameron looked up, scanning the faces of the people around the room. The people that cared for him, that wanted to help him... his family. Sure, they weren't related by blood or anything like that, but at the end of the day did that really matter? He knew if it had been anyone else in his position he'd be just like them. Watching over him like a stalwart guardian, plotting and planning the downfall of whatever bastard who'd be twisted or foolish enough to do this. Wasn't that what family was supposed to do?

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

His eyes met Logan's again and watched as the old man's head inclined, nodding and telling him that whatever it was, it was okay. With a sigh, Cameron nodded back and responded.

"He said; You're not as good as you think you are, Pellyn."

With that single revelation, Cameron had managed to suck all the air out of the room. Looks of shock and confusion flashed across the faces of Logan, Aurora, Sybil, and Marcus as each of them look at one another and then back at Cameron.

"Are you sure that's what they said?" Sybil asked after a tense pregnant silence.

"W-Well yeah I was right there I-" Cameron started to explain, but Sybil was quick to cut him off in order to specify.

"No, I know, but the last part. You're sure he said Pellyn?" She asked, looking at him with an intensity that said she was hoping against hope that he'd misheard.

"Well yeah Sybil," He said, with a scoff, "I'm pretty sure I'd know my own last name if I heard it."

"No but see, that's not supposed to be possible," She said, sounding increasingly more flustered, "Your last name isn't Pellyn... It's Ket. Cameron Pellyn doesn't exist. EarthGov made sure of that."

"Apparently not," Logan said, taking a step forward, pointing an accusatory finger at the woman, "I knew there was something fishy with that hit. It wasn't ever meant for me. It was meant for him, and I'll give you three guesses as to which person is responsible for pulling the trigger."

She glared back at Logan, arching an eyebrow, "You think the Prince of Amreith did this?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense doesn't it?!" He said, his voice rising in volume as he flailed his arms up for emphasis, "You and I both know that Darwin's murder was a setup. Hell a fucking child could see through that it was so sloppy. We also know that Lendrick didn't get that idea all on his own."

He turned to look at Marcus then, his eyes blazing with unchecked aggression, "Go to the bridge and put in the jump coordinates for the Pirou system."

"Right away Sir," Marcus said, and had barely taken a step out the door when Sybil threw a hand up to stop him.

"Wait!" She cried, "You can't do that!"

"And why not?!" Logan growled, "If some noble too chickenshit to get his own hands wants a fight then I'll give him one."

"Because you're not on contract in that system!" She snapped back, "Nor are you invited as a guest of a sponsoring planet! All EarthGov borders are tightly secured and even if you're acting alone, a Free Space pilot killing the ruler of an EarthGov controlled planet is cause for all out war!"

Her words seemed to put a pause on everyone, with Marcus turning to look at Logan, while Logan continued to glare at a very distraught Sybil. She took a shuddering breath, pushing her hair back out of reddening face.

"If that's true," Aurora said, speaking up for the first time as she cast sideways look at Sybil, "Then how could the hitman reach us here? I thought this was EarthGov controlled space too?"

"It is..." Sybil began, licking her lips as she nodded, "But it's also part of a large interstellar highway linking a throng of EarthGov and Free Space systems. All they have to do if questioned is to say they miscalculated a jump. No one is going to look twice at a Free Space ship spending less than an hour or two in EarthGov space. Let's not even discuss the fact that this was a black site job. No one is supposed to know there's anything out here."

She sighed, looking at Cameron sympathetically, running a hand along his shoulder, before turning back to glare at Logan, "They were in the right place, at the right time, using the right weapon, and it almost fucking worked. Why? I don't know. But the fact is, as of right now, there isn't anything you can do, without making sure at least a few hundred pilots die with you."

"So then what do we do Sybil?" Logan asked, leaning forward, eyes wide, as if waiting for an answer, "Just roll over like a bunch of cowards and be glad that they're shit at their job?"

Cameron cleared his throat, watching as everyone's heads whipped in his direction.

"Why don't we all take a minute and calm down," He said, surprising even himself with his even tempered statement, "Way I see it, we don't have many options going forward, but that doesn't mean we're out of them."

Logan gave him a look like he'd just grown a second head, "What are you talking about kid?"

"Think about it," Cameron said, "If what Sybil said is true, then whoever did this has to come back to Free Space eventually."

He turned to Sybil, who was currently regarding him with equal amounts of confusion, before asking, "What's the maximum length of an EarthGov contract for foreign fighters?"

She blinked, stuttering with her words as she tried to fight her racing mind to form a sentence, "Uh... O-One year maximum. That's when the visa expires, but they still have to go back to Free Space in order for it to be signed by a designated notary."

"So we have, at most, a year of time to find out whoever did this shit to me and put him in the dirt." Cameron said, looking around the room before continuing, "In that time, we can leverage Sybil's pull on her side of the border to have some digging done and find out just why the fuck Caustos wants me dead. I know it's not an answer of immediate gratification... but it's better than nothing, and it's a plan we can get started on sooner rather than later."

Another long silence fell over the room as everyone looked at each other and back to Cameron. When he began to feel like what he said hadn't made any sense, Aurora spoke up, breaking the silence by voicing what was apparently on everyone else's mind.

"I think that was one of the smartest things I've ever heard come out of your mouth."

"Wow!" He said, incredulously, "I'm already in the med bay, Asshole. You don't need to keep kicking me."

"No," She corrected, "I mean... I'm not a tactical genius or anything but... That sounds a lot better to me than standing in front of a firing line for terrorism."

Cameron chuckled softly, raising a finger to tap his temple, "What can I say? Maybe something came loose while I was out and I can finally think straight."

'Watch it,' Aeia said inside his brain.

'Bite me,' Cameron thought back.

He looked around meeting the other's gazes, his eyes settling on Sybil's. He stared deeply into those shining emerald pools, and reached out with a shaky hand to take hers, speaking softly.

"Will you do it if I ask nicely?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow and flashing a grin.

She scoffed, her cheeks turning a pale shade of pink as she looked at him with an arched eyebrow, realizing he'd used the same words on her that she'd used on him.

"You're lucky you're cute." She said, her lips curving into the smallest semblance of a smile.

"I'll take that as a yes." He said, grinning wider.

"Alright Kid," Logan said, "Hate to break up the... whatever this is between you two, but that still leaves one big question; What the hell are we supposed to do in the meantime?"

Cameron turned to him, still grinning like an idiot, "First things first boss. I need to get my ass back inside a mech."