The walls of Phoenix Station felt narrower than before.
Hayes had spent the last twelve hours under silent scrutiny. Foster didn’t need to say anything—his suspicions were written in the way he lingered during mission briefings, in the way his eyes tracked Hayes’ every move.
And then there was Voss.
The General had barely spoken to him since the Ganymede operation. No praise, no reprimand—just silence. That, more than anything, put Hayes on edge.
So when the summons came—an official URT directive ordering him to report to Section 13—Hayes knew his time was running out.
----------------------------------------
Section 13 was a ghost town.
The lower levels of Phoenix Station were rarely visited by standard personnel. These were the research wings, the places where the Republic’s more… sensitive projects were developed.
Hayes had never been here before, but the moment the doors hissed open, a cold sense of familiarity washed over him.
A single figure waited inside: General Voss, standing beside a reinforced observation window. Beyond the glass, a stark white room lay in eerie silence.
“Sergeant Hayes,” she said without turning. “Thank you for coming.”
Hayes stepped inside cautiously. “What is this place?”
Voss gestured to the glass. “A part of your legacy.”
----------------------------------------
The figure inside the room shifted.
Hayes hadn’t noticed him at first. A man sat restrained in a chair, his body thin but muscular, his eyes distant. Electrodes clung to his shaved scalp, blinking softly in rhythmic pulses.
Hayes’ stomach clenched. He knew that face.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Corporal David Keene.
His voice came out rough. “Keene’s dead.”
Voss finally turned to face him, her expression unreadable. “He was.”
Hayes’ hands curled into fists. “What did you do to him?”
Voss stepped closer to the glass, observing Keene like a scientist studying a specimen. “Project Phoenix has come a long way since your resurrection, Sergeant. But the process is… imperfect. Some soldiers resist the neural conditioning. Keene was one of them.”
Hayes’ pulse pounded in his ears. “You tortured him.”
“We corrected him,” Voss corrected, her tone dangerously calm. “Keene resisted integration. We adjusted his mind, removed unnecessary doubts. He is now a perfect soldier.”
----------------------------------------
Keene slowly lifted his head.
For the first time, Hayes met his eyes. The man who had once been his brother-in-arms was still in there… but something was missing.
His eyes were dull, like the spark of life had been hollowed out, leaving only obedience behind.
“Sergeant Nathaniel Hayes,” Keene said, his voice flat and mechanical. “It is an honor to serve alongside you once more.”
The words sent a chill down Hayes’ spine.
----------------------------------------
Voss folded her arms, watching Hayes carefully.
“You understand why I brought you here, don’t you?” she asked.
Hayes didn’t answer.
“You’re special, Sergeant,” she continued. “Unlike Keene, your resurrection was clean. No errors, no resistance. You’re an example of what Project Phoenix can be—a leader, not just a weapon.”
Hayes forced himself to breathe evenly. “And if I wasn’t?”
Voss smiled slightly. “Then you would be sitting where Keene is now.”
----------------------------------------
The air in the room grew heavy.
Hayes felt the weight of every choice, every hesitation. He’d spent too long straddling the line, but now there was no middle ground.
Voss was testing him. She wanted to see if he was still loyal.
And if she even suspected the truth—if she knew what he’d done—he wouldn’t walk out of this room alive.
----------------------------------------
Keene’s blank gaze followed Hayes as he stepped closer to the glass.
The man had once saved his life in the Pacific Mirage War. Now, Keene was a shell of that soldier, stripped of everything that made him human.
Hayes knew that if he didn’t act soon, this would be his fate too.
Slowly, he turned back to Voss and forced a nod.
“I understand, General.”
Voss studied him, searching for hesitation. After a long pause, she finally smiled.
“I knew you would.”
----------------------------------------
Back in his quarters, Hayes locked the door behind him.
His hands were shaking.
Keene’s voice echoed in his mind: “It is an honor to serve.”
He knew what he had to do.
There was no more time for hesitation. No more waiting.
If he didn’t escape Phoenix Station soon, he’d end up just like Keene.
A weapon.
A ghost.
Nothing