I go through the gate of the holding bay, which is quite badly damaged, with the metal from the walls all scorched and charred. I do a quick check and i see the layout of the bay is another freaking mass of corridors, with several rooms with thick titanium doors and retinal scanners for maximum security; also, it was completely dark in there, probably the work of the Mindscrew cunt, so visibility was somewhat limited.

I started walking inside in what I knew was a trap, but given that we had no alternative choice if we wanted to complete the mission, I just had to. My team followed me inside, but stayed in the entrance while setting up barriers to hold the entrance, as luckily it seemed that there was no other entrance here, and even if we end up not being able to get out the way we came in, no one could get in as well; besides, we had our own ways to get out.

I glanced back and saw Santángel and Dzhabrailov look at me and nod, and I nodded back at them as I turned back and walked inside the dark corridors.

Only obstacle right now was hiding in this place. Thankfully, my Tracer included a night vision option, so it wasn’t a complete darkness, just an annoyance.

I walked slowly, taking in every detail I detected before advancing to avoid any kind of booby trap. The sound of gunshots came from behind me, and that covered most of the sounds that could come from someone walking, so I had to rely on sight for now. Sight, and Metaphysical sense, as i didn’t turn it off since before. The threads that came out of that guy were his skill, something I hadn't noticed before, probably because he was the first technomancer i had met. Taking him captive to learn about his skills was a logical thing to do, but if I wasn't already barely holding my anger right now to be a decent commander and take care of my people, I would have already rushed to rip and tear every single pirate in this ship, let alone such a threat to everyone.

[Mental intrusion detected, deploying interference protocol, preparing countermeasures]

“Oh, you have a fancy AI too! What a wonder” Echoed the voice of the Mindscrew. Based on the words of Hallie, he just attempted to do something to my mind, but she blocked it. I’m not sure of the details but it doesn’t seem like a normal thing to do for an AI.

That, along with my memory loss, is making me extremely conscious of all the things I don't know from this body. I should just…

Somehow, I manage to calm myself from those thoughts, and focus on the danger of the present situation.

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I concentrate on my surroundings, and while the night vision doesn’t show anything, there’s a thin but glowing pinkish thread coming out from my head, but it’s slowly retracting. Guess I have a breadcrumb trail to follow.

I walk faster to follow the thread while keeping my gun ready to engage, and not long after I see it disappearing after crossing a corner. I aim my rifle to the front to shoot blindly, but before i manage to press the trigger, i feel a searing sensation on my left arm, which instinctively makes me drop then handle of the rifle, but perhaps due to my lack of flesh in the right arm, i don’t feel anything there, so i still hold on to its barrel. I see a pink blur just in front of me, and I hold the rifle as a club in a reverse grip and swing at the middle of the blur.

A thud sounds as I hit a barrier, and I know it's that fucker using some kind of invisibility, as the blur slowly starts taking a humanoid form. I don’t stop there, and swing a couple more times my rifle at the shield but with the same result. When I try to get a hold of the handle again, I see what should be his hand reaching out, attempting to prevent me from getting a good hold on my gun. When he’s about to grab me, i cock my head back, and then slam it full force against the shield protecting him, making an even greater thud echo in the corridor. He’s not hit but he steps back to avoid it, giving me time to finally get my finger on the trigger and I push it without any regards.

A hail of plasma bolts rushes to meet the shield, and as I see how it gradually starts to get dim. While I shoot, some drops of blood start dripping in my left eye, making me blink for a second, but then my gun suddenly jams, the barrel red from overheating. I know this wasn’t enough to get it like that, so he might have done something to it.

The moment I close my left eye, a sharp blade made of energy rushes from behind the shield, attempting to skewer my chest. I jump backwards, but the blade swipes diagonally, doing an impossible curve while doing so, and manages to slash my rifle in half, and with that also cuts my left hand in half, leaving me with only a thumb.

“Fuck!” I scream in pain. I’ve been maimed several times since I woke up in this era, but this energy blade was several times much more painful than anything else. What the fuck was that?

As i get back more steps, the shield which is almost totally translucent by now disappears, and what was only pink mist is now again in the form of that young asswhole from before. He’s not as calm as he was before, as i can see him panting with exhaustion, with several beads of sweat on his forehead, making his long, wavy dark hair stick to his pallid skin.

“That was close you bitch! A bit more and… “ He doesn’t finish the sentence, looking scared of what might have been his demise. He looks at me again, with scorn in his eyes, as if I just smeared his favorite suit with cow shit.

[Mental intrusion detected, deploying interference protocol… countermeasures activated]

“Ouch! Fuck! Goddamn! Why are you fucking immune to psychic skills? What the hell?!” He cursed as he grabbed his head as if he was having a severe headache.

I don’t know what you did Hallie, but continue doing it.

I glare at him, as I deploy the wrist blade and point it at him. My other hand is starting to heal, the blood around the stump already clotted, but for now is useless.

“Fine” He says as he looks at me and raises his right hand with the fingers all stuck together, as if forming a blade. And then a blinding light covers his hand, forming an actual blade of light, the same one from before “I’ll screw your fucking brains the hard way”