Last Hope’s medical unit was perhaps the only place on the station that appeared clean and up-to-date. It was all thanks to the efforts of its caretaker – Dr Hiroshi Saiko. He made it his mission to keep medical as sterile as his character. Yet, Zoë was happy to be dragged through the UV disinfection curtain separating the waiting and examination areas. The members of Team 9 hadn’t been gentle while carrying her, and she was sure they had done more damage to her broken left wrist than the fall through the derelict vent. She knew she recognised their faces but kept losing consciousness, waking up only when a fresh jolt of pain rocked her body. A far too often occurrence for her liking. Combined with the neurotoxin coursing through her, her entire existence in the last hour had become a torture born in the twisted mind of a hardened and paranoid Commodore.
Zoë had to focus and think of a way to get the security codes from Felix. That was wrong, she corrected herself. The comms operator was back at HQ. But her thoughts were in a sorry state. She didn’t need the constantly flashing warning at the corner of her eye to know she was feverish and dehydrated. On top of that, most, if not all, of her implants were going haywire or outright shutting down.
The two men holding her dumped her on the nearest examination chair with a little too much glee for their rough treatment to be an accident. Zoë might have protested if she wasn’t having trouble breathing and if her heart could stop trying to implode inside her chest. Instead, it was a third man who came to her rescue. He was as thuggish-looking as the others, but his face was decorated with numerous scars as if someone had sprayed it with acid. It took her a moment to realise this was Kodiak. He was one of her fellow guards who openly despised her but kept his distance after she broke his jaw in the fighting cage during one of their last training sessions. Not one of her proudest moments, but at least it had put an end to the physical harassment from the others.
“For fuck’s sake! Be more careful, you dolts! What if she dies? The Chief’s going to skin us!” That explained Kodiak’s intervention.
Not that it made Zoë happy, but it was better than nothing. Whatever snarky comments the pair wished to make were stalled by the hiss of the door and the entrance of Doctor Saiko. His red lab coat didn’t shift as he moved, and combined with the advanced medical array cybernetic covering the left side of his head, it made the physician’s appearance quite unnerving.
“What happened to her?” The doctor asked as the dispenser beside the door covered his hands with a thin layer of self-hardening antiseptic gel.
“She done and broke her arm, doc,” Zheng, she finally recalled the name of the guard to her right, shrugged.
Nonchalantly he shuffled through his pockets to find a lighter for the iot cigarette stuck at the corner of his mouth. The light narcotic was one of the favourites among her colleagues on the station, and although regulations didn’t forbid its use, they did not endorse it either.
“Chief wants her patched up,” Zheng added with a grimace, saying he didn’t really care about anything.
“Second Officer Kurtz, can you hear me? You are sweating profusely, and my readings inform me that your internal temperature is 42.06°C.” Saiko spoke in his usual emotionless voice as he removed the cigarette from Zheng’s mouth, crushing it in his palm before returning it to its owner.
“Second Officer Kurtz?” Hiroshi flashed a series of lights from the projectors that had replaced his eye as he plugged her into the examination chair.
“Stop that…” She shook her head, trying to avoid the blinding light.
Zoë knew her condition was worsening and that she had control only over her inner thoughts. She needed help. With a significant effort, she tapped her chest and managed to voice a coherent sentence.
“Arc-emitter… Implants malfunction. Heart went out. Neuro….” Zoë stopped herself in time, remembering Helix’s warning. Still, she hoped she had said enough so that the doc would understand her.
“What is she talking about?” Saiko turned to the guards lazing behind him.
“No idea, doc. We were mobilised because of the lockdown, and she is from the regular shift. Details are sketchy.” Kodiak shrugged.
“You morons!” Felix boomed from the open door, making Zoë wonder if the entire was going to enter the room before the Doctor could finish his examination. “Didn’t you read the brief I sent you?”
The man was huge. His obsession with physical training and muscle growth substance abuse had made him into a two-hundred-kilogram, two-hundred and twenty-five-centimetres tall monster of a man. It also meant he was unable to fit in any uniform, and no one was willing to pay for a custom-fit one for a lowly communication tech, which was why he was always in civilian clothes. In this case, a bulky black training suit.
“How did you get in?!” Kodiak exclaimed. “I told Roni and Bao-Li they weren’t supposed to let anyone in! Jan, get out there, and this time, no one else gets in!” The last of the guards nodded and squeezed past Felix’s large frame.
“Why don’t you go back to HQ, King? Tinker with the servers or something.” Zheng grabbed the coms operator by his massive forearm.
“Remove your hand, or I’ll keep it as a souvenir.”
As a rule, the security staff avoided angering him. Felix’s face was scarlet now, and the veins on his shaven head looked ready to pop.
“Officer Kurtz got hit by an arc-emitter mine. She was MIA for four hours; that’s all I can tell you, doc,” Felix’s weathering gaze was locked on the two remaining men who had backed away, keeping any objections to themselves.
“I see. She was involved in the same accident that cost Sergeant Lemetal’s hand and was the reason for the death of guard Hunter,” Hiroshi gave Felix a quizzical look.
“That’s right, doc, an accident.” King focused on Kodiak and Zheng. “Do you two understand that? This shouldn’t be too straining for your shared brain cell to comprehend. It was an accident.”
“Riiight…” Zoë wanted to join the conversation and found it challenging because her mouth had forgotten how to form words. The fact that she had any awareness of what was going on was a miracle in itself.
“Don’t worry, Zoë. I got your back,” Felix gave her a warm smile and gently placed his large hand on her right ankle so he wouldn’t get in the doctor’s way. Although she had her suspicions about why the big man was constantly finding excuses to hover near her, she was glad to have him by her side.
“Second Officer Kurtz, I am going to administer a mild sedative. It should help with the pain and ease the spasm of your cardiac muscle.” Saiko turned to her and spoke slowly.
“No!” She grabbed his wrist and looked him in the eye, diode, or whatever was there. Zoë couldn’t distinguish the overlapping images distorting her vision. “No… drugs… Fix me…”
“I need to move her into surgery.”
“I’m sorry, doc. You can’t. Chief’s orders,” Kodiak loomed over Dr Saiko, his hand resting on the pistol at his hip while he looked meaningfully at Felix.
“Second Officer Kurtz has a completely non-functional adrenal gland implant. I detect high-toxin buildup in her blood, which indicates her Matellii enzyme implant has collapsed, taking her liver with it,” he placed his hand on her chest. “Her right ventricle is collapsed, and the left one will be gone soon.”
The doctor looked at Kodiak. “The third ventricle is the only thing preventing complete cardiac arrest. She needs to undergo an emergency heart replacement procedure. The only issues with her health I can address here are the dislocations in her right elbow and shoulder. The superficial cut at the back of her head and dealing with her cerebral implant’s error loop caused by the concussion she has suffered.”
“There are also damaged pins in Second Officer Kurtz’s HLC port,” Hiroshi continued as he disconnected from the examination chair. “Although a minor issue, considering her current overall state, they could short out and permanently damage her cerebral implant the next time she is hard-linked.”
“Again, doc. Can’t move her.” The idiot of a man stood immobile like a rock.
“Very well. However, I will be logging this in my report and your record. A formal complaint will be sent to the Chief of Security, First Officer Donovan Rex.”
“You got to do what you got to do, doc. And I got to do what I got to do,” Kodiak backed a step and removed his hand from the pistol.
“Second Officer Kurtz, this is going to hurt. I really advise the use of a sedative,” Hiroshi looked her in the eyes with what passed as a pleading expression.
“No… more… drugs…” Zoë managed.
Without saying anything more, Doctor Saiko pulled a long transparent hard-connection cable from the tools compartment at the side of the bed-like chair. Expertly he attached a thin splitter to it and jammed the entire thing deep in the port behind her ear. A single input was all it took for a bright blue liquid to flow through it and into her head before returning as dark purple back to the examination chair.
Zoë screamed. Everything else she had felt so far was nothing compared to this pain. The feeling was so intense it prevented her nervous system from shutting down. Several agonising minutes later and she could think again. The burning fever was gone.
“That’s a neat trick,” Zheng whistled and leaned in to get a better look. “Any chance I can get a prescription for that stuff for my day off?”
“It is something I learned while I served with the 21st Jäggers. Their cerebral implants were prone to overheating, and this was the fastest way to cool them out in the field.” The doc’s eyes never left Zoë’s face as he spoke. “Guard Zheng, I advise against its use to minimise the effects of over-use of recreational drugs. Enriched gallium coolant can and will damage your grey matter and cerebral implants under a body temperature of 40.63°C.”
“You could’ve just said no,” the doctor ignored Zheng’s remark.
“Damn, doc. Never knew you were an orbital drop trooper.” Kodiak whistled next to him.
“Used to. Not anymore.” There was regret and bitterness in Hiroshi’s voice. “Second officer Kurtz, your body temperature has dropped to 37.79°C. I am going to inject you with refined adrenaline now to attempt to restart your heart. Please understand that those are all temporary measures. You will need to undergo surgery to have your replacement heart and liver transplanted to make a full recovery.”
A large needle was jammed in Zoë’s chest before she could protest. Her heart spasmed and sent a new wave of pain through her. After what felt like ages, she felt her heart rate normalise and her breathing become softer. Zoë had to give credit to the doc. He certainly knew his craft. As expected from a former special-ops medic. Now that she knew he used to be a Jägger, she understood Hiroshi’s odd behaviour a little better. How and why Doctor Saiko had found himself on Last Hope was a mystery she didn’t feel like solving without his permission, but the girl vowed to get him a proper drink once all of this was over.
“Thank you, Hiroshi.” She managed to utter in between long breaths.
“Alas, I have done nothing but temporarily stabilise your condition, Second Officer Kurtz. The chances of you going into another cardiac arrest within the next thirty-six hours are not in your favour. I will need to fix your right arm now.” He grabbed the broken limb and explored it with his hands.
“The shoulder and elbow dislocations are simple with no to minimal tissue damage, easy to fix. Mild sprain at the wrist joint. Hairline fractures at the first, second and fifth digits,” he looked at Kodiak. “I will require a cast from the medical storage. The drone there will prepare it, but one of your men will have to bring it over.”
“Can’t one of the nurses do it?” Kodiak groaned.
“Both of them are currently performing mandatory procedures on Sergeant Lemetal. They cannot be interrupted.”
“Fine. I get.” The guard’s shoulders dropped in defeat. “Bao-Li will be there shortly.”
Saiko stood up and motioned for Felix to come to him.
“Technician first class King, please assist me.” The large man obeyed and walked behind her. “Please keep Second Officer Kurtz immobile while I reset the joints.”
Two massive hands took hold of her shoulder, and Zoë shivered. She completely missed the pain from having her shoulder pop back into place. If she was honest, after all the doctor had done so far, this was almost pleasant.
“Doc, don’t get this wrong, but just shoot me next time.” She gave Hiroshi a faint smile and chuckled.
“Trust me, Second Officer Kurtz, these are not the conditions I would like to work on you under,” Saiko returned the smile, though it looked odd and mechanical.
“I can hear you are coherent again, Miss Kurtz,” Helix’s voice in Zoë’s ear startled her.
“Yeah…” She masked the reply the best she could.
“What is your status?” Her unseen captor asked over the feed, reminding her that her life was still in danger.
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“Guys, do you mind giving me some space? I mean, three people around me is a bit too much. It’s not like I’m going to harm the good doctor,” Zoë wanted it to sound as strange as possible, to warn them that she was not herself.
However, neither Kodiak nor Zheng were smart enough to understand the hint. As for Felix, the man was too busy marvelling at the sight of her cleavage from under her damaged armour. Only Hiroshi raised an inquisitive eyebrow for what good that did.
“That’s good to hear. And Zoë, thanks to some good fortune, you will be getting your reward sooner than expected.” The feed went silent, but she had no illusion that the bastard was still listening from his side.
The girl was faced with a dilemma. On one side, she really wanted the antidote, but it meant she would have to betray her comrades. On the other one, she really wanted to stick it all those idiots for the way they treated her. Zoë had made every attempt to fit into the unit, but she had been an outcast. Only the Chief offered her some semblance of professional courtesy. However, Rex treated her as if she was on the same intellectual level as Kodiak and his shadow Zheng.
To make things even more complicated, Helix had admitted he was from the Holy Terran Empire, whatever that was supposed to mean, and that he had been in cryo-sleep for who knew how long. Bloody cryo-sleep. That was Lost Technology. Dr Werner or any other of the eggheads would kill to learn more about that. Damn, there was a hefty bounty for any viable snippet regarding cryogenics. Zoë could just betray these bastards, get the antidote, get some info on some Lost Tech, and steal a shuttle to the no-void transition point. She could book a place at a first-class liner heading somewhere far away from Lost Hope with the money she could pocket for the cryo-tech. Hell, even the Khanate or the war-torn Luther system sounded safer than being on this station.
She didn’t owe the UR anything anymore. The brass at the Academy had shot down her career before it had even begun with this dead-end posting. And for what? Just to punish her for the crimes of her great-grandparents. How was she responsible for them being imperial army staff? She hadn’t even known this until she was dragged in front of an Inquiry Committee. Zoë barely knew her father, and that man had been with her only for the first thirteen years of her life. For all she knew, she didn’t have any relatives to speak of. It wasn’t fair.
No. Zoë tried to get her emotions in check. She wasn’t a traitor, at least not yet. The only way she could prove everyone wrong was to play by the rules and come on top, even if the rules were working against her. There had to be a way out. Something that she was missing. If she could only get some more time to think clearly about it, Zoë knew that she would think of something.
A sudden thumping sound against the automatic door caught her attention, as well as that of everyone else present in the examination room. Before anyone had time to process what they had heard, there was a second lauder thump followed by a small dent actually appearing on the thin steel door. Zoë wanted to warn them because she knew what was coming. However, she couldn’t say a word, not without sacrificing her own life in the process. In an instant, Zoë came to a singular conclusion, one that should have been obvious – she wasn’t ready to die.
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“We’ll be making a small detour, Dr Werner?” Lucas stopped the ebony-skinned woman, fidgeting in front of him.
He had been monitoring the feed for quite some time and was a little surprised that the local force had spread out in its entirety. Apart from a few guards at their command centre, there was hardly anyone else in this part of the station, to the point where he could move freely through the corridors. But what truly disturbed him was the absence of monitoring sensors. Lucas recognised the area they were walking through as the one containing the private lab offices for the ordained scientists and junior priests. He knew for a fact that there should be clusters of sensors at every junction. Instead, someone had gone to great lengths to remove them and redesign the sub-section. There were walls where there shouldn’t be any, entryways were cut into containment walls, and the list went on.
“Where to?” Dr Werner asked in a hushed voice that carried her irritation.
Her breathing was heavy, and her face was flushed. Small beads of sweat covered her forehead. And Lucas could see her hands were shaking while the scientist looked at him with unhidden desire. Lucas was afraid he might have used a bit too much of the neuro-relaxant. The drug had been made with the intention to act as an inhibitor for the combat readiness of Gen 3 and Gen 4 personnel during prolonged real-space travel. Only by accident had he found out that it could put an unenhanced human in a subservient state; however, there were some unexpected side effects. The main one was that it worked as a strong aphrodisiac in females and placed males in an almost vegetative state. The other major side effect, and the one Lucas was most worried about, was that a wrong dose could lead to complete organ failure in the subject.
In the case of the security girl, he had used half a vial because her system could take the punishment and because he had to simulate a massive heart attack followed by heart failure. But Doctor Werner here was a civilian. Getting the dosage right was tricky, and the sweating and breathing could be signs that he had messed up. On the other hand, they could be just signs that she was in a state of arousal and there was nothing to worry about. Lucas had no other option but to wait for a seizure; only then would he know for sure.
“Examination rooms,” Helix gently nudged her with the tip of his pistol, keeping her an arm’s length away. “Lead the way, Doctor.”
“You could just call me Virginia; no need to be so formal,” the woman smiled at him, a gesture that was a mix of playfulness and disgust. She was fighting the effects of the drug and trying to get on his good side at the same time.
“Doctor Werner, you made it quite clear you cannot do informal,” Lucas pressed the gun into the side of her abdomen. “I would rather not shoot you right now. So, if you would be so kind, move.”
Helix did his best to ignore the utter disrepair around him as the woman silently led him through empty corridors. If the faithful of the Empire ever allowed such negligence, he would be in his right to execute each and every one of them. But that was of little importance right now. He could hear the distinct voices of at least three people from the junction they were heading at. Once they reached their destination, he ordered Virginia to wait and disabled his external speakers. Unwilling to take any chances, Lucas wrapped his left hand around the scientist’s mouth and pushed her against the wall.
Satisfied she didn’t resist, he focused on the voices of his potential foes. The contents of their conversation were of no interest to the medic. Instead, he began to calculate the distance and relative position of each person. For anyone else, this would be a difficult task; however, the Tech-cardinals at Osiris had done a fantastic job optimising his cortex implant’s functions. Combined with the AI integrated into his combat suit, Lucas had a general idea of what awaited him around the corner. There was one small problem; he had to think of a way to dispose of the three sentries quietly.
No more than five meters from the corner, keeping close with roughly a meter between them. Inattentive, relaxed and indulging themselves in the use of inhalable recreational drugs. General neuro-relaxant with slight sedative or pain relief side effects, if he had to guess, based on the incomplete readings he was getting. Lucas didn’t think it possible, but his opinion of the local guards was somehow getting lower. The only thing he could think of that would justify this level of professionalism was that they were a hastily assembled civilian militia.
Thankfully a solution to the issue at hand manifested itself when one of the sentries was given the order to go to the nearby medical storage. A hint of worry appeared at the back of his thoughts. It was far too convenient. The feed had been awfully quiet, excluding the occasional chit-chat, and with the odd behaviour of the station’s security, Lucas was beginning to think that they were intentionally luring him into a trap. As unlikely as it was that someone had discovered the cortex bore he had on Officer Kurtz, it was a possibility he had to consider.
It was too late for second thoughts. His body tightened like a coiled spring, ready to explode. There was an uncomfortable stiffness in his shoulders and neck. However, it was yet to reach a level which would impact Lucas’s performance, an unfortunate side-effect of prolonged cryo-sleep. Time slowed as copious amounts of neuro-stimulants, refined adrenaline, and a potent cocktail of combat drugs flooded Helix’s body. Unlike when he woke up in the cryo-pod, he was aware he was entering into a fight with an enemy this time. He might be a medic, but he was also a Gen 3 Demon. These men stood no chance.
“I’ll be back in a minute. Don’t shoot me by mistake!” The man chuckled as he rounded the corner.
One step, and he was out of his comrades’ sight. A second one and he finally registered that Lucas was standing right in front of him. As the guard’s eyes widened and his mouth began to twist, Helix’s right fist shot out, crushing the poor idiot’s Adam’s apple inside his throat. Before the smouldering drug stick in his mouth could reach the ground, he grabbed the man by the chest plate and pulled him to his knees. Quickly changing his grip, Lucas took hold of the guard’s head and rammed his knee into his face for good measure. The Demon felt bones break and knew no alarm would be issued. His enemy’s cerebral implant would be stuck in a reboot loop during the last minute of his life.
Lucas turned to look at Dr Werner, still trapped in the grip of his left hand. A part of him enjoyed the terror written on her face. After all, this was why he existed, to bring fear into the hearts of those who dared oppose the Blessed Saint of the Garden of Hell before destroying them. But killing civilians, unavoidable though it might be at times, wasn’t something he relished. Taking out his combat knife, Lucas helped the ebony-skinned woman to the ground, where she stood in shock. Virginia trembled uncontrollably, arms wrapped around her body, eyes locked on the suffocating body next to her.
“I can hear you are coherent again, Miss Kurtz,” he spoke softly.
The medic monitored the background sound of Zoë’s feed carefully. A few moments later, he heard the girl give a terse response. That was all he needed to hear. The man Saiko was a competent physician if he had countered the adverse effects of the drug overdose. And to do it without knowing what he was dealing with, Lucas felt respect for the man and a little professional jealousy. If his insane plan came to fruition, there would be plenty of time to get to know the physician better.
“What is your status?” He listened closely to Zoë’s responses over the feed.
“Guys, do you mind giving me some space? I mean, three people around me is a bit too much. It’s not like I’m going to harm the good doctor,” she might not be officer material or Command, but she was smart where it counted.
Thanks to her well-placed line, Helix knew that there were three armed guards and the doctor. There could have been more men inside, but he doubted they would be armed with anything that could pose a danger. The girl had earned herself a reward for her hard work. He would give her the counter agent he had developed for the neuro-relaxant. It had enough enhanced cells in it to fix her collapsed heart.
“That’s good to hear. And Zoë, thanks to some good fortune, you will be getting your reward sooner than expected.” Lucas closed the feed.
He would have preferred to use his Mark 7 rifle, or his side-arm for that matter, but that would not be possible. There was a good chance that the slugs would penetrate the new interior walls, killing either Officer Kurtz or the physician. That was something the Demon actively wanted to avoid since he had plans for those two. And using the weapons of the local guards was out of the question because they would be hard-locked to a single user. Regardless of how poorly the Security personnel might be, this was a standard practice predating the Holy Empire. In that case, Lucas would have to improvise.
“Ladies first.” The medic grabbed the doctor by the edge of her green coat and pushed her past the corner, in full view of the guards waiting there.
“Doctor Werner! What the hell are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in your quarters while the Lockdown’s in place.” One of the men spoke in a mix of confusion and restrained frustration.
“Hey, you okay? You don’t look so good.” The last of the guards joined in.
Lucas smiled inside his helmet. He could picture their bewilderment as they approached the unresponsive Virginia. A second later, Helix exploded into motion once more. Rounding the corner, it took him a heartbeat to take in the position of his enemies. Adjusting the grip on his combat knife, Lucas barrelled into the closest guard, thrusting the blade through the man’s neck, lodging it into the spinal cord. Using the dead man as a pivot, the combat medic lunged at the last remaining sentry. Grabbing the man by the chest plate, he rammed him against the auto door leading to the examination room. The Predator suit increased the force of Lucas’ next strike as he pulled back his arm before burying it directly into the guard’s face. Brain matter and blood decorated the thin door panel as the back of the guard’s head split open like a ripe melon.
< WARNING: MULTI-IMPLANT MALFUNCTION >
A sharp pain pierced Lucas’ insides as soon as the text flashed inside his helmet. He should have known better than to push himself so soon after exiting the pod. The safety protocols existed for a reason, and not even the Demons were immune to the adverse effects of prolonged cryo-sleep. Just a few more moments, that’s all he needed. Hopefully, the leftover bio-chems flooding his body would be enough. Lucas knew it was asking too much; his body would burn through them in a handful of seconds. Reluctantly, he cycled down his implants. To do otherwise was risking permanent damage, and he couldn’t afford that.
He marched back to the nearly catatonic Dr Werner and pushed her in front of him, holding her by the back of the neck. Less than gentle, he positioned Virginia’s hand on the lock, allowing the scanner to confirm that she had access to the area. The sensor plate flashed green, and the door opened with a hiss. Lucas could see the two guards freeze, their weapons aimed at the scientist. Their heads turned slowly to look at him as they struggled to comprehend that a man in full combat gear and nearly a head taller was standing behind her. The hulking monster of a man that had his hands placed firmly on Zoë’s shoulders was a lot quicker in his reaction. His eyes opened wide, and his hand darted for a weapon at his hip that wasn’t there. Lucas noted that the man was quicker than the others but not any wiser. No one would allow a civilian to wander around a medical unit with a gun.
Dr Saiko had to be the man who was kneeling in front of Zoë if the red lab coat was any indication. From his position, there was no way for him to guess what was about to happen. Lucas scanned the room, glad that there were no more threats. This would be over quickly. His right arm extended, and Lucas squeezed the trigger while he watched the faces of the guards shift from confusion to horror. The heavy Gauss pistol in his hand unleashed its deadly payload of the tungsten projectile with a sonic boom.
The first slug caught the closest guard in the left knee, obliterating the joint and severing the leg. Lucas shifted his aim and pulled the trigger again. The second round destroyed the right guard’s chest armour and turned his lungs into a perforated paste. Chunks of the man’s flesh splattered the floor and wall behind him. The man collapsed like a rag-doll. By the time the physician Saiko turned, Lucas fired a third time aiming for the guard missing a leg, erasing the poor fool’s head from existence, and had his pistol trained on the large man behind Zoë. His message was understood. No one in the room moved. Quickly Helix pulled out the auto-syringe.
“Doctor Werner. Please take this,” the Demon gave the tool to the shaking woman in front of him, placing it in her trembling arm, “and give it to the honoured physician.”
Slowly, Virginia crossed the short distance to the examination before passing the item to Dr Saiko. All the while, her mouth repeated the same word over and over again – Sorry. There were tears in her eyes that rolled down her cheeks, and her face was frozen in a mask of utter despair.
“Now, please inject Miss Kurtz in the neck. Aim for the carotid behind the left internal jugular vein,” Lucas gave his instruction. “She has earned her reward.”
“Second Officer Kurtz has suffered several life-threatening conditions. Administrating unknown drugs will exponentially increase the chances of a fatal cardiac arrest.”
“Incorrect. The… What was the word?” Lucas paused. The mnemonic language training had a few issues, and some specialised terms were difficult to translate. “The kunmetaĵo I gave her mimics Matellii enzymes. Honoured physician Saiko, this will take too long to explain. I suggest you do as instructed for your sake and the sake of your patients.”
The heavily augmented man hesitated for about a second before he jammed the injector into Zoë’s neck with a steady hand. It was more because of the gun aimed at him than Helix’s argument.
“Good. I would like that back now,” Lucas commanded.
“Virginia, why?” The doctor asked with a mix of anger and disbelief in his voice, returning the item to her.
“I’m so sorry,” Dr Werner said, trying to keep herself from sobbing. “I don’t have a choice.”
“Don’t worry. You will get your reward once we are done here,” He gave Virginia a gentle pat on the cheek after taking the auto-syringe from her. Leisurely he shifted his aim to the head of the large man, his finger gently pressing on the trigger of the pistol.
“No!” Zoë’s scream stopped him from firing before she continued. “Felix is just a tech! He’s been kind to me!”
“Miss Kurtz, this isn’t a negotiation,” he paused momentarily. “However, you’ve been quite helpful.” Lucas lowered the pistol but kept it ready as he addressed the large man. “Felix, right?” He asked in a neutral voice.
“Yes… That’s right… mean correct… sir.” Seeing such a monster of a man stutter due to fear was enough for Lucas to shake his head. It took him a moment longer to recognise the man’s voice as the one belonging to Control he had heard over the feed.
“Well, Felix, I am trying to make some new friends. What do you think? Can the two of us get along?”
“Yeh… Sure… I have nothing against you, man.” The man moved his hands away from his body so that Lucas could see them. “I just… want to tinker… nothing more.”
“That’s nice. Tell me, big guy, do you happen to have the security codes for the mainframe?”
“That… That I do… ah… sir.”
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