Orion woke with the taste of iron in his mouth and the thrum of pain in his chest.
For a heartbeat he thought the connection had disintegrated him.
Panic jolted him upright. He clawed at his chest, half-expecting to rip it free, but the surface of his skin was unbroken.
And then the HUD flickered into existence before his eyes. A ghostly frame of symbols, numbers, and shifting glyphs hovered in his vision.
He blinked, and the data reoriented, as if the system was calibrating directly to his thoughts at first it seemed the writing were in another language but by the time he focused, he could read the words.
***
{
Name: Orion
Vitals:
Health: 67%
Stamina: 89%
X-Core Reactor: 79% (3 MW)
Recharge Rate: Passive 15 kW/min (≈0.5% per min equivalent)
External Recharge: Available
******** (Processing Function…)
Environmental Filter: 65% efficiency
Overdrive Availability: Locked (Reactor >70%)
Physical Enhancements (Passive):
Strength: +200%
Reflexes: +250%
Durability: +200%
Regeneration: +200%
HUD Neural Link: Active
}
***
Orion's breath caught. He hadn't activated anything. It was automatic… no more like subconscious.
Ignoring the ramification of what just happened he tried to test what he could do.
'Active functions?'
***
{ACTIVE FUNCTIONS LOADING…}
{Battle Mode:
Adaptive Combat-Armour: Online (50–200 kW)
Weapon Morphing: Online (30–150 kW)
Mobility Boost: Online (30–90 kW / burst)
Life Support (Vacuum): Online (30–60 kW / 10 min)
Tactical Functions:
OmniScan DB: Online (1–5% core/hr)
Tech Interface (Remote): Online (90–300 kW / session)
Direct Connection (Hardlink Jack): Online (200 kW / hr)
}
***
A wide smile appeared on his face as he immediately began examining the functions.
'First, the Bio-Armour.'
Immediately he willed it… tiny cells bleed out of his skin pores, covering him almost in an instant.
Orion stared at his hands in the cold sheen of the armour as it sealed around him.
Orion looked at his hands and realized that the armour was silver.
The texture didn't look smooth as it seemed to be shifting lattice of microscopic filaments that tightened and relaxed with every breath he took.
Under the dim light, the surface mirrored everything… the faint glow from his chest, the curve of the horizon beyond.
Lines of pale luminescence pulsed beneath the plating, tracing the flow of energy through the suit's living circuits.
Each pulse synced perfectly with his heartbeats.
'Heartbeats?... Ah i see that power core is now like my second heart... That explains the tightness I felt in my chest when I first woke up.'
He knew he would eventually have to study further on his second heart but realistically there was barely anything he could do till he full understood the changes so he focused on that.
'Let see.' Orion thought before he moved.
When he moved he felt no weight or drag.
It felt like the armour anticipated his move… adjusting density at his joints, thickening along the chest, hardening where it sensed possible impact.
That confirmed what he suspected… the armour was like a muscle or rather it was a muscle that reacted like any other muscle in his body.
'Next weapons.'
{NO RELEVANT INFORMATION IN DATABASE…NO WEAPON BLUPRINT…}
'What?' Orion frowned… 'What is in the database?'
He closed his eyes and searched and soon realized that the only things available in the database was information from his own memories and the word 'Kord'.
So he decided to focus on other things and come back to it later... focusing on a command, a thought, an urge.
Using the limited knowledge from his experience the HUD responded, projecting lines of data across the ruined street: air composition, ground density, incomplete information of fragments of broken alloys scattered around him.
Useful, yes... but limited. Crude, even.
The more he pushed, the more he realized the truth.
The X-Core wasn't finished. It was blank... Empty database, no weapon systems, not even a power core.
Just the basic stuff but honestly that was more than he could ask for.
Looking around he though, 'I guess it is time to leave this place.'
As he grabbed his back back and tried to make his way put he soon realized everything looked different.
It was like he was looking at everything from a higher viewpoint.
'Did I grow taller?... Yes I have grown taller! Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!' Orion thought excitedly.
Although he was happy he did not dare scream out loud especially not in this ruins and little did he know that was not all of his physical changes.
Orion staggered through the silent ruins, testing the readouts, trying to stretch its functions.
But the one question that gnawed at him was, 'who built this?' And 'why had they failed? Or rather abandoned it.'
The ruin around him was scarred with violence.
Blasted walls.
Shattered spires.
Craters where something massive had struck. It reeked of battle, yet unlike before there were no corpses.
Just broken equipments.
"Someone fought here," he whispered, scanning again, "but where did they go?"
The HUD gave him no answer. Only blank readouts.
Overhead, the battle still raged, a reminder that the war between Helix Corp and the swarm still raged on.