[Location: Federation Flagship - "The Hammer"] [Time: 24 Hours Later.]
I woke up screaming.
Someone was digging into my shoulder.
"Hold him down," a cold voice said. "The tissue has fused with the weapon. We have to cut it out."
I was strapped to a metal table. The lights were blindingly bright.
I couldn't move. My Ouroboros arm was deactivated, locked in a magnetic clamp.
A man was standing over me. He was wearing a pristine white lab coat that was too clean. He had thin, wire-rimmed glasses and a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Dr. Aris. The Head of Federation Science.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Specialist Caelum," Aris said, wiping blood from a scalpel. "You have a remarkable physiology. Most men would have died from this wound hours ago."
"Where is she?" I rasped, my throat feeling like sandpaper. "Where is Lyra?"
"Subject 7?" Aris checked his datapad. "She is in Quarantine. Fascinating specimen. The enemy modifications to her neural cortex are... exquisite. We have much to learn from her."
"If you touch her," I snarled, straining against the straps, "I will kill you."
Aris chuckled. "Such aggression. You should be thanking me. I just saved your life."
He pressed a button. The table tilted up.
Standing in the corner of the room was a giant of a man. He wore a General's uniform covered in medals. He had a scar running down his face and a cigar clamped in his teeth.
General Ironwood.
"Enough, Aris," Ironwood grunted. His voice sounded like gravel in a blender. He walked over to me.
"You went AWOL, Specialist. You stole a rover. You kidnapped a High Marshall. And you compromised a classified mission."
He blew smoke in my face.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't space you right now."
"Because I brought you the key to winning the war," I stared him down. "The girl. She knows the enemy's codes. She knows their network."
Ironwood narrowed his eyes. "And Marshall Vesper? Where is she?"
"She's in the brig," Aris answered. "Awaiting court-martial for aiding a deserter."
Ironwood looked at me with something that wasn't quite hate. Maybe respect. Or maybe just calculation.
"You're a loose cannon, son. But you get results. We're keeping you in the brig until we decide what to do with you."
"Let me see Lyra," I demanded.
"No," Aris smiled. "She is Federation property now. And so are you."