Cold.

  The unsettling sensation of her stomach freezing over was the first thing Thea felt as she was pulled from the depths of sleep. Her brain, fogged with exhaustion, struggled to make sense of the sensation.

  “What…?” she mumbled, her voice groggy and low, words slurring together as she blinked to try and get a bead on what was going on around her. Her sluggish mind barely registered the situation before she was abruptly gagging on a familiar bushel of curly, brown hair that had found its way into her mouth.

  She sputtered, coughing as she shoved the hair away.

  It didn’t take long for her to piece together what was happening: Karania’s cybernetic arm was resting heavily on her stomach, the unyielding cold of the metal having leeched every ounce of warmth from Thea’s midsection during the night.

  “Fucking… Kara! Dammit, get OFF!” Thea growled, her frustration bubbling over as she gathered the strength to hoist her friend. With a grunt of effort, she threw Karania’s limp, sprawled form off of her and across the bed, watching with mischievous joy as Karania startled panicking mid-air.

  The sudden motion jostled Karania awake, and she let out a startled yelp as she bounced off of the bed before bolting upright with wide, bleary eyes. “Wha—?!” she exclaimed, blinking rapidly as her disoriented mind tried to catch up with reality.

  Thea sat up, clutching her stomach with one hand and pointing accusingly at her friend with the other. “You were freezing me to death with that damned arm again! I’m surprised I didn’t wake up as an ice cube!”

  Karania blinked at her, still half-asleep, her gaze trailing briefly across Thea before snapping to her own arm. She flexed her fingers experimentally, her expression a mix of amusement and guilt, though a faint flush crept across her cheeks.

  “Oops,” she said sheepishly, her smirk betraying the fact that she wasn’t all that sorry. Her eyes flickered briefly back towards Thea, before she intently focused on the blanket instead as she fidgeted slightly with her cybernetic arm.

  Thea groaned, flopping back onto the mattress dramatically. “You’re impossible, Kara. You almost killed me. I could see my breath in my dreams!”

  Karania chuckled, leaning back on her elbows. Her face, however, remained tinged with pink, her gaze resolutely avoiding Thea’s. “Oh, please. As if my measly arm could hold a candle to the ice queen herself. Don’t be so dramatic.”

  “Dramatic? You could keep the Sovereign’s processors cooled to sub-zero temperatures single-armedly with that thing!” Thea shot back, rubbing her hands over her stomach to try to warm up the chilled flesh.

  Her own cybernetic hand wasn’t exactly warm either, but the friction helped bridge the gap.

  Karania grinned lazily and flopped back onto the bed, still avoiding Thea’s gaze like the plague. Her voice carried a teasing edge, but her posture spoke of an underlying awkwardness—guilt, no doubt. “Well, consider it payback for you nearly freezing my hand off during the ceremony—multiple times, I might add.”

  Thea rolled her eyes, dismissing the retort with a wave of her hand, though she caught the quick flicker of guilt that crossed Karania’s face.

  Maybe she really did feel bad about it this time.

  Despite her irritation, Thea couldn’t hold back a faint smile.

  This chaotic, ridiculous banter was shaping up to become their morning routine, and, as much as she wouldn’t admit it, Thea didn’t entirely mind.

  It was... nice, in a strange way. Familiar.

  Almost comforting.

  Just then, Thea remembered that her room was still almost entirely without light—something Karania had pointed out the previous night when they’d decided to crash after the celebratory party with the rest of Alpha Squad.

  The memory made Thea cringe inwardly.

  She had simply walked into her room, casually waved Karania inside, and let the door slide shut behind them.

  Immediately, the space had been plunged into complete and utter darkness, a fact Thea had barely even registered.

  Lights had never been necessary for her after all; she could see perfectly fine without them.

  It wasn’t until Karania stood awkwardly near the doorway, clearly waiting for something, that Thea even suspected there might have been an issue.

  Karania’s confused voice had broken the silence, prompting Thea to realize her friend couldn’t see a damn thing.

  She had felt like a complete idiot—possibly the densest person alive—and had quickly scrambled to fix the situation.

  A hasty command to the Sovereign later, her room was bathed in light.

  For night-time, she had asked the Sovereign to keep a faint, gentle glow active at all times.

  It was just enough light to allow Karania to see and navigate the space, though it was dim enough that it wouldn’t cause her trouble sleeping.

  That had led to the second part of the night: Her asking Karania to stay over, an offer made in a rush of half-formed sentences and awkward gestures.

  Thea had been feeling particularly raw after the ceremony and her bold public challenge earlier that day. Even after the Alpha Squad celebration, where everyone’s support had buoyed her spirits, she’d still felt the tendrils of embarrassment painfully clawing at the edges of her mind.

  She’d needed more Kara-time, a steady presence to help her decompress from the whirlwind of emotions and nerves that had coursed through her like an electric storm.

  Karania, as always, had agreed without hesitation, her usual teasing grin accompanied by a knowing look that told Thea her friend understood exactly why she’d asked. They had settled into bed together—Karania with her cheeky quips about Thea’s nerves and Thea grumbling half-hearted protests before finally letting herself relax in the comfort of her friend’s presence.

  Now, in the dim morning light, Thea glanced around at the faintly glowing walls, her chest tightening with a mix of gratitude and mild embarrassment.

  Of course, Karania hadn’t said a word of complaint about the initial darkness, but Thea still felt bad about it. It was just one more reminder of how much she had yet to learn about being aware of others and accommodating them.

  But she would work hard to make sure she didn’t stay ignorant forever—that much she was certain of. Little things like this were part of learning to be better, and she wasn’t about to shy away from them anymore.

  “Sovereign, can you please turn up the lights a bit?” Thea asked into the room. She trusted the ever-present AI to be monitoring them, as it always was.

  “What?! No! Wait! Sovereign, don’t do that!” Karania’s sudden, half-panicked interjection caught Thea entirely off-guard. The abruptness of her reaction startled her so much that she froze mid-stretch, blinking in confusion.

  Karania had pushed herself up on one elbow again, her face a mixture of alarm and something Thea couldn’t quite place. Her cheeks looked a bit flushed, though Thea chalked it up to the earlier guilt.

  “Just, uh, don’t turn them up,” Karania added hastily, brushing a hand through her mess of curls as she avoided meeting Thea’s eyes.

  “What’s the big deal?” Thea asked, raising an eyebrow. Her curiosity piqued, but she tried to sound casual. “It’s not like I’m asking for searchlights here, Kara. Just a bit more so you don’t trip or something.”

  “It’s fine. I don’t need them brighter,” Karania replied, her voice a touch too quick. She flopped back onto the bed, pulling the blanket halfway over her face as if to shield herself from further questioning. “Really, the dim light is… cozy. Yeah, cozy.”

  Thea tilted her head, her confusion deepening.

  There was something almost… suspicious about Karania’s insistence, but she decided to let it slide—for now, at least.

  “Alright, cozy it is, I guess,” she said, her tone teasing as she sat back against the headboard. “But if you stub your toe on something later, I reserve the right to say ‘I told you so.’”

  Karania only muttered something unintelligible in reply, burying herself further into the blanket.

  Thea smirked to herself, the odd exchange pushing her lingering thoughts about the ceremony, the medals, and everything else further to the back of her mind.

  “Well… we should still get ready for the day, I guess. We gotta get to the medical staff and get your arm fixed at the very least. And my hand, of course,” Thea said after a few moments of enjoying the cozy silence. She stretched her arms overhead once more, her muscles loosening as she hopped out of bed with her usual energy and started toward her uniform.

  Halfway there, she paused, her own state catching up with her.

  The events of the previous day had left her no time to shower before collapsing into bed, and the thought crossed her mind that Karania likely hadn’t either. Changing course, Thea headed for the adjacent bathroom, stopping at the door with a practical idea.

  “You wanna come take a shower with me?” she asked with a casual grin, her voice nonchalant. “We can save some time instead of going one after the other.”

  Her eyes pierced through the dim room with ease, meeting Karania’s, which, for the first time that morning, were focused directly on her. What she saw made her blink in confusion.

  Karania froze, her expression flickering between wide-eyed shock and something Thea couldn’t quite place before she hastily looked away, her face visibly flushing even in the faint light.

  “What?” Karania muttered, her voice sounding far tighter than usual. She forced a laugh, the sound awkward and pitched just slightly too high. “You’re such an idiot, Thea…”

  Thea tilted her head, puzzled. “Huh? What did I do now?”

  Karania’s hands fidgeted with the edge of the blanket, her gaze resolutely fixed somewhere that wasn’t Thea.

  “No, thank you for asking,” she replied quickly, the words tumbling out as if she were trying to end the conversation as fast as possible. “I’m good. I’ll shower after I get my arm looked at. There’s probably going to be… serious work done, and I’ll need to clean up after that anyway.”

  Thea shrugged, not pressing the issue.

  “Suit yourself,” she said, her tone light.

  But she hesitated just before entering the bathroom, glancing back over her shoulder. “You’re acting weird this morning, Kara. Did you not sleep well or something?”

  The question lingered in the air, pulling at her thoughts as a familiar unease crept up.

  It reminded her of the last time they had shared a room before the ceremony.

  What if she had snored? Or tossed and turned too much? Or done something else unknowingly to inconvenience her friend? Thea hated the idea of having made Karania uncomfortable, even accidentally.

  Karania stiffened, her hand flying to her hair as if to smooth it down—a nervous gesture Thea had picked up on more than once before. Her voice came out just a little too fast, the tone higher than normal as well. “I slept just fine, thank you.”

  Thea narrowed her eyes slightly, studying her friend for a beat longer than necessary.

  Something felt… off with Kara this morning.

  But she didn’t quite have the energy to puzzle it out before her morning shower; much less having any kind of expertise in how to go about this to begin with—another thing she’d have to double check with Corvus later.

  She chuckled, shaking her head. “Alright then, Kara… I’ll be back in a minute. Make yourself at home.”

  With that, she disappeared into the bathroom, the door whooshing softly shut behind her…

  Stepping back into the room, now freshly showered and wearing a clean uniform, Thea found that Karania had also gotten herself ready for the day ahead.

  “So, plan is to get some food, then head to the medical deck, yeah?” Thea asked, toweling the last remnants of her damp hair dry as she glanced toward Karania.

  Nodding, Karania replied, “Yep, that’s the plan. Gonna be nice to finally be able to use [Surgeon’s Toolkit] with both arms again… I gotta remember to request a bionic replacement next time around; they’re less likely to clash with biological System Abilities, I heard.”

  Thea raised an eyebrow, intrigued. This was the first time she’d heard about this distinction. “So that’s the difference between them, then? Cybernetics and bionics, I mean. Bionics work with biological Abilities, and cybernetics don’t?”

  She held up her own cybernetic hand, examining the fine craftsmanship—the seamless joints and intricate machining that made it function like her original hand; no, better even. The engineering was remarkable, yet Karania’s comment sparked a deeper curiosity in her mind.

  Karania nodded thoughtfully, raising her cybernetic arm and slowly rotating the wrist in a smooth, mechanical circle. “Hmm… Something like that, yeah. But there’s more to it than just that one distinction.”

  She moved her still-natural human arm alongside the cybernetic one, flexing both hands in tandem to illustrate her point. “Cybernetics are primarily about applying engineering solutions to biological problems. They replace nature with machine to bypass limitations or fix perceived issues.

  “Take my arm here,” she said, holding up the cybernetic limb again, this time splaying the fingers wide. “This thing can rotate 360 degrees, fold back on itself, and even detach if needed without problem. It’s built purely with utility in mind. But with bionics…” She brought up her human arm, flexing it as if to make a point.

  “Bionics are about applying biological solutions to engineering problems. Instead of swapping out the wrist entirely with something else, they’d strengthen the ligaments and muscles with synthetic fibers. They work with the body’s original design rather than outright replacing it.”

  Thea tilted her head, absorbing the information, her eyes darting between Karania’s two contrasting arms. “So cybernetics are more like a complete replacement, and bionics are… enhancements, in a way?”

  “Yeah, that sounds about right, I’d say,” Karania agreed, her tone brightening. “Cybernetics say, ‘Screw nature, we’re building something else that won’t have this issue,’ while bionics are more like, ‘Let’s help nature fix this issue.’ Bionics often incorporate synthetic or real tissue into their designs as well, which is why the System recognizes them as partly biological. That allows biological Abilities like [Surgeon’s Toolkit] to work. But even then, not all bionics are compatible—you need specialized, biology-focused ones to really get the full benefit.”

  “And cybernetics? They have anything like that, to use Abilities with?” Thea asked, her hand lowering slightly as she glanced at her own cybernetic fingers, the polished metal catching the light faintly.

  Karania shrugged, her smirk soft but amused, tapping her cybernetic fingers rhythmically against her human arm. “Cybernetics? You’re pretty much out of luck if you want to use biological Abilities. Once you go full cybernetic, you’re trading System synergy for pure functionality. It’s all about what you need and what you’re willing to give up, I guess.”

  Thea nodded slowly, her gaze drifting back to her own hand. “Makes sense… But I don’t think I’ll need to worry about that distinction for a while. I’m not exactly in the market for biological Abilities anytime soon—if ever.”

  Karania chuckled as she moved toward the door, her usual confident stride accompanied by the slight hum of her cybernetic arm. “Fair enough. But you never know—one day, you might need to know the difference. Now come on, let’s kick things off right with some pancakes, yeah?”

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The mere mention of pancakes brought a toothy grin to Thea’s face, her thoughts immediately jumping to the savory delight she had grown addicted to during her time aboard the Sovereign.

  The UHF Marines came with plenty of upsides—and just as many downsides, if not more—but one of the undeniable highlights was the food.

  The pancakes, specifically, had quickly become her absolute favorite.

  Unlike the sweet versions she’d tried once or twice before when visiting the capitol with James—while also good in her eyes—these were a savory masterpieces, served with a rich, creamy meat sauce that was unlike anything she’d ever tasted before.

  Her stomach growled at the thought, and she had to stop herself from drooling all over the floor.

  Shaking her head vigorously to dispel the mouthwatering images, Thea caught Karania chuckling softly at her from the doorway.

  “Okay, okay, I’m coming,” Thea said, tossing her towel onto the bed without a second thought. The moment it landed, it disintegrated into a neat little pile of nothingness, the Sovereign’s automatic cleaning systems already hard at work.

  “Yes! Pancakes are the be—”

  Thea’s words cut off abruptly as a sudden, unrelenting wave of unadulterated dread slammed into her like a physical force.

  Her chest tightened with such intensity that her breath caught entirely, leaving her gasping for air. Her legs buckled as if the ground had disappeared beneath her, and she stumbled backward, one hand shooting out to steady herself against the nearest wall.

  A cold sweat broke out across her body as her mind felt like it was drowning in a sea of raw, unfiltered terror, her fight-or-flight response igniting with such ferocity that every muscle in her body screamed at her to run.

  But there was nowhere to go.

  Nowhere that she could even conceive of ever feeling safe again.

  “Thea!” Karania’s voice cut through the haze, sharp and alarmed.

  The sound of rushing footsteps reached Thea’s ears as Karania crossed the room in an instant, her arms already bracing against Thea’s shoulders to steady her. “Thea! What’s wrong? Talk to me!”

  But Thea couldn’t process the words at all; they merely went in one ear and out the other.

  They felt distant, muffled, like they were being spoken underwater.

  Her gaze was unfocused, darting around the room in a blind panic, unable to pinpoint the source of the overwhelming fear yet utterly certain that something was very wrong.

  Karania crouched slightly to meet Thea’s eye level, gripping her shoulders firmly now. “Thea! Snap out of it! Talk to me—what’s happening?!”

  But all Thea could feel was the pounding of her heart, the deafening thrum of terror coursing through her veins like liquid fire. Her body trembled violently, her hands clammy and shaking as they grasped at nothing, unable to latch onto the reality of her surroundings.

  Every inch of her being screamed that something—something monumental and terrifying on a primal, instinctual level—was coming.

  She just didn’t know what, or why.

  And then, just as abruptly as it had come, the terror suddenly vanished.

  The suffocating weight lifted from Thea’s chest, leaving her lungs aching as she finally drew in a ragged, desperate breath. Her trembling legs still struggled to hold her up, and she leaned heavily against the wall, her forehead pressing against its cool surface as she gasped for air, her chest heaving like she had been underwater for hours.

  Karania didn’t let go of her shoulders, her grip firm but not restrictive, her worried gaze boring into Thea like a searchlight. “Thea… What the fuck was that?”

  Thea shook her head weakly, her voice shaky and uneven.

  “I… I don’t know… It just hit me out of nowhere.”

  She took another gulp of air, still struggling to feel like she was fully breathing again.

  “It was like—like this wave of pure dread. I couldn’t think. Couldn’t… breathe. But now it’s just… gone. Like it wasn’t even there.”

  Karania’s brow furrowed deeply as she scanned Thea’s face. “That’s not okay. You don’t just feel like that for no reason.”

  “I’m fine now, I think,” Thea replied, though her words lacked conviction. Her hands braced against the wall as she tried to straighten up, her legs still trembling from the aftershock. “Really, Kara. It’s gone. Like it wasn’t even there.”

  Karania’s expression hardened slightly. “No, you’re not. And even if you were, we’re figuring this out. Now. Sovereign!” she called, her voice sharp and commanding.

  The neutral, ever-calm voice of the AI responded immediately. “Yes, Recruit Faulkner?”

  “What just happened?” Karania demanded, not letting go of Thea as she asked.

  The Sovereign immediately replied, “I am not sure what you are refer—”

  “Sovereign!” Kara’s raised voice snapped through the room like a whip, interrupting the AI and making Thea flinch. She had never heard Karania this angry before. “Don’t fuck with me right now. What. Happened?”

  The Sovereign paused, as though recalibrating to Karania’s intensity. When it spoke again, its tone carried the faintest trace of hesitation, an unusual quality for the normally detached AI.

  “Approximately one minute and thirty-seven seconds ago, the Sovereign passed in close proximity to a Void Storm as it exited the Void. While fully shielded from its physical effects, the storm’s residual Psychic turbulence may have caused an adverse reaction in Recruit Thea McKay due to her burgeoning Psychic Powers post-Awakening.”

  Karania’s eyes narrowed as she processed the information. “A Void Storm? And how common is it for a Psyker to react like this?”

  The Sovereign replied, “Psykers aboard the ship displayed similar reactions during the event. All Psykers aboard the ship, in fact, registered biometric spikes indicative of extreme stress or terror. However, reactions of this severity are atypical. Void Storms are rare, and direct psychic disturbances caused by them even more so.”

  “So you’re saying this isn’t normal,” Karania pressed.

  “Correct. It is an extraordinarily uncommon occurrence,” the Sovereign confirmed.

  Karania’s jaw tightened, her fingers digging lightly into Thea’s shoulder as she mulled over the implications. Finally, she turned her gaze back to Thea, who had calmed slightly but still leaned against the wall for support.

  “Thea,” Karania said gently, though her voice held a commanding edge. “Are you sure you’re okay now?”

  Thea hesitated, not wanting to alarm her friend further. “I… Yeah. I think so. It’s gone now. I feel… normal, I guess? Just a bit wrung dry.”

  Karania wasn’t convinced. She let out a deep breath and softened her grip. “Alright. But I’m checking you over anyway. No arguments.”

  Thea groaned faintly, knowing better than to cross Karania in her current state. “Fine...”

  Karania wasted no time, guiding Thea to sit down on the edge of the bed before beginning a rapid but thorough medical check. Her cybernetic arm moved rapidly, scanning for abnormalities while her natural hand carefully palpated pressure points and checked for any visible signs of distress.

  “Sovereign,” Karania called over her shoulder, her tone still sharp. “Should we expect more Void Storm incidents like this?”

  “Unlikely,” the AI responded. “Now that we have fully transitioned into the Material Plane, the risk of encountering Void phenomena has decreased to near zero.”

  Karania hummed thoughtfully, her focus shifting back to Thea as she completed her examination.

  “You’re clear for now,” she said, stepping back but not relaxing. Her brow furrowed in thought as she crossed her arms. “But we’re keeping an eye on this, Thea. If anything feels off, you tell me immediately, understand?”

  Thea nodded, her lips twitching into a small, tired smile. “Yes, Ma’am. I will.”

  Karania exhaled, her worry softening slightly as she sat beside Thea, though her sharp gaze lingered just a moment longer than necessary. “Good. Now let’s get those pancakes before I decide to run a full neurological scan on you instead—and forbid you from eating pancakes until I’m satisfied you’re fine.”

  Thea’s eyes widened in mock horror, her breath hitching dramatically. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  Karania’s smirk returned, sly and teasing, though her eyes still carried a faint shadow of unease. “Try me.”

  Not willing to tempt fate—or risk losing access to her beloved pancakes—Thea quickly nodded, her defiance dissolving into a meek compliance.

  “Fine, fine. You won’t ever hear me complain about pancake time.”

  Karania chuckled, clearly satisfied with her small victory, and reached out to help Thea to her feet. “Good choice. Let’s move before I change my mind.”

  With a half-hearted groan, Thea let herself be guided out of the room.

  As they entered the bright, bustling communal living and eating space of Alpha Squad, the clatter of dishes and low hum of conversation greeted them.

  It was a far cry from the quiet, tense atmosphere of their shared quarters.

  Several squadmates looked up as they entered, nodding or offering casual greetings, but Thea noticed the concerned glance Corvus threw her way, his brow furrowed in silent question.

  “Pancakes,” Karania said briskly, cutting off any potential questions before they could be voiced.

  She pointed toward the dining area, her tone leaving no room for argument. “Let’s go.”

  Thea caught Isabella’s bemused smirk from across the room as she was all but herded toward the food station. “What’s the matter, Thea? Karania got you on a leash now?”

  Thea shot her a glare, though it lacked heat. “Don’t start, Ela. I’m just trying to eat in peace.”

  Karania, however, turned her head just enough to fire back without missing a beat. “If she needs a leash to keep her out of trouble, I’ll get one. Now let her eat, Itoku.”

  The room erupted in laughter as Thea groaned, burying her face in her hands.

  “Why do I even bother…” she muttered, though she couldn't hide the faint smile tugging at her lips.

  “Because you love us,” Karania quipped, her tone lightening as she requested the first serving of pancakes from the food printer, which sprung to life immediately and started fulfilling the order in a matter of moments.

  “Yeah, yeah. Pancakes first, love later,” Thea retorted, shaking her head as the aroma of savory pancakes finally began to push away the lingering tension in her chest.

  After retrieving their portions, Thea and Karania made their way to the table where the rest of Alpha Squad was already gathered; minus Desmond.

  Corvus looked up from his meal, nodding toward them as they sat down.

  “Desmond’s already on the medical deck,” Corvus informed them. “Getting his leg fixed. Can’t blame him for making it a priority.”

  Thea hummed in agreement, digging into her pancakes with the eagerness of someone who had earned a well-deserved meal.

  “Makes sense,” she said between bites, savoring the rich, creamy sauce that paired perfectly with the savory pancakes.

  The conversation soon turned casual, bouncing between their plans for the day.

  Corvus sighed, leaning back in his chair. “Technically, we’re all on break, but I’ve got to attend an after-Assessment Squad Leader meeting right after this. Paperwork, meetings and planning don’t take breaks, apparently.”

  “Rough,” Lucas replied, offering a sympathetic shake of his head. “I’m thinking of heading to the shopping district myself. I need to see if they’ve got any upgrades for my loadout. And fill out my Ability slots; now that I have some Merit to work with.”

  “Shopping? Laaame.” Isabella leaned back in her chair, grinning as she flexed one of her arms, her dense muscles clearly standing out more prominently than before. “I’m hitting the public training hall. Gotta see if anyone’s up for a good spar. Just invested my Attribute Points from the Assessment, and I’m itching to test these puppies out.”

  Karania snorted, leaning forward to inspect Isabella’s flexed arm with genuine curiosity, prodding and carefully examining them for a few moments, before saying, “And here I thought you couldn’t get any more terrifying. These things aren't even technically possible to exist for a human with how dense they are. The System’s basically cheating biology at every turn, huh? Congratulations, Isabella; you’ve officially way passed the point of “human biology”.”

  “Damn straight,” Isabella replied with a toothy grin, patting her bicep proudly. “Let me know if you ever want to go for a round. Been itching to see how you would hold up against me. The “Blood Witch” is bound to have some serious moves in the ring, eh?”

  While the others talked, Thea focused on her pancake, savoring each bite as if it were the last thing keeping her tethered to reality.

  The chaos of the past hour faded into the background, replaced by the simple comfort of a good meal.

  About thirty minutes passed like this, the group’s laughter and chatter filling the room.

  Thea took her sweet time finishing her food, enjoying every last morsel as though it was a small, personal victory.

  At some point, Corvus had excused himself, grumbling about needing to prepare for his meeting. That left just Isabella, Karania, Lucas, and Thea at the table, the conversation shifting to lighter topics until Isabella started to prepare to leave for the day.

  “You sure you don’t want to come to the training hall, Thea?” Isabella teased, kicking her feet up onto the now-empty chair beside her. “Could be fun to see just how much we’ve both changed since our last spars, yeah?”

  Thea rolled her eyes, though a small smile tugged at her lips. “I’ll pass for now, thanks. Unlike you, some of us actually like relaxing on our break… Though I will take you up on that offer later down the line. Not that I think I even stand a chance, considering that even before any enhancements you wiped the floor with me…”

  “You’re no fun,” Isabella replied, shaking her head dramatically.

  Karania chuckled softly, her gaze flickering toward Lucas. “Relaxing is good, but I think someone needs to make sure Isabella doesn’t accidentally break half the Drive in the training hall.”

  “Hey, it’s called sparring for a reason!” Isabella shot back, her grin as mischievous as ever. “They know what they’re signing up for! It’s not my fault if they can’t handle a little heat.”

  Lucas glanced at Karania, who raised an eyebrow as if to say, “You better do something about her before she breaks someone”.

  He sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose before turning to Isabella. “I guess you’re right, Karania. Can’t really have her go there alone… Alright, Bella, how about this? You join me on a quick shopping trip first, and then we head to the training hall together. You’re bound to have some Ability Slots open after the Assessment, right? Maybe you can pick up something to shore up your extra power before jumping into a fight?”

  Isabella’s mischievous grin faded into a more thoughtful expression as she mulled over his words. “Hmm… That does sound smart, actually. No point testing my limits now if I’m just going to blow past them with new Abilities right after anyway.”

  She paused, crossing her arms and tapping her fingers against her bicep as if weighing her options.

  Finally, her grin returned in full force. “Deal! Let’s—”

  Thea was already mid-leap before her conscious mind could catch up to her body’s reaction.

  The past month of surviving life-and-death situations had hardwired her instincts to respond immediately to the knot in her chest—her Psychic Precognition’s unmistakable signal of danger.

  She didn’t need to think.

  The warning flared hot and sharp, screaming at her with an urgency that left no room for hesitation: Act now, or die.

  Her left arm shot out mid-air, aiming to yank Isabella down with her, but the muscle-bound woman was like a living wall.

  Despite Thea’s desperate pull, Isabella barely shifted, her face flickering from the previous to grin to confusion and then concern in an instant.

  Thea’s body twisted mid-motion, redirecting her leap towards Karania, who sat to her right.

  An instant later, she slammed brutally into her friend, sending the chair toppling backward with a loud clatter and knocking the air out of Karania.

  The momentum carried them both to the floor, but Thea didn’t let up.

  Adrenaline roaring through her veins, she shoved Karania against the counter, her cybernetic hand digging deep into Karania’s shoulder to prevent any extraneous movements. Her flesh-and-blood arm wrapped protectively around the rest of Karania, pinning her securely against the counter as if her life depended on it—because it did.

  Karania’s sharp gasp filled the room, her usually calm composure entirely shattered as she stared at Thea in shock.

  Isabella, now also fully alert, had turned her head towards the two of them, her eyes darting between Thea and Karania with alarm.

  She was about to open her mouth to ask what Thea was doing, but it was already too late.

  The space inside the communal room lurched abruptly and Isabella disappeared.

  Thea barely had time to press Karania harder against the counter as the sudden, violent lurch of the ship’s deceleration ripped through them. It wasn’t just a shift—it was an instantaneous reversal of motion so catastrophic that it simply defied comprehension.

  Everything in the room not grav-locked to the floor or anchored to a bow-facing surface was instantaneously accelerated to speeds that even Thea’s Perception couldn’t grasp.

  Plates, utensils, and chairs exploded across the space, smashing into walls and each other, pulverising into nothing but mist upon impact.

  The crushing force of several tons of invisible pressure bore down on Thea and Karania, squeezing the breath from their lungs as the sheer speed of the reversal threatened to flatten them against the counter. Thea felt her ribs break, her lungs deflate and blood pool into her mouth in an instant as the g-forces threatened to turn her into paste.

  At that same moment, Lucas and Isabella, caught completely unprepared, were hurled across the room.

  The speed at which they moved rendered the difference in distance between them meaningless; the two Marines collided with their respective fates—Lucas into the far wall and Isabella into the nearby counter—at the exact same instant.

  The sound of their impacts was sickeningly simultaneous.

  Lucas hit the wall with a thunderous boom, the force so extreme that it obliterated his body on impact. Bones shattered into dust, organs compressed into unrecognizable masses, and the walls were painted in streaks of blood and viscera; leaving nothing but a bloody mist of the Defensive Heavy of Alpha Squad.

  Isabella’s massive, muscular frame was no match for the counter she struck either.

  The crash was similarly sickening, her body folding unnaturally as bones snapped and her flesh was torn apart. Her sheer mass only made the collision more devastating; the counter itself cracked under the force, splitting almost as violently as her body as it got ripped apart.

  The lower half of it got pulverised on the counter while the upper half simply kept going, colliding with the far-wall near Lucas, adding a second bloody imprint at almost the exact same time.

  The lights had cut out entirely, swallowing the room in an oppressive abyss of darkness.

  The echoes of the devastation reverberated faintly, as if the room itself were mourning the lives lost.

  For a moment, the only sounds were the grotesque drip of blood splattering onto the cold floor and Thea’s own ragged, labored breathing, each inhale rattling with agony as though her lungs were filled with shards of glass.

  Between each wheezing gasp, she coughed violently, flecks of blood spilling from her lips and staining her trembling hands. Her chest was ablaze with pain, every breath a torment that threatened to pull her consciousness into the void.

  Next to her, Karania lay completely limp, her body unnaturally still.

  Thea’s eyes, sharp even in the dark, made out the horrific deformation of her friend’s chest.

  Blood trickled freely from Karania’s mouth, pooling beneath her in a growing crimson stain that seemed to mock Thea’s helplessness.

  Thea tried to speak, her voice a hoarse whisper, barely audible over the rasping of her own breath. “S… Sov… Sovereign…” she choked out, her words faltering as her body convulsed with another fit of coughing, fresh blood spilling with every heave.

  Her mind screamed at her to stay conscious, to hold on, to fight through the haze of agony and the siren call of darkness creeping at the edges of her vision.

  “S… Sovereign?” she tried again, the word fractured and feeble, but full of desperate hope.

  She waited.

  And waited.

  A second stretched into an eternity as the suffocating silence of the ship bore down on her like a physical weight.

  “S… Sovereign…?” she gasped again, her voice barely more than a breath now, trembling with equal parts fear and pain.

  But for the first time since she had arrived on the ship over a month ago, the AI did not answer…

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