Ardent Red by Harry Schofield

Author:Harry Schofield [Schofield, Harry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781796637182
Published: 2019-02-09T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

Thursday, 26 May.

LOCATION: Somewhere in the Asteroid Belt.

Aboard the Enigma.

Patching up internal plasma burns was no easy endeavour. This matter White, Morgenstern and Wilkins had all discovered as they sought to repair their commander's insides that had been all but liquefied by ten thousand degrees of ionised gas-shrouded titanium.

It took White some time to remember some of the bootleg techniques that the Ghoul's doctors had used to patch her and her colleagues up after they had sustained heavy injuries. Her memories unveiled that the so-dubbed 'organic mechanics' had used nanomachines and three-dimensional tissue printers to repair wounds that otherwise were impossible to survive. Further revelation about Bridger's status as some kind of genetically augmented supersoldier unveiled that she rested amidst a whole stash of advanced medical supplies, most of it Sparrow Corp nanite-based pharmaceuticals. Even after they managed to repair Frost's injuries, after much perusal of the operation manuals for the printer and the nanites, the presence of such an extremely advanced laboratory aboard the personal yacht of an Occator Conglomerate executive raised more questions than it answered. The trio was met with little reassurance when it emerged that some of the meds were completely incompatible with human physiology, especially considering that Bridger kept no pets aboard her vessel or even accommodation for such.

Frost had sat perched on his bed ever since he had left the ship's medical bay six hours prior, finally awakening from his month-long coma – much to White's intense jubilation. He had missed breakfast, and his hands trembled as he stared into some empty space thousands of yards away. He had said nothing to any of his soldiers – a matter most unusual, considering how White and Morgenstern were his most typical ports of call whenever he sought to speak about anything so serious. The former had therefore elected to check up on him once every hour, peering through the open door to his bedroom.

"Boss...?" she spoke, unsure of whether she should enter.

"I saw him," Frost whispered to her. "My boy, in that suit of armour..."

"What, Ryan?" White realised in an instant what had plagued her commander so.

Frost gave a solemn nod. "I shouldn't have thrown him out. I should have kept him. I shouldn't have done what I did!"

"You did what you had to do," White assured.

"But I didn't!" Frost thundered, finally turning a face filled with rage to look White in the eye. "I let my anger get the better of me after Marilyn died! I thought it was all his fault, but it wasn't! I'd always vowed I'd try and talk him down, but what's the point now that Sokolova has him in her talons?! I saw the anger in his eyes! And the hatred! He tried his damnedest to kill me! And I don't blame him! Now that damn fucking cunt Sokolova has taken him and warped him into a killing machine!"

"You didn't know about him," said White. "Nobody told you. But there's no use in dwelling on what happened in the past.

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