Days later, a dull, persistent throb echoed through Asus's skull. He slowly blinked his eyes open, the world coming into focus like a watercolor painting left out in the rain. He could hear beeping monitors in the background, the soft rustle of sheets, and the hum of medical equipment. His body felt like it had been through a meat grinder, each muscle sore and stiff. But the real question was: where were the others?
He turned his head, squinting against the soft light of the med bay. Crystal lay in the bed beside him, still unconscious, her face bruised and battered. Her breathing was steady, though, and that was a small relief. In the bed across from them was Crackle, her eyes still closed, her face pale but unmarked. Her chest rose and fell in shallow breaths.
Asus tried to push himself up, but his arms felt like lead, weak from the crash. He took a moment to collect himself, his fingers grazing the sterile surface of the table beside him. He had no idea how long they'd been unconscious—he didn't even know how they had survived. But somehow, they had made it.
Suddenly, a voice crackled through the comm system in the corner. "Thanatos team, this is Command. Welcome back. You three are lucky to be alive. We've got a recovery team standing by. You're in friendly territory now. Rest up. We'll need you in top form soon."
The voice carried a weight of relief and quiet awe. It was rare that anyone made it out of a crash like that. They'd been downed just short of the base, and Command had pulled out all the stops for their recovery.
Asus shifted, groaning in discomfort. He knew they'd have to debrief soon, the wreckage of their ship still scattered somewhere on the runway. But for now, he could rest. The war wasn't over, not by a long shot—but they had survived.
The beeping monitors hummed in sync with his heartbeat, steady and slow, as he lay back, letting the pain fade into nothingness.
Asus drifted in and out of consciousness, the harsh, sterile lights above blending into soft halos of exhaustion. Every time he tried to sit up, his body protested, a painful reminder of how badly the crash had rattled him. It wasn't until the sound of the door opening that he was pulled back into the present.
A doctor, tall and lean with a stern face, entered the room. His uniform was standard—gray fatigues and a medic's insignia pinned to his shoulder—but the exhaustion in his eyes spoke of long hours. He paused at the foot of Asus's bed, reading through a tablet screen before glancing at him.
"Ah, you're awake. Good. How are you feeling?" The doctor's voice was calm, but there was a noticeable edge to it. It wasn't the tone of someone merely concerned with the physical; it was the voice of a man who knew how close they'd come to death.
Asus winced as he adjusted his position, the throb in his head worsening. "Like I was run over by a train," he muttered hoarsely, his throat dry. He paused, looking around the room again. "What's been going on since the crash?"
The doctor raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by the question. He glanced at the monitors before answering. "You've been unconscious for the last 48 hours, and your team was out cold for about the same. It's a miracle you made it out at all. Your ship's wreckage is still being cleared from the runway, and a recovery team is standing by. But we've had a few hours of rest here in the med bay—nothing serious, just the basics. You're all stable for now."
Asus tried to sit up again, but the doctor placed a firm hand on his chest, gently urging him back down. "Take it easy. You're lucky to be alive. The fuel leak, hydraulic failure, the crash landing—all of it should've been a death sentence. But you made it. The command team is already talking about the next steps, but... they'll want your report soon. The higher-ups are on edge about the crash."
"Yeah..." Asus muttered, his mind briefly wandering back to the chaos of the crash—his desperate attempts to land, the violent skidding on the tarmac, and the screeching metal that still echoed in his ears. "The others... Crystal and Crackle, how are they?"
The doctor gave a small nod, though his expression remained neutral. "Crystal's bruises are healing, and Crackle's in good shape, all things considered. We'll monitor them for another day or two, just to be sure. They both have some internal injuries that need time, but nothing life-threatening."
Asus let out a long breath of relief. At least they were all still breathing. That was something.
The doctor stepped closer, his eyes narrowing slightly as he assessed Asus's vitals on the readout screen. "I'm surprised you're conscious already," he commented. "I would've expected you to be out for another day at least, with the trauma you sustained. You're lucky." He paused, then added more thoughtfully, "There's a lot of broken systems on that ship. Not just mechanical failures. If you hadn't made the call for emergency override when you did… Well, I think we'd be talking about something else entirely."
Asus nodded, feeling the weight of the crash settle in. It wasn't just the ship's systems that had failed. His own body had betrayed him. They had pushed everything to the limit. But they had made it. Somehow.
"Command's been talking about a debriefing soon," the doctor said, pulling Asus from his thoughts. "It'll be thorough. They'll want to know everything that happened. You won't get a break yet."
"Not surprised," Asus muttered, his voice thick with the fatigue that was beginning to weigh him down again. He glanced at the others, still unconscious, and then back at the doctor. "What about… the civilians extraction? Did we—"
"We got you out, Major," the doctor interrupted, his voice softening slightly. "That's what matters. You brought your target back, and you're all safe now. That's the priority. Everything else can wait."
Asus lay back, staring up at the ceiling as his mind worked through the weight of everything that had happened in the last few days. He didn't have the answers yet, but he had time now. Time to recover, time to prepare, time to brace himself for what was coming next.
With a deep breath, he closed his eyes, willing the pain to subside just a little longer. The war hadn't stopped. And neither would they.