Yellow stood frozen for a moment, the weight of the task pressing down on her shoulders. There were too many. Too many lives to save. Too many to get out in time. She could feel the desperation creeping in, her breath coming in uneven bursts as her mind raced through potential solutions. But no matter how she turned it over in her mind, the numbers didn't add up.
Her support team—combat medics, combat scientists, and combat doctors—moved in around her. Their professionalism was clear, but even they struggled with what lay before them. As they scanned and tagged prisoners for teleportation to the Tempest, the horror on their faces was undeniable. The situation was far worse than anything they had been prepared for.
"This is monstrous," one of the combat doctors muttered, his scanner trembling slightly as he marked another victim. His voice was heavy with disgust, echoing the thoughts of the entire team.
Yellow's own revulsion grew as her skin shifted beneath the morphing suit, reflecting her inner turmoil. Though no one could see it, her body pulsed with the full spectrum of disbelief, shock, and rage. It felt as if her skin were on fire, radiating her disgust, while the rest of the team struggled with the grim reality in front of them.
The combat medics worked methodically, scanning the prisoners and tagging them for teleportation, but Yellow could sense the strain in their movements. Each new discovery added to the weight they all carried—mutilated bodies, grotesque mechanical augmentations, and twisted forms of their allies in stasis pods.
As more prisoners were tagged and teleported out, Yellow activated the comm link, her voice cracking as she spoke to Red. "Red," she began, her words uneven, "we don't have enough people. There are five times as many stasis pods as we expected, five times as many alliance citizens. We—" Her voice trembled as she glanced back at the twisted forms of her allies. "They've been mutilated. Some kind of… fringe science. The things they've done to them…"
Her team continued their work in grim silence, tagging one pod after another, but she could feel their morale waning. It wasn't just about saving lives anymore. They were all grappling with the horror of what had been done to the people they were trying to save.
Echo remained silent for a moment, processing the situation, before her calming voice broke through. "There's a reason, Yellow. There's a reason we were successful, a reason we're here now. The currents willed it forth. You know this. Sometimes we can't see the path ahead clearly, but it leads us where we're meant to go."
Yellow focused on Echo's words, letting them ground her, even as her skin continued to pulse with her overwhelming emotions. The idea that destiny had guided them here gave her something to hold onto. There had to be a reason for this madness, a reason they were still standing.
"We will save them," Echo reassured her. "Trust in the currents."
But that wasn't enough. A spark of anger ignited within Yellow, burning hotter than the revulsion that had gripped her earlier. Her skin pulsed beneath the morph, reflecting the fury rising inside her. They weren't just going to save them—they were going to figure out exactly what had been done here. Every grotesque experiment, every twisted procedure, every vile thing the enemy had learned from mutilating these people.
"I swear, we'll figure out what they did," Yellow murmured, her voice tight with barely contained rage. "We'll find out what they've learned from our people."
Echo, ever calm, made an unsettling suggestion. "We could jack into the system. You and I, through your neural port. We'd know everything they know in minutes."
Yellow's jaw clenched. It wasn't that the idea didn't tempt her, but the risks were too high. Her gaze flickered around the room, taking in the sight of her team working tirelessly to tag the prisoners for evacuation. The last thing they needed was her out of commission, jacked into a terminal, vulnerable to the battlefield around her.
"No," Yellow snapped, dismissing the idea. "Jacking into the computer in the middle of a battlefield would put me at risk. And right now, I'm the one offering them the most physical protection if the enemy launches a surprise attack."
She wasn't Blue. She couldn't operate with the same calm detachment he had when he interfaced directly with a system. The thought of not being able to move, of being pinned in place while enemy fire rained down, terrified her. She needed to be mobile, to keep herself in the fight, in control.
"I'm not Blue," she added, her voice softening as she acknowledged the truth that gnawed at her. "I need to move. If something goes wrong, they need me to keep them safe."
Echo didn't argue. Yellow was right. She was the physical barrier between her team and the enemy, and jacking into the system would leave them exposed. But they still needed the data. They needed to know what had been done here, and how far the enemy's knowledge went.
"We need someone for that role," Yellow muttered. Her mind was already turning, calculating who could handle the task. She tapped into the link, her tone now firm as she reached out to Red.
"I need support. We need someone who can jack into the system and rip this data. I can't do it out here—it's too risky."
Moments later, a message came through from the Tempest. "First batch received," the voice confirmed. "We'll begin processing them immediately. Keep them coming."
Relief washed over her, though her skin still simmered with anger and disbelief. They were getting them out, one by one.
"Red," Yellow called again through the link, "the Tempest has the first batch, but we're overwhelmed here. There are still so many. I don't know if we'll be able to get them all out."
"Help is on the way," Red's voice was firm but reassuring. "I'm sending an additional 20 marines with transport enhancers and tags. They'll assist in getting everyone out."
Yellow's heart lifted slightly at the news, but Red wasn't finished.
"I'm also sending a smaller unit," Red continued. "They'll be bringing a combat engineer with a neural port to jack into the computers and rip the data. We'll review it later. Four marines will escort him, and their priority is his safety. You focus on the rescue."
"Copy that," Yellow replied, her voice steadying with the knowledge that reinforcements were coming. They weren't going to leave anyone behind—not if they could help it.
Her team of medics, scientists, and doctors continued their grim work, tagging prisoners for teleportation. Even through the chaos and horror, Yellow clung to Echo's words. There was a reason they were here. The currents had brought them to this moment, and they would save as many as they could.