"They've sustained deep tissue damage,"
One medic said as she applied scans to Dracula, Paul, Robert, Airid, Darius and Julian.
"Severe frostbite, burns, lacerations and fractures. Their vitals are critical. Prep the regeneration tanks!"
The medical team worked like a well-oiled machine, transferring each of the mercenaries into the nearby regeneration tanks.
The transparent pods hissed shut as the warm, regenerative fluids began to fill them, enveloping the warriors of fortune.
Monitors displayed vital signs as the process of healing their broken bodies began.
...
10 days later.
My eyes shot open as I gasped for breath, the sound of liquid draining from the regeneration tank echoing in my ears.
My limbs felt like lead, weighed down by exhaustion and the aftereffects of the pseudo-cryo sleep.
I blinked, my vision blurry, green lights flickering above me as the regeneration fluid receded.
I gaged as I grabbed the oxygen mask and pulled It out along with the tube Inserted deep Into my throat before collapsing onto the cold floor of the medbay.
My body was stiff, I felt the cold that had seeped into my bones, lingering from the frigid vacuum of space.
A shadow moved beside me, and I turned my head ready to rip out It's throat a clear side effect of the xeno serum only to stay my hand, spotting a UNOE marine seargent In his space uniform and a pistol strapped to his hip standing nearby.
"Easy, there man"
The 190 centimeters tall built like a tank seargent Carris said.
"You're safe now."
Hearing this I groaned, pushing himself up onto my elbows, my muscles screaming in protest In a form of twitching, my voice came out in a rasp.
"Where… am I?"
"Uyiescapus Prime starport,"
The marine replied.
"You've been unconscious for fourty days. We received your emergency beacon and found you and your men inside youre ship the Invicta. Barely alive. You're in the planets starports medbay now."
Hearing this I let out a long breath, my mind still sluggish.
"The others… Darius, Paul, Robert…"
"They're alive, too. We've got them in the other tanks,"
The marine assured me.
"But your bodies were wrecked. It's going to take time."
Memories flooded back into my mind, the desperate fight, the cold biting into me, dragging my batrlebrothers through the void, barely making it to the ship.
"We need to talk,"
The marine said, leaning closer.
"Your gear… your ship… whatever happened out there, it's not normal. Our medics say you shouldn't have survived."
I nodded slowly, my thoughts sharpening as my body booted up.
"Terranum Imperium PMC UNOE branch, look us up on the galactic councils mercenary guild you'll find all of our credentials as for what happened we were on a mission the end result we almost died"
I said In one breath.
Carris regarded me for a moment before nodding.
"I'll run the check,"
He said, his voice skeptical but professional.
"But know this, those regen tanks cost a lot like a lot f*cking lot you're going to have to pay for the treatment."
I gave him a half-smirk, despite the exhaustion that still weighed me down.
"Wouldn't expect anything less. Send me the bill."
He nodded and stepped away as a couple of nurses approached me.
They handed me a medical gown, as they did I put It on, the nurses exchanged glances, one of them clearly trying not to look too long.
At my body which looked good as new apart from the missing neon Ink in places and the old scars and new ones, or my junk.
I couldn't help but chuckle under my breath while flashing my trade mark devil's smile even through the numbness, some things never changed.
Once I was dressed in the gown, the marine returned, holding a holographic tablet.
"The costs have been automatically deduced from you're account,"
He said, glancing up from the device.
"You'll have access to your gear soon. It's been examined for pathogens or any harmful substances and cleared."
"Good,"
I said, standing shakily. My legs were still weak, but I wasn't about to sit around any longer.
"Once my battle brothers are out of their tanks, let me know. I want to be informed the second they're awake."
He gave me a nod of acknowledgment and motioned for me to follow.
We walked through the grey metacil corridors of the starport, the hum of machinery and the low murmur of voices filling the space.
He led me to the storage area where my and my boys gear had been kept, all of it locked inside a secure safe.
The marine entered a code, and the door hissed open.
Inside, all of our gear at least what was left of it lay neatly arranged, our wrecked armor plates, helmets, weapons and most importantly, our laser edged combat swords.
I ran a hand over the violet laser-edged blade whose edge was deactivated, a small spark of calm igniting in my chest.
The weight of the weapon in my hand was reassuring, like an old friend that had stood by me through hell even though I used It only briefly.
"Everything's accounted for,"
Carris said.
"We'll keep you updated on your outfits progress."
I nodded, securing our gear into two prepared extra large duffel bags and slinging it over my shoulders.
"Thanks,"
I said, the weight of responsibility settling over me once more.
"I've got some things to take care of. I'll be back."
With that, I made my way to the hangar where Invicta was parked with the help of my Holo phones holographic navigation markers.
The spaceship stood like a silent sentinel in the docking bay.
Climbing aboard, I headed straight for my quarters.
The second I was inside, I stripped off the medical gown and changed into a spare space uniform, the familiar fabric and fit bringing me a sense of normalcy I hadn't felt since I woke up.
I sat down at my console and powered it up. Immediately, a flood of holographic missed calls and messages from the wana be witch poured onto the screen.
I sat at my console, crimson eyes glazing over the wall of missed messages and calls from the Guild Manager.
Her face flickered onto the screen, and I could already hear the annoyance in her voice before she even spoke.
"So, you're not dead,"
She said, her voice dripping with a mix of sarcasm and exasperation.
I couldn't help but smirk.
"Good to see you too miss manager"
The manager leaned forward in her chair, her synthetic eyes narrowing as she studied me.
"Care to explain what the hell happened out there? Did you run Into other mercs or got mixed up with pirates?"
I leaned back in my seat, rubbing the back of my neck, feeling the weight of everything that had transpired.
"Neither"
I replied, my tone serious.
"It's much worse, we entered the ancient xeno ship which turns out to be a military R&D one , but things went sideways fast. The entire crew was dead or worse, and the next thing we know the place Is crawling with combat droids that were way out of our league in terms of tech."
Her eyes flickered with interest.
"Combat droids? What level are we talking about?"
"Level 3 tech, at least and thankfully they were the cheap mass produced canon fodder kind without any deflectors"
I said, watching her reaction.
"We barely made it out. If it weren't for some last-ditch efforts and a bit of luck, you'd be talking to my corpse right now."
The manager leaned back, a small smile tugging at the corner of her synthetic lips.
"You and you're men always manage to get yourselfes into the thick of it, don't you? So, did you manage to grab anything worth the trouble?"
I nodded slowly.
"Yeah,I got something. A little more than we bargained for, actually."