Youri opened his eyes to pain and light. A blinding white glare flared directly above him and dragged a sharp groan out of his throat as his vision swam. Something cold pressed against his face, and he raised a trembling hand on instinct to shield his eyes.
"Reduce intensity," a voice ordered.
The light dimmed a little, though the ache behind his eyes stayed, and only then did he realize he wasn't alone. Three technicians were crowded over the open cockpit, with cables trailing from his neck, his spine and his temples to diagnostic screens that floated in the air beside them, streaming data faster than he could read it. His body felt heavy, as though gravity had doubled.
"Neural activity stabilizing," one of them said.
"Vitals within survivable range," another replied, sounding almost surprised.
Survivable. Youri let out a slow breath and lowered his hand.
"You seem remarkably well," Halvek said, his voice carrying easily over the low hum of the machinery, "for someone who has just stared into the mouth of the devil."
Youri turned his head a little. Halvek was standing just beyond the medical crew with his hands clasped behind his back and his face unreadable. The pale light of the chamber made his scar look deeper than ever. Youri swallowed; his throat was dry. "I don't feel well," he admitted.
Halvek allowed himself a faint smirk. "That means you're still human."
The technicians began disconnecting the cables one at a time, and each one sent a brief sting through him, but after what he had just seen, he barely noticed. When the last connector came away from the base of his neck, they gathered their equipment and went back down on the hanging platforms. Halvek stepped up to the rim of the cockpit with Kess and Adin beside him, the three of them looking down at him.
"While you were linked to Altopereh," Halvek said, activating his data pad, "we recorded multiple anomalous surges across every parameter we can measure. Neural resonance, cognitive expansion, spatial perception — none of it followed any known pattern." He glanced down at the figures. "At several points, your synchronization rate peaked at ninety percent."
Kess drew in a sharp breath, and Adin's eyes widened slightly.
"Ninety?" Kess repeated. "That's—"
"Functionally impossible," Halvek finished. "For anyone else." He raised his eyes to Youri. "It would seem Altopereh… likes you."
Youri didn't answer. He pushed himself slowly upright while his muscles protested and dizziness washed over him. The world tilted, and before he could fall, a hand caught his arm. Kess. "Easy," Kess said quietly, bracing him. "I've got you."
Youri nodded his thanks and leaned on him as they made their way carefully to the edge of the cockpit. The suspension line took them steadily down to the floor of the chamber, where by now a large part of the research team had arrived — scientists, engineers and analysts, all watching with barely concealed fascination. Some of them were staring at Youri. Others were staring at Altopereh. And a few of them looked afraid.
"Alright," Halvek called. "Begin secondary testing. Helios first."
Kess straightened, though Youri could feel the tension in him, and glanced once at Helios — the radiant titan standing restrained but quietly alive. "If I start screaming," he muttered, "knock me out."
Youri managed a weak smile. "I'll do better than that."
Kess climbed into Helios's cockpit without any more hesitation. The hatch sealed behind him, and a moment later the dive began. Ten minutes passed. To the people watching, it was a short span of time. To Kess, it was an eternity. When the cockpit finally opened and the platform brought him down, he was pale, his confident posture gone and replaced by exhaustion, his movements sluggish and his eyes unfocused.
"Seventy percent peak linkage," a researcher announced, with awe creeping into his voice. "That's among the highest ever recorded for Helios."
Kess stumbled. Youri stepped forward quickly and caught him before he fell. "Hey," he said softly. "Talk to me."
Kess blinked several times before he could focus on him, and his voice came out hoarse. "I never believed in monsters. Not really. I thought it was just propaganda. Fear tactics." He swallowed. "But what I saw in there…" His grip tightened briefly on Youri's sleeve. "Calling them monsters would be an insult."
Then his legs gave out, and the medics were on him at once. "He needs the infirmary," one of them said. "Neural fatigue and cognitive drain." Kess didn't resist as they led him away, but before he disappeared through the doors, he looked back once — at Helios, and then at Youri. There was fear in his eyes.
Now only Adin was left. He stood silently in front of Montern with his fists clenched at his sides. Unlike Kess, he didn't joke and he didn't hesitate. He simply climbed. Montern's cockpit closed around him, and the dive began. At first the numbers looked promising. "Linkage rising… twenty percent… thirty…"
Then, without warning, an alarm blared. "Spike detected!" someone shouted, and the screens flared red as Montern's linkage plummeted. "Dropping — fifteen — ten!"
Inside the cockpit, Adin was convulsing. Blood ran from his nose and then from his ears. His body jerked violently against the restraints as his nervous system overloaded.
"Sever the link!" Halvek barked. "Now!"
The emergency sequence fired. The cockpit burst open and threw Adin out onto the retrieval platform, where he lay motionless with blood streaking down the side of his face. The medical crew rushed in and lifted him onto a stretcher.
"Core rejection," one of them reported grimly. "Severe internal damage." And they ran him toward the medical wing without another moment's delay.
The silence that followed was heavy and unforgiving. Halvek turned slowly to Youri. "This," he said coldly, "is what happens when a core does not accept you. It eats you from the inside out. Organs vanish. Memories fragment. Pieces of a person are stripped away." He stepped closer. "Nobody knows where the missing parts go. But we know they feed the machines. Somehow. Somewhere."
Youri thought of the voice in the dark. I will be taking some of them. He thought of Adin on the podium a week ago with his head held high, of Kess's eyes as they led him out. His jaw clenched.
Halvek turned toward the great doors of the chamber. "Pilot D7. You will be completing the assigned mission alone. You will be escorted to Volar by the mission's commanding officer." He paused at the threshold. "General Aurelion Kaelthorn."