HAWK

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: DELIVERANCE (1/6)

It took Kas a few seconds to process what the voice had said.

She felt a hand touch her wrist and flinched, then realised they were undoing her straps. As the stranger worked fast to free her from her restraints, all she could do was lie there and ask herself who it could be.

'Lights,' the metallic voice said, and suddenly the chamber lights came back on. Kas blinked to see a man in a WASP mask undoing the last of the straps by her feet. Though his face was hidden by the visor, Kas immediately recognised the camo-jacket and insignia on his left sleeve.

'Captain?' she croaked. The man straightened up and gazed down at her. He stroked one finger down the side of his mask and the nitroglass shimmered and cleared, and suddenly the time-beaten face of Captain Mack was looking back at her.

'No time to explain,' he said. 'We've gotta go.' He held his hand out to help her up. She took it and slid off the side of the bed and landed on her feet - but her legs were much too weak to support her weight and they folded like wet spaghetti. Mack caught her before she collapsed and helped her back onto the bed.

'OK, maybe not so fast,' he said.

'I'm fine,' Kas replied, though even her voice was weak. 'Let me try again.'

'No, you won't recover fast enough. Hold on a second.' He reached into his pocket and retrieved a shiny blue oval pill held between pinched fingers. It was the size of a small egg. He raised it to her mouth but she turned her head to avoid it.

'What is it?' she asked.

'Rehydration capsule. Take it.'

He put the sapphire nugget in her palm and lifted it towards her face.

'I can do it,' she said, and the captain backed off. She opened her mouth wide and felt the cracked corners of her lips threaten to split as she slipped the capsule inside.

The capsule had barely touched Kas's tongue before its gel coating dissolved in a cool, wet rush. It was as euphoric a sensation as Kas had ever known, comparable even to the powerful stimulant she'd used in her battle with the spiders. Her parched mouth swelled with sweet liquid that washed over her shrivelled gums like a river through a dust-filled ravine. The flow of fresh fluid coursed down her throat in a wonderful cleansing torrent, dousing any trace of thirst on its way to her wilted core. Kas licked her lips for the first time in what seemed like weeks and felt as though she'd just tasted the essence of life itself.

'Better?' the captain asked. Kas realised she'd closed her eyes to savour the sensation and opened them again to see Mack staring back at her.

'Much,' she replied.

'Good.' Mack reached his left hand over his right shoulder and grabbed hold of a small shoulder bag. He pulled it open and took out a bundle of black cloth and shook it free, wincing slightly as he did so. Kas recognised it as federal artifibre, the kind she'd seen every soldier on Eidol wearing. The captain thrust it into her hands and instructed her to put it on. Kas didn't argue. She took the skinsuit and opened its back. Mack turned around to give her some privacy as she shed her thin grey jumpsuit.

'Where's Astell?' she asked.

'Unconscious. He'll be out for a few hours.'

'Why are you helping me?'

'I didn't have any other choice.'

'What does that mean?'

'Nevermind. Just hurry up so we can get to the hangar.'

'You're putting me on a ship?'

'I'm putting us on a ship, then we're gonna fly like hell.'

Kas started pulling on her new skinsuit. 'How do I know all this isn't some kind of trick?'

'Seems to me Swanne already has you exactly where she wants you. This would be a strange kind of trick to pull now, don't you think?'

Kas didn't disagree. She finished donning the skinsuit and found it quite baggy, but that wasn't a problem. Just like her Domino combat suit, all she had to do was stretch out her limbs and the artifibre shrunk to fit her shape. Compared to the cheap jumpsuit, the federal fibre felt as smooth on her skin as Belvan silk whilst also being extremely strong. The suit acted as a soft exoskeleton, giving her weakened muscles a much-needed boost.

'You done?' the captain asked over his shoulder.

'Yeah.' The captain turned around and Kas saw he was no longer wearing the WASP mask but holding it in his hands along with a pair of black Cortex gloves. He handed her the lot.

'You got any shoes?' she asked.

'Shoes, damn, I knew I'd forgotten something. Alright, hang on.' Mack stepped outside the capsule and out of sight. While she waited, Kas slipped on her gloves and opened the WASP mask. She pulled it over her head and squeezed it shut. It was quite similar to the Silo headgear, covering her entire head and fitting snugly under her jaw, except this she could see through. More than that, her vision actually became sharper. The visor helped to brighten shadows while reducing highlights and gave everything a new clarity.

'Hello, Kas,' said a familiar voice in Kas's ear. She was startled when a little yellow light appeared and hovered barely a foot in front of her face.

The firefly...