When you wake up on a hard resin floor with a punctured lung, the physical world attacks your senses without mercy. Riven opened his eyes as a mechanical rhythm thumped against his ribs. He sucked air into his collapsed lungs, producing a harsh scraping noise. The deafening roar of a dragon echoed off the cavern walls, vibrating through the stone beneath his back. Riven winced and squeezed his eyes shut against the noise.

  He felt wet drops falling onto his armored glove while Vex pressed her forehead against his knuckles. Her shoulders shook violently. Riven frowned in confusion because he did not understand her grief. They survived the drop and retrieved the objective. The mission parameters were fulfilled.

  Riven shifted his weight and pushed himself up onto one elbow. Vex gasped and fell backward. Her eyes widened. She stared at him with complete shock. Dirt and blood smeared her cheeks alongside clear trails of fresh moisture.

  Riven reached down to his belt. His fingers slipped on slick wetness covering his armor. He unclipped the metal data drives and held the drives out toward Phillean.

  "Mission complete," Riven rasped. His throat felt raw and dry.

  Nobody moved. The squad stared at him in absolute silence. Phillean looked like a ghost while Captain Kaelen stood entirely motionless. Tora dropped her weapon, letting the gun clatter on the stone.

  Riven felt a flash of annoyance. They secured the package and the perimeter seemed safe. He did not understand the delay. The cavern air smelled of burnt chitin and blood. He planted his palms on the resin floor and attempted to push his body upright. He needed to get them moving toward safety.

  His legs refused the command. His knees buckled immediately, allowing gravity to pull him backward toward the hard stone.

  Hands caught his shoulders before his head struck the ground. Vex slid her knees under him. She wrapped her fingers around his armored glove with a crushing grip. Riven looked up at her face.

  "You absolute idiot," Vex whispered. Her voice shook with raw emotion. She wiped a tear streak off her cheek and glared at him. Her expression ordered him to ignore the moisture.

  The room erupted into motion. Kaelo rushed forward with a medical bag, shouting instructions to the rest of the squad. Captain Kaelen barked orders over the comms system. The overlapping voices washed over Riven in a confusing wave of sound. The noise overwhelmed his senses completely.

  A massive shadow eclipsed the emergency lights overhead. Astrix shoved Noxin aside and dropped her heavy body onto the floor next to Riven. The black dragon curled her neck around his legs as her silver eyes darted over his face. Her mental presence slammed into his mind, flooding his thoughts with panic and relief.

  Riven lifted his free hand and rested his palm against her snout. Her scales felt warm. The ambient noise of Kaelo shouting medical terms and Kaelen securing the perimeter faded into the background. Riven felt completely exhausted. He felt the firm grip of Vex holding his hand alongside the protective weight of Astrix shielding him from the chaos. His vision darkened as he fell asleep.

  And for a moment Riven thought he would wake up safe and sound. After all when you close your eyes on a cold cavern floor while bleeding out, you expect the next sensation to be silence and peace.

  But Riven opened his eyes to a suffocating pressure crushing his chest. Thick amber fluid filled his entire field of vision. He opened his mouth to gasp for air. The dense liquid rushed down his throat and flooded his lungs with terrifying speed.

  Panic consumed his higher reasoning instantly. He thrashed his limbs against the confines of a cylindrical glass tube. His bare fists pounded uselessly against the reinforced walls. The liquid filled his nasal passages. Violent spasms racked his torso as his body fought the intrusion. An intense spike of pure annoyance cut through the terror. He had survived the Ravager swarm. He had dragged his broken body up four flights of stairs. He had delivered the data drives to Phillean. He had earned the right to sleep. Waking up to drown inside a giant test tube seemed like a cruel joke.

  He struck the glass again. His knuckles ached from the impact against the reinforced barrier. Three white medical droids hovered outside his transparent prison. Their optical sensors glowed a dull red as they monitored his vital signs. They recorded his frantic pounding with total indifference. One droid extended a metallic arm to adjust a dial on the main control panel. The flow of amber fluid increased slightly around his shoulders. Riven glared at the mindless machine.

  His lungs screamed for oxygen. His vision began to darken at the edges. Riven realized he possessed no escape route and tried to calm down. He stopped thrashing. He let his arms float upward in the zero gravity environment of the tank. He allowed the amber gel to settle deep inside his chest.

  The strange sensation slowly faded into a dull cold ache. The drowning panic subsided as a steady rhythm of automated breathing took over. He inhaled the thick gel and exhaled the substance in a slow unnatural cycle. The process felt entirely alien. The gel tasted of synthetic minerals and bitter chemicals. He focused on the mechanical rise and fall of his own ribs to maintain his calm.

  Riven allowed himself to hover in the center of the tank. He looked down at his own body. He hung completely naked in the suspension fluid. Dozens of translucent tubes snaked from the top of the pod and pierced his skin. Thick lines entered his forearms and neck. Smaller wires attached directly to his temples. They fed nutrients and sedatives directly into his veins. He felt exposed under the harsh blue lights of the medical bay.

  The chemical cocktail worked flawlessly. Riven felt zero physical discomfort. The lack of pain provided a euphoric sensation compared to the agony he experienced inside the Hive. He cataloged the damage to his body through the distorted amber light. He looked like a victim of a horrific industrial accident. Raw pink scars crisscrossed his chest in jagged lines. A massive starburst of knitted flesh covered his right thigh where the Ravager claw had impaled him. Surgical thread held the worst lacerations together across his ribs. Another thick scar wrapped around his left shoulder. His body displayed a chaotic pattern of violence. He stared at the newly formed tissue. He wondered how many hours he had spent floating in this synthetic womb while the ship doctors rebuilt him.

  A massive shadow eclipsed the medical bay lights.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Astrix shoved the hovering droids aside. Her black scales scraped against the metal floor plates of the Silent Verdict. She pressed her large snout directly against the glass of the medical tank. Her silver eyes locked onto Riven.

  Riven raised a hand, his fingers feeling heavy and numb as they pushed through the thick gel. He pressed his palm against the cold inner surface of the glass. He expected a wave of relief to wash through the bond. He expected her to be happy he was awake.

  Instead, Astrix slammed a heavy claw against the metal base of the tank. The vibration rattled Riven’s teeth and sent a shudder through the fluid that knocked him off balance.

  You died.

  The words were hurled into his mind. Her mental voice was like a jagged blade, vibrating with a fury that made his head throb.

  I felt the line snap, Riven. I felt the exact second your heart stopped. I felt the silence.

  Riven flinched, bubbles of gel escaping his lips as he tried to respond. He couldn't speak, so he shoved his thoughts back at her, his own irritation rising.

  I’m alive, aren't I? he projected, his mental tone sharp and defensive. I got the drives. I got the squad out. I did exactly what I was supposed to do. Why are you acting like I did this on purpose?

  Do not! Astrix bared her teeth, her snout pressing so hard against the glass it began to fog. Do not stand there in your jar and talk to me about the mission. You threw yourself away. You broke your promise. You swore we were partners, and then you ran into the dark and let yourself be slaughtered.

  Riven frowned, crossing his arms over his scarred chest. The gel resisted the movement, making him feel even more like a specimen. I saved Vex, Astrix. If I hadn't gone in, she’d be dead. We’d all be dead. I made the call.

  And I had to watch Phillean carry your corpse out! she roared back, her claws screeching against the metal grating on the floor. I felt you go cold! Do you have any idea what that does to me? To feel you vanish while I am stuck behind a wall?

  Riven looked at her through the amber haze. He wanted to stay annoyed. He wanted to tell her she was being unreasonable, but then he saw her forelegs. They were shaking. The rage wasn't just anger; it was a thin, brittle shell over a well of absolute terror. She was clearly upset because she’d had to experience his death in real-time.

  The fight went out of him. The euphoria of the painkillers couldn't mask the heavy guilt that suddenly settled in his gut. He realized he hadn't just died; he had killed a part of her, too.

  I'm sorry, Riven projected. The thought was soft, grounded. I... I wasn't thinking about the bond. I was just thinking about the stairs. About getting back to you. I didn't mean to leave you in the dark.

  He tapped the glass twice, a small, human gesture. He offered a weak, apologetic smile through the mask.

  The snarl died on her lips. The tension in her neck snapped, and she let out a long, shuddering breath that fogged a massive circle on the glass. Her massive frame seemed to shrink as she sank down, her legs folding until she was lying on the deck plates. She rested her chin on the metal grating directly beneath his feet.

  The fury was gone. Only exhaustion remained.

  You break too easily, she projected, her voice sounding small, distant. I watched them put you in this box. You looked so small. You looked broken. Don't... don't do it again, Riven. Please.

  Riven leaned back into the gel, watching the steady rise and fall of her scales through the glass. The anger was gone, replaced by a silence that felt like a heavy blanket.

  I'm right here, he promised. I'm not going anywhere.

  The room dropped into a comfortable silence between the two as they just both enjoyed being alive.

  The door to the med-bay hissed open, shattering the quiet.

  Riven’s eyes snapped toward the entrance. His stomach did a slow, nauseating roll. He was a naked, scarred specimen suspended in amber gel, and the entire squad was currently filing into the room.

  Phillean led the group. The Sergeant had ditched his armor for standard charcoal utilities, but he looked like he hadn't slept since the drop. Behind him came Brick and Tora, looking battered but upright. Finally, Vex limped in, leaning on a crutch with a thick medical wrap around her midsection.

  Vex stopped dead. She didn't turn away. Instead, she let out a sharp, appreciative whistle that echoed off the sterile walls.

  "Look at you," Vex smirked, her eyes scanning him from head to toe with a tomboy’s bluntness. She limped closer, her crutch clicking on the metal deck. "I’ve seen better looking meat in a butcher’s window, Holt. You’re lucky the droids have a steady hand, or you’d be more scar than man."

  Riven tried to cover himself, but the buoyancy of the fluid and the tubes made him look like an uncoordinated puppet. He felt a hot flush of embarrassment crawl up his neck.

  Turn around, Riven projected toward Astrix. Tell them to turn around!

  They carried you through a war zone, Riven, Astrix projected back, her silver eyes narrowed in amusement. They have already seen everything you are trying to hide. Your modesty is exhausting.

  Phillean walked up to the tank and slapped the glass. "Kaelo says you've been under for four days. You've missed all the fun of cleaning bug guts out of the hangar." He looked at the jagged lines on Riven's chest. "You look like hell, kid. But the monitors say you're ahead of schedule. They’re pulling you out of that soup tomorrow."

  "He better be out by tomorrow," Tora said, pressing her face against the glass right next to Riven’s head. She was grinning like a shark. "Halloway is guarding the real chocolate rations, and he says you’re the only one who can sign for the squad’s 'recovery bonus.' So don't you dare go back to sleep."

  Brick nodded, a rare, small smile tugging at his mouth. "Good to see you awake, Hammer."

  Vex moved past the others, stopping next to Astrix. She didn't look away from him. She leaned her weight on her crutch and tapped the glass with a fingernail.

  "Nice mark," she teased, gesturing to the long, raw scar on his thigh. "Matches the one I've got now. We can compare them when you’re not floating in a jar like a science project."

  Riven rolled his eyes, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth despite the breathing tube and the gel.

  "We're leaving the system in three days," Phillean said, his voice dropping to a more serious tone. "The Captain has been locked in comms with higher in his office with the drives you brought back. But he wanted me to tell you the data is secure."

  Phillean reached out and placed a hand on the glass. The relief in his eyes was finally visible, breaking through the hardened Sergeant persona.

  "Thanks for getting the drives, kid," Phillean said quietly. "But next time? Get them yourself. Don't make me carry you like a sack of laundry again. I'm too old for the extra weight."

  Riven offered a weak thumbs-up through the fluid.

  "Alright, let's go," Phillean ordered, waving the squad toward the door. "He needs his rest if he’s going to be walking by tomorrow. And Vex, stop staring. You're going to give the kid a complex."

  "I'm just admiring the craftsmanship, Sarge," Vex laughed, winking at Riven before she limped after the others.

  Riven watched Vex limp away with a sharp, mocking grin still plastered on her face, and he decided the version of her he had seen on the cavern floor must have been a fever dream brought on by blood loss. The girl who had held his hand with trembling fingers and wept over his knuckles did not fit the reality of the confident tomboy currently making jokes about his scarred hide.

  It was far easier to believe that the moisture on her cheeks had been an illusion of the flickering emergency lights or a trick of his own dying mind; looking at her now, standing tall even with a crutch and radiating her usual abrasive energy, he was certain that the vulnerable girl from the Hive had never actually existed.

  The door hissed shut, and the room settled back into the low hum of the machines. Riven felt the sedatives beginning to pull at the back of his mind. The warmth of the gel was getting heavier. He looked down at Astrix, who had settled her chin back on the grating.

  Sleep, she projected. I am right here. And I will make sure they bring you some clothes tomorrow.

  Riven let his eyes close. He felt the vibration of the Silent Verdict. The ship pulsed with a steady, rhythmic heartbeat that finally matched his own.