- Two Months Ago -
Bullets flew past my head as I sprinted from cover to cover, and I dove behind a block of concrete as a charge rifle pulse blasted the ground beside my feet. Quickly, I assessed the situation. There were two enemy pilots pinning me down, but I had something that they didn't: skill. I leapt over the block of concrete and quickly aimed down the sights of my G2A5, the center of the HCOG sight hovering over the slightly illuminated target that was an enemy pilot. I exhaled quickly and pulled the trigger three times. The slight kick of the rifle caused my shots to slightly move up as I fired. The first bullet nailed my opponent in the chest, decimating his lung, and he died as my second bullet struck his helmet, instantly shattering his faceplate and powering through his skull. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't celebrate just yet. I jumped to the right as a Kraber bullet whizzed next to my skull, leaving the tell-tale jet trail in its wake. I searched the landscape for my assailant, and dropped to the ground as I saw the jump jets of a cloaked pilot traveling toward me. He flew over my head, and I quickly got to my feet. He charged at me and I rolled past him, turning and firing my grapple at what I assumed was his body. The stainless steel blades of the grapple found their mark, stabbing my target in his stomach and dragging him towards me. As soon as he was close enough, I lashed out with my fist, my slightly enhanced strength snapping his neck, ending his life instantly. I exhaled slowly, dropping the point of my rifle to the ground as I surveyed the land around me.
Just as I deduced that there were no immediate threats to my well-being, my hip jerked as someone yanked my sidearm from its holster, and I felt the hot, searing pain of a bullet traveling through my spine. As I fell forward, I felt another bullet pass through my neck, and yet another slam into the back of my helmet. I collapsed to the ground, my blood pooling around me as my assailant sprinted past my soon-to-be corpse to fight other threats. I fought to stay awake, blackness eating the edges of my vision as unconsciousness threatened to claim me, then finally death. As my head laid down, my vision almost completely black, a pair of boots stepped into view as unconsciousness claimed me.
- The Present -
"Is he awake?"
"No, Commander, he is still comatose."
"This isn't good. He's shown the best responses to the healing we've given him, but he still won't wake up."
I decided to make my presence known at this point. I tried to extend my arm out to tap on the glass, but it was at that moment that I suddenly noticed the dozens of IVs and restraints all over my arms and legs, as well as some on my chest and neck. Suddenly, the pain from so many needles reached my brain and I let out a bloodcurdling scream. Bubbles flew from my lips as I screamed, and I vaguely realized that I was underwater. I thrashed wildly, trying to dislodge some of the needles. After a moment, the two people outside my tube noticed my struggle and rushed over to some sort of command console, and one or two of the needles retracted from my arms. As relief flooded through my mind that they were helping, it turned to a sense of betrayal as another needle entered my neck and injected me with some kind of drug. Unconsciousness claimed me once again.