New Elysium: Breakout

(5) Ember

"Terraform this barren planet 
Frozen at the core (wasting away endlessly)
Reviving and awakingSomething worth fighting for (awakening)(Alive!)
And starting to breathe(Collide!)
With eternity(The light!)
Glowing underneath(Ignite!)
A cleansing fire"
- "Project Terraform" - Soul Extract

What the hell? He thought as he snapped his hanging jaw closed. 

Her right hand clenched into a fist before she forced it to relax. Waiting for him to attack.

A breeze blew by pushing her hair around her head and he found his eyes drawn to the messy swirling locks.

He leaned back, rage building up inside of him. It had been over seven years since he'd set eyes on anyone from Neo-Tokyo. He wondered if he'd subconsciously known where she was from when he'd first beheld her coming through those grey doors. He closed his eyes, something ugly inside tried clawing its way out, whispering its promise of bloody revenge.

But as much as he was repulsed by her, he'd never been able to fight someone with their back turned to him. There was no honor in that, he couldn't make that feeling go away no matter how much he hated Neo-Tokyo and all it stood for.

He took a deep breath to calm himself while he studied her. She is in this prison too, she's an augment, just like you... That's what Dag would say, right? He couldn't quite make himself believe that. Her alert attitude but relaxed stance spoke military. Definitely trained, his eyes traced the muscles hidden under her shirt.

He forced the feelings of disdain down, simply curious, he told himself. She was a tool just like he was, and if he played things right, he didn't mind using her to escape. Neo-Tokyo had never stuffed one of their upper-echelons in here before. Why? What's your story?

"So what are you in for?" Her head swiveled around at him in surprise.

I am bad at this.

"What are we all here for?" She raised a hand and gestured around the prison yard. The other prisoners moved slowly oblivious to their observations. It was a stupid question and he should have known better than to ask.

He cocked his head studying her. He had yet to scan her, but he was hoping to build trust with her and scanning her without permission wouldn't help. "I was hoping you'd be a little more specific."

She shrugged, her brown hair bouncing forward. When he didn't move she sighed and stared at the sky again, "Why?" She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She didn't want to talk, that much was evident. There was still nothing obvious to her that he could see.

She looked so damn disappointingly normal... And then he understood.

"You were blind." There were a few individuals that augmentation had been designed to help. She was one of them, he stared at her eyes and she looked back at him warily. It was subtle but the blue was perfect as it should be. Too perfect, not the random hits of nature but the patterned imitation of manmade with a small gray metallic ring that no one else would have noticed... Unless they knew what they were looking for.

"Among other things," She looked away. "I had a few...enhancements paid for by the... Nevermind... It's not like I can hide from the scandroids. Even if my augments aren't as obvious..." She glanced at the side of his head, "...as yours."

Red touched his head, he'd shaved the sides of his hair completely off showing his neural implants. The dull blue would light up when he scanned her. The do was permanent, he didn't feel like keeping up with it every day, one less thing for him to worry about... He wasn't ashamed of the implants. The two rows of blue lines that ran down the side of his head stuck out, especially when lit up. With them, he'd been able to communicate with his ship and more effectively the crew. Schematics and battle-plans he could project right out in front of him. Those were just the implants on his head; others had spread through his body, he'd been implanted with ammunition, a living weapon. He'd had possibilities, a future...