a girl, about his age
and Asian in appearance, although her accent was Australian. She looked painfully thin and wore a tattered T-shirt and jeans. Black hair hung around her shoulders in straggles. She met his eyes and
he could see her face was dirt-smeared, as if she hadn’t washed in weeks.
“If you mess with the door, they won’t feed us for a day,” she said.
Hack took a few steps towards her and kneeled down in the middle of the cell. “Who are you?” he asked.
The girl turned to the wall, avoiding his gaze.
“How long have you been here?”
The girl looked round at him and he could tell from her tear-filled eyes that she’d been in the cell for a very long time.
Most of the Oshino compound consisted either of decrepit brick cells like the one in which Hack had been placed, or prefabs that doubled as weapon storage facilities and
barracks for the mercs. There was one exception: a circular, single-storey building in the centre of the camp. Communications masts and dishes adorned the roof and the curved walls were mirrored
glass, reflecting back the camp and surrounding jungle. There was only one entrance and this was constantly guarded by two mercs bearing machine guns.
Those few members of the camp allowed access to the command centre found themselves inside an air-conditioned environment kept to a comfortable twenty-two degrees at all times. In a tech room
that took up half the building, security operatives monitored air and sea traffic for hundreds of kilometres around the island. The rest of the circular structure was given to Major Bright’s
personal living quarters.
In a perfectly round chamber in the middle of the building, Major Bright sat in a leather examination chair, not unlike the kind in a dentist’s surgery. He was stripped to the waist,
revealing an incredibly muscular upper body that bore a strange, black mark spreading across his skin. A grey-haired doctor in a lab coat hovered nervously over the major, an ultrasound scanner in
one hand. He pressed the scanner head to Major Bright’s chest and moved it up and down. On a monitor beside the chair, a grainy image of Bright’s internal organs appeared.
“Is it a boy or a girl, doctor?” the major asked, looking at the screen.
“It’s a ten-centimetre-long rock fragment,” Dr. Cameron said and indicated a dark object next to Bright’s heart. “Lodged inside your ribcage. Frankly, I’m
amazed it didn’t kill you. Care to tell me how it got there?”
Bright drummed his fingers impatiently on the chair arm. “I tripped on a meteorite. Can you remove it?”
Dr. Cameron replaced the scanner in its cradle. “Well, that would be a little risky.”
“ Risky how?”
“The shard is partially embedded in your heart. Removal could have serious side effects. For the moment, at least, I recommend leaving it where it is.”
Major Bright rose from the chair and towered over the other man. “Excuse me?”
Dr. Cameron laughed nervously. “You seem to be doing just fine with it in there.”
Bright jabbed his fingers at the black, scaly skin spreading across the right side of his chest and up his neck to his cheek. “ Doing just fine? Take a look at my face!”
“You could always get a second opinion.”
Bright narrowed his eyes. “You are the second opinion, doctor. My last physician got…fired.”
The merc at the door chuckled. The doctor’s face drained of blood.
“I can try to stop the spread of the infection,” Dr. Cameron said. “Maybe even reverse the process with a retro-virus. The process is experimental, but—”
Bright slapped the doctor on the shoulder so hard he almost knocked him to his knees. “That’s fine, doc. I’m used to experimental.” He nodded to the merc. “Take Dr.
Cameron to his new lab. Make sure he’s well looked after.”
As the soldier approached, Cameron’s face fell. “You don’t expect me to stay here?”
“I absolutely expect you to stay here. Ask for any equipment
and Asian in appearance, although her accent was Australian. She looked painfully thin and wore a tattered T-shirt and jeans. Black hair hung around her shoulders in straggles. She met his eyes and
he could see her face was dirt-smeared, as if she hadn’t washed in weeks.
“If you mess with the door, they won’t feed us for a day,” she said.
Hack took a few steps towards her and kneeled down in the middle of the cell. “Who are you?” he asked.
The girl turned to the wall, avoiding his gaze.
“How long have you been here?”
The girl looked round at him and he could tell from her tear-filled eyes that she’d been in the cell for a very long time.
Most of the Oshino compound consisted either of decrepit brick cells like the one in which Hack had been placed, or prefabs that doubled as weapon storage facilities and
barracks for the mercs. There was one exception: a circular, single-storey building in the centre of the camp. Communications masts and dishes adorned the roof and the curved walls were mirrored
glass, reflecting back the camp and surrounding jungle. There was only one entrance and this was constantly guarded by two mercs bearing machine guns.
Those few members of the camp allowed access to the command centre found themselves inside an air-conditioned environment kept to a comfortable twenty-two degrees at all times. In a tech room
that took up half the building, security operatives monitored air and sea traffic for hundreds of kilometres around the island. The rest of the circular structure was given to Major Bright’s
personal living quarters.
In a perfectly round chamber in the middle of the building, Major Bright sat in a leather examination chair, not unlike the kind in a dentist’s surgery. He was stripped to the waist,
revealing an incredibly muscular upper body that bore a strange, black mark spreading across his skin. A grey-haired doctor in a lab coat hovered nervously over the major, an ultrasound scanner in
one hand. He pressed the scanner head to Major Bright’s chest and moved it up and down. On a monitor beside the chair, a grainy image of Bright’s internal organs appeared.
“Is it a boy or a girl, doctor?” the major asked, looking at the screen.
“It’s a ten-centimetre-long rock fragment,” Dr. Cameron said and indicated a dark object next to Bright’s heart. “Lodged inside your ribcage. Frankly, I’m
amazed it didn’t kill you. Care to tell me how it got there?”
Bright drummed his fingers impatiently on the chair arm. “I tripped on a meteorite. Can you remove it?”
Dr. Cameron replaced the scanner in its cradle. “Well, that would be a little risky.”
“ Risky how?”
“The shard is partially embedded in your heart. Removal could have serious side effects. For the moment, at least, I recommend leaving it where it is.”
Major Bright rose from the chair and towered over the other man. “Excuse me?”
Dr. Cameron laughed nervously. “You seem to be doing just fine with it in there.”
Bright jabbed his fingers at the black, scaly skin spreading across the right side of his chest and up his neck to his cheek. “ Doing just fine? Take a look at my face!”
“You could always get a second opinion.”
Bright narrowed his eyes. “You are the second opinion, doctor. My last physician got…fired.”
The merc at the door chuckled. The doctor’s face drained of blood.
“I can try to stop the spread of the infection,” Dr. Cameron said. “Maybe even reverse the process with a retro-virus. The process is experimental, but—”
Bright slapped the doctor on the shoulder so hard he almost knocked him to his knees. “That’s fine, doc. I’m used to experimental.” He nodded to the merc. “Take Dr.
Cameron to his new lab. Make sure he’s well looked after.”
As the soldier approached, Cameron’s face fell. “You don’t expect me to stay here?”
“I absolutely expect you to stay here. Ask for any equipment
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