Psychological Apocalypse

Sunny was glad to hear the silence.


Raised voices and angry yelling had characterized much of the past thirty minutes as Adam made a call to the UNSC. She didn't know what he was talking to them about because, despite his voice being raised, the walls were too thick to really make anything out. Down the hall Krill peered out from the medical bay where he was tending to the injured.


Sunny shook her head at him, and he returned to his work.


Neither of them knew what was going on, and Adam wasn't talking, all they knew was that he had a plan they weren't going to like. The only person on the ship who truly knew what was going to happen was Conn, and the one thing about him is that he never gave away secrets, though the twisting of his expressions were enough to say that he was not particularly pleased about the idea either.


That made her worried.


Conn was usually into most things that caused other people emotional anguish.


He was an asshole like that.


Just then, the door next to her slid open, and commander Vir stepped out into the hallway. He was pale, white as a sheet. She would have said he looked sick, if she didn't know better. Behind him, waffles, his service dog, followed after her head looking up ears pricked in concern.


He didn't speak to her, but turned and walked down the hallway. She followed after him, and Krill, peeking his head again, from the medical bay gave sunny another look . She could only shrug and continue following him down the hall and towards the cargo bay.


When they reached it, he almost immediately sat down burying his head in his hands suffering silently and refusing to speak to her. His dog sat in front of him nudging at his hands and face with her nose incessantly until he began to pet her. She crawled into his lap forcing him to pay attention to her as she did. It had been a while since Sunny saw that sort of behavior from either of them.


It was almost hard to remember that Adam had post traumatic stress sometimes. Hard to forget that he wasn't actually cured of his demons.


Though what would be making them flare up now?


The war?


The atmosphere of combat?


The people?


She worried for a moment that it might have been her before dismissing the idea. No, her and Adam were reconciled. There was no hard feelings between them, and no matter what she did, she couldn't scare hi or even get him to flinch despite being the one who had done this to him.


It hurt her every day to think about it.


The dog's tail beat against the ground.


They were there what seemed like an hour before red lights around the room began flashing, and crew members rushed to prep the airlock for an incoming ship. Adam took a deep breath and took to his feet looking pale but focused as the airlock doors slowly began to open.


A small ship rolled onto the deck.


It was a human ship, though the distinctive pulsing noise was clearly GA in nature.


She stood up, curious to see what was going to happen.


Commander Vir walked forward just as the doors were opening.


A man stepped onto the ramp and then onto the floor pulling a hover cart behind him, with a large, dusty crate marked with the UNSC seal.


The two men stopped to face each other.


Adam did not offer to shake the man's hand, instead inclining his head, "Amidral."


The other man, who sunny had never seen before looked like a person hounded by his own inner demons. He was thin and scruffy, with unkempt grey hair and an outgrowth of stubble over his chin and cheeks, which were sunken and discolored.


"Not my title anymore, Kid."


He looked him up and down, "I've seen you in the news the past couple years. Was glad to see you were doing ok." He shuffled his feet awkwardly.


Adam didn't move, "Yes, I've had far more luck than the others."


More foot shuffling, and the man looked down, "I know..... It was generous of you to donate your money like that."


"I did what anyone would do."


"No... no I don't think so. There are a lot of men who wouldn't have done as you did."


More silence.


Adam nodded to the crate, "Is that it."


"Yes." The man whispered, "Though I wish you wouldn't have called."


"Why are you even here."


The man shrugged, "After the indictment , well, I was found criminally complacent in an unethical and wildly illegal operation, however," The man's face twisted into an expression of shame, "The UNSC didn't want the public hearing about it so, it was all kept quiet. I was silently demoted and my pay was cut." he placed a hand on the crate, "I was made a keeper of this." he looked away, "It has been a reminder of what I did yo you men and women..... 64, there were 64 of you, and now less than half of the original number remain."


Adam's mouth was pulled into a taut line, "And what happened to them."


"Pills, guns, ropes....." He went quiet, "Alcohol, addiction. Those that do live well, they aren't much better off drugs, alcohol , rehab centers, mental health institutes. You and maybe five to ten others are the only ones I know who made it through.... Sane."


Sunny was growing very uncomfortable, she placed a hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away.


The strange other human eyed her up and down.


"But I see you've recovered quite miraculously."


"I have." His voice was stiff.


He motioned the other man to follow him, and together, all three of them walked down the hall.


They were almost to the medical bay when, the admiral cut in front of him stopping the two of them in their tracks though he had eyes only for the commander, "Please, Commander, don't do this. There are other ways, other things we can try, other newer technologies. Every day I live with the guilt of what this project did, I suffer enough knowing that and I cannot allow you to throw away your sanity for.... For what?"


Adam pushed past him and shoved the doors to the medical bay open.


"You don't decide what I throw anything away for... not anymore."


Krill looked up from where he was standing next to one of the beds keeping tabs on one of his patients.


He looked concerned, "What is going on?"


"Prep a surgical suite."


"Im sorry, what."


"No questions, just do it!" The commander snapped, and krill stepped back in shock.


It wasn't like adam to talk like that at all, but the look on his face had krill nodding and quickly hurrying from the room.


Adam followed after stopping before the surgical suite in a prep room with the box. Sunny stood at his shoulder while the other human tried to block the door. His expression was almost pleading. It seemed as if he was about to begin crying, "Please commander, you don't know, everything. You Don't have the full truth."


Adam knelt down in front of the box hooking his fingers under the latches and popping the locks with a soft click. He knelt there for a long moment staring at the unopened box before, reaching out, and flicking the lid open.


Sunny stepped back in shock.


Blood running cold.


"No... no no no, Adam, you can't, you can't do this. I won't allow it"


Her voice overlapped with the other human "You don't know everything, besides, it won't work without the attachment, which I don't have."


Adam ignored the both of them staring down into the box. As she watched his hands and body trembled head bowed. His shoulders hunched under some horrific weight.


"No, No we are done!" Sunny reached out to close the lid, but in a flash her hand was caught, held fast by the wrist.


She tried to pull away but his grip was surprisingly strong.


He looked up at her, one Green eye blinking at her, It was cold though the edges around it glistened, "You will not interfere, and that's an order."


"Be damned about your orders." She snapped back, "Adam this is insane, and I won't let you go through with it."


He stared at her, "I care about you sunny.... Very much, and that is precisely why, I don't give a damn what you or anyone else says. I am doing this for you, for my family, for my species, for the UNSC, for the GA."


Sunny shook her head.


The other human was almost panicked, "No, no ,you can't even operate it. It doesn't have all the equipment." Commander Vir reached down and tugged up his pant leg silencing the man in one moment.


"Is that?"


"It is."


"No....."


Krill stepped into the room now staring between the three of them and the box on the floor .


"What-"


"Sterilize the equipment, doctor, and prepare it for implantation."


Krill started on.


"Now!"


He moved to do as asked, though he clearly didn't like it. The medical staff walked in to help dragging the box into a DECOM chamber at the side of the room.


Adam went to follow, but the man caught his hand and held tight. He held so tightly that his knuckles and fingers had turned a gross, sickly white, "Commander STOP."


He did turning to look the man in the eye, "You don't know everything."


The commander Pulled his hand out and turned away.


"Commander! I didn't get indicted because of the suit." Adam paused, turning to look at the man. He paused even further when he saw tears begin to spill down the man's cheeks. Sunny stood stunned form where she was watching. His voice was soft and filled with pain " I was indicted because we lied. We weren't feeding you medication because your limbs had been ripped off though that was part of it. We were giving you medication because just wearing the damn thing is so excruciatingly painful the people we tested it on begged us to kill them.""


There was silence.


"The only way you were able to operate those suits. The only way that we could keep you alive during the process was because N-methyl-1-phenylpropan-2-amine, N-(1-(2-phenethyl)-4-piperidinyl-N-phenyl-propanamide.and (5α,6α)-7,8-didehydro-4,5-epoxy-17-methylmorphinan-3,6-diol diacetate..... That's what is says on the official papers..... Do you know what that means?"


Adam shook his head though he was very still.


"Those are the scientific names for Heroin, Fentanyl and Meth."


The silence was deafening.


We had to get you high so you wouldn't notice the excruciating pain of what you were using. We used the Heroin or the Fentanyl to keep you functioning, and then we added the amphetamine to cancel out the drowsiness and make you more focused. We got an entire platoon of men and women high, destroyed them physically and mentally to win the war."


"You cannot survive that again..... You cannot expect me to allow that again."


Adam was very quiet, and Sunny had a hard time reading his face.


After a moment, "I would do anything again, for my species, for my family, for my friends, and for the GA."


Then he turned and walked out.


Sunny ran after him begging pleading with him to stop, but he continued onward, ordering the medical crew to prepare him for the procedure.


Sunny glanced through the window onto the surgical floor to see the suit suspended above the operating table its metallic frame looking like some sort of twisted scorpion, a parasitic thing just waiting to infect.


The ex admiral was pleading, near incoherent now..


But the commander ignored them both standing with the medical team, who looked on in discomfort and horror.


He removed his shirt, and Sunny saw the small white scars running down the length of his spine, starting at the base of his skull and riveting into every vertebra. The scars on his shoulders, biceps, triceps, forearms and hands were never so stark as they were in that moment.


Krill tried to protest as well, but was silenced.


The surgical team could not bend him, and so did as told prepping him, lying him down and preparing him for what was to come.


He lay there silent staring up at the ceiling.


Outside the room Waffles barked and whined as if she knew what was about to happen.


A mask was placed over his face, and as he closed his eyes, a single tear leaked down the side of his cheek disappearing against the pillow on which his head rested. They knew they could do nothing, if Krill didn't perform it, he would find someone else when he woke, someone less skilled perhaps, someone who could get him killed.


So they did as they were told Rolling him into the surgical suite with Sunny standing helplessly outside the door.


Somewhere, the dog was still barking toenails scratching against the floor as she whined and whimpered for her master.


Adam was placed on a breathing tube, and then rolled onto his stomach.


The ridges of his spine were bright against the light overhead.


Krill stepped forward hesitant unwilling to make the first cut.


Overhead the Steel Eye Exoskeleton loomed.


A psychological apocalypse. 

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