Page 48 of Alien Mercenary's Wife

"No justice for the forty-six who died fighting this," Mason added, fury sharpening her voice.

Reese looked around at the faces on the screens. These were her people… they were scared, sick, but they were still fighting.

"Fuck the settlement," she said. "We don't quit. We don't surrender. And we don't let them win."

"Easy to say when you got aliens to protect you," Hughes said, though his tone wasn't accusing. "The rest of us are still targets."

"Then we change the game," Eris said, leaning forward. "We stop playing defense and start hitting back."

"How?" Mason asked. "They've got unlimited resources, government backing, professional killers?—"

"And we've got the Warborne," Eris interrupted. "Who happen to be very good at impossible odds."

"You're serious," Griffin said slowly. "You're going to keep fighting this."

"Fuck yeah, we are. We're veterans," Reese reminded them. "We adapt and overcome. It's what we do."

"What's the play, Captain?" Griffin asked, straightening.

"All of you need to go dark," Reese instructed. "Abandon your current locations, use your emergency protocols. No electronics, no credit transactions. I need time to figure out how to get you all to safety."

"Just like Krantav-three," Ryans said with a grim smile. "Scatter and survive."

"Exactly," Reese nodded. "We trained for this. Now we execute."

"Copy that, Captain," Mason said.

"Thank you. Thank you all. Stay safe, everyone. We'll talk soon.'

T'Raal foundTal in the medical bay's secondary lab, hunched over a holographic display. The medic didn't look up as T'Raal entered, his attention fixed on data streams scrolling past.

"How bad is it?" he asked.

Tal's hands stilled on the control interface. "Bad. Worse than I initially assessed."

T'Raal's jaw tightened. He moved closer to the display, studying readouts. Neural pathway maps showed damaged connections highlighted in angry red against healthy tissue.

"I thought the scans from yesterday showed improvement?" he asked.

“There is some surface improvement. The neural stimulator is helping with immediate symptoms, but it's not addressing the underlying degradation." Tal manipulated the display, zooming in on specific areas. "The implants are systematically destroying her nervous system. It's getting worse faster as more pathways fail."

Draanth.He hadn't realized how bad it was. "How long are we talking?"

"Six months before motor function becomes severely compromised. Twelve months until..." Tal's voice trailed off.

"Until what?"

"Until she's completely paralyzed. Respiratory function intact, but everything else..." Tal gestured at the display. "Gone."

The bottom dropped out of his stomach. Reese had a year before she couldn't move at all.

"What are the treatment options?" Somehow he managed to keep his voice level.

Tal pulled up another screen. "Limited, I’m afraid. With what we have aboard it’s about managing symptoms rather than repairing damage. Pain medication, mobility assistance, and life support eventually."

"But that's not treatment. That's surrender."

"Agreed." Tal switched to a different display. "Fortunately we have other options."