- M E N A - J U R I V I C H -

     I glance out the jet's window, seeing the lights of Charybdis penetrate through the night sky. My jaw tightens as I realize how I feel at the moment - usually, this is a nice sight to see, a chance to see my friends. Now, my stomach sinks like it's cast in bricks. I gulp as it sets in just how different a place my mind is at right now.

     Is this disillusionment?

     "You did what?" I hear Lucas exclaim behind me, with anger seeping from his voice. It grabs my attention away from my private brooding session. I twist my body around to look back, feeling the tightness in my waist from the flight.

     I watch as Dom huffs, pointing towards his left arm. The metallic exosuit hinge on his elbow had been shredded apart, likely by a bullet from Adara's rifle. I'd always known her as a sort of battlefield architect; someone who uses every last feature to give her the advantage. She had been full of glee when I presented her with that gun. She even bought me a glass of wine when I added the underbarrel.

     Never had I thought she'd use it on us - on me.

     "Why the fuck would you do that, Dom?" Lucas's voice rises, raising his arms in disbelief. "That's our commander!"

     "I guess she isn't anymore, Collins," Dom snaps back, the twitching of his body making me slightly uncomfortable. "She chose a kidnapper over us. You don't find that the slightest bit insulting?"

     "Insulting?" Lucas yells, red in the face, and even grabs the usually quiet Natalia's attention. "You tried to kill Adara, Dom!"

     My eyes go wide as I lean forward, trying to process those words. My vision seemingly tunnels on Dom, his face red from having those words spilled aloud. "Dom?" I ask, my voice shaking with a mix of heartbreak and fury.

     "I've seen what happens when people believe they're above the mission," Dom snaps, staring Lucas down with frightening precision. At the back of the jet, I see Raleigh stand up and begin walking to the two with a mix of anger and exhaustion in his eyes. Dom points to his legs, only movable by the use of his exosuit. "This is what happens, Collins. Don't judge me for trying to save lives."

     I turn back around, leaning forward in my seat and holding back tears. Dom shot Adara. I never thought those words would be true, and yet here we are. Dom's crippled state came when he was with the SAS, and an overconfident rookie ruined a bomb defusal in the Edinburgh underground. I didn't know it could lead him to... this... though.

     My hands designed the guns in his suit. Hell, I designed most of the suit itself. I manufactured those parts. I wired those circuits. It's almost like I was the one who shot-

     I'm jolted up by the clash of the jet's wheels to the tarmac. My eyes go wide for a moment as I look up, cloudy from the build-up of tears. How could we even be at this point? This is practically my family, and now... now she's gone. Not even her vitals are live anymore - she had to have dug the tracker out of her arm. I shudder at the thought, thinking about how far she'd have to be pushed to do it. 

     "My office, Dom," I hear Raleigh say in a cold, deep voice that's laced with frustration and cold anger.

     Natalia stands up first, looking slightly shaken from the events of the day, but the most stoic of all of us. Natalia is the type who keeps to herself the most, seeing this more as a profession than as a cause. Usually, that can be a bad thing - but here, it lets her emotionally detach from the sordid events of earlier today.

     I stand up next and file out of the jet quickly, trying to escape the claustrophobic space. On the way to Erbil, I had been scared out of my mind in this thing, trying desperately to get out and make sure Adara was still okay - now, I'm still desperate to get out... but now I wonder if we're okay.

     I cringe slightly as my feet impact the steps, the cool night breeze flying across my short, blonde hair. Could I have done something back there? I didn't know what Raleigh's real plan was - none of us did that I'm aware of - but maybe I could have stood up for her. Part of me wished Lucas had done that for me, because I can still remember the chills running through my body during that car ride. I felt like I was watching someone's world fall, locked in observation only.

     Then again, at least it wasn't me that had to be fished out of a hay barn. Lucas smelled funny after that.

     The two men follow behind me, Dom's metal linkages creaking in agony as he steps down to the tarmac. Gio, our pilot, follows Raleigh off, walking swiftly ahead of us and towards the car to take us back to the building itself. 

- ~ -

     I plop down in my chair, letting out a long exhale as the cushion breathes beneath me. I unfasten my belt, throwing it on the desk with an unceremonious thud as I instinctively reach for the keyboard. As expected, the computer hums to life instantly, prompting me to log in. The number of times I'd argued with IT just to leave this one accessible baffles me - the others don't know how to work this one, and it's not like anyone unauthorized is down here in the lab.

     I resolve to keep coding my new drone. Anything to keep me distracted from what's going on. I lean forward in my chair, pulling up the script and glancing at the prototype perched neatly on my desk.

     I'd designed it to look a lot like a seagull, almost like a joke to the 'birds aren't real' crowd. I chuckle, thinking about the rechargeable feet atop a power line. 'Digit,' I think to myself, recalling its name. It's a fantastic one.

     Adara came up with that one.

     A sigh escapes me as I hang my head slightly, realizing just how futile it is not to think about the situation at hand. I'd have to confront it eventually. Raleigh's going to love this team-building challenge.

     But I won't confront it now. I won't. I look back at the screen, desperate to get back to something I enjoy. This little drone. My Digit. For the first time in a while, a smile creeps up on my face as I examine the code. A while loop here, a function import there... I minimize the window, trying to pull another code-

     The smile is instantly wiped off as the vitals window stares back at me like a sick taunt. I feel the pit in my stomach get heavy again, and I lean back in my chair as my hands fall and slide off the keyboard. My eyes stay glued to the screen as my thoughts drift off to her. The depth the trackers sit is no small feat. I cringe as I think about the blade: it has to enter the arm and fish around like a spoon in a bowl of soup.

     Why do I care so much?

     I'm the only woman to ever become a Navy SEAL. I rewrote the rule book, for fucks sake. I design some of the highest-tech military gear on the planet with an R&D lab any engineer would kill for. I have everything at my fingertips here at Charybdis. And yet, despite all of that, now I feel like I've lost everything.

     Is it because I designed the weapons used today? Maybe because I made the tracker that she had to dig out of her arm? Because she's a teammate in a close-knit squad?

     Or is it just because she's... Adara?

     I hear a knock on the doorframe, and my eyes jump off the screen, finally, as I see Natalia standing outside the lab. My hand clumsily reaches for the mouse, minimizing the vitals screen. "H-hey, Nat."

     "You all good over here?" Natalia asks, a rare hint of concern on her face. Her eyebrow lifts as she seemingly examines me, trying to answer her own question before I even speak.

     "Yeah," I stammer, following it with a heavy breath as I lean forward slightly. "Just... a lot on my mind, you know?"

     Natalia nods, pursing her lips. "I do," she states, glancing around. "I think once Raleigh is done chewing Dom's ass out, he's going to come by to get that elbow part fixed."

     I try my best to keep a neutral expression as the thought enters my mind. I haven't even really processed that turn of events yet, and now I have to spend time with him? Fixing the very thing he tried to kill her with. "Yeah," I say quietly.

     Natalia reads through the mask instantly, frowning. "Just... don't tear him apart, please?"

     "I'll patch Dom's arm," I assert, nodding. 'I can't patch his moral compass, though,' I think to myself, electing to hold my tongue.

     Natalia nods awkwardly, slinking away like she's desperate to escape this conversation. Speak of the devil, I hear metallic parts clinking together as I look farther down the training area. I watch as Dom walks towards me, his face red from either anger or embarrassment... I bet I'll find out soon.

     I stand up, my stamina somewhat weak from the impending situation. I reach into the cabinets, pulling out a set of spare exoskeleton parts and running my finger across the titanium surfaces. They sing as my nail brushes against them, and I bring them out to the desk. Dom has arrived by this point, looking my way sheepishly. 

     "Hey, doc," he mutters, nodding to the damage. It always amazes me how strong her rifle really is - the entire linkage had completely shattered. Had she wanted to, she could have surely ended him if she had aimed just barely to the left. I sigh, pointing at a nearby chair and picking up the part. 

     He obeys, stumbling over and falling not-so-gracefully into the chair. The metal rubs against the plastic edges of the seat as he holds his arm forward, giving me a better look at the damage. The entire hinge had been destroyed, severing the hydraulics and leaving some electrical wiring hanging awkwardly against his undershirt. 

     I slide my chair over, pulling a toolbox drawer open and grabbing a few sockets needed to disassemble the closest connections. My arms raise, testing different socket sizes to remember which one to use. As the 14mm locks in, I nod, attaching it to the wrench and plugging in the battery.

     "She sure did a number on you," I observe, unbolting one nut and readjusting my position before removing the second.

     "Yeah," Dom mumbles, his face tightening as I remove a linkage and unplug a cable set. 

     Cold anger runs through me as the thought appears in my head again. He fucking shot her. He actually shot Adara. This guy ruined any chance she would change her mind... any chance I'll see her anytime soon. She could be dead out in Iraq, for all I know...

     "I'm glad you missed."

     My thoughts spill into a cutting voice, making me pause for a moment as I reach for a new cable and plug in a fuse. Dom looks at me in a slight shock, a bit caught off guard as he registers the words that just came out of my mouth.

     "Mena, I-"

     "Stop," I snap through gritted teeth as I hold my wrench at him, my nails clawing into my palms. "I know you're not going to apologize. I don't want to fucking hear it." 

     He looks at me, seemingly stupefied at my uncharacteristic burst of anger and embarrassed at his situation. "You're going to shut up if you want me to fix you after what you just did to... to my best friend."

     Dom purses his lips like he's about to say something, but chooses to hold his tongue and simply lean his head back. My grip tightens on the wrench, tempted to start hitting him with it. Tempted to plug the wrong cable in, to ruin his suit. But what can I do? I'd have to build him another one anyway. For the first time in a long time, I hate my damn job.