14
Smoke woke up in a rush of oxygen.
He gasped long and loud.
He was in the colony, in the airlock, among soldiers and doctors who had all stopped to stare at him.
He was naked. The burns all over his body looked like a painting gone horribly wrong. He was shockingly human. No implants. Just a man. Pitifully and shamefully naked. The cold floor against his skin made him shiver.
An alarm sounded and lights flashed red. The ringing hurt his ears.
It quickly stopped, and several soldiers inspected the bay doors.
“We’re all clear!” someone shouted. “No damage to the doors!”
Smoke’s vision clouded. Then he realized there was plastic over his eyes.
He was wearing an oxygen mask.
He breathed in rapidly and the mask filtered the air and whooshed.
A face hovered over him. A man. Grizzle
