Cameron’s mind returned to him eventually, bringing him back to reality wrapped in a cocoon of soft linen as the gentle hum of a fan wafted cool air across his face.

  “Wha..” He said, his eyes slowly fluttering, adjusting to the darkened interior of a hotel room, its low hanging ceiling, void of artificial lighting, replacing the harsh fluorescent illumination of the projection arena. He sat up, artificial eyes scanning the room, taking in his surroundings. It reminded him of the room where he’d recovered from his threading procedure, what felt like forever ago, with a few differences. There was no evidence of being lived in, no tables or remnants of food, no games or clothing. In fact, except for the fan, the room was practically untouched, still awaiting a human element to bring life to it, as shadows clung to corners and bits of dust fell, only visible when they passed through the scant rays of outside light that peeked through the heavy drawn curtains.

  “How generous of you to finally wake up…” Logan’s voice rang out from the corner of the room, drawing Cameron’s gaze towards a moving mass of muscle adjusting in the inky darkness.

  “What happened?” Cameron said, squinting to see his mentor slowly stand, leaving his seat in the shadows to approach his bed, “All I remember was starting our fight and then everything went-”

  “You had some sort of mental break,” Logan interrupted, his voice as firm as it was cold, “Went apeshit on me and Aurora when we tried to get you out of the system. I had to knock you out to stop your thrashing and haul you both to a hospital on the lower levels. They cleared you for release after running a few scans so I got a room and brought you back here. She’s still being worked on.”

  Cameron felt a stab of fear and pain twist its way through his heart, “Wh-What do mean she’s being worked on? What happened?”

  Logan sniffed in response, sounding more like he was trying to clear his nostrils, than it was an emotional reaction, before he spoke.

  “She made the mistake of trying to get you out of the system and calm you down while you were having your little episode,” He said, spitting out the last word almost like a curse, “She wasn’t prepared or equipped to handle a pilot’s augmented muscle structure, especially in times of of a mental crisis. When you lashed out with all your strength, trying to get away, you ended up tossing her into a support pillar with enough force that it cracked the stone, as well as her body. A fractured skull and six broken ribs are her reward for trying to help you.”

  Cameron blinked, confusion mixing with his guilt and fear as he regarded the man. Did he think he’d done this on purpose?

  “Logan I didn’t… I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I swear I didn’t mean for this to-”

  “I got something for you,” Logan said, cutting him off mid sentence with the same cold and callous tone he’d been using since Cameron had woken up. Cameron watched Logan reach back and grab a stack of paper from a nearby coffee table, before walking over and dropping them into his lap.

  Cameron’s eyes looked down, eyes widening as he read the title of the first document aloud.

  “Relinquishment Certification of Completion?” He said slowly, looking back at Logan still standing over him, golden eyes burning holes into the top of his head.

  “I… I don’t understand.” Cameron said, a feeling of unease welling up from the pit of his stomach.

  “You’re no longer under my purview. I paid the debt on your behalf an hour ago. Congratulations… You’re officially a Free-Space citizen.”

  “... But why?” Cameron asked, voice cracking from the emotions storming through him. He didn’t understand what was happening. Why were they here? They should be with Aurora right now. By her side, doing whatever they could for her… shouldn’t they?

  Logan didn’t respond right away. He simply nodded for Cameron to keep reading. He complied, eyes scanning the first document again, highlighting all the perks that came with his citizenship. He could now take contracts of his own, form a GAC, participate in council sponsored events, the list went on and on, causing him to turn the next page over to read more.

  “It’s simple,” Logan began as Cameron’s eyes fell on the second sheet, widening in surprise as he realized it wasn’t a continuation of the prior note, listing all of Free-Space’s benefits. Instead, it was a medical report. A brain scan. Cameron’s brain scan to be specific, his name at the top told him as much, as it listed his vitals, his condition, and two separate wavelength patterns the ran the width of the paper.

  Anomaly: Secondary wavelength detected. Multiple tests ran to rule out mechanical error. Patient is exhibiting symptoms that, at this time, can only be described as two separate patterns of independent activity. Further testing required.

  Cameron’s heart dropped into his stomach as he read the report again and again, his concentration only breaking when he heard Logan finish his initial train of thought.

  “I’ll do less jail time for assaulting a citizen, than I would for abusing a relinquished person in my care.”

  “... What?”

  WHAM

  Logan’s fist connected to Cameron’s chin with the force of a freight train, powering through the blow like he was almost trying to take his head off. Stars began to swirl in Cameron’s vision as his head snapped back, cracking the headboard of the bed, sounding like a gunshot as the echo filled the empty room.

  “Gah!” Cameron cried, confusion fogging his pain filled thoughts as he tried to look back at his mentor, “Logan what the fu-”

  WHAM

  Another punch, just as powerful as the first, rocketed into his nose, splintering the cartilage and filling his now crooked nostrils with a torrent of blood.

  “What is it Cam?” Logan said, voice devoid of all emotion as he palmed the kids skull, forcing it back against the headboard, forcing his eyes to meet his own.

  “I don’t know!” Cameron wailed.

  “Liar,” Logan said, gripping his hair tight in a clenched fist, tossing him from the bed to the floor without so much of an afterthought.

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  Cameron scrambled back, sitting up on his arms, only to find Logan’s heavy boot crash into his chest, forcing the wind out of his lungs as he tried to gulp down hair in heaving gasps.

  “What’s the second wavelength Cam?” Logan asked again.

  “I swear I don’t-” Was all Cameron managed to get out before, in a flash of movement, Logan’s fingers were wrapped around his throat, hauling him up into the air like he weighed nothing. He pinned Cameron to the wall, his golden eyes, once filled with warmth and camaraderie, now only shined with fury and violent intent. He started to squeeze, watching Cameron’s eyes bulge out of their sockets.

  “I have my twenty-five year old mechanic in the ICU right now because of you. The lone survivor of her family. She trusted me to take care of her, to protect her. I’m all she has left. I’ll be damned if I let her life fade away to nothing because you want to keep a fucking secret. Now tell me… what’s the second wavelength?”

  Cameron could see his vision start to fade, narrowing down to a mere pinpoint of dim light. His head pounded from lack of oxygen, as his hands flailed to pry off Logan’s vice-like grip. Spittle turned to foam at the corners of his mouth as he opened it, using whatever air he had left to strain out a wheezing reply.

  “It’s… Aeia!”

  Logan’s eyes widened slightly as Cameron’s gasping reveal rang through the air, and just like that, it was over. With the same ease that he’d grabbed him with, Logan released his hold, causing Cameron to crash to the floor in a shaking heap. He gasped, and coughed, sucking in air in long dramatic breaths as tears began to form at the edges of his eye.

  “It… It’s Aeia.” He said after a few minutes of recovery, slowly standing up on jelly like legs, leaning against the wall. He looked at Logan, watching a myriad of unspoken emotions flash through his vision.

  “Explain.”

  Cameron sighed, closing his eyes, trying to ignore the throbs of pain that bloomed across his face and chest.

  “When we bridged, I was still stuck inside the Headsman. It wasn’t how the procedure is normally supposed to go, apparently. When I woke up, she was still there in my head, talking to me. She can hear and see everything I do.”

  “How long has this been going on?”

  Cameron sighed again, “Since I first woke up back on the ship.”

  “That was two months ago,” Logan said, clenching his fist until his knuckles were white.

  “She didn’t want you guys to know,” Cameron said, trying to hide the pleading tone that threatened to crawl up his throat, “She asked me to keep it a secret. I don’t know why. But she’s my Co-Pilot. I was just trying to do right by her…”

  “And what about us Cam?!” Logan barked, emotions of anger and betrayal pouring into his voice for the first time since they’d started speaking, “We’re supposed to be ‘family’ right?! Did we not matter?!”

  “N-No,” He stammered, “I mean yes of course you guys matter I was just-”

  “You were just being selfish,” Logan said, poking a finger into Cameron’s chest, “You chose to put a fucking program over us.”

  “I didn’t think it’d be a big deal…”

  “Of course it’s a big deal!” Logan said, his voice exploding in volume, “That projection chamber is all mental. It reads your fucking mind,” Logan violently tapped his own head as if to highlight the point, “And look what happened, you went fucking insane, and nearly killed one of the few people that actually gives a fuck about you!”

  Cameron felt his stomach drop as Logan’s words hit home. His mouth hung slack as he tried to stammer out a response, trying with all his might to hold Logan’s gaze. He wanted to look down or look away, so filled with shame that he wanted to curl up in a ball and disappear, but he couldn’t. Logan was right. It was a big deal. It was his fault.

  “I…” He struggled to find any reply, “I didn’t think this could-”

  “What if we were out in the field? Hm? If you went schizo? I got enough people trying to kill me on any given mission, the last thing I need is my own teammate joining in!”

  “I didn’t-”

  “Yeah… You didn’t. You didn’t think, you didn’t care. Cause it’s always about fucking Cameron, isn’t it?”

  Cameron shook his head, “N-No it’s not!”

  “Sure fucking seems that way!” Logan said, chuckling as if he couldn’t believe the absurdity of the situation. He looked at Cameron, studying him for a long time, like he was trying to search for something that he couldn’t find. After a minute, he shook his head, and turned, grabbing a heavy, jingling sack, and tossed it to him.

  Cameron caught the sack, looking down to see the gleaming shine of silver bars peeking through the top.

  “W-What’s this?” He said, voice shaky and mouse-like.

  “That’s five thousand silver.” Logan said matter-of-factly, “Your cut from the last mission after I paid your debt. Should cover you for a month… Maybe two if you're frugal.”

  “Are you…” Cameron gulped, “Are you kicking me out?”

  “You’re damn right I am,” Logan said, “I can’t trust you kid. If you’re willing to hide some shit like this from me, I can only imagine what else you’ll do, and that’s a risk I’m not willing to take.”

  Cameron felt the first tear fall, hitting a bar of silver with a dull little ping, before looking up, seeing Logan turn and make his way towards the exit.

  “Logan!” Cameron called, almost reaching out to him, “I can fix this! I can-”

  “Enough!” Logan bellowed, turning to look Cameron in the eyes. Cameron could see there was no sadness. There was no anger in them anymore. Instead, it felt almost like… acceptance.

  “You made your choice months ago, when you decided that an AI was more important than us. And that’s fine. Lots of people turn into selfish assholes in this business. I’m just mad at myself that I didn’t think you’d be one of them.”

  “I’m not!” Cameron shouted back, watching Logan shake his head.

  “Yeah… you are. As many times as you deny it, I know the truth.”

  Cameron shook his head in disbelief, more tears falling freely now, “I… I don’t know what to do…”

  Logan shrugged, “I don’t care what you do, Kid. You wanna go stop Caustos, then go do it. You wanna make it rich doing as many contracts as you can, then more power to you. But I’m not gonna put my life or Aurora’s life in danger for your bullshit. We’re done.”

  He turned again, approaching the door and grabbing the handle. The door swung open with a soft tug, bathing Logan and the rest of the room in a ray of warm orange light.

  Cameron wanted to reach out, to grab him and pull him back, trying to think of a way to explain, to fix this. His mind raced, flooded with a storm of anxiety, guilt…fear. Fear of being alone, of letting down the people he’d come to care for and rely on most. Hell, who was he kidding. The people he loved. He felt his arm raise, as if it was unaware that Logan was twenty feet away now. Hoping for something… anything that wasn’t this.

  “Logan… I-”

  “I want you gone by the time I get back. Good luck kid. Good luck and goodbye.”

  SLAM