Free Guardians of Eden by Matt Roberts

consequences of his improvised landing. And, as his eyes steadily came into focus, his already unpleasant mood sank a little further into the depths. Instead of finding himself lying on a warm, soft bed in medical he was still crumpled in the exact same spot on the hard metal floor of the jet’s airlock where he’d been when he last saw light.
    He rolled over, bringing on a fresh surge of agony that provoked a sorry groan. Squinting, he could just about make out a figure sitting against the wall opposite him.
    “You alright O?” Sully asked.
    “Not really, no,” Owyn croaked. As he imagined himself looking that should have been fairly apparent without the need for clarification. He dropped his head back to the floor and closed his eyes. “Why the hell aren’t I in medical?”
    “O’Brien’s orders. She said it’d do you good to quote; ‘get off your ass and walk yourself there.’”
    “Charming. Did Ambrose agree to that?”
    “Ambrose was long gone by the time we got here.” He paused momentarily then jumped straight to the question. “You knew he was leaving didn’t you?”
    “Does this seem like a good time to you?” Owyn’s patience was beginning to wear a little thin. He let out another illegible yowl as he provoked another sudden rush of pain. “Fuck you O’Brien,” he grumbled as though somehow she was going to hear him.
    “Hey, you’re the one who tries to chat her up while she beats the crap out of you every training session. You don’t have to tell me how much of a bitch she is,” Sully jested.
    Owyn grinned weakly, shaking his head. “How long was I out?” he asked, as he finally attempted to prop himself up, coughing and spluttering as he did.
    “Three hours, give or take. I’m not sure exactly when you decided to knock your pretty head and miss the rest of the show. It was one hell of a show.”
    “I bet.” Owyn rolled his eyes. He gasped loudly as one of his broken ribs knocked against the wall on his way up.
    “You really aren’t in good shape, are you?” Sully was finally beginning to express some honest concern. “What the hell happened back there?”
    “You’ve just noticed, huh? That explosion gave me a royal beating. That’s what happened. And it turns out I’m pretty shitty at landing without my thrusters.”
    “Whatever that bomb was made of, it sure packed a punch. If I’d stayed on the ground any longer then I don’t think we’d have escaped the blast.”
    Owyn thought back, bringing the image of the devastation back into his mind. It had cut straight through everything. The facility, a whole mile of solid rock above it, everything. How was that even possible? That facility was state of the art, and the weapon was hardly bigger than a can of beans.
    “O?” Sully said as he noticed Owyn’s eyes drifting off into the distance.
    Owyn broke out of his trance. He groaned again as the pain came flooding back.
    “Come on. Let’s get you to medical before you pass out on me again.” Sully helped him to his feet. “What happened to Ambrose back there? The plan was for the two of you to enter the facility together but as far as I could tell he never went under.”
    “I’d love to know. He got me in then vanished. Now he’s fucked off to God knows where.” He sighed, knowing that there was no use in expressing his frustration. Ambrose was gone. “Did everyone else make it back in one piece?” he asked as Sully carried him out into the hangar.
    “Yup. Everything went to plan. Shaw and O’Brien took out the watchtowers then as soon as you went under they dealt with the jammers. Evac went as smoothly as it could have.”
    “Good,” Owyn said with relief.
    “You must have taken a bigger knock to the head than I thought. Since when did you care about anyone but yourself?”
    “Ah fuck off,” Owyn joked. “I’m allowed to be soft for once in my life.”
    After treatment and twelve hours rest, Owyn’s broken arm and ribs had been reconstructed and