There was no mistaking that she recognized this virus at this point. They had learned some of its patterns from what Vreta recovered. While she would have liked to have learned more now, it was all she could do to focus through the memories being conjured up in her mind. Once the virus was in the system, Rhia prompted Vreta to give acknowledgement to 595 while she accessed the turrets. After a moment, the turrets turned to face the rear, and after taking in a deep breath, Vreta took the lead to advance on the entrance.

The memories surged forward to the front of Rhia’s mind for just a moment. The agent was running through the halls of the ship towards the engine room at a steadily slowing pace. If her AI could access the computers there directly, they could hijack the engines and redirect the asteroid they were towing. 

“Agent, you need to stop and give yourself immediate treatment.” The AI commanded firmly.

The agent, however, was quick to shrug off the suggestion. “We do not have time for that. Everyone on that planet will die if we don’t stop this thing. That’s more important than some pain and blood loss.”

“Agreed, but right now you have a 73% chance of dropping dead before we even get to the engine room. A piece of shrapnel is currently pressing up against your femoral artery. It needs to be removed [i]now[/i].” 

The Agent growled. “Have the suit’s medical systems handle it.”

“This shrapnel is [i]from[/i] the medical systems.” She remarked. Strictly speaking, that was a lie, but it did drive home the point of how much damage her suit had sustained in the explosion. 

While she continued to growl about it the whole time, the agent did eventually find a corner to duck into to start her field treatment. She leaned back up against the wall, then, with some effort, pried off the damaged plating covering her abdomen and upper right thigh. The state of what she could see underneath was…not encouraging. Although the coagulants had staunched the bleeding for now, her scales were still covered in blood, and she could see dozens of marks where shrapnel had pierced into her body. The cocktail of healing agents flowing through her veins had closed shut most of the lacerations, but the shrapnel itself was still lodged in her body.”

Grabbing her multitool, the agent revealed a small, precise blade that, under her AI’s guidance, she used to make an incision on her upper thigh to reopen one of the wounds. The painkillers kept her from experiencing the pain, so she still at least had a steady hand. Granted, her AI was the one doing most of the movements. The agent herself was not qualified for this operation, but with small stimulations to her muscles, the AI could guide her hand. She activated another part of the multitool that could grab hold of the metal shards, then pushed it slowly into the wound.

“Those bastards took out a whole company of their own soldiers with that explosion, just for me.” The agent remarked, mostly just to keep her mind off of the impromptu surgery while her AI did the work. 

“They are unusually resolute.” The AI remarked. “They underestimated us in their first attacks, but most opponents would capitulate once they realized the technological superiority of their foe. They seemed determined to win a total war at all costs.”

After another few moments, she slowly guided the tool out of the incision, along with the jagged piece of metal that had been threatening her. Without wasting any more time, the agent pulled herself back up to her feet. “Well, the Rahn’Saki can decide what to do with them after this is over. For now, let’s just stop this rock.”