C37 Iron Fenrir Born Anew

We walked through the Citadel's crowded halls, the usual mix of aliens, mercenaries, and station personnel going about their business.

But today, we weren't just here for resupply or contracts. We were here for something more extreme.

We stopped outside the Pharma Tech Biomed Clinic, its front entrance gleaming with the kind of polished perfection only high-end operations like this could maintain.

The holographic sign above the door boasted everything from cybernetic enhancements to gene restructuring serums. This was it.

I pushed open the door, and the cool, antiseptic smell hit us immediately. A blue-skinned woman in a white medical coat stood behind the counter, her large eyes narrowing as we entered.

Her species were somewhat known to me thanks to my last rodeo In the club, she radiated confidence and professionalism.

Around her, several drone robotic assistants hovered, their mechanical arms holding a variety of medical tools and scanners.

"Welcome to Pharma Tech,"

She said, her voice smooth but cold.

"Are you here for the augmentations or the serums?"

I glanced at my battle brothers. No one volunteered to speak first, their eyes a mix of nerves and grim determination.

"I'll go first,"

I said, stepping forward. There was no turning back now. Someone had to set an example.

"Surgical augmentation to disable pain receptors and things like fear, doubt, and anything else that would decrease our combat effectiveness and also a gene restructuring serum each"

She nodded without emotion.

"Very well. Please follow me."

I could feel the tension in the air as we followed her down a sterile hallway, the faint hum of medical equipment in the background.

We entered a surgical room, all bright lights and sterile metal. The table in the center of the room was surrounded by hovering medical drones, each equipped with tools that looked designed for brain surgery, and maybe even torture.

The doctor gestured to the table.

"Lie down, please. This procedure will disable your pain receptors and modify your brain to remove emotional inhibitors such as fear, hesitation, and doubt. Once complete, your mental faculties will be improved, and your combat efficiency will increase."

I swallowed the lump in my throat despite this being my own Idea and nodded, climbing onto the table.

My battle brothers watched from the observation window, their faces tense. I could see Darius shaking his head slightly, while Paul crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"Sure you really wanna go through with this, Drac?"

Paul asked through the comm.

I smirked as I settled onto the table on my stomach, my heart beating faster.

"Too late to back out now, isn't it?"

The doctor looked down at me, her eyes cold and clinical.

"You will feel nothing during the procedure, though the recovery period may induce discomfort. You are certain of your choice?"

"Just do it,"

I muttered, closing my eyes as the drones descended.

The hum of the machines grew louder, and I could feel the soft, cold metal pressing against my skull.

One of the drones extended a needle-like appendage and began injecting local anesthetic into my head. The sensation numbed my scalp quickly.

The doctor's voice echoed in the room, cool and professional.

"Beginning the cranial incision."

I heard the faint hiss of a laser scalpel, and despite the anesthesia, the thought of my skull being opened made my heart race.

I focused on breathing steadily as the sound of the blade slicing through bone filled the room.

From the observation window, Julian's voice crackled through the comm.

"F*ck me, they're actually doing it. His skull's wide open."

I could picture him standing there, leaning forward, his face twisted in a mix of fascination and horror.

"Damn, Drac. You better not come out of this dumber than you went in,"

Darius added, trying to break the tension, though his voice sounded strained.

"Wouldn't be much of a difference,"

Paul quipped, though I could tell he was nervous too.

The robotic arms began to dig deeper into my skull, their movements precise and mechanical. The doctor was completely unfazed, guiding them as if this was routine surgery.

"Disabling pain receptors now,"

She said. I felt a brief jolt, almost like electricity pulsing through my brain, and then nothing. No pain. No sense of discomfort. Everything felt distant.

"Modifying emotional inhibitors,"

She continued.

"Fear, doubt, hesitation, these will be disabled permanently."

There was another sensation, almost like a coldness spreading through my mind. The weight of emotion that had always been there, the anxiety before a fight, the lingering fear of death, was starting to fade, like a fog being lifted. I felt... clear. Focused.

"Finalizing augmentation,"

The doctor said, her voice almost drowned out by the sound of the drones completing their work.

"Closing the cranial incision."

The hum of the laser filled the room again, sealing my skull back up as if nothing had happened. The entire process had taken less than an hour.

The doctor stepped back, her hands clean and precise.

"Injecting gene restructuring serum"

The woman added as a needle sank Into my neck delivering the serum Into my bloodstream.

"It's done."

I opened my eyes, blinking against the bright lights of the surgical room. My head felt... different. Lighter.

Clearer. But most of all, there was no fear, no hesitation. Just pure focus and the pain In my thigh was gone completely along with the residual one In my ribs and wrist.

I sat up, flexing my hands, feeling the clarity of my mind.

"F*ck me..."

Paul's voice crackled through the comm.

"You good, Drac?"

"Yeah,"

I said, standing up and rolling my neck.

"I'm good. Real good. In fact I never felt better"

I turned to my battle brothers through the window, a slight grin on my face.

"Alright. Who's next?"

Darius sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"F*ck it. If Drac can get his brain scrambled and come out alright, I guess I'll go next."

One by one, my battle brothers went under the knife, each of them emerging with the same eerie focus and calm.

The fear was gone, the hesitation erased. We were becoming something more, something built for the unforgiving galaxy we had to survive in.

When the last of them had finished, we stood together in the clinic, changed, but more ready than ever for what was coming next, even Airid could now stand up without any pain assaulting his nerves though he still couldn't walk properly.

After all not feeling pain was one but a f*cked up and atrophied muscles were an entirely another thing.

"That will be one million credits In total"

The Xeno woman said as she did I swiped my holo phone against the scanner and paid It In full.

As we left the clinic, there was a strange calm between us. No one spoke for a while, each of us adjusting to the lack of fear and pain in our bodies.

It was like stepping into a new version of ourselves. We could feel the subtle differences, the sharpness of focus, and the lack of hesitation that used to cloud our decisions.

"Alright,"

I said, breaking the silence as we made our way through the crowded halls of the Citadel.

"We've got new minds and bodies, but we still need to replace our scrapped armor plates so let's hit the armory, restock, and maybe grab something fancy."

Darius, who was rolling his shoulders and testing out his newly enhanced reflexes, grinned.

"Yeah, let's get some new plates there's a big ass hole In my chest plates shoulder area"

We made our way to the same armor and weapons shop like last time, the shop was a sprawling mix of shelves stocked with everything from energy weapons to ballistic ammo, all overseen by the grizzled ex-mercenary this time.