Page 44 of A Mate For Matrix
Everything went black.
“Matrix. Wake up.”
The voice was distant, mechanical. Familiar.
Matrix groaned, his head throbbing in time with the sluggish beat of his heart. Darkness pulsed behind his closed eyes, and every system in his body—natural and enhanced—felt misaligned.
“Matrix. Get. Up. Now.”
The sharp click of claws against metal before he felt a hard shove to his shoulder. His aching head bobbed forward from the movement, sending another shaft of pierce white lightning behind his eyelids.
He opened his eyes to blurry chaos—crackled sparks from the navigation console, dim emergency lighting painting the bridge in flickering red, and K-Nine’s glowing eyes hovering over him like twin moons.
Matrix jerked in his seat. The motion sent nausea lurching through him. His restraints dug into his shoulders like iron bands. He fought them with shaking hands.
“Where is she?” he rasped.
His vision cleared—just enough to make out Jana, slumped in her seat across the bridge. Her head lolled to the side, her arm dangling.
“Jana,” he whispered, panic igniting in his chest.
Matrix tore at the harness, finally releasing it. The instant the buckles snapped free he collapsed forward, landing hard on the floor with a grunt.
“Disorientation should pass in approximately sixty-seven seconds,” K-Nine said helpfully, padding closer.
Matrix growled, fighting to his feet. “Full report. Now.”
“Primary systems are offline. Power levels critical but stabilizing. No hull breaches. Life support is holding steady. Damage is… surprisingly minor,” K-Nine said.
Matrix frowned. There was something in his tone—something off. K-Nine didn’t sound relieved. He sounded uncertain.
But there was no time to dig. Not yet.
Matrix crossed the bridge in four long strides. His knees nearly buckled as he reached her. He crouched beside Jana and pressed two fingers to her neck. Her pulse fluttered—erratic but present.
With infinite care, he unbuckled her harness and swept her into his arms.
Her skin felt cool, and she was too still.
“Medical,” Matrix barked as he turned toward the corridor. “Now.”
K-Nine followed behind him. “Medical is offline.”
Matrix’s jaw clenched. “Then help me get it back. She needs to be checked.”
“I find it strange that the kittens appear unaffected by everything that happened,” K-Nine offered as they exited the bridge.
Three furry blurs shot past them, squeaking and pouncing with all the energy of toddlers high on sugar.
“Wonderful,” Matrix muttered. “At least someone’s immune to interdimensional whiplash.”
“I am this close to punting Biscuit out an airlock,” K-Nine said, tail twitching as the kitten attempted to scale his flank.
“You were the one who wanted a pack,” Matrix growled.
Matrix ignored the wolfhound, focusing on Jana the rest of the way to medical. She was breathing—but unevenly. His arms tightened around her as he carried her through the dim, humming corridor.
They entered the medical bay. It was darker than it should have been, but at least the emergency lights flickered to life as the system recognized his biosignature.
