“Would you mind some clothes?” I say to the gawking people present here. They snap back to reality, and fumble around to find me a rag that the big muscular dude that i saw before tosses to me. I catch it in the air and use it to cover myself. It’s not perfect but hey, beggars can’t be choosers.

They are now turning their eyes away from me in embarrassment, as I put the rag on; it’s an old shirt, big enough to reach my legs. It sticks to my skin which is still covered in a strange liquid.

Hallie, what the fuck is this?

[Cocoon state generates a membrane of healing throughout the body to accelerate healing process]

Ugh, gross, it’s like I was in an actual cocoon.

…

Wait. Hallie…

Please tell me I wasn't.

[... Does the user wish for me to say ‘You were not’?]

No, I want you to tell me if i was in an actual cocoon.

[...Affirmative]

“FUCK!”

I curse out loud as I get the chills just from the thought of me, behaving less like a human and more like a weird insect cyborg. The soldiers around me flinch from the sudden shouting, and some of them look like they are thinking I'm mad because of the unfortunate nudity from before.

And how the hell was I in a cocoon? How did it form? If you tell me i shoot silk from my ass i swear i’ll shoot myself right here.

[Negative. A failsafe protocol was installed in the user’s spine, connected to the cerebral module, that activates in case of severe injury. When activated, a metallic cocoon is formed around the user, protecting from external damage while the regenerating process takes place]

Alright, it doesn't sound so gross at least. I guess that thing is the corporation insurance. How sturdy is that cocoon?

[It can withstand around three thousand kilonewtons of pressure for at least an hour]

Yeah, it’s definitely insurance. Now I understand why they just sent me here if they want to keep me alive, although they probably didn’t expect an Avatar of what's-its-name to appear here. One thing though, what happened to my clothes? I guess they were torn and slightly bloody but at least they were still on as far as i remember.

[The healing process of cocoon state dissolves non-organic material]

What about all the metal stuff in my body?

[Answer unknown]

I’m going to try to ignore that, as i feel that if I think too much about it, I’ll regret it. Just one step at the time here, one step.

I look around, seeing that there’s a familiar face among the group, that old man Novak is here, smoking a cigar with a look of complete peace of mind. He notices I'm looking at him and he just smiles and nods. That’s the most emotion I've seen him show until now.

“LCDR Ricardo Santángel reporting in, commander” The buff man salutes formally, breaking the ice.

I take a look at him as I remember that name as the interim leader of the crew that made the decision to not wait for me and come here to help the colony. A noble decision, although they would have been dead if we were just a bit late to the show. I’m not one to uphold a perfect compliance with military normatives, hell i don’t even know the actual normatives, and i even have to commend him for the quick thinking that i’m sure saved lives, but I’ll have to punish him a bit.

“At ease, soldier”

He loosens up, and he looks at me expectantly. Also, there’s a slight shine in his eyes when he looks at me. Whatever.

“We’ll need to talk a bit, meanwhile, where can i change into something appropriate?”

“Please follow me” He says as he starts walking in front of me. He makes a couple of signals with his hands to some of the soldiers who follow him as well, and some position right behind me, waiting for me to walk. I guess i’ve got an entourage now. I take a mental note of how the soldiers followed his command without a word or hesitation; I guess I've got a pretty good right hand man here, that’s really a blessing.

I start walking, with my bare foot touching the dirt in the ground. We are in what looks like a tent made of synthweave, so probably a military camp. When we get out, I see the local sun at its peak, and that the camp is bursting with energy. There’s a lot of people moving, carrying things, working, talking, and the mood seems pretty good all things considered. One of the main points after a battle is the mood of the people, get it too low and you might as well just abandon the battlefield.

When people take notice of me, I hear someone starting to clap on the distance, and then it becomes two people clapping. After twenty meters of walking, just following Ricardo, it feels like the whole camp is clapping. I look behind me and even the soldiers that went in the tent are clapping now, and I see a smug looking Novak clapping as well.

Eh… fuck, what do you even do in this situation? Should I wave? Nah, i’m not a celebrity.

Let’s just walk. Fast. Really fast.