When Water, Washes Our Pasts Away

CHAPTER 18:

When Water,

Washes Our Pasts Away

The silence in the house is deafening.

Karys stands motionless, her breath still uneven as the weight of her past slowly loosens its grip on her. The cool water trickles down her face, mixing with the warmth of her skin, a stark contrast that pulls her mind back from the abyss of memories. She grips the sink once more, her knuckles whitening, and for a moment, she just exists—staring at herself in the mirror, caught between past and present.

But she refuses to stay trapped.

Enough.

With a sharp inhale, she straightens, blinking away the lingering wetness in her eyes. She reaches for a towel, wiping her face before turning away from the mirror, as if severing the connection between herself and the ghost that stares back at her.

Her movements are purposeful now. The heavy weight of her limbs, the stiffness in her cybernetic plating—these are just reminders of what she is. A Biomeka. A half-breed engineered in war, built to survive, to endure, to be something more.

She strips off what little clothing she had on and steps into the shower. The moment the hot water hits her, her body tenses, then gradually relaxes. Steam rises around her, swirling in the dim light, cocooning her in something close to peace.

She lets herself stand there for a while, her head bowed, the water cascading over her skin and metallic plating, washing away the sweat, the exhaustion, the ghosts that cling to her.

Her cybernetic enhancements were supposed to make her stronger—more efficient, more resistant to the limits of flesh. Yet, they made her feel more fragile than ever, like she was constantly straddling the line between being human and something else.

The Sophonts saw themselves as the evolution of mankind, wielding their intellect and telepathic dominance as a weapon. The Biomekas? They were different. They were designed, sculpted, created to be warriors. Their bodies reinforced with carbon-plated muscle tissue; their nerves rewired to operate with machine precision. Karys had felt it before—the rush of combat, the raw power of her body moving faster than thought, reacting before her mind could comprehend.

But that strength came at a cost.

She runs her fingers through her hair, eyes drifting shut as the water continues to pour over her. For a brief moment, she allows herself to feel. Not just the physical sensations, but everything—the exhaustion, the loss, the gnawing sense that she doesn’t belong anywhere.

Then, just as quickly, she shoves it all away.

She shuts the water off.

Her training starts in thirty minutes.

And Captain of the New Nexus waits for no one.

THE TRAINING YARD

The air is thick with sweat, metal, and the sharp scent of ozone from discharged energy rounds.

Karys lands hard on the training mat, her cybernetic arm absorbing most of the impact. She barely has time to breathe before the drill sergeant’s voice cuts through the ringing in her ears.

“GET UP, EMBERS! YOU THINK THE ENEMY’S GONNA WAIT FOR YOU TO CATCH YOUR BREATH? MOVE!”

Karys grits her teeth.

Her body reacts before she can think. Years of conditioning, programming, and relentless battle simulations have trained her to respond to commands with split-second precision. She pushes herself off the mat, springing to her feet just as another recruit lunges at her.

Her opponent is fast—a full-blooded Biomeka, reinforced with military-grade cybernetic limbs. Karys barely dodges the first strike, her own enhancements kicking in as she pivots, twisting out of the way.

Captain Vex Renoux, head of the Nexus Training Division, watches from the sidelines, arms crossed. His presence alone is suffocating, a constant reminder that failure isn’t an option.

“You’re too slow, Embers! You move like a goddamn human!”

The words ignite something deep inside her.

A flicker of anger, sharp and electric.

She’s not human.

She never was.

Her opponent comes in again, but this time, Karys anticipates the attack. She sidesteps, using her enhanced reflexes to counter. In a blur of motion, she twists behind them, her cybernetic fingers clamping down around their wrist—too tight, too strong. The servos in her arm whine under the pressure, warning her that she’s exceeding safe force limits.

For a moment, she considers ignoring it.

Break them.

The thought is visceral. Raw.

Then, she exhales sharply, regaining control. With a practiced motion, she twists their arm and slams them onto the mat. The impact shakes the ground beneath her.

Silence follows.

Then—

“Finally showing some fight, huh?” Captain Renoux smirks, stepping forward. “Not bad, Embers. But not good enough.”

Karys straightens, muscles still tight with adrenaline. She doesn’t respond.

The captain strides past her, his voice cold, calculated. “You wanna survive out there? You need to stop holding back.”

Her fists clench.

She knows that. She’s known that for a long time.

Renoux turns to the squad, his voice booming. “AGAIN!”

And just like that, the next round begins.

Karys rolls her shoulders, exhaling slowly. Her body is already bruised, her mind already exhausted, but none of it matters.

She takes her stance.

Because out there—outside of this training yard, beyond the barracks and simulations—there is no second chance.

There is no mercy.

There is only survival.

THE LAST MATCH

Karys stumbles back, panting, her entire body burning from exhaustion. Every joint, every nerve, every line of synthetic tissue screams at her to stop. The training has been intensive, very brutal and too much for her system's prime shell to bear. The brutal exercise had pushed her past her limit, leaving her core processor overheating, and her major components on overdrive. Even her cybernetic systems were struggling to keep up.

She wipes the sweat off her neck with her torn-up shirt, then yanks off the left side entirely, revealing the steel-plated muscle beneath. Her shredded abs and lower torso were beautiful, built and complementing her superhuman physique. The room falls silent for a brief moment as Captain Renoux stares at her metallic core with a mixture of reverence and cold scrutiny.

His voice cuts through the tension.

"What are these fools doing?" He rises from his seat, tossing his cap onto the floor. "IT'S NOT OVER YET, squadron! Buckle up... This car is driven by me, and you’re just the passengers!"

His voice drips with mockery, twisting into a sneer.

From the crowd, a voice breaks out.

“Nahhhh! C’MON, Cap! Isn’t this enough?” A soldier calls out, his words laced with total disrespect.

Before anyone can react—

Karys is grabbed from behind and shoved to the floor.

She barely has time to register what’s happening before she’s locked into a struggle, her opponent’s legs coiling around her, trying to pin her down.

“You think you got me, huh?” Karys growls, twisting her body, trying to break free. She spins around, her legs locked in motion trying to grab her opponent, as they wrestle on the gym mat.

The squad erupts into chaos, like soldiers moving in silos, gathering in a tight circle around them. To watch the two squabble it off, for the last match of the day. With only Twenty-Nine Minutes Left on the Timer, the team shouts as they cheer them on.

“KARYS! You’re gonna lose this time!” Soldier 1 cheers Megan on.

“NOOO! She’s got it!” Soldier 2 shouts back.

“GET HER, MAGGY! BREAK HER NOW!” Soldier 3 yells, hyping Megan up.

“KARYS! Quick maneuver! You can do this!” Soldier 4 says. A towering beast of a man, a buff guy, with bulging muscles, yells out to Karys. Rallying her on, and guiding her tactical brilliance.

The timer blinks on the board.

COUNTDOWN, ‘TIL COLLAPSE

6, 5, 4, 3...

The tension in the room is fierce and in-crucible, at its peak. The timer counts down, the last seconds of the training day.

Captain Renoux leans forward, smirking. He got the fight he wanted, but his irritation lingers, for getting only one fight and nothing else exciting, wasn’t enough for him.

One fight wasn’t enough. Fair Play wasn’t tolerated.

He wanted blood.

Suddenly—

Karys’s jerks off slightly, as she’s pushed aside by Megan’s intensive force. She maneuvers quickly, regaining her footing, before crouching down as she engages her from below. Giving her a tight bear hug as she hurls both their bodies upwards, slamming her down in her accelerated movements. She pins her down and holds her in a submissive position, begging her to tap out as she’s too tired to continue the fight.

“Give In Megan!” Karys says, her voice bleak and lacking strength.

“I’ll never give up, not to you little Princess.” Megan scoffs out mockingly, trying hard to free herself.

And then-

CRRKkkRrrr!!!

A sickening crack echoes through the gym.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

THOMPPPP!

Megan's arm breaks, snapping under the brutal force of Karys’s counter attack. The entire room recoils in shock as she’s slammed into the floor, pinned beneath Karys’s iron grip.

A heavy silence follows.

Then—

“OoooooOoohhHH!!!!” The squad shouts, half in awe, half in horror.

Megan writhes beneath Karys, her arm twisted at an unnatural angle. The pain is clear in her expression, but she had to tap out, as a result of concession.

"SIGH!!!......OOOFFFF!!!..."

Megan falls to the wooden floor with a great *THUD* as she taps hard on Kary’s leg, signaling a surrender. Karys releases her grip, and lets her go.

While standing up, eyes narrowed in cold detachment, she shoves her aside out of disgust.

"YOU STARTED IT." Her voice is flat, reluctant—an attempt to act as if it wasn’t intentional.

Captain Renoux’s voice shatters the moment.

"DISMISSED! Squadron... Showers. NOWWWWWW!"

The order echoes across the room like a gunshot.

"Alright, alright! That’s enough! You gave me what I wanted, now cut it out!" He strides forward, towering over Megan, who clutches her arm, still gasping in pain.

His expression is unreadable as he stares down at her.

"Are you going to be holding your arm like that during the war, Megan?" His tone is ice.

"NOOOO, SIR!" Megan barks back, forcing herself to stand despite the pain.

“You damn well wouldn’t, because the Eidolons would finish you off.” The captain said, folding his arms. “Especially without you having any secondary tactic out of your sleeve. YOU LOOK LIKE FRESH MEAT! Sergeant.”

"SIR! YES, SIR!" Megan stumbles responds assertively.

Renoux nods. "You did your best. But not good enough. Now hit the showers."

He turns his back on her. "And CHECK THE MEDICS when you’re done. That needs fixing before it gets cold."

"SIR! YES, SIR!" Megan stumbles off, her movements sluggish, her pride shattered.

REPERCUSSIONS:

**Karys Gets Checked**

The gym is nearly empty now.

Only Karys remains, standing rigid, sweat-soaked, her face unreadable. Captain Renoux watches her, his hands clapping slowly in a slow, mocking rhythm.

"Now this... this is what you do to your crew, Sergeant Karys." His voice is low, nearly a growl, with a blank face distorting the mood on his face.

Karys clenches her jaw.

"Is this what we do to our teammates?"

"NOOO, SIR! NOOO!" Karys barks back, her head lowered in remorse.

Captain Renoux snorts, and spits out before stepping closer, looming over her.

"You think you have authority now because your Supreme Chief gave his life for Alria, huh?" His voice carries a dangerous edge.

Karys lifts her head, eyes burning. "But she started it, SIR!"

Renoux scoffs. "I don’t care who started it."

His next words hit like a hammer.

"NOW DROP AND GIVE ME FIFTY."

Karys doesn’t hesitate. She falls into position, her body aching, her systems overheating—but she moves. One push-up. Then another.

Renoux smirks, turning away. "Make it an extra nine for giving up earlier today."

The captain walks off, not even looking at Karys as she does her routine of Push Ups. He doesn’t even look back as he leaves the gym, passing through the barricades leading to the corridors.

Karys grits her teeth.

She knows what’s expected.

FIFTY-NINE is what he asked for.

But SIXTY Reps is what’s required.

Because even if the captain isn’t looking, the walls have eyes and ears.

And if she does anything less—she’ll be doing them all over again.