Chapter 17 The Alloy Within

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes reflecting concern.

“Aria, I believe in you. I know you have what it takes to get back in the cockpit. But it's just a pipe dream. I suggest you take early retirement and live a normal life as best you can in your condition. If you stay quiet and make no ripples in the pond, HQ will eventually overlook you and leave you alone.”

Aria suddenly rejoiced ignoring Dyar's suggestion.

“Great! Everything you said, let’s do it! Dyar, sir! Please, take care of my new identity and enlist me back into the academy. I want to get started right away. I’ll head straight to the science division and find out what they can do about my body. I want to alter my appearance so I don’t attract unwanted attention. Maybe they have some artificial skin to cover my mutated limbs.”

She leaned forward, a plan forming in her mind.

“And for my face, I can use make-up. I’ve never worn it before, but if I doll up, no one would recognize me, right? And what about dyeing my hair? If I change my look completely, I’ll be just another recruit, blending in. I will start over from scratch. I’m counting on you, Major. Make me into a new person! I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that I’m still capable. I refuse to be a ghost or a liability. I’m ready to fight again."

Dyar let out a deep sigh.

“Aria, if you’re sure you want this, I will help in every way I can. I can arrange for your new identity to be finalized in just a few days. It won’t be an issue to enlist you as a special case student into the academy; it’s not unusual for people to join the academy at any moment, so that shouldn’t raise any suspicions.”

He paused.

“But even with all that, I doubt you’ll be allowed to return to what you were once by the HQ higher-ups. No matter how much we wish they would, they’re not likely to change their minds about you. You need to prepare for the possibility that your path back to the field won’t be as clear-cut as you think. But if that’s what you truly want, I will do my best to make it happen.”

Aria straightened, giving Dyar a sharp salute.

"Thank you, Sergeant Major. Please, handle the paperwork and all necessary arrangements. I’ll report to the head of the science division and see what they have to say."

Dyar returned her salute.

“It will be done, Major Aria. Dismissed.”

She added, “I’ll be back soon, ready to get back to the fight.”

She left his office, closing the door behind her without a backward glance.

As Aria strode toward the Science Division’s main building, her thoughts sharpened into a furious resolve.

“Hold on just a little longer, all of you. I swear, I’ll avenge every last one of you. This isn’t over -no, not by a damn long shot. I may be forced into hiding, and stripped of everything I was, but I’m not giving up. Raptor 01… when I’m through, you’ll wish you never crawled out of whatever pit spawned you. And when I’m done with that damn Raptor 01, I’ll see you all on the other side. But until then, I promise, I will not stop.”

Her fists clenched as she walked, anger fueling every step. 

“They can label me dead, throw all the regulations in my face, but they’re wrong if they think they can bury me. Human, mutant, command itself - doesn’t matter who stands in my way. Nothing will stop me. I know what to do.”

Aria moved down the fluorescent-lit corridors of science headquarters. She needed answers from the Science Division and a plan to make herself passable as a human once again. Her steps echoed in the metallic hallway as she reached Dr. Coldwell’s office, the door just ahead of her.

After a brief knock, she opened the door and stepped inside, closing it quietly behind her. Before she could even register her surroundings, a figure leaped from the far end of the room - a tall, lean man with long blond hair, wide-eyed behind his thin glasses, excitement spilling over every line of his face. It was Dr. Coldwell, the head of the science division, a tech enthusiast and scientist known for his obsession with all things technological, especially the experimental. 

Coldwell’s fascination wasn’t with her identity or her combat record. No, his entire focus was on her mutations, her body - a hybrid of human, machine, mutant, and now, something not quite either.

“Aria Lock,” he breathed, his voice low with awe, yet reverent, almost like he’d stumbled across a sacred artifact. His eyes flicked to her hands, which she hid instinctively behind her back. He wasted no time and took her arms gently, his fingers caressing her metal skin.

“Aria, these… these arms! My God,” he gasped, almost to himself, his face mere inches from the sleek metallic surface of her skin. He ran his finger delicately over the hard edges and softer rivulets where metal met flesh. 

“The textures, the lines, it’s… it’s like an artist’s brushstroke but on the most intricate scale of engineering and biology. The fusion here, where the alloy meets the tendons - breathtaking!”

Aria’s discomfort was obvious, but Coldwell was far too engrossed to notice. His face hovered so close that she could feel his breath ghosting over her metal skin, his lips nearly brushing against it as he examined her with love. His voice turned dreamy. 

“Look at the structural integrity! How the ligament and metal coil together in this seamless dance of biological and technological beauty… It’s… beautiful, this is perfection itself. A marvel beyond comprehension! You are a masterpiece.”

"Look at this," he whispered, his voice carrying admiration. 

"Your metallic skin, Aria - it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The surface has this incredible resilience, strong enough to absorb a bullet without a scratch, and yet," he pressed slightly, marveling at its elasticity, "it feels soft, pliable. Almost like real skin but better. It has this elasticity, a perfect blend of organic flexibility with the impervious strength of the alloy."

He traced the delicate junctions where her metallic skin met her muscle strands beneath.

 "And underneath, these muscle fibers - magnificent! They’re enhanced and engineered to operate seamlessly with your metal skin. They contract and release flawlessly, creating a strength that no human muscle could replicate, yet they look… so organic."

“Dr. Coldwell,” Aria said but he was kneeling, captivated as he held her arms in his hands like a sculptor appraising his creation. His gaze sparkled, fascinated as he continued.

“You know, they say the Combelt project was ambitious, but you... you are beyond anything I dreamed possible. Tell me, how does it feel? The flexibility, the sensory input… can you sense my touch here?” He traced an area where her skin was metal, looking at her with ecstasy, as though seeing the divine in her.

Aria pulled her arms back, a little too forcefully, "Ewww, creep! What the hell?"

 Coldwell straightened up, blinking as though he’d been snapped out of a dream.

“I didn’t come here for… admiration,” she said, clearly creeped out by sudden attention.

 “I came here because I need to cover this up. I need a way to blend in. Synthetic skin, nanomesh, wall paint, something - anything that can help me pass as human enough to look normal.”

For a moment, disappointment flickered in Coldwell’s eyes, "Awww... what a shame. Such beauty, hidden..."

 He walked around his desk, pulling up a series of holographic screens as he worked.

 “Yes, yes… there are options. They won’t fully mimic organic skin in texture or appearance without extensive upkeep, and there will be certain… restrictions, but it is certainly possible.”

Aria crossed her arms, watching as he muttered to himself, fingers flying over virtual buttons. 

“Doctor, I don’t need perfection. I just need it to be good enough to get by.”