Inside Man

Matt sat there while his blood covered his hand. He had tried putting pressure on it, but the wound kept bleeding. He was certain that no major artery was cut, this was likely due to the adrenaline and his heartrate. However, he couldn't calm down. He looked over at the unconscious man that said those words to him before shooting. He hoped that it was nearly a coincidence, but hope wouldn't save him from being dissected.

For a moment, he thought about killing him here. No one would know. They were so far deep into the array. He shook off those thoughts and realized that there were certainly hidden cameras to monitor their technique and skill. Matt just wondered why the battle ended before the last person was eliminated. Before he could think about it anymore, he saw some medics come from the cleared rubble and start to treat his wound.

They checked the other guy's neck and put a brace around it. He was then put on a gurney and carried out of the military bay. Once his wound was treated and bandaged, he was lifted into a wheel chair that was automatically controlled. The doctors said to come to the medical bay when he was finished here to get further treatment. Matt assumed the Commander had requested they not take him right away. He wheeled his way outside of the array, and the Commander was standing with Lee waiting for him.

"So, what do you think Lieutenant Jackson?"

"He would make a fine addition to our team."

"Sir! What is going on?"

"Allow me to properly introduce myself, doctor. I am Lieutenant Lee Jackson of the Second Strike squad. Most don't know my real identity since I am the main recruiter. Nobody gets accepted into the Strike squad before going through me, first. I am also the person that made your tests a bit more interesting."

Matt was not shocked. He had already guessed something similar when he rolled up and saw them acting chummy. He had thought the recruitment process for the squads seemed rather irresponsible. Compared to the number of people that actually got recruited with how simple the tests were, Matt naturally figured out there was a trick to it. Having one of the actual members of the squad feigning to be part of the candidates made sense.

"I see, so these tests are just a cover to find people with the right skills."

"Seems like you figured it out already. This is exactly the kind of material we would look for in a new recruit. However, there are some… complications."

"The injured candidate?"

"Very astute. That is correct. Don't worry about your safety. Turning up the weapons setting is enough to be court-martialed. However, since you did tackle him from the second floor and fracture his neck, the Federation Law dictates we have a fair trial. Unfortunately, until he is either declared brain dead or wakes up, this trial cannot proceed. Until then, you cannot join the Strike squad."

"Can't the captain overrule that with maritime law?"

"Indeed, he could, however, I wouldn't get your hopes up. We will, of course, send this case to the captain to review. He has always left the Strike squads to be in charge of their own operations, so he may not intervene."

After Lieutenant Jackson said a few more words, he left. Although the situation seemed very unfair, it was the matter of intent. If Matt had been more severely injured, then this fiasco would be solved. However, since the only party currently lying in a bed, not knowing if he will live or die, was the other guy, Matt had to go through the motions. In the situation like a tight ship with a certain number of crewmen, every person was important. Therefore, every life was important to protect and pardon if the circumstances were acceptable.

"Well Dr. O'Connely, I have to say, you were quite impressive in there. Although our surveillance only showed a portion of your skills, I could tell that you were serious about the battle. You may not be the strongest or fastest, but you certainly know how to make up for your weaknesses. A deal is a deal, consider your meals secured for a year. Although, given the situation, I doubt you'll be ranking up any time soon. Do make the best of it. Head to the medical bay to get that wound properly treated."

"Yes, Sir!"

Matt wheeled away pondering about the situation he was in. If he had only defended himself and not caused such serious bodily harm, he wouldn't have ended up stuck like this. However, he got what he wanted. The whole point of this was to regain his source of points. The matter of joining the Second Strike squad can wait a while. The main issue now is whether or not he saw something that would give Matt away. His blood was pumping and he felt like a cornered animal. Hearing those words, perhaps his body changed in a visible way before that tackle.

The best-case scenario is that he dies from the injury. Although it would be very bad for him moving forward with promotions, he wouldn't be blamed. It was a situation where he had to defend himself. The two of them had no prior history. The worst-case scenario is that he was already awake spilling the secrets of that moment. He needed more information about the man's status.

When Matt arrived at the medical bay, he was taken to one of the patient rooms to get wound care. His wound was a lot worse than he realized when he got hit. The force surrounding the bullet moving much faster than a regular bullet ever could caused his skin to rupture. Instead of actually hitting him, the integrity of his flesh simply gave out. Fortunately, medicine was far superior in this time period.

A special healing solution was sprayed over his wound after it was carefully cleaned. His skin was drawn together by the fibers in the solution and the wound closed up in a few minutes. This fibrous solution was a self-retracting biological fiber used in most cases that would have required stitches in his past life. It held the injury together and slowly dissolved away. It was far more durable than stitches and wouldn't be prone to tearing and reopening.

He was given a shot to prevent any infection or side effects from major blood loss and then discharged. The whole time he was there, he didn't hear anything about the other candidate. Frankly, Matt didn't even know his name. Matt considered leading Alexis to wanting to find out on her own. It would be fairly easy since he now knew how attached she was to him.

'Now that I've got a source of Evolution Points again, I can evolve. And since I am injured, I have a good excuse for my weakened state after evolving.'

Matt returned to his room and hobbled over to the bathroom. They had given him an exoskeleton brace to put over his injured leg to keep his muscles from atrophying too much. The technology in this world was truly marvelous. He never thought he would get to experience something like plasma guns, hand-held rail guns, and exoskeletons. He removed everything so that he could bathe, and while he lied in the bath tub, he checked his status.

[Host: Matthew O'Connely

Status: Grade 0 Parasite

Evolution Points (EP): 10

Abilities: <Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max>, <Improved 1 Metabolism Lv.>

Skills: <DNA 5 Absorption Lv.>, <Drug Resistance Lv. Max>, <Weak 0 Hypnosis Lv.>, <Weak 0 Transformation Lv.>, <Weak 0 Spawning Lv.>]

'I can't want to wait anymore. If that man really did see something, I need access to tier one powers right away. I hope that the information from the game holds true. If evolving changes my appearance then I am essentially jumping onto the sharpened blade myself.'

[Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0: Begin your path as a Mind Flayer with the ability to subtly influence weak minds.

>Unlock: 5 Evolution points]

[Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0 -> 1: Whenever you make eye contact with someone, they will be slightly more inclined toward whatever you say and believe your words to hold slightly more weight than others. The influence of those words lasts even after eye contact has been broken.

>Ability Hypnosis: Minor]

<You have chosen the Evolutionary Path of Mind Flayer. Beginning gene optimization.>

[Host: Matthew O'Connely

Status: Grade 0 Parasite -> Grade 1 Mind Slug

Evolution Points (EP): 10 -> 5

Abilities: <Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max>, (NEW!)<Improved 2 Metabolism Lv.>, (NEW!)<Mental 1 Resistance Lv.>

Skills: <DNA 5 Absorption Lv.>, <Drug Resistance Lv. Max>, (NEW!)<Weak 1 Hypnosis Lv.>, (NEW!)<Dream 0 Casting Lv.>, (NEW!)<Primary 0 Reproduction Lv.>, (NEW!)<Whispers 0 Lv.>]

All of these notifications rang in Matt's head; however, he was unable to pay attention to them. He silently convulsed in the bathtub while his muscles contorted and changed as if a worm was crawling around under his skin. He wasn't experiencing normal pain. His mind was on fire. His bones felt like they were being crushed. Fortunately, these were only the secondary changes to his host body. He soon instinctively cut off the pain and fell dormant.