Beyond the Horizon: New Dawn

25) Anthony

Beta finally reached the command deck as the rest of the crew awaited her. Adah's UN jumpsuit was a bit tight on her but it was barely noticeable. She activated the hologram projector then opened a map of The System. The map moved into The Belt and centered on the asteroid Pallas. It was one of the few mining facilities in The Belt that was not owned by or held any ties to BlackDiamond.

Pallas was owned by Vortex Industries, a government contractor for Venus and occasionally Earth and Mars. It had bought Pallas from the hands of BlackDiamond at the behest of the governments of the Inner System who had grown concerned of the monopoly BlackDiamond had in The Belt. Vortex Industries' main focus was on asteroids with fertilizing material and water ice while BlackDiamond had their attention on metallically rich asteroids. With the two being bitter rivals and Vortex being under the protection of the Inner System's governments, it was ingenious for Beta to leave her ship there. BlackDiamond wouldn't dare to conduct a search in their vicinity.

Anthony turned to Matt and told him to set a course to Pallas. He nodded then climbed up to the pilot's deck. Anthony, Mila, and Allen fixated their eyes upon Beta. Since they were headed to Pallas, it was time that she explained herself.

Beta folded her arms together and took a breath. She told them that the situation was complex. But the main reason the BlackDiamond sought her out was because she held the knowledge in the form of an equation that would allow a wormhole to be kept open. Anthony noticed the way she spoke of the equation implied that she no longer had it. He asked her if she had already given it over to BlackDiamond which earned him a scowl from her. In a very cold and harsh voice, she told Anthony that when he endured the several days of the kind of torture she had to, he could criticize her for it then.

Matt came down from the pilot deck and assured Beta that Anthony meant nothing by it. He then asked how she was able to survive the gunshots and Titan atmosphere without dying. Beta asked if anyone had a knife on their person. Anthony, Mila, and Allen each exchanged dubious looks with one another. Beta was new to them and had already shown aggression by putting Matt in a headlock. It seemed unwise to arm her. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and grabbed the top corner of one of the chairs. The metal groaned then snapped off as she effortlessly broke off a piece from the corner. Anthony and the others looked on in dismay. She should have at least struggled somewhat to break off a piece of the chair. But to her it looked like it was no more difficult than ripping a sheet of paper.

"Watch," Beta commanded the crew. Mila and Matt began to protest as she brought the broken metal edge to her forearm. Despite their pleas for her to stop, she slashed the metal across it. She winced as blood spurted out from her arm. Mila started to rush over to her but Beta told her stay put and watch. She kept her arm up in the air, blood trickling down from the gaping gash.

"What in the hell?" Allen questioned in awe.

Anthony took a closer look at her arm and noticed that the blood had stopped. Not only that but her wound was closing back up. In a matter of seconds the only way to tell that there was a wound on her arm was the blood around the fresh scar.

"Nanites can work fast," Mila said as her widened eyes remained fixated on Beta's arm. "But not that fast. That was seconds, and it was no small wound."

"Well I did make the cut deep to show you how effective the nanites are," Beta responded.

"That's how you were able to be on Titan without a suit?" Matt asked. "And heal from the gunshots?"

Beta nodded. "You see, I'm a transhuman." She saw the perplexed glances the sentinels were giving and proceeded to explain before they could ask what that was. "Nanites are flooded throughout my body, coursing through my bloodstream. Unlike with medical nanites they aren't programmed to treat a certain wound or sickness. Instead they significantly enhance my capabilities. Strength, intelligence, durability, all of it well beyond human limitations. That is the reason why the UN is after me."