I was led toward a medical chopper.
A field medic was already waiting, holding a trauma kit. As I approached, he looked at my face and blanched. He reached out tentatively to touch the exposed titanium.
"Don't worry, Doc," I said softly. "It looks worse than it is."
General Hackett walked up beside me as the medic began applying a sterile dressing over the torn synthetic skin, hiding the glowing machinery from view.
"You did good, Silas," Hackett said, his voice quiet over the roar of the helicopter engines. "We got the ledger. We got the buyer list. Tomorrow morning, we're going to raid three insurgent strongholds based on the coordinates the relay pulled. We're going to get our weapons back."
"Happy to help, sir," I replied.
"You took a massive risk," Hackett continued, eyeing me carefully. "If he had hit you an inch higher, he would have shattered your orbital bone. If he had hit you an inch lower, he would have crushed your windpipe. You let him strike you."
"It was the only way to break the seal," I said simply. "And to be honest, sir... I knew exactly how he was going to hit me. Men like Vance are predictable. Their anger is their only weapon."
Hackett nodded slowly. "We'll get you back to Germany. The engineering team will replace the skin graft, reset the relay. You'll be back to looking human in a few weeks."
I looked out across the base. The sun was just beginning to peek over the distant mountain range, casting a warm, golden hue over the desert. The long nightmare of Forward Operating Base Delta was over. The traitor had been excised.
I reached up and touched the bandage on my cheek. Underneath, the titanium was cold and hard, a permanent reminder of the war, the sacrifice, and the hidden mechanisms of justice.
"Take your time, sir," I said, turning back to the General.
For the first time since the mess hall, I smiled again. But this time, it wasn't a smile of terrifying satisfaction, or a taunt designed to break a tyrant's mind.
It was just a quiet, peaceful smile.
"I think I've earned a little time off," I added.
Hackett clapped a heavy hand on my shoulder. "That you have, Specialist. That you have."
I boarded the chopper, the engines roared to life, and as we lifted off into the breaking dawn, the broken base slowly disappeared below, leaving only the sky and the silence ahead.