"Can you speak?" Vell asked, still supporting the figure who was now sitting up against one of the lab's cold metal walls.
The person, Vell could now see that it was a young woman, opened and closed her mouth a few times before she managed a raspy, "Yes."
"Well, that is a start," Yenna said, keeping her distance but watching the woman with a curious expression. "Do you have a name?"
The woman's black eyes seemed unfocused as she thought about it for a moment. "I… Subject 23? No, that is not… I had another name. Before."
"Before they put you in that tank?" he asked gently.
She nodded slowly. "They said… they said I was special. That my body could handle pure corruption better than the others." A shudder ran through her. "There were so many others…"
[Scanning subject's neural patterns]
[Memory fragmentation detected]
[Warning: Emotional instability likely]
"Take it easy," he said, noticing how the corruption under her skin pulsed faster with her distress. "You are safe now."
