Chapter 6
For Lieutenant Michi Nakamura, the process of coming to full consciousness was a long and painful one. Breathing was a series of sharp pants, each one a stab into her chest. There never seemed to be quite enough air, and she had strange nightmares of being crushed in a cave-in at the bottom of some mine. Her skin felt on fire, a tingling she could not quell no matter how much she writhed. Her surroundings were quiet, with just occasional sounds of a machine doing its job. The only thing good was the darkness—not a total black, but dim enough to be restful. The light did not intrude on her mind until she was ready to let it.
She grew aware of motions around her, of people or things constantly going to and from her bedside. Occasionally something touched her, and it felt cold aga
