ShipCore

USD: 1 day after awakening.

Location: Nu Crateris, Outer System, Gas Giant High Orbit, A3123Y

Amy spent an hour under the hot shower, allowing the water to cascade over her skin in a soothing rhythm. It felt comforting, but as she stepped out and dried off with a towel, something felt off. She turned to look at her body in the wall-length mirror. At first glance, everything appeared normal. Perfect, even.

That was the problem; it was too perfect. Her scar from her appendix removal had vanished. The spot on her side where she’d been burned by a coolant pipe was no longer marred with scar tissue. Turning around to view her back in the mirror opposite, she noticed that even her bumblebee tattoo above her left shoulder was missing.

Her shape seemed flawless, but the unmistakable signs that this wasn’t truly her body were evident. Or was it? Abbey had recreated it using Amy’s DNA from an untainted sample taken long before she had ever dived into Hades. As she examined herself further, her HUD overlay provided a reticule that bounced between whatever she focused on, as if searching for more information.

Suddenly, an itch flared on her shoulder, and Amy’s eyes widened as the bumblebee tattoo reappeared on her skin – nanites creating a perfect rendition from her memory. Panic set in briefly as she grabbed clean clothes and hurriedly got dressed before leaving the bathroom.

Amy’s quarters looked just as she had left them, littered with Abbey’s belongings scattered about carelessly. She sighed and instinctively began cleaning up the mess.

A ping sounded in Amy’s left ear, and suddenly an overlay on her vision forced her to grip onto the sofa for support as dizziness washed over her. Abbey’s worried face appeared much too close for comfort until the young NAI scooted back.

“Amy! Are you alright? My sensors picked up a rapid spike in your adrenaline… umm, twice!”

“Virtual comm? Uhh… Oh! OH! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bombard you with that!”

The feed abruptly cut off, and the main holovid screen in the living room flickered on, displaying Abbey standing there looking apologetic. “Sorry! Sorry! I didn’t realize how disorienting that would be for you.”

Amy took a deep breath and moved to sit down on the couch, her stomach churning as if she’d plummeted from a great height. “It wasn’t… pleasant.”

“It’s a standard way that Heeler and I communicate or when I talk through video comms. You should be able to do it too, but your neural pathways need to adjust—especially when… umm. Your MainComputer is still adjusting! It seems it is in distress as well.”

Amy felt a tightness in her chest, as if she was being squeezed. “So, it’s having a hard time too? At least we’re in misery together.”

Abbey frowned and scratched her head. “Are you sure you want to be alone? I can run over.”

“I just… actually…” Amy hesitated before admitting, “Yes, please come by. I’d like that.”

Abbey nodded, and the signal cut off. Almost instantly, the door to the quarters opened, and Abbey rushed in. Amy raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You were waiting outside?”

Without answering, Abbey jumped onto the couch and embraced her tightly. “I forgot my lunch…” The young NAI burrowed into Amy’s side and snuggled up against her. “I’m sorry if you aren’t happy, but it was the only thing I could do.”

Amy looked down at Abbey and gently stroked her hair. “I… I’ll get used to it. It’s better than being dead anyway… I just feel really strange.”

Suddenly, Abbey sat up with wide-eyed excitement.

Amy blinked in confusion. “What?”

“I know what’s wrong! You need cake!” Abbey leaped off the couch and dashed over to the fridge, pulling out a half-eaten chilled chocolate fudge cake. “I will share!”

Suppressing laughter, Amy replied softly, “Okay. Chocolate does sound good.”

As the evening progressed, they enjoyed holovids, hugs, and food that eventually lead to a sleepover.

The next morning, Amy woke up with Abbey snuggled beside her—arms wrapped around her middle. It wasn’t their first sleepover together; however, it was indeed the first time Amy had ever heard Abbey snoring.

A sudden fear gripped her heart as she thought about A31 potentially flying through space without anyone watching their course. Momentary panic washed over her, but she quickly pushed the worry aside, deciding to focus on the present moment with her dear friend.

Her HUD opened and highlighted Abbey before a box appeared with text displaying a different username: A3123Y.

“All systems nominal, no new status notices to report, AM33-Y,” the message read.

Amy’s heart leapt as she processed the information. Even if Abbey was asleep, her MainComputer was awake. Amy wondered if it was the same for her. Her MainComputer had never spoken to her or communicated in any noticeable way, but she suddenly desperately wanted it to.

Text overlaid itself in the middle of her vision.

|This unit listens. |

Amy wasn’t sure what to feel or say. She felt frozen.

“M…mmH..huh?” Abbey mumbled as she looked up at Amy, who realized that she had been squeezing her tightly.

Abbey sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “Good morning…” she mumbled before slipping out of bed and disappearing into the bathroom.

“Sorry for waking you… I was just having… a moment,” Amy called after her.

Abbey peeked back around the corner with her toothbrush in her mouth. “Isst Okhay!”

Amy shook her head, giggling. “Don’t do that; you’ll make a mess!”

Abbey giggled and vanished back into the bathroom.

Amy found comfort in engaging in their previously established morning routine, and by the time they got to breakfast, she felt grounded in a way that had eluded her since awakening.

Abbey leaned back and smiled at Amy as they finished their strawberry pancakes. “Those were so good!”

“Looked like you’d been cooking them on your own for a while; that was the last of the pancake mix,” Amy responded playfully as she gathered their plates.

Abbey looked away and mumbled something inaudible.

“What was that?” Amy asked with a smile, carrying the dishes to the sink.

“They’re better when you cook them,” Abbey admitted reluctantly.

Amy smiled and hummed to herself contentedly. It felt like things would be fine.

“Amy, we have a meeting with the entire team, and you should be there,” Abbey suddenly said, her tone turning serious. “We have some major decisions to make, and there’s trouble.”

Amy turned to face Abbey’s uncharacteristically serious expression. Things did change, it seemed, but that was life, wasn’t it? Amy nodded in agreement. “Okay. Let’s clean up, and I’ll go with you.”

Abbey’s stern demeanor melted into a tearful smile. “I’m glad you’re back. I was… afraid we would lose you.”

They shared more heartfelt hugs before leaving for the important meeting.

In the conference room, everyone who could attend in person was present. Heeler and Daniel, however, participated as holograms. To Amy’s surprise, Abbey took charge of the meeting and led the proceedings.

“We’ll start with a status report on the situation inside Hades,” Abbey announced. “Heeler?”

The hologram of Heeler rose from its seated position and walked around the meeting room to the main screen. Amy’s HUD highlighted him, and suddenly his form coalesced into her vision as if he were physically present. His tentacles slapped against an unseen wall before pointing toward the central holovid table in the room.

A large, zoomed in rendition of Hades appeared on the table—a view of the planet from orbit. The diagram turned into a wireframe and displayed the internal sections of the moon beneath its artificial magma layer that separated the outer crust from the ancient battlemoon within.

The display split into eight sections, each bisected to create 16 zones. Most flared an angry crimson while a small section highlighted in yellow, and only one slice glowed green.

“The Hades creatures continue to resist our efforts,” Heeler growled as he spoke. “Despite our success in establishing a useful conduit for transferring resources to and from orbit, there seems to be no end to their multiplying numbers.” He paused for effect before continuing. “The Hades hive has continued to evolve and develop countermeasures against our newest inner moon units. In response, I have tapped into large stockpiles of material to speed up construction.”

Daniel spoke up at this point, his voice laced with concern. “What about countermeasures for preventing them from leaving the moon in case they somehow manage to breach the magma layer?”

Abbey raised her hand excitedly. “I’ve established the orbital defense array. A necklace of 36 satellites in polar and equatorial orbits provides full coverage of the planet. Each satellite is equipped with capital-grade laser mounts and a beamed power system, capable of delivering enough energy to vaporize a battleship anywhere on the planet!”

Amy blinked, trying to absorb all the information.

Logan spoke for the first time, his voice steady and confident. “From what we’ve seen, the lasers should be sufficient for any large unit that might surface. The A33 platform should provide continuous logistics and combat support while also being able to move and deal with any possible excursions.”

“Sorry, A33 platform?” Amy asked, furrowing her brow. Silence filled the room as the other members exchanged glances. Finally, Abbey cleared her throat and gestured at a large display which lit up with schematics for a substantial station.

“Yes! A33 is our newest orbital platform,” Abbey said proudly. “I designed it as a sister platform for A31, but it has a greater focus on logistics modules. It currently services all system traffic between Dedia and Hades. I was hoping Heeler could use it, but he’s been preoccupied with operations against those Hades hive creatures.”

Amy frowned, concern etched across her face. “I didn’t know the creatures were still a problem… Did we ever consider just abandoning the moon? It’s going to burn up in the gas giant anyway?”

Shaking his head, Logan replied solemnly, “The hive is some type of evolving bio-organic alien life that became active when we reactivated Hades’ reactors. We did consider leaving as you suggested; however, analysis showed that even if they went inactive again, the moon entering the gas giant would likely release them into its atmosphere… They’d adapt and wouldn’t be contained anymore. Whether now or in several hundred years, we would need to understand and deal with them.”

Amy nodded slowly, processing her brother’s account. If that was true, abandoning their foothold didn’t make sense. “So they’re capable of interplanetary flight?”

“We believe they’re some type of bio-weapon that infected the battlemoon to destroy the race that controlled it,” Daniel explained.

“A bioweapon… like the Rexxor?” Amy inquired, her brow furrowing.

Heeler growled with a touch of indignation. “We are bred for war. These Hive-things are bred to repurpose and exterminate organic life.”

The room fell silent as the implications sank in.

Amy frowned and rubbed her forehead, feeling overwhelmed. “At worst, we could abandon the system?”

Daniel shook his head solemnly. “We can’t know if they won’t evolve FTL travel or repurpose it from what they’ve seen. They did mangle Heaven’s Fire, and we’ve seen them repurpose our designs with organic versions of their own.”

Heeler’s growls softened somewhat. “The humans of the Dedia Nest would be easy to move, but relocating the nest itself would require massive effort. And my Queen wouldn’t wish to abandon our world either.”

Amy blinked; she had forgotten Szizsielia. “I guess she wouldn’t want to give up the Rexxors’ home world.”

“Ahh… about that,” Logan interjected quietly. “We found Rexxor remains inside Hades.”

A sense of overwhelm flooded Amy, and she leaned back in her seat. “I’m so out of the loop on everything now.”

Heeler’s tone was gentler now. “I believe the Rexxor were delivered to Dedia by the race that operated this battlemoon. At some point, it was contaminated by these Hive creatures, and they were forced to entomb themselves inside the D-field.”

“But why use a decaying orbit if it wouldn’t deal with the Hive?” Amy asked, her curiosity piqued.

The others exchanged glances before Daniel spoke. “We don’t know. It might have been done by the ones who invaded with the hive in the first place.”

Amy’s eyes widened in realization. “Like… a burning candle wick? A delayed release? But why?”

Logan sighed, his voice tinged with frustration. “We just don’t have as many answers as questions, still.”

Abbey cleared her throat, drawing the group’s attention. “We have other matters besides the Hive to address as well. The Corpos attempted another raid on the Solarian Squadron.”

Amy glanced around the room and realized that the Solarians were gone. “Did Lavigne and the others leave?”

Abbey nodded, her expression somber. “Lavigne took the Hot Rescue and joined the Solarian Squadron, but communication with him and his crew has been cut off since then.”

Daniel grunted, his voice filled with disdain. “They probably threw them in the brig.”

Abbey frowned at Daniel, then turned back to Amy. “The Solarian task force is led by Captain Larret, who commands the SNS Ferun—a battlecruiser. She has six escort cruisers and a dozen destroyers under her command.” As Amy raised her hand, the main screen displayed an overview of the Solarian Squadron Composition.

“The Corporate Systems task force is commanded by Commodore Harris,” Abbey continued. “She has four battleships and a dozen escort cruisers.” She paused for emphasis before adding, “Harris has been very vocal about our ‘assistance’ to the Solarians.”

Amy looked between images of both fleets on the monitors. “We’ve been helping them?”

Daniel spoke up, his tone matter-of-fact. “We’ve been providing supplies to both sides.”

Confusion washed over Amy’s face as she blinked in disbelief. “But… why?”

Heeler growled angrily, causing a crackling sound to erupt through the meeting room speakers before slapping something unseen in frustration. “Grr! Yes! Why? These interlopers should have been wiped away; they have violated our space for too long!”

Abbey regarded Heeler with a stern frown as he quieted down, his tentacles settling into place once more. Amy noticed their interaction and realized they were privately communicating.

Clearing her throat, Abbey addressed Amy. “We’ve been unsure of how to proceed with them. Two votes favor wiping them out, and two votes support maintaining the status quo for now. Now that you’re awake, as a manager, you have a vote too.”

Making her the tiebreaker. Amy swallowed as the implications set in. She frowned as she contemplated the situation. “What about Ackman Station? The Corpos have control of 92 Pegasi, right?”

Daniel nodded in confirmation. “In exchange for supplies and fuel, the Corpos have been relaying messages between us and Portmaster Whitely. As far as we can tell, they’ve left Ackman Station alone, and they haven’t discovered the antimatter collectors near the sun.”

“Can we trust their mail service?” Amy asked cautiously.

Abbey reassured her with a nod. “I can mostly confirm that the messages haven’t been tampered with. They’d need a PSI present to pull off such a deception.”

Amy exhaled slowly, processing the information. The room was tense as everyone awaited her decision. The soft hum of electronics and muted glow of displays cast an ambient atmosphere over the meeting.

“Alright,” she said at last, determination etched on her face. “I need to know more before making any final decisions on what we do… but I think it’s crucial that we retake 92 Pegasi.”

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