MILO
There would always be a new grind. When days and tasks bled into each other, the wheels of the big machine just needed to keep churning on. There was no pause, forward was the only way.
Milo sat up in the hibernation pod and leaned back on the lid. The room was devoid of awakened humans. Beth or Tern were not there to welcome him, how nice of them. And Leopold would have gone to sleep before Milo’s pod had started to warm. Milo stepped out of the pod on trembling legs and zipped on his crew overall. His body always felt weakened after hibernation sleep. And ravished!
He sent a message to Beth, and stepped into his boots.
The response arrived. They were in Birgitta’s lab. Milo headed in that direction.
To walk this short after awakening was made difficult, since his body’s sense of balance had not yet recovered. But he managed, leaning against the occasional bulkhead wall when he was about to stumble. The door slid open on his approach. A mess of machinery and equipment scattered around the lab floor and its workbenches. It looked like Claire’s workshop had collided with Birgitta’s lab. He stepped forward, but with caution. Would she still be angry at him?
Beth stepped into view. “Milo! You look tired. Come, I have something to show you.”
“Good morning and all that,” Milo said, not that it looked like she had the time to listen.
Tern floated in, from behind a pile of machinery parts, bumping against him. Milo nodded to him. “Morning.”
“We have been busy,” Beth said.
“I see that. Busy making a mess or two,” Milo said.
Beth stared at him. “Ahh. Progression doesn’t come with cleanliness. We have created new modules and some other upgrades. With Tern’s experience and knowledge, in combination with Claire’s custom made tools and Birgitta’s research. It has been wonderful. Can you not see Tern’s surface area? It has expanded. Look, look!”
Now that she mentioned it. Yes, Tern had grown, it was evident. Maybe it had been his groggy state, as he had missed the change. Also, Beth seemed in a surprisingly good mood.
“Cool, what do these modules do?” Milo asked.
Beth stepped forward to Tern, not a bit afraid of being close to the alien. “Look, look.” She gestured with energetic arms. “Did you know that an orb can have more than one of each module? If the modules are constructed in the correct way, having multiple of the same function, it enhances the effect.”
How in the world would he have known about that in beforehand? This was the know-it-all-Beth coming forward again. She loved it. He shook his head.
“We managed to reverse engineer the armor module. Tern owns four now. Each of them provides power to the total resistance, but each one also provides a small unique effect. For example, this one give Tern better resistance against extreme heat. Which will be useful against opponents like Carl. There’s one that should counter Lisa’s power, too.”
Milo nodded, it sounded like Beth and Tern had spent their time productively. Would he do the same, during his three month shift? Well, he would not have something to show for it, if it was spent training all the time. He also would have to monitor the ship’s systems and the hibernation pods. Could not have either of them fail.
“You are quiet. I have really not thought about that before. You enjoy thinking, like me. But it is a sharp contrast to Leopold or Claire. Me and Claire worked on her own rig, and Leo kept me company while I tinkered with these modules. I would be lying if I said that I have not enjoyed spending time with them,” Beth said.
“I like it that you are bonding with the crew, it will be easier to argue with Sam about keeping you around. But that is in the future,” Milo said. “Tell me more of these modules. Just because you have Tern on your side doesn’t mean that every attempt will be successful.”
Beth laughed. “That’s completely true! Every module has two parts to them. Software and hardware. Since we are stranded on this ship and its trajectory is locked, the range of materials that are available at hand are limited. Sadly, this makes our modules a bit rudimentary. But instead, Tern is committed to teach me the tricks of the trade. Their software language is expressive and concise. The power behind the syntax and how it is translated into the hardware, is just plain awesome. Imagination and components hold you back. It took two months until my first module was constructed and its tests ran clean through.”
Ambition and an interest in science, also not afraid to get her hands dirty, that were core of her. When she was happy, she pursued those interests with even more persistence.
Programming had never been his strong suit, it was too abstract. But the hardware focus of the modules might be interesting. Especially, how their electricity was distributed through them.
“Milo?” Beth asked.
“Sorry, I drifted off for a bit there,” Milo said.
“Yeah, hibernation sleep does that to you. I think it is strange that our technology has not made it possible to awaken quicker and smoother. If you were to use the emergency wake-up function of the pod, the hangover symptoms lasts for days,“ Beth said. “You remember our escape from Europe13. Captain Samuels pulled us out from our pods with that function. My god, our bodies took a toll for that.”
Milo nodded in agreement. “Could be that other factors played into that result.”
“You are correct,” Beth said. “I am just saying.”
“I am going for some coffee and breakfast before I do the rounds. Will you be joining me?” Milo asked.
“I would need the jolt of a black coffee right about now. So, yes,” Beth said. “Tern is tagging along too, if you don’t mind. By the way, I went through the rounds not longer than five hours ago. You could skip this timestamp.”
Milo sighed, knowing what Sam would think about such a crazy idea. “No.”
They stayed quiet on their approach to the mess hall. The familiar corridors looked as they always had been. He placed his coffee mug under the brewer, it started to huff and puff, the aromatic scent of freshly made coffee hit his senses. He inhaled them deeply, the rough hibernation hangover were lightened, but they still persisted. If he were to drain some electric energy that would change. Being a living conduit and all, it was his responsibility to always be ready for action and right now he was not. He placed a hand on the brewer, his body sucking down electrical energy from it. A sigh of relief as the tension in his body washed away. His mind sped up, alert and ready to go. The blood deposit became distinct, but he didn’t reach for it, that would have been overkill. He didn’t want to let go. The feeling intensified as every passing second. He was mighty.
The brewer chimed, his coffee was ready, his hand let go of the brewer and grabbed the mug instead. The sensation of being powerful stayed.
He sat down on the bench. Beth followed after, making a mug for herself before joining him. Not saying about what just happened, she must have missed that he drained from the ship.
Milo swallowed a mouthful of coffee. “So, Tern doesn’t eat at all? No consumption of any kind?”
“Not in the sense as we humans or other organic aliens define the word. Sometimes their kind is forced to consume biological matter, just to restart their cores or stock its battery supply if the core has failed. But not anything at all like us. There are no cultural traditions other than the flesh of their companion should be consumed in the event of their death,” Beth said.
“And that doesn’t bother you? The lack of social interactions we humans have, you miss out with Tern?” Milo asked.
“Not really. You must understand, we are always interacting. Always. Tern is in my head all the time. There is no-to-little time off,” Beth said.
“But you will gladly have Tern eat you when you die? Because like I have been told and observe how they work, these orbs don’t seem to die often. Not of old age at least, which is something we humans do. So, Tern will eat you,” Milo said.
“Correct and an on-point observation,” Beth said. “But I don’t think its a problem. I like the idiom, actually. Not letting anything go to waste. If I am dead, my corpse is just a waste. Then there is the whole thing about omf, that they eat fear induced flesh. It is apparently quite intoxicating for them. But the Devou Clan turned away from that tradition and which one of the reasons they were considered weak.”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Omf? Fear induced flesh?” Milo shook his head. “You have lost me.”
“The name which Tern provided for their kind. Omf. Orbs of Modules and Fusion,” Beth said. “Fear induced flesh is like the top tier delicacy. Most of their kind live to consume it.”
“Why did you tell everyone this before? We should have been told that the omf looks at humans as pieces of snack. And how can you be so sure that Tern has stopped this tradition?” Milo asked.
“Because he told me so,” Beth said.
Milo shook his head and dropped his chin. There was little point in arguing with her, her mind was fixed. This was one of her drawbacks. Did she think about it herself, how her behavior affected others?
The mug became empty, Milo got up on his feet, going for the rounds. “All that talk about the modules, it is exciting, but I need to do the rounds. A lot more exciting than talking about me as a snack for the omf, but very well, if Tern has not consumed any of us yet, then maybe we are safe. See you later.”
The anger she had shown towards him earlier had somehow washed away. Had the time spent tinkering functioned as therapy for her?
Milo pulled out his hand terminal and started the health checks. “How is the ship doing today?” he mumbled to himself.
-
The rounds went smooth, no apparent problems, all tests went clean through. Sam would be proud that his ship was taken care of so well and how smooth it sailed. After the rounds Milo invited Beth for a training session. It was weird that they had not shared a single training session before, if only she had not kept to herself locked up all that time after the escape for Europe13. But well, what time was better than now?
Milo inhaled deeply as he entered the familiar room. It had been too long. The scent of burnt metal still clung to the air. By reflex, he started to tense his hands into fists and slowly let the sweetness trickle forward. Yes, it felt the same. The access hub on the far wall was still exposed and accessible, the reinforced wall at the other end was still intact, looking strong. Also, even through their battles the last couple of weeks, the insulation around the room held, could not have him electrifying everybody onboard. That would have been stupid. Even his coffee brewer was still in its corner, even though it had been knocked to the side. He righted it back up. He should really get to bolt it down. Proper training needed proper setup.
Footsteps behind him.
“So, this is where you have been hiding all this time? This closed up little space,” Beth said, Tern floating in behind her.
Beth held two new maces resting on her shoulders, one with a fat metal cord fused to the end of its handle and the remaining length of it was bundled up in Beth’s hand, and the other one had a long chain attached to it. The two weapons looked comically big in her twig-sized arms.
“Yeah. This is where sweetness and blood flow. And now also adrenaline,” Milo said. “So, you are going into battle with two maces this time? What is the cord and chain going to do?”
Beth dropped the mace with the cord, it made a heavy thud as it landed on the floor. She pulled forth the one with the chain in one hand and held the remaining bundle of it in her other hand. With a swing of the arm, the mace was launched forward and impacted the fortified wall, before bunching down to the floor. It left behind a dent. “Look now.”
With a tug on the chain, the mace flew back to her and she grabbed it with her free hand.
“Like this,” Beth said. “But the cord felt better in my hands.”
Beth dropped the mace with the chain and grabbed the one with the cord instead.
“Cool. That solution is actually quite clever,” Milo said. “Alright, do a good ole’ sweep with this one.”
Milo backed up, sweetness flooded into his mouth and his barrier flared to life, its tendrils snaking and crackling around him.
Beth grabbed lower on the cord and spun the mace for a couple of rotations. Being hit with that would have severe consequences for whoever was on the receiving end.
Tern’s armor came online and the bubble shield sparkled on, no chances were taken by the alien and Milo felt the same. If that mace cracked bulkhead walls on impact, what would it do to thinner metals or even skulls? She grabbed lower and lower on the cord, making the length extend and the mace’s swings grew wider and wider. For every rotation in his vicinity, he heard the distinct sound as it broke the air.
“Do you think Carl will try to catch it again?” Milo said.
Beth laughed. “I hope so. That dumb-ass.”
Milo felt bold. “Do you think I can block it?”
“Idiot. No. Did you miss the dent in the bulkhead wall?” Beth said.
“I think I can beat you in a fight. 1v1,” Milo said. “A rematch from our last encounter.”
Beth’s skin flowed into metal and she offset her feet. “Come on, cowboy.”
The mace came flying his way. Milo found and tore into the adrenaline deposit, his physical form folding into light. His bolted forward, slamming into Beth’s metal chest, sending her flying backwards, crashing into the wall.
Milo downed another gulp of adrenaline and transformed back, his boots landing on the floor with slightly bent knees. “Haha! Outmaneuvered.”
“That is cheating.” Beth got up on her feet again.
“Alright, alright. I pulled you into my trap,” Milo said. “But in real life, the fights are rarely fair.”
“It might as well be stacked in my favour instead,” Beth said. “Teach me about fueling with blood and we will see how your lightning form fares.”
Milo nodded. “Yeah. Well, what’s your hook?”
“Rage,” Beth said.
That explained a few things. Her easiness to anger, her dependency to violence. Was that the reason why a path of revenge had felt so natural for her? Possibly.
“That might be dangerous,” Milo said.
“Everything is dangerous until they are not. What form do you think I would take if I fueled with adrenaline? A monster?” Beth said. “You are addicted to fueling with blood and it has caused whole heaps of problems. You cannot stay away from sucking down some of that iron tasting juice. Is it the feeling of being powerful that tingles your fancy?”
The conversation had taken a left turn, it made him feel uneasy. This was not what he had planned, not at all.
“There is nothing wrong with juicing up once in awhile. I need to be on my A-game if I am to protect this crew and fight against Saif’s minions. Without the blood, I would not have been able to burn his influence away. I held back both Carl and Lisa at the same time,” Milo said.
Beth shook her head. “But it has cost us as much as it has gained us. Your frantic behavior has burnt bridges. Your fucking idea of going up against that dragon costed us dearly, if I remember correctly. Both Claire and Captain Samuels could have died. If we had just worked together with a plan instead of you rushing into action.”
“I could not have known that I would fail! And that Carl would come sweeping in. No way,” Milo said.
“Yes, way. All risks have to be considered and calculated. The blood makes you feel powerful, immortal, invincible and too full of yourself. A false sense of confidence on a titanic scale,” Beth said. “Maybe you should consider taking it more gradual?”
He didn’t have to take this argument. He was the conduit of excited electrons and she was what? A tin can with a medieval weapon. Lunatic.
“Fuck you.” Milo stormed out. “You can train on your own!”
There were no footsteps following him, she had left him alone and that was smart of her. The way she had behaved when he woke up, he thought that she had accepted the previous events. But no. She kept nagging on, kept needing to be right and correct him. Put him in his place, as if she was so much better than him.
-
After the incident, the mood went down and Milo felt to go into hibernation sleep again. But he could not. If he didn’t follow the correct protocol, of staying awake for three months before going under again, he risked unnecessary side effects. Beth hung around the lab and the workshop mostly, so avoiding her and Tern was not too difficult. It was during the moments when she went for a bigger snack, making her way to the mess hall, that they risked bumping into each other. Whenever she appeared in the corner of his vision he turned without looking back. He didn’t want that drama.
So, alone for three whole months, in a desolated corvette that needed little-to-no attention to run smoothly. What would you do? Training, he dedicated himself even harder into his training.
And for the first time in a long time, he felt the want to cook again. But given the harsh supply limits that Sam had evoked on the crew, it was too difficult to prepare anything he liked. It sucked the interest right out of him.
After his rounds, he searched within his mind. The adrenaline deposit grew distinct immediately, finding it nowadays was easy. As easy as water had been all that time ago. The bitter taste flooded his mouth as he tore into the adrenaline deposit, he transformed into lightning and thundered into the ship’s electrical grid through an open access hub. His mind darted across the wiring, through access hubs and computer systems, he flew.
His destination came up. He sucked down another gulp of adrenaline, falling out from the electrical grid and transforming into his normal, human form. His boots landed firm on the training room’s floor, his knees bent slightly on impact. What if he would not have enough adrenaline to transform back into human form? He could always drain energy from the electrical grid itself, like he had done in the past, so it should not be too dangerous. Traveling by lightning bolt went crazily fast and not something he was ready to give up just yet. Beth had already sounded her hesitation towards it, but why would he care about her opinion? She had voiced her anger towards him many times over and he had grown sick of hearing it.
The coffee brewer started with a slight puff, but then it went on. The aromatic scent of freshly brewed coffee entered the air.
He pulled out his hand terminal and placed it by the brewer. It was interesting how his clothes and any gadget he had in them transformed with him as he gulped down adrenaline. There was no telling how it worked, but it did and he enjoyed the convenience of it.
Why had he lost the fight to the dragon? Rahgon. That was a strong name for a strong opponent. Milo had not committed strongly enough. The force behind the swing of the dragon’s paws had strained his barrier to its breaking point and even risked rendering him unconscious. Beth had surely believed that, but what did she know? But if the paw had never touched him, he might be able to wear out the beast. If he kept moving around the chamber in his lightning form, transforming back and forth, unleashing attacks from a distance. It could work, but it required many instances of transformations. He needed to become better attuned to the adrenaline. Like his control over the blood fuel had grown, his efficiency when using it had increased also. He needed training. A lot of training. But he had all the time in the world for that, for the next three months at least. Commit to the grind! He gulped down adrenaline, transforming into electricity and thundered across the room.