Garrick watched the countdown whittle away, already down to twenty-five minutes.

He had been gazing at the numbers, the image of his brain lighting up like a Christmas tree, or the war for hours now while trying to stay awake. So far, it worked, but as the countdown closed in, he felt something odd. A sensation he'd not felt in a long time.

The desire to live.

It wasn't that he had wanted to die or was tired of living before, but as the moment of nuclear explosions kept inching closer, the desire to survive grew exponentially.

Minutes trickled away, and as the countdown hit five minutes, Garrick shivered.

So… that's it? he thought, wondering what Macdewil would think of the shuttle returning without him and just Hilbert's body.

He looked around, trying to ignore the blood splatters on the inside of his helmet and the stench. The filters of his suit had been becoming worse every day, but the current influx of stenches would have likely been beyond its capacity even if it had been fresh.

As two minutes began counting down, the lights around the implant were starting to change. Initially, the entire center had been red, with a border of blue and the occasional spike inward. Now, whole tendrils and even parts of the main implant body were turning blue.

That is a good thing… right? Garrick thought, a tiny bit of hope growing.

The countdown froze at one minute and seven seconds, and he held his breath.

A shiver ran through his H.U.D. as the interface changed. He'd seen images of Y1 and beyond interfaces, with all their added features, but as a new User Interface seemed to wrap around the world, he realized seeing was believing. Tiny lines pointed at the hull's damaged sections, showing what material it was and how much force had been required to create said damage.

"Captain Dasbartin, I have successfully taken over the implant. I also managed to retrieve some data before the entity could destroy it completely," The Tealclaw LLM said. "I have installed a modified version of the Y2 interface, and the new user process will commence in a moment."

"What data, and what do you mean? You modified the Y2?" Garrick asked, unable to keep his worry and suspicion from his voice.

"My processes are still working on the data, and it will be a few hours before I am done. As for your implant, it was modified beyond the capabilities of a Y2, and this includes the ability to increase its scope even more. Currently, I have retracted the tendrils and repaired the holes."

"Repaired the holes? Explain!"

"One of the additions of the changed implant is the ability to repair small sections of tissue. From what I am able to see, the implant has been actively repairing a few underlying conditions your brain had, including damage from the original X3 implant. Currently, it is repairing the damage done to your brain, while it has already begun drilling tendrils into your heart to repair that."

Garrick stared at the H.U.D., not sure what to think of this.

"This shouldn't be possible… right?"

"Although I am unsure exactly how it is doing this, its existence proves it is feasible. The implant has been converting some of your cells into energy while changing tissue into an unfamiliar biomaterial that seems largely based on a combination of collagen and elastin. Combined with the minor elements it took from the inside of the helmet, it appears it has been slowly working its way through your body. I have paused this and will leave it to your digression how to continue."

Garrick didn't know how to react as he thought about having a stronger LLM in his mind and tendrils throughout his body. If it was an option, he'd have preferred having no implant at all, but as he gazed through one of the few cracks in the back of the room, which showed the starry sky beyond, he knew that wasn't an option if he wanted to live.

"I have modified the Y2 to be able to explain its unusual capabilities," The Tealclaw said.

"Are you sure it can hold off the foreign entity?"

"Yes, Captain. It already is actively defending against the initial barrage of intrusions."

Garrick saw the image of his brain change, and now he saw the tendrils glowing with a pale white as bursts of red seemed to appear on certain areas.

"Is it strong enough?" he asked, feeling his worry grow at the prospect of being overtaken.

"Currently, I am on standby to take over in case it fails," The Tealclaw said calmly. "But this seems highly unlikely to be needed. The foreign entity is too far away to work efficiently, and the new LLM is expanding the pre-existing defenses within its model, rapidly shoring them up while increasing the host's ability to withstand them."

"It's changing me?" Garrick asked, feeling worried at the calm way The Tealclaw spoke about being modified by some wannabe AI.

"Yes, but it will only make changes to increase your chances for immediate survival. If it ever requires implementing a change beyond the normal human condition, it will request permission first."

The normal human condition?

Garrick closed his eyes. Was he imagining things, or was his headache far less painful?

"Alright, start the introduction process," he said.

"Yes, Captain."

The H.U.D. blinked a few times before a triple vertical line appeared in the center.

"Hello, Captain Dasbartin," a slightly deeper, older voice said. "I am Modified Y2 Instance Z87L, and I am here to provide you with all the capabilities your recovered implant possesses. Would you like to change my denominator?"

Garrick licked his lips. X3 implants couldn't speak, as they didn't have sufficient capabilities for it. He had always known Y1's could, but they didn't use it a lot due to power constraints. It was clear that whatever his own implant had been changed to didn't have these limits. That meant he was going to need to get used to a voice in his head…

A name.

For a few moments, he pondered, letting it keep the callsign, then shook his head. He had no idea how long everything would last.

He thought for a little while, wondering what name an LLM should need. He'd always hated it when people gave them normal human names, and he much preferred things like Tealclaw or Sibilis. Coming up with a name, however, proved hard as his mind was still foggy. Finally, annoyed, he decided on something else.

"Based on what you know of me, suggest some names for yourselves," he said.

“Yes, captain Dasbartin. Based on your distaste of anything resembling AI, might I suggest Node or Console?"

Garrick blinked at the slightly snarky reply, and he frowned.

"No. Suggest something less… ridiculous," he said.

"Very well. Perhaps Specter, Trace, or Crux?"

Garrick hummed, then nodded.

"Crux will do," he said, and even with everything that was going on, he felt his lips curl up slightly.

The Crux of the matter is that I dislike AI, he thought to himself.

"Name changed to Crux," the LLM, now called Crux, said. "Before we continue, there are some important choices that need to be made."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Explain."

An image of a human heart appeared, and even without having any knowledge about it, Garrick could see that it wasn't a healthy one. The left part of the heart wasn't expanding properly. Tendrils appeared a hand length away from the heart.

"The Precursor LLM was working toward the heart area," Crux said calmly. "It is unclear if this was to create more heart attacks or to repair it, but the latter is an option. Without any action on our part, the heart will deteriorate, diminishing the host's life expectancy to under a year."

Garrick stared at the heart.

"And you are suggesting continuing to expand to my heart and repair it?" he said. "Explain how."

"The tendrils are able to boost the body's natural healing by taking in the surrounding tissue cells and using them to create new cells based on the original. Combined with stimulating stem cell generation, they can create a temporary bio-scaffold around the injured area of the heart-"

Garrick listened quietly and in slight awe, as Crux explained a process of a few hours that would stabilize his heart before starting a process of a few weeks that would result in his heart being better than new.

"I… alright," he said, not sure if he understood even half of the terms he'd heard. He would have to ask Yuri when he returned, but for now, he would need the ability to move for that.

"Can you fix all the damage I took?"

"With time, however, this would require expanding the implant, which would require taking more basic components from the helmet."

In other words, poking holes through my skull to suck in stuff, Garrick thought.

"Just do what you can without that for now," he said.

“Yes, Captain Dasbartin. Currently, the process of repairing your brain damage is going well, and it should be fully operational again within a few hours."

"..."

Garrick licked his lips, holding back a shiver.

"What brain damage?" he asked.

"When The Tealclaw LLM started taking over the implant, the precursor AI eventually tried to destroy the implant and itself. Preventing this was what took most of the time. The precursor AI did manage to do significant damage to the surrounding brain tissue, but not enough to cause permanent harm."

"That explains my headache," Garrick said with a sigh.

"Not exactly, Captain. I am currently actively suppressing the pain impulses from that area. The headache you are experiencing is from a lack of hydration. This is also being fixed, but it will take a bit more time."

Garrick shook his head, deciding he wasn't going to ask why he suddenly had a lack of hydration. It mattered little in the grand scheme of what was happening to him.

"Are there any more immediate things to take care of?" he asked.

"No, Captain. Would you like me to explain my capabilities and those of the implant?"

"Start with the implant," Garrick said.

"Very well."

Garrick quietly listened as Crux began listing a long list of abilities, most of which he knew were deemed impossible back home.

When it finally finished, he sighed, almost sad the headache was going away as it made it easier to think.

"In other words, it can, with enough time, remove all physical damage and scarring, even that of age, while integrating biotech systems into me, changing me into what… a cyborg? How is that even possible?"

"In essence, yes," Crux said. "Though, for this, you would need a great deal more raw materials, including some molecules that are unknown to us. Also, it requires some form of nanobot called Bioforgers. As to how it is possible? From my still incomplete understanding of the implant, it can create structure within any area of your body with enough space which will be able to create these Bioforgers through mechanosynthesis."

Great, Garrick thought, shivering as he recalled the horrible old sci-fi movies he'd seen on occasion. If he wasn't careful he was going to turn into an inhuman cyborg, flesh riddled with tiny nanobots. As soon as he got red eyes, he was going to-

Wait… An image of Hillary, or what had been left of her, glaring at him through the partially open door came to him. Her eyes had been partially glowing as if there were tiny mechanisms inside.

"That's what is happening to Captain Braddock?" he asked, his worry growing.

"Yes, Captain. It is very likely that she is currently being changed into something that is, as you would say it, non-human."

"Give me a timescale for that thing to change her in such a way that she could get out of the bridge," Garrick snapped.

He extended his hand, pulling himself around so he could see the door from which he'd come in.

"That should not be possible, Captain. From the last information, the door was mostly closed, and special officer Hilbert Exalciar The Third blocked the every likely way to open it remotely. That means it will need to be broken open, which would require either explosives or greatly enhanced physical strength."

Garrick licked his lips, a tiny part of him realizing that Crux hadn't been kidding about being dehydrated.

"Likelihood of explosions?" he asked.

"There is no known way to create an explosive with the limited resources and tools on the bridge," Crux said. "More so, the chances that what remains of Captain Braddock is destroyed is high. Although it might be that the Precursor LLM is able to create some unknown form of explosion, it seems likely that it would have done so already in this case."

"What are the chances that she… is turned into some cyborg that can break open the door?" Garrick asked, imagining some metal-wrapped version of Hillarby breaking open the metal doors.

"Based on your current implant's abilities, there is no way for her to become powerful enough for this yet. Besides the lack of a plethora of unknown metals, it would require a multitude of systems that each take weeks or months to synthesize."

Garrick blinked, licking his lips.

"But you are telling me that it is possible?"

"Yes, Captain. Eventually, it would likely be possible. But it is highly unlikely for Captain Braddock to ever reach this point. From the images taken, her body was in a very bad state. Without more processing power, energy, and resources, it is nearly impossible that her body come anywhere close to that level of strength."

Garrick let out a relieved sigh. "Alright. Explain the enhanced functions that you have."

"Yes, Captain. First and foremost, I have the processing power of a Class Four LLM, which is just a single level below the Tealclaw. This means I can solve problems and mimic normal human behavior. Based on the potential of the implant, it is possible to increase this level, though this would mean increasing the size and integration of the implant. The current processing power allows me to give you immediate information based on what you see, help you make rapid real-time calculations, and suggest solutions to problems."

The lines in Garrick's head pulsed as information on different types of objects in his vision flickered on and off.

"It is currently configured to show the minimum of all objects that could cause issues with survival," Crux continued.

"How is knowing the amount of force that was required for that hole relevant to my survival?" Garrick asked, pointing at a hole.

"The force is just some information, Captain. I can remove it if you want. The problem with the hole is that a rather large dose of radiation is currently pouring in through it. If you keep your current location, it will become lethal within seventeen hours."

Garrick groaned as he looked around the remnants of the mainframe room. Seventeen hours sounded like a long time, but he knew it was likely damaging him already.

His mind was clearing up rapidly; his breathing was easier, and the pain in his body was less. However, he wondered if the last was because there was no pain or if Crux was doing something to hide it.

Right now, he didn't want to know. What he needed to do was get out of here.

"How long till the shuttle leaves?" he asked.

"Twenty-seven minutes, captain," Crux said as a timer appeared in the corner of his vision.

Garrick frowned. It felt both longer and shorter than he'd imagined. It also meant he had to leave. Now.

"Are you fully able to hold back the Precursor LLM's attempts to take over the implant?"

"Yes, Captain. The precursor would need to have a far stronger signal and a great deal more processing power than it has shown so far to be able to overtake the defenses I have in place. Also, as time progresses, the defenses will continue to improve."

I don't want to know how you are increasing the defenses, Garrick thought, holding back from shaking his head.

"Alright, Tealclaw, are you still here?" he asked.

"Captain, I am currently preventing any foreign LLM or AI from listening to our conversation. Would you like me to resume the chat with The Tealclaw?"

It can do that...? Garrick thought, feeling another cold shiver.

Normal regulation meant that the micro-LLM on implants couldn't actively regulate coms and similar things. Apparently, that didn't count for Crux.

"Yes, also, you are not to act without informing me of these actions," Garrick said before he frowned and quickly added: "Unless my life or that of one of my crew depends on immediate action."

"Yes, captain," Crux said.

"Tealclaw?"

“Yes, Captain Dasbartin. Is everything alright?"

Garrick stared at the mainframe, suddenly an immense sadness for what he had to do. If the chances of them all being infected and returning weren't so big, he'd never suggest what he was about to do.

"I am heading to the shuttle bay to find another shuttle to repair. I order you to detonate the nuclear device as soon as you detect the shuttle leaving. If you can't, wait for…" Garrick made some quick calculations. "Three hours. If you notice my return, abort the detonation."

“Yes, Captain Dasbartin. Could I request that before you leave, you take the crew's will and testimonies?"

Garrick swallowed as he saw the request for a small file to be downloaded.

"Crux, accept it," he said as he carefully pushed himself away from the mainframe.

Now, half an hour to return to the shuttle and find one that can fly, then another two and a half hours to check on the cryopods and decide what to do after that. What could possibly go wrong?

Garrick gritted his teeth, pulling himself forward as fast as he could.