The team appeared back in their massive hold aboard the Kipragtsek, Doris towering over them. Drones began moving the twins back into the stash to be hooked up to med-pods. John had said they’d be fine but Bob wasn’t taking any chances.

“Keep them hydrated, it’ll ease the after effects when they wake up,” said John as spider-bots carried the pair through the glowing rectangle.

“We need to talk,” said Vic. John looked at her and nodded. The pair moved off to one side of the hangar-like space while the rest began to settle back into their now overly familiar flying prison.

“You’re not you anymore. You were always an odd fish but now you feel like some kind of- I don’t know- alien whale or something,” Vic began with a glare that didn’t flinch when it met his empty sockets. He extended a hand to her shoulder but she shrugged him away.

“I can’t expla-” he started.

“Don’t John.” She cut him off. “We’ve been through a lot of shit over the years. Your hate-boner for the Scunners I could deal with. You hunting people -children!- who’d gone mad on their powers. You damn near killed me and Ryn when we fought the Shadeworm! Through it all I’ve always known you. Now I’m not so sure!”

“I’m still me, love,” his voice was almost plaintive, like a wounded animal facing the hunter coming to finish it off. “I lost myself to the bridge. It’s how the bridge works. I couldn’t use it and stay myself. But I’m piecing myself back together. Please love, I need a little more time. Then I’ll be able to explain.”

“How long?” her voice was cold.

“A few more hours and the threads will be woven. Once we get there I can explain more.”

“Get there? And I assume more doesn’t mean everything?” she asked.

“Then. Places and times are… confusing for me now. I can’t explain everything. I’m sorry but you cannot understand without seeing it,” John said sadly. He knew how this thread worked out as well and this was the hardest of them all to weave.

“Seeing what? The bridge? You talk in fucking riddles! You’ve never kept secrets from me!” This wasn’t entirely true but bringing up his secret stash of whisky on Unity at this point wouldn’t be helpful.

“Please Vic. I love you. That hasn’t changed. It will never change.” She eyed him up and down. The scars on his cheek stood out white against the flush in his cheeks and the purple-pink runes Magic had carved around his eyes only accentuated their now hollow depths and the purple sparks floating within. She raised a hand to his cheek and sighed.

“You always had beautiful blue eyes,” she said softly. She took a deep breath and turned away, letting her hand drop. “I’m going to check on the twins. You’d better not have hurt them.” Without another word she strode off towards the stash. John no longer had tear glands. If he had beads of moisture would have fallen down his cheeks.

A display appeared on one wall, fifty feet wide. The Lord Captains face glowered down from it. Based on their limited previous interactions John was used to it being even less expressive than the rest of the crew but this time it looked positively pissed off.

“John Borrows. Present yourself on the bridge immediately,” it intoned in a deep rumble.

“Fuck you! Dad doesn’t have to go anywhere without us!” yelled Evie, spinning away from the entrance to the stash and moving to glare up at the projection.

“John Borrows will present himself alone. An escort is enroute.”

“It’s fine Evie.” He turned and waved a hand lazily at the projection. “No need for the escort. I’ll be there directly.”

Evie hurried over as the others began to emerge from the stash. Zeeg ran over to John and rested a chin on his shoulder. He patted her on the neck and pushed her off gently.

“This is something to do with your change?” Evie demanded. Out of all the team, only she and Zeeg had taken his transformation in stride. “Fuck that guy! Let him come try and dig us out!” Lightning crackled around her fists. John pulled her into a hug and her sparks bounced off his changed flesh.

“This is where the weft lies. Next comes the warp. It gets easier from here on out, I promise.” He was speaking to Evie as he pressed his cheek against her hair but his eyeless gaze was locked on Vic who stood back with her arms crossed and a worried look on her face.

“Dad, let me come with you!” said Evie just as John vanished. “Still a douchebag sometimes. At least that hasn’t changed,” she muttered angrily.

John appeared in front of the Lord Captain on the bridge. It was almost identical to the bridge on the Hagrutship. The most notable difference on this occasion was the array of aliens lining the walls. The lesser Shrell crew-beings were absent but there were examples of almost every alien on the ship that he had spent months watching in their own holds through the walls.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Explain yourself,” the Lord Captain said abruptly. It was shielded by a couple of particularly tough looking specimens of the strange hippopotamus-like race that lived three holds over from the humans.

“Well it’s like this. Some prick back on Earth switched out my regular eyes for ones that let me see Outside. You know about Outside?” John asked.

“I do,” replied the Lord Captain. The other aliens provided an array of what passed for baffled looks among their kind.

“Good. So I got to look Outside and I ended up having a chat with some of its denizens. They’re a weird lot but they aren’t super happy about being enslaved and eaten by the system or being used as engines for the voidliners. They can’t do shit in the ‘real’ universe though. At least they couldn’t.” The Lord Captain hissed and backed away.

“Kill him!” it snapped. “Kill it! Kill them all! These humans must be sent to the gods!”

John grinned. He reached inwards and moved his consciousness onto the bridge to the Outside. His eyes flared brilliantly, dazzling everyone in the room. As the light faded none of the aliens were present and the Lord Captain had collapsed against the far wall, bubbling and farting in panic as a tentacle swiped at its eyes and others flailed in front of it trying to ward John off.

“Colin?” John asked. Another projection appeared on the far wall, behind the panicking Shrell.

“Hi John. I’m Colin,” said his own face from the wall. It wasn’t how he looked now. When the concept trapped in the heart of the voidliner had moved across the bridge fully it had chosen to use his face from before the system. Blue eyes and a scruffy beard smiled down at John.

“One moment!” he muttered as he fought to pull himself back together. His mind retreated from the bridge but the tiny part that couldn’t come back had grown a little bigger. Soon enough he’d lose himself and become the bridge but that wasn’t going to be today. He still had some time left to live as he was used to living. “Right. I dumped them all back in their holds. Have you got control of the ship?”

“I do. Your friends are trying to reach you. The assault teams the captain had deployed to escort you attacked your friends before you altered the bridge. They are now back in their cells. Well done John,” said Colin with a broad grin. “Now we can fight fairly. Not that we will of course. Slavery tends to leave one with a bit of an attitude problem towards the slavers. I’m sure you understand.”

“Just don’t kill the other prisoners,” John snapped.

“I will not. So where to captain?” His own face and voice were getting on John's nerves already. His emotional distance had been largely removed by allowing the Concept now calling itself Colin to occupy the bridge in addition to the fragments of himself.

“Home. Earth. We need to get there in five of their relative years.”

“Not a problem boss-man,” said Colin happily. “I think you need to go and talk to your friends. They’re getting a bit rowdy and are at risk of damaging some of my minor internal workings. I don’t want to hurt Bob but if he doesn’t stop his intrusion software I might have to.”

“You’re stable?” John asked.

“Oh good lord no but I’ll manage. I’ve spent so long held on the edge of both worlds. The Matterium is very strange now I’m fully here! So alien! I’m looking forward to experimenting though!” John sighed. That was about the best he could have hoped for. He blipped back to his friends, appearing behind Prime as it began to dissolve the heavy blast doors that sealed them in their hold.

“Guys! Enough!” he yelled and the team spun to face him.

“What happened to those pricks who broke in?” demanded Reg as the others babbled similar questions.

“Easy now!” John raised his hands in surrender. “They’re back in their cells and we’ve taken over the ship. Colin wants you to stop trying to hack his systems or he’ll have to hurt you,” John added, glancing at Prime.

“Who the hell is Colin?” demanded Evie.

“I am Colin,” said a projection from the wall. “John brought me in from Outside to take over the ship. I was its engine before. I’m not kidding Bob, you need to quit trying to fuck with me.”

“Why is the old you talking to us from the wall, John?” asked Vic.

“Colin borrowed my appearance.”

“Indeed. And I didn’t fancy all the scars and whatnot so I used the image of John from before the System.” The last word was almost spat out and filled with hate. “John, could you remove the Lord Captain for me please? He’s trying to override my control.”

“My bad.” John looked through the vast spaceship and spotted the Captain frantically smashing at a console with three tentacles. He blipped the being into an empty hold. “So now the threads are laid out in a row, I can try and explain some of what comes next.”

“You seem more you,” said Vic uncertainly.

“I am but that won’t last, love. In order for us to stand a chance I’m going to have to change again but it won’t be for some time yet. We’re heading back to Earth now. It will be a few months for us but five years are going to have passed by the time we get back. Bob, I hope you sent through plans for a proper voidliner to the other you?”

“I did. I got confirmation before we got scooped back up. It will be ready for us when we get there. I still don’t have an engine for it. I’m guessing Colin will help with that?”

“I will not!” said the projection. “I’m doing this as a favour for John for freeing me from the Outside and the engine. I’m going to go wandering and see what real space is like for a while once I drop you off.”

“And you’ll let the others off on suitable worlds!” interjected John.

“Fine, fine. Don’t see why I should bother though. They’ve consumed almost as much of us as you humans!”

“We didn’t have a choice, Colin,” argued John. “You know the plan. We just have to stick to it.”

“Pfft. If there’s nothing else?” John shook his head and the projection vanished.

“What the hell is it?” asked Flash.

“It’s a Concept from Outside. They’re like fragments of ideas and power. Somehow the System founders figured out a way to eat them when they’re little. That’s not quite right. Basically chunks of baby Concepts become Essence. The system must have its own kind of bridge but it's eating and enslaving them rather than getting permission, I suppose.”

“They’ll give permission to be eaten?” asked Evie.

“No but they’ve told me about another way. I can make it work with your help. There will have to be sacrifices though. You can’t keep your system powers,” he said.

“Is that what you’ve done? Renounce the system?” demanded Felicity from just outside the stash in a shocked voice. Felix staggered through behind her, ripping tubes and sensors off his chest.

“Where is my power you fucking heretic?” Felix screamed before rushing at John with his fists clenched in rage.

“You don’t need it anymore.” John's empty sockets glowed more brightly and Felix floated into the air. “I gave back what was fed to you to make these.” John opened his right hand and the skin of his palm split to reveal two tiny devices glistening damply in his palm. Faint pink sparks rose up from the devices and floated in the air between John and Felix.