Incoming Press Report, Seven Light-Years Away (Levantine System Network Relay, Sagittarius Union Controlled).

The Union’s Coalition Authority has now approved the financial aid package being sent to the Kingdom of Loran. “The worlds of the Union shall help fellow Union worlds,” declared the Coalition Authority’s spokeswoman. Reversing Loran’s instability is still one of the priorities in the Union’s internal policy to further bolster the ‘lackluster’ supply lines of the Union.

- Trianta Today

+++ Jonathan Jones +++

Cryesa System

Near an Unidentified Gas Giant

“What do you mean someone attacked you?”

“They downed Captain Roll’s and Captain McHover’s ships. Pirates. On the other side of the System. They’re…they’re…”

“Calm down, Harold.” I breathed out. “Calm down. We’re gonna find a way. Are they still alright?”

“They took them as hostages! Or something. I think Captain Roll’s crew was executed. Those barbarians. My crew is still fixing the damaged subsystems of my ship. But there’s no time. We need to get back at them. Rescue them, and if not—”

“Harold, calm down your tits. Revenge…that’s not…I’m telling you. That’s not a good fucking idea.” I looked back at what I and the Von Wicht gang did back in Loran. If there was anything that was our greatest blunder, it was that. “Alright. I’m going to help you guys rescue your fellows, but we’re not going for a stupid revenge mission.”

“I swear, it’s not. Rescuing, it’s all that matters.” His transmission almost flickered, its sounds turning a bit distorted. “I think they’re on my tail. Hey, your friend. Juliett was it? Does she have her own ship? Can she help?”

“I…” Juliett was behind me, closely listening to our exchange. I glanced at her, my unspoken question being if she was interested in helping. Because I was. I would never leave Harold on the air with this one. His new associates were in danger, and I know that he was in danger as well. “I’ll ask her—”

“Yes!” Juliett said. “Yes, I’m going. Pirates, you say? If these…these people executed innocent crew, then I’m going. And if Jonathan’s going, I’m definitely going with no compromise. I’ll move my ship with you two.”

“But…” He paused. “Thank you, Ms. Juliett. You have no idea how much this means to me. Those men were like my brothers. For me and my crew. I’ll…I’ll repay you both someday. I swear.”

“No need for that, Captain Percival. I’m doing this to help.” She turned to me. “Jonathan, let’s get moving. I’m not letting those pirates kill innocent crew members. There’s no way that’s happening under my watch.”

I closed the transmission, and already, Harold’s ship turned back to its original direction. I stood up and faced her before she ran off into the VSS Radiant.

“Wait, wait. While I appreciate the enthusiasm, are you sure? I mean…the VSS Radiant really looks weird and borderline alien. Too advanced even. Harold and Harold’s crew might suspect something is off, no? And, what about the pirates? They would see it too. Won’t that endanger your cover?”

“Doesn’t matter, Jonathan.” She frowned. “Our priority is to help Harold rescue his brethren, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then consequences be damned. I’m going. The VSS Radiant is now en route to the Jukebox’s trail. When we rendevous, I’ll be returning myself to my own ship.” She crossed her arms. “Pirates…pirates. How barbaric. Back during the days of the Federation, this would never be tolerated.”

“They’re probably keeping Captain Roll and Captain McHover for ransom.” I then laughed. “Wait, ransom for whom? Harold and his new partners are independents. Who’s gonna pay for their freedom? This only works if the captives are government-employed soldiers or officers. No polity would give a rat ass for random captured civilians. Though I guess their employers or partners would do that. Or if they have some kind of insurance.”

“Mercenaries. They do count as civilians, don’t they?”

“Obviously.” I looked up. “SYS, how long would it take to reach our target coordinates?”

“Approximately eighteen hours with our current burn speed. Twenty-five percent of that travel time can be shaved off by turning off safeties and injecting unstable volatiles into the engines. But dock repairs would be necessary.”

“Well, shit. Juliett, do you reckon we’ll get into a fight?”

“Jonathan, there’s no need to unnecessarily damage your ship.” She frowned. “I remember back during the fight in Lubola. You were turning off safeties and limiters of your ship knowing full well that it would cause severe damage. You’re beyond suicidal.”

“I mean, I’m just saying, if we’re getting into a fight anyway, wouldn’t that mean that I would have to repair the Jukebox regardless?”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“No. I’ll make sure that the Jukebox won’t be damaged. Ignore his orders SYS. If he thinks it’s a smart idea to abuse his ship again and potentially turn it into a flying hazard, don’t.”

“Negative. You are not the user.”

I grinned. “SYS is under my command, Juliett.”

“Whatever. Just, don’t do it. I’m not kidding. I’ll do my best to make that unnecessary if we get into a fight. Plus, I’m hoping that we don’t.”

“I mean, if we do get into a fight, wouldn’t that mean we would all get more XP for the Fed-System?”

“Screw the Fed-System.” She rolled her eyes. “Relying on that is a death sentence. You need to rely on yourself.”

“Funny how that’s coming from a [Level 25] with five unidentified skills and improvements.”

“Shut up. It’s just an extra.”

“Sure.”

+++

+++ Juliett +++

Cryesa System

VSS Radiant

En Route to Target Coordinates

I took a deep sigh myself. Why…why did I feel like this? It all…all felt strange this time around. After centuries, I felt…confused. Well, I always felt confused about all of this. I was designed to serve humanity, was I not? Yet, in almost all of my previous predictions, they had acted differently.

Perhaps, reading about them in data form would never truly give me the right approximation of what a human being was. Or how they responded to situations presented to them. I had everything in my own systems, everything to simulate a human being down to its finest detail, and the only way someone would catch me was if they extracted my blood…and found out themselves.

Yet, in the mental space, I found myself grasping. This man had every reason to abandon me and run away back when we were in Lubola. When I was in the lowest of low. When I was separated and alone from my own support systems, my ship. Yet this man filled with what I assumed was a past of troubles… didn’t run back to save his own skin.

And the same thing, he was doing it again. This man, Harold, appeared to have been separated from him for a long time. He presented him to me, harshly, as he had always been to me. Harsh. He called him bitter and hurtful words, yet now, he found the determination to help Harold the mere split moment he had heard him having trouble.

There was no hesitation. No recalculations. He would go in and risk himself, even when his biological realities would endanger him. He would even go so far as to remove every safety of his own ship and turn it into a flying ticking time bomb, just to reach his old friend faster.

Much like what he did for me back in Lubola.

The only hesitation he held was over my own safety. After all, if I were to join in the pursuit and rescue efforts, I would have to show my own ship. They would know. They would see. And they would ask questions.

And…and now, even my risk analysis modules almost seemed hijacked. Yes, I would help, that was what the Void Code demanded of me, but not in this way. I would…truthfully, run, for fear of having my cover be blown. Yet now, I stood here, in the control center of my very own ship, following the Jukebox straight into the field of another battle.

Following him. Even with all the dangers that this would invite. Yes, the dangers are limited…they were but mere pirates. I have fought foes of distant caliber from these mere ants of the Sector. What were pirates in comparison to those that the Void Fleet fought in the darkness outside of the Sector? Nothing but ants.

But, in terms of the Void Code’s mission regarding humanity, it would threaten us. Maintaining our stealth was paramount, after all. Secretly defending them from the dangers that the collapse had brought upon all that was left of humanity in the Sagittarius Sector. Especially after the Second Revolutionary War, a war where AI produced by this Sector, produced by Stable Dynamics, went rogue.

Even still, I had thought that the damage of that to the human psyche would be minimal. Until I saw what it was like in Lucynthia. And thus, the Void Code should be demanding me to stay even more cautious. But as if something foreign was installed into my core, I still remained steadfast in helping. No…not even that…I wanted blood for their actions. Why? Why?

Damn it! Damn it all! Why am I worrying about all of this?! I was turning unstable, and I had kicked the walls of my very own bridge, denting it. Of course, the nanomaterials that made it up repaired it quickly, but I…this indeed was all strange. I…I need to get a hold of myself.

I didn’t expect that going with this man would destabilize my own systems this quickly. But I had to remain calm. Whatever I was learning and experiencing, this was inevitable. If humanity were to survive. If the Void Fleet were to continue on its code to defend the Sector…to fight in the silence would have to end. Screw the Federation’s directives and regulations. I need humanity, much like they need us.

I burned forward at full speed. The VSS Radiant may be but a cruiser-sized vessel. But it was the flagship of the Void Fleet. And I was that same flagship. The speed, durability, and every attribute of the VSS Radiant was a testament to that position. Even when I didn’t fully understand all these, and even when my core felt frustration at all these nonsensical inconsistencies…

There would be no other option than to help him. To help Jonathan. And Harold and his crew, even when I didn’t know them for too long.

After all…what kind of a lady would I be if I didn’t do that? To let slimy pirates who took innocents as hostages?

“Jonathan.”

“I hear you loud and clear, Juliett. Just be sure to not make any threatening moves, and we should probably be in the clear.” I heard him breathe out a sigh. “We’re going to be explaining a lot of things to Harold once this is all over.”

“Doesn’t matter. We have to help. There’s men trapped and under hostage.”

“Why? Juliett? Why? You have a bigger mission than us, than the both of us, don’t you? Why help us? Why help me and Harold?”

I smiled, even when he wouldn’t be able to see it, just as I transmitted my next words straight into his ship. “I don’t know. But I can ask the same question to you, right? Why did you help me, even when you didn’t need to?”

“I…”

“And who told you that you and your friends cannot be a part of my mission, Jonathan?”