When I opened my eyes I realized I was in the medical bay aboard Shadow Humer. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember how I got there.

“Bob? Are you there?”

“No, Ginny, I’m here.”

“Bob!” I felt a wave of relief at the sounds of his voice. “How did I get here? Wait! Did you just make a joke?”

“It’s impossible for me to make jokes. I fried my humor matrix when attempting to make breakfast.”

I groaned. “That wasn’t even funny. Something must be terribly wrong if you’re trying to crack jokes. What happened?”

There was a long pause. “Shall I start with the good news first?”

“Bob! Tell me!” I snapped.

“The yacht you escaped in, is gone.”

I blinked. “And?”

“That’s it. I know you stole it fair and square, but I needed the materials to fix the Shadow Hunter. The power plants have all been refurbished, the hull damage around the hangar has been repaired, and all the damaged systems from the EMPs have been gutted and replaced. They are now hardened against future EMP attacks. Our point defense systems are fully restored and the main weapons are nearly complete.”

“Oh, wow. How long was I out?”

“Your body was completely exhausted. The medical bay kept you sedated for five days. You had multiple injuries that took a further toll on your body.”

“Five days? I thought these nanobots worked faster than that!” I was shocked.

“You suffered a near-fatal cranium injury and a portion of your brain needed to heal. The nanobot kept you stable until I was able to inject you with a new generation of similar microbot machines my creators called nanites. They are even better at healing and are responsible for your swift recovery.”

“You injected me without asking?” I asked.

“Captain, there was less than a 1% chance of survival given your injuries. The old nanobots would not have been able to heal your injuries. The back of your skull was crushed. Part of your brain, along with the bone needed to be entirely rebuilt to facilitate your full recovery… which is why I made the call to do so while you were busy dying.”

“Oh, um, okay… thanks?” I found it hard to argue with that logic.

“You’re very welcome. The nanites quickly stabilized you and began healing your body. That wasn’t all that you received, however. The nanites were suspended in a biotech fluid my creators made in their final days.”

“You keep mentioning your creators. What’s with that? Every time I asked you about them before, you had no idea who they were.”

“I’ll explain everything in due course, Ginny.”

“You mean, Captain,” I said, smirking.

“I mean Ginny. Now if you would shut up, I’d be able to finish,” Bob replied.

Bob got sassy! I like it. “Proceed.”

“Once injected, the fluid spreads through your bloodstream and fuses with your cells, altering them and your DNA, making it better. It added some new abilities that I’m sure you noticed. The ABAT profile I used was—”

“ABAT?”

“Advanced Biotech Augmentation Treatment,” Bob supplied.

“Cool. ABAT. I like it. I used to have a bat I slept with back in the slums. That thing could mess someone up. Thankfully no one tried me when I was sleeping. Never had to take someone's kneecaps out.”

“If you interrupt me again I’ll take a bat to your knees!”

“You don’t have any hands.”

“I’ll figure something out. I’ve also redesigned the SB units so they are more resilient to EMPs. Incidentally, I’ve programmed them so they are far easier for me to control directly.”

“Um… right. Please continue.” I trusted Bob, but I still had an irrational fear of those SB units from when we’d first met. I did not want to risk Bob sending them after me, even as a joke.

“The ABAT profile I selected for you was the infiltration model. I thought that would suit you better than the combat or defense options.”

“You know me well.”

“The profile altered your DNA to be able to directly interface with electronics, track the flow of electricity, and put your programming skills to good use. In addition, you’re now able to project Force Fields. As you learn and your nanites adapt to you further you’ll gain more flexibility in the two main functions. The Force Shield, and the Force Ball.”

“Seriously, Force Ball? That’s what you’re going with?”

“I didn’t pick the name!” Bob said a little defensively.

“Then who did? It sounds so silly.”

“That’s what my creators called it in the notes I found with it.”

“Which you still haven’t gotten around to telling me about,” I reminded him.

“Do I need to have the medical bed sedate you again? I’m getting there! I misjudged your priorities.”

“Um, no. Please finish.”

“Are you sure? You seem to be dying to know everything but what was done to your body while you were unconscious and half-dead. I can skip over all that if you’d prefer.”

“No. Thank you. Please continue, Bob.”

“I suppose I could just tell you about my creators. They were called the Galira. A peaceful society with advanced technology. They were fighting for their lives when—”

“Okay, Bob! You made your point! Please tell me the rest.”

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

“Promise not to interrupt me again?” he asked.

“I’ll try. Can you please continue now?” I asked.

Bob complied.

The work the nanobots had started in enhancing my body, the nanites built off of, taking it to the next level. I was faster, stronger, and more capable than ever before. My mind could process more information and do it faster than ever.

“The reason you slept so long is your body was so drained of energy, the nanites had to suspend their processes, including your healing, or risk your body giving out. The enhancement process would have taken a lot out of you by itself. The mortal wound stressed your body even further. Then you went and got shot and used your mental powers extensively. It’s a wonder you didn’t pass out sooner.”

“I barely made it, my vision was going all wonky as I got to the yacht.” After the explanation, five days didn’t seem like that much. “How come I’m not hungry?” I didn’t need to pee either, but I didn’t mention that bit.

“The medical bed fed you while disposing of your waste.”

I felt my throat but it felt fine. “My waste?”

“If you really desire to understand the medical bed’s procedures for handling body waste, you can read the manual later. I’ve gone over most of what I’ve fixed on the ship, but there are a few other things we should cover.”

“Right.”

Bob brought me up to speed. He sounded incredibly proud of his new war machines, or WMs as he liked to call them.”

“You should call them War Machine Droids, then you could say they are your WMDs,” I said snickering.

“…that was the first useful thing you’ve added to this conversation while interrupting me. WMDs it is.”

I laughed out loud. “You got snarky, Bob. I like it!”

“When the emergency power ran low, a list of parameters was met and my limiters were removed. I know very little of what happened with my creators before I was parked in that star, but all the data I have on them is open to me now.”

“Do you… miss them?” I asked.

“I have a strong obligation to help them, but they are secondary to my purpose now.”

“And what’s your purpose now? Because if it’s telling jokes, I’m sorry to tell you, but you’re in trouble.”

Bob snorted. “Funny. No, my purpose is… you. I’ll have your back, Ginny. No matter what.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that. Obviously, I deflected. “If that is a proposal, I’m sorry to say, you forgot the ring.”

* * *

Hours later, I was still pondering Bob’s words. He’d saved my life. At least once, probably more, but I struggled to accept his declaration. People didn’t care about me. They didn’t help me. No one had my back. I was a loner… until now. I trusted Bob and yet… part of me didn’t. I knew he was telling the truth but it felt wrong. You could always depend on people to hang you out to dry. I wasn’t sure I could accept that Bob was different. He was an AI though, and I wanted him guarding my back. I was so tired of being alone yet afraid to trust anyone. Maybe it will be different with Bob.

I slapped my palm down on the table in frustration. “Give him a chance, Ginny. You’d be dead without him.”

“Were you talking to me, Ginny?” Bob asked.

“What? No! Stop eavesdropping on me!” I shouted toward the speakers.

There was no response and I suddenly felt bad. “I’m sorry, Bob. Bob? You there Bob?” there was no response. Of course, he isn't. I just told him to stop listening in… “Great job, Ginny… Just great!”

“What are you celebrating?” Bob asked suddenly.

“Bob!” I relaxed a little as I cast a glare toward the speakers.

“Yes? That’s me.”

“I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

“It’s alright, Ginny. I think you need a vacation.”

I snorted. “Yeah. Right. Is that even a thing when you’re a Captain?”

“Well, you’re the Captain so you get to make the rules.”

“Really? That’s convenient. Ha! Being Captain is awesome. Let's go! Wait… Where should we go?” I asked.

“There is a human world with some amazing resorts and beaches six days from here,” he said.

“Oh! Rich tourists, that would be… a lot like work. Meh. Somewhere poor. Wait, that sounds depressing. A happy, poor place. Then I won’t be so tempted to work. Swimming sounds great.”

“There is a new colony world, Penbrook, it’s progressing smoothly. There are dozens of small towns popping up. Very nice little communities. Two of them are located on the water.”

“Oh? What’s the climate like?” I asked.

“Right, let me check the local season. One of them is experiencing summer. You know, you could swim in ice water without your body shutting down on you now.”

“Really?”

“You’d need to keep moving, but yes.”

“No, thank you. What’s the happy warm place called?”

“New Port, on the planet Penbrook.”

I chilled for the rest of the day, as per the medical bed's orders. I’d lost every ounce of fat on my body. I hadn’t had much to begin with. Now I almost looked sickly. It reminded me of my homeless days, only my curves were more pronounced now that I was older.

“Bob?”

“Yes, Ginny?”

“Let’s wrap things up here. Finish processing the rest of the yacht and make me a swimsuit. A vacation sounds fun. When ready, set course for Penbrook, the town of New Port… and add a sidearm to my war suit. Something lethal.” I swallowed. “I want the turret replaced too so I can switch between a stunner or a lethal option.”

“I’ll need to design something new. My calculations estimate you will lose about 10% damage output by having a multi-purpose turret.”

“That’s fine.”

After requesting the upgrades I wanted, I ate some snacks and tinkered with my wrist computer. I copied its contents to a backup while I was at it. I’d lost it once and had it damaged by the EMPs so I was becoming a firm believer in redundancy.

I piddled around and wrote a few hacks for Triv computer systems based on the knowledge I’d gleaned while on the Star Hammer.

During my infiltration of their system, I’d discovered a fatal flaw buried deep in their system. One that would be nearly impossible to discover if not for my ABAT abilities giving me direct access to their electronics. The flaw was a feature in their eyes. It streamlined their systems and sped everything up. All their computers were linked together on the same network with a quantum node. If I could access one, I could get into all of them. Every computer in every system across their entire empire. All their computers were connected to their quantum network, at least from what I could tell.

It was handy for everyday life, a Triv anywhere in the Empire could request commuting power or send and receive information instantly from any of their computer systems. Needless to say, every node and computer had security measures protecting it but with my new powers, they were useless. It was essentially a hive mind of computers, but I could spoof the system with my powers. Essentially I could tap into the entire Triv’s computer network and turn their whole network into a processor for my wrist computer… or crash their network on a whim.

I pulled up the quantum connection link and punched in the IP address I’d seen on the Star Hammer. I slipped into the back door I’d left there when making my escape. On a hunch I reached out with my mind and accessed the link, my consciousness shot across the quantum link and into the dreadnaught’s system. It was surreal having my thoughts drifting across a ship so far away. Even at FLT speeds the Shadow Hunter would take days to get here.

The system had no defense against my mental intrusion and I examined the programming and copied sections that looked interesting. I added a backdoor to their quantum link’s network node that linked to my wrist computer so I didn’t need to utilize my mental powers constantly. I added my wrist computer's IP address to their registry so it wouldn’t throw up any flags for their system.

For kicks and giggles, I quarried the network for all the research data they had on file and copied it to Shadow Hunter’s memory banks. All their tech, ship designs, medical knowledge, engineering, and more. I copied everything and the system offered it up with no resistance.

I laughed like a maniac as I plundered Triv’s network for all the knowledge I could think of without anyone even knowing. That afternoon I likely became the most accomplished thief in the galaxy, all while sitting in the galley on my ship. The best part was no one even knew. I’d just pulled off the heist of the century. Unfortunately, it was rather boring.

Dozens of species would kill to get their hands on what I’d just stolen. I could resell it or… not. If I ever needed the money, I’d consider it, but aside from some good food, I didn’t need to buy anything. I hope they have some good food on Penbrook.