Alex cracked the door open, "Ready yet, doctor?"

Dr Elune lifted their head from the pillow, blinking blearily, only half dressed to go out, "... No?"

Alex sighed, glancing down the hall, "You have five minutes. I told you not to lie back down."

Shrugging, Dr Elune rolled over lazily, finishing up as Alex closed the door. Turning to Jolana, who was standing a bit further away, Alex smiled, "The doctor will be out in just a moment, then we can go."

Giggling, Jolana nodded, "Seems you take good care of the poor doctor. I will admit I am rather curious as to why you are so intent on showing me your shuttle."

Alex laughed softly, "I have years of practice... And let's just say, we needed to show you sooner or later."

Jolana raised an eyebrow, interrupted by Greg poppiong his head around the corner, "You coming yet, or shall I go on ahead?"

Alex waved with a smile, "Not much longer, I promise... Even if it means a little intervention." Jolana smirked at that, hiding a giggle as she turned to watch the door expectantly, ready to head off.

Shrugging, Greg dissapeared again, leaving a breif moment of silence before Dr Elune opened the door once again, dressed neatly and... Adequately groomed, "Sorry for the delay. I wasn't expecting this to be a morning tour, as Greg was a last minute invite."

Jolana fell alongside the doctor as they walked down the hall, "I still have an abundance of questions... Such as how my father seems to know what to expect, while still wanting to take a look?"

Dr Elune grinned, taking the lead as they rounded the corner, "That's easy... We did a little telling, but no showing. Or, more specificaly, Ren did."

Greg nodded in greeting as he saw them, joining the throng alongside Hope, who grinned, "You will be glad to know I am fit as a fiddle, doctor... If slightly rusty from having to stay put."

Dr Elune chuckled, "No more weapons of mass destruction for you. You make much more entertaining company terrarising people with your antics."

"Hey! I terrorise inanimate objects, not people." Huffing, Hope still smiled slightly as she walked at the back, strolling calmly.

Headed out the front door, Dr Elune got an idea, "Say, Alex... What do you think about adding training dummies to the armoury?"

"Pardon, doctor?"

"... Remote controlled ones. Without any feedback, of course."

Alex smiled in understanding, "Worth a shot. It would be a good way to practice stategy... And make for better target practice for Hope."

Hope raised a hand, "Uh, can I have some input here? If you two are suggesting what I think you are, I'm not sure I'm up for that."

Perplexed, Jolana glanced back at Hope curiously, as Alex replied, "Do not worry... These will be more like drones, except more cheaply made. For, well, obvious reasons. Alternatively, I can have some training weapons devised, which render each unit 'immobile' on being hit."

Thinking on it, Hope dropped the subject, knowing that she would find a row of the things in the armoury either way... Deciding on whether or not to use them coudl come later. Crossing the lawn, they headed for the shuttle, which had a door open and waiting for them, interior lights flickering through the gap.

Still leading the way, Dr Elune ducked inside first, wandering into the narrow hallway of the massive structure. Each person quietly followed suit, with curious glances at the unique decor as they wandered through.

As Jolana wa leaning closer to a faintly pulsing cable situated behind some glass, she jumped slightly as she herd the door seal shut, Hope wandering past. Smiling, Jolana started walking again, "Wanted to keep any inquisitive eyes outside?"

Raising an eyebrow, Hope chuckled quietly, "You could say that. The shuttle also works better with a controlled climate... Helps those blue things do their job." Not correcting her on the silent assumption, Hope wandered slowly at the back of the line.

Shivering slightly at the unnerving hitn she was missing something, Jolana kept looking at the glowing cables, wandering what they were for other than light. She glanced up as the line stopped, Dr Elune whispering to Alex, who nodded in reply.

Speaking up, Dr Elune opened the door, "We will be heading into the observation area now. There are some safety goggles just inside the entryway... I highly suggest you put a pair on, and return tham as you leave."

Nerves suitably quieted by her growing curiosity, Jolana strode forward, gasping quietly as she ducked inside. The walls were thin glass now, a mass of pure blue light running along the walls in gently pulses, a small tray of goggles hanging off of the wall as promised. Seeing that the light was more intense further down the tunnel, Jolana gladly put some goggles on, eyes wide as she was itching to find out what exactly she was walking through.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Turnign back down another halway, Dr Eluen led the group down a even brighter passage, the goggles adjusting the light resistance automatically to accomodate. Reaching a split in the path, stairs leading both up and down, the doctor went up the stairs, opening a door to a small, dimly lit passage. Jolana sidled in, squeezing in at the back.

Dr Elune waited for the door to be closed before peeling off their goggles, resting them around their neck as they grinned in the darkness, "Your eyes will take a moment to adjust... We are back in normal lighting, now. This is a kind of... Light-lock, per se. Wasn't intended for so many at once."

Alex rolled their eyes as they opened the door at the other end, slipping into the room full of benches and various display panels, "We could have gone in two groups, you know."

Dr Elune shrugged with a broad grin, plopping down on a chair nearby as everyone else followed suit. Jolana glanced at the heavy steel shutters, easing onto a bench slowly as she nervously muttered, "Looks like you are containing something on this ship..."

Greg laughed, patting his dughter on the back, "That they are. The entire reason our elusive doctor left isolation, in fact." Hushing at a sharp glance from Alex, Greg chuckled, "My appologies... No more spoilers from me."

Calmed slightly by Greg's nonchalant eagerness to see what was coming, Jolana put the goggles down beside her. Dr Elune glanced up, "Oh, uh... Keep those close. While the shutter system should be safe, you never know."

Straight back to nervous again, Jolana sighed as she hooked the goggles around her neck, similar to the doctor. She glanced around, and noticed somthing peculiar.... But shook her head, thinking she probably just remembered wrong.

Alex glanced up from a consol, "Doctor, she barriers are in place, with suitable protection levels. Inner sensors show we should get a dull glow, and I can lower the protection slowly after." Dr Elune nodded permission, and Alex turned back to the consol.

With a rumble, the heavy shutters began to rumble upwards, revealing a set of thick, darkened glass panels, and an odd glowing orb in the middle of the room below. Leaning forward with a whistle, Greg murmured, "You said this was the smaller version?" Dr Elune nodded silently, gesturing to Alex to keep going.

Fiddling gently with a dial, Alex minutely adjusted the shielding until more details became visible, revealing the contours along that glowing orb, and the thick cables running into the walls that were not even visible before. Lookig down, Jolana's eyes widened, "The same as those passageways... How thick are those cables?"

Alex smiled faintly, "Half a meter in diameter. They pump the light pulses out through the ship... As a faint source of power, but more as a signal transmitter."

Standing up, Jolana walked forwards to take a closer look, "Signal? You mean... That thing... IT does look a bit like a brain..."

Dr Elune nodded, standin up to slowly walk next to her, "That was only partly intentional. The ridged design helps organise the data centers better... This is why the shuttle was brought with us, rather than leaving it at the spire."

Jolana looked up, face growing still, "I see... You brought your research with you. This is your personaly mainframe."

Greg laughed, shaking his head, "And abandon that precious station? No... You know what that is."

Jolana looked back down, remembering the virtual world from a few days back... And the uncannt speed that the doctor's team was producing prototypes. "You are trying to make a superior AI. And because of that... You're afraid of the government."

Dr Elune smiled softly, shaking their head, "Almost. We aren't trying to make one... We are trying to hide one. We succeeded months ago."

Jolana glanced up, "Define success? I see no interface, so I can't tell how smart this thing is."

Everyon in the room simply smiled softly, Alex getting up off the bench with a sad sigh, "Miss Jolana... You have already seen the interface. If you recall... We brought Ren with us. A prosthetics expert."

Jolana glance betwwen the people in the room, face a rather bemused mask of disbeleif. She said nothing, trying to think... Sure, she couldn't see Alex holding any goggles, which was odd... And Alex was always at the beck and call, regardless of when they were sent a message...

Coughing slightly, Dr Elune interrupted her train of thought, gesturing to the door at the other side of the chamber, "Alex... Please." Nodding, Alex sat back down, closing their eyes...

And the other unit walked out of the seperate chamber, smiling that same sad smile, "I assure you, Jolana... This is real. It is time you knew."