Inky blackness. Not the peaceful kind speckled with distant stars, but an endless canvas of dark matter clouds, swallowing the Colossus whole. No stars, no light, only the hulking silhouette of the derelict ship against the cosmic void.
Kai tumbled through the suffocating darkness, tethered to the Colossus by a thick, grey umbilical cord that snaked back into its metallic belly.
Frustration gnawed at him. "Bang! Bang! Shoot 'em up... to the moon, I wanted to be a spaceman," he muttered, the words echoing eerily in the void. "That's what I wanted to be. But now that I am a spaceman... nobody cares about me."
A soft chime interrupted his rambling. The mainframe AI's voice, stoic, held a tinge of concern. "Master, Kai, I care about your safety. However, please focus on the task at hand."
"Okay, okay, sorry," Kai mumbled, his tone sheepish. "Just needed a song, old habit while working."
Two hours earlier, frustration gnawed at him as he emerged from the Energy Vault. The acrid stench of burnt alien lingered in the air with the grotesque tableau of mangled alien bodies, a grim reminder of his recent fight.
"Ugh, man, this is too far," he muttered, the vastness of the ship dwarfing his metallic form. "It would take days, even if I ran nonstop." He keeps tapping the holographic display, tracing potentially faster routes.
It was a gamble – a 500-meter trek followed by a near-vertical climb to the upper A1 level. "Surely the Xerions wouldn't leave an entire section of the ship inaccessible," he thought, a sliver of doubt creeping in.
Despite his doubts, he followed the map's guidance, his metallic feet echoing on the deserted corridors. Finally, a massive vertical glass tubular structure came into view.
A transparent capsule, large enough for him, beckoned from within. "An elevator? that's good I guess" he mused, stepping inside without hesitation.
As he settled in, the doors hissed shut, and a cheerful AI voice, accompanied by a bright blue smiley face emoji, chimed through the glass.
[ which level do you want to go? How much speed do you need? ]
Kai, ever eager, boomed, "Upper Level A1, as for speed? Super fast! It's urgent. I've been in fast cars back on Earth once, I can handle it!"
The AI's response was instantaneous.
[Command confirmed. Please keep your hands inside the designated areas. Lowering air pressure... initiating vacuum... Initiating hyperloop sequence. Maximum speed engaged. Safe travels, ^_^]
A knot of unease tightened in Kai's gut despite the cheerful emoticon. "Wait, wait, what loo–?"
Before he could finish, the capsule lurched shot upwards with bone-crushing acceleration. Kai was plastered against the back of the capsule, the world outside blurring into a smear of inky blackness and streaks of lights.
The friendly AI voice, now a booming announcer in his ears.
[1000 km/h... 1200 km/h... 1800 km/h]
The numbers climbed faster than his rising panic, and Kai's bravado evaporated. Terror clawed at his throat. This wasn't the thrilling speed he'd imagined. This was pure, unadulterated terror. "Wait! wait, slow it down! Slow down!" he screamed, his voice swallowed by the howling wind.
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A monotone voice replaced the cheerful AI.
[Once the injection commences, speed cannot be slowed down before the destination.]
Kai clung to the capsule's rails, a scream trapped in his throat. His optical sensors struggled to keep up, the blur of flashing lights dissolving into a blinding, disorienting strobe. Every fiber of his being revolted against the relentless, bone-crushing acceleration.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" he chanted the words a desperate mantra against the still increasing speed Each syllable was a gasp, a plea for the torment to end.
[2200 km/h... 2600 km/h...]
Then, just as abruptly as it started, the acceleration began to ease.
[Reaching the upper level A1. Reducing speed... reducing speed... optimal speed reached.]
The announcement was a jarring contrast to the chaos he'd just endured. 'Optimal speed' felt like an insult.
As the world slowed and his vision cleared, the capsule docked with a hiss of depressurization. His body, compressed and aching, slumped against the glass. The doors slid open with hiss of steam, and he stumbled out, collapsing to the floor in a groaning heap.
"Just...give me...a moment..." he wheezed, waves of nausea-like feeling washing over him.
Slowly, with the shaky determination of a newborn foal, he forced himself upright. "That... was…" he stammered, fighting the urge to retch, "…way too intense. Not cool. Definitely filing a complaint."
The cheerful AI chimed in, oblivious to his distress: [Air pressure and gravity restored! Welcome to level A1. Enjoy your stay! ^-^]
"Ugh," Kai groaned, his stomach threatening rebellion. "Thanks for the warm ride…you sadistic smiley face." Forcing himself to his feet, he braced a hand against the wall to steady himself. "Xerion body or not, I am never…doing that… again, it is too heavy on my human soul."
He closed his eyes, trying to get a feeling of deep breath to calm himself. When his vision cleared, he scanned his surroundings. Unlike the lower levels, this area seemed pristine.
its long corridors shone with a metallic sheen, and the walls were smooth and unblemished. and the lighting was comfortably bright. A stark contrast to the devastation in the lower decks.
"Hmm, so the asteroid didn't wreck this place," Kai mused, more to himself than the AI. "Wonder where the damage starts..."
Kai followed the holographic map's directions. the glowing line beckoning him toward the Command Deck. With a stubborn set to his shoulders, he pressed onward. He followed the glowing path, his metallic footsteps echoing in the otherwise silent corridor.
Finally, he reached his destination: a massive metallic door, its imposing presence dominating the corridor. Beside it, a black panel hummed with a faint energy.
Summoning a flicker of his earlier bravado, Kai stepped towards the panel. "Well, here goes nothing..." He hesitated, then pressed his hand against its smooth surface.
The moment his metal skin touched its surface, a jolt surged through his arm, followed by a sound like a hydraulic hiss.
A plate on the panel slid open, and a blue light flared, washing over his Xerion form. it pulsed, flickered, then steadied, scanning his very essence.
The air crackled with tension as he waited in the cold, scrutinizing light. Then, The AI's voice echoed through the empty corridor, devoid of the clinical detachment he'd come to expect.
"[Scans completed. Authorization confirmed. Level: Owner. Opening the Command Deck.]"
The ponderous doors slid apart with a low hiss, revealing a sight that stole Kai's breath. His heightened senses barely registered the rush of air as he stepped across the threshold.
The room was nothing nothing as he expected.
A vast, cavern-like space stretched before him, No battle damage marred the room or hanging wires. Instead, the walls curved outwards, forming a vast screen displaying the breathtaking panorama of the vast blackness of the outside. It felt more real than any planetarium he'd ever visited.
In the center of the room, a large, circular table seemed to float in the air, projecting a holographic star map. White, table-like structures surrounded it in a precise configuration, forming seats.
One seat, positioned higher than all the others, stood out with an air of unquestioned authority.
Kai marveled at this marvel of alien technology, touching the cool and sleek chair and going down toward the star map, making a glow of different colors on his face.
A distinctly feminine voice infused with a warmth that was absent in the other AIs.
[Welcome, owner. Apologies for the delayed introduction. The recent damage and a rather ....unwelcome infestation have caused some disruptions.]
Kai spun around, searching frantically for the source of the voice. "Who's there?" His voice trembled despite his attempts to sound commanding.
[I am Seraphina, the Mainframe AI of this... extraordinary vessel, the Colossus.]