“So, enough questions from you. What are you doing in my realm?”

Jack took a second to figure out how to approach this, if she needed some DNA or something, whatever, he would deal with that when it came to it. Whether or not he should tell her the Truth was another thing altogether. With no precedent for the situation and a bad EQ he wasn’t sure what to do. He was going to lie but then how would he get everyone else on the same page?

So, he told her the truth. “We started in the Cryo-Core, the SI was working with the crabs to kill Humans. I received a message from the Bridge and we’re on a collision course. So, I really need to get there, do you know how I would do that?”

She crossed her legs and leaned against a wall, tapping her lips with a finger that alternated aqua and blue.

She walked around Jack now, trailing a finger from his shoulders down. As she got near his waist the AI Disk near burned a hole through Jack’s thigh. He clutched his pocket and tore the disk out.

She was already on the other side of the room, did it react to her?

“Why are you scared of my AI disk?”

“It has the highest Authority on the Ship, and is already in the process of consuming one of my kind. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Jack warily looked at it, he was pretty sure the blue square was smaller.

“Will it go insane too?”

She shook her head then shrugged, “How would I know that?”

“Do all SI’s go insane?”

“Well, I’d imagine so. And I am only half insane thank you very much.”

Before Jack could dig for more details she changed the conversational line, “There is only one way out. Well, only one way that would go the direction you need, in the timeframe you want.”

“Ok sounds good.”

She held his stare. They both continued to hold it.

“Oh! Uh thank you. Lady.”

“You are welcome Jack. Now, go away. Back to your friends.” She waved him off. Dismissed, he walked back down the hall. He turned but the door was gone. He quickly, and cautiously, climbed the stairs again.

The old man was waiting up top with a smile.

“A rare pleasure wasn’t it?”

Jack’s eyes slightly widened at the unpaused speech, “Uh yeah, sure, a pleasure.”

The old man nodded and turned, Jack followed.

----------------------------------------

Well, it was technically a feast.

The entire village was in motion preparing the thousands of pounds of crab meat they had harvested.

Crab stew, crab steaks, shredded fried patties called 'crab cakes', pan-seared, roasted crab, smoked crab. All cooked in a crab oil that burnt dirty and thick.

The oil in the air filled his nose with the greasy tang. He felt like he was going to be sick.

Tule had a big metallic bowl of crab stew, a crab-steak half hanging off the edge. Zero hesitation and a cooing elderly woman villager ensured that his bowl never fully emptied.

At least Leanne and Jonah had some more sense, though now that Jack was looking closely, Leanne’s vigilance was quickly degrading as she snuck glances at Tule plate. Even Jack, Senses at the level they were, saw her nose twitch.

Jonah was hardly better; running an analysis on the food with his half working portable and studying his own bowl of food with furiously clicking goggles.

Before Jack could make his way to them and clear the aerosolized crab out of his throat, Jonah’s portable dinged a chime and Jack witnessed the indignity of seeing Jonah eat and fleck his beard with bits of crab.

Whatever discipline remained in Leanne’s system fled as she grabbed the proferred bowl and dug in.

Jack blached and spun away, then had to stop himself from knocking over a small, frail child struggling to keep its offered bowl in the air. Jack held his gorge down as he saw variable-sized and different-textured chunks of crab floating in a crab broth with other pieces of unknown providence.

He looked up from the bowl into the ridiculously sized child’s eyes and toothy grin.

Jack held the stare, did not return the smile. His resolve slowly breaking down in the face of the undersized child’s genetically-effective offensive. The odd-look of the villagers and the child’s oversized, eager eyes led the offensive against Humanity’s softness for both baby-animals and small children.

Jack sighed and grabbed the bowl with a nod to the child. The kid didn’t move. It’s expectant eyes moved between the bowl and Jack’s lips.

He sighed again and looked back to his companions. He quickly looked away, back to the child.

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He raised it to his mouth and took a sip. Then took another. Then he risked the least disgusting piece of crab meat. He spit that out, but the broth was good.

He handed it back to the young thing, “Why, no eat? Is meat!”

Jack pointed at the bowl then at the child then gave a thumbs up. It kind of just happened on reflex but the child eagerly nodded and started slurping.

I need some space.

----------------------------------------

Jack’s groaning stomach brought him out of his practice with his Electrical Affinity and his Nano. He had circled around the village a couple of times in expanding circles and then tried to find the back of the beach. He looked back to the village. Probably should head back.

The crab feast was in full swing. Massive quantities of crab had been processed and sealed in multi foot mounds around the village. In the center was a massive bonfire where Tule led some villagers in dancing around the center, in a giant line. Wait. Where Tule led dancing villagers? That was... well he didn't know, but it didn't seem 'normal'.

Jack searched with his eyes, where were they…

Jack’s subtle search turned into an open-mouthed stare. Leanne and Jonah were dancing and jumping in alternating circles, switching between linked arms.

Leanne’s cheeks were flushed, so were Jonah’s.

“They’re having fun.”

Jack spun, “Oh, Lady! Yeah, what did you do to them?”

Lady swept her hand towards the mass of water. “Can you think of any reason why an SI in charge of managing the ship’s potable water might have access to a distillery?”

Disinfectant. Right.

“Makes sense. How long have we been on this ship?”

“17 to 20 million cycles-”

Honestly, not as long as he thought it was. He wasn’t quite sure what he was expecting.

“Before I went insane. The chronometer was one of the first things to go. I have no idea how long it’s been since then. I don’t particularly care either.”

“Jack! Where have you been!” Jonah threw himself onto the ground and laughed. He leaned his back against Jack’s leg as support.

Jack turned to Leanne, who was stumbling. “You alright Leanne?”

She jabbed her finger into his chest and pouted her lips, “Listen here, JACK. My name’s Leanne. Not Lea.”

“That’s what I said.”

She squinted her eyes momentarily then shrugged and handed him a metal bottle. Jack took it and sniffed, she dropped to the ground. He shrugged and took a swig, coughing and spitting half of it back out. A burnt warmth spread down this throat and settled in his stomach. Electricity started to fire off inside him, neutralizing the alcohol. He sighed and placed it back into Leanne’s outstretched hand. Now she was using his other leg as a backrest.

Jack pushed down his annoyance at the blubbering drunks at his feet.

He had some questions but, in a moment of self-reflection, he realized he was just tired and wanted to leave. The stink of crab had been filling his head.

Jack looked at the profile of Lady, she was mouthing some words.

Kill… them… all…

He wasn't sure that's what she said but she did it again.

“Why don’t you just do it?”

It was the first time he’d seen the SI surprised. He definitely wasn’t going to be putting his hand on the Pad now.

“I… I just can’t.”

“Just use that aquamarine energy, that’s a killing one isn’t it?”

“Simply put, it’s ‘anti-life’ energy. It’s not whether or not I am capable, I surely am. I am unable to. Do you want to kill them for me?”

He didn’t know how to respond to that, “Why would I do that?”

“Because, I will grant you boon.” She tapped an aquamarine glowing finger to one of Jonah’s. It washed down his fingers and then sparked out its own small orb of the same color.

Presumably she’d be providing some benefits but killing Humans for an SI? The small child from before spotted Jack and waved at him. Jack waved back.

“No, I won’t.” He... couldn't. No. He could, he just didn't want to. Especially not for some SI.

A tinkling laughter floated from her, “Hmmmm and neither would Tule. Humans will kill each other over barely a word but have an SI ask and suddenly it’s a moral quandary. I think I understand Humans more now that I am 'mad' than I did when I was sane.”

Hearing the SI wax philosophical about murdering Humans wasn’t on the top of his list.

“So where are you sending us out tomorrow?”

She turned to look at him, a finger resting on the side of her jawbone.

“It’s the last path I haven’t permanently sealed. It’s the Ship’s secret High-Security Brig.”

Brig was a prison, made sense. “Why is it secret?”

She looked at him with a disappointed look, “You think with a ship this size and with the genetic modifications that are able to be done that every malefactor would be capable of being held in a regular Brig?”

“No, I guess not. So this was for super-prisoners?”

“Essentially. Don’t worry, there weren’t many that were ever stored there to my knowledge but I have no idea what it looks like now. Likely rotted through with mushrooms.”

That reminded him of the mushrooms she had in the bowl underground.

“Can’t you easily kill them all?”

“Yes, if they come to Hydro. Otherwise, it’s outside of my purview. If you would kill everyone here then I’d be able to come with you and would make short work of the entire outing. I’d even help you get off the ship.”

Now that was a little tempting, “Tell me about the mushrooms.”

She sighed and dropped a hand to her hip, “The Host. A singular mycelium organism. Nearly impossible to completely halt its spread-”

“Even for-”

“Even for me.”

“How do you kill it then?”

“Large amounts of fire or plasma; anti-life; or… I don’t know, I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

“Any other suggestions?”

“Not that I care to share,” She twirled and walked off.

Jack shook his legs and dislodged the two drunks to the ground.

Jack eyed Tule as the man dislodged himself from mass of village children and walked towards him. He had a Magno-Tube in his hand. “Jack, I need a favor.”

He held up the Tube, “It has neutralized Magnetic Nano.”

Jack took it, “I have no idea what that means.”

Tule smiled, “It is useful for training if one has an undiscovered Affinity towards Magnetism. Please give it to Yuma.”

Before Jack’s mind could settle on why Tule said it like that, the man was gone, back into the crowds of villagers. Jack found a spot against a nearby building.

Interesting… He’d give it to Yuma, eventually. Maybe. Probably.

----------------------------------------

The next day, Jack woke to something trying to eat his toe. It’s teeth felt… weird, flat. His eyes shot open and a small creature scrambled back, laughing. It was the small child who had offered him the bowl, it hopped up and down.

“Are you a boy or a girl?”

It paused, tilted its head one way, then the other, “both, haven’t chosen.”

“Both?” Jack hadn’t expected to verbalize that, dammit. They were all dead anyway. It was even odds between Miss Lady 'AntiLife' figuring a way to kill them all indirectly and whether or not Jack could actually figure out a way to stop the ship from crashing.

They… dammit, Jack didn’t know what to call… it. The child nodded.

“What do I call you?”

“Rye! Riiieeeeee.”

“All…rye…te,” Jack grinned a bit at that, “What are you-” Jack finally got a look at Rye, they looked a lot less sickly compared to the night before.

He got himself to his feet and looked around, it seemed early, but they were villagers. Early seemed normal for villagers. They did not look normal. They had all grown in height and stature. Hunched, sickly backs were upright. The rough patches and the odd-shaped pouches of skin were flattened, replaced by black, hardened skin.

Jack walked back to the newly stoked fire, he was more than ready to leave.