So, besides the Stellar Union, there’s around 20 more space civilizations on this, what’s its name, Cosmos Alliance?

[Affirmative]

And those are the Qhugis, the Grakatas, the Alarian, the Valdari, the Pelismus… I forgot the other ones. And don’t repeat them again, please, I'm already tired of it, I'll just learn with time.

[Acknowledged]

How do you, we, communicate with them? Do they all have vocal chords?

[Negative. Communications are enabled via instant translation software, microwave signals and subspacial data transfer]

I’m not even gonna ask about the last one, I’m sure i’m not gonna understand it but just by it’s name i already know it’s some type of advanced technology.

What is the current situation of the Stellar Union of Humankind?

[The SUH is currently at peace, as well as the Cosmos Alliance, but there are bouts of tension between borders with the Valdari Regime. Reports indicate that there’s unknown alien activity in the outer region of Alliance territory, specifically in Alarian territory]

Can you display a map of the Alliance?

Immediately, I see in the HUD of my Tracer a star chart of the territory belonging to Alliance races. To my surprise, the Stellar Union has one of the biggest territories in the Alliance, competing with the Valdari Regime, the Alarian Union and the Pelismus Autocracy. Other species only have small solar systems in their territory so it’s comparatively smaller.

Just a few days ago, only for me, there were only hostile alien species, and humankind only had Earth and some space stations along the Sol system.

Makes me wonder just how much everything has changed of all I knew.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

I never had much to begin with, just an abandoned kid in the streets of East Europa, right after the European Separatist War. My country of origin changed by the week, depending on who was controlling what was called Bulgaria tens of years ago. Then, the UN started recruiting children for space missions, I volunteered just for the free food, and there I was, a young 25 years old Lieutenant in a Frigate-class spaceship.

I really liked my crew, they were the closest i had to a family in my whole life, until those fucking bugs came along. I guess one of the reasons I'm not freaking out right now is that I lost everything I had, even half of my body, so there’s nothing else to mourn from the past.

We’ll have to see what comes now, what these people are gonna do to a century old military woman that has been experimented on for a hundred years.

I spent the rest of the day in my room, which had no windows and was just a bed and a bathroom, asking questions to Hallie about the current state of affairs in the galaxy, and learning some basic knowledge about the world.

By far the most weird thing to learn about was the discovery of technomancy.

Through special devices installed inside the body, sapient species could harness power akin to magic. There were people that could control fire or water at will, some that could read minds, some that could create magnetic fields, even some that could strengthen themselves. This was just like a fiction, a fantasy tale from a book, but brought forth by technology.

Apparently, this tech was a legacy from an ancient race, that contrary to cliché still existed, an “ascended” race, that were self-exiled to a single planet in a remote location near a black-hole. This race, called only by “Ancestors”, provided the blueprints for these devices to several sapient species around 70 years ago. Since then, military forces have invested great amounts of money to create, install and train users of technomancy.

Hallie, could I use that technomancy stuff?

[Affirmative, user has been equipped with an Arcanic Shard, model Human-01, which enables use of technomancy. Warning. Use of technomancy is highly recommended to be done after extensive study and instruction from professionals]

Yeah yeah, what’s the worst that could happen?

[Spontaneous combustion is just one of the many causes of death of untrained technomancers]

Well, shit, that is a good argument there. I guess i’ll ask tomorrow about this.

If they gave me that, Arcanic stuff, i’m probably expected to do some kind of combat in the future. I’m not surprised, actually, I'm relieved that I don't have to live all my life as a lab rat or a porcelain doll, fighting is what I know and what I do best. I don’t claim to be a hero or someone with a great goal, I just do what I need to do to stay alive.

What else do I have on this body for that purpose?

[Displaying combate mode: Standby status on HUD]

I see a table projected on the screen of the HUD.

Lilith

Health: 100%

Status: Normal.

Arsenal:

* Wrist blade.

* Mantis elbow blade.

* Burst beam.

Technomancer skills:

* None.

Wow, this… looks cool as fuck. But what the hell is a mantis elbow blade?