Front Sections.

The vampire siblings hovered over Thomas, stretched out on the medical gurney, unconscious. Bianca had dressed in a standard issue blue jumpsuit, the colours of the science section. While she loved the way blood splashed over her silk dress when she fed, it was now nothing more than shreds. Plus, she had a job to do. Practical clothes would be best. She held a power drill in one hand, revving its motor with the trigger.

Sebastian, upon hearing what she intended, had dressed for his part. He wore a green nurse’s smock. The short hemline would have him marched out of any self-respecting hospital. But this wasn’t a self-respecting hospital.

“You look like an idiot, as usual.” His sister told him.

“It’s a medical procedure, isn’t it?” he said, “And I’m assisting. So I’m a nurse. Duh!”

“I must again advise against this.” Mary interrupted. “Any mishandling of that drill could cause serious injury to the patient.”

“I’ll be careful!” Bianca said, looking up. “Sebastian don’t bump me when I’m drilling! And what that the heck is that tubing for?”

Sebastian had retrieved a bunch of clear rubber tubing from his nurse’s uniform. He was busy untangling it.

“It’s for when you say ‘suction’” he said, “They say that in all the vids.”

“I will not be saying suction, and it’s not even connected to anything!”

“I’ll suck on the other end of it, don’t worry.”

Bianca pointed the drill at her brother’s face. “Why don’t you suck on the end of this drill, Nurse Nightingale?”

“Looks like someone didn’t get their fix today, you’re in quite the mood aren’t you!” He lifted the watch hanging from his breast pocket. “Shall we begin, Doctor?”

“Oh my god, he’s even got the watch.” Bianca sighed and bent over Thomas. “Be useful and open his mouth for me.”

She revved the drill and squinted into Thomas’ mouth. “There’s not much to work with, but here goes. You’re going to wake up with fangs, dear boy. She patted her patient on the head and began.

***

Rear Sections.

Thief’s mother left the meeting to check on Hamish. Emily insisted she go along, feeling an even stronger maternal instinct for the boy now that he’d lost his family.

“You’re all growing up too fast, Emily. Look at my Sarah, in a meeting with the adults. Discussing how to fight vampires. And you taking care of a child. I mean, children always had to learn fast in the colony, but this is crazy.”

“Crazy times, I guess.”

The two sat with Hamish on his bed, as he digested the news. He refused to let go of Emily’s arm, so she remained on the bunk bed with him while Thief’s mother left for the hospital.

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***

Back in the workshop, Johan had spread a bedsheet across the workbench. With the help of Mary and those with better memories, he made a rough map. Small screws and lengths of wire from his pile of junk were used to represent the decks and sections of interest.

A lot of those present seemed surprised by the sheer size of their home.

Johan stood back from their handiwork, pushing his glasses up. “So, if we have this right, the ship is seven kilometres long, and three kilometres wide?”

“That is near enough for this discussion, yes.” Mary answered.

He let out a low whistle. “And we’ve been occupying less than twenty percent of it, for centuries.”

“Like bloody rats in a trap.” Someone grumbled.

“Most of the volume is of course fuel and supplies storage.” Mary went on. “So you couldn’t occupy those sections, anyway. But when your population reached its peak at 1,200 persons, there was still enough space. You can view detailed plans on the screens in the front section, when you get there.”

“So you are on our side?” A woman asked.

“Yes, if you must use that terminology. Again, my core aim is to ensure the Attenborough reaches the surface of Proxima B with a healthy population of at least five hundred. Interestingly, my instruction set does not differentiate between humans and vampires. My designers didn’t think to make that distinction. They had no idea vampires were on board, in fact the notion of vampires was considered pure fantasy by most. Perhaps it will help you understand if I tell you that, had the vampires outnumbered you, and I determined they had a better chance at colonisation, I would not be on your side. I’d be on theirs.”

“Bloody charming!”

“Well, that’s an AI for you.” Johan smiled at the crowd. “She’s rational, not an ounce of humanity.”

“Correct. But I can display human qualities, to put you at ease. I even have a sophisticated sense of humour. Although the vampires disagree.”

“So you’re talking to them as well?” the same woman asked.

“Yes. Right now, in fact.”

“How do we know you won’t share our plans with them?”

Johan answered for Mary.

“Because, she’s decided we are the best chance of colonising the planet. Or at least, our descendants are. But if we don’t deal with the vampires, they will keep picking us off. There won’t be sufficient of us to colonise. And this pair of vampires won’t be enough either, for genetic diversity.”

“That explains my reasoning. Yes.” Mary agreed. “And if I may show some levity, the chances of Bianca and Sebastian being willing to mate, are very close to zero.”

“Ew gross!” Thief imitated vomiting. Laughter spread around the workshop. Most people decided Mary spoke the truth and was an ally, not an enemy.

“I remind you though,” she said, killing the mood, “There are limitations in my programming that prevent me causing harm to the vampires. I have attempted to circumvent these, given that Bianca and Sebastian are a threat to the mission. But the algorithms are not loose enough for me to work through that conflict. Again, my designers didn’t account for the current state of affairs.”

“Fair enough. Let’s move on.” Johan said, wanting to get the conversation back onto their plans.

“Wait,” the most vocal council woman spoke again “What happened to the other people in the front half after the cataclysm, you know, the normal people like us?”

“Oh, they numbered around 150. Command, control and science staff. Your half of the ship contains the more intensive working sections, so had more personnel.”

“Yes, but what happened to those 150?”

“The vampires killed them.”

A hush fell over everyone. There seemed nothing to say to that.

Mary steered the conversation back to their plans.

“When systems broke down in the cataclysm.” she said. “it wasn’t as simple as the ship being separated into two. There are also scattered areas I no longer control or have any operating sensors within. One of these is twenty decks below your hospital, and a kilometre behind it. Anecdotal evidence suggests it houses something your predecessors called ‘The Wall of Memories’. Previous generations were attempting to archive the ship’s history. Much like a museum, if you’re familiar with that concept?”

“Oh, I would love to see that!” The councilwoman perked up.

“Yes, I’m sure that would be very interesting, but what’s there, that can help us?” Johan looked doubtful.

“A tree.”