Enid was inspecting her handiwork. Apollo’s wrecked skin/armor plates were in a pile around her and his beautiful mirror black finish had been replaced by…metallic purple. She had her hands on her hips and was shaking her head.

“I’m not sure I like this new color.”

“As I have heard you say often before: beggars cannot be choosers.”

“But its purple.”

“It is functional that should be sufficient.”

“You know I had this gorgeous purple cloak once. Gave it away probably got covered in baby shit.”

Enid ran her hands along the surface of the starfighter.

“Can you feel that.”

“Yes.”

Enid put her hands on her hips and shook her head a final time.

“I like my cloaks purple; I like my cars and planes black.”

She frowned. At least it was a nice rich dark purple and not hot pink.

“Okay test the cloak.”

She smiled as Apollo vanished from sight the shimmer back into existence. Then she was pushed back as a bubble of shimming force appeared around him.

“Excellent! How about those particle beams?”

“They have integrated into my systems easily. Even my basic input output system is talking to them. We’ll have to calibrate them so we range and yield can be determined.”

“So targeting is going to be a problem, but if I’m point blank they’ll get the job done?”

“Yes. I was able to charge the capacitors without feedback.”

“Maria is going to lose her shit when sees what we brought back. Actual working particle beams and a newer better fluidic metal.”

Enid was looking at several tubes of the purple fluidic metal. She started putting them in the various storage compartments hidden on Apollo’s frame.

“I would say this metal is comparable to that used in Amee’s bones.”

Enid quirked her head to the side.

“Who designed the computer systems after the fall?”

“History catalogue says it was SATO. First computers were manufactured by Aurelius Corporations SATO foundries.”

“Does the patent have a name on it?”

“A. Jace.”

“It all keeps coming back to Amee. You know after the grey we advanced in technology by several generations at least. When I left, fusion generators were imaginary. Now we have FTL drives and antimatter generators. Wormholes.”

“There does seem to be a conjunction of events and technology with your fiancée, Aunt Enid.”

“There does. Before we leave the system I want to open a comm wormhole to her.”

“You want to deploy the beacon and comm buoy?”

“No, just use your built in one. This system has a lot of ship wreckage in it and I’m not sure I want them to know someone else was here.”

“You agreement with the WTO stat-”

“I am well aware of what my agreement states, hey, fill the antimatter warheads while I’m fucking about with those guns.”

“Aunt Enid? Are you sure?”

“I got a bad feeling about this place. Have since we first saw those ships in orbit. Something feels wrong. Once you load the antimatter into the warheads launch and cloak. See if you can link up with the comm relay here on the base, if your computer systems are compatible maybe the comms are too.”

Enid climbed up the ladder that was newly formed from the freshly poured fluidic metal. She grabbed her lucky travel mug. She’d had it since her second stint at high school in Edmonton. Maria had bought it for her. She didn’t have any money at the time so it was a cheesy clearance store one with misprinted kittens on it. She filled it with another bottle of coffee flavored synth-o.

“That is your fifth bottle since we’ve been here. You are going through your blood stores at a rapid pace.”

“The blood stores you know about, I have like twenty blood crystals full of blood in here. It will be fine.”

“You say that a lot, but you tend to increase your blood intake when you are nervous.”

Enid popped the lid on her travel mug and shrugged.

“I already told you I had a bad feeling about this place. Go on get those antimatter warheads filled up, maximum yield. I want to be able to obliterate this place from orbit if need be.”

“With that kind of yield we will be lucky if you don’t crack the planet in half.”

“At least we’ll know the base is gone.”

Enid took a sip of her blood as she walked across the paved runways and roadways that crossed the base. Removing the lock down had given her access to everywhere without hindrance. She started poking around looking for the comm link. She thought she might have found it. She could use the controls to rotate the massive dish on the base. She knew what cancel looked like…so she guessed the top option on the touch screen was go or…some form of it. The screen flared to life.

“Apollo.”

“Reading you.”

“I got the comm link working. Nothing I do over on the security console seems to do anything to the defense turrets.”

“I do however have a threat display on the main screen, which is a hologram. Launch and I want to see if I pick you up.”

Enid watched for anything on the screen.

“Nadda, must have been that residue. Cloak and clip the turret defense arc.”

She watched as Apollo followed her instructions.

“Nothing. Use your FTL comms, generator a wormhole to our link.”

She watched the screen it flashed all sorts of bright pink which made her soul hurt a bit and the turrets were active but could not lock onto the source of the alert.

“Okay maintain cloak. They’re looking for you but can’t seem to target you. Best use one of the wrecks as cover though.”

Enid waited patiently and the comm-link she’d activated on the ground eventually lit up.

“Amee?”

The connect sounded flakey. Probably due to the fact that she was in an energy shield under an ash cloud and her relay station as behind a wrecked battleship. The visuals were non-existent.

“I can barely hear you.”

“Planet is a shit show and Apollo’s using his own comm unit and is under fire, or would be if he was out in the open. We’re pouncing it off…of a destroyed cored battleship.”

“Did you say battleship?”

“Yes. Amee, why did you send us in this direction. We’re not in the system you targeted but all the tech here…its similar to ours, right down to the temporal shielding.”

“You found it!”

“Found what?”

“The origin system for my nanites.”

Enid moved to the security console and took a picture and sent it through.

“Sent you a picture, let me know when you get it.”

Enid waited a few minutes for a response.

“Got it. Yes, that’s it, did you find the scientist?”

“No, didn’t find anyone. Place is deserted. Some automated anti-spaceship turrets nearly ripped us to shreds, would have been nice to know you were sending us here for a specific reason babe.”

“That’s impossible. He was the last of his species. The Silwrath wiped them from existence.”

“Well…I don’t know what to tell you hon. Twelve fighters one FTL transport, a few drop ships, six hover tanks and a bunch of troop transports. And a whole lot of glass created by orbital bombardment about three hundred thousand years ago. Base is only a few thousand years old though. Pristine condition…at least under the shield.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Did you find anything of use? Star Charts?”

“Amee you act like I can understand a word these screens say.”

“What was that Enid, you broke up.”

“God damn it. Tell me how to shutdown these defense turrets and then we can get Apollo decloaked and open up a real comm channel.”

After several failed attempts to hear what Amee was trying to tell her, Apollo readjusted and the voice comms were better.

“Enid, that is the security console you need one that…let me make a picture.”

Enid waited and eventually a hand drawn image came through she started to look through the various computer screens on the sixth one she found the symbols Amee had provided.

“I think I am at that console.”

“Type in the second string of characters.”

Enid very deliberately hen pecked the keyboard until all the characters had been entered. When she pressed the final key the turrets lowed their barrels and the main screen stopped flashing hot pink.

“We’re good Apollo decloak and get a better relay point.”

A few seconds later Enid was looking Amee’s magenta eyes.

“Nice to see your face.”

“I missed your face too. Now link me into your video recording feed.”

Enid tapped a few commands on her holo-phone’s display and she saw Amee cracking her knuckles.

“Good good. Go to the comms console and type in this command.”

Enid walked over to it and typed it in exactly as it displayed beneath Amee’s picture and the screen flickered.

“I’m in. You can sit down and put your feet up. I’ll have full control of their systems in a jiffy.”

“Hah! I thought I was the only one who used that word.”

Enid found a chair and did exactly as her fiancée had suggested.

“So you couldn’t understand any of the language?”

“When the fighter talked to me I totally could, but reading it? Pffft apparently my ability doesn’t extend to that.”

“Okay, this is not a science outpost. It’s a military base. They received the frequency updates for the temporal shields, but they did not implement it right. Was enough to keep the physical base and computers intact but the Synthlins themselves not so much.”

“Hon there is a shit ton of tech here. The kind of things we do not want falling it enemy hands, they’d have a road map to wipe us out.”

“I agree, the defense cannons and the energy shield were probably enough to keep any interested parties or salvagers from getting too close, but, uh, I killed the automation when I gave you that command. Sit tight. I’m downloading all the data from their computer core. There’s a built-in self-destruct sequence. Bases is a prefab, drop it from space it uses surrounding materials to build itself and then manufacture equipment. Which it houses all the specs for. So instead of my crappy corrupted versions, we will now have full specs for their tech.”

“Their fluidic metal is many generations better than ours.”

“I know, I could only approximate what I reverse engineered from my bone samples.”

“Data transfer will take…another thirty minutes.”

“Oh that’s interesting, only two active comms for these guys. This one and an adjacent star system.”

“Your original requested target.”

“Look you don’t have to go Enid, this is way riskier than I thought it would be.”

“I’m only like five or six light years away now, no point in turning back now.”

“So what do we do till then?”

“Intergalactic cybersex?”

“With Apollo watching?”

“Point taken.”

“How is everyone?”

“Hazel is doing great.”

“Ya, my gift says, liar liar pants on fire.”

Amee rolled her eyes.

“She got arrested for street racing with Miles. When they were supposed to be at the movies.”

“Not unsurprising. She in a cell?”

“No, last name like Aurelius they just wagged their finger at her and said bad girl. I mean there were some damages I had to pay for, but no big deal.”

“Wait what damages?”

“She broke a couple of police officer cybernetic arms when they arrested Miles.”

“She didn’t shapeshift did she?”

“No…that was just her as a human. Probably the fact you trained her to fight Romans and what not hmm?”

“I am slightly proud of her, yet at the same time I want to put her over my knee and spank her.”

“Its fine, she grew up in a time and place where violence was the best answer. You can’t expect her to adapt immediately to a more civilized era.”

Enid sighed and took another drink from her travel mug.

“You’re seriously using that old thing still?”

Enid shrugged.

“My sister bought it for me.”

“She bought me the itchiest sweater you can imagine, you don’t seem me wearing it.”

“It seals mostly.”

Amee laughed.

“You are a creature of habit aren’t you, Enid Aurelius?”

“Yes. So wedding plans, how are they going?”

“Oh, umm my assistant has spent the last three weeks freaking out maybe before Miko hits eighteen hmm?”

Enid looked at her boots.

“So you heard about that.”

“Oh and the one where you call Doctor Kinsley a fat assed, dick faced, pig…fucker? Yes, pig fucker.”

“Well, she could stand to lose a few pounds.”

“Tell me again why you’re are leading expert on peaceful first contact with alien species?”

“You hired me?”

“I really need to review our hiring policies. God, you now how many times I’ve wanted to tell someone off in a board meeting?”

“Amee, the way I figure it, I’m old enough to be a cranky old hag, so I say what I want too and damn the consequences.”

“Strangely that works badly for world leaders.”

“Well that’s why you’re the leader of the Systems Alliance sitting in your cooshie office, and I’m sitting here on this blasted rock watching bars going across a screen…that is now flashing hot pink. Enid sat up straight in her seat.”

“Apollo you see anything.”

“Scanners are clear Aunt Enid.”

“How’s the download honey?”

“Two minutes.”

“Do you have a second to find out why the main screen is lighting up like a…Christmas tree on… easter morning?”

“Deep space sensors are detecting FTL transit near the system. IFF says… Silwrath. Scout class.”

“Babe, you better hurry on that base self-destruct. Cause otherwise we’re using my solution.”

“What solution is that?”

“Two maximum yield antimatter torpedoes.”

Enid took another drink of her coffee flavored synth-o while she watched her fiancée’s mouth open and close in disbelief.

“You…no. No, no, no. You are not to use the antimatter weapons. That’s something the Synthlins never developed.”

“Why?”

“Because every other advanced sentient race in their determined it was too volatile to use as an energy source and the weaponry was…too dangerous. Even the Silwrath won’t touch it with a ten foot pole.”

Enid took another drink from her travel mug.

“So we’re galactic level idiots. Sounds like us. Apollo you monitor for that ship if you see it come into normal space you cloak right away. Amee, how is it going?”

“Data transfer almost complete. I’m shortcutting the auto-destruct. Setting the fusion reactors up for an overload. I thought they didn’t explode, that was the point of them.”

“Well, under normal circumstances no, but when you reverse the flow and cause a plasma build up…well you create miniature suns.”

“Oh, you realize I’m still on the base right?”

“You have time.”

“I love you Amee but you just said you were making six miniature suns about a hundred feet below me so excuse me if, ‘you have time’ isn’t very comforting.”

“I need…ten minutes.”

“Sure. Apollo, as soon as she says done you drop comms and get your ass down here and rescue me.”

“Roger that, Aunt Enid.”

Enid was looking at the gunnery console.

“So are these guns offline?”

“No, just autotargeting. You should be able to target ships. Sorry distracted here. You got the guns?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

Enid tapped one of the hulks on the screen that was away from Apollo’s current position and she saw the defense turret barrels light up and the ground shook as eight particle beams pulsed towards it tearing holes through the wreckage.

“Yep…I got it.”

“Aunt Enid, the ship just translated into real space. It is targeting me.”

“Evasive maneuvers and cloak. Keep the comm link active as long as possible. I will see what I can do about our guest.”

Enid zoomed into the scout ship on the screen. It was launched four fighters and was heading towards the base. Enid tapped the scout ship and just held her finger there. She watched the ship which was much larger then spin from one hit of a particle beam which knocked its shield out then it got ping ponged by another which tore off a section of it and finally into another full hit and it disintegrated.

“Oh. I like these guns.”

“Aunt Enid, they are tracking the worm hole I’m having difficulties dodging their fire.”

“Amee, comms are going to be interrupted for a few minutes. I’ll get them back up asap. Kill the comm link Apollo, I’m on my way, fighters are too small for me to target from down here.”

Enid altered time grabbed her lucky travel mug and in milliseconds she was hopping into one of the waiting Synthlin fighters. Language was different but the controls were identical to Apollo’s.

“Defense Wing 1. Base is under attack, hot scramble.”

“Power on, shields good, weapons good. Ready for launch. We do not have clearance.”

“We don’t have time for clearance, emergency override?”

“Emergency override. Manual control active.”

Enid flipped the antigravs on and she hit the throttle to max as soon as she was out of the hanger. She slipped through the transport entrance and went ballistic as soon as she could. She burst through the ash that choaked the planets atmosphere and had an attack vector on a target immediately. She locked onto it and hit the missiles. A swarm of angry looking purple balls of energy swarmed it and tore it to pieces. She took out another with particle beams. With the comm-link down she was the only target for the last two fighters. She played chicken with them she barrel rolled flying over one of the Silwrath fighters inverted. She hit her rear top thrusters and to flip so she was tailing him. She fired her particle beams point blank. They tore through his shields, and she flew through the ensuring fireball. She wove through one of the massive hulks the turrets had cored and used the time she bought herself to open comms to Apollo.

“Apollo, splashed three, one left open the comm-link again. It will lure him out and I’ll finish him. Stay cloaked.”

Enid flipped off her fighter’s power and waited for the weapons fire to start again. She saw flashed and engaged the fighter’s power systems and flew out. Her ruse did not go as she had planned, the Silwrath pilot ambushed her as she came into the open and her shields lit up and eventually overloaded showering her in sparks as she was pelted by green beads of energy. She had no idea what the fighter’s OS was trying to tell her was wrong but her missiles were still showing active so she took a few more hits from the Silwrath’s energy weapon and launched the swarm missiles at close range. The enemy fighter blew up shortly after she passed. Shrapnel pelted her fighter and all kinds of audible alarms were going off and hot pink flashing lights were everywhere.

Enid angled the fighter towards the planet and did her best to perform atmospheric reentry and not blow up her fighter. Pieces where tearing off the fighter and all she could do was control her descent with reverse thrusters. She opened comms.

“Mayday, mayday, mayday. Stick is almost dead. No antigrav. I am going to crash. Trying to do it near the dome.”

All Enid could do was slow her fighter down so she wasn’t going to hit at fatal velocities She crashed into the paved road by the entrance to the base. Took her a few minutes to heal her injuries and tear herself from the wreckage. She looked down on the floor of the craft and there was her lucky travel mug. She gave a small laugh and picked it up. Once she made her way through the airlock her suits comms picked up.

“Enid?”

“I’m here Amee.”

“I was so worried when we caught your mayday.”

“I was too? The thrusted stopped me from hitting at Mach 3, so…hey any landing you can walk away from right?”

“Right. Hey hon, there’s three more ships coming your way, uh, battleships. So you should get going, I still have two minutes on the script I’m running to overload the fusion generators. There’s not enough time, by time I finish, they’ll be on top of you and Apollo still needs to pick you up.”

“There’s an FTL transport here, think you can override the safety’s and plot an FTL course to…our original target?”

“No!”

“Just do it. You only have a minute and forty-five seconds left.”

“Fine!”

Amee went quiet. Enid walked on board and started powering it up. The transport responded quickly. Enid didn’t wait for Amee to tell her she’d finished the bypass and started the launch sequence.

“Hey Apollo, you heard that right, we have inbound battleships?”

“Yes, Aunt Enid, I am still detecting active data transfer should I abort and pick you up?”

“No.”

“What do you mean? I cannot leave you behind.”

“You’re not, I’m using the FTL transport, I’ll just be a bit behind you.”

“As soon as Amee ends data transmission you jump. Plot your course for the original destination. When you get there, cloak and keep a low profile, no comm link, no scanning, just hide.”

“I understand, how far will you be behind me.”

“Uh…based on the text Amee just sent me, about ten and a half days.”

Amee sighed.

“You’re good to go just press the flashing button when you’re at a save distance from the gravity well.”

“You’re a doll.”

“And you’re giving me grey hair.”

“Love you talk to you in…about ten days.”

Enid flew the transport away from the planet and engaged the FTL before the Silwrath ships translated into the system. As the blue-white tunnel appeared around her she looked picked up her lucky travel mug and kissed it.

“Lucky indeed.”