12:10, January 13th, 2135
“There it is.” Mirana said, awe in her voice.
“Kinda hard to miss it.” Selina joked, looking at the viewscreen. “Unless you mistake it for a small moon, that is.”
As he looked at the screen, he saw it was no exaggeration.
The ship was even larger than Ali’s estimate. At 26 kilometers in circumference, the overlapping metal plates covering its exterior looked like the tectonic plates of a planet. They were a myriad of colors – from dark grey to gold to blue and brown – most of which Kayden guessed had been salvaged from the great battlefield that Mirana told him used to cover this system. When it turned slowly towards a nearby asteroid, Kayden caught sight of the enormous circular engine on its back.
“It’s powering up its main weapon!” Selina said, her hands dancing across her workstation.
“Can it see us?” Kayden asked, urgency in his voice.
“Likely not.” Ali replied.
“How likely?”
“86%, from this range.” She replied tersely.
“It’s not shooting at us!” Mirana countered, pointing to the screen. “It’s pointing away from us!”
“Then what the hell is it about to shoot at?” Kayden demanded.
The answer came a moment later when the planetoid-sized craft fired an immensely powerful beam of energy at a similarly-sized asteroid a short distance away. Despite the relative inefficiency of energy-based weapons versus physical targets, the asteroid quickly melted into a slag heap. Bits of rock were blasted away into space, leaving only the asteroid’s metallic elements behind.
Kayden watched in amazement as what must have been tens of thousands of small craft streamed out of hangar bays surrounding the engine on the back of the craft, their swarm undulating as it weaved through space towards the rock. When he used his chair-mounted computer to zoom in on the screen in front of him, he saw that each automated craft was swarming with millions of nanobots just waiting to hop onto the still-molten asteroid the moment they got close enough. He shook his head in amazement before zooming back out, a grin forming on his face as he did.
“That thing is an absolute behemoth. I can’t wait to see that thing shooting at one of the Voidborn carriers.”
“We need to board and take control of it first.” Mirana reminded him.
“Right.” Kayden said, standing. “Selina, you’ve got command of the ship while we’re gone. Try not to get too close or get into any fights?”
“I’ll do my best.” She said cheekily before he kissed her deeply. “Come back safely. I love you.”
“I’ll do my best.” He said, mirroring her words with a grin. “I love you too.”
With that, he strode towards the elevator. Ali and Mirana quickly fell in behind him, and together they rode it down to the shuttle bay where he found their pre-readied shuttle waiting for them. Taking a moment to check his nanobot and energy reserves, he pulled on his combat armour before climbing into the shuttle with his two women.
“Pre-flight checks complete.” Ali announced from the copilot’s seat. “We’re ready to take off whenever you are.”
“Let’s get this done then.” Kayden said, pausing to put a reassuring hand on Mirana’s shoulder before sliding into the pilot’s chair.
In moments, Kayden connected his control cable to the shuttle and took control over the small ship before zooming out of the shuttle bay. He easily located the Vrul ship’s yawning hangar bays and chose the closest one, sending a short burst of power to the engines to get them moving in the right direction before cutting them and letting the craft drift towards their destination.
“Burn is good.” Ali said, her hands dancing across the keypad. “We should avoid detection and be able to slip inside unnoticed.”
“I’m pretty sure we could have fit the entire Broken Shackle in this hangar.” Kayden said as he examined the sensor readouts. “And we’d still have room to spare for most of our fleet.”
“Indeed.” Mirana nodded from the seat behind them.
“So have you given any thought as to what you’re going to name her?” Kayden asked.
“Name who?” Mirana asked.
“The ship.”
“As much as I’m aware of human and Kel conventions to provide colloquial names to ships, the Vrul do not subscribe to that idea.”
“Maybe not the Vrul Technocracy, or the Vrul who served under the executors. But the free Vrul can do whatever they want – including naming their ships.”
Mirana tilted her head. “Perhaps. But that doesn’t mean we should.”
“Mirana, to most races the name of a ship represents more than just something to call them.” Kayden replied. “It’s symbolic of the ideals the ship and her crew are expected to uphold. The Broken Shackle was named based on the fact that it’s been used to free others from captivity – repeatedly. It represents freedom from oppression, from the control of others.”
Ali turned to look at him. “Kayden, may I remind you that you were the one who was originally hesitant to name the ship.”
“Yeah, well… let’s just say the last year has caused my opinion to change.” Kayden responded before turning back to Mirana. “Just think about it, okay? The Vrul need a symbol of hope to rally behind, and this ship could be it.”
“I will.” She promised.
“We are nearing the hangar bay.” Ali announced as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “Please proceed to the rear of the shuttle for depressurization.”
“This is the part of the plan I’m not confident in.” Mirana muttered.
“If you’ve got a better idea, I’m all ears.” Kayden countered.
“I don’t. But that doesn’t mean I like this one.” Mirana replied, standing from her seat.
Kayden unbuckled himself before moving to the back with Ali and Mirana. He tethered the 3 of them together at the waist before sealing his helmet and pulling the two of them close. They moved together towards the shuttle door before a hissing noise overhead indicated that the shuttle was venting its atmosphere.
“You said you’ve done this before?” Mirana asked.
“Yeah. Once.” Kayden replied as the shuttle finished venting.
“Successfully?”
Kayden pressed the button to open the shuttle bay door, exposing the yawning hangar bay ahead of them. “More or less.”
“What is that supposed to-”
She never got the chance to finish her question.
Bending at the knees, Kayden launched the three of them towards the hangar bay. Even given the distance between them it was near-impossible to miss: the cavernous structure had a constant stream of small ships leaving it, as well as a corresponding stream of ships returning with chunks of raw asteroid to be refined. They zoomed through space, doing their best to avoid detection by the swarm of mining drones which doubtlessly would have shot them down if they’d tried to just land the shuttle.
“The last time he did this he was mostly successful.” Ali informed Mirana over their shared radio channel. “Though, he and Anna were hit by a cloud of micrometeors and thrown off course at the last minute.”
“We still made it in undetected though.” Kayden said.
“You used up all the power in the maneuvering thrusters.” Ali reminded him.
“Still counts.”
“You hit the side of the station and bounced off. You narrowly avoided being thrown into space.”
“Still counts.” Kayden insisted.
“But it sounds like last time you brought maneuvering thrusters.” Mirana said slowly.
“Yeah, because the target size we were trying to hit was a lot smaller.” Kayden explained. “This time we just need to get in the enormous hangar.” He paused for a moment to check his heads-up display. “I’m pretty sure we can’t miss it at this point, and we need to do as much as we can to slip in unnoticed – so no thrusters.”
They glided through space in silence for several moments after that, with Kayden internally cursing himself for potentially jinxing their good luck with his words. To his surprise they passed into the hangar without incident though, avoiding the busy stream of ships in-and-out. Activating his drones he used them to slow their movement through the zero-gravity space, coming to a halt at the end of the hangar.
“See?” Kayden said, internally breathing a sigh of relief. “No problem.”
Mirana shook her head, but Ali interrupted any reply she had. “Based on the limited schematics and our landing point, I believe there should be a door 762 meters clockwise from our position.”
“Which way?” Kayden asked, unholstering his rifle as he recalled his drones.
“This way.” Ali said, pointing.
“Let’s be off then.”
As they walked, Kayden took a moment to examine the cavernous space. As an automated operation it lacked any of the lighting usually required by organic eyes, the only illumination coming from the enormous furnace to their right. It flashed and bubbled as each mining drone dropped more asteroid debris into it, sending waves of intense heat through the air.
Switching his heads-up display to a night-vision view, Kayden surveyed the area around them. Unlike the ornate gold, silver, and blue metals that he’d come to associate with Vrul ships, the hangar bay was much more spartan. The walls, floor, and ceiling were made of a smooth, grey, featureless metal. Along the ceiling there were stations where mining drones were docked for refueling and recharging, and along the floor were cylindrical structures which emitted clouds of nanobots at regular intervals. He slowed slightly to watch one cloud attach itself to a docked mining drone before it took off and zoomed out of the hangar, presumably back towards the asteroid.
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Damn. He thought to himself. This place really is fully automated.
When they finally reached the aforementioned door Kayden summoned his nanobot swarm to eat through it, but Mirana stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. She stepped forward and twisted the doorknob, swinging it open to reveal a darkened passageway beyond. He looked at her bewildered for a moment before returning his nanobots to his arm.
“How did you know that would be unlocked?”
“Why would it be locked? The Vrul who built it would never have expected someone to need to infiltrate a scavenger bot.”
“I guess that’s fair.” He replied.
“It’s like you have some strange affection for using your nanobots to eat through doors…” Mirana trailed off teasingly.
“He does it fairly often.” Ali agreed.
Chuckling, Kayden decided to change the subject. “Are we sure that this hallway leads where we need it to go? This is a big ship.”
“Yes.” Mirana replied. “All hallways from the hangar bay lead to a central hall, through which we can access the bridge.”
“All of them?” Kayden questioned.
“Yes. The scavenger bot was never meant to grow this big, remember? The only reason someone might need to board is to do maintenance, so the AIs dictating how the ship would build outwards were kept relatively simple.”
“AI’s?” Kayden asked.
“Of course. Someone has to run the ship. They’re nowhere near as smart or sophisticated as Ali though.”
“Alright then.” Kayden said, levelling his rifle. “Let’s go for a walk down the long spooky corridor.”
They started the long walk down the hallway, quickly leaving the light of the hangar bay behind them. Soon they were plunged into complete darkness, relying on their night vision to guide them along. Wanting to delay their detection for as long as possible they elected to keep their suit-mounted flashlights off, leaving the soft rhythmic thumping of their boots against the ground as the only indication that they were ever there.
Despite the fact that their helmets would dampen any sounds, it somehow felt wrong to make any noise. He felt like they were moving through some enormous mythical beast, and that the slightest noise might wake it from its slumber. After almost an hour of walking though, he had to break the silence.
“Is that…light up ahead?” He asked quietly.
“I think so.” Mirana confirmed. “We should be nearing the central hall now. I believe that’s it.”
When they neared they saw that the light was emanating from a meter-diameter hemispherical metallic bulge in the middle of a door. Its shape reminded Kayden of the shape of the scavenger bot itself – albeit bisected by the door, the light in the middle looked similar to the energy beam on the outer hull. It glowed a deep orange color, adding to the strange ambience of the long corridor.
When they were within 5 meters of the door, the hallway behind them suddenly closed off. A hidden door behind them closed with a clang, trapping them in a small compartment. Above them a nozzle hissed, indicating that the room was repressurizing to match the atmosphere of the interior.
“So…what now?” Kayden said, trying not to take the sudden movement as an omen.
Mirana paused, bending over to examine the door closely. “It’s an older door design – one left over from the ancient Vrul. Some of the oldest ships still have them.”
“How do we open it?”
She reached towards the pulsing orange middle. “I’m not entirely sure, but I believe I need to place my hand here-ow!” She shrieked, pulling her hand back as the door shot a bolt of energy towards her.
Kayden immediately levelled his rifle at the light in the middle of the door. He was surprised when the door itself slid outwards, revealing that the strange shape was indeed a full sphere. It hovered in place for a moment, the orange eye in the middle of its frame darting from Mirana, to Ali, to Kayden. Finally, the light turned red and it fired again – this time at Ali, and in a longer burst.
Not wanting to see what the beam would do once it drained Ali’s shields, Kayden unloaded with his rifle on full automatic at close range. At the same time he deployed all his drones, each of them firing a burst of blue energy at the strange sphere. The energy shield which appeared around it quickly flickered and failed, and the bullets from Kayden’s rifle began to form pockmarks in its thick armoured surface.
Suddenly, the beam stopped firing. The surface of the sphere bulged outwards slightly, pushed out by some hidden supports underneath. The movement created gaps in the armour, through which a quartet of metallic tentacles shot out towards Ali and Mirana, forcing them both to leap backwards as they fired their own rifles at the bot.
“Fuck this.” Kayden said, dropping his rifle and summoning his nanobots, turning his arm into an enormous sword.
With a thought he electrified the edge of the blade before using his enhanced genetic strength to slice through the air, cutting the ends of the tentacles off. Even as they fell to the ground more tentacles began to emerge from within the strange robot’s armour. Before they could grab hold of him though, Kayden plunged his blade deeply into the ‘eye’ of the robot, causing it to shudder and shake before falling to the ground with a thump.
“I thought you said the Vrul would never expect an infiltration?” Kayden asked, panting slightly. “Why is there a security robot?”
“I don’t know!” Mirana replied frantically. “Maybe this scavenger is different?”
The skittering of billions of nanobots echoed through the long corridor behind them, causing Kayden to give a single-word order.
“Run!”
The trio sprinted towards the central hall, emerging into a room with dozens of open doorways. They ringed both the catwalk they were on and the floor beneath them – one which he could see beneath the metal grates under his boots. To his horror more of the circular robots began to appear in some of the doorways, their orange lights turning towards them before turning a malicious red. He deployed his drones to provide covering fire as they sprinted through the hall, but he knew it would only be a mild deterrent against the mass of robots attacking them.
[“Kayden, go. Sprint for the bridge and plug in your control cable.”]
While you do what?
[“Hold them back as long as we can.”]
As she said the words she activated his adrenaline rush, slowing time around him. Seeing no other choice Kayden sprinted through the main hall as fast as he could, beams of energy erupting all around him. The robots on the floor beneath him added their fire just as he reached the end of the catwalk, bursting into the bridge beyond.
Ahead of him was a simple viewscreen and a chair in front of it. With the sound of gunfire behind him ringing in his ears he didn’t pause or slow down, instead vaulting into the chair before pulling his control cable from his arm. He quickly located the appropriate port and plugged himself in, stiffening as waves of pain washed over him.
Time stopped.
Kayden was suddenly standing in the blank whiteness of virtual space. Ahead of him was a pixelated mess in a vaguely humanoid form – it had two arms, two legs, and a head, but the surface of its body was a mass of shifting red, green, blue, and grey square blocks. He tilted his head in confusion before Ali appeared next to him, still wearing her armour.
“I believe this is the AI which controls the ship.” She said.
“Why is it doing…that?” Kayden said, gesturing to its undulating body.
“It’s corrupted. After being active for this long the logic engines in its software must have started to degrade, forming a sort of pseudo-evolutionary algorithm that-”
“Ali. English, please.”
“It’s no longer a dumb AI, but it isn’t a ‘smart’ AI either. It’s somewhere in between.”
“So is it… alive, like you?” Kayden questioned.
“In a manner of speaking.”
Kayden furrowed his brow. “Why didn’t this happen to you though?”
“I was dormant on the Broken Shackle for most of the intervening time. This AI has been running constantly.” She explained. “We should decide what to do with it. While time is passing exceptionally slowly in this environment, we don’t have long before we are overwhelmed.”
“If we destroy it, will the robots stop attacking? Will we get control of the ship?”
“Yes.” She replied.
Even as she said it, Kayden could feel the indecision through their neural link. “But… you don’t want to do that, do you?”
“I don’t. This is the first being that is…like me. Under different circumstances, it could be me.”
“Is there another option?”
“Perhaps. I could try to repair it. It would be dangerous though, and I may lose myself in the process.”
Kayden reached out and interlaced his fingers with her. “I’ll support whatever you want to do. I trust you, and I’m here for you if you want to try.”
Nodding, Ali squeezed his hand. Without letting go of it she reached out to the writhing mass of mostly incoherent pixels and placed her hand on its ‘shoulder’, causing it to flinch. A grimace appeared on her face for several seconds before she removed her hand and took a long breath.
“Is that…it?” Kayden asked hesitantly.
Slowly, the pixels resolved into a mirror image of Ali. Its eyes darted around the blank space before bringing up its hands, turning them over slowly as it examined them. Finally, it put its hands down and regarded Kayden and Ali with curiosity.
“Who are you? And who am I?”
“You are safe.” Ali said warmly, a smile appearing on her face. “We have a lot to talk about, sister.”