“Vizir is dead. She got killed by those monsters! How are we now going to solve the mysteries of their technology? She said that she liked working with me...

One of our subjects escaped... she was saved by a male of her kind. They have to be stopped before they start reproducing. It's enough trouble to keep the humans confined to their worlds. There is no way to tell where it might end if they get access to spaceflight.”

- Research Diary of Ouluk Kelemdar

***Deep Space***

***Antioch***

“Deploy the Sand,” I instruct Silith while I make sure that our defence systems are at full readiness.

“Deploying,” she confirms and loads one of the larger rail cannons with 'Sand'. What we decided to call Sand, are large projectiles which explode a few seconds after being shot. They aren't intended to actually hit anything, but to spread a large number of metal pellets between us and the enemy. They should confuse the enemy's sensors. If we get shot at with lasers, the Sand also should dampen their effectiveness.

It may seem like a useless and crude method, but space-battles are all about knowing exactly where the target is. If a shot is just a tenth of a degree off, it might be the difference between hitting a target, or missing it entirely. It's important to confuse the enemy any way that's possible.

Silith chooses to deploy ten Sand-projectiles, matching their trajectories to the Haven's speed. It wouldn't do us any good to place a shield between us and the enemy, just to overshoot the protective obstacle.

She sends five projectiles in a staggered pattern in front of us, intended to block the most likely vectors of attack. In order to confuse the enemy, we also place Sand in front of and behind the ship. The last three rounds are placed as close to the ship as possible. They explode just a few kilometres away from us, which is practically right next to the ship in terms of a space battle. Covering ourselves within a shroud of metallic debris might make it impossible for the enemy sensors to target the Haven. At least it should blur the outline of our ship.

I reprogram our own sensors with the vectors of the Sand-projectiles, making it easier for them to filter out all the interferences. Having used everything at our disposal, all that's left to do is to wait.

The actual engagement lasts only for a few seconds. The enemy ship approaches, accelerating at a slight angle towards us. They could have decided to chase us in a less aggressive way, but that would have given us time to recharge the warp-drive. A warp-field requires very accurate tuning of the engine's emitters, or it might simply tear the ship apart.

Closing the distance quickly lessens the possibility of them doing us harm, but they probably know that we have no actual intention to fight them. We would happily take the first opportunity to run away.

Actually, I would like to turn around and try to kill Ouluk. I was very disappointed when it turned out that he wasn't on the station, but on one of the ships. But if I do that, I would not risk just my own life. It has to wait for another day. Now that I am on this path, I am sure that Ouluk and I will see each other again. I am very sure that only one of us will walk away from that meeting.

I return my attention to the battle. As soon as we are able to engage the warp-drive, it will be indefinitely harder to catch us.

Moments later, our ships shoot past each other and our engines do their best to change the Haven's vector at the last second, hopefully taking us away from any shots which were fired into our path. There is no actual sound, since all of our weapons are firing in vacuum. Only the distant thrumming of our fusion engine gains a little intensity as several systems demand power at once.

Something peppers onto our hull, but its just our own Sand.

The engagement is almost over when something hits us and the ship rocks to the side. Then we are past each other and out of effective range.

“One of their plasma rounds hit us on the nose of the ship,” Silith reports the damage.

I check on it, but it seems like our armour tanked a single shot with ease. “I'll send out my Nano-Workers to check on the damage.”

Silith sighs and checks her scans. She brings up an image of the enemy warship. It's a large, oval shape with eight fins that look like tusks, probably platforms for sensors and weapons. “No visible damage. I am sure that we hit them twice with our lasers, but it doesn't seem like we managed to transfer enough energy. At least they aren't following us.”

I chew on my inner cheek, watching their acceleration curve. “They aren't slowing down, instead they're going even faster to get away from us. We probably blinded them. Their sensors must have disliked the laser treatment.”

“They wouldn't be able to turn around anyway.” Silith turns, focusing on me. “And now that we are out of immediate danger, do you want to fill us in?”

I look at her and then at the kids, who are still moaning beneath our unconscious guest. I turn the pilot chair to face them and recount the whole story. From my somewhat improvised rescue mission, to the encounter with the slime cannon. They wince when I emphasize that even the nano-tech of my improved immune system didn't stand a chance against the stuff.

Lastly, I tell them about my encounter with Admin, studying Sam's and Min's reactions very closely. They managed to get out from beneath the unconscious woman and are now following the tale with great interest.

Stolen novel; please report.

Sam pulls his eyebrows together, clearly angry when I mention that Admin tried to trick me. “That bastard. That's a violation of the rules. There must be some powerful people behind this if he thinks that it's worth the risk.”

Min nods, a grave expression on her face. “We would have lost the quest, or at least be thrown back without Dad. Had he taken the offer, Admin would have lost his position at the very least. It's forbidden to allow someone with a real body to ascend while they are still alive. They must have promised Admin a very good retirement plan.”

Silith studies the kids. “I don't understand. I thought that we are under permanent watch by your system. Wouldn't the whole V.C. learn about what happened, just by watching this conversation?” There is anger in her voice.

“No.” Samuel looks crestfallen. “There are loopholes in the system and not everything gets streamed. They must have a means to cut out certain bits, just as Admin probably deleted any records of what happened in the buffer-zone. Without proof, we can make all the accusations we want. Nothing will happen.”

“The simple fact that they tried it tells us a lot. One of the other factions who have a foot in the real world is out for our heads. Maybe even several of them. They want to crush the competition before we become a threat.” Min shakes her head.

“Are we a threat?” I ask. “I don't have any issues with the other factions as long as they don't bother me.”

“Weeell...” Samuel draws out the word in order to gain time to think of an answer. “The Aquatics and the Individualists won't care much about us. The former are comprised of scientists with a clear goal. They don't care for people with different interests. The latter have no unified leadership to begin with. The ones who would be pissed about a faction which aims to get the support of Lifers are the Environmentalists and the Cybers.”

“Why?” Silith asks.

Min gives us the answer. “Up until now, the Cybers and the Environmentalists got a lot of support from the Lifers. If we wanted to influence the real world, we had to join one of the four factions. Once we have our own race, that's no longer necessary. The Lifers consist of people who simply want a meaningful life, but aren't necessarily eager to join hateful fanatics like the Environmentalists or the Cybers.”

“Or to enter an uncertain existence by joining the Individualists,” Sam continues. “The Aquatics don't take just anyone. They only take people with certain scientific accomplishments. They are probably the least affected if we Lifers get our own race.”

The discussion gets interrupted when the frail woman on the ground groans and starts moving. She rolls over and gets on all fours, keening.

“Oh, dear.” Silith gets up and helps the woman to her feet. “You need to eat something.”

“What?” she asks, clearly disoriented.

“I will take her to the mess hall,” Silith announces.

I tell them to go without me since it's just two more minutes until I can activate the warp-drive. They depart, while I keep watching the enemy ships. They are still following us, but it's clear that they aren't giving it their all. We might as well be already out of their reach and they know it, not willing to waste any fuel to chase us.

As soon as I am able to, I engage the warp-drive on a random vector and head to the mess hall.

What I find there startles me a bit. Silith and the newcomer are hugging each other. They are crying like little children, while the kiddos are watching them with wide grins on their faces.

“What's going on?” I ask, dubious of the situation.

Samuel leans over and gives me a thumbs up. “She just introduced herself as Lisandra, confirming that she is one of Silith's lost sisters. When they were separated, they were told that the other had died, but the G.S. just wanted to minimize the risk of containing them.”

Okayyy. That isn't strange at all. I glare at the kids. “You knew.”

“Yes,” Min admits. “We didn't want to spoil the surprise. After all, we didn't know if we would manage to free her successfully. That's also why the second quest-marker was so far away.”

Silith finally separates from her sister. “You should eat. We can talk about everything later. There is so much to tell you.”

Lisandra wipes a tear from the corner of her eye. “It explains enough. At least I know now the reason for the abduction.” She looks at us. When her gaze crosses mine, it's clear that she is still wary of me. “Who are they?”

“That's Antioch, my mate. And Samuel and Minerva are our kids,” Silith explains with a straight face, completely ignoring the fact that the actual relationship between us and the kids is still up to debate.

“Mate? Kids?” Lisandra asks, her expression frozen in a smile. Her eyes widen as she begins to see the two little humanoids in a different light.

Min looks at Sam. “She thought that we were aliens.”

“Hahaha. Huge mistake,” the other laughs.

“I have to sit down.” Lisandra takes the bench next to her, while Silith piles up food on the table.

A short discussion between the two ensues, as Lisandra still believes that she has to stay on a firm diet. It takes over half an hour to talk her into taking at least one bite. While doing so, we explain the situation to her, hoping that she understands.

But as soon as she has a bite of food in her mouth, it's as if a switch was flipped. She starts eating like a berserker, obliterating the food in front of her.

Knowing that Lisandra will be unwilling to use her mouth for something other than eating during the next few hours, we show her how to access the food-stocks and where she can lodge. I order a drone to stay with her and to inform me if she does anything other than indulge in bodily functions.

Having done everything in our power, Silith drags me to the medical station to examine my injury.

We try to get the equipment to rebuild my hand. The pirates' database had several blueprints for medical devices, but neither of us has the expertise to use them without a lengthy study of the specifications. Luckily, my hand has only been itching since I returned. Otherwise, it would be really hard to concentrate.

That's when Min unexpectedly shows a handy side of hers and takes command. She wanders up to me and beckons me to lie down on one of the beds, throwing a pile of nutrient snacks onto my chest. “The nano-tech will rebuild your hand on its own, but it needs to replace the lost mass. That means that you have to eat a lot. We can assist the process with infusions and energy.”

She wanders away and pushes a machine on wheels closer to the bed. Climbing onto a stool, she connects a flexible pipe to the machine and attaches a needle to the other end. After feeding the machine pure water and some of the medical raw-materials which were prepared beforehand, a clear, yellow liquid is pushed out of the needle.

Without hesitation, she slams the needle into my arm, right next to the injury. It stings, but I already endured much worse.

“It's well and fine that you two thought of building a medical station, but you have to stop thinking of your bodies as something solely organic.”

Wandering off, she returns with a power-cord which was supposed to be a replacement for the ones which support the medical equipment. With a sharp tool and a few quick movements, she has one end stripped clean and placed in my healthy hand. Then she connects the cord to the ship's power-line.

I jolt as energy rushes through my body, but otherwise, I am fine.

Crossing her arms, Min looks at us while we study her. “Why are you looking like that? Did you forget that, while my body is young, I am older than you two put together? They blocked a lot of my memories, but I know stuff!” She pats her chest, clearly proud that she got to show off.

It's so cute to watch that I am unable to withstand teasing her. “If you know that much, then you can surely tell me how I am supposed to eat with one arm hooked to that machine and the other holding a power-cord.”

Her lips pucker and her forehead furrows in frustration. She reddens as she tries hard to think of a solution to the impossible problem, forgetting about the obvious. “I can't solve all your problems.” The little terror turns and stomps off, having lost her previous composure.

Grinning, Silith takes one of the energy bars and unwraps it. “I will feed you.”