So… I learned that humans pretty much modded our pets to crazy levels…

I don't even know how I should feel about this…

We brought them into space and started modding not only ourselves but even our pets too…

"And they only live for a dozen or so years…" I muttered.

Amber turned to me from where she was seated at the cockpit's console, "Who lives for a dozen years, Tera?"

"The dogs?"

"Huh? Don't they have the same lifespan as us?"

"Wait, what?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Do the dogs in your memories have such short lifespans?"

"Err… Yes? They'd only be around for maybe fourteen or so years on average…"

She waved her hand, "Pfft~ I can't imagine that at all. The dogs we know could even potentially outlive normal humans now."

Wait… Ohhh!!

So they also modded the animals to have longer lifespans too?! Ok, I guess that's one of the good things that came out of it.

I then turned to our newest crew member, "How long are you going to stare at me like that?"

Ries shook herself out of her stupor, "Ah… Ah?! What? Umm… I… Sorry… I just thought that Boss is really awesome… I can't imagine how I managed to get here…"

"Err… You offered to help me with my ship," I reminded her.

"Exactly, Boss… How did I even land this job? I already can't believe that I'm an actual original Verlandi right now! Your generators and engines were all original parts and they were just like new! Almost like your ship was just newly made!"

Umm… I guess she's not wrong about it since I'm pretty sure the ship literally spawned into existence with me when I came over to this universe, which would explain why it looks new I suppose…

Ries then looked at me, "For this ship to be so well maintained, you must be a great mechanic too right?!"

I waved my hand, "No, no, no… I'm afraid I'm not that great… I literally haven't done any maintenance on my ship at all… The only maintenance this ship had was done by the hangar crews on the station we visited."

"But they would only work on the exterior… Right?"

"Yes."

"Then how… How does a ship this old look so new?"

I shrugged, "I dunno, really."

"How long have you had this ship?"

"Honestly… I think it's been less than three months at this point?"

Ries stared at me, her eyes getting bigger as the seconds passed.

"How… How is that even possible? The original Verlandi stopped being made at least a decade ago…"

I scratched my head, "Right… About that… So I think I probably came from an alternate dimension, timeline or even universe."

"What?!" Both Amber and Ries cried out at the same time.

I raised an eyebrow at Amber, "Didn't I tell you already?"

"No? I thought the anomaly only messed with your memories?"

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"Ah yeah… I talked about this with Lea… So we hypothesised that the anomaly might have made me lose some of my memories but it didn't alter them. So what I remember might have been from another time or universe instead…"

Ries leaned forward excitedly, "You experienced an anomaly that did that?!"

"I… I think so? I don't really remember to be honest. I basically found myself waking up on the floor of this ship with no memories of how I got here. Then I realised that there's some customs and knowledge that is common here that would have been ridiculous according to my memories."

Ries tilted her head, "Like what?"

"Like… Well… Dogs are cute, cuddly pets instead of ferocious and deadly animals for one…"

Amber gasped, "Oh! Is that why you weren't afraid of them?"

"I guess? I mean… According to my memories, those two breeds of dogs are usually one of the most friendly breeds so I was more surprised that they were that hostile to you girls…"

"Those breeds were considered friendly?!"

I nodded, "There would even be jokes about them that if your place was being robbed by someone, they might help the robber instead of protecting your place."

Ries shook her head, "I definitely can't imagine that…"

Amber leaned forward, "So what is your universe like from your memories, Tera? You never really shared much about it."

I actually considered telling her the truth about how I appeared in this universe, including the part where I thought this was a game and how my current look was basically my character's avatar.

But… Well… It's not that I don't trust Amber and at least I know Ries would not betray me since she would literally prioritise being this ship's mechanic over anything else. It's just I wasn't really sure whether what I believe was even real right now.

What if we found Earth and it turned out that it was exactly as I remembered? Maybe I didn't go to a different universe but somehow woke up in a different part of the universe instead?

What if… Everything was just a figment of my imagination and that I was well and truly dead?

I sighed, "It's… Complicated… I do want to tell you but I'm still not sure about some things at the moment…"

Amber smiled at me, "It's alright Tera. I for one think that it's better to live in the present and look towards the future instead of dwelling on the past anyway. Especially when that past is something that would weigh you down. The only things that should remain from the past are the things you learned from them and the consequences, not the trauma and insecurities."

Can't say I completely agree with that since this 'past' of mine would definitely impact my future but I can see where she's coming from.

That was when Ries spoke up again, "Hold on, hold on… Are you saying that this ship could potentially be a new and original Verlandi?! With less than a year of usage?! Boss!! This is crazy!!"

I tilted my head, "I know it sounds ridiculous but--"

She quickly shook her head, "No, no, no! That's not what I meant at all, Boss! What I meant was how crazy valuable your ship is!! Heck, there's people out there who would even be willing to fork over billions of Credits just to get this ship!! You can't let anyone else know about this, Boss!! You have to remember this!!"

I blinked at her, "I mean… I can just refuse to sell it?"

Amber chuckled, "Ahahaha~ She's referring to the possibility of other people stealing your ship to sell it away, Tera."

The cat girl nodded quickly, "That's right!"

"Right… I'll keep that in mind then."

Ries let out a sigh of relief before suddenly perking up, "Wait… Does this mean that Boss has been to Earth before?"

I scratched my cheek, "Oh… Well… I guess I can say yes?"

"Ohhh!! Does that mean you know where the planet is?!"

"Unfortunately not… I would say that finding it is one of my goals right now. In fact, if I know about its fate and what its current state is, it would answer some of the things I wasn't sure about at the moment."

The two girls nodded at me in understanding.

Well, I'm glad they weren't pushing me about it because I think I might just cave and tell them about it if they did.

Right then, an alarm sounded out from my console.

"[Warning! Interdiction blast incoming!]"

I swivelled back towards my pilot controls and engaged manual controls, redirecting power to my shields and weapons while punching in the alarm that would warn Lea about the imminent attack to prepare herself since she was still in her room.

Not a few seconds passed before we lurched forward as the blast dropped us out of our travel speed, disabling our travel drives.

I immediately opened up the map to see a single pirate ship coming towards us from the corner of the map, right before another alarm sounded.

"[Warning! Torpedo inbound!]"

A single missile shaped icon appeared on the map and started moving towards us, my scanners indicating that it was an EMP type.

"They intend to board us," Amber noted, looking over my shoulder.

Ries groaned, "These people must want to capture your ship because it's a Verlandi…"

Great… Well I guess we'll have to prepare for a close quarters fight then.

As I stood up to get myself equipped, I found Amber grinning at me for some reason.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked.

"Hehe… I was just thinking… They're boarding a ship… Where we have someone that could control two dogs perfectly… That's a really bad mistake."

Ries gasped, "That's right! Boss! You could just order the dogs to attack the pirates! You could see for yourself how dangerous they really are!"

I blinked, "You… Want me to make use of the dogs?"

Amber smirked, "I think that's a great idea too, Tera! Let's do that!"

Well… This goes against my very idea of how dogs are but… After hearing you girls talk about them… Alright then…