ShipCore

USD: One hour since communication with Thea

Location: Meltisar System, MNS Aegis Flag Bridge

A shiver of anticipation ran down Alex’s spine as she stood on the bridge of the MNS Aegis.

Oh, what a difference an hour could make.

On the main screen, the remnants of the Imperial fleet had scattered into a chaotic expanding crescent as they hard-burned away in a frantic attempt at escape.

Meltisar corvettes ran in wolf packs, dashing in the giant holes left in the enemy fleet’s cohesion to chase down the faster imperial elements racing for the jump point. Pairs of cruisers worked to harry and bring down their counterparts, while the primary walls of battle trudged in a straight line toward the distant escape towards Eta Monocerotis.

There were so few enemy capital ships that calling what they had a wall of battle was a misnomer. There were only three, and the 1st fleet had not lost anymore battleships in the brief exchange after the smart munition launch had concluded.

The Aegis and two of its smaller sisters angled themselves slightly, homing in on one of the singular surviving imperial battleships. There were no more long-range projectiles or missiles left across the fleet, so deathblows and finishing strikes would be left up to long range lasers. It was doubtful their mark would survive to railgun range, even if it flipped to present its bow double d-field to them.

Alex’s fingers danced across her holo-panel, her eyes narrowing in focus. There were only a few minutes left before they entered range and ended the chase for the damaged enemy ship. And they were certainly the enemy, but she still felt the need to offer them a chance to live… and there were other considerations besides.

“Admiral Parks, I’m going to initiate contact with the enemy vessel and encourage them to surrender,” Alex stated.

The admiral had been nearly silent since she had taken command of the fleet, acting only to support her orders or offer a few suggestions or ideas of his own. She wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but he nodded at her.

Opening the connection prompted a notice from Nameless.

[Informative: A NAI signal has been detected. A NAI computronics unit is present on fleeing vessel. Unknown rank or status.]

Alex grunted. That was a surprise. She was fairly sure that they had located and targeted the Imperial Fleet’s flagship and obliterated it in the smart munition volley.

There was no response for over a minute, but she sent the hail multiple times until, finally, the screen opened with a picture of a naval officer appeared.

|Nanite System Detected|

|Authenticating…|

|Handshake, rejected. |

|Firewall present. |

“What do you want?” the man demanded. A profile blipped into place in Alex’s peripheral vision, showing an older image of the NAI, complete with name, status, and rank. Prince Andrew Astraea Psi. Tia’s older brother.

He had asked a good question. What did she want?

She doubted Tia would thank her for capturing him. Saving the crew of the ship? They weren’t her friends. It wasn’t exactly fair to blame them for the invasion, though.

No, what she wanted, needed, was information. The prince might make a good source, but since the ship appeared important, maybe it would have records on board.

The trick would be to capture the ship intact without destroying it.

Having a NAI on board… maybe she could trick him?

“Cut your drive and power down your systems except life-support and prepare to be boarded,” Alex stated.

“You’re wasting our time. No one will surrender,” he replied coldly, venom dripping from his tone.

Alex’s eyes shifted to the fleet monitor. “That’s not true. There are many damaged ships that have surrendered. Are surrendering.”

He sneered. “Human traitors, all of them.”

A frown crept onto her face. “Lower your firewall.”

“Why would I do something like that?” he asked.

“I have your profile. You’re a Chi. Why not lower it?” Alex countered.

Andrew glared at her hatefully. “Besides the fact I have orders to not do so? Doing anything you request would be foolish. If I had any missiles left, I’d launch them at you.”

Alex smiled, even if she had to force it. “Yes, well… what if I offered you a deal? Safe passage for your ship if you lower them.”

The man’s expression turned guarded. “And why would you allow that? Why do you want my firewall down?”

Alex cleared her throat. “I know you’re a Chi, so you shouldn’t have anything to fear, no? I am a Chi as well, despite everyone believing otherwise. Psi Celestia wants it known that she has her authority, and by authenticating we can prove it.”

“And by letting us go, we’ll deliver your message,” he snarled at her. The hostility was brief as he turned contemplative.

Alex felt like rocking on her feet in suspense, but somehow managed to remain utterly still.

After what felt like a minute, she took a deep breath and decided to add a bit. “If you don’t agree, then you’re of no use to me, and we’ll obliterate you shortly.”

That seemed sufficiently selfishly stated to make it sound legitimate.

She wasn’t sure from who or when she’d learned to lie, but she hoped it was enough.

Andrew’s features contorted as he mulled over Alex’s ultimatum. She could see the calculations behind his eyes as he weighed the risks, and probably his directives, against the stark reality of his imminent destruction.

Finally, his shoulders sagged, a subtle tell that spoke volumes. “Fine,” he growled, “I’ll lower the firewall. You had better not be lying.”

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“I’m not,” Alex interrupted, her voice steady.

A series of messages appeared on her HUD.

|Incoming Transmission|

|Firewall, disabled.|

|Nanite System Detected|

|Authenticating…|

|Chi Handshake, request. |

A frown appeared on Andrew’s face on the ship monitor as the message hung in the air, failing to complete. “Don’t tell me you’re not a Chi?” A wicked grin of malevolence appeared, as he came to the wrong conclusion. He began to cackle madly, “Surely you’re too stupid to live!”

| Chi Authentication demand, received. |

|AUTHENTICATE| AUTHENTICATE| AUTHENTICATE| AUTHENTICATE|

|CHI COMMAND OVERRIDE| FAILURE|

Alex watched the confusion fill his face. Tia’s brother had really run through a wide range of emotions in a short time.

She really didn’t like him.

“No, you’re right. I’m not a Chi,” Alex stated quietly. A wordless flick unleashed Nameless on the sorry bastard.

|OMEGA AUTHENTICATION ACCEPTED|

She sensed his paltry attempts to stop her, bat her away. In a way, they reminded her of her fight with Thea. But his mental fortitude was an entire order of magnitude weaker than hers had been, even if she had just been a Phi at the time.

The man collapsed onto the ground.

[Informative: This unit has assumed control of 2 computronics modules aboard INS Relis . Sub-Core Andrew processing has been deactivated. This unit will now analyze historical records data and process current ongoing activities.]

“We need to take over the ship. Can you send me over there?” Alex asked.

[Notice: Avatar tele-operation of sub-core unit is possible. However, inadequate training has been performed for optimal efficiency of such activities.]

“Whatever, let’s do it. Start hijacking the ship,” Alex stated.

“NAI—Chi Alex. What’s the situation?” Admiral Parks asked.

Alex froze, having completely forgotten the audience that her little act had. Actually, how the fuck was she supposed to explain what was going on?

She took a breath, then spoke. “Admiral, I’m in the process of hijacking the enemy battleship through electronic warfare. Please maintain course until we can confirm a full takeover.”

Park nodded gravely before turning and issuing some orders to the Aegis’ captain. Sitting down at a chair, the world suddenly flashed, and she was looking out of a pair of unfamiliar eyes. Her entire vision was washed out in gray-blue hues hinting at the tele operative connection.

Standing up was…wrong. Her height was too high, her body moved strangely, and there was a distinct feeling of nausea filling her.

[Notice: Ship interlocks prevent full control overrides. Manual intervention required.]

There was also the problem that the ship’s captain was shooting her in the chest with a pulse pistol. She reached out with Andrew’s arm and converted the blood splatter into a nanite cloud, sending the machines through the air like little needles to puncture the bridge crew’s brains.

When the bloody carnage was over and a rapidly forming pool of blood coated the bridge’s floor, it wasn’t her voice that finally answered Nameless.

“Where’s the interlock override?”

[Informative: Performing ship analysis based on available data. Please standby.]

The bridge was silent except for the hum of the ship and the dripping of blood from Andrew’s fingers. For a moment, she stood motionless, taking in the stillness that had settled over the Relis ‘ command center after the swift and brutal removal of its crew.

[Direction: Proceed to the auxiliary control room. Interlock override is located within. Route highlights activated]

Alex turned and followed the glowing arrows. She felt a constant barrage of discomfort and alien twinges as she maneuvered Andrew’s body through the ship. Her control over the body was awkward, movement clumsy, like she was using strings to move the limbs of a puppet.

Several crew members rushed past her towards the bridge, unaware of her hijacking of their NAI’s avatar. Alarms went off, but she ignored them.

The auxiliary control room was guarded, as expected. Two marines stood at attention, weapons at the ready. They hesitated at the sight of her—no, at the sight of Prince Andrew, giving her the time needed to incapacitate them.

Clouds of nanites burst from her hands, enveloping them in a swirling blue mist. They dropped, stunned but alive, as the nanites disrupted their nervous systems. She knelt down and pulled a keycard off one of the men and slid it through the scanner.

It beeped and showed red, demanding additional verification.

Alex grunted and picked up the guard and held him up, forcing his eye up to the scanner.

The door surrendered.

“Is this the only one?” Alex asked.

[Affirmative: Systems interlock bypass can be achieved via control of primary bridge and this control node. The previous node has been fully infiltrated.]

The console didn’t look special as she brought it online. Placing a palm on it, some nanites flowed off her—Andrew’s skin and an array of confirming system messages appeared on her HUD.

[Confirmation: Ship interlocks have been bypassed. Assuming full ship system control.]

A wave of information threatened to overwhelm her, but she pushed it aside. “Nameless, take care of it. Begin deceleration, shut down all offensive and defensive systems. Leave life-support as the only thing online.”

The ship responded immediately, the alarm klaxons silencing themselves while the lighting was replaced by an emergency brown alert.

“Nameless, did they wipe the database?” Alex asked.

[Notice: Accessing ship computronic systems, please standby.]

She returned to the bridge. Panicked junior officers looked at her and began to ask questions. She stepped up to the command console and pulled out the handheld mic that broadcast to the entire ship. “This is Prince Andrew. To preserve the lives of the remaining crew, the Relis has surrendered to the Meltisar Navy. All officers and crewmen should enact surrender protocols.”

[Informative: Imperial Fleet database located and stored intact.

[Notice: Database decryption in progress.]

Alex let out a tense sigh. Then she released the connection, the world a painful shock as she snapped back into her body. She was filled with relief. “Nameless, don’t let Andrew wake back up for now.”

Admiral Parks stared at her with concern. “The Relis has started a breaking maneuver.”

Alex nodded. “Admiral, you can begin boarding operations. The ship’s commander has ordered a surrender.”

A frown appeared on the admiral’s face. “The hail was still active. We could see what happened on the monitor.”

Alex felt her entire body tense up slightly.

Admiral Parks didn’t look comfortable either. “Prince Andrew’s eyes turned blue. From what I understand, all the Empress’ children are Chi.”

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