"Okay, let's suppose you are one hundred percent correct, and loyal to our cause. What do you propose us to do?" I asked the professor.
"So... There were only a few real humans left still working in Quasistellar Corporation. Me being one of them. Naturally, this is how I can know and guess so much about the inner workings of this AI."
"Because you created it?" Mei asked.
"Because I helped someone create it. I wasn't the leading person in the development team, so I only know how much my work required me to."
"Who would that project leader be?" I asked.
"Someone who is now in seclusion in the Kuiper Belt. If we are to know more about the enemy and predict it's next move, we need his knowledge and genius. This might be our only chance to fight back."
"Wait." I said. "Is this guy our enemy or friend? Why is he hiding in one of the remotest places a human can go?"
"He is in the Kuiper Belt because the company, I mean the AI of course, ordered him to do so. I bet the AI observed that he liked working alone, or at least far away from the rest of the team. Doubled with that fact, what better place do you have in the Solar System to secretly raise a war fleet?"
"The Oort Cloud." Mei said.
"Mei, that wasn't a real question." I said.
"What? I am right though." she argued.
"Anyway, so he managed to lead the production of a war fleet for the company in the Kuiper Belt." I said. "Is that correct?"
"Yes."
"He never thought that there was something wrong with a company owning war fleets?"
"No." the professor said. "He only does his job, and cares about that much. I bet, in seclusion, he is oblivious to what happened to humanity, to be honest. This is why he was the perfect choice for the job. And besides, Quasistellar Corporation is neither the only nor the first company to own a war fleet."
"Now thinking of it, the whole planet of Mercury was owned by a company..." Mei said.
"Yes. Anyway... Multiple war fleets were created there before the AI ordered those fleets to raid the better resource centers in the Sol system. And... we all know the rest of the story. After we lost Ceres, it was an avalanche. The more resources they got, the more ships they built; the more ships they built, the more resources they got, and so on..." Professor Yamamari explained.
"Okay, so where do we find this guy? Your project leader... Where is he in the Kuiper Belt?"
"About that... I am afraid I don't have the slightest idea." the professor said.
"I have an idea." said Mei.
"You do?" I was a bit shocked. How would Mei know where this man is?
"Before this whole war started, we had received a mysterious transmission from the Kuiper Belt. The message wasn't meant for us, but Lodos' advanced systems could pick it up nonetheless."
"What message?" the professor asked.
"About something called a 'Collection' heading to the Inner Solar System."
"Oh, I remember that now." I said.
"That IS him! That must be!" Professor Yamamari said. "Collections are what the AI fleets are called in human-machine interfaces."
"The transmission was from the dwarf planet of Makemake." Mei finished her words.
"It is worth checking out." said Professor Yamamari. "I doubt he left the planet; he has no reason to do so. Even if he did leave, we could find clues about it. It could be the starting point of our search."
"Let's get underway then." I said.
"We have a civilian survivor fleet heading there, to Makemake. We are risking giving away their location if we go there, starting our journey from a place in the Inner Solar System." Mei said.
"We will take an alternative route using gravitational slingshot maneuvers." I said. "There is still a risk, but if we are to save the rest of the humanity, we could sacrifice a few."
"I see..." Mei sighed, releasing her stress. "So nothing new here."
"By the way, how is this station still not found and destroyed?" Mei asked.
"I don't think a medical station poses much of a threat." the professor said. "The AI is too busy enslaving people on Mars, I would say. The next time we return to Mars, those 'slaves' will be allied to the AI, not to the rest of the humanity."
"Let's get underway. We can talk more on the way to Makemake. This trip will be anything but short." I said. "Can you help me get out of the bed?"
With the help of some medical personnel, Professor Yamamari removed all the medical equipment around me and Mei, once they made sure we didn't need it.
"Thank you." I said. "Now, what ship choices do we have here?"
"A standard Federation Navy shuttle, a small-ish freighter, a fuel tanker, and a few S&R shuttles." the professor said.
"Are they all ready and refueled?"
"Yes."
"We will take the tanker then." I said. No doubt it was the ship with the highest Delta-V value, so it would bring us to Makemake much faster.
"But the medical station sort of... needs the tanker for refills." the professor said. "The station needs fuel to stationkeep, funnily enough. That tanker is the only suitable ship for the purpose. Do we really want to take their only tanker ship away?"
"What use do people have for an orbital hospital if there are no space-faring humans around?" I asked.
"But if the station is abandoned, where else can those people go?" the professor asked me. "All our planets are occupied."
"You are missing the point." I said. "All our refineries are occupied too, they have no facilities to support the station with fuel for stationkeeping. Even if they had the tanker, it would be no use. So we are taking it, because we actually have a use for it, a good one too."
"Right..."
Professor Yamamari, Mei and I boarded the tanker. I sat in the cockpit.
"Dawn Medical Station, this is Tanker Pegasus docked with port 3A, checking in."
Even if there was no traffic, and no one to punish us for not following the rules, I still did everything according to the procedures - just to give people hope that this will be the standard once again, after humans returned to their homeland in the Inner Solar System.
"Tanker Pegasus, loud and clear. You are checked in with Dawn Station."
"Dawn, this is Pegasus. We request startup clearance."
"Pegasus, you are go for startup."
Pegasus' systems came online one by one. The silence in the cockpit was replaced with the humming from all the machinery. Flight computer started making random beeps as it booted up.
"Dawn, Pegasus startup is complete. Requesting departure."
"Pegasus, umbilical cords retracted, umbilical doors closed. You are go for departure. Please keep your main drives offline until cleared by departure control. Tune in to departure frequency once you release the docking clamps. Have a safe flight, Pegasus."
"Thank you. Pegasus departing..."
I tuned the comms system for the departure control.
"Dawn Station, this is Tanker Pegasus on departure from docking port 3A."
"Pegasus, you are checked in with departure. Traffic is clear, weather is clear. Keep your main drives offline until you are 2 kilometers away from the station. Guide yourself out using cold gas thrusters at your own discretion."
"Copy that, departure."
"Pegasus... Our future depends on you, as well as the future of the entire humanity. Thank you for everything you have done so far, and... Dawn crew wishes you a good journey. We will inhabit this station for as long as we can, and keep helping those in need of medical assistance."
"I promise we will meet again, comrades; in the most beautiful gardens on Earth." I said. "Take good care of yourself."
"Pegasus, you are clear to startup your main drives."
Pegasus' main engines activated, and the radiators were deployed for thermal control. I had one last look at Dawn Station through the rear camera before boosting into the dark nothing.
"I promise, that one day, we will walk again on planet Earth, in peace."