Andrew was confused and a little scared.
He distinctly remembered volunteering for the Ark Protocol, but he couldn't remember what that was or what was supposed to happen after he became an Engram.
The mysterious voice in his head seemed to know just as little as him.
The voice spoke again, concern evident in their voice.
"Apologies, Lieutenant, but it seems like I am to blame for your sudden Memory loss.
My name is Daniel Venata, Commander of the Destroyer Venator.
I'm understand you must be confused, so you may ask any question you have."
Lincoln's training kicked in, and he snapped to attention.
"Sir!"
Commander Venata didn't speak for a moment, before a chuckle came into Andrew's head.
"At ease, Lieutenant. You are a long way from home, so you can dispense with the formalities until you understand where you are."
Andrew's posture relaxed, standing at parade rest.
"Sir, I am a United Systems Marine. We pride ourselves on formality."
A laugh came from the Commander.
"I've served with many Marines, Lieutenant, and none of them ever struck me a stickler's for protocol."
Andrew smiled internally.
"Seems like your Marines weren't as disciplined as US Marines, Sir."
Andrews wry tone was evident, and the Commander chuckled again.
"Based on what I've seen of your people's technology, it wouldn't surprise me if their Marine's were equally superior."
Andrew's thoughts stalled at what the Commander said.
"Sir, what do you mean? Are you not a US Navy Commander?"
It was silent again in Andrew's mind, and he was worried that the Commander had left, when he spoke again.
"It seems we need to have a long talk, Lieutenant.
I suggest you speak to the System.
It may be able to explain your situation better than I could.
Once you do that, contact me again and we'll have a proper conversation."
Andrew was about to ask how he was supposed to speak to this "System", when a click signaled that the Commander has cut whatever connection they'd been using to communicate.
Andrew sat in the following silence.
After a moment he tried to walk around, but his steps seemed heavy.
He looked down, and was surprised to find that he was missing his toned, darkly colored legs.
Instead, he had metal appendages covered in armor. He looked around at the rest of himself, and found the same thing.
"Am I in an ENTT?"
[Lieutenant, you are currently controlling a United Systems Marine Mk ll Aani Engram Neuron Tactical Titan.]
Andrew flinched at the familiar voice.
"SAI? What the hell is going on?"
[Lieutenant, Stage One of the Ark Protocol was activated. You are currently under the command of Commander Daniel Venata. You were selected as the 1st Platoon Lieutenant of the Nun-Class Destroyer Venator. Part of your memories were sealed in accordance with Article 12 of the Ark Protocol.]
Andrew's mind was spiraling. He recognized all of those words, but only half of them made sense.
"SAI, where in the Orion-Cygnus Arm are we?"
[Lieutenant, the Venator is located in the Chaltor Quadrant of the Sengore Galaxy.]
"Sengore Galaxy? How the hell did I get there? How did you get out here?"
[Lieutenant, Article 1of the Ark Protocol prevents me from explaining how this particular Unit arrived here.]
Andrew's mind was racing once more. From what he remembered about the Ark Protocol, his Engram was put on ice until an Ark Protocol Commander selected him for Command. He couldn't remember any of the Commander's who'd volunteered, but he could remember the Nun-Class was a prototype Destroyer Class that hadn't been ready for deployment.
"SAI, The Commander's name sounds latin. In fact, so does the ship name. Venator means Hunter or something, right?"
[Lieutenant, Commander Venata seems to be descended from a very old family who can trace their ancestry a long way. I am unsure how the name appeared in this Galaxy.]
Andrew tried to stroke his chin, but he ended up rubbing the outside of the Aani's Optical Sensor. It seems like that old habit of his was going to disappear quickly.
"SAI, since the Commander selected me, from what I remember, he still has to choose his Sergeants and their squad composition, correct?"
[Yes, Lieutenant.]
"Am I able to help him select the proper people, because I was under the impression he doesn't know about what the Aani can do, nor what US Marines are capable of."
[Yes, Lieutenant.]
Andrew was nodding his Optics now. Before he was put on ice as an engram, he was trained in what he should expect if he was ever woken up.
He was, however, trained under the impression that his new Commander would know at least the basics of how the Marines operated, instead of what was apparently an alien from another galaxy.
That thought brought another question to his mind.
"SAI, what race is the Commander? I'm guessing he isn't a Miltak or a Groshat, since they are Milky Way locals."
[Lieutenant, Commander Venata was a human before pairing to this Unit.]
"A human!? How!?"
[Humans are present in great numbers in the Sengore Galaxy.]
Well, damn. Thanks to his college biology classes, Andrew knew that humans were composed of some very common elements, particularly carbon. Scientists had theorized that since carbon was so abundant in the observable universe, it was likely that something similar to humans had evolved in other galaxies.
"Was the Commander speaking English?"
[No, Lieutenant. I am translating your English into Federation Standard, the Commander's native language, in real-time.]
That was expected. It would have been too much if English was the galactic language however far away from the United Systems he was.
"Alright. Connect me back to the Commander. He is going to need my input about the NCOs."