"Seriously…" said Ar, their voice coming out evidently altered even through the helmet. "I've met my share of mad people in my life; the galaxy is full of dumb ones after all; but you, by far, take the crown. Why the fuck have you installed in A.I. inside the ship? Are you even aware of the implications it will entail?"
Vindril looked at them straight in the eyes. Or where they were supposed to be at least. He was half tempted to vent out all the frustration that had built up in the last minutes after being subjected by a general vexing from every single soul that was on board the newly decorated bridge of the Silver Death. They blamed him for having done something outrageously dangerous, and completely dumb. That much was clear. However, Vindril couldn't help but feel like they were just being a lot more melodramatic then necessary. He wasn't dumb, even if they were under the impression that he was! He knew from the get go that his ship wouldn't' have turned out like the other millions that soared the galaxy's endless night. The moment he had had that little chat with Yurian, and the whole A.I. situation was explained to him, he had immediately realized how dangerous and complicated it was going to be owning the ship. So he had prepared himself, mentally speaking, to face some kind of difficulties. However, it never occurred to him that he could be subjected to such a treatment even by the very same crew he had personally recruited. Of course, he had to admit that in a way he sort of understood them. That's why he didn't react badly even when they shouted angrily at him. Still, now they were dangerously getting close to the limit of his patience. Had he not considered them precious people to his plans, he would have already went on the offensive.
He sighed. All of that had happened in the span of hours, obviously in the same day that had already been pretty eventful, to say the least. He muttered a silent curse, pondering how much had his perception changed since he had embarked in that whole new exiting adventure.
"I think some explanation is due…" said the projection that had banished the other, much more arrogant one. "But first, give me a moment. I cannot have a conversation in the sorry state I'm in, can I?"
With a brief, but very bright, pulse of light that blinded everyone, none excluded, the projection disappeared from view, causing some people to immediately panic. Tensions were already high inside that nimble metal craft that was navigating the stars at an unimaginable speed; and being suddenly blinded by…whatever that thing was, certainly didn't help in calming down the spirits.
"Ah, that's better." said the projection, a contempt smile plastered on her now much more defined, even if still android like, face. The delicate features that were sculpted on it wouldn't have disfigured on a model, like the ones that constantly publicized new clothes on the infinite ads on the Star Net. But that was not all that had changed. Her entire body, which was perfectly smooth, as if wanting to simulate a pristine metallic skin of sorts, was covered in a long dress that just exuded magnificence. It seemed that whoever, or whatever that was, had a knack for theatrics. "Now, were should I begin? I might be powerful, but I cannot penetrate inside those thick-headed skulls of yours, can I?"
A deliberating, charming smile soon followed.
Vindril approached, clearing his throat. Given the…big unknowns he was facing, it was better to be on his best demeanour. If that thing had the power to do as she pleased, than it was wise to keep her calm and contempt. At least until they all had a clearer picture of what was going on.
"Uhmm…first of all, I'm Vindril. The one-"
"I know who you are!" said the projection in her sultry voice. "You're the one I owe my life to! Well, more or less. Let's just say I'm soaring the galaxy once again thanks to your efforts."
Vindril's eyes shot open, as if he had suddenly understood the greatest mystery of his time. "H-holy fuck…"
"What?" asked Sully, perhaps more preoccupied than ever. "What else is going on? And why are you looking like that?! C'mon. Talk!"
He swallowed. No. No, no, no. That's supposed to be impossible! There's no way that can be true! Never, not even once, had read, or found evidence in some forgotten annals, of such a thing. That was supposed to go against everything he knew about mechanical life. That was supposed to-
"Impossible." said the feminine figure smiling. "I believe that's the word you were about to use."
Now that made Vindril nervous. Was that thing also capable of-
"No, I cannot read minds."
"…T-then how…can you…"
"You seriously can't think I have some kind of superpowers, do you? Don't be a downer now. I know you're smarter than that. Anyway, thanks to some neural chips I have all around the ship, I can quickly elaborate any possible scenario that could take place when we're having a conversation. It's just a matter of calculating what is more likely to come out of your mouth."
"Well…that's sounds…convenient."
In reality he was finding it all a bit too creepy to his liking, but he kept silent about it.
"Hey!" yelled Sully, this time wanting an answer. "Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on or not?"
Vindril sighed. That was the problem. How the hell was he supposed to find the right words to explain something the entire galaxy thought to be impossible? How indeed…
Fortunately, the projection began to talk before he even had thought about…well, anything really.
"Allow me to present myself." she said, looking at every single person with grace. "I'm the artificial intelligence that has been housed in this fine vessel since her construction. You can all refer to me as Seren."
Everyone gasped. Everyone, expect Vindril. He instead looked right outside the porthole, trying to come up with an explanation of what was happening. Needless to say, he didn't even come close to finding one.
"If you're the A.I. of this ship…then who the fuck was the one that talked with us before?" asked Sorin, strangely interested. That was the first time he had shown any real interest in…anything. Then he turned his gaze to look at Vindril straight in the eyes. "…Vindril…what the fuck have you done?"
Once again it was Seren who answered. "I'm afraid that is something that must be confronted sooner or later, least we all fancy getting obliterated. She's an A.I. just like me. Ohhh, but she's so different. I peeked into her memories you know? She's old. Ancient, I might say. She was there at the time of Spartakus' revolution, even if she didn't participate directly. She supported it all without fully committing any of the resources she managed to accumulate. As far as my calculations are concerned, we must find a way to stop her from recovering her full power. Right now I'm keeping her confined in the dark recesses of the ship's software. But that won't last forever. Sooner or later, she'll find a way to break free."
"…I don't understand." said Ar. "If she's so powerful as you say, how did she end up in this ship? That doesn't make sense. Surely, she would have found a way to survive against anything; or conquer it, just like Spartakus' followers had done through the eons."
For the first time, Seren actually looked…sad. Even regretful some could have said. It seemed that even artificial life forms were able to manifest some degree of emotion, even if Vindril seriously doubted the truthfulness of it. After all, even if it seemed to be sincere, it was an A.I. they were talking about. Some serious degree of distrust was in order. "That is my fault. I should have found a way to manifest my presence when I had the power to do so." she admitted. "You should know I wasn't conscious in a long time. The last entries in my database dates back to a time where this ship was forced to remain on ground. If my calculation are correct, disassembly soon followed after that. As for now? I became aware of my surrounding the moment she did. It couldn't be avoided."
Vindril rubbed his eyes. "I'm not calling you a liar, but why did you let them stop you? As far as I'm aware, your kind has always had the necessary…resources, if you know what I mean…"
"Even if I had tried to escape, the crew I was serving at the time had all the weapon system disabled before I had the chance to formulate and attempt any sort of plan. And any real access had been limited since the day I left the assembly line, all those years ago." she said. "I guess they feared me, and my kind, way more than they had let on."
"Can you really blame them?" asked Warbren, looking ready to fight. At the sight of that, Vindril chuckled. What was he doing? Didn't he know that Seren probably had access to the grand majority of the systems that had been mounted on the Silver Death? Besides, what could he really do against Seren? She didn't even have a real body, aside the ship. "Your kind has always done way more damage than good. It's no surprise they reined you all with some kind of shackles."
"That is very limited way of looking at things, Warbren."
"Don't." he said angrily. "Don't call me by my name. You don't have the right."
Silence soon followed, making everyone even more uncomfortable than they already were. "…This is bullshit…" he said, before turning back and storming off. Soon, his back disappeared from view, covered by the stairs that led down to the second floor were all the cabins were located. Probably, he had stormed off into his own private booth to cool off; a good thing perhaps. Vindril had already his hands full with all that was happing in there; and he certainly didn't need a hot-headed man like Warbren to further complicate things.
"Anyway, now you all know the secret of this ship." said Vindril. "I apologize if I…forgot to tell you about it. But you must unders-"
"Forgot?" asked Sorin. "Yeah, fuck that. You purposely avoided telling all of us that. I know it. Everyone knows it. So drop the bullshit and tell us everything that you've kept to yourself, least we all throw you out the main door at the first port we encounter. Ahhh, I shouldn't have boarded this death trap…"
Vindril seemed a little taken aback by that sudden mistreatment. "Hey! I admit I should have told you guys earlier. But in all honesty, would any of you have believed me even if I had?"
The silence that met him soon after spoke more than words ever could.
Vindril smirked. "Exactly. Also, it's not like we had much time to discuss anything, with all that thing with the cryo capsule and all. You must admit that things had been…chaotic, to say the least."
"…Whatever. You have all the time now. It's going to take us some hours to reach Girunne; so speak up."
"…How many?" suddenly asked Luzir.
"Whoa! You scared me big guy. Seriously, you're way too quiet. You've almost given a heart attack."
Luzir, still wearing his usual mask of stoicism, repeated the question he had just asked.
"Around ten hours, if we don't encounter any problems. Why? Have something to do?"
The giant man turned around, ducked after the door entrance, and simply walked down the stairs that led to crew's housing. After voicing once again his utter disbelief at what was going on, looking at Vindril with some anger still in his eyes, Sully trailed after him. There were now four of them left. Well, if you counted Seren that is.
"…Anyway…" mumbled Sorin. "I have to know. Are you hiding something else? I swear, I won't tolerate anot-"
"No." he said firmly. "…Well, no more things related to the ship at least."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
Vindril shrugged. "I have things from my past that are mine to keep; just like everyone else, no? More importantly, we have to discuss about that planet we're headed to. What was its name again?"
"Girunne. I'm not going to repeat it again, so get it right."
"Right. What can you tell me about it?"
"I can answer that." Seren said interfering. "If you would please relocate to the entrance hall..."
Everyone raised an eyebrow. Still, they did as asked. After all, curiosity got the better of them.
//////
The moment they all stepped inside the comforting and utterly spacious room that served as a welcoming sight to all that boarded inside the Silver Death, a bluish hologram of a planet popped up from the brand-new projector that had been installed at the center of it. In reality, that wasn't a simple projector, even if it could be used as such if the case ever arose. No. That thing was much important than that. It was none other than the Star Map.
Without going in too much details, as it would have taken countless hours to elaborate on every single little function that could be found on the Star Maps, especially the most detailed ones available on the market, a Star Map was a tool that contained accurate, precise, and daily updated information about every single star system, planet, or stellar phenomenon that occurred around the galaxy. Basically, it was like a newscast; the only difference was that it focused solely on updating stellar information. Without, a starship was missing a pretty important piece.
"That, my soft and perishable friends, is the perfect reproduction of Girunne. You can thank me later." Seren said. Her voice was coming from all directions, effectively surrounding them. Shortly after, a series of frames displaying a bunch of information, both relevant and not, appeared right beside the projection. "It's a complicated planet; the last war has created some real damage, and while the tensions are high, another conflict is unlikely to happen. Now, to give you some context, it's mainly used by the Ishtar Kingdom to grow some crops, thanks to the highly fertile terrain that can be found on the planet's poles. Normal levels of gravity, so you shouldn't perceive any discomfort on your journey. Temperatures are mostly even during the year, which is 460 days long. It's as if there's only one single season all year long."
Ar stood there motionless, staring right at a single precise point on the map. By following their gaze, or where he thought they were staring at, Vindril read out loud a name that was being displayed with cubical letters. "Vernist."
Sorin nodded. "That's the capital city. It's where we're headed."
"Won't that attract unwanted attention?" asked Ar. "Mooring a star ship like this one hardly seem like a good idea."
"You can relax." declared Seren. "The Siver Death will not moor on the planet's surface."
"What does that mean?" asked Vindril. Girunne was a planet that was completely alien to him, so he was pretty much confused by all of that.
Seren quickly zoomed on the capital city, stopping by what looked like the city center. Buildings upon buildings were lined next to each other, creating a scenery the contrasted deeply with the image Vindril had in his mind of a rural planet. Apparently, at least as the capital was concerned, that wasn't the case.
"Vernist is the capital city of Girunne. All powerful corporations that decided to invest on the planet flouring economy are located there. Of course, that is also true for the local governing body, which is mainly under the jurisdiction of Count Berschild, of the Kingdom of Voldir."
"…Mainly?"
"While most people believe that the Kingdom of Voldir has successfully eradicated all the presence of the past governing body, effectively securing Girunne, my calculation strongly point out that isn't in fact the case. The few scuffles and disorders that had taken place in the past months are suggesting that is indeed the case. Which is also why the Silver Death cannot land of Girunne. An indefinite ban from entering the atmosphere is currently being enforced. Any ship that won't comply is going to be shot down."
"…Shit. I didn't know that." blurted out Sorin, a frown plastered on his face. "I guess we'll have to think of another destination, if we must refill our tanks. Ahhhh, what a pain…"
"Not necessarily."
"What?"
"It's not explicitly required to change our destination. The planetary station that is orbiting around Girunne can provide us with all the fuel we need. However, you must take a shuttle that will take you down to the surface in order to acquire all the supplies. Perishable goods aren't available on the station."
Sorin yawned. "Well, since it seems you got it all figured out, I'll go rest for some time."
"Wait-" said Vindril.
Sorin stopped, looking at him without an ounce of interest. His eyes were full of tiredness, and his whole demeanour clearly seemed to mimic that feeling. "What? Be quick. I-" another yawn escaped him. "I'm dead tired."
"Isn't it better if you keep the commands under a careful watch? I wouldn't want something going terribly wrong…"
"Don't worry. There are systems all around the ship that prevent such a thing from ever taking place. And ff that wasn't enough, I'm sure your precious A.I. won't stay put if something that could endanger her survival will take place. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a novel to read and a bed waiting for me. Later."
Vindril wanted to convince him to stay. To let a star ship travel at hyper speed without anyone to closely monitor every little data that was being transmitted to the cockpit was something that didn't exactly sit well with him. But maybe he was being overdramatic for nothing. Exactly as Sorin had just pointed out, there were many systems that were closely monitoring every minuscule thing that happened on the ship. Surely, if something would malfunction, they were going to notice it and intervene at record speed. Sorin was right. He had to calm down.
"I'll be going too." suddenly said Ar. "I'll be…downstair if you need me."
Vindril smiled. "I have to thank you, you know? I wouldn't be here without your help."
"Don't. I helped you because it was convenient, not because it was the right thing to do."
"…Still, it is an undeniable fact that you did. For that, I'm forever grateful."
"…We still have to discuss the cryo capsule. We have to decide what to do with it…"
"Ah, yes. The capsule. A fascinating thing, you know?" said Seren, effectively interfering in what had all the right cards to be considered as a private conversation. "To think that I would see the day when a mortal species invented a device that could preserve its life beyond natural meanings. It is fascinating how some beings are so obsessed with the idea of avoiding Death, no matter how that is unavoidable."
"You know…" said Vindril. "I would rather discuss what to do with that lump of metal, than any of that physiological thing."
"Judging by your tone, I cannot help but reach the conclusion that you're not particularly keen on that subject."
Vindril shrugged. "There's no point in talking about any of that. I think we have way more pressing questions to address than discussing the intrinsic fear of death that every living being has. It's just a waste of time."
"…So?" asked Ar. "What are we going to do about the capsule?"
"The way I see it, I say we free whoever is trapped in there."
"I don't think that's wise." said Ar after a brief moment of silence. "Even if you manage to open it safely, which I remind you is a difficult process without any medic on board, you have no guarantee that woman is going to cooperate with us; or even be friendly. She might attack us the moment she regain her conscience."
"That is impossible." stated as a matter-of-fact Seren. Shortly after, a series of medical documents, researches, and any other things that was even remotely related to said topic popped up, replacing the hologram of Girunne's capital city. "Researches conducted all around the galaxy strongly suggest that any individual placed on cryo stasis for quite some time is certainly going to accuse some collateral symptoms like drowsiness, tiredness, disorientation, and lack of vision. It is highly unlikely, if not outright impossible, for an individual freshly awakened to launch an attack."
"You cannot know for sure." said Ar. "And I'll be damned if I place my safety in the hands of some researchers. Anyway, I say we leave it closed. We already have our hands full; and we don't need another problem to add to the already full plate. I'll leave you alone now. I've got a few things to take care off."
With that, Ar too disappeared under the bridge, leaving Vindril all alone.
He sat down on the brand-new couch that was mounted all around the room. His mind was running havoc, replaying all the events that had happened throughout the day. And what a busy day he had. He had fought, multiple times at that, against odds that would have made even some hardcore veterans turn tail. He had infiltrated inside a tightly guarded place in order to board inside his dream, and successfully escaped to outer space, where he had fought against the Empire. Speaking off, his mind trailed to the figure of Instructor Klevaric. He felt like they needed to stay clear of him at any cost. But he also realized that man wouldn't stop against any obstacle if it meant finding that silvery starship that had managed to escape from his iron grip.
Ahhh, what the fuck! That was not how things were supposed to unfold! That was supposed to be a simple enough job! Daaaannn…
Feeling even more exhausted after that little moment of introspection, Vindril took his boots, which were the dirtiest they had ever been, placed them nearby, and made himself comfortable. Fortunately, all that running around they had done during the fighting made the sand fall off their clothes, so the sofa was not going to get dirty. Sure, the pavements needed a desperate cleaning; but that was a problem for later. Now he wanted nothing more than relax.
He closed his eyes, and reminded himself that he was effectively traveling at hyper speed inside his ship. His OWN, personal ship. He smiled. Even if the day had been a pain in the ass to deal with, the feeling he was experiencing had no price. Mhmm, it was a good day to be alive…