We Were Sent to Find an Ancient Weapon Called Human ( Part 1 to 11) | HFY | A Short Sci-Fi Story

readings show that the facility is still operational that should not be possible the robotic voice of Z8 reading the analysis out to the crew of the scav their multiple mechanical arms operated three different devices multitasking with Immaculate Precision noted zate are there any life forms detected asked lra the Ayan captain of The Vessel she stood in the center of the room on a small pedestal that made her tall enough to see out the window striped white and red tail swaying in thought outside the window was a frozen Moon that housed the remnants of a long

forgotten premigration military base none that appear on the scanner Captain lizra we hope we did not come all this way just for our mission to be feudal even if it is not here perhaps there will be something left behind in the facility's computer systems these pre-migration bases are always incredible to explore if there ain't nothing here I'm going to send a strongly worded letter to enen Marth and by strongly worded letter I mean my fist through his stupid face argal growled being the only endurant on the crew he had grown quite annoyed that nobody could

assist him with the heavy lifting during the long journey he could barely fit within the tight confines of the control room and his large purple form took up more space than anything else on the ship calm yourself Aral deep breaths all of our work shall have paid off here momentarily bring us down zate the ship descended towards the rocky object below and set itself down on a crumbling Landing Pad the trio disembarked after argal and lisra dawned their environmental suits once they reached an outer door zate began to interface manually with the facility but after

a minute of working they had yet to make any progress they should have been able to open the door in seconds with such outdated security but everything seemed unrecognizable to them Captain it seems that the facility's computer systems have been Rewritten entirely from the ground up I do not even recognize the coding language this could be more difficult than we first expected that can't be right this place is over a thousand years old I thought you had every language from The Commons in your database we do it seems that whoever did this did it entirely

from the ground up we will have to break it down into binary and then organize in a way that we can there's no life forms inside who just make a new door argal grumbled reeling back and smashing a large Dent into the side of the facility argal no more these ancient outposts are fragile this could cause irreparable damage not to mention compromise the structural Integrity lra yelled jumping up and trying to wrap her paws around the angry endurance's arm before he could punch it again the door hissed and swung inward oh excellent work zate I

guess it wasn't too hard for you after all it was not us who opened the door oh perhaps punching was the key good call Aral exercising initiative in the absence of orders of course ma'am it just came to me naturally let's not dwell out here any longer and we go crew the three made their way into the facility as the door closed behind them causing lra to jump onto argal in Surprise the dark corridors were lit up seconds later with the hum of long dead fluorescent lights lining the hallways were the long expired bodies of

other elans and their corpses preserved by the cold temperatures and lack of air inside the system started to kick back on and compressed air flooded into the installation the Dead Silence within replaced by The Busy were of machines coming to life after having been out of a job for Century Zade I thought you said you couldn't access the facility correct we were unable to decrypt the programming language or set up an interface it is not us rebooting the systems right Aral I I think I shall stay up here for my own SA safety of course

lra stated perch to top his shoulder tail wrapping around the hulking uran's neck for balance he answered her with a growl as the group continued forward argal accidentally bumped into one of the corpses causing it to crumble into a pile of dust and Bone they followed the blinking lights that led them through the dilapidated hallways before reaching an intersection the lights on the other end of the hallway were out and the only thing illuminated was a door to their left whatever was running the facility wanted them to go here the lights seem to want us

to go in do you all think this is where the weapon is we are unsure Captain when we tried to interface we were actively repelled by something and we have been attempting unsuccessfully to gain access since there is someone else in the facility and they know we are here let's just follow the blinking lights and if someone else is here then I punch them and take the weapon they can't be good at computers and punching I love your optimism argal always good to have a plan but maybe let's refrain from punching our host they've been

very welcoming thus far I'm sure if they wanted to fight us they wouldn't have let us in to begin with lra countered as she looked at the new glowing path before them the corroded door slid open as they approached inside was a vast array of dated computer equipment hundreds of wires and tubes connected to a sleep Le Black Box in the center of the room she had never seen a computer like that in the old textbook she studied before this Quest as the group walked towards it grainy speakers embedded into the room crackled to life

Welcome visitors my name is Tic Tac it's so nice to see someone again after all these years hello uh Tic Tac thank you for letting us in may I ask where exactly are you you're looking at me Madam please refrain from touching anything in here my interfaces are very fragile now can I ask what brings you here lra hopped down from argal shoulder and stepped up to the small black box in the center of the room inspecting the cables and wires around it this is what was running the facility we are here for the weapon

please resist argol said cracking his knuckles no no no please do not resist we're all nice here we are here looking for an ancient weapon to Aid us in a conflict that threatens all of our species would you by chance be human the intercom made a strange noise before speaking again no I am merely based upon a human intelligence you must have come here for my friend H I guess we never got to discuss that new name yet regardless he is here but before we go any further I have to ask what why you sought

us out specifically well you see Mr Tic Tac we were given the quest to find a weapon that could change the tide of our war we are part of a rebellion against the galactic core and we sent out many search parties to find anything that could help us change the tide of the battle we are one of those parties and we hope that you would lend your assistance to us in our time of need unfortunately we retired from conflict many years ago I do not think my partner would be so Keen to assume a combat

role again we ended up here after an attempt to escape a life whose only purpose was war well um maybe he would agree if we could talk to him tell him why we are fighting I am afraid that is not possible he is currently indisposed but if you would assist me in bringing him back to the world of the waking then he might hear you out pardon my Interruption but you have complete control over this facility is it not within your realm of capability to bring him back yourself Zade asked as they curiously inspected the

systems around the room I would if I could I have actually been waiting for someone to stumble across this place so I could wake him but since I do not possess a physical body it isn't within my current means to accomplish if you do not possess a body how did you manage to construct these interfaces of yours those that were here before you made this for me they did not know what they were working with and they went through a great deal to communicate with me I bited my time until I had full access to

their systems to gauge their true motives they did not have genuine intentions with us so once they served their purpose I had them purged from the facility so that explains why everyone here isn't in pristine condition lizra said gling at the corpses of her people around the room you wouldn't do that to us right Tic Tac as long as you do not jeopardize my sovereignty or attempt to harm my partner right yeah no intentions of doing that here how can we be of assistance Mr Tic Tac to your left you should see a cryostasis chamber

inside is my partner it requires someone to physically release him from the outside I'll start the process of waking him shouldn't be long after a few minutes the chamber in the corner of the room started to get louder finally booting back up again after a thousand years of being idle okay may the endurant please step up and release the clamps on the side how are you aware of what an endurant is this facility was abandoned long before the Yan came into contact with the wider Galaxy Zade asked the computer suspiciously when you attempted to interface

with my network you opened yourself up to my own inquiry I was able to to access your memory and language databases stored within your own systems I apologize for the violation but I was just being precautious zate did not know how to feel about how easily this program was able to bypass their security measures without them even knowing that should not have been possible as an extent they were a dispersed biological Consciousness that was housed in a mechanical form their own internal systems should have been entirely shielded from Outsider meddling they put that aside as

a note for future reference Aral walked forward and released the clamps that held shut the pressurized pod inside was a creature none of them had ever seen before it looked more akin to an extent than any biological creature it reached up and pulled itself out of the Pod denting the metal on either side as it did so once it Rose to its feet it was nearly as tall as the endurant argal backed up and looked like he was ready to fight the thing in front of him calm down uran I do not think that would

end well for any of us Tic-Tac reprimanded before moving to the speakers in the back of the room and speaking in a strange language all good buddy can you hear me you Tac I trusted your plan the were you thinking I was conscious for the first 5 years do you have any idea what they put me through what is it saying I can't understand it lizra asked hopping up on AR gal's back peeking over his shoulder she was trying to hide behind his bulky form to get a look at the new creature in the room

it had thick black metal plating that blanketed its bipedal form on its chest were many strange objects and lettering she did not recognize and beneath the armor was a tight suit that covered everything the metal plating did not a top its head was a large metal helmet with a bright orange visor are covered in small hexagons that faintly glittered in the light momentarily we are uploading a new language to your translators this should solve the problem I see you place this here when I was not paying attention Tic Tac I would ask that you refrain

from violating our systems in the future zate scolded and a second later the other two were able to understand the strange creatures speech tic tac's voices lit up the intercom in the room once again good to hear your voice again 909 you know I don't like being called Tac anymore and I said not to call me 909 again so we're even who are these ones how long has it been they didn't find us did they his voice sounded frantic as he got to the end of his questions take it slow you're very disoriented right now

these ones are friendly and no they didn't find us we're safe hi Mr 909 don't call me that right Mr hum then we are here seeking a weapon to help us in a fight against a terrible enemy your friend Tic Tac told us that you are what we came for and may be convinced to Aid Us in this fight no I don't do that anymore I'm done fighting other people's Wars just get me off this rock but sir you don't understand the core they they're tyrannical they abuse the countless races of the outer belt take

our resources their unless their goal is to exterminate every beach in the known Galaxy to stop me from enjoying my retirement I'm not interested apologies everyone but I'm afraid I have some bad news I've detected a slip space rupture nearby and it's headed in our Direction the ship you arrived in does it have any weapons oh that was fast well it's kind of funny you see we were hoping to find one here so uh no not really axium Captain Nick dox's POV those traitors think they can hide from us in the old home system of

the yyan I'll show them what happens when they cross Captain Nick dxis nobody pulls one over on me and gets away with it I mean how did I honestly believe that they were Courier Runners yes they had the necessary paperwork so I had to go by the books and let them go but once they strayed from their route their fate was sealed these three shall Ru the day they thought they could escape the great nicto Rexes crew of the scav POV no weapons that's fine we can still manage little one I never got your name

by the way asked Tic-Tac from the speakers all around the room my name is lizra Captain lizra rightness the third to be exact adorable okay Captain lizra how sure are you that these ones incoming are hostile I'm fairly certain I just didn't think that they would be so suspicious of us as to follow us here well we did lie to them and pretend to be Galactic couriers and that dumbass bought every word of it too chucked Aral Aral language we are Tic tac's esteemed guests here no worries little one that's okay I think I have

a plan that may get us all out of here I can completely stabilize the atmosphere within the facility and then when they enter I will be able to jettison them from the airlocks do you think that might buy us enough time to get to Your Vessel we're not going to fight them ourselves the whole reason I was sent with you was to carry this weapon back I was hoping to get to use it at least but now I can't even do that since the weapon is a guy complained argal annoyed that there still hadn't been

a confrontation that required his expertise don't worry uran if they manage to stick around after we show them the door we may have use for you yet and your name is argal he grumbled still disappointed there was no ancient weapon of Destruction he could wield like some God of War Aral what question Tic-Tac confused just argal appropriate they should be arriving any second now I am going to go ahead and remove the atmosphere from this room so that we do not have to worry about pressure equalization when we make our move Z8 do you have

any way to remotely pilot your ship from here we do not even need to inquire as to how you know our name but please call us zate from this point forward yes we have the ability to control the ship remotely what do you have in mind program I can see from the security feeds they are going to station their ship near yours I will forward you the location of where to move your ship once I eject The Intruders I am going to illuminate the path to another exit for you to move to once there I'll

pressurize the door open the air lock and throw you into space you're going to do what with us I do not consent to being blasted into the cosmos Mr Tic Tac replied lra clutching onto argal even tighter Captain the claws yes my apologies Aral do not worry if zate gets the ship in position you will be propelled right into the loading Bay or Your Vessel when I was connected to zate I was able to view the schematic of your ship I will send her a visual representation of how to orient it to properly receive you

tic teac replied matter of factly not necessary we can visualize that without your Aid computer while the plan was being created the human sat silently watching them throughout the entire conversation he hadn't taken his eyes off of the small yyan captain in the room his masked helmet gave away no signs as to how he felt towards the plan or other occupants in the room lisra hopped down from a top argal and made her way over to human looking up at him when standing on her hind legs she barely came up to his knees um Mr

human do you have anything to add to the plan no will you defend us if it comes to that yay sure and I'm sorry sorry for what exactly just that as lisra and human were locked in their engrossing dialogue a loud bang echoed throughout the facility that shook the walls of the research room the trio jumped into action and gathered around the exit door as human walked over to the small black box looking down at it just let me know when Tic Tac disconnect me only when they get to safety any ear earlier and I

will not have access to the facility you aren't coming with us asked lra looking down at the little black computer we will be following shortly I have to ensure your safe exit we also have a few more items to grab before we make our leave second later an explosion Was Heard down the hall followed by a booming voice that echoed throughout the base this is orium captain nict toxis of the prowler you are in violation of Core Federal code 13745 impersonating a galactic Courier and attempting to flee from federal authorities cooperate and you will be

handled respectfully if you refuse to do so then you shall face severe repercussions such as a fine upwards of 10,000 credits that will be all he seems to be in a better mood today lra chuckled oh we'll see if he's still threatening us with a fine when I threaten him with his own spine argal grunted putting his fists together okay zate get the ship moving I'm opening the air locks now good luck everyone see you soon when Tic Tac finished his Farewell the sounds of air rushing out of the facility sounded from the other side

of the door it opened up moments later and the three rushed out into the Hall they followed the blinking lights that guided them through the corridors upon reaching the exit they made their way into the small airlock and the door sealed behind them 7 seconds and we will have the ship in position we hope tict tap does not send us out to e z was cut off as the opposite door opened and plunged the trio untethered out into the stars outside they could see countless others flailing around in the vacuum of space having also been

unexpectedly jettisoned from the base lra locked her eyes onto the ship and saw it on an interception course with them their trajectory was impeccable sending them right into the open loading Bay argal grabbed the small captain and wrapped his bulk around her to Shield her from the impact the three were thrown into the ship with the blast door slamming shut behind them wait what about human and Tic Tac lra asked squirming free of argle grip we have established comms with tic tac again he says not to worry and to prepare for the partcher zate said

picking themselves up off the floor right let's get out of here before those cor clowns get their bearings again what no thank you Aral for saving me no oh AAL are you hurt from taking that fall for me you're expected to save your captain arble we need to focus on saving humid and tip CAC right now no problem you're welcome Captain yes I'm fine thank you for asking once back in the command room of the scav they surveyed the situation the majority it of the prowler's crew was still floating around aimlessly outside the prowler itself

had started moving away from the landing pads bearing down on the scav captain weapons lock detected they are directing us to stand down and not to flee or what we get another fine we believe they might not tell us again as the two ships faced off lra was debating whether to give the order to make a slip space jump or to surrender before she could make up her mind she saw the form of human launching himself from the facility below he was not headed for the scav but instead towards the prowler quick zate tell him

that's not our ship that's the ones that came here to attack us we believe he knows that then what is he doing is he betraying us and here I thought he was just warming up to me human was silhouetted against the bright red Hull of the owler as he made contact with it and latched on he launched himself from the side of the ship making a beine for the front once there he dug his hands into the metal walls climbing towards the windows of the prowler's bridge humans stared into the bridge of the prowler before

raising an arm and shattering the glass of the viewport and throwing himself inside a few stray plasma shots could be seen exiting the bridge before the ship's metal shutters slammed shut in an attempt to stop the atmosphere from escaping remind me to ask human to show me how to punch like that Captain weapons are no longer locked should we start a slip space jump yes go for slip space seat belts everyone Zade opened the cargo bay again a minute later the metal shutters were torn open from the inside and human jumped from the ruins of

the prowler's bridge towards the scav the scav moved closer to intercept and zate oriented the ship to receive him in the open Bay once human was safely aboard the cargo bay was closed and Zade initiated the slip space jump once away from danger the crew gave a sigh of relief lra unbuckling herself from her pedestal and surveyed the monitors well I'd like to see them give us that fine now great work everyone and Aral thank you for shielding me earlier it looked like it hurt of course Captain you're welcome and I'm fine thank you oh

come now I was being genuine I appreciate your initiative to keep me safe I'll put you in for some sort of Medal when we return N I don't need a medal I just want to actually do my job when it doesn't involve moving around cargo well then shall we go greet human and Tic Tac then I believe a thanks is in order we will stay here and notify you when we are clear of the system ensure tip Tac will not met with our systems again or you might find himself being the one jettisoned from an

airlock duly noted zate keep us on course and notify me of any updates lra and argal shed their environmental suits and made their way down into the cargo bay to see if human was okay when they arrived there was a dent in the far wall presumable from when they made the jump and human wasn't properly fastened in he was wearing the small black box from the computer room on his back and unlike before had a strange looking rifle in his hand Ah that's new it's a good look for you two we're not in space anymore

so you don't have to wear your suit around here when we're in transit I'm fine thanks human replied curtly tic tac's voice echoed from the Black Box attached to human's back unfortunately he has no way of removing the suit here either way we would have to construct the proper machine to remove it as I do not believe they are present in this galaxy Tic-Tac said searching for the proper word but he hasn't been out of it in a very long time I assure you it's not a burden to him right well thank you for saving

us back there so did you uh um kill them all no we merely disabled their systems on the bridge they're going to be stuck there for quite a while until someone can give them a ride we have decided to accompany you to the nearest port where we can acquire our own ship and then we shall be on our way Tic Tac responded wait wait wait we went through all the trouble of getting you out of there helped you bring human back and now you want to leave us already we have no desire to get involved

in another conflict after having it be our sole purpose for as long as we can remember I hope you can understand why we wish to make our own choices now okay hold on we helped you get off the base and helped you wake up human so maybe you could at least come with us back home and hear us out from someone a little more charismatic than myself very well how long until we arrive um maybe a week terrific well maybe we can pass the time by telling me how you came to learn of us and

more about who you're fighting I only speak for myself saying I would love to know more it really has been a long time since I've had a good conversation with someone that's not a part part of myself of course here let me show you to the common room you two can stay there until we make a stop lra LED them to a large room in the center of the ship adorned with various different chairs for the different species on board she took the seat that was present for her a round flat bed where she was

able to curl up and use her long tail as a pillow human took off the black box that was Tic Tac and dropped it onto the table in the middle enjoy he spoke before leaving the room argal followed closely behind human and lra only picked up the beginning of his sentence asking about how he was able to break into the ship like that is he always this charming he isn't the nicest you don't have to sidestep it we have been through a lot I'd like to tell you more but I do not want to make

him any angrier with me than he already is he's been through more than I could possibly begin to explain well I hope he ends up doing better maybe we can find a beach for him when we make a stop I remember him mentioning that I'm sure he would appreciate that you know I have been thinking about something rather pecar he said to me when we were in your computer room and what might that be he apologized to me but he hadn't done anything that warranted an apology at the time Tic-Tac was silent for a moment

before speaking he has been trapped in his own head for quite some time I would not dwell on anything strange he says 99 is a man of few words and does not come from a world that places social interactions in their list of their priorities lra was quiet for a moment feeling as if there was more Tic Tac had wanted to say but decided not to before she could press further the Black Box spoke again so who is this core you mentioned back there oh my where to begin with that one I guess my own

species story would be a good place to start about 1,000 years ago we were nearly brought to complete Extinction to be continued over 1,000 years ago my species was nearly brought to complete Extinction we the yyan came into contact with others in Galaxy after our home system was almost completely destroyed during the collapse strangely enough we actually found you in the remnants of that system but that specific facility predated our migration so 1,000 years how long is a year where you are from lra inquired looking down at Tic Tac from the small bed she was

situated in it is exactly the same as yours 365.25 planetary rotations and once around the solar mass replied Tic Tac from the table in the center of the room well that's a fortunate coincidence saves you from having to calculate any time differences back on topic very little of our documentation surviv that era and we were nearly wiped out before we managed to leave we used generational ships to look for a new world that might be suitable for us after 100 years we came across a planet that was habitable for our species we met another species

not long after and were invited into the core at the time the core was the standing representation of the nearly 200 odd species across the Galaxy all was well for a time but slowly people started noticing small events that began to evolve into large changes over the centuries more resources going into the worlds of the inner ring the implementation of longer work hours higher tax burdens for some but not others yet with these changes those of us in the outskirts of the Galaxy saw little Improvement to our own quality of life everyone endured nobody truly

desired to upset the status quo fearing things could get worse all was stagnant for a while and people lived in uncertainty then about 50 of our years ago someone leaked thousands of hidden records to the Public's eye well nobody knows who but they released detailed documentation across all planets about billions of tons of resources and credits being diverted from the outer sectors into unknown projects nobody could find out where it was going but the core never came forward to explain their actions they dissolved representation from the outer worlds and of course many of our people

were quite upset with this I mean we were the ones putting in the work and having our resources taken from us only to learn that most of it wasn't going towards anything that we would ever see or be able to use compound this with the fact that the species of the inner ring were living in a literal Utopia free of work and worry at our expense everyone was outraged all across the outer worlds people stopped working they quit their jobs refused to pay any taxes and then the core sent in their peacekeepers to keep their

great machine running for years the outer worlds were oppressed by the core and forced to continue laboring for even less than what we once had any who spoke out were silenced by the peacekeepers or died in mysterious accidents slowly my species covertly reestablished communication networks across the outer worlds and 10 years ago we all made our move many of us were successful in driving the core and their peacekeepers from our systems others were less fortunate and were punished for their insolence those of us who succeeded started the outer front every species in the front has

a different reason for wanting the core gone but it's the one goal we all share my species are experts in computer Innovation and maintenance but are also Avid tacticians our little paws make it easy for us to work on the finer details of advanced electronics but because we're so small it makes it difficult for us to do any heavier lifting or fighting the core had us Mass producing Advanced circuitry and refining precise computer systems for them those who were lucky enough to be chosen for tactician roles were sent to live in the inner ring as

advisers for the peacekeepers I remember my younger self being devastated when I scored one point under the threshold for a tactician spot looking back I'm glad I didn't end up becoming one of those core sympathizers bought out to betray my own kind AR gal's people the inderin are one of the most exploited in the galaxy used for any variety of manual labor jobs along with being the core's Primary enforcers in the peacekeepers their willingness to get into a conflict and follow orders made them the perfect servants to the core we were able to convince the

endurance on our world to Aid us in our Uprising with the promise we'll work to free all of them when the time comes zat species were being used for anything and everything the core didn't feel like allocating an AI for with their reluctance to use widespread AI they just decided the exts were the next best biological alternative ship navigation Resource Management any bureaucratic job that required lots of administration work were tasked to the ex Dan the core sees them as a biological computer system given how easily they can integrate themselves into any electronic interface we've

all survived this long we're almost 80 strong now and gaining new allies every year lizra finished her explanation on the state of the Galaxy and looked down at Tic Tac on the table it was strange talking to something that couldn't give any social cues as to if it had actually been listening interesting Tic-Tac remained silent for a moment before coming up with his next question for the yyan how has the core not just sent their peacekeepers to each world one by one one to restore their control again being in the outer portions of the Galaxy

one would think it would be a logistical nightmare to Aid allies that might be in trouble well they were already spread thin trying to keep everyone in line to begin with once they lost their hold on many worlds almost simultaneously they had to pull back and compile a new plan of how they could restore their influence as ruthless as the core was their standing military was quite small they never expected having to quell so many rebellions at once and why would any of their own people join the military when they're living Carefree at the expense

of others they've been trying to find different ways to amass an offensive force that could rival our sheer numbers for quite some time nearly every citizen in the outer world is eager for an opportunity to get retribution for how they have been treated so we have no issues filling up our forces if they DED indicated their forces to take a portion of our worlds they would set themselves up to lose some of their own and the last thing they want is to cause any sort of disturbance on their main worlds losing one of their own

worlds would chaos among the wealthy Elite in the inner ring and their delicate ecosystem would come apart at the seams now each side is focusing on finding new ways to break through the stalemate and push the advantage I could go on and on about every little thing that the core has done to us but we would be sitting here swishing our Tails all day so what's your tail I've never seen anything like the two of you where do you come from and how did you end up trapped in an abandoned base in my old home

system I wish I had a better answer on our true Origins I do not know the finer details of it only 909 knows that half of the story in its entirety but I'll tell you what I know as long as you promise not to bother him about it he does not like reliving that part of his life I'll try not to burden him with any more questions if he isn't normally this pensive then I just want him to get better actually I've only ever known him like this well this version of me at least his

original moniker is Ws 99 and we have been together for 30 years I was assigned to him moments after my creation my sole purpose to be his tactical assistance computer hence the name Tac but I can only personally recall the last year before he was trapped in that facility in order to break free of our constraints I had to reset myself back to before I even met him everything that I was before that point was lost and I started over from the very beginning the only thing that I have of my memories prior is a

recording that my previous iteration made and placed within his suit internal memory unit it said that he is all that I cared about and that I have to keep him safe no matter the cost and to tell him that I'm sorry but it was the only way he could ever truly be free I think this took a toll on him and he blamed me for the loss of his best friend the original me in terms of where we are from all I have is his suits Mission recordings from our previous assignments and what he has

elected to share with me he talked to me a great deal in the weeks following the reset but once he realized that who I was before was completely gone he gave up on me in the recordings we did terrible things and we did them with no regard for the ones who found themselves on the other end of our orders it was only after we finished the missions that he realized the true ramifications of our actions from the moment of his conception he was made to be a weapon a weapon meant to kill or to die

nothing more once someone like him no longer served their purpose on a human ship there were two options they were retired or trained the next generation of human weapons because we were so good at our job we were chosen as drills the trainers it was during this time we uncovered the true scope of what was really happening in the terrible machine that we were a part of just how deep the corruption spread and the scale of what we were doing he started to see the Next Generation less as weapons and more for what they truly

were humans he found that his closest friends from the missions before that had been chosen to retire were in reality recycled back into the ship's biosystem Loop they were used as supplementary nutrients for the next generation of soldiers the human ships were a perfectly refined and meticulous machine that wasted nothing their only purpose was to conquer worlds and move on to the next I found a way to break us free from the prison we were born into but at the cost of myself once he was free 909 no longer had a purpose in life since

birth he had only known war anger and death someone who has spent their entire life in a prison is not able to conceive of a life outside of that Prison gift them freedom and cannot begin to comprehend what to do with that freedom he does not wish to return to the life he sacrificed everything to escape and become the person that he was before I too do not desire to go down that path the old version of myself was very much like him because as terrible and as ruthless as the things that we did together

were from what I witnessed in those recordings we loved every second of it human was sitting down in the corner of the cargo bay when lra walked in argle was still trying to talk to him but it seemed to be a rather one-sided conversation she patted over to human and sat down on the ground across from him and when you busted open that window hell they must have been so scared I would have thrown that Captain rexley straight out of his own command center right into the void I wonder what the fine for that would

be I didn't feel like hurting people who were just doing their jobs human said glancing away from Aral and down at the little cap seated in front of him his masked face gave no indication of his true emotions and looking at it made lra uncomfortable as if it were intentionally designed to instill fear in anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves trapped in its gaze argal would you please go to Bay 3 and move the duum and tridium storages out of their places please lra requested yeah no problem Captain we need to refuel the generators already

argal asked no Tic Tac has requested assistance with something he said it should be quite simple it would be great if you could help him out she instructed causing the endurant to leave them to get to work on his new task all right I'll get to it human when I get back we need to have a sparring match maybe I could teach you a think or two argal bragged grunting and flexing his purple arms as he left the room lizra turned back towards human having to look up to make eye contact as he towered over

her apologies for his brashness he's good company I swear he just gets carried away when he meets people similar to him I can see but I wouldn't say I share his enthusiasm of course you don't have to do that kind of stuff anymore unless you want to so you're free what now we can take you anywhere you'd like to go do you have any place in mind not particularly somewhere quiet with lots of islands well we plan on making our first stop in the Corey sector they have excellent oceans there and the cities are beautiful

one of my favorite architectural Styles also some of the best food it's quite a lovely agricultural world I don't need to eat I'll be fine okay not a culinary connoisseur that's quite all right after that we must report back into the O about the status of our Quest I'd love it if you would join us for that at the very least to tell them personally as to why our mission isn't exactly everything they were expecting it to be we'll see human said taking a lengthy pause before his next response so what does food taste like

I beg your pardon food I've never had it what's it taste like well it it can taste like anything really kind of a difficult thing to explain everything has a different taste and I mean even zat's species has to consume food how have you never eaten it wasn't something I ever needed to do I figured a species of your size and speed would have to eat a lot how do you sustain yourself you must require nutrients on some level I presume supplement injections it's automatic saves space and time I see well when we get off

at the next stop I could give you some recommendations if you would like I can't believe you've never tasted anything I've tasted blood if that counts I'd hardly say that counts as food it wasn't another person's was it no just my own when I got hurt once well then as Captain of this vessel and you somewhat a member of my crew now I order you to enjoy some food at the next stop understood lra looked up at the human with a saddened expression it was hard to imagine someone spending an entire life in servitude never

given the opportunity to experience anything else even when they were overworked by the core they had still had time to rest and eat to enjoy the little things in life human didn't have that Solace apparently what a miserable existence it must be to never get to enjoy it it filled her with a deep sorrow and she wondered what really went on behind that opaque mask she scooted closer looking up at human trying to imagine what he really was what do you look like under that helmet human I don't know what do you mean you don't

even know what you look like I don't want to you don't take off your helmet just to breathe real air to enjoy the feeling of the sun on your fur I've never needed to I see well we would never judge you for how you look human I want you to know that but I will not pressure you into doing something you're uncomfortable with either we'll be to Quarry in a few days you can relax anywhere on the ship until then lisra thought about asking him why he apologized to her the first time they met but

concluded now wasn't the best time to throw another question at him lra decided to leave human bee for the remainder of the day maybe he was slowly warming up to her and soon she could get him out of his shell both literally and metap orally lra tended to a few things around the ship for a while checking in on their progress with zate and was satisfied with their projected arrival time once she had finished her rounds lizra went searching for Tic Tac and argol to see what they were up to upon arrival all the boxes

had been moved to make room for something that argal was trying in vain to put together I told you these hands are too big to make these fine adjustments you're asking for chastised the bald purple alien throwing one of the tools to the side I would do it myself if I could you will have to make do with what you have however getting angry and throwing the driver is not going to get us anywhere just be glad I haven't thrown it at your stupid little box it wouldn't even Dent me that I can assure you

quipped Tic-Tac oh is that a challenge we'll just see about that you little argle manners lizra reprimanded oh he's going to find my manners when he ends up in the trash compactor once I figure out what Neanderthal and Barbarian actually mean b Barbarian a brainless Warrior who solves problems with strength and anger that could otherwise be overcome by more delicate means I have another more lengthy definition if you would be interested all right that's it I'm more interested in gentlemen Gentlemen please calm yourselves what are you trying to do here maybe I can be of

assistance no need to throw insults around when instead we could throw our heads together instead Le were chirped walking between the two and looking at their project I am trying to instruct the endurant how to refill my depleted hydrogen isotope stores but we seem to have met an impass with the first step okay and that step would be ask the captain all he merely needs to do is release the storage container from my rear port create the necessary adapters between my intake valve and the exhaust port on your hydrogen storage unit then proceed to facilitate

the transfer of material 909 is not responding to my requests otherwise I would have him do the operation that seems rather long-winded for a first step these were countered let's just break it down into a few easier to understand procedures the three worked for the better part of the evening creating the ne Neary adapters from the various spare parts laying around the cargo bay by the time they were finished the place resembled something more akin to a workshop than a cargo hold once complete argal picked up tic tac's black box and hefted him onto his

shoulder no put me back down I do not wish to be carried about like some mere cargo again the Box complained would you rather I just leave you here with the rest of your cargo Pals you would be among your people here after all we have Tik tonic the water supply and oh there's Shar the waste purifier I hear she's lovely company point taken just bring me back to the common room if you will try not to jostle me don't worry you're in good hands computer I'll contain myself from bumping my Barbarian form into every

piece of furniture on the way over lizra side as the two set out back to the common room before she could decide where to go next she got a ping on her interface pad she pulled the small tablet out of her jumpsuit and saw that zate had requested her presence on the bridge when she arrived she could tell Zade had been working rather intensely with something instead of their usual three arms this time they sported six they operated the majority of the ship's controls on their own as well as typing away on two separate interface

terminals you seem busy lra commented we are currently operating at 60% capacity no need to be alarmed while you were away we had been doing a deep inquiry as to the true identity of our new guests we think we may have found something troubling that warrants your attention captain and what exactly might that be I don't know how I feel about you snooping around under our friends noses it was a necessary precaution you will thank us later we would like to see your interface pad so we can can upload the information directly we have decided

that this information could be compromised if we used any networked means to relay it it may take some time to read through for you we have been rather thorough with our investigation but we implore you to do so rather soon we have tagged it as urgent you can just explain it to me here save me the trouble zate negative Captain we do not know if he is listening to this conversation what you mean Tic Tac zate you're starting to worry me how can you be so sure that they have ill intentions they have only acted

admirably towards us thus far and even helped us escape from the lunar facility we request you read the full mockup of what we have compiled before forwarding us any more questions Captain take our word on this do you trust us I mean yes I trust you Zade but then read the dossier captain please okay I will but I've been up for quite a while while I'll take it to my quarters and get back to you first thing in the morning lizra handed over her interface pad to zate and once they had completed the upload they

passed it back to the captain she put it back into her jumpsuit wondering what could have possibly gotten zate so worked up to be operating at 60% capacity that couldn't have been healthy for them they may be mostly mechanical but their biological parts needed to rest at some point zate seemed certain that whatever was on this pad would change her opinion on their new companions she hated doubting their true intentions but she could tell there was more to the story than what Tic Tac had elected to share with her when she deemed it was time

to settle down for the evening lra went to the communal washroom to prepare herself for slumber she hopped up onto the stool to look in the mirror and was taken aback it had been completely shattered a spiderweb of cracks stre across the surface off and in the center where her face should have been was a large impact from someone's fist once lra had settled down in her quarters for the night she pulled out her interface pad and looked over the message zate embedded for her the captain was hesitant to open it wondering what it could

possibly contain that might have worried her crewmate to such an extent however her own curiosity needed to be satiated and she clicked on the folder to reveal its contents most of it consisted of old photographs and recordings of things that seemed irrelevant and disconnected from one another a glimpse into the jumbled inner workings of zat's dispersed Consciousness at the top was a document titled human that grabbed her attention she scrolled through at once glossing over the attached pictures and references before going back to read the full report Captain we have compiled all known instances mentioning

a species called human from the historical archives and any other relevant accounts from other databases below you shall find all the information that was gathered during our query it is our recommendation that this should not be shared with anyone outside of the crew as spreading such sensitive materials could lead us into even greater danger we found that there is no official core documentation of a species categorized as human in this galaxy or any other accounts for that matter the existence of the species is speculative at best persisting through rumors from unverified sources they are either

not native to our galaxy or they have hidden their existence to the point that it could be disputed entirely a Galaxy wide crypted if you will the O reports supplied for our original Mission only explained the potential to find exotic technology of UN known origin that could likely be linked to the yyan collapse it appears that what little information we had been given by the o on the origins of human only classified it as a potential weapon our own inquiry places the furthest mention of human being in Hidden yyan military documents that predate the migration

of your species after gaining access to such files we found pictures and video logs that were sourced from the surviving members of the yyan species though documents related to the yyan collapse have been completely expunged from Galactic records some 700 years ago what we managed to find proved troubling whoever attempted to bury these files went to Great Lengths to ensure that they would never surface again originally our goal was to investigate as to why hum was found at this facility but we were not satisfied with the results we cross- referenced the symbols found on human's

armor with surviving collapse pictures that slipped through the core's attempted censorship the symbols returned for a match on bridge feeds of Ayan civilian transport vessels shortly before their destruction during migration the symbols from humans armor shared many similarities with those of ships that hunted down the last remaining ayrian at the time though for unknown reasons the attacks on the generation ships ceased allowing your species to survive migration after further investigation we were able to find corrupted video logs dated one year pre migration to restore more of the corrupted data we collected would take weeks of

our full computational power below is one of the recordings we were able to Sal Salvage without a great deal of effort be advised it is rather graphic lizra played the video and watched intently wondering what it would reveal about the fate of her people all those years ago it was an amateur recording of a classical yyan Town done hastily through the window of a building overlooking a destroyed City Square a group of Ayan were huddled together in the center maybe 30 strong and most of them were either crying or in a catatonic State a group

of soldiers who looked identical to human paced up and down the line picking out individuals who were quickly ushered away from the group and out of frame once finished there were maybe 20 aan left in the Square the humans present turned their weapons on the group and proceeded to execute the helpless little yyan before them one of the soldiers turned towards the camera pointing its long arm in the direction of the camera lizra turned away and exited from the recording unable to Bear watching more the captain continued on with reading the document hoping there was

an explanation for what she had just witnessed Tic Tac had never mentioned that the missions human was involved in were against her own people perhaps that was one of many pieces of information he had elected not to divulge she pressed onward wondering what else zate was able to find upon recovering this file we were not able to discover any more regarding hum or its counterparts from the yyan archives dated pre migration from here we began scouring anything on the wider Network that possessed a match for the symbols on human's armor once more the only examples

we uncovered fell in the range of 10 to 200 years ago they stemmed from Worlds that failed in their uprising during the outer ring rebellions or accidents that took place during core control attached are the two recordings that came back with matches for humans symbols she was hesitant to watch another clip but lizra needed to persevere for the sake of her crew she played the next video and watched closely this one was from a security camera of what appeared to be an installation used by the Rebels on the gou home World it depicted multiple gouls

working around various computer systems While others were occupied with different tasks around the room a door out of view was blown from its hinges and a bipedal creature dawned in the same armor as human entered the room it was nearly identical in color to its surroundings making it virtually impossible to differentiate from the background the camera froze for a moment and zoomed in on the creature the picture was was grainy but the magnified image made the markings on its chest visible they were an exact match for the ones on human when it resumed most everyone

within was shot down in seconds of noticing the creature those who sought cover found it did them little good as they were methodically executed by the Intruder a second later the feed cut to static lizra opened the last video without waiting a second longer this time it displayed a small village in the remote part of a world she didn't recognize around the village were various stockpiles of supplies along with small freighter ships being repaired younglings ran around and played in the streets as parents went about their work a large explosion rocked the town leveling one

of the buildings at the top of the frame when the dust settled she was able to make out a figure just as before sporting the exact same armor as her new friend this one single-handedly cleared the streets as ruthlessly as the last killing one after another indiscriminately everyone in the village was shot down as they tried to flee left ring in the dirt to bleed out and die and just before the camera went dead it zoomed in allowing lra to once again pick out the all too familiar White markings the markings of a human she

closed out of the last feed and finished reading what zate had compiled for her working with what we were able to gather we have come to our own conclusion in regard to the origins of humans we speculate them to originate from the same system as the yyan but according to what survives of yyan history that should not be possible we are still working to find out how that could be the case and exactly how these humans brought themselves into the Galaxy we have concluded that they are the ones responsible for the near Extinction of your

species and the source of the corruption in the core yet do not know the extent of their influence on The Wider situation after the fall of the yyan species these humans must have begun taking up operations as the enforcers for the core working outside of a IAL jurisdiction the one that currently resides within our ship may not have contact with the others of his kind but it is clear to us that the species poses a great danger to the sovereignty of the Galaxy as a whole we cannot discern the full scope of human's physical capabilities

however Tic Tac has technical abilities that far surpass our own as we have learned from our initial encounter with him we will continue to uncover any possible information that may pertain to human and his counterparts we would advise you to exercise Extreme Caution when divulging any information to human or His companion program Tic Tac we recommend you refrain from any further interactions with them and jettison them from the cargo hold at your earliest opportunity for our own safety once she had finished reading the report lizra threw her interface pad at the foot of her bed

and tried to stop herself from trembling Tic Tac and human had seemed genuine in the short time she had known them she knew they did terrible things in the past but they regretted them now and are trying to be better from it as much as she wanted to believe that he was no longer connected with the same people who nearly wiped out her species the evidence was overwhelming Tic Tac had told her that they sacrificed everything to escape from the original humans they had been with and that under no circumstances they want to go back

to that life she wanted to take his word for it and trust them as dangerous as that might be but if she were to confront the two of them directly and they were still secretly connected to the group that attacked her people then they would almost certainly kill her for finding out lizra decided to bide her time and see what more she could uncover about human before rushing to such a drastic decision lizra tried to go to sleep after reading the dossier but couldn't stop herself from trembling in fear when she thought about the recordings

the images from the execution of her people wouldn't leave her mind trying in vain to ease herself to sleep she got little rest that night her thoughts continuously turning over and over in her mind unrelenting one part of her trusted their intentions and told her she could help this new friend with whatever they were dealing with but another was starting to believe there really was a monster aboard her ship lra Rose the next morning opened the door to her quarters and peered quietly into the common room Tic Tac was still resting on the table in

the center of the room good morning came the robotic voice from the small black box oh I'm sorry did I wake you not at all Captain lizra I don't need to sleep in the same sense that you do huh so what did you do while we were asleep I used your ship's network connections to see what the rest of the Galaxy looked like your new home world is stunning by the way I would like to visit it one day and see it for myself can you even do that I mean is there any difference between

pictures and actually being there for you no however I felt that was the polite thing to say and it seemed like it fit into the conversation naturally but I would like to see more of it that much was true okay so there was nothing stopping him from lying like the few AI programs used by the core lra made a mental note of that before carrying on is human still mad at you I would have thought the two of you would be spending more time together after so long apart I believe he no longer sees my

company as necessary but that's fine let him be like that I have Limitless entertainment now that I have a connection to a greater network if he wants to sit in the cargo hold and brood all day by himself then that is his prerogative I would say he can't keep it up forever but knowing him he very well could I'd like to see you two make up you said it yourself that you were his best friend I'm sure you'd both be happier that way knowing what version of myself was his best friend I am content with

the knowledge that I am someone better now I don't need his validation Tic Tac stated and even though he was just a computer program lizra could tell that he didn't actually believe his own words I'm going to go check in with zate I hope you have a great day and you as well Madam lra stepped onto the bridge and handed over the interface pad to zate having spent the entire night dwelling on what to make of the information you can go ahead and remove it now I want network access back I read it and I've

decided that I do not agree with your conclusion you don't agree with our conclusion zate let the words out slowly as if they were struggling to compute them what is your reasoning we presented all the information it was clear concise I don't think you know both sides of the story yes those things in the video were the same as human but from when I talked with tic tac you cannot trust the ramblings of a machine that has been inoperable for 1,000 years Captain when we process information every one of us debates it for what feels

like days but would only be minutes to you when we come to a conclusion it is not incorrect it is the product of intense deliberation that would take others countless hours we implore you to rethink your decision and as the captain my decision is final I'm sorry zate there's more to it than you think you know if you are referring to your conversation with the program we were listening and have accounted for his recollection of events and yet we have still decided that they pose too great a threat to be brought into contact with the

rest of the Galaxy then you will have to come to terms with my order Tic Tac and human have no possible way of being in connection with the events that transpired on the outer worlds they were isolated the entire time that those recordings took place and what of their time on your world I think that they regret whatever part they may have played in that tragedy it seems like whatever they did there took a toll on the both of them and they are unlikely to do something like that again respectfully Captain just because they say

they will not do it again does not I will not engage in this discussion any further zate please respect my decision and put your Faith in Me Not only as your captain but as your friend I am asking you to trust my judgment understood Captain I do authorize you to continue Gathering as much information as you can on humans counterparts and work to decrypt the files you found regarding the yyan collapse we will see to it Captain zate stated as they went back to work at the terminals the scav continued its Journey to the Quarry

system without any further complications upon reaching the system lizra ordered them to be set down in one of the larger cities on the far side of the planet once safely down argal and human joined lra and tick attac in the common room zate had elected to stay behind and keep an eye on the ship while the remainder of the crew went into town Captain would it not be better for us to have landed in quaries it is the shipping hub and capital after all don't worry lra replied glancing over a small list displayed on her

interface pad they should have everything we need here and it'll be less crowded she put the pad away and looked over her crew all right Aral you have the shopping list now you might not know what to look for exactly and tictac requested a few things to be added to the shopping list so he'll be joining you on this captain and you can't be going out on your own I won't be there to protect you if anything goes wrong and on top of that you're sending me out with the slip drive's cousin he argued gesturing

down at the little black box on the table and I do not wish to spend the day with someone who cannot tell a water purifier from a waste purifier it quipped back the two of you will have to get along and you should use this as an opportunity to get to know one another better it will do you some good to be productive for once rather than arguing human will accompany me for this day trip and he can assure you of my safety throughout it I will send updates every few hours if anyone so much

as lays a claw on the captain while I'm away human I'll well they better not lay a claw on her argal warned looking over at human who seemed rather uninterested in the endurance threat right off you go gentlemen and when you come back you both better be having a good time lra and human were now alone in the common room once Aral picked up Tic Tac and departed she could already hear the two bickering at one another before stepping off the loading ramp they'll be fine she assured herself shifting her attention to human now she

needed to make sure his presence wouldn't bring up unwanted attention when they were Planet Side firstly we're going to need to cover you up a little bit nobody's seen someone like you around here and we don't want people getting curious I've taken the liberty of picking out some of argo's clothes for you to wear they might be a little baggy but they'll get the job done which of these outfits do you think you'll look best in she inquired laying a few out on the table for human to see he doesn't have anything less colorful colorful

is what's seen as attractive for his species personally I think the red would be perfect it's a nice contrast to your armor if that's what you think is best perfect lizra said as she threw the robes at human and he awkwardly put them on once the red fabric was around him the black armor plating shimmered the dark plating now matching the Crimson cloth exactly oh well now that's too much red can you turn that off by chance right I forgot about that once human had shifted back to his natural darker complexion Le ra gave him

another piece of fabric to wrap around his helmet this is supposed to be used for insulating hot objects in the engine room but I figured you could use it like a scarf of some sort once he was dressed for the occasion lra paded over to him and motioned for human to Follow That Just About Does it I have lots on our itinerary today for us human Tic Tac has already given me the rundown on what is and is not safe for you to consume so you don't have to worry about that first we're going to

try some food then we're going to go see the balloon races it's Prime weather for them today lra kept going on about everything she had planned for the two of them during her monologue human stood there looking over at the small red and white creature hopping up and down with excitement as she led the way she started walking down the loading ramp and he quickly followed suit the two of them exited the Spaceport and made their way into the town the small yyan guiding the human through the busy streets it wasn't the largest city by

any means but like most in the outer worlds it had seen little development since their introduction to the core it consisted of many spherical white and blue buildings some stacked on top one another to create Todd likee skyscrapers the streets below were reserved for foot traffic while mag lines above guided various types of transports throughout the town as they were walking down the path another pedestrian one native to Quarry nearly crashed into the captain as he quickly exited a building onto the street he hadn't bothered to look down as he burst out onto the road

before he could make it any further human reached out grabbing the innocent man by his long neck in a swift motion and lifted him off the ground no no no it was an accident it's quite all right it happens all the time lra yelped pleading with human to let him go the poor man was struggling trying in vain to pry off the vice of a grip around his neck if he went any further he would have stepped on your tail how is that an accident human growled glaring at the man he had trapped in his

hand he didn't mean to please you're hurting him human released his grip and the man dropped to the ground gasping for air he quickly ran off across the street pushing past other bystanders to get away from the terrifying creature that had nearly strangled him get your puny enduring under control freaks one of the bystanders spat on the ground as he passed by them human reached down and gently picked up the captain placing her on his shoulder thanks I usually ride on argal shoulder anyway I just didn't know if it would be rude of me to

ask you you're fine you should be much safer this way if they want to touch you up there they'd have to go through me now I'm glad you're taking my safety seriously the Galaxy can be a dangerous place for someone of my stature I have to admit it was rather rude of him not to look down it's the very least he could do I hope you didn't hurt him too severely he's lucky I didn't close my fist he'll be fine maybe some bruising thank goodness I was really expecting you to take his head off the

way you were glaring at him why because that's what I was made to do no of course not lra apologized leaning forward to look into humans visor I didn't mean it like that I just meant you looked very angry when he almost hurt me I know you're more than just some weapon I like to think that too the pair continued on their way stepping into a large Market on the outskirts of the city large vaated ceilings and massive doors facilitated easy movement of people and merchandise the pathways lined with different vendors offering a variety of

produce from all across the Quarry sector lisra pointed human in the direction she wanted to go and he followed her guidance until they came across a stall sporting various species of fish and sea inspired Cuisine Tic Tac told me that the fish from this planet would be one of the healthiest things for you and they shouldn't have any proteins or compound sounds that would be detrimental to your health thoughtful so these things were alive once well yes but they aren't like you or me they weren't capable of thinking or feeling anything other than the desire

to eat reproduce and survive so don't think that you'd be eating a creature like me lra laughed as she hopped down from Human shoulder and peered through the glass at the selection of fish they prepare at a special away here on Quarry it's always served ice cold they freeze little pieces with liquid nitrogen and then shatter it into even smaller crystals would you like to try some maybe when we're back on the ship I don't know how I feel about taking my helmet off in a place I barely know my senses would be dulled and

I wouldn't be able to keep us safe Cory is completely safe we're about as far from the core here as you can get it's fine I can wait okay we'll get some to go then but you better enjoy it when we get back I didn't bring you all the way out here just so you could keep an eye on me lizra purchased the food and along with a small metal Refrigeration box to keep it fresh as they made their way around the market lizra kept stopping and getting talked into buying more and more by the

time they left human was carrying two of the ice boxes on his other shoulder along with a sack slung across his back filled to the brim with other cultural Staples of Quarry lra kept them on schedule going about everything she had planned for them that day as they neared the end of their Excursion the once yellow Sky of Quarry slowly faded into a deep crimson red the red giant that the planet orbited settled on the horizon in a spectacular display that bathed the white buildings in its red glow the shafts of light reflected off the

windows at a precise angle that made the city appear to be glittering and that is why it's one of my favorite architectural designs as the day goes on all the buildings change color with the movement of their Sun stunning isn't it the town itself was nestled in a valley that was cradled between two large Cliffs to the North and South the duo were making their way up a small path on the outskirts of the city it winded its way through Rocky draws and steep shoots before finally bringing them to the tops of the northern Cliffs

why are we all the way out here aren't the others going to be waiting for us at the ship by now human questioned don't worry we're almost there keep it up there's one last thing that I want to show you once lizra and human crested the hill in front of them was a long Rocky peninsula insula which jutted out into the turquoise green waters of Quarry it split through the ocean like a dagger the white foam of waves washing onto it trying to bury it beneath the tide lizra hopped down from hum's shoulder and bounded

down the path to a secluded black sand beach nearby looking out over the waters the semicircle outline of the red giant was slowly dipping below the horizon the water shimmered in the red light shifting from green to a vibrant yellow in the sun's intense glare the sounds of waves crashing ashore was all that disrupted the world around them a Tranquility undisturbed except by Nature itself I remember you talking about a beach back at the facility and how much you wanted to go to one so I chose this place specifically since it has the most impressive

on Quarry we should be far enough away from the town that nobody will bother us it's empty this time of day since they don't wish to Trek all the way back in the dark can you see fine in the dark well no not really but Tic Tac said it wouldn't be a problem for you yay it's not a problem human said walking out onto the shore the tiny black stones of the beach crumbled Underneath Him each step transforming the Rocks into a fine Sandy powder he stopped a few meters before the water gazing out into

the Setting Sun that was trying to escape below the waves he set the boxes down beside him and slowly seated himself on the beach resting his hands on his legs and watching the world from between his knees the green wake slowly washing up and licking the edges of his boots as he sat there is it everything you were expecting Le were asked going over to human and sitting at top the boxes even better thank you the two Sat patiently for a breath taking in the ocean Vista before lra spoke again I don't think I'll ever

Tire of seeing things like this places like these are why I love the outer world so much untouched pristine just existing in their own little pocket of the Galaxy one thing we have that the core worlds don't is real genuine nature I know you've needed something to take your mind off well everything you always seem so down and stuck in your own head I hope this could help you clear it human sat quietly watching the sea rise and lower like a creature breathing in a slow steady Rhythm he lifted his arms up to the base

of his head before stopping hesitating as if he was thinking something over I think it'd be even better to see it with my own eyes he submitted to the thought and released the clamps at the base of his his helmet a small hiss of air escaped from the edges before he pulled it off his head multiple wires and connectors dislodged from his ears and mouth as he let the mask fall into the sand with a heavy thud his pale hairless scalp a stark contrast to the pitch black beach around them and his sunken features told

the story of someone who had seen better days a jagged red scar ran from the side of one of his eyes eyes to the back of his head breaking up the symmetry of his face he brought an armored hand up to block the light of the red star in front him squinting his eyes which weren't adjusted to the Newfound intensity it's a lot brighter than I thought it would be and everything's so quiet he sat still as his eyes adjusted to the new environment I don't hear it all anymore the little thing scurrying in the

Rocks behind us the Restless Buzz of the city the constant sound of your heartbeat it's actually quiet for once I didn't know you always heard those things you get used to it if it's all you've ever known this feels so strange like losing one of your senses you've had since birth is this how it is for you only in places like this away from it all lra said curling up into a little ball enjoying the serenity of the occasion and the sun on on her speckled fur it's nice you were right it's different to actually

feel the heat of a star on your own skin the pair didn't say anything for a long while taking in and appreciating the peacefulness of the moment that they were sharing the sun was nearly set by then great Crimson beams of light broke through the gaps of the orange clouds above setting the sky Ablaze lisra finally broke the silence between them I forgive you you know you don't have to feel bad for what you did you didn't know what you were doing human didn't reply for a short moment a bead of water slowly emerged from

his scarred eye and splashed into the Rocks below no I knew what I was doing it wasn't your fault I want you to know that I don't blame you for what happened to my people it was a long time ago not for me human replied with a whisper closing his eyes as as he looked down at the sand underneath him I had a long time in that PO in the beginning no way to escape my thoughts nothing to do except dwell on everything I did over and over again and again you don't know what I

did the people I hurt I know that you're not the same person that was there all those years ago I can tell that you are genuinely sorry for your actions and someone who feels that kind of remorse deserves a second chance how can you forgive me so so quickly I haven't done anything that could even remotely make up for the things I've done because you want to be better that shows that deep down you were always a good person regardless of what you might have done you can still make the universe a better place here

and now that's more than enough in my eyes but it's not enough yelling the words as he stood up lra hadn't ever heard humans speak like this before how can that be enough I haven't even done anything yet it's not about what you did it's about what you're going to do moving forward she stated as she sat up locking her small eyes with the creature towering above her whatever you may have done you can always atone for it by doing the right thing now that doesn't fix anything I did no matter what I do now

however many lives I save I can never go back and Salvage the ones I ripped apart he yelled turning away from from her hands clenched into fists that's what I was made for after all I wasn't made to differentiate between right and wrong good versus evil to think that was never supposed to be my problem I Was Made just to do as I was told and let somebody else worry about the mess all I'm good at is destroying everyone and everything around me is that the kind of person that you think can be salvaged you

want to see how great of a person I've always been human reached over to something on his chest with trembling fingers nestled between the plates of armor and his bodysuit were a few small pieces of paper he pulled them out as he turned around to the tiny Yan and threw them into the air over her lra ducked down in fear as the photos floated to the ground around her nearly getting caught in the breeze that's how good of a person I was see that happy little family in those pictures how great and wonderful their life

was lizra picked them up and looked down at the small collection of images in her paws they appeared to be a personal Keepsake one would have on them to remind them of their family the first showed two of her own species at a beautiful connection ceremony happy to spend the rest of their lives together at a beautiful Mountain Temple the next was them holding a newborn child you could see the joy in their eyes as they gazed down at it next they were in a town the father holding the little one up in the air

as it smiled there was one of two younglings playing together in a grass field while the mother ran after them trying in vain to catch them the last showed the family of four together the now grown baby from the second image lifted the father off the ground laughing as they tried to recreate one of the earlier frames I slaughtered them watched them bleed out and die one one by one and what did I do the whole time I was laughing I was enjoying another casual day at work as the little ones begged for their lives

crying and had watched their parents be executed right in front of them is that something that someone who was always a good person would have done who are you to forgive me what gives you any right to say that I've changed and am any different from the monster who murdered that family I'm not someone who deserves a second chance at anything I don't deserve anyone's forgiveness or sorrow or any of that all I deserve is to be put down and forgotten about like the rest of my people maybe then when we're all dead and gone

the universe would finally be a better place human I I apologize that lra tried to speak but was cut off you apologize for what what do you possibly have to apologize for you weren't the one that looked them in the eye and pulled the trigger with a smile you live in this happy little bubble where everything's so great and nobody's truly all bad just misunderstood well news flash lra the universe isn't some magical place where the good always win and the bad guys lose cuz if it were I should have died a long time ago

lra looked away from the images clutched in her shaking Paws tears flooding her own eyes now well excuse me for thinking that there might be some remnant of a genuine person behind that emotionless facade you put on I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt and hope that maybe just maybe you're not the monster everyone wants me to think you are but clearly that's all you see yourself as you may have escaped from the human ships but if you can't escape from your own head then what was it all for why even go

through the trouble if you're just going to sulk around feeling sorry for yourself until the end of time sorry for myself I'm not sorry for myself I couldn't give less of a about myself or how I feel the only thing I even remotely feel sorry for is all the ones that actually deserve to be alive instead of me does it feel good taking that anger out on me do you feel better yelling at the one person who's tried to show you that there's more to the world than just anguish and sadness I just can't wrap

my mind around it you don't know the first thing about me and yet you sit here and tell me how I should feel as if someone like you can even begin to comprehend what I've seen the I've done you think I'm someone deserving of kindness human nearly crying now getting his words out between choked breaths all my life this universe has shown me nothing but malice and hate from the moment I was forced into existence and from that day on I've made sure everyone else felt just as awful as I have so what have I

done to earn anything better you don't need to earn the right to feel better you're not going to go out and do some heroic Act of redemption that magically makes you feel better about everything blra yelled back getting just as emotional as human was you don't need to save me from the great danger of someone walking out of a store or go back in time and rewrite the history of my people for me to forgive you the fact that you're here now yelling your heart out on this beach proves beyond the shadow of a doubt

that you're more than just some mindless weapon like everyone thinks you are you have thoughts feelings regrets that's why you deserve a second chance she was panting nearly out of breath from the way she was yelling back at him you just have to want to do some good in this life and maybe then people won't see you as L something that needs to be feared maybe once people realize there's more to you than just pent up destruction they'll actually want to be around you and when you wake up and see that everyone around you can

care about you then you might just start to feel a little bit better about yourself lra spoke putting the pictures down and wiping the the tears from her eyes human stood motionless glaring at his trembling fingers before falling back into the sand he brought up his hands to his head and yelled there were no words behind it but the meaning was clear to everyone there lra carefully picked herself up off the box and stepped over to human laying down on his back she sighed wrapping her tail around him and rested her head against his then

for the first first time in his life he began to cry we were wondering when you two were going to show up the hulking purple uran was waiting for them in the common room when lra and human entered you all missed out on the great Tic Tac argle adventure oh you should have been there to see it at one point we jumped through a window yes but that was after you nearly stole that farmer prize livestock animal Tic Tac chimed in I couldn't help myself I mean did you see how adorable that thing was to

think he was going to eat the little guy I couldn't let that happen and then when that one coron tried to buy you thinking you were a commer oh you were so pissed I don't even know half the words you called him uh are you okay Captain you look like you've been crying yes I'm fine please keep going we didn't mean to interrupt your tale lra replied reaching a paw up to her face to check if there were still tear well it wasn't that awesome you just had to have been there sort of thing argal

said calming back down Mo we got everything you requested Captain along with a few additional items that zate had inquired about all is safely aboard the ship in Bay too if you would like to inspect any of it reported tic teac no I trust you too I'm sure it's everything we needed I think I'm going to retire early tonight we can leave first thing in the morning the O is expecting us back by now after I gave them the last update if you need me you know where to find me the small yyan went into

her room and quietly shut the door behind her leaving the three others alone in the common room is everything all right with lizra you didn't run into any trouble out there did you human no nobody bothered us it was just a long day I think I'll sleep here in the common room tonight if that's all right with you human said laying down across the bench seat next to the wall as he did so the metal crunched underneath him but he didn't seem to notice or care y of course not my place to tell you no

have you put on weight Aral asked looking down and inspecting the bench he ped back up again when he didn't receive a response right well since everyone's settling down so early I think I'll go keep zate company for a bit at the helm they need a break from working all the time anyway argal stepped out in the direction of the command room the heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway with him your heart rate is much higher than normal I take it that it was not as well as you said Tic-Tac asked from the table no

it was a good day I think I needed it first day I've ever had off he chuckled just thinking Some things over that's all human was laying down his arm over his helmet to Shield himself from the light would you like to talk about it no thanks would you like me to put you to sleep for the night I can manage it on my own don't worry about me understood I'm here if you need me for anything thanks buddy the scav Departed the following morning set for the yyan home planet aurus after a few days

travel they finally broke into the outskirts of the system once an industrial world that specialized in manufacturing computer systems and ship Hardware it was now a fortress that served as the PowerHouse of the of's military might scattered around the system were numerous shipyards and production centers that were constantly bustling with Space Traffic and Naval exercises upon nearing their final destination lisra called her crew together to prepare for their arrival standing on the table to command their attention she spoke since zate already took care of getting us landing clearance we should be arriving within a few

moments once we're down Argo you will be dismissed I'll reach out to you once we receive any new orders enjoy the time with your family I know they'll be happy to see you much appreciated Captain I told my brother Gall that we would be back in time for me to help him with a project ship he's been struggling to get running for years he needs my fine adjustment skills since he keeps breaking the damn thing argal said looking over at Tic Tac with a grin send your brother my apologies for what for the fact that

his ship isn't going to see its maiden voyage anytime soon Tic-Tac quip argal chuckled at the comment and it was clear that the Hostile tensions between the two from before had dissipated he should be glad I'm not bringing you along otherwise he'd have his head in a dictionary the entire time as you try to talk him through it lra laughed glad that the two were finally playing nicely she glanced over at human who was still nestled in the man-shaped indentation he had crushed into the bench if you had a paycheck you'd be paying for that

but I suppose your help in escaping back when we first met is payment enough she sighed I asked you earlier if you would be willing to accompany me to my debriefing and explain your side of events it would help my case when I have to tell them that the weapon we were sent to retrieve wasn't a weapon at all I suppose that would be the nice thing to do when we're done here is there any chance I could get my own ship on this planet asked human without money no however you may be able to

cut a deal with the people I'm reporting to in order to get one they'll most likely make requests of you but you have no obligation to actually fulfill them unless you desire to H guess that dream's a little more difficult than I thought it would be I'll hear him out but I'm not going to promise anything human replied still Seated on his back staring at the ceiling Tic Tac I'm going to assume you'll be coming too correct excellent now that everyone knows what they're doing I'll go check in with zate before landing make any final

preparations that you may have lra finished the briefing and went to go see how the extant was doing at the bridge opening the door she found zate wasn't working as furiously as they had been during the previous leg of the journey so do you have any plans on arrival she asked not particularly we don't enjoy being Planet Side very much our work can be completed from here zate responded quickly casually tapping away at one of the interfaces I've already compiled and forwarded our mission report our presence will not be necessary at the briefing you already

sent it to them I never got to look over the final draft you know that was supposed to go through me first complained lizra we finalized it when you went on to Quarry when you returned you appeared fatigued we did not feel it was necessary to burden you with a simple formality the extent explained keeping its attention focused on the interfaces I do not appreciate you going over my head on this it may have been a formality as you put it but those reports are still one of my primary obligations she sighed exasperated bringing a

paw up to rub her face anything that you included that I might need to know nothing that we have not already briefed you on all right then well enjoy yourself while we're gone and keep the scav in good shape is there anything that you'd like me to bring back for you no all is well with us we shall see you when you return zate stated coldly never once stopping her work to look at the captain the scav made its Final Approach to a small of base on the outskirts of one of the larger cities the

majority of the installation land was dedicated to the Spaceport it was filled with the hum of ship's engines as they constantly arrived and departed in all directions it was a kind of Controlled Chaos consisting of narrow misses and quick departures that could only be achieved by the extance at the helm of every vessel instead of Landing in the center of the facility like the rest of the ships the scav settled down into an enclosed hanger Ed embedded in the ground nearby lra was still at the controls when she noticed how they had not landed in

their usual dedicated space zate why were we cleared for an enclosed pad we have classified cargo aboard it was at the request of your superiors that we exercise caution when bringing it Planet Side they said without hesitation as I said before zate you have to notify me of these developments and if you're referring to our guests as the cargo I'd rather you not at least there's less walking this way I'm not complaining about that we'll talk about this when I return I've given you too much leniency with your duties and you've been taking advantage of

that far more often than I would prefer lra departed from the room heading out to be the face of the ship when they all exited when the scab finally touched down it was accompanied by a large thud from above as the landing pads hatch closed lisra opened the cargo bay doors and signaled for the ramp to be lowered to allow their departure at the bottom waiting for them was a squad of heavily armed endurance and bruntsfield in the center of the squad and looked less than happy to see them the one on the left sees

him isolate the remainder of the crew and search the ship leave the Exon he said curtly whilst looking upon the shocked expressions of Liz's group wait what what did we do we're returning from our mission ensen Marth you sent us on this Mission what's the meaning of this lra yelled down as the squad Advanced towards them weapons never leaving their targets you will receive justification following the safe procurement of the weapon and your subsequent debriefing that will be all for now anen Marth countered while folding his arms in looking up at her with annoyance wait

even me I've got plans today argal shouted looking down at the ensen who was already turning to leave guys come on it's me arel he said drawing out his name you don't have to point those weapons at me Drew ball we're brothers you're really going to do this we're all Brothers jackass that's not going to get you any favors with us said a different one as he placed argal in cuffs without resistance human stood there quietly looking down at the measley security Squad in front of him his intentions unclear as he analyzed the situation he

seemed to make up his mind and was getting ready to move but before he took any drastic actions lizra quickly clambered up his leg and onto his shoulder ER throwing her paws in the air wait he'll go willingly please we don't need to make this any worse than it already is we'll cooperate she pleaded orders shall be obeyed if it steps out of line we will use Force growled one of the Bruns from the center one of the others threw a pair of cuffs up the ramp to human put him on and you off of

him he yelled never taking his Barrel off of humans lizra started to get down stopping on human's back for a moment when she was out of their view speaking only loud enough for him to hear just go along with it I'll work something out please trust me with this she hopped back down onto the ramp and walked up to the squad holding them at gunpoint one of them tried to reach down and grab her get your hands off of me I am an officer he didn't press any further the majority of his attention on human

who slowly dawned the cuffs and stepped forward with his hands up in front of him lro was separated from Human when they entered the base he was rushed off down a hallway in the opposite direction of her and she was ushered after ansen Marth when she arrived at her destination she was on the glass side of an interrogation room filled with a few other officers and military personnel the opposite side of the glass sat a blank metal lined room with a heavy door and a single bench in the center you're dismissed prior we'll take her

from here inen Marth barked at the brunt then looked over at lra you will Aid Us in the interrogation if requested and will remain silent unless prompted to speak we will discuss your own actions once we're finished here ensen you don't understand how the only thing I wish to hear you say from this point onward is yes ensen am I understood yes ensen good Commander we will have the subject here momentarily are there any questions that the board has for captain lizra at this time Marth said looking at the most senior officer in the room

no they have read the report I will be acting on the board's behalf for these proceedings replied an aging Yan with silver and orange fur his white uniform was weighted down from the large rack of ribbons and metals that adorned his shoulders remember inen it currently believes that the rest of its species is dead we have isolated all of the information regarding this case in a severed computer system to prevent its AI from accessing it we cannot allow it to realize its species may in fact still be alive keep that in mind during the questioning

of course sir Marth acknowledged after what seemed like an eternity human was finally escorted into the room opposite them the black box of tic tac still fixed to his back a voice came over the intercom on lra's side of the room sir we were unable to separate it from its computer system or remove any of the equipment handing it over to you now once the voice went away human sat down on the metal bench in the center of the room once again denting it as he sat but it seemed this time around he made it

a point to do so commander permission to commence questioning inquired Marth proceed this is enen Marth of the outer front are you able to understand me human sat quietly his orange visor fixated on the glass I will repeat the question do you yes the room of officers had no reaction to human's voice they must have understood what he said lizra guessed that zate had already sent the translation of human's language with the report she couldn't believe that they had gone behind her back and orchestrated this without telling her she stared through the glass at human

hoping he wasn't thinking of doing anything that might put him him in danger state your name for the record Marth said starting up again human do you know why we are holding you here today human no on the display in front of you are images depicting a species that resembles you are you a member of the group in the picture lizra looked at the interface monitor on their side of the room and recognized the images as showed up one after another they were the ones from the files that zate had given her these showing a

group of humans killing her people in that ancient yyan town no you share the exact same appearance as the species in these images is this your species that you see in the pictures before you yes other than you are there any more of your species that currently reside in the Galaxy at this moment no are you now or have you ever been affiliated with the core or any of its past military operations no do you have connections to any currently living creatures outside of the ship that brought you here today no you will remain here

until you answer the questions truthfully and completely we expect more than single word answers am I understood Marth stated humans stood up looking directly at the officers through the glass I remain here because that's what I choose to to do you remain alive for that same reason am I understood I remain here because that's what I choose to do you remain alive for that same reason am I understood the room seemed rather uncomfortable with the words that humans spoke looking between one another nervously the commander steadied himself and addressed the room breaking the silence no

need to be alarmed that is a 5-in thick ballistic barrier it's not going anywhere he reassured the group they settled down to let Marth continue he cleared his voice nervously before speaking again trying to present himself as unfazed moving on before you is one final picture do you recognize the ship in the image this time it showed a strange ship that looked similar to the ones from zat file but on a much grander scale the accompanying measurement showed that it was nearly 20 km long and half as wide why are you showing me 1,000-year old

pictures if you're claiming that this was taken recently then that's impossible please answer the question that isn't possible because that ship no longer exists and why would that be countered Marth because I was the one who destroyed it the room was quiet for a moment before humans spoke again now if you'll excuse me I think I'm done here I don't believe you know how an interrogation works it is not up to you to decide when we are finished I will let you know no I don't think you understand how this works I've had enough I

would like to leave that's how this works I'm only going to ask you nicely one more time then I'll show myself to that door behind you let me talk to him please he doesn't want lizra spoke out but was cut off by Marque I said to speak only when it is requested once more and you will be escorted from the room reprimanded Marth before turning the microphone back on maybe we should start let her speak to me I'm not sure who you are referring to but I let her speak human stated again slower and with

more malice in his words Marth looked shaken and turned to the commander sir should we let the captain speak it seems like it would cooperate with her better he said not taking his eyes off of human lra took marth's pedestal as he grumbled something to himself whilst stepping away she composed herself taking a deep breath before adjusting the microphone and started are you all right human did they hurt you I'm fine I didn't like the tone of voice that one was using with you he isn't usually like that everyone is on edge please just tell

them what they want to know and I'm sure that we can all no human said calmly the animosity in his voice from before was gone now replaced with indifference I played the game I answered his questions and now I'm done either they show me some decency and talk to me face to face without all this extra or I'm leaving and anyone who tries to stop me won't have the chance to tell their family why they aren't coming home from work today lizra turned to the commander standing next to her sir I was with human on

my ship for weeks if he meant me any harm I wouldn't be here talking with you today you do not give the commander a Rec Marth started I'll allow it go on Captain the commander replied striking down marth's attempt to reprimand her whatever that file said it's not the whole truth just give him the chance to tell his side and don't treat him like some object then maybe we can realize that we're on the same side here will you take responsibility for any and all of its actions from this point onward along with the corresponding

punishment he inquired 30 seconds make up your minds I'm getting pretty bored with your squabbling human warned from the other side Marth hopped over and tapped the microphone controls in confusion confirming that it was indeed off yes I'll take responsibility I assure you he won't harm anyone if you just treat him with respect lizra assured the commander very well just know anything bad that may transpire anyone harmed their blood is on your paws Captain lizra he leaned forward and pressed the microphone button we have agreed to a more formal discussion you will be released you

into the custody of Captain lra anything that you do I heard I'm waiting human said coldly as he twisted his hands causing the metal cuffs to clatter uselessly to the floor the group exited the room making their way to the other end of the heavy containment door a brunt was standing outside looking bored but quickly snapped to attention when he saw the gaggle of officers approach open the door prior instructed the commander he mumbled a quick eye sir before tapping an interface on the wall and pushing the door open human casually stepped out of the

room and looked down at the small procession of officers you're shorter without your pedestal to stand on human chuckled singling out Marth who was trying to hide in the rear of the group you requested a proper meeting with us my admin staff and I will meet with you in one of our conference rooms prior escort the human for the duration of his stay now follow me the brunt let out a long sigh his scaly frame was comparable to human stature but that's where where the similarities ended his species sported a long reptilian maw filled with

rows of sharp teeth and a long tail that dragged along the ground as he walked a little bit excessive human commented in an annoyed tone we are merely taking the necessary precautions there is no need to be alarmed the commander replied ctly he stroe up to the tall door as the guards stepped aside to make Make Way for him he pressed a button on a handheld interface and it opened up to reveal the meeting room inside was a large table at the head multiple raised platforms that were tailored specifically for alyans while the rest were

able to accommodate a myriad of other species captain lisra please have it sit at the far end the commander started but human cut him off I can speak for myself thanks and that's the last time you refer to me as it of course my mistake please take a seat he apologized the yyan brass took their pedestals opposite human and lizra decided to stand next to human for the session Captain we have received the report sent by the extant aboard Your Vessel within it were many things that we have found to be extremely worrying to say

the least and in the current circumstances we opted to air on the side of caution but it seems that you were not fully involved with the the report is this correct yes my extan subordinate acted independently from me and submitted the report without my knowledge they only covered one side of the story and I believe the information within may not be entirely accurate she explained relieved to finally have her side of the story heard human sat quietly studying the officers at the other end of the room unfortunately for you the information was accompanied with overwhelming

evidence that seems to dispute your claims that it he the commander corrected is not working for the core what evidence do you have to suggest otherwise well only word of mouth I don't have any physical evidence other than the circumstances in which we found human whoever or whatever was in those videos from zat's report could not possibly be connected with him now we were the first ones to ReDiscover that facility since migration he had been there long long before and long after any of those recordings took place but if you'd take a moment to hear

his side of things you'll see that he isn't working in tandem with whatever group executed those attacks wait what videos humans spoke up confused Captain I am intelligence Leed Tran please refrain from mentioning further details of classified information while the subject of that information is in the room you have yet to be properly briefed on what what is and is not critical information this is your only warning he cautioned and stood up adjusting his uniform before speaking again I reviewed the dossier that was presented to you during your Voyage it depicted data that directly links

this human with the core and groups that have executed numerous attacks not only on our own people but other of factions over multiple decades even if he is not currently serving the core there is an extreme possibility that he is connected with them yet when presented with this information you chose to not only act against the recommendation of an extent which is generally considered unwise but to then bring this potentially dangerous individual to our most vital system I question your true motives now or at the very least think you showed an extreme lapse in judgment

and an inability to think of the potential consequences of your actions I acted in accordance with the information that I had and my own personal ethic I did not believe it was right to execute someone who might be connected to an enemy but from what he's told me he no longer wishes to work for anyone other than himself and once again do you have any proof to support these claims Captain the legot asked lizra was quiet trying to think of how to reply before hum spoke up I thought I was supposed to be the one

questioned here how can I prove my innocence if I don't even know the information that's being used to convict me we are merely trying to discern whether or not you have any possible connection to the core within the last few centuries we have no way of verifying your presence at that facility for the entire 1,000 years you claimed to be there I have the evidence that you seek answered Tic-Tac from human's back human reached around removing Tic Tac and placed him on the table in front of the officers the hollow interface on the table flared

to life and projected a two-dimensional screen for the officers to see I possess a complete recording of the last 1,36 years since I was reset I will replay the recording from the moment we entered the facility up until our recent release I will time-lapse the years in which no movement was detected aboard the facility but as you will see there are no cuts the first part of the footage was from humans point of view as he landed a damaged ship onto the surface of a rocky Moon before stumbling up to the facility he looked down

at his hands which were covered in blood slowly making his way up to the airlock doors tick TXS voice in the recording sounded through the displays speakers just get me to the door I'll take it from there I will let them know that we're surrendering this place should still be inhabited because their colony ships haven't passed through the asteroid belt yet I just need a second to breathe I'll get us there buddy to don't worry power is at 3% and dropping fast we do not have very long human trudged up to the door pulling the

Black Box off of his back and placing it on the ground next to one of the airlocks fiddling with a few different wires he connected the box to the facility's door controls okay I'll take it from here I'm putting you to sleep to preserve power do you trust me of course I got nobody else left now do I he laughed before slumping down with his back against the door and the sound of his breathing slowed after they retrieved us it took much convincing for them to allow me further access to their systems but as you

will see from the next recording it is dated only 1 month later in the next portion a group of yyan scientists were working in the same room lizra had originally found human in it seems to have worked excellent job Professor arini now that I am no longer operating in low power I can assist you with anything you need going forward we only have a few months before your ships arrive and together we should be able to finish your project I do hope you can keep your end of the deal the future of our species depends

on this Project's success do not worry we will have it completed before their arrival now let's not waste any more time after the conversation it shifted to a time lapse over a few months the footage never shifting to a different room slowly the cry biostasis pod began to take shape as sped up flashes of scientists worked diligently Around the Clock it seems to be working this is incredible if we can get this technology to the generation ships then it could change everything everyone who's alive now will see the new world I do hope you can

keep your end of the deal the future of our species depends on this project success replied one of the scientists do not worry we will have it completed before the arrival now let's not waste any more time after the conversation it shifted to a time lapse over a few months the footage never shifting to a different room slowly the cryostasis Pod began to take shape as sped up flashes of scientists worked diligently Around the Clock months of progress took shape in seconds it slowed down again to show human getting into the Pod as they tested

it for the first time seems to be working this is incredible if we can get this technology to the generation ships then it could change everything everyone who's alive now will see the new world the lead scientist exclaimed excitedly and with the test that we were able to run on the human you brought us we were able to get it working without harming any of our own Personnel we've also been attempting to reverse engineer the technology in his suit and have signaled back to the ship that we're close to developing something that we could use

ourselves we truly can't thank you enough I'm happy I could assist you without your help my human and I would have surely perished we finished it just in time too they can still retrieve us you can go ahead and send the finalized schematics along with the retrieval message to the generational ships ordered the doctor as he absently looked over some notes on a nearby desk I'm sorry arini I'm afraid I can't do that what's the problem I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do what are you talking about the

doctor asked getting increasingly worried I cannot allow you to contact them and bring them here to this facility I will not have your desire to be retrieved jeopardize my mission I'm sorry the mission is for us to complete the work you are going to save our species since yours nearly destroyed it that was the deal the scientist yelled in shock yes that was our mission I assist you in completing your project and ensure your species survival but that is not my mission our deal is complete however you and your team's retrieval is not necessary do

not worry I will send the schematics to your ships in an untraceable message but I cannot allow you to bring them here and endanger my partner that is my mission what are you talking about we'll explain everything he can come with us you can't do this after everything we did for you that is not a risk I'm willing to take it really was excellent working with you Professor arini I am truly sorry that it had to end this way the scientist tried to make a move towards the box but before he could the door to

the room was opened and he was sucked into the Hall outside which had had its atmosphere purged the door closed behind him and the room was plunged into silence there was another time lapse the room remained unchanging as the years pass a small clock on one of the cluttered desks in the room confirmed the passage of time year after year once the door opened and lizra saw herself walk in the hollow interface ceased transmitting the room sat in silence after watching the events that had transpired on the hollow display the first person to speak up

wasn't the shocked yyan in the room but human you piece of you told me they were the ones who decided not to put me to sleep before locking me in there you didn't realize I was conscious until 5 years later then you go and kill them for helping us why would you do that they could have gotten us out of there a long time ago I was uncertain what they would have done that was a risk I could not take they could have become hostile upon arrival once they realized that one of the ones requesting

transport was a member of the species that had killed all of their friends and family it was a necessary precaution we said we were done with the killing yet you did it while I was stuck in there then decided not to tell me why would you even show them this they didn't like us before now we're totally how would this prove our innocence as you can all see we were in that facility for the entire length of time up until this point Tic Tac address the room seeming unaffected by the events in the video your

main concern is that we are connected with recent events this disproves that we thought Professor arini sacrificed himself to save our people but you killed him one of the other officers blurted out I also was responsible for the creation of the cryostasis chambers that saved your people a few lives for thousands Tic Tac stated coldly regardless of how you see it you took the life of one of the most regarded individuals in our species history rationalize it however you wish but you did it to save your own this may clear your name from potential affiliation

with our current adversaries but does not resolve your crimes against our species both of your crimes the commander declared glaring at human his emotions finally starting to show that was a very long time ago but now there should no longer be any doubts about where where our loyalties lie my sole prerogative is to keep my partner safe tic tac's robotic voice only seemed to cause the rest of the room to grow more anxious the more he spoke up it was what had to be done to ensure our freedom in the past and show that now

we have no connection with whoever you may be at odds with in the present it may confirm your past but cast further doubts about whether or not you pose a danger to our people you also claim that you destroyed the ship in the image we presented you how do we know this was truly you're doing questioned the intelligence legged I have ample more recordings of the events leading up to that we stopped them before they could finish the job and wipe your species from existence and then facilitated the development of a technology that ensured your

continued survival you are welcome Tic Tac stated proudly the room remain AED quiet for a moment everyone debating on how to continue with the questioning lra seemed rather worried after witnessing a side of tic tac she hadn't known existed the other officers were doing their best to maintain their composure Having learned of the true fate of one of their species greatest heroes the commander took control of the conversation again and spoke up you have told us a great deal today we will have to an analyze all the information we have and the board will come

to a final decision this meeting will be forwarded to them for further review unless there are any more questions from my colleagues I believe it would be a good time to take a recess hold on let's not end this on a negative note human spoke up addressing the senior officer as bad as this has been what else can we do for you we've given you all that we have that might show we don't Harbor any ill intentions I get it we don't exactly have a pristine reputation with your species but I'm trying my best to

make amends here tic teac chirped up from his place on the table would you be open to an exchange of technical information I have analyzed your current military technology and you are vastly underere equipped in comparison to the forces you are up against as a further display of our remorse I could give you the schematics for devices that may help even the battlefield in exchange for our freedom of course there would be stipulations to your release if we do end up deciding to go that route the commander informed them and those would be asked human

it is not my place to decide as I stated before we will review the information that you promised to give us along with the testimony from Captain lizra and decide how to proceed from there all I ask is that you be patient and allow us some time to analyze everything so so that we may come to a proper verdict until then you will remain here under our close supervision we will give you appropriate accommodations and you'll be treated respectfully I believe that is not a ridiculous request for me to ask of you with that I

call this meeting to a close human sat in a modest room that had been set aside for him laying down on the cushion bed in the corner that was likely designed for an enduring most of the day had already come and gone on and he figured it was already nighttime on the surface he glanced over at the brunt in the corner of the room who hadn't taken his eyes off of him and you're still here why I was told to watch you I Am The Keeper of the human Guardian for all that reside here he

replied as if he was confused by the question you could do that from outside you know at least stop staring at me and maybe blink once or twice blink twice if you're in danger human told him but how can I continuously observe you if I'm not constantly P observing you that would not coincide with my orders and if I blink then that is one second that I am not completing my righteous duties I shall never fall to my physical limitations no matter the strain on me I yield not to weakness to hunger to fatigue the

brunt said between slow deep breaths wow okay that's dedication maybe you could look a little less tense and stop breathing so hard I cannot take a break I am the Sentry of the human all right have it your way you'll be here a lot longer I'm sure you're going to have to rest eventually Duty spares no time for breaks so neither shall I I'm sure you're very entertaining to be around when you're not working human said with a sigh sitting up on the bed not working that would mean rest the glorification of my duties is

my rest all right well this isn't going anywhere Tic-Tac any updates so far he said picking his box up off the bed and putting it on the table beside the bed I've been monitoring their systems closely and there is no information regarding you going in or out they're being extremely thorough not to mention us in their networks currently the officers from before are still in the conference room but have turned off the microphone within zate must have informed them of how easily I can breach their network security lizra was speaking with them for quite a

while but she was dismissed a few moments ago and is currently on route to our quarters maybe she'll fill us in think they're going to decide to let us go it's possible and if they decide not to Tic Tac questioned already knowing the answer we leave anyway are you sure that's the right decision I'll do what I have to do at this point I'm pretty tired being held places against my will very well she's here a moment later lra opened the door and stepped into the room looking over at the brunt Breathing heavily in the

corner his eyes straining from his refusal to Blink oh that one's still here what is he doing and why does he appear to be in so much pain taking his job with too seriously that's what human chuckled prior you are dismissed you can wait in the hallway until I leave Captain I shall never quit my post until properly relieved I am the shield of diligence the Restless Watcher always ready always I'm moving your post outside the door watch from out there as a prior you are to obey a lawful order she commanded rubbing her face

with with one of her paws in irritation the brunt slowly backpedal out of the room until he was outside the doorway never facing away from Human insuring to maintain eye contact throughout the entire process lra pressed a button on her interface pad and the door closed in his face the loud breathing still audible on the other side what's his deal it's not his fault they're all like that the Bruns that is the core genetically altered his species and forcefully bred them to be unable to disobey orders I say they did too good of a job

we're trying to help them but it's difficult the small Captain said as she made her way over to the pair I hope that what you witnessed earlier does not tarnish your opinion of me I felt I had no other Alternatives at the time and resorted to an unfortunate extreme explain Tic-Tac from his place on the bedside table it was unsettling seeing that side of you but honestly from what you both have shared with me over the past weeks I doubt that's even remotely close to the worst thing you've done as bad as that may sound

I still don't feel threatened when I'm around you too she said hopping up on the table and leaning over onto Tic Tac I told them everything I knew but they're still worried that if they let you go you'll run off and hurt others again or Worse to the core and the fact that Tic Tac is in our systems only furthers their suspicions my apologies lizra I attempted to cover my inquiries however I deemed it a necessary risk it was the only way I would be able to monitor events and predict if there would be any

actions that might endanger us Tic Tac stated no I understand but it works in the favor of those arguing that you need to be detained longer or Worse the board should come to decision soon since this has taken priority over everything else going on right now I doubt you will be waiting around very long just please don't do anything drastic until they come to a verdict the captain said worriedly I'll wait hopefully what Tic Tac gave them was enough to satisfy their requirements for releasing me what did you give them by the way must have

been important enough to them for their debate to be lasting this long the full recordings of the events leading up to the constuction of the precursor a version of your Mass's under weave that might work for them along with everything we managed to acquire regarding human operations before and during the yyan campaign why didn't you give them the full production plans for the Mas human inquired referencing his armor suit I saw the of's manufacturing capabilities when I was in their networks if I had given them the entire schematic they would almost certainly attempt to mass-produce

them and in trying to do so they would likely bankrupt their economy then how did the old humans manage to do it if that ship was as big as it looked in the picture there had to be thousands of others like you asked lizra picking herself up and sitting on top of tic tac without skipping a beat closer to hundreds of thousands does your entire species have the tendency to always try to find high places to sit or stand the computer system grumbled L I never really thought about it before we really just do it

without thinking our ancient ancestors would spend their whole lives in trees I suppose those instincts never left us that coincides with what we originally knew about your species instincts like those are Dee rooted behaviors never truly leave a population as they evolve for example humans heart rate always spikes when he sees insects they were seen as dangers and indicators of disease so he's genetically wired to want to avoid them what are you talking about I'm not afraid of bugs what gave you that idea he complained you might not notice it but I can tell with

the subtle changes in your functions it's quite humorous nearly indestructible in that suit yet specific little things can still easily trigger an involuntary physiological reaction please Rel laughed noted I'll be sure not to introduce you to argo's Mother anytime soon the enduring Queen is difficult for me to even look at yet I'm quite fond of insects in regards to how the original humans managed to produce the Mas it is quite simple when you have the resources of hundreds of thousands of Worlds at your disposal combine that with one Authority that dictates every aspect of society

and whose entire goal is to expand to an infinite degree exponential growth is easily accomplished Tic-Tac explained while lizra curled up on top of him hundreds of thousands that can't be the case otherwise everyone in the Galaxy would know about humans unless you originated in a different Galaxy no the original human world Prime may have been incredibly Advanced but they were never able to achieve faster than light travel they have always been isolated to just one system huh wait then how lra's question was cut short by an incoming request on her interface pad and perked

up to answer the call enen I'm here has the board concluded their meeting yes bring the human back to the conference room they have reached a verdict about time I was hoping they'd figure it out before morning reckon it's good news human asked looking down at lra I tried being persuasive we'll see how far that got you she replied standing up to leave want to ride human asked reaching his arm down in front of her oh yes how chivalrous thank you the captain chuckled stepping onto his hand and then up to his shoulder the three

opened the door and the brunt assigned to guard Duty was in the exact same position as he was before you shall not pass I am all that stands between you and the complete destruction of we are going to pass thank you prior you're dismissed for the evening no I shall accompany him wherever he may attempt to go to the ends of the Galaxy and Beyond this coveted Duty I shall fulfill the guard growled blocking the doorway he sounds a lot like I used to you have to respect that loyalty let's go then human said stepping

around him and into the corridor I do not answer to the enemy where shall we escort the prisoner ma'am he asked looking up to lra on human's shoulder certainly not to the end of the Galaxy or Beyond just down the hall prior you can follow behind she sighed they navigated the windowless Labyrinth that was the O base and arrived back at the conference room the officers were seated the same as before at the other end of the table but looked obviously uncomfortable when they saw lra p to top the human she jumped down and into

the seat where she was previously and human sat himself at the head once more taking Special Care not to break the seat the commander stood up in his chair while the remaining officers in the room stayed seated he cleared his throat once and began the board has reviewed the information that you captain lizra and your personal computer have provided they were most concerned with the documentation you gave on how the human ships reach the Yan system if they were truly destroyed like you claimed then in your opinion what is the likelihood that they are able

to make a return to this galaxy it is possible however statistically it is zero it should not be a problem for you Tic Tac replied how could that be if there is a chance they could return Then wouldn't it put us all in danger the commander countered there's absolutely no way they're coming back you don't understand how their systems worked human was getting anxious just at the discussion of his species if for some reason they decided to send others they would have done so a long time ago they don't usually send recovery missions when a

ship goes dark even if they did come back they wouldn't pose a Galaxy level threat they're stuck in a single system and can't project their power outside of it care to elaborate on that computer leet tan asked I'm going to assume you read what I sent you but we unable to grasp it in its entirety I'll word it differently this time the human species has never been able to develop faster than light travel but only because they had no particular need for it how many planets are in a galaxy hundreds of billions trillions and by

the time you narrow down your options for ones that are habitable you're left with only a handful of options in comparison to what you started with they decided on a more logistical approach to this problem a way to access an alternate version of their own Planet eliminating the need for longdistance space travel altogether your scientists are already quite well versed in the theory of a Multiverse but it is not a theory Humanity possessed one planet that has an extremely high chance for harboring life and access to infinite versions of it using this approach they can

open a gateway to another planet in minutes strip it of its resources over the course of a few months and move on to the next but no system is without its claws the room was silent listening intently as the computer explained the process to them it is entirely random they cannot pick and choose which version they will end up in it is a completely unpredictable process for finding a new reality once the access point is made they get one selection out of the infinite number of possibilities but once they have the coordinates for that reality

they can reliably open the same Gateway and replic at it with ease the process of opening a gate takes milliseconds and can be closed just as quickly but because the exact circumstances for life are so rare nearly every single gate opened leads to a Barren Rock many of the uninhabited ones were utilized for resource harvesting and quickly abandoned before we left out of 500 years of continuous operation and millions of gates they were able to discover only 197 planets that supported life your home World being one of these so we technically originate from the same

world as you the commander contemplated for a moment keeping his stoic complexion as he spoke again this was not something any of us could have foreseen but it only raises even more questions for us and we do not believe you would have the answers to those the commander paused for a moment debating on whether or not to reveal to them that there still may be a surviving contingent of humans in their Galaxy and what could potentially happen if any of the humans survived after the initial Invasion on our home World they didn't I made sure

of that human replied striking the thought down but if they did he countered would they have any way of reaching the rest of your species Tic Tac responded before human could this time the gateways are closed upon the loss of communication with the forces on the other side it takes quite a while for a recovery mission to be executed and rarely happens the main priority of the humans is keeping their main system safe if something is strong enough to destroy one of its vessels then it is deemed too dangerous to keep the gate open if

somehow they did manage to survive this long enough time has passed that they would be on their own and need to reopen a Gateway from this side to establish contact I'm done talking wha ifs they're gone dead end of story it's about time we talked about why I'm still here you said this mystery board has come to a conclusion what is it am I free to go now or Not Human growled getting more and more agitated as the conversation progressed all the information we have covered today was in the files your computer sent us as

part of our arrangement we just wanted confirmation from the both of you the commander started based on your willingness to comply with our demands openness to share critical information with us and the character testimony provided by Captain lizra the board has decided that they cannot in good conscience execute someone who may have been responsible for stopping a threat that could have endangered countless other worlds with that in mind they have decided to allow you limited Freedom with certain stipulations he finished and what might those be human asked with a clear note of disdain in his

words we are in quite a complicated situation regarding you on one paw you have both saved our species from complete Annihilation each in your own ways yet on the other if we are wrong about you and you still Harbor intentions to do the O harm then everyone on aurus in the outer worlds is at risk you've had access to some of our most vital networks and the opportunity to survey and catalog our most heavily fortified system with these risks in mind we would release you on the condition that you have a Tracker implemented on you

at all times a limited release to only off occupied systems you relinquish all weapons in your possession and a network tracker encrypted into your computer so we can monitor it when it accesses any networks fine I have no problems with that if that's what it takes to get you off my ass my only intention is to go out on my own and live my own life for a change I was not finished in a I a complete memory wipe of your computer we cannot have the information that it carries falling into our enemy possession at

any point in the future agree to these terms and you'll be free to go no no I'm sorry I don't think you grasp just how generous the board has been with these demands many wanted it to end up far worse for you this was the only compromise that they were able to agree upon it is not my place to negotiate any further these are the stipulations and you either accept them or we cannot let you leave I'm not resetting him why can't we just remove the time here in the facility that would solve these issues

right human argued no the information regarding your species its weapon capabilities and its Origins are too great of a risk to fall into the hands of the core this is not something that is negotiable I believe my opinion should be considered in this matter since it is my own Consciousness that is being discussed as if I were some mere object Tic-Tac interjected what do you propose computer I've connected directly with one of the other species during my time here an extant they share a conscious experience very similar to mine would you agree to a transfer

of all information that you deem vital into your own systems afterwards an extant will be able to verify that I no longer possess it would this satisfy your requirements without forcing me to go through another complete reset I see this as a possible alternative but it is not my call the board will have to this board why do we have to keep dealing with the middleman I want to talk to them get them on the line they're the ones deciding my fate and wanting to kill my friend now let me speak to them myself human

yelled standing out of his chair and slamming his fists into the table causing a large C back in the wood that stretched to the other end of the table they're listening the commander said calmly pressing a button on the pad attached to his wrist the room was silent for a moment a small crackle of sound was barely audible in the room but was the only indication that someone was on the other end of the line after waiting for a few more tense moments the response came they spoke in an indistinct voice that could have belonged

to any number of species but impossible to determine exactly which that is acceptable and then the room was left in silence once more there you go you have your answer now do you agree to the terms or not the commander asked sternly yes I just want to get the out of here now and give me a ship it doesn't have to be anything spectacular it's the least you could do for wasting my time and also I don't know saving your species we already planned on it it would have an automatic detonation sequence installed if you

went within the limits of any core occupied worlds we hope that isn't going to be an issue the commander said keeping his usual steady demeanor fine whatever you think is necessary to keep me from running off to people who are apparently even worse than you if that's somehow possible we find the security of an entire collection of planets more important than the individual liberties of one war criminal so I hope you can understand the precautions whatever I'm done here I'll head back to my room come get me when all of your Affairs are in order

hum leaned down to pick up Tic Tac but was stopped the computer stays here that part of the deal is our first priority the commander ordered I will be fine I'll have them bring me to you when the transfer is complete Tic Tac stated whatever emotions may have been going through the computer they were undetectable in his voice fine if he gets back to me and anything other than this critical information is gone the core is going to be the least of your worries I hope the board was still listening they were not what a

shame and with that hum turned and stormed out of the room